MyWeightLossForLife.com

Archive for January, 2007

These lines really jumped out at me.

“2. According to a study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, nearly half the 4,000 people responding to an online survey about obesity said they would give up a year of their life rather than be fat.

3. Between 15 percent and 30 percent also said they would rather walk away from their marriage, give up the possibility of having children, be depressed, or become alcoholic rather than be obese.

4. Five percent and 4 percent, respectively, said they would rather lose a limb or be blind than be overweight.”

Let me be the first to say… Damn!

Give up a year of my life? Leave my marriage? Give up a limb? People are willing to do a lot, just about anything, to avoid obesity. So why are so many people still obese?

If I could answer that one, I’d be a billionaire, and everyone would be healthy and happy with their bodies. I’ll tell you what I THINK though. I think that it’s way too easy to gain weight. You get a big meal for lunch, you eat it all, or most of it. Maybe you were taught to clean your plate; maybe you’re chit-chatting and you just eat it before you realize it; maybe it tastes good and you want it, even though you stopped being hungry five minutes ago. Whatever the reason, we eat more than we should. I know one of my triggers is being upset or depressed. If I’ve had a rough day, watch out. I’m likely to eat everything in sight and hardly even think about it.

Another problem I see is that everyone tells you how easy it is to lose weight. Flip through a magazine, or watch some commercials. In no time you’ll see some pills, a diet, a piece of exercise equipment, and all of them will tell you how fast and easy you can lose weight using them.

And it’s a lie.

They all may work. Just about anything will work if you do it. But it’s not easy, and it’s not fast. You’re not going to go from obese to 6 pack abs by lifting a few weights three times a week. You won’t get up in a month and be miraculously changed. You won’t buy the latest diet food and watch the weight melt off effortlessly. You’re going to have to work at exercising, work and giving up the foods you like and sticking with the diet.

It’s hard, and because it’s hard, we fail. And to make it worse, we feel guilty about failing because everyone keeps telling us how easy it is.

That’s why I started this blog. I believe that by making small changes you can slowly lose weight without the giant struggle that you face otherwise. No, you won’t get six pack abs or fit into that size 6 in weeks. But you won’t feel like a failure either.

read more | digg story

Sorry this is late in getting posted. We’ve been fighting off the flu here, so this has not been a good week!

And keeping flu season in mind, let’s do a different kind of habit this week. Do something nice for yourself every day, but be sure it’s not a food reward.

My thinking behind this is that I believe that people who struggle with their weight often aren’t very nice to themselves, in general. How many times have you beaten yourself up over eating something you shouldn’t? Do you postpone buying yourself clothes or other things you need until you lose weight? Do you fail to get your hair done, your nails, etc. because you’re overweight and don’t think you can look good?

Believe me, that’s an attitude you’ll have to lose if you’re going to eventually take off the weight.

You need to like yourself right now, for who you are, right now. That’s what this habit is about. Do something every day that’s nice for you. Get a haircut, but a new sweater, take a few minutes a read a book that you’ve been wanting to finish. It doesn’t matter what it is, just be sure it’s something you’ll enjoy.

For this week, let’s avoid the morning drive-thrus for breakfast. It’s way too easy to pick up a biscuit and hashbrowns every morning, and way too many calories. Instead, grab a bite at home or take something along to eat once you get to work.
In case you’re wondering how bad it can be, check out some of these calorie counts.

• a sausage mcgriddle sandwich at McDonald’s: 400 calories. (No, that does not include egg and cheese)
• One McDonald’s hash brown: 150 calories
• Burger King enormous omelet sandwich: 740 calories. (Sure glad I didn’t have one of those last week. That’s a whole weeks’ worth of guilt right there!)
• Burger King large hash rounds: 390 calories
• Hardee’s loaded omelet biscuit: 640 calories
• Hardee’s hot ham and cheese: 420 calories

I tend to make one or two fast food stops a week for breakfast, so that’s an obvious place to cut out some calories. Let’s try it for a week, shall we?

This is an interesting article. The author started experiencing aches and pains and even muscle spasms and attributed them to age (39! please…). It turns out that he was simply dehydrated and found relief by increasing his water consumption.

I have heard that even mild dehydration can cause you to feel tired or hungry, but I had never read before that it could cause aches and pains. Regardless, if you’re drinking water, you have less chance to drink sugared or high-calorie drinks, so that’s a bonus.

