I was never a small girl. According to my pediatrician and confirmed by other doctors as I was going through childhood, I had a heavier build and I would've been unhealthy if BMI scores were allowed to dictate my weight. I wasn't fat, I was just bigger. Like... if I had been a boy, I would've been encouraged to play defense in football.
When I was a teen, I was put on a medication that caused me to gain over 150lbs in the first six months I was on it, for a total of over 200lbs gained before a more intelligent doctor stepped in and pointed out that I didn't need to be on the medicine in the first place. I've been fighting against all this weight ever since -- I'd start to lose weight, and then I'd hit a point where I wasn't feeling -right- and the weight would come back. Come to find out about seven years ago, the medication was fat soluble, so it's stored -in- my fat. I lose weight, get to the point where I'm burning the fat that I gained while on the medicine, medicine re-enters my system, and not being aware of what was happening I'd let the effects creep up on me... which resulted in me gaining the weight back. Vicious cycle.
The three years that followed after that discovery and learning what to look out for regarding that medication screwing with me, I managed to drop almost 100 pounds. It was a lot of "Whee, I lost five pounds this week!" and "Another five pounds gone? VICTORY!" and then "Eh. Two pounds down. At least it's something." followed by "... Well, this sucks. I gained five pounds..." and "Another five pounds? I'm doing everything the same as I have for the past month. Why am I putting weight back on.. oh, crap, have I had a change in personality/moods recently?" for the first year or so. Once I keyed in on the early warning signs, I stopped re-gaining the weight after I lost it, but I slowed down losing it overall. I probably could've 'done better' if I'd gotten 'professional' help, but I'm very self-conscious in public and the idea of going to a gym/getting a personal trainer terrified me.
So instead of putting myself through the emotional trauma of having to get on a treadmill in front of strangers, I danced for my exercise. It was something I enjoyed (I had dreams of being a ballerina as a child), and could do in the privacy of my apartment. What did I dance to? Judge all you like, I danced to the film recording of Cats. If someone ever walked in on me doing it, I probably looked silly as hell but damned if it didn't work because weight-loss wasn't the only thing I was going for. My endurance and stamina went up, my flexibility and range of motion improved, and it's possible that because I was determined to sing at the same time my lung function improved -- I was having less and less asthma attacks. And yes, while all of these are benefits of losing weight in general, my doctor told me that the results he was seeing outstripped what was typical with the weight I was losing.
Actual food/diet wise, I didn't really have one. I learned when I was younger the meanings behind food cravings, so I ate when I was hungry and I ate what I was -actually- hungry for. Craving sugar? You are actually craving bitter (greens) and probably suffering from an imbalance in your liver or pancreas. Not a fan of fish, but suddenly that tuna steak at the grocery store's seafood counter is really interesting? You're low on essential fatty acids and craving extra protein for any number of reasons. Not a fan of pasta or bread, but suddenly all you want is a bowl of spaghetti and a piece of garlic toast? Don't pass it off as a simple carb craving, you might have a slight niacin deficiency. I am probably one of the few people that would encourage shopping on an empty stomach because, once you lean these clues your body is giving you, you tend to make better choices... or at least you will if you can control temptation. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I did fail at swapping the pack of cupcakes for a bag of spinach or other greens. And sometimes it leads to the weirdest food combinations (peanut butter, olive oil, and salsa sandwich, anyone? How about smoked trout, brie, green apple slices fried with garlic, and pickled carrots on sourdough?), but when I was dealing with my body screaming for -something-, stuff like this usually satisfied the craving with the first serving.
The loss of the apartment my husband and I had and having to move in as roommates to another couple put a huge damper on my drive to exercise -- one roommate was a stay-at-home type and always around, so self-conscious me didn't feel comfortable dancing like an idiot for one to four hours a day when I might end up with an audience. I gained some weight back, ten or so pounds, in the year and a half we were living with them. Which wasn't horrible, I probably would've gained more if my job hadn't tripled in the amount of physical activity required of me at the same time. Being on the truck the past three years, I've put even more of the weight back on, but what can I really expect from being in a vehicle for 20+ hours a day? I'm getting off the truck this spring, though, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things. I already have a new DVD of Cats sitting in storage, and I've got money put away for a new set of acrobatic dance shoes and brace for my knee.
My husband, he went on a diet/lifestyle change last year (it was a program offered and pioneered by his work), and I have to say that it worked well for him. I would've joined and done it alongside him, but I can't eat a lot of the food the program recommends and alternatives aren't readily available out here on the road.
The only things that were counted with the foods he ate were protein, calories, and carbs. Had to be high protein and low carb, or at least within a certain range of each-other percent-wise. He had five meals a day (decent sized breakfast, a good snack three hours later, lunch decent sized lunch three hours after that, another good snack three hours later, then dinner three hours later), and after a while he started to complain that he felt like he was having to eat too much. On several occasions my husband was told that he had to increase his calorie intake, usually related to him cutting back on his soda intake.
Exercise was one 15-minute period per day where he got his heartbeat up to a certain rate -- for him it was three sets of brisk walking for four minutes followed by one minute of jumping jacks. It was recommended that the routine be done before breakfast, but as long as it was done before his last meal of the day it would be fine.
