Newbie here...looking for support

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-03-2006
Newbie here...looking for support
4
Sat, 12-09-2006 - 11:45pm

Hello!
I am new to this website and message boards but have been a lurker for about a week.

I am looking for some support on weight loss. As posting on the 100 lbs or more to go, that is in indeed what I need. My goal weight would be around 100 lbs,but right now I would be happy to loose 30-45 lbs. Baby Steps!!

Honestly I dont know where to start. I believe I am emotional eater. If I am bored or upset/stressed, I eat. Socially I like to eat, with friends or DH. Its an excuse to get together, to eat. I have a 3 yr old and while I was somewhat overweight before I had DD, I am more so now. I only gained 30 lbs when pg and I lost it but what was left pretty much shifted around and now I LOOK overweight as before I became pg, I pretty much carried my being overweight well. We are wanting to have #2, but I am worried as I am not in the best shape now. I cant imagine adding weight from another pregnancy plus just carrying all this weight while being pg!

My thing is that I have become lazy. I have great ideas on what I want to do, either around the house or with DD or whatever, but then I just dont do them. I pretty much sit at a desk all day for work, then come home and I want to "relax" by sitting around all evening too. DD goes to bed pretty early so I have plenty of time to do what I want in the evenings or weekends. Plus we only have one, so that makes things easier right now. DH hasnt really helped the situation. He has gained some weight and is somewhat lazy too. He was in the US Marines and was in great shape, so I am surprised he would let it all go. But he is not a big eater, even though everyone in his family is HUGE. In my family, I am the biggest one. Its embarassing and being overweight is starting to affect my moods around people including my DH.

I want to loose weight, but I enjoy eating more. I eat healthy and bad foods. I eat big and small portions, I eat regularly and not enough, so I was thinking of counting calories. A g-friend is doing this right now and she works out regularly. Of course she tries to get me on board, but I just laugh her off. Its like I have no discipline or motivation to do this. How does everyone get motivated? Trust me, I KNOW I need to loose this weight. I want to dress cute, I want to not be out of breath going up our stairs, I want to set a good example for DD plus I want to be healthy to have baby #2...the list goes on for WHY I want to do this but I just dont get motivated to do it??? The fact that I have become lazy with loosing weight, its also showing me lazy in other areas such as work and here at home. Its like I dont care, but I do!!?!?!

I am very frusturated with this. I need to loose weight, I need to learn to eat better as well as when things are not going well or I am bored, I find something else to do. I dont just WANT to do this. I NEED to do this.

Any suggestions, advice, thoughts, comments would be greatly appreciated. What motivates you to lose weight?

Thanks for listening!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 12-10-2006 - 10:43am
Hi and welcome!
I think a lot of us can relate to your situation. It's usually a collection of little things: bad habits, bad choices, little life changes that make us put on and keep on so much weight. One of my personal goals is to get those things in check one by one. I'd like to lose weight and keep it off. I've dropped weight quickly in the past by replacing bad choices with other bad choices, i.e., starving myself and treating food like poison. I've never made it all the way down to a healthy weight but as soon as I let up my weight has gone up again and passed my previous top weight. The hardest part is always getting started. I hope you can get something going and will join us on the journey. All the best, Annie
A
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-20-2003
Sun, 12-10-2006 - 12:42pm

I can relate to you - as a lot of us can :) - so you are definitely in the right place *hugs* Welcome!

Getting motivated is a personal thing, only you can do it. I know for me, I tried and tried over the years, and one morning amazingly I woke up and it clicked! At first I started out very very slowly. I only did two things in my diet - I increased my water intake and gave up sugar completely. Not just soda's and mix iced tea, but I gave up in my coffee, ANY sort of sweets - candy, cookies, syrup on my pancakes, every where - it was gone, if it had sugar I deleted it from my diet and replaced it with splenda. - for me giving up sugar was the best thing I could ever do. My face loss a lot of swelling, my period became regular for the first time in my entire life, my energy increased, and I could go on and on about different effects it had for me. (I think I actually may have been allergic to sugar). I did this for about 8 months and lost 54 pounds. Then I plateued. I couldn't get below 260. But I had liked the weight loss so much I was determined to get more off. So I went on phetermine and that has helped, I started to walk or dance or count my weekend cleaning as exercise, I cut my caloric intake to 1000 (for the most part - honestly I do go over - but then I increase my exercise).

Exercise was the worst for me to do for my whole life... I hated it, until I found out, that I was trying to do it at the wrong time of day for me. I hated getting up earlier to do it - and when I got home, I wanted to relax, just like you. My ex-husband was no help - I swear he was trying to keep me fat - cause he would bring home high calorie foods and candy and stuff (luckily the candy I was able to turn down cause of my sugar deletion) but that is a whole other story...

Anyway, I too, do desk work, and what I found was lunch time was my best place to exercise. I would eat my salad or slimfast or w/e I had that day and then leave the office and walk. I LOVED it!! It turned out that this was the right time of day for me :) It broke up my day, I still had energy and it was such a postive that I was actually exercising, I felt amazing.

Whenever I thought I was lazy and hated exercise - I now realize it was because I kept doing it at the wrong time of day for me. - Finding your right time will help you get motivated to exercise, I'm positive of it.

Well, this turned out a heck of a lot longer than I intended. But I really could relate to what you were saying.

Good luck with everything and I hope you keep us posted and stick around :)

~ Kim

314 / 237 / 135

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Sun, 12-10-2006 - 4:04pm
Motivation?? What is that?? LOL I am still trying to get motivated but I do welcome you and wish you the best of luck!!

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Angela







 

Angela

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2003
Mon, 12-11-2006 - 3:15am

"I want to lose weight, but I love to eat more." That is so me! I've been going on my healthy eating plan for about six weeks now, and it never gets any easier to eat less. I'm sort of "all or nothing"...I'd be better off cutting foods out than having just a little, but I don't want to do that. I'm really trying to look at this as reeducating my eating habits and realizing that I have to eat this way to be healthy.

I'm doing a combination of a diabetic diet, which is just balanced eating, and counting calories. I really have to know how many calories I'm putting in my mouth, or I will still overeat, even if it's healthy. I still struggle with the 1200 cal. limit, but I've hit it the majority of the time. I lost a good chunk of weight in the past going with 1600 calories, so I at least try to hit that if I can't stay under 1200.

The biggest struggle for me is exercise. I have yet to establish a routine. I have a gym membership and more exercise tapes than you can shake a stick at, but it's so hard to be motivated. If I sit in the recliner I will almost always fall asleep, so I guess I need to avoid that recliner! I have an active job as a substitute teacher, but I don't work every day and when I don't I tend to watch TV and nap. Not good. Ugh.

I know that diet/exercise work; I've lost a lot of weight in the past doing those two things. But it's so hard to maintain the momentum.

Well, I was probably no help, but I wanted to welcome you and say good luck!

Mary