Hello hello everyone!! Advice needed

Good morning everyone!  My name is Michelle and this is the first time I've posted on this message board.  I was all gung-ho for the lap band, but my insurance doesn't cover it right now, and we don't have the money to pay for it, so I'm seriously going to be busting my butt trying to lose some of this weight.  I have platued for the past 3 years at the same weight--250ish.  I was up to 309, but was able to take that weight off by diet and exercise.  But I need help getting back on track.  We don't have money for a gym membership.  I have a Wii Fit, Treadmill, and Gazelle here at my house.  I have a pedometer, and I take at least 11,000 steps a day (which isn't hard to do when chasing toddlers around at work).  I really want to lose as much weight as possible by August (my 10 year class reunion), but I also need to take the weight off for myself and my family.  I am constantly hungry all the time (hence the reason I want the lap band).  I'm addicted to sweet stuff (I drink diet pop, and I can't have splenda--messes with my body).  I need help on how to get back on track.

Thanks for any advice!
Oh, and while I'm thinking about it....I've recently started to like tea, but it's not sweet enough for me.  I add two teaspoons of sugar to it.  What can I add that would be more healthy?  Thanks!

Hi Michelle! Welcome!

Far as the sugar thing in drinks...ideally, wean away and make yourself drink water.  It's kind of crazy what we do:  look for low cal, sugar free, hey why no****er????

have you tried ice water with fresh lemon? Not bad, really! There are also many herb teas that are not bad at all:  raspberry, hibiscus is sweet, green tea with lemon, etc. Just try a few - even mix some!

I also think the less sweets we ingest, even if artificial, the less we want them - of course the learning curve is brutal - not easy!!!!

Some people like Stevia - a leaf that is used to sweeten in Japan, Philipines, etc. One leaf in a cup of tea is supposed to be great. 

As far as your 10,000 steps a day, unfortunately, work chasing does not *really* count! I had a similar physical jobs (worked in factories, commercial kitchens most of my life) and my weight would go up/down.  You do need to get in even a 20-30 minute walk or the like most days, plus try to get some amount of conditioning in 2x weekly.

Above all, what you eat is more than 80% of this equation...so focus on that is nothing else! Exercise keeps us feeling better and looking more toned, but do not put too much stock into weight loss!

I also have appetite issues...stick around...I'll be among one of the first to tell you to try to eat higher protein/higher fat and far less of not zero grains for a while - you will be surprised how much less hungry you will feel.  Keep fresh fruit to 1 piece a day for a while.

Many of us have come to realize that with insulin/metabolic issues, the less high carb foods we eat, the less we eat! Kind of in line with my statement above about eating sweeter things! We find that we need to wean away from grains, fruits, obviously added sugar foods like drinks, desserts, etc.

Whew...you asked for advice!!!!! ha ha...happy reading! we all hold each other up around here...all easy to type, hard to do, right????

 thank you for replying!  i do drink a lot of water every day.  i just can't handle water in the morning (my stomach rejects it--always has...no idea why).  i love water with lemon.  my body has a love/hate relationship with water, so somedays it is much easier to ge****er down than others.  

i love raspberry tea.  i think my problem with the tea is they aren't strong enough in flavor, and i find that the sugar pulls the flavor out a bit more.  i am trying to wean myself off the sugar slowly in the tea--i've gotten myself down from three teaspoons.  hmmm, i'll have to try mixing some.  i hadn't even thought about that.  and i'll be on the lookout for stevia.

i'm going to start taking walks during my lunch hour to help get in my exercise, and i get on my wii fit every morning (well, almost every morning--i've missed the last two).  it is just so hard trying to find time in the evenings to do anything.  i usually end up getting home about 6:30 (overtime--never get out on time it seems), by the time dinner is made and everything, it's time for my son to go to bed, and my husband is right behind him by 8 since he has to get up at 3 in the morning for work.  i usually go to bed at the same time as him, since i can't sleep if he's already asleep (snores).  