We stopped tracking how much weight he's lost after the official program ended, but at his final weight-in at thirteen weeks, he had lost 38 pounds. He doesn't follow it as strictly as he did when the program was active, but he's recently gone down another pants size so he's doing well enough as far as I'm concerned.
When I was a teen, I was put on a medication that caused me to gain over 150lbs in the first six months I was on it, for a total of over 200lbs gained before a more intelligent doctor stepped in and pointed out that I didn't need to be on the medicine in the first place. I've been fighting against all this weight ever since -- I'd start to lose weight, and then I'd hit a point where I wasn't feeling -right- and the weight would come back. Come to find out about seven years ago, the medication was fat soluble, so it's stored -in- my fat. I lose weight, get to the point where I'm burning the fat that I gained while on the medicine, medicine re-enters my system, and not being aware of what was happening I'd let the effects creep up on me... which resulted in me gaining the weight back. Vicious cycle.
The three years that followed after that discovery and learning what to look out for regarding that medication screwing with me, I managed to drop almost 100 pounds. It was a lot of "Whee, I lost five pounds this week!" and "Another five pounds gone? VICTORY!" and then "Eh. Two pounds down. At least it's something." followed by "... Well, this sucks. I gained five pounds..." and "Another five pounds? I'm doing everything the same as I have for the past month. Why am I putting weight back on.. oh, crap, have I had a change in personality/moods recently?" for the first year or so. Once I keyed in on the early warning signs, I stopped re-gaining the weight after I lost it, but I slowed down losing it overall. I probably could've 'done better' if I'd gotten 'professional' help, but I'm very self-conscious in public and the idea of going to a gym/getting a personal trainer terrified me.
So instead of putting myself through the emotional trauma of having to get on a treadmill in front of strangers, I danced for my exercise. It was something I enjoyed (I had dreams of being a ballerina as a child), and could do in the privacy of my apartment. What did I dance to? Judge all you like, I danced to the film recording of Cats. If someone ever walked in on me doing it, I probably looked silly as hell but damned if it didn't work because weight-loss wasn't the only thing I was going for. My endurance and stamina went up, my flexibility and range of motion improved, and it's possible that because I was determined to sing at the same time my lung function improved -- I was having less and less asthma attacks. And yes, while all of these are benefits of losing weight in general, my doctor told me that the results he was seeing outstripped what was typical with the weight I was losing.
Actual food/diet wise, I didn't really have one. I learned when I was younger the meanings behind food cravings, so I ate when I was hungry and I ate what I was -actually- hungry for. Craving sugar? You are actually craving bitter (greens) and probably suffering from an imbalance in your liver or pancreas. Not a fan of fish, but suddenly that tuna steak at the grocery store's seafood counter is really interesting? You're low on essential fatty acids and craving extra protein for any number of reasons. Not a fan of pasta or bread, but suddenly all you want is a bowl of spaghetti and a piece of garlic toast? Don't pass it off as a simple carb craving, you might have a slight niacin deficiency. I am probably one of the few people that would encourage shopping on an empty stomach because, once you lean these clues your body is giving you, you tend to make better choices... or at least you will if you can control temptation. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I did fail at swapping the pack of cupcakes for a bag of spinach or other greens. And sometimes it leads to the weirdest food combinations (peanut butter, olive oil, and salsa sandwich, anyone? How about smoked trout, brie, green apple slices fried with garlic, and pickled carrots on sourdough?), but when I was dealing with my body screaming for -something-, stuff like this usually satisfied the craving with the first serving.
The loss of the apartment my husband and I had and having to move in as roommates to another couple put a huge damper on my drive to exercise -- one roommate was a stay-at-home type and always around, so self-conscious me didn't feel comfortable dancing like an idiot for one to four hours a day when I might end up with an audience. I gained some weight back, ten or so pounds, in the year and a half we were living with them. Which wasn't horrible, I probably would've gained more if my job hadn't tripled in the amount of physical activity required of me at the same time. Being on the truck the past three years, I've put even more of the weight back on, but what can I really expect from being in a vehicle for 20+ hours a day? I'm getting off the truck this spring, though, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things. I already have a new DVD of Cats sitting in storage, and I've got money put away for a new set of acrobatic dance shoes and brace for my knee.
My husband, he went on a diet/lifestyle change last year (it was a program offered and pioneered by his work), and I have to say that it worked well for him. I would've joined and done it alongside him, but I can't eat a lot of the food the program recommends and alternatives aren't readily available out here on the road.
The only things that were counted with the foods he ate were protein, calories, and carbs. Had to be high protein and low carb, or at least within a certain range of each-other percent-wise. He had five meals a day (decent sized breakfast, a good snack three hours later, lunch decent sized lunch three hours after that, another good snack three hours later, then dinner three hours later), and after a while he started to complain that he felt like he was having to eat too much. On several occasions my husband was told that he had to increase his calorie intake, usually related to him cutting back on his soda intake.
Exercise was one 15-minute period per day where he got his heartbeat up to a certain rate -- for him it was three sets of brisk walking for four minutes followed by one minute of jumping jacks. It was recommended that the routine be done before breakfast, but as long as it was done before his last meal of the day it would be fine.
We stopped tracking how much weight he's lost after the official program ended, but at his final weight-in at thirteen weeks, he had lost 38 pounds. He doesn't follow it as strictly as he did when the program was active, but he's recently gone down another pants size so he's doing well enough as far as I'm concerned.