56lbs to lose (4 stone).... so far lost 3lbs.

[Brightmoon]

Hi everyone.

 

I have best part of 56lbs to lose. I am 50 years old.... 5ft tall..

 

I started weight watchers about 6 weeks ago and have lost 3lbs which is very demoralising. I am sticking to my points (22 points).

 

I have not been very well since I started WW so I have not done ANY exercise to accompany the new eating regime. I feel better now, but have anaemia and quite bad depression.. very bad in fact.. so get very tired and motivation is a problem.

 

Last week, at weight watchers.. I lost nothing.... I cannot understand why I am not losing anything when I have cut back loads on what I was eating.

 

I need to get motivated to start going for walks like I used to do last summer. I used to walk 4-5 miles 4 times a week.

 

Any way.. I am going to keep this thread as a kind of progress log. I am determined to change my weight... and wear the clothes I want to wear.

 

Not going to give up.

[curiousnycgirl]

There are many factors involved in weight loss - all of which WW teaches you.

 

1. are you eating the right foods within your points?

2. are you drinking enough water?

3. are you counting EVERYTHING - including those "BLTs" (bites, licks and tastes)?

 

WW had a really great online community that is free to participate in - I suggest you post there as well (of course you are always welcome here too!) - they may be able to help you more than we can.

 

Also give yourself a break - remember that as we get older, losing weight becomes WAY more difficult. Good for you that you are doing it now - 3 lbs is a great start - you need to start somewhere! It's all about baby steps in the right direction!

 

Good luck

[hotgurl]

Also I know people don't like to post weight but how much do you weigh?

 

I am at 21 points nad weight 152.

 

do you measure out everything. Flat cups? Do you have a food scale?

 

are you good about keeping points?

 

remember if you drink it ink it

If you bite it write it

if you nibble it scribble it

[Brightmoon]

Thanks curiousny and hotgurl.

 

I am loath to admit it but I am oooooooold now.. so losing weight is going to be hard. :(:(..ugh!

 

Curiousny... I know about the WW site and use it to log points and stuff but feel more comfortable and at home here... even if it is me just keeping a log of my progress.

 

I think I am diligent at logging what I eat. I cook everything myself from scratch and weigh and measure all the ingredients. I do drink lots of water. But guess I can always tighten things up a bit more.

 

Hotgurl, I weigh.. let me see now...erm.. 12stone and 12lbs at my last weigh-in. So that is.... 180lbs. I want to get down to 9 stone (126lbs) so I have 54lbs to lose. One of my collegues just came in and she said we should go for a walk lunch times... . I feel even more determined now.

 

:)Thank you both for your advice and support:). It is helping me get motivated.

[tman666]

Personally, I'm not one to measure out food in any way. But to each their own.

 

However, this stands without debate: you're missing half (and possibly more) of the weight loss puzzle by not exercising. Without consistent exercise, you're weight loss goals will probably never be realized.

 

You may lose a little bit of weight, but without exercising and consistently pushing yourself, your body will simply adapt to the lowered caloric intake. These adaptations will include: loss of muscle, insufficient hormone levels, lowered metabolic rate, etc. None of these are good for long term weight loss. You might see pounds dropping off the scale, but your body composition will likely not improve that much. If you're feeling depressed now, just wait to see how awful you'll feel after all of these things take effect.

 

If weight watchers is helping you clean your diet up and become "aware" of what you're putting in your body, then that's great. However, without sufficient nutrients and calories, you won't be able to sustain healthy weight (provided you're not masochistic) in the long term.

 

Exercising does not have to be complicated, especially when you're just starting out (or getting back into it). Simply getting outside and walking a mile a day will help out. You can do exercises at home like bodyweight squats, push ups, sit ups, superman holds, etc. Whatever you choose to do in the way of exercise, it will be a positive step forward.

[hotgurl]

Thanks curiousny and hotgurl.

 

I am loath to admit it but I am oooooooold now.. so losing weight is going to be hard. :(:(..ugh!