as far as what i eat, i have been trying to eat better.  for breakfast i'll usually have cheerios (or a version of them), oatmeal, or i will eat breakfast at school.  lunch i always eat at school with my kids.  dinner is usually something quick, unless i gotten it together in the crock pot.  we eat a lot of chicken, rice, and pasta here.  i know the rice and pasta prolly aren't the best, but it's cheap.  i do need to look into whole wheat pasta.  i know i really need to sit down and just re-evaluate everying that i've been doing lately.  

thank you so much for all your advice.  it is very easy to type, but so hard to do.  but it is one step at a time/one day at a time, right?  

You lost 50 pounds through diet and exercise before so I'm sure you can do it again.  Not knowing what your previous formula for success was, it's hard to know what works for you.  Basically, if it worked before, it will probably work again.  That said, here's what I would recommend.

1.  Sugar, in any form, will trigger appetite in most of us.  I would limit carbs and NEVER eat a carb which isn't balanced against some protein.  In fact, my rule is "protein first."  Even now, I always eat protein first followed by a slice of bread or whatever. 

2.  Write down everything you eat and track your calories.  You have access to the internet so this shouldn't be a problem finding calorie counts (I use Calorie King - it's free).  Additionally, just about everything you buy today in a package or can has calorie counts.  Measure and weigh your food.  You can get a good food scale for $20.

3.  Exercise - you gotta have a plan.  You have all kinds of stuff at home.  I would make a schedule and use those tools.  Decide that you will do a workout either before or after work.  I do mine before work and then after dinner I go for a two mile walk, every night.

4.  Weigh yourself every day.  Lots of folks don't do this because of fluctuations but accountability while dieting is really important.  When I see my weight has gone up, I make sure that I work extra hard to stay on plan.  And related to that, I try to avoid loose fitting clothing, particularly pants with elastic waist bands.  These things just allow you to grow in girth because they will always fit you!  If you buy fitted clothing then you have some accountability through your clothes. 

5.  Limit salt (sodium).  It causes bloating and water retention and many of us are sensitive to it.

6.  Set reasonable goals - like 1 to 1.5 pounds per week of weight loss. 

7.  And Finally, create incentives for your success.  I have incentive clothing.  I buy a dress or blouse or jeans that are too small and I hang them on the back of my closet door and I work really hard so that I can wear that piece of clothing I really like.  For you, a good incentive would be something for the reunion. 

Good Luck!

 thank you for responding!  you know, the scary thing about the last time was i cut out all regular pop (went to the diet), and that was about it.  i got my pedometer and started getting up to 10,000 steps a day (i worked a desk job and was lucky to get in 2,000 steps a day), and did one or two workouts a week.  i didn't really change my eatting habits that i remember.  it was really strange that i lost all that weight without really working for it.

i was keeping track of my eating, but it went by the wayside a week or two ago.  i'll look into calorie king.  i know how easy it is to put something in my mouth and forget it ever went in there.

i think i am goign to start getting up a bit earlier in the morning so that i can do some exercise.  i just wish there was a way to silence the beeps on my treadmilll--i'm afraid it'll wake up my son (light sleeper)

i only own two pair of elastic band pants, and they are both my workout pants.  many of my clothes are handed down to me from my SIL who is losing weight, so i have been getting rid of my larger clothes so i don't have an "escape route" as it goes with clothes.  if my current clothes get too tight, then i'm in trouble.  

i do try to limit my sodium.  when i buy canned items, i always go for the low sodium ones, and i try to check labels and get whatever brand has the lower sodium.  my dad was put on a low sodium diet eons ago, so i've been checking labels for sodium ever since i moved out.  funny how some things just stick with you.

one of my biggest incentives was, when i hit 200 pounds, i was going to go have a day at a spa and get pampered (never had that done before).  i of course never got there, but it's still something i want to do.  i have this beautiful dress i got last summer for a wedding, and i will most likely wear that for the reunion, but i want it to have to be altered so it fits me perfectly.  it would be great if i got told it couldn't be altered enough for me, and i had to go buy a new dress.  i know, i think strangely sometimes.  :)

Michelle,

You may want to try a gluten-free diet for a while and see what happens.  I have been amazed at our family's results over the past 10 months.  Best of all, it doesn't "feel" like a diet at all!  Some people who have excess weight have Celiac Disease and don't know it.  There is a blood test that can be run, but if you don't have any other health issues, it is possible that you are just gluten sensitive.

