Losing weight support thread

[mcrudd]

Gosh I am needing some support and was wondering if anyone else out there male/female needs some support now while trying to lose weight. I lost just over 35kg to qualify for a breastreduction surgery but had complicated surgery and was flat on my back for two months feeling sorry for myself and eating pies and chocolates as if they were gonna stop manufacturing them :facepalm: now I am 20kg heavier and need to lose that again I have lost just over 4kg since starting my diet, unfortuanatly no exercise allowed till October so weight is droppins super slowly. Any body out there also trying to lose weight and finding it hard ?

[waterlogged]

would that inclue aqua jogging/walking? or something similar? it's good for the muscles but supports your body at the sametime

[mcrudd]

walking is allowed, I do that if the weather permits it. My body gets sick so quickly from being broken down by a gazillion courses of antibiotics I was on after the op so I have to be careful not to get caught out in rain. I basically must try and prevent to many armswinging motions. I was naughty and played lets dance with my kids, was in super pain that night :-? but my kids enjoyed it :thup:

[waterlogged]

ah the things my mother did for me when she shouldn't have with broken limbs and what not, but that is off topic so I will sshhhh

[critter_crazy]

I feel your pain mcrudd! The medication I have to be on makes me put on weight like crazy, and on top of that I've had 4 surgeries (another one next month) in the last year or so, so have had limited exercise. :facepalm:

It's a massive confidence downer :tears:

[Caryl]

Just hold out until you are able to do more exercises again and your body has recovered from the meds. Don't expect major weight loss until then but don't use it as an excuse to eat either. Before opening your mouth ask yourself what you are stuffing in it and are you really hungry or is it habit? Try writing down everything you eat, I find it helps.

I assume you have changed to low fat options too?

(I am a Weight Watcher lifetime member who lost 30kg and has kept it off for 8 years now)

[critter_crazy]

The medication I am on is going to be a lifelong thing so I for one am stuck like this Im afraid. I dont eat much either: cerial and coffee for breakfast, small salad sandwich for lunch if I have anything at all, healthy vegetarian dinner and occassionally a hot chocolate for supper (I am only 18 after all :lol: )

Tried weightwatchers and didn't have much luck :dunno:

[Caryl]

My med comment was for mcrudd as hers are temporary.

If you are on something like prednisone then I don't think there will be much you can do about the weight gain as a result

Ask your Dr.

[livebearer_breeder]

I'm studying atm to be a personal trainer, but that's not all my studies are about, its also human bio, nutrition, weight loss, muscle gain, power training etc etc

I've only worked with a couple woman so far but i tell them the same thing, worry less about the weight loss and concentrate more on what your body can do for you now to help get you fit. This often means swimming! one of the BEST ways to get healthy, gently works many different muscle groups and helps strengthen your cartio vascular system, circulatory system and lymphatic system (basically, fitter, stronger, healthier). but there are many different light cartio work outs that can help as well, especially in aiding recovery from surgery's. The result ends up being weight loss even though that's not what you've concentrated on.

Exercise only gets you so far, you can lose weight just by eating right and increasing your metabolism. This means 5 portioned meals a day without snacking! Low carbs, Low un natural sugars and low saturated fats, fats are still important in your diet! just NOT SATURATED this is a bad fat that is very hard to work off. So if you want sweet stuff have a look at fruits, your meat portions should be no bigger than the palm of your hand and you should always have a good balance of vege! IF you do wants carbs, eat whole grain or brown breads, these are far better for you than white and will aid in healthy digestion! also whole grain rices, but white rice isn't too bad, rice is the best and most natural carb for human consumption. AND one other VERY important thing that nobody ever does that i tell them about! HEAPS of REST and SLEEP! So important for keeping a healthy body

Critter Crazy, your 18, this means you are in your prime still as far as getting fit and dropping weight goes, however medication can be a real downfall when it comes to getting healthy, My Gf is on the pill and found that she put on a little weight, so i signed her up to play indoor netball with me once a week and twice a week i do a "light" run with her, we do the grocery shopping together and now limit our bad foods to a very small amount. She is now a lot happier. Total work out time a week is no more than an hour, broken down to 3 days a week is 20mins of evening exercise 3 days a week! simple! also working out before you have dinner will aid in reparation of muscles and help you sleep better.

Im 6f 3" and 110kg, im 11% body fat, which is pretty healthy, i do plenty of weights training as well as cartio and play soccer and Indoor netball on top of this, I have been going to the gym for over 2 years now regularly and im still not happy with my body so don't feel like your the only one, everyone can have image issues.

For NZ:

Average body fat % for men is 20-24%

For woman 24-32%

for an NZ athlete:

men 5-12%

Woman 14-20%

Anything over average and you fit into the obese category which iv'e always found very offensive, as even a fat man can be fit, you don't have to be thin or muscular to be fit and healthy!

