An Itroduction

Hi, my name is Debi. I am 60-70 pounds heavier than I need to be. I'm just
having trouble getting and staying motivated. I have a semi-active job
(veterinary radiology tech) but exercise outside of work doesn't happen. And
I love food! All teh bad things and the good things too, but I eat too much
of it. Cholesterol is an issue with me as well. I got within 10 lbs of my
goal weight of 165 several years ago, then I bought a house, chnaged jobs,
got married, all the life changing stuff. the only life change I can't seem
to make is to lose weight and keep it off. I don't do fad diets or follow
every new idea that comes along. I understand that to be healthy , the
weight needs to come off slowly and stay gone. I know all the things I'm
supposed to do, but I don't do them very well. Any suggestions/advice/kicks
in the britches are welcome!
Thanks
Debi

"Ignoramus740" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 16:57:19 GMT, Debi Matlack
wrote:
snipping my own intro...
Any suggestions/advice/kicks
in the britches are welcome!
Thanks
Debi



You are welcome.

Posting this newsgroup, when things are going well or not so well,
helps greatly.

You have not said whether you have children, or work overtime, but
just in case you have some free time, exercise becomes quite
possible. You do not necessarily have to join a gym, simply walking
can do wonders.

Some diets are more appropriate for some people, depending on the
person. There is no one size fits all diet.

--
223/172.8/180

I don't have kids and I do often work overtime/am on call. Walking works
well for me, the getting off my butt and out the door part is what I don't
seem to be able to do a lot of times. I'd love to be able to afford a gym,
since I do enjoy that lind of workout, but alas, 'tis not for me. I may be
able to harangue a friend at work into walking with me after work. That is
the first step; getting out the door.
Debi

"Ignoramus740" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 16:57:19 GMT, Debi Matlack
wrote:
snipping my own intro...
Any suggestions/advice/kicks
in the britches are welcome!
Thanks
Debi



You are welcome.

Posting this newsgroup, when things are going well or not so well,
helps greatly.

You have not said whether you have children, or work overtime, but
just in case you have some free time, exercise becomes quite
possible. You do not necessarily have to join a gym, simply walking
can do wonders.

Some diets are more appropriate for some people, depending on the
person. There is no one size fits all diet.

--
223/172.8/180

I don't have kids and I do often work overtime/am on call. Walking works
well for me, the getting off my butt and out the door part is what I don't
seem to be able to do a lot of times. I'd love to be able to afford a gym,
since I do enjoy that lind of workout, but alas, 'tis not for me. I may be
able to harangue a friend at work into walking with me after work. That is
the first step; getting out the door.
Debi

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 19:10:49 GMT, "Debi Matlack"
wrote:

I don't have kids and I do often work overtime/am on call. Walking works
well for me, the getting off my butt and out the door part is what I don't
seem to be able to do a lot of times. I'd love to be able to afford a gym,
since I do enjoy that lind of workout, but alas, 'tis not for me. I may be
able to harangue a friend at work into walking with me after work. That is
the first step; getting out the door.
Debi


What is it you particularly enjoy doing at a gym? You may be able to
do something similar at home. There are lots of good weight-training
exercises that can be done with just bodyweight. A few dumbbells can
give you even more options. If what you like in a gym is the cardio
classes, you can get videos with similar workouts. Exercise will
really help with weight loss.

Chris
262/136/ (135-145)

"Chris Braun" wrote in message
news

What is it you particularly enjoy doing at a gym? You may be able to
do something similar at home. There are lots of good weight-training
exercises that can be done with just bodyweight. A few dumbbells can
give you even more options. If what you like in a gym is the cardio
classes, you can get videos with similar workouts. Exercise will
really help with weight loss.

Chris
262/136/ (135-145)

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the variety. I get bored easily and am
lazy and I procrastinate, so my best of intentions turn to mush by the end
of the day. I have a elliptical trainer that sits in the corner. It doesn't
do me any good if I don't get on it, but it lost its appeal pretty quickly
after me getting it. Guess I should turn the tv on and just go for it. TV
watching is something I excell at. And reading. And listening to music, none
of which is very active.
Debi (If napping were an Olympic event, I'd be a multiple medalist)

"Debi Matlack" wrote in message
link.net...
Hi, my name is Debi. I am 60-70 pounds heavier than I need to be. I'm just
having trouble getting and staying motivated.