The reality is that SO many more people are Gluten-Sensitive than have actual CD, but a person has to have a CD screen run first to determine if they do, indeed, have it.  Only 3% of people who have CD actually know that they have it, yet almost 1% of the general population is believed to have it.  That's a LOT of undiagnosed Celiacs!

If you go to www.celiac.com , there is a link there which lists all of the health conditions which are known and suspected to be associated with untreated Celiac Disease.  If you have 2 or more of those conditions, you are more likely to have CD.  Many people have their blood tests come back negative for CD, yet they still have problems, so they try a Gluten-Free diet.  If their symptoms clear up, they can safely assume that they are gluten sensitive.

The best thing about the GF diet is that we have been able to eat ALL of the foods that we love - REAL ranch dressing, baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, and cheese, Snickers bars, ice cream, chicken-fried steak with gravy, etc. - the only difference is that the flours that we use when cooking are gluten free (you can find these in many different stores or online).  We have been eating "full" fat foods (real butter, sour cream, cheese, etc.) and have actually lost weight and seen our bloodwork numbers come down significantly.  My doctor (PCP) was skeptical, but the results don't lie, and now she is looking into the GF lifestyle as "the way to go" for all of her patients!

I don't know where you live, but chances are that you have a Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) chapter nearby.  They can be a wonderful source of information, and most GIG's offer a Restaurant Guide that tells you what is "safe" at various restaurants.  Now, be aware that if you want to have the same results as we have, you CANNOT eat any gluten whatsoever - there is no such thing as "gluten lite"......

My suggestion would be to request your doctor to run a Celiac Screen for you, and then do a "trial" GF diet.  You will want to do it for at least a couple of weeks, preferably for a month.  Don't be discouraged if your weight "yo-yos", because what will be happening is that your body will be converting fat cells into muscle, and muscle mass weighs more.  The weight loss will be slow, but it will be steady over time.  I have "lost" 5 pounds, then "regained" it over and over due to this process, but the net result has been a 37 pound loss over a period of 10 months.  I would probably have lost more, but I like to drink Cokes, and I don't like to exercise.......

My husband told me that if I DID quit the Cokes and started exercising, I could probably lose weight faster, but I told him that I am "conducting a scientific experiment", and I can only have one variable.  Nobody believes me when I tell them that I am losing weight simply by eliminating gluten, so I am going to see how far this takes me.  So far, so good!  I am confident that I will be able to lose most, if not all, of my excess weight - it may take 3 or 4 years (maybe 5 or 6), but I figure it took me a while to put it on, so I can be patient.

Also, my skin isn't sagging like you see in so many people who lose weight so quickly on WLS.  Since I am eating so much dietary fat, my skin is actually kind of glowing now, and my face is nice and soft.  Plus, some of the complications that I have read about several years after surgery sound EXACTLY like the conditions that are seen in people with untreated CD - it can't be a coincidence that both situations involve malabsorption.  The main difference is that one of them (CD) is very treatable.  Even with a reversal, someone who has had WLS will NEVER get all of their intestinal tract back, so there will always be some form of malabsorption - not something I want to do at all......

One other website that you may want to check out is www.junkfoodscience.com - a whole lot of food myths are debunked there, including the one about dietary fat causing heart disease.  There are LOTS of interesting articles on that site that you may find very interesting; I know I did!

Good luck, and please keep me updated!  I am always available to answer questions.  PM me, and I will send you my contact information -

Teresa Koch
Fort Worth, Texas