Anyone else battling the bulge?

[JODEAN]

Congrats Odille, keep up the good work (outs)...lol

Dean.

[Analog6]

Congratulations on being so strong willed and losing so much weight, that is a fantastic effort and you to be commended for keeping at it!!!

You are correct about processed foods and sugars. We should eat foods as close to how they are naturally, ie unprocessed, full grain and no added sugars. As one nutritionalist suggested, there are 4 things you should have as much as you can: vegetables, fish, laughter and sex. Sounds good to me.

Me too Lance!

I've one a lot of research over the years since I found out about my gluten intolerance, some real eye opening stuff out there.

Thanks everyone for the kind words, it's all so encouraging, and I need all the encouragement I can get!. Winter will be tougher to keep up the daily swim but I am looking into thin wetsuits.

[Avalon]

Congratulations Odille and thank you for such an inspiring thread.
I've recently found MyFitnessPal has helped a lot with weight control. It tracks what I eat and keeps me aware of how many calories I consume in a day. The best part for me is that I'm eating my own food, not trying to follow another "diet" that I will inevitably fall off.
So far I seem to be losing a steady 100gms a day which over two months has added up to 5 kg without too much of a change to my lifestyle.

[Analog6]

MyFitnessPal is pretty good - I use it for a ticker on some of my low carb forums.

[Analog6]

I have caved in and weighed and measured myself today - I guess one day won't make too much dramatic difference. A good result for the month.

Weight - down 2.4kgs from 106.4kgs to 104kgs since 27/02/2012 (in lbs down 5.2 from 243.6 to 229.3)

Measurements (in cms) | Bust | < Bust | Waist | Hips | Upper arm | Thighs | Neck | Calf | Total
Total Lost | 25 | 28.5 | 19 | 18 | 5.7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 111
Since last | 8 | 13.5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.5

And I just checked my body fat % here (I find this site quite good - use the second set of boxes) 5% down since mid Feb it has dropped from 35% to 30%. Very, very pleased.

On Friday had my dental appointment to get the last crown, I had a temporary and the 'real' one had to go on. So the night before I put out my skirt (size22) and when I put it on it fell down to my feet. I was stunned and delighted. So I rooted around in the cupboard for the nice size 20 one - too loose to wear.

Did I mention I was pleased! I think I floated off the floor for a minute there . . . .

[Chris C]

Congratulations on a fantastic job of getting the weight off Odile. It's never easy.

A few years back my wife and I both decided to lose some weight, so I know it can be pretty tough. Every pound on your body originally went in past your teeth (and if you're like me, we enjoyed every mouthful), but there's really no substitute for eating less and exercising a bit more. There seem to be two pitfalls to watch out for - finding some exercise(s) that you won't stop at the first excuse because it's too boring, and then maintaining the good eating regime once the weight goes down. At least that's how it went for us. Swimming is excellent if you have reasonable access to a pool. We mostly had to rely on walking, bike riding, and stuff like that.

We went the full route of counting calories, writing it all down, daily weighing, etc and it worked very well. We lost about twenty kilos each, which took both of us below the target figures for our height and age on the health charts, so we were very pleased about that. Our record after the loss was interesting though. My wife had been somewhat overweight nearly all her life, and we had decided on a 'prize' of a couple of grand towards new clothes if she hit the target. She duly collected, and once she was able to wear the sort of clothes she had only looked at before, she never put any weight back on. She remains a very careful eater and still sometimes even weighs portions. She had refused to get on weighing scales for decades, but now weighs herself every week. Quite a change. People at work who have only known the slim version won't believe that she was ever chubby, and say things like "It's easy for you, you're the slim type" - and don't understand how hard she worked to get that way!

On the other hand, I'd never really been overweight before, and was quite stunned to see that I obvious had become so! When I took it off, it seemed like being tubby had been just a 'temporary blip' so I've had a much poorer record since. I stick a few kilos back on and then have to take them off again! You'd think I'd learn.... But at least I'm still well below where I was, and I feel far better all round when I'm fitter and lighter. There really is no doubting that.