Do you really want to lose weight enough to change your eating habits and so
forth? I wasted a lot of time in my life dieting and failing.

I have a theory, that may just be me projecting myself, but the theory is
that most people who are significantly overweight are addicted to food for
some reason. In other words, their brain tells them that they have some sort
of (probably emotional) need that is being fulfilled by food.

I think that being fat and trimming down requires a mindset like it does for
an addict to quit smoking or drinking. Obviously, eating properly is logical
and being fat, we know, is neither attractive nor healthy. Sounds just like
cigarettes! Why do people smoke? I don't know. Why do they eat so much? I
don't know that, either, but its probably for the same reason!

Again, maybe I'm just projecting myself here. Beating the food monkey, for
me, is harder than quitting smoking, and I smoked pretty heavy for like
thirty years.

Good luck and welcome aboard. Think about what I am saying, at least, and
then discard the thought if you like.

Daven

No Daven, I agree with you. Food addiction is probably a good name for my
main obstacle to weight loss. Thanks for your thoughts and keep 'em coming
if you are moved to do so.
Debi

"Daven Thrice" wrote in message
news:g8ald.106722$cJ3.75751@fed1read06...

"Debi Matlack" wrote in message
link.net...
Hi, my name is Debi. I am 60-70 pounds heavier than I need to be. I'm
just having trouble getting and staying motivated.

Do you really want to lose weight enough to change your eating habits and
so forth? I wasted a lot of time in my life dieting and failing.

I have a theory, that may just be me projecting myself, but the theory is
that most people who are significantly overweight are addicted to food for
some reason. In other words, their brain tells them that they have some
sort of (probably emotional) need that is being fulfilled by food.

I think that being fat and trimming down requires a mindset like it does
for an addict to quit smoking or drinking. Obviously, eating properly is
logical and being fat, we know, is neither attractive nor healthy. Sounds
just like cigarettes! Why do people smoke? I don't know. Why do they eat
so much? I don't know that, either, but its probably for the same reason!

Again, maybe I'm just projecting myself here. Beating the food monkey, for
me, is harder than quitting smoking, and I smoked pretty heavy for like
thirty years.

Good luck and welcome aboard. Think about what I am saying, at least, and
then discard the thought if you like.

Daven

"Debi Matlack" wrote in message
ink.net...
No Daven, I agree with you. Food addiction is probably a good name for my
main obstacle to weight loss. Thanks for your thoughts and keep 'em coming
if you are moved to do so.
Debi

I was able to quit smoking because I was motivated and prepared. I think you
need to answer two kinds of questions. The first is about your diet. What
you'll eat. Low carb, low cal, whatever. As long as its something that works
and isn't a bs fad diet. The second is your motivation. Why are you
quitting? What are you going to do instead of eating? In which kinds of
situations do you overeat, and how can you either avoid those situations or
modify your behavior? You have to beat food for the rest of your life, just
like a smoker has to beat cigarettes for the rest of his life. So, you need
some strategies. It may be a good idea to put off dieting for another month.
Do some research. Make a plan. Give yourself a month to figure out how
you're going to do all this and then go go go.

dt

"Debi Matlack" wrote in message
link.net...
Hi, my name is Debi. I am 60-70 pounds heavier than I need to be. I'm just
having trouble getting and staying motivated. I have a semi-active job
(veterinary radiology tech) but exercise outside of work doesn't happen.
And
I love food! All teh bad things and the good things too, but I eat too
much
of it. Cholesterol is an issue with me as well. I got within 10 lbs of my
goal weight of 165 several years ago, then I bought a house, chnaged jobs,
got married, all the life changing stuff. the only life change I can't
seem
to make is to lose weight and keep it off. I don't do fad diets or follow
every new idea that comes along. I understand that to be healthy , the
weight needs to come off slowly and stay gone. I know all the things I'm
supposed to do, but I don't do them very well. Any
suggestions/advice/kicks
in the britches are welcome!
Thanks
Debi


Knowing what we need to do to lose weight is a fine but until we put those
things into motion we don't lose one poundg I've been in the same
situation a few times, too. It isn't necessary to change everything at
once. Start by changing just a few bad habits at a time. Take a look at
your current diet and determine where you can introduce healthier foods such
as diet drinks instead of the calorie laden type, fruit instead of sugary
snacks, whole grain breads instead of white bread, etc. You might want to
use www.fitday.com to track your daily intake. It's free but you will need
to register. Many of us use this site or their pc software version (it
costs around $20). It will total your calories and give you the
protein/carb/fat ratios.