 

Curiousny... I know about the WW site and use it to log points and stuff but feel more comfortable and at home here... even if it is me just keeping a log of my progress.

 

I think I am diligent at logging what I eat. I cook everything myself from scratch and weigh and measure all the ingredients. I do drink lots of water. But guess I can always tighten things up a bit more.

 

Hotgurl, I weigh.. let me see now...erm.. 12stone and 12lbs at my last weigh-in. So that is.... 180lbs. I want to get down to 9 stone (126lbs) so I have 54lbs to lose. One of my collegues just came in and she said we should go for a walk lunch times... . I feel even more determined now.

 

:)Thank you both for your advice and support:). It is helping me get motivated.

 

You'll get there!. If you start walking even just 1/2 hr a day you'll start to feel better and lose weight.

 

Also about the bonus points for me if I eat all my bonus points I don't lose anything. I have to eat about 1/2 to lose. everyone is different.

[xpaperxcutx]

Never tried WW, but I've seen that most of their frozen products are high in sodium.

 

Anyways, if WW is helping you eat clean, you're probably detoxing and your body is adjusting to the changes.

 

You should definitely incorporate some kind of physical exercise into your regimen and start out walking or jogging or running. The thing is an average person's weight is a combination of fat, water, and muscle. If you're trying to lose fat and built muscle, start doing some form of cardiovascular workout to burn fat and build strength. Water weight always come off first, so you have to stay hydrated.

[mark982]

brightmoon, don't let the old age thing get to you. i'm the same age as you. eating correctly, plenty of water(i drink up to gallon and a half a day)and brisk walking will do wonders. throw in some gym time and you'll see the weight melt off. good luck.

[anne1707]

Never tried WW, but I've seen that most of their frozen products are high in sodium.

 

The WW diet can be done without going near any of the WW branded food. It can actually be done just through fresh meat, vegetables, fruit, etc - a healthy, balanced diet with sensible portion sizes.

[norajane]

I don't know what WW says about starchy carbs (like breads and pastas) and sugar, but I've found it helps me to lose weight if I minimize those to the extent possible. It doesn't mean I never eat them, just am careful not to do it often or much. They have no nutritional value anyway, so aren't the best fuel for your body, and have an impact on your blood sugar (which makes you hungry shortly after eating them).

 

Since you're anemic, you obviously need more iron so make sure you're eating shrimp, clams, turkey and beef.

 

But, yeah, you need to exercise and build some muscle so your metabolism is higher. Walking is good, but that won't really do much for building muscle, so weight bearing exercises like push-ups, squats, and lunges are a simple start. Go to YouTube and search on 8 Minute Legs and 8 Minute Buns - that guy is kinda goofy, but those are simple exercises you can learn to help you get started on muscles building (and they will burn calories, because you are making your muscles work, especially as a beginner). You can get some hand weights - there's an 8 Minute Arms video too.

 

I'd also recommend that you get the tape measure out and take your measurements now, and then check them every few weeks. That may be a bit more accurate in terms of losing weight than your scale, since your scale doesn't say anything about water weight fluctuations nor muscle vs. fat body composition. You're really interested in getting into a smaller size, anyway, so it's the inches that matter more than the actual weight. Muscle weighs more than fat, but is more compact, so your scale might not show improvement but the way your clothes fit will.

[Lipsy10]

 

I started weight watchers about 6 weeks ago and have lost 3lbs which is very demoralising. I am sticking to my points (22 points).

 

 

Last week, at weight watchers.. I lost nothing.... I cannot understand why I am not losing anything when I have cut back loads on what I was eating.

 

 

I've had simular problems. Id practically starve myself for a couple of weeks and lose only 1/2lbs or nothing at all. Very demoralising. I had to overhall my whole diet, stop drinking and started walking alot. I also decided not to weigh myself for at least a month to keep my spirits up.

 

Keep at it Brightmoon it will be worth it in the end

[tman666]

I don't know what WW says about starchy carbs (like breads and pastas) and sugar, but I've found it helps me to lose weight if I minimize those to the extent possible. It doesn't mean I never eat them, just am careful not to do it often or much. They have no nutritional value anyway, so aren't the best fuel for your body, and have an impact on your blood sugar (which makes you hungry shortly after eating them).