All the best with your quest to trim some more off. You're doing a terrific job.

Cheers,

Chris

[bricat]

Well done. You are seeing results for your hard work. Keep your focus and you can acheive anything. Now where is that tea and biscuits. I too have to lose around 20kg but suffer from chronic back pain. Perhaps it is time for me to stop making excuses.... cheers

[Analog6]

Well done. You are seeing results for your hard work. Keep your focus and you can acheive anything. Now where is that tea and biscuits. I too have to lose around 20kg but suffer from chronic back pain. Perhaps it is time for me to stop making excuses.... cheers

I had daily back pain too, the swimming has really strengthened it up though & the weight loss has helped too I think. It's truly worth the effort. I reckon 2-3 years in total to get rid of all my 'wide load'!

[Mary Anne]

Odille You are doing so well.. I am so pleased of what you have been achieving
I only lost 1.5kg this past month though thats better than putting it on I guess

[Analog6]

Anything's better than putting it on, Mary Anne, even staying the same weight!

[Analog6]

I am on a weight loss forum, an Australian low carb one which started out as a mostly Atkins forum, but now they are all trying BodyTrim. This is a bastardised cross between Protein Power and Atkins except it recommends low carb and low fat, and they give you one 'free day' a week. I reckon it is very dodgy and people Pay $180 or so for the 'kit'. Anyway, they have one thing I thought might help and that is a 3 day protein only start. I noticed people do drop weight on the 3 days so thought I would try it.

I have NOT done it low fat, I know I'd be ravenous and never stick to it, but it hasn't been too bad. At breakfast I cook a couple of extra bits of steak and have them in the fridge for later in the day, and I am still having my bit of butter snack if I feel the need. No wine or caffeine or dairy except I have had my nightly decaff with cream, it helps me nod off. Lots of water.

I had a hell of a lot of steak(!) and last night it was chicken for a change. I'll cut it onto strips and cook on a griddle using herbs, macadamia oil and squirt a bit of lemon on it at the end. Well, that was the plan and the darned chicken shop forgot my order for 4 chicken breasts with the skin on. I was so cross. I had to buy a BBQ one and while it was nice it was not what I had been looking forward to!

And it worked - I lost 2.5kgs in 3 days. And as I was bobbing up and down between 104 and 105 it is probably 3.5kgs. I'm well pleased and will have one or two protein only days every week now. Two is more practical - by the end of yesterday I would have killed for a plate of mushrooms or green beans!

My highest ever weight was in Sept 2005 - 131.5 & my previous lowest 101.5 in May 2006 then I fell off the wagon, restarted mid Aug 2011 at 122kgs; today's weight back to previous low at 101.5.

I'm just dying for that number to be 9 something!

[Glenda]

You'll get there, the slower you lose it, the longer it will stay off IMO. I think we all plateau when dieting, well I know I do, and I've seen the Body Trim one and the price and decided, no. I've tried the quick start diet with success for getting over a plateau. In my case the quickest way to return to bad habits is to diet and not lose weight for a couple of weeks. I found I could stick to the quick start one for a week and twice now it has worked to get me restarted. I don't have a heap to lose, just always seem to put around 5kg on when I return from annual holidays. Eat like a queen while away but because I'm walking heaps more than normal I don't put any on. But, get home, continue to eat like a queen and next thing I'm wearing another 5kg and it seems like the whole lot is around my middle.

[Kelz1990]

Great work Odille. Keep it up

[Mary Anne]

You are doing well Odlile..

[la lumiere]

Brilliant effort...very inspiring!
Really looking forward to hearing when you reach the 9.. somethings!
Nearly there!

[Analog6]

Oh me too, hovering at 101-102kgs. I am now an 18-20 in pants, down from 26-28! And I feel great. About 2 1/2 top sizes. I have the energy now to really get going with my photography again. I picked up a treadmill today from freecycle, it needs to be looked at but the electrical guys at warwick's work are going to do it. I plan to make it into a walking workstation so during the hours I am on the net at least some of the time I'll be walking at 2-3 km an hour, constantly.