Digital Dissapointment

[Anastasia]

Hello everybody,

   After a lot of discussion (about 5 min) my wife decided to buy a digital camera. Today was the first day I had the house and camera to myself so I did the normal thing. I dressed as well as I could and took some pictures. Then I changed and took some more pictures. Then I downloaded the pictures into the computer and began looking at the attractive woman in the pictures....

   
     Well, it's a good thing I really didn't have an illusion of looking good, but--ohmygosh- do I relly look that,,,that bad?  I knew the hairy arms and chest would look bad (Wife said not just no, but Hell no to shaving) but I really didn't realize how much weight I have put on and how badly I carry it. I just thought that the scale was lying. There was no way I weighed 218 lbs. Well, ok, guess I do. I know that it is not very ladylike to mention my weight, but maybe with that information out on the all knowing INTERNET, I'll not go any higher ihopeihopeihope  .

     Guess it is time to go on a diet, or perhaps a life style change is needed to lose weight and get in shape. Now I feel guilty about the cookies and Choxie Chocolates I bought at the store today. I know I'll eat those before I change anything- after all waste not want not they say, or maybe waist not want not would be better. And to think, my 10 year old daughter wonders why speling is impotent. 

    Thanks for listening to me ramble. I am a little depressed about my weight. I have to go, I have cookies and chocolate to eat and ribs smoking on the grill. (hmmm....wonder if there is a connection...) Seriously, would 170 lbs by spring be a reasonable goal? I haven't weighed that since 1984, my sophomore year in high school.

Ya'll have a great evening
Anastasia

P.S. Is there a setting on the camera that might make me look thinner?

[Melissa]

I'm sorry.  Cameras can really make us look worse than we saw in our mind's eye, or even the mirror.  Truth be told, it does make it difficult to not be able to shave.  Perhaps you can lighten the hair with moisurizer or something so that it's less noticeable?  Weight loss would make a big difference as well, as you said.  I'm no expert, so I can't comment about your propose weight goal.  Good luck.

Melissa

[stephanie_craxford]

Guess it is time to go on a diet, or perhaps a life style change is needed to lose weight and get in shape. Now I feel guilty about the cookies and Choxie Chocolates I bought at the store today. I know I'll eat those before I change anything- after all waste not want not they say, or maybe waist not want not would be better. And to think, my 10 year old daughter wonders why speling is impotent. 

Bingo...

Many folks think that they need to diet to loose weight when in fact they have to make a lifestyle change as well.  Dieting alone will almost always fail.  Lifestyle changes don't have to be that complicated either.  By simply ready labels of the food that you buy and resolve to eat healthier will go a long way.  Not eating fast food is probably one of the best moves that anyone can make but at the same time can be one of those things that are difficult to resist.

Go for it what do you have to loose...

Steph

[Melissa]

Not eating fast food is probably one of the best moves that anyone can make but at the same time can be one of those things that are difficult to resist.

Plus it can save you a bundle of money.  If you do feel you need to pick something up, you can usually find healthy alternatives that are just as fullfilling.  Get a grilled chicken sandwich and substitute BBQ sauce for the Mayo.  Get a side salad (w/ lowfat or fat-free dressing) as those are now offered by many places.  Get a water for a drink.  Diet pop if and only if you have to have something sweet though.  Most places value meals only save you a few cents if at all.  Get a calculator if you want.  Getting the items separately and getting water will save money.  Oh, and be sure to treat yourself every once in a while.  It's better to include an unhealthy treat every now and then, than to scrap the whole diet.

Go for it what do you have to loose...

Um, some weight, but I'm sure that's what you meant.

Melissa

[stephanie_craxford]

Not eating fast food is probably one of the best moves that anyone can make but at the same time can be one of those things that are difficult to resist.

Plus it can save you a bundle of money.  If you do feel you need to pick something up, you can usually find healthy alternatives that are just as fullfilling.  Get a grilled chicken sandwich and substitute BBQ sauce for the Mayo.  Get a side salad (w/ lowfat or fat-free dressing) as those are now offered by many places.  Get a water for a drink.  Diet pop if and only if you have to have something sweet though.  Most places value meals only save you a few cents if at all.  Get a calculator if you want.  Getting the items separately and getting water will save money.  Oh, and be sure to treat yourself every once in a while.  It's better to include an unhealthy treat every now and then, than to scrap the whole diet.

Go for it what do you have to loose...

Um, some weight, but I'm sure that's what you meant.

Melissa

Yep - you read between the lines...

Steph

[Kate]

Truth be told, it does make it difficult to not be able to shave.  Perhaps you can lighten the hair with moisurizer or something...

You can bleach it too, though it tends to turn orangish. Still, much less noticable. I did that many years ago (arm hair), and it was an improvement at least.

[nonie]

My BF has gone from 210 to 170 in the last 5 or 6 months, by changing almost nothing except drinking water instead of pop, and eating Subway (with no mayo)  instead of any other fast food.  Though I think he lost a lot of it from being over-stressed, he's been feeling a whole lot better about himself lately and just changed jobs so the stress is gone too.

[Melissa]

My BF has gone from 210 to 170 in the last 5 or 6 months...

Cool.  Ok, I swear you're psychically hunting me now.   I went from 210 to 170 from Dec 2004-Apr 2005.  I gained about 10 pound of it back a little after and have maintained that weight ever since.

Melissa

[nonie]

Crazy   His weight was my fault though, he was 170 when he met me.  Then he tried to eat whenever I did, which is like 6 or 7 times a day, but instead of having a sandwich and some juice, he'd have 2 whole boxes of mac n cheese.

[LostInTime]

2 whole boxes?

His poor, poor arteries. 

