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| Wed, 12-06-2006 - 1:37pm |
Hi guys!! My name is Lisa. I'm 36 yo, a legal secretary working full time. I have two little girls, Maggie, age 5 and Sarah, 16 mos! I love my precious angels. Since I quit smoking 7 years ago (mostly a social smoker) and I started having babies, I've slowly gained 100 pounds. I'm in denial. I don't feel like some people look, not meaing that in a mean way at all, and then I see myself in pictures or take a glimpse in the mirror, I'm like Holy Cow!! Literally!!! My husband loves me no matter what, he chases me around all the time and can't keep his hands off me (I know, TMI!). I really want to lose this weight and I'm not sure the best way to do it. I've tried LA and I couldn't afford those dern bars at $16 a box and having to buy 2 a week. I don't have time to go to meetings of any kind. I'm just at my wits end and not sure what to do. I don't get alot of exercise because when I get home in the evenings, I have the kids by myself (my husband works 2nd shift as a policeman) so my evenings are filled with chasing a 16 mo old tornado! I found this board and thought maybe I could get a little advice and support. I've rambled on enought now.....Thanks for listening!
Lisa


Angela
Angela
Lisa,
This is just my opinion, it may not work for you...
The problem I see with stuff like LA Bars is that it isn't something you can do for life - too boring and too costly. Weight Watchers is good if you can view it as a way of life for the rest of your life, but not so good if you think its something you'll finish with when you reach your goal weight.
The people who seem to have the most lasting success are the ones who view losing weight as a lifestyle change, replacing not so good habits with better habits that can last a lifetime.
A lot of people start by increasing their water intake - to around 8 8oz glasses a day. This works best if you replace soda/coffee with cream/sugary juices with water.
Another good start is to journal everything you eat - don't try to cut anything out in the beginning, just write it down and then after a couple weeks, look at what you ate when (if you can write down why you ate it - mad?, sad?, bored?, Hungry?, that can give you some clues too.) Then you can figure out where you can cut back or substitute. For example,I thought I never ate betweeen breakfast and lunch, but while journaling realized that at least twice a week, I went for a muffin because I was actually hungry. I now plan to have a low fat granola bar every day at 10:00 am - a lot less calories than the muffin, and I have something to look forward to when I start thinking of munching as soon as I get to work.
The last thing is moving more - a lot of people start with a twenty minute walk - either before work, at lunch, or in the evening. I don't have kids, so I can't say 'I know it's hard', but is there any way you could get up a little earlier or steal some time at lunch? Even if you do 2 ten minute walks a couple days a week, it's something.
This way will be slow, and you have to keep working at analyzing/modifying your eating and gradually adding more exercise, but it's cheap if not easy!
Best of luck on your journey!
SJ
225-172-135
Hi Lisa and welcome aboard!
Choosing a plan is tricky because what works for someone doesn't work for everyone. You can either go to a formal structured diet or make your own plan. I don't think there is a right and wrong way to do it, but rather what works for you. For some people, the structure of a "diet" makes it easier and better.. and there are diets like WW's that you can do online and doesn't require any purchase of special food. For other people (like me) coming up with my own plan and refining my techniques as I go along works better, but I do believe slower.
Good luck with your decision.. Post often and ask as many questions as you want.. welcome aboard!