Weight Loss

Water and hydration is very key for me in this area!  Lots of Magnesium with Potassium and salt and electrolytes help with everything:  weight control, shortness of breath, energy.  I also get great results drinking coconut water and peppermint water.

I'll take some of that weight! No joke. I will have had my permanent 2 years in October and I'm stuck at 148.  Serious. I can't gain. I can't lose either which is good.  And I eat alot.  But like poucho said. I don't want it all in my midsection. If I turn sideways you can't see me!  My friends throw that joke at me.  But they are friends so I take it as a joke.  But it does make me self conscious about my weight.  

After this long and no progress I've pretty well accepted that this is where I will be.  

Just the  flip  side of the coin.  Not  so great either. 

Richard. 

When I left the hospital after my j-pouch surgery in 1993 I weighed 103 pounds. I looked like a skeleton. At first I had no appetite and had to force myself to eat. Eventually the appetite returned and I was in the habit of eating even when I wasn't hungry. Twenty years later, and a few years into menopause I topped out at 156. That was more than my highest pregnancy weight of 152. I read a book called Mindless Eating and started making some changes based on ideas from this book. I bought smaller dishes to use for ice cream . I use the bigger ones for soup and salad. I started drinking tea or water with a splash of lemon in place of sodas. I try to keep the fresh fruits and veggies convenient and the junk food where it requires effort to get. It took about 5 years to get back to 127 but it hasn't been that hard. Small changes can make a big difference over time.

Annikki posted:

Unfortunately as we age our metabolism slows down.  It's really up to you whether or not you choose to eat in a more healthy manner.  Diet is 80% of the battle.

Is it our metabolism or do we become less active....... We no longer run for the bus or dash up those stairs, we walk at a leisurely pace that's comfortable, yet our consumption of food and drink, whether junk food or not, remains the same.

Once the unwanted body fat has been amassed, unless accompanied by a strenuous exercise programme, calorie counting, smaller portions and bowl size will take forever to lose the fat.

Eating when not hungry can be a sign of dehydration, our brain confuses the signs of thirst with that of hunger, so we eat, normally accompanied with a drink, which provides a tempory fix; I've experienced this my self.

I say fat, as thats what creates the body size and weight of what we want to lose.

I'm slightly heavier than what I'm comfortable with, I dont technically need to lose weight but I do need to shed body fat and tone up; therefore, it's not necessarily weight that I need to lose but fat, which does equate to weight; although what fat I burn off, will be offset by muscle mass, thus I'll probably weigh the same as when I started when I've shed the flab.

This is the same for everyone, not just sportsman, athletes or bodybuilders.

I am neither fat nor thin but fit...since I'm a professor I get summers off...and I spend 3hrs/day working out in the pool. I climb stairs at home (very, very slowly...up to 60xs a morning...) and mix it up with pilates  and yoga...doing more or less daily according to my pain level (I am never without pain, I just push through it as best I can and sometimes it eases my pain).

I am a compulsive sugar-a-holic who binge eats ice cream and chocolate...so I fight my weight daily since I have no self control .

It is a balancing act....I don't eat solids before noon, just water, juice, coffee and some fruit mid-mornings....that allows my pouch to clear out and rest my system daily...this is not for everyone but it works for me.

I try to avoid sugars before late afternoon most days...and eat healthy meals 8/10 times.

This is how I fight the good fight...a "balance" between intake and output... pleasure and responsibility...what I eat versus what I burn...and as much muscle as I can build (not much at my age) through non impact sports and passive resistance. 

Most of the time I avoid sodas, fried foods,  prepared and junk foods...that pretty much leaves me with home cooked and healthy quick foods (natural yogurts, whole grain breads, real cheeses, fruits, nuts and veggies)...

I am no angel but know that I was born with 3 strikes against me and have an uphill battle to get healthy.

Everything in moderation including moderation.

Sharon