 

I don't mean to nitpick, and I do agree that the OP should probably limit carb intake at this point, but I disagree that starchy carbs have no nutritional value. There are plenty of great nutrients and phytochemicals that come from startchy carbs such as potatoes, rice, and other whole grains. While it's true that the refinement of these carbs in some products and diminish their nutritional value, saying that starchy carbs have no nutritional value is false.

 

A side note on potatoes: potatoes have (pretty much by far) the greatest ability to provide satiety out of most of the foods out there, plus their phytochemical concentrations are very high.

 

Timing is the most important thing with carbs. As you noted, carbs (and protein to some extent) trigger insulin. In simple terms, insulin is a hormone that plays a large role in "deciding" where energy is stored. The closer the body is to a resting state, the more energy is stored in the fat reserves. The closer the proximity to exercise (immediately before, during, and for some time after), the greater the chance that energy will be used or stored in muscle.

 

In short, food avoidence is a practice that can end up inadvertently excluding some important nutrients. As long as one pays attention to the timing, quantity (total caloric intake), and to some extent, quality of the food they eat, they'll be miles ahead of someone who simply cuts a food group from their diet.

 

Disclaimer: This applies to healthy people looking to stay healthy and lose fat, not to those with serious medical conditions that require certain foods to be excluded (i.e. people with celiac disease, etc.).

[GrayClouds]

With losing weight, attitude is everything and if your struggling with depression it make it twice as hard. Which makes the effort to get out and exercises everyday even more important. Nothing helps depression more then they endorphins that comes from moving the body with a little vigor, and nothing helps achievement your goals more then feeling a bit better about yourself.

[Lipsy10]

With losing weight, attitude is everything and if your struggling with depression it make it twice as hard. Which makes the effort to get out and exercises everyday even more important. Nothing helps depression more then they endorphins that comes from moving the body with a little vigor, and nothing helps achievement your goals more then feeling a bit better about yourself.

 

Well said GrayClouds

[BohemianLikeYou]

I'm very overweight too, and I really don't think the ability to lose weight hinges very much on age. My metabolism is in the crapper, and I've just resigned myself that it's going to take awhile for it to get a boost and for my body to start running better.

 

I've gone many years doing the yo-yo of eating really well and then eating processed crap. I will tell you something, I've never been someone who eats tons of food. I gained so much weight by eating the WRONG foods and not exercising. Processed food is such awful stuff, truly it is.

 

Here's a few things that have worked for me.

 

1. FIBER! I have been amazed at what eating more fiber has done for me personally. I make sure to get some soluble fiber in there (the stuff that sort of acts like a lubricant inside your gut to make things move) and I make sure to get the insoluble (the stuff that doesn't get broken down and bulks up your stool). A friend described getting fiber like creating a scrubber inside your intestines to clean out all the toxins and garbage that stick in it and get you feeling lethargic, tired, generally crappy. That made it click for me and since then, I've noticed how starchy foods with high gluten (pizza crust, white bread, crackers) make me feel like crap. It's like it really does 'stick' inside my gut and rot there. Fiber has been the number one thing to make me feel better, and it has honestly helped to start taking off weight (I am currently about 70lbs overweight but I was 100lbs).

 

2. Foods made from scratch. Seriously, the more you can cut out pre-packaged, processed foods, the better. I still eat muffins and cookies, but I make them from scratch with cane sugar and real ingredients. I cannot afford organic (I am on food stamps at the moment) but I can afford to just make as many things from scratch as I can. It seems overwhelming at first, but just start small. Learn a couple of recipes for light dinners and make those, then slowly add to your repetoire. Corn syrup and all these preservatives are really horrible stuff to put into your body, the more stuff you make from fresh ingredients the better. Beans are AWESOME.