Remember men on average are more muscular thus the difference. This is information from a University case study done in 2007, these figures may have changed slightly.

Im a big supporter of anyone who's trying to get "healthy"! remember its not all about the weight loss, so if you ever need any advice or encouraging words or if you'd like to know about supplements you can purchase to aid in your endeavors, let me know, i have quite a bit of experience in this.

[livebearer_breeder]

BTW 2 years ago i was 125kg and 28% body fat (which technically, even though it didn't look like it because of my height, i was in the obese category), I dropped to 90kg after a year and was 14% body fat and then started building muscle and concentrating on stamina cartio training to get where i am today. Its just requires commitment and also a mind set change. It wasn't that hard for me as i started playing soccer quite seriously, so the drive was there to get fit and become a machine lol

The gym and working out, if you change your mind set can become a fun addiction, this is what i had to do so that i wasn't a fatty fatty boom boom anymore. This doesn't mean that this is what you have to do.

I am a lot healthier and happier now but still have a ways to go.

[mcrudd]

aww critter_crazy sorry about your medication problem, perhaps your dr can put you on a different tablet that does the same thing but not let you gain weight

Caryl I am being very good and thinking twice before eating something I should not. I want to achieve my goal, worked very hard for it and I know that I earn it

Livebearer_breeder you gave us some super duper advice, thanks for that :thup:

2 Years ago I weighed just a little over 120 and was morbidly obese and size 24 pants. Then up until February this year I lost weight all the way down to 83kg and a size 12 pants where I was overweight according to bmi. Now I am all the way back up to 96kg and back into obese, atleast not morbidly obese and a size 16. Its so frustrating but its all my fault, I sat in bed for 2 months eating everything I should not have eaten because I felt sorry for myself being in pain :facepalm: But I am on the right pathway now, and is glad to see others out there is also on the pathway with me :happy2:

[Tracey]

I know you said you were limited when it came to hefty exercise, but are you able to do things like yoga? I found a great yoga for weightloss DVD a few years back on Mighty Ape, and while I'm not as good at getting it out and getting into it as I should be, when I do it has great results. Never thought you could sweat so much and get your heart rate up so high just sitting and bending and stretching

[Joshlikesfish]

The gym and working out, if you change your mind set can become a fun addiction.

I totally agree with that. I joined the gym at 80kg to try and burn fat. Now I'm 15kg heavier and so much healthier. I can run now whereas I never used to be able to.

Since I started a year ago, I've learned that it doesn't matter what the scales say, as long as you're happy with your body

[mcrudd]

Tracey my first weightloss was with the help of my wii fit which included yoga, but unfortuanatly I can't do that either, I had a complicated surgery instead of a plain old one, so my recovery is much longer and I can injure myself with any stretching of the arms, I don't even make the beds by throwing the duve into the air, I walk all around the bed to pull and tuck it :roey: I am however being a teensy bit naughty and riding on my exercise bike but just sitting up straight so I don't bend forward :slfg: I hope my surgeon is not a fishkeeper here

Josh I love your above quote that is why, once I reach size 12 I will be happy, why go all the way down to an 8 just because the bmi says so. I am 1.73m and they want me to weigh 65 come on :an!gry I will go down to 75 that is on the borderline of overweight and healthy :thup:

[livebearer_breeder]

Also something to remember is that different body's store and metabolize fat differently. so what may work great for one person may not for another, the key difference here will be mainly due to diet, remember the old saying "you only get out what you put in" well this is entirely true! Just like a car, if you fuel yourself with the right stuff and do regular "maintenance" your car/body, will go harder and faster for longer, lol sounds a bit like those mens clinic adds :slfg:

Wii's are actually great! I strap on 10kgs to each arm and do the boxing! man its a work out on the upper body!

Exactly josh! your weight actually has no bearing on your body, as muscle can be around 3 times denser than fat, this increases weight. I would focus on measurement's (this is a great way to motivate yourself) gut, chest and thighs I've found are what most men and woman want to work on. start your measurements, and then at the same time every week re measure, once you've started eating healthy and exercising a little. Make sure it is actually at the same time! as through different periods of the day your body changes sizes.

Mcrudd your in a bit of a hard position, its so hard to focus on anything related to your body when your injured or in a reparation cycle e.g surgery. I do feel your pain, the last week i have been bed ridden because of a back injury, and every three months i have to have a new surgery, they are small and usually uncomplicated but still put me out for a few weeks at a time.

A few years back i lived in a flat in petone and building had gone dry for two months, had very little food (the food that i did have was cheap and bad), lost a lot of weight and my body was in a very bad way, unfortunatly 9 months ago i found out that this period of malnourishment had caused a bad reaction in my body, which left me with around thirty abysses all over and a blood infection at the time, which also made me sicker, I cant feel them or see them but the doc knew, and every few months they remove a few more, they can't do them all at once because it could cause infection having many open wounds, so a few at time.