A note of caution. Some people drink inordinately large amounts of water, which can be dangerous. I’m sure most of you have heard about the young woman who died from drinking too much water too quickly. As with everything, moderation is the key. There’s no need to guzzle water all day long, but increase how much you drink and see if you feel better or are able to cut out some empty calories.

read more | digg story

I won’t say never eat these, but they definitely deserve a pause and a rethink. But then again, I’m not much on complete deprivation!

I’m an ice cream fan, but I only indulge in the good stuff (Ben and Jerry’s or Dove mentioned here) rarely. It’s terribly fattening, but too good to give up altogether. Once every few months gets me my “fix” with minimum of guilt.

In my opinion, the chicken pot pie just isn’t worth over 1000 calories. It’s good (I’ve had them), but not nearly good enough to warrant that amount of calories and fat. Homemade is much better, and way less fattening!

Some of the other foods on this list are no doubt good, but I’d have to hesitate before indulging. Others, like the 4 patty cheeseburger, just won’t make it to my plate regardless. Give me a single cheeseburger any day, and I’ll be happy.

I’m still a kid at heart, so giving up on chicken noodle soup just ain’t gonna happen!

This type of article makes me think about how enormous portion sizes have become. Of course, just because you’re served a large portion doesn’t mean you have to EAT all of it. Forget about being a member of the clean plate club. You can have that slice of cheesecake for dessert if you split it with your honey. Or indulge in the pot pie but eat half of it along with a green salad. You get the idea. If there’s something you enjoy but it’s fattening, just try eating less of it. I’ve found that this works remarkably well for me. I still cut calories, and I don’t feel as if I’ve deprived myself.

read more | digg story

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about feeling positive about myself and how that affects how well I do with my eating and exercise. (Note I didn’t say diet.) I believe a diet is temporary but making small changes isn’t.

I am very much an emotional eater. Happy? Celebrate by eating out. Upset? Comfort myself with something sweet. Bored? Salty junk food. Tired? Sugary energy fix.

You get the pattern.

What I’ve also realized is that when I feel good about myself, and what I’m doing, I tend to stick with my healthy eating plans much better. Afternoons are prime snack times for me because (more…)

First off, I have no idea if this works,or if there are any side effects. My concern is simply that it’s yet another quick-fix to the problem of obesity that so many of us are dealing with.

I believe, and have learned through my own experience, that small “baby step” changes are the easiest to do and to maintain. No, I haven’t lost pounds and pounds over the last weeks, but at last weigh-in (about 10 days ago), I’d managed to make it through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays without gaining weight. I’m kinda proud of that.

As I’ve said before, I’m no doctor or health professional of any kind, but I am someone who’s struggled with weight most of my life. What I’ve found is that simple, small changes are the best for long-term success.

read more | digg story

So, we’ve cut out second helpings, reduced our sugared drinks and number of sweet treats. For this week, let’s concentrate on junk food. For me, that usually means salty snacks. Let’s try to cut them out (or at least, eat less of them) for this week.

And how have you done with the habits we’ve tried out so far? Here’s mine…

• Second helpings: I’ve done very well with this one. I rarely now eat second helpings, maybe once a week, if that. This is one habit that I’m particularly proud of developing.
• Sugared drinks: I’ve replaced my sugared tea at lunch with diet tea or milk. This one was a bit tougher, but I’ve managed to do it most work days. On the weekends, I sometimes still indulge in sugared soda.
• I can’t honestly say I reduced the number of sweets I eat by much. This one is particularly difficult for me, but it’s a habit I’ll have to try again.

Post your updates and let everyone know how your new habits are coming along.

This is an interesting article about some super-healthy foods that everyone should be eating on a regular basis. I was surprised to see a couple of them on the list (celery, for one).

read more | digg story

This is really too much. I sometimes get frustrated seeing all the ads for concoctions that supposedly make the pounds “melt” off, knowing that most, if not all, of them are the modern equivalent of snake oil. But telling girls that being anorexic is good? You’ve got to be kidding me. Don’t girls (and boys, for that matter) get enough pressure to look perfect without something like this too? Turn on the television, right now, and start thumbing through the channels and take a good look at the shows that a teenager might be watching. Look at the girl’s magazines the next time you’re in the grocery checkout. I promise you won’t feel terribly good about the experience.

This type of thing is what made me want to start this blog in the first place. I believe that it’s not only possible, but more likely, to lose weight by making small, healthy changes that you can really stick with. Even more important, it’s crucial that women and men stop judging their appearance and worth by the number on their bathroom scale. Endeavor to do something every day to improve your health, and be happy with yourself, as you are right now. Don’t wait until you’ve achieved the “perfect” body to like yourself. You deserve it today, not someday.

read more | digg story