 

3. Water. It's awful at first and you'll want to quit it, but stick with it. I was gagging on the stuff at first but I just kept doing it. I still am trying to wean myself off my Crystal Light Iced Tea (I'm suspicious of artificial sweeteners now) but I've worked so much water into my day now. I mainly think about it terms of keeping myself hydrated. I got more headaches and felt wretched before I started drinking more water. I never noticed how crappy I felt simply from being dehydrated.

 

4. Walking. Just become a robot and DO IT. Don't think ahead about how it might suck, or you don't feel like it, or it won't help, or it will take too long. Just 20 minutes a day to start will make a difference. The main difference it made for me is that it got my blood flowing better and it got my digestion working better. My extremities stopped feeling so heavy and I became more 'regular' in the bathroom almost immediately. Just 20 minutes a day. Get a pedometer, they're cheap. I love mine because now, the higher the number of steps I take, the more pride I feel, and the more I WANT that pride.

 

Try to focus on the things you do right and forget the slippages and mistakes. I slip now and again, I've had setbacks and fallen back into bad habits too. I've just stopped telling myself this makes me a bad person and a failure. Your weight loss journey will NOT be perfect. There are going to be mistakes, you're going to slip sometimes, you'll be tired and you'll doubt whether you can keep going. It takes a long time to change everything around and of course you're going to make some mistakes and falter a little. The more you dwell on mistakes, the worse you'll feel, the more apt you'll be to say "It doesn't matter if I eat this whole cake" and all that. Then it will spiral down. I've been there! Now I forgive myself, I accept it, and I get back up again. It's so important to get back up again and let the past mistakes go.

 

You mentioned depression. Are you seeing a therapist and is that an option? The most crucial thing for me has been getting on top of the issue of caring enough about myself to really work for myself. If you don't really FEEL you are worth that time, effort, and work then it won't stick. This is probably the hardest part for a lot of people and has been for me. I've had to work on myself in more way that eating better, I've had to learn to care for myself and change my opinion of who I am. If that's an issue for you, definitely think about therapy or better yet, the weight watchers meetings or maybe a local weight support group if there is one (I was surprised there are many in my own area, which is rather rural, and they were all free).

 

It IS POSSIBLE! Don't overwhelm yourself by keeping yourself under constant watch. I personally stopped weighing myself except for every 3-4 months and I started focusing more on how my body FEELS rather than how it LOOKS. It plugged me into the benefits of eating good food and getting exercise, and helped me connect with how foods made me feel. Give yourself room to change and take small steps to start, then build and build as things begin changing.

 

Good luck! I know I went on and on here, hope some of that was helpful!

[Not strong enough]

Honestly, sounds to me like your not trying hard enough. Walking will get you no where, it might get you tired...but thats about it. Weight watchers might take some money out your wallet and put a bad taste in your mouth.

 

Your 50 years old, so i understand, your joints probably are dry, and arent what they used to be, but that doesnt mean you cant run. You wont get your heart rate up walking, you need to run to raise your heart rate and your metabolic rate.

 

My friends had 6 knee surgery's and he still runs, he actually does 2 7.5 minute miles a night. Does he run around the block or do it on a tread mill, no he doesnt, because its to much stress on his knees. He does it on an elpitcal. Which is what you should be doing. Drop weight watchers and join a 24 hour gym.

 

I know what your gonna say, I dont have the confidence to run in front of others, well then you go at odd times, go after midnight, if this doesnt fit your schedule, then forget the gym, go buy an elpitcal, a decent one, might set you back 300-400$. That way you can burn off enough weight and build your confidence enough to run infront of others.

 

I think you would be suprised, i know i was, that when you first start, a mild jog for 20 or 30 minutes is near impossible if your really out of shape. But it wont take long to change that.

 

Believe me, its gonna hurt, and bad, but if you dont want to hurt than your not motivated enough. When you get off the machine you should be drenched with sweat, just soaked, the machine should be too. If your not, your not going hard enough. Now im not saying to run yourself to death. Most of the machines have heart rate monitors on them, and you should know what your limit is, once you reach your limit then slow down, dont stop, For your age your heart should be able to do about 160bpm before you risk any thing, maybe alittle more maybe less, you should run untill you reach that target heart rate, then dial it back slowly untill you get your wind back, then go back up, and try to stay near that target heart rate, you will melt the fat off. There are supplements on the market that make it easier, but they arent for everyone.

