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| Mon, 07-19-2004 - 2:10am |
Hi, I'm Celeste. New here, but not to iVillage. I've been a yo-yo dieter for many years and now that I'm 50 it is just about impossible to get the weight off. I'm about 20 pounds overweight. I'm really not a good diet or exercise person. I think I must have some arthritis or something. I'm not looking for excuses, but whenever I start an exercise program, I give it up because I hurt so much every time I exercise. I don't really think I over-do it, but after working out I ache all over for days. It's pretty hard to convince myself to do it again. At anyrate, I bought a new blender with a smoothie attachment and I've been doing lots of smoothies. I found that using soft cake tofu in the smoothie gives it some protein. I use various combinations of fruit, chai tea, milk, yoghurt, ice, sherbet etc.... I'm glad someone told me to use the tofu. I tried dry protein powder and it tasted awful. Dry and grainy. It sure isn't a low carb diet, but it is very low fat. I did find some low carb yoghurt to use.
I was just wondering what the rest of you are doing and will appreciate any tips on either the diet or the exercise.


Good morning Celestlyn and welcome to the board.
"Make Choices that bring you joy" cl-Patty
Miss P
Eating, I can share what has worked for me. I used to be a calorie counter. These days, I still check foods for calories and fat content, and some of the other things to decide what to buy (or eat if it's on-hand), but I don't sit there with a calculator anymore like I did in my obsessive 20s! For instance, whenever we visit MIL, she'll get our favorite Entenmann's Donuts, the softee pack with chocolate-covered cake donuts in them. I LOVE chocolate-covered cake donuts. But in reading the nutritional info, I've begun opting for either a plain donut or skipped donuts altogether and reach for a blueberry muffin with a hard boiled egg instead. I think there are so many plans because some plans work better on some people than others. For me, moderation works. The low-carb diets say their plans shed the belly fat first... but I have to tell you that these past few weeks, I've given up sweets and fatty snacks during the week because I needed an extra kick - and the area that has shaped up has been my belly, even though I'm still eating bagels, fruits, English muffins and pasta. I've also replaced "regular" ingredients with "lite" ingredients (not necessarily "fat-free") in all of our foods. Lite ingredients cut down on the empty extras without sacrificing flavor. Cutting out the full-bodied sour cream, mayo, milk, etc., using cooking spray rather than vegetable oil for cooking, baking instead of frying meats, steaming veggies rather than smothering them in a casserole. On top of that, watching my portions, not going back for seconds on the filling items, and eating only until I'm satisfied, not stuffed. I've also been selecting foods that might give me a protein boost - protein takes a little longer to digest, and therefore doesn't leave you feeling so hungry so soon. There are numerous options for protein shakes (I've tried about 6 different ones!), but you can also get extra protein from yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, peanut butter, a glass of skim milk, eggs or egg substitute, just to name a few. Sure, peanut butter has a high fat content, but the fats there are fats your body needs. Slice up an apple, put 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of peanut on a plate, and dip the apple for a very satisfying snack in both flavor and "fill factor"!
I've read it before, and recently read again, that no matter what plan you choose, the bottom line is still that you take in less energy (calories) than you burn in order to lose weight. Whether it's low-carb, low-fat, the traditional low-cal, or portion control (like Weight Watchers or the moderation that I'm doing) they all indeed reduce your caloric intake. To boost the energy usage, I think you know what the answer is: Exercise! Yanno, when I started exercising and when I restarted after a 2-month hiatus, I was sore too for a few days, but not so sore as to be incapacitated and reluctant to do it again. I could still climb the stairs, I could still pick up my preschool-aged daughter (last year I did suffer two injuries from pushing too hard at two different times). I agree with Nancy that it's a good idea to start off slowly at first. If you're new to exercise, you might be gung-ho and tempted to work until you make yourself hurt - that's overdoing it and can lead to injury. Stop when you're NOT hurting, even if you've worked just a short time. Remember, those extra pounds and bulges didn't come on overnight, and they're not going to come off overnight either. The first 2-3 weeks for me was building stamina, and the change was negligible. I'd say the difference started becoming evident between 4-6 weeks, but it still wasn't "WOW!". Only at the end of 2 months (8-9 weeks) was it really noticable that I'd dropped pounds and was shaping up.
Well, that turned out longer than I expected! Hope you stick around Celeste. This is really a great bunch of ladies.
Cussette
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Good morning and welcome to FOF Celestlyn.
The fact that you ache all over kind of sent a red flag up to me.
On workouts, you might try walking and also make sure you do stretching after you warm up with walking and with any toning workouts you do. Start with a little and work up to more with everything from miles to weights. Have you tried Yoga or Pilates?
Hope to hear from you more.
Good luck!
Kat
Susan
Welcome aboard. I'm new too. I also have a problem with sticking with it and would like to loose 20 pounds. I posted a message earlier today about a link to help you keep track of how much exercise you do daily. It has actually helped me more than anyting. You get a tip on a five point star if you meet the 30 minutes a day requirement. After five days of 30 minutes worth of activities in a week the star is completed. Call me childish but I like having those stars, just like in elementry school (lol). You might give strong consideration to speaking with a doctor about the pain before trying anything to harsh.
I find that something is better than nothing. Just think 3 short 10 minutes walks a day means you made the 30 minute daily goal. Hang in there and don't give up. Many years ago when I was in my early 20's I did a little runway modeling (nothing professional). We would practice a couple of days a week for about 2 hours doing noting but walking around a room, I was able to drop all my baby fat from my 3rd child in a short time. So now if the weather is rainy or to hot I will walk around the living room for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes while watching TV. My DH thinks I'm nuts and trys hard not to laugh. I figure it's actually helping me and if it makes him smile too then it's worth it.
I went for a bicycle ride earlier and beat my old time by 2 minutes. Two minutes doesn't sound like much but it's better than it taking me longer to go on the 5.8 mile ride. It's sort of in the country so the scenery is nice (that "fresh country air" from the cows remind me when I was a kid).
Maybe we can help keep each other motivated. Good luck & once again welcome aboard. Sorry this post ended up so long.
Lori
"Remember, I'm pullin' for ya. We're all in this together." --Red Green
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