Life changes are continuous and we just need to learn to adjust our
lifestyles to maintain healthy eating and exercise programs. What is your
motivation for wanting to lose the weight? If it's health related then
think what life will be like in a few years if you don't take action now.
Mine was to prevent health issues as my family gene pool is saturated with
heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. I didn't want to end up like many of
my relatives and so far I've been able to avoid health problems.

What type of exercise are you planning? You don't have to become an
exercise fanatic to stay healthy. Walking is a great exercise and easy to
work into your daily life. Take the stairs instead of elevators or
escalators, choose those parking spaces farthest away from your destination,
walk to run errands within a mile of home, etc. Buy some dumbbells and do
some simple weight training at home. Here's a site we love in the group.
www.stumptuous.com/weights.html You'll find excellent exercise and diet
information here. Find a sport or type of exercise you enjoy. You'll find
it makes exercise enjoyable. I happen to like biking and do it as often as
possible. I've also found that working out with weights improves my biking
skills and endurance so I tolerate weight trainingg

I hope you'll stick around the group. You'll find lots of information and
encouragement. Getting started is one of the hardest steps in weight loss
so "Get Moving"!

Beverly

Thanks Beverly,
I downloaded the fitday software last night and have entered measurement,
goals, pretty much everything I could in it. Tonight I'm going to a party so
I'm not going to be too hard on myself if I indulge, but I did make sure my
contributions to the food was quasi-healthy (cole slaw and corn and black
bean salsa). I've started being better about the soda, drinking more water,
I don't fry foods (almost never, fried fish about 6 months ago) I try to
steam or nuke most veggies and pan cook or bake most meats. Maybe I need to
plan another trip to Scotland..;-)
My mom is diabetic so that is a big motivator. Plus, I'm tired of feeling
blah and crappy all the time. I want to feel good, I want to look good and I
am capale of doing it, if I can just stick with it.
Debi (I know I can, I know I can..)

"Beverly" wrote in message
...
Knowing what we need to do to lose weight is a fine but until we put those
things into motion we don't lose one poundg I've been in the same
situation a few times, too. It isn't necessary to change everything at
once. Start by changing just a few bad habits at a time. Take a look at
your current diet and determine where you can introduce healthier foods
such
as diet drinks instead of the calorie laden type, fruit instead of sugary
snacks, whole grain breads instead of white bread, etc. You might want to
use www.fitday.com to track your daily intake. It's free but you will
need
to register. Many of us use this site or their pc software version (it
costs around $20). It will total your calories and give you the
protein/carb/fat ratios.

Life changes are continuous and we just need to learn to adjust our
lifestyles to maintain healthy eating and exercise programs. What is your
motivation for wanting to lose the weight? If it's health related then
think what life will be like in a few years if you don't take action now.
Mine was to prevent health issues as my family gene pool is saturated with
heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. I didn't want to end up like many
of
my relatives and so far I've been able to avoid health problems.

What type of exercise are you planning? You don't have to become an
exercise fanatic to stay healthy. Walking is a great exercise and easy to
work into your daily life. Take the stairs instead of elevators or
escalators, choose those parking spaces farthest away from your
destination,
walk to run errands within a mile of home, etc. Buy some dumbbells and do
some simple weight training at home. Here's a site we love in the group.
www.stumptuous.com/weights.html You'll find excellent exercise and diet
information here. Find a sport or type of exercise you enjoy. You'll
find
it makes exercise enjoyable. I happen to like biking and do it as often
as
possible. I've also found that working out with weights improves my
biking
skills and endurance so I tolerate weight trainingg

I hope you'll stick around the group. You'll find lots of information and
encouragement. Getting started is one of the hardest steps in weight loss
so "Get Moving"!

Beverly