 

As far as your diet, dont starve yourself, but you need to burn off about half your calorie intact on that machine a night, your body will burn off some just through daily funtion, but not alot, as i imagine you have a "sanitary job" not that you can help that, you have to pay the bills. And i could be wrong. I would replace 50% of what you eat with fruits and vegtables, empty food, it fills you up though sheer volume, and water weight, drink plenty of water, eat lean proteins for your meat, chicken, rarer cuts of lean beef, fish etc... If you take in roughly 1400 calories a day from food, then burn off 700 of those with a 3.5 mph jog for an hour, and reward yourself, if you do the jog, then go to wendy's and get a large chili, its lean in fat, taste good, fills you up, and you think your eating pure junk food.

 

All this should raise your core body temp., raise your metabolic rate 2x if not more, and force your body to consume some of that stored fat. Believe me if you do that, it will melt off, it will get loose, your thys wont rub, your tummy will be flat, your complexion will get better, your stretch marks will decrease, all the little wierd things on your skin will clear up, if you are showing veins they should go away, and after a week or two i bet you just feel better, and younger, it will probably increase fluid transfer back to your joints as well, making them less sore.

 

I had near no physical activity for 5 years, and put on alot of pure fat. Doing exactly what i told you to do, i dropped 17 pds of fat in 18 days.... The rate at which you drop the weight will decline over time, but for the first 2 weeks, you should be dropping a pound every 2 or 3 days, and if you keep it up, you should lose 70% of your goal. The other 30% will come with dedication to a lesser extentent. You dont have to run that hard for the rest of your life, just a few months. Later if you maintain a healthy diet you should only have to run 1/3 as much.

 

Also, as far as your food analysis starch and carbs are not always bad, I know plenty of asians that live on fried rice, takoyaki, and ramen ( real ramen, not pre packaged) they are all very thin and healthy. The heavy foods fill them, so they eat in moderation. 6 ounces of rice is not going to kill you.

 

You also, should take a few supplements, essential amino acids, and glutamine will help your muscles rid themselves of latic acids quickly, which at your age will probably build up quickly. Also, to help your body function correctly, and keep your bowels intact i recomment a once aday multi vitamin, natures own 50+ multivitamin is a good one. Whatever your body cant handle it will just expell, no harm done. Just make sure u remember you should always drink plenty of water, the more the better, 10-15 bottles a day, this will suppress your appitate, keep the supplements for irritating your stomach, and help regulate your internals.

 

Sorry if it all seems alittle harsh, but if you want it, you need to want it, commit to it, or you will never see the results. Best of luck to you, if you want any more tips, i shouldnt be hard to get ahold of.

[Brightmoon]

Hi folks,

 

Sorry for not coming back to the thread until now. Thank you for taking the time and care to post. I very much appreciate it.

 

I have avoided posting again on the thread because after I posted I binged and the weight watchers has gone out of the window. I have put on the paltry amount I lost and maybe some more too. I was very ashamed and could not face returning to admit that. I will reply to posts now, and thank you again.

 

 

I thought I had mentioned in my OP that I was under stress because I feared being made redundant in a bout of cuts at my work place.

.... well there is some confusion and just a little hope, but bar that it looks like redundancy is a very real possibility... more probable than not. I am in shock and have not taken it in yet. It is a job I have worked at for over 30 years.

 

I never realised how lucky I was to have it. My depression has plagued me all throughout my career so I never saw how lucky I was.

 

I am shaking and panicking. I don't know how to calm down or cope with this. I am in shock. I feel sick.

 

 

 

Edit...

 

I started to read the replies and got very teary at the care and support there.

I have not slept much in last couple of days. I need get a grip but feel like I am in free fall. My life is such a mess... I just don't know how I will cope.

I will reply... but finding it hard to read at the moment.

Thank you so much.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Brightmoon