Topic : Staying Motivated

 I'm posting different things on each of these threads on the the LOSING WEIGHT board. We're using Dr Phil's book because the goal is not just losing the weight, it is keeping it off. This is my first week on my latest, and last weight loss program. This week is getting in touch with my body image and setting goals.  You can refer to the other sites to see what I am doing.

STEP 1: Get real about your fat, or get real fat. -from chapter one, ULTIMATE WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTION.

 That's got to be the ultimate motivation! My applause and best wishes for a safe and productive surgery go out to you and your son. Be well.

Thank you for replying and giving me your best wishes! 

  

I am so excited I Joined and found people with my kind of problems! I have been overweight since I broke my back & had a total histerectomy in 1998...all with in 6 months, I was out of commision for about 2.5 years. I had had enough, I couldn't hardly even get up and walk with out huffing & puffing...my heart puonding from having virtually no muscle tone. I started out slowly but last year when I started to read Dr. Phils books...I just got so motivated and went gung ho! Now I can be on the eliptical machine for 30 min. and do my work out with hardly no Huffing and puffing! 

I hope to one day be able to have the chance to talk to large groups of people with my kind of problems and help them realize their own dreams and aspirations in loosing weight and getting motivated! 

  

With love and hope 

Erica 

You already have admitted that you think you are lazy........Well if you are...get up and start doing things that you enjoy! Like walking.....here's a fun one....window shopping ( not saying that you buy anything but to walk around and look is burning calories!) cleaning your house, crafts...things like this that you love to do, it's all burning calories. Then you do not have to worry about getting bored and falling off the wagon! 

I like to put a rule for my TV watching.....I do exercises to my favorite programs, Sunday it is extreme home makeover, & Friday's it's Three wishes and so on and so forth! Not only does the time fly but I am getting in shape while I watch! 

I waisted so much time being in bed and laying around, now I am 33 and it is so hard to take the weight off. Yes the older you get the harder it is! 

But you are the WONDERFUL age of 22...wow if my life was in rewind I would definitely keep myself in better shape and keep the weight off! 

I hope I have helped a bit...please contact me if you need ANYTHING! 

  

Love & Hope 

Erica 

Dear Elizabeth, 

  

          I was at one point an overweight teen, I was called Mrs. Piggy even by my relatives, they meant no harm ....but it hurt just the same. I was an early bloomer... I grew to a size 12-14 and had size double d breasts bu the time I was in 5th grade. I loved the taste of food, my parents always had dinner parties or bbq's, my mother is Mexican-American Indian, it is in our tradition to feed people to make them feel better or to comfort them or just to eat food that tastes good! I can remember when I was 10 to the age of 14, I would sit down to eat, I would completely stuff myself till I felt I would have to have a bowl movement, I would take a trip to the bathroom go.....then all of a sudden I felt as though I had a bunch more room to eat...so back to the dinner table I would go to eat a bunch more. Ya know what? Not one person told me ever that I was eating too much or that I needed to slow down, and They would in fact give me desert after I had just eaten enough for an army!  Then when I was 14 the summer before I went into high school, I felt like know one would like me if I was fat! So I continued my sports BUT I slowed down on my food, I ate slowly and when I started feeling full I stopped eating. I drank one 6 oz glass of water before I ate and made sure I chewed my food real good, and ate 5 or 6 small meals a day to keep my metabolism going strong! That was it by the time I went to my first day of the 9th grade I was a size 7 and everyone stared at me and couldn't believe that it was me, now I was skinny and had big breasts which made me look thinner, and it didn't take me much to get there! 

So hang in there, be active in sports or anything that involves movement of some kind, make sure you do that movement for at least 30 min 4 times a week, drink a glass of water before you eat and chew your food slowly and real good and only eat till you are the slightest bit full, and try not to eat unless you are hungry.....but make sure you eat 5 or 6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism up and going. 

Get in a GREAT support group or talk to a friend  that might understand where you are coming from, and last but most important keep reading these message boards, they are a great source of inspiration and knowledge. Dr. Phil is the most important person in my life right now, next to my family. There is just something about a person who knows what we are going through and understands us and most importantly, can get us in the right direction & on the right path! 

  

Hang in their Kiddo! 

Love & Hope 

Erica 

 I wrote my goals on Friday. I weighed myself this morning, as I do every Sunday morning, and I've lost 3 1/2 lbs!

I know that most of that, or even all of that, is water. I have sensitivites to wheat which cause me to retain water and other things, and I had eaten plenty of wheat based foods the week before. So it was the old first week, losing retained water, fast on-fast off weight that I lost, but it still helps to motivate you. This next week will be getting down to the regular fighting for every pound that weight loss truly is.

My target date for goal completion is Tax Day, April 15. That gives me a realistic 1/12 to 2 lbs per week to lose, plus a couple weeks thrown in for sidetracks or plateaus. However, I will keep at it UNTIL I reach my goal. Dr Phil wants you to set a date, which is something I never really did. I always just figured when I got there I got there. Maybe that's why I never arrived?

I find bigger message boards overwhelming. If you are inerested in weight loss and want a small group please join us http://groups.msn.com/ThinkPlanDO/general.msnw

 I lost 1 1/2 lbs last week, for a total of 5 lbs now. I know that if I had stayed away from a couple of cookies, some frenchfries, and a couple of other lures, and if I had worked out everyday instead of 5 days, it would have been 2 lbs. But I'm happy, it's progress and any progress is good. I'm feeling much better and getting back to my old level of workouts again.
Chapter 4 was illuminating, on to chapter 5 and further weight loss.

Hello Elizabeth! 

   Not sure what sorts of activities you enjoy doing, but this is a fun one I enjoy, that can be done with friends, or on your own!! I dont know if I am allowed to put brand's on here, but its a 'video game' called Dance Dance Revolution, for Sony, or X-Box, or even your computer! You have a 'dance pad' and you move your feet when the arrows on the screen tell you to! Fun dance music, simple training exercises, games, and a workout mode to count calories! I have droped nearly 6 pant sizes in 2 months with this game 3-4 days a week, along with eating a little better! An extra I do, is use hand weights while I dance, adding to muscle tone, since the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn! I hope this suggestion helps! It sure is a fun one!  

   Oh, by the way, I am 25 years old, and being 'heavy' is in the family, so I am always having to keep an active lifestyle to keep keep my size, so that I am able to continue doing the things I love!  

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! 

Hope all your days are GREAT!!!!  I hope everyone has a GREAT day & has control over the temptations of the FOOD! I know I am going to try very hard too! 

  

Love & Hope! 

Erica