But this is proof of just how much what we eat, or lack of what we eat can effect your life and well being!

[Caryl]

Live healthily and the weight loss will follow slowly and naturally. As said, fitness is more important.

I tried the gym for 2 years and hated it as much at the end as I did in the beginning, despite the trainer saying I would come to love it. I now walk a lot, or bike, for my exercise and it is something I enjoy.

[livebearer_breeder]

Biking is great! There are some things i don't do at the gym anymore, I prefer to run outside than on a treadmill with some beats in my ears that motivate me, but for building muscle and toning the gym is key.

Something else that is essential for exercise! MUSIC THAT MOTIVATES YOU!

[Sunbird73]

Can you walk on a treadmill? You can keep your arms close so no risk of pulling, and you could just do hill walking? If you hired a treadmill and had it there in your house it wouldn't be weather dependent, cos its just too easy to say "oh, it looks like rain". For that reason I had to join a gym, cos I knew I wouldn't get out.

Also lunges? Work out the major muscle groups (butt, legs) without upsetting the surgical area? Figure out things that you can do without damaging yourself and do those religiously every day.

I feel your frustration, so much of weight loss is breaking bad habits. I haven't managed to break mine yet, and its so easy to slip back into bad habits even if you found good ones for a while.

It is very very easy when someone tells you can't exercise for medical reasons to become fearful of doing anything at all - I pulled a hip flexor and got into a bad cycle of not exercising cos the faintest twinge would put me off, afraid I would do some damage. Examine very carefully the things you actually really aren't allowed to do and be honest about the things that the surgery may be an excuse for not doing. And make a list perhaps, so its all out there in black and white what you expect of yourself.

I am sooo good at giving advice, but never take my own :roll: I slacked off and didn't go to the gym today

But am definitely going tomorrow.

I might go and re-read Dr. Phils Ultimate Weight Loss solution and actually do it this time. It is a good book.

[Joshlikesfish]

I slacked off and didn't go to the gym today

The day isn't over!

I usually go to the gym around 7-7.30. Often don't leave until closing time at 9

[livebearer_breeder]

Yeah the late night work outs r the best, way less people too, 8-10pm is prime at Les Mills

[the-obstacle]

My wife has been battling for years with diets etc. (I need to but don't) and she's just started jenny craig. The strict portions and dictated diet really help her not to cheat. She's lost 10 kgs in 6 weeks and has plateau'd at about 1kg a week for the last 2-3 weeks (been on it 7 weeks) and she's finding it really helps. She was always good at the 'just one more' excuses. She always thought that she'd have to be fit to really lose weight but now she's really happy that she's losing weight so she can then get fit without feeling like she's carying around an extra 30kgs.

I'm not sure if this helps but there are ways to do it without the exercise if you're really having trouble with physical recovery.

Good luck!

[Squirt]

Hey

What about endurance? And upper body strength? How would you train these? Sorry a bit off topic.

[mcrudd]

Sunbird, my surgery ended up a bit complicated, I was in there for 5 and a half hours instead of three and they had to make choices without my knowledge, so my cuts are almost ten cm longer to each side as it should have been. I have to be extremely careful, but I will try your advice, as is I am biking on my exercise bike, it has hills on it as well, very tough hills :thup:

the obstacle I am on a similar diet, its called sureslim. Teeny little meals but filling and only every 5 hours three times a day. No snacking, not even fruit and no juice only water, two cups of coffee a day, but with no milk and no sugar. I started my diet two weeks ago and have lost about 4kg now. That is also how I lost it in the beginning, but it went quicker cause I did 2 hours exercise on my wii aswell, but this time round I can't. I feel for your wife, its as if we are permantly on diets, our whole life consists of chasing a smaller body :facepalm:

[HelenMac]

I started my diet two weeks ago and have lost about 4kg now

Congrats mcrudd I think thats good for only two weeks. My doctor always says slower is better for maintaining weight loss and to aim for 2kg a month. I know its not much but its better than putting on..

I also have been trying to loose weight but due to medication and mobility problems its very very slow. I am happy if I can loose 2kg in a month.

I use a air walker for excercise. It can be as gentle as you want or hard as you want by taking bigger or smaller strides and tightening or loosening the screws on the side and using or not using the arm bits. . Due to shoulder injury I can't use the arm bit so just hold on to the front.

I got mine of trade me for $10 and use it for 15 minutes twice a day.

[wordhappy]

Hey @mcrudd, I'm new here and I just happened to stumble across this thread. I am where you used to be. I am at the start of the long road of needing to lose weight for breast reduction surgery. I'm sorry to hear you had complications. Sending good thoughts your way.