[angelsgirl]

I went from 160 to 130 on the Weight Watchers point system about 2 years ago and I've only gained about 5 lbs back since then (read: since going back to college!).  Steph's right though it's a lifestyle change you'll need to make. Weight Watchers taught me how to change the way I eat, not just what I eat.  After awhile, I gained a better sense of how much of something I should be eating so I didn't have to rely on counting points or calories.  Mix that with a good dose of daily exercise (I walk at least 20-30 minutes every day) and the excess pounds should come off about 1-2 lbs a week. More than that can be unhealthy and as quick to gain back as they were to lose.  A good tip that I learned was to drink an 8oz glass of water if I felt hungry, because sometimes you're really only thirsty and you don't know it. I spend about a week feeling what I call "borderline hungry" but it faded quickly after that.  Eating slowly helped me to feel more full at the end of meal, because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to process the "full" signals that your stomach sends it. 

As for the hair, why did your SO say hell no to shaving?

Maybe you could talk to her about it again and explain that the presence of the hair makes you feel poorly about the way that you look.  No offense to your SO, but I would think a woman could understand that feeling!

Good luck!

[nonie]

Oh, yeah, eating slowly is definietly important.  If you eat quickly, your body takes that as a signal that you don't expect to see food again for a while, so it stores more of it.  Eating 5 small meals intead of 3 big meals is also a metabolism booster.  So is drinking a big glass of water right before bed - this will keep your metabolism going all night which makes you feel more energized when you wake up.  And never go to bed right after eating, stay up for a while to let that food burn off.  Find something that boosts your heart rate that you enjoy, like biking or playing sports, cuz if you find your exercize boring you're not going to stick to it.  I play Dance Dance Revolution, because for me running or jumping rope is boring and DDR is goal-oriented and interactive, and has the added bonus of making me better at finding the rythm in a song.  And reward yourself - if you have a craving, give in to it but only a little bit.  A craving is often caused by your body feeling like it's missing a certain nutrient - i.e. when you crave chocolate you may be low on manganese and anti-oxidants.  So unless you can figure out what nutirent you're missing and replace it from a healthier source, having a little of what you crave is not really a bad thing so long as you don't eat the entire box

[ssindysmith]

I lost 20lbs in two months, (205 to 180 goal is around 150 or less) I made the life style change, I am going to loose weight I want to look good in a tight fitting dress and I am going to do it, "I am woman hear me roar" 

[Anastasia]

Hello again,

    Thanks for all the tips. I have been looking at my life trying to see what I can change that would help. I think my biggest problem may be that I work in a grocery store and love to cook (dangerous combination when I get off work hungry). And that I frequently get a hamburger and fries at the snack bar. And the free refills on my morning coke (cann't give up that sugar/caffiene boost) but I will start refilling with water! I think the other big change will be no more second helpings-the first helping would be enough for most people. Also think I will clean the rust off my bike and try giving that a spin again-actually, when I stop to think about it, it was about the time the bike broke that my weight began creeping up.

I can cut out the drive through really easy though. My last trip to a fast food joint (not counting the in-store snack shop) was about 5 months ago for an egg McMuffin. Yaaa! something I can do quickly and easily to get started!!

As for the hair, why did your SO say hell no to shaving?

She said that was to feminine and that she likes to run her fingers through it. She's ok with me shaving my legs since that had obvious benifits for my feet.

Thanks for the encouragement. Maybe by spring I can be back into the size 10 jeans that I was wearing about 5 years ago.

Anastasia

[Brianna]

Hi. This Brianna - Susan's resident exercise fanatic. I would just like to remind everyone in this thread that diet is a temporary endevor at best without a commitment to exercise. 30 mins, 5 days a week minimumn.

bri

[cindianna_jones]

Hi. This Brianna - Susan's resident exercise fanatic. I would just like to remind everyone in this thread that diet is a temporary endevor at best without a commitment to exercise. 30 mins, 5 days a week minimumn.

bri

My doc has me walking briskly for one full hour every single day (no exceptions).  A few small changes in diet can typically make large changes in weight.  I stopped eating fries and after a while, fast food was of no interest at all.  Unfortunately, I am fighting the effects of medication which soak up the pounds.  So I have a double whammie to fight.  I'm looking forward to the cooler fall weather.  It will be a lot more enjoyable to get out and walk "the dog".

Cindi

[vicki f]

Brianna stole my thunder when she mentioned exercise. Although I'd recommend you start slow and work up to her 30/5 days, you can certainly see that it's worked for her--dynamite figure, Brianna.  Anyway, what I can add is that rewarding yourself--maybe with new clothing etc--could help.  Also, you could maybe compromise with your SO; trim and/or bleach the arm hair but keep the chest hair and just wear high collar blouses and sweaters for now?  Lotsa luck,  Vicki

[Louise]

Exercise is the only way to really keep trim and fit.  The only problem is that it takes discipline and if you are not used to it, it can be really hard to get up to a regular routine.  I do not exercise nearly enough as I should, but my wife has been exercising regularly for as long as I have known her--almost 40 years.  She does an hour of aerobics 4 or 5 times a week and after three children still weighs no more than 10 pounds more than the day we were married.

[Joseph]

my 10 year old daughter wonders why speling is impotent. 

LOL... that's hilarious.   

On the subject though I totally agree with Brianna (and everyone else who talked about exercise.)  In general I eat pretty well but recently haven't been exercising as much as I used to, unfortunately.  I'm about the same weight but probably only because I've lost muscle and gained fat.  Remember that your constitution can be as important as weight.  A lot of people can weigh a lot but still be incredibly healthy because so much of the weight is good stuff like muscle.  So don't be discouraged if the weight doesn't come off quickly - for people like me, it's hard to lose (or gain) weight.  For awhile, the only difference is the change in body composition.

Joseph