How have you lost weight in the past?

[jeepgirl]

I remember a time when I had put on a few pounds... but I lost it pretty quickly by doing the following:

1) Eating breakfast every morning, usually whole grain toast, oatmeal with some honey/fruit, and orange juice.

2) Getting on the treadmill every morning... sometimes as little as 15 minutes, but I did it EVERY morning.

3) Drinking lots of water.

4) Cutting sugar and dairy out of my diet (until the weight/health was under control).

That was it! Now I need to lose a few pounds again... but my current obligations/lifestyle is not condusive to getting on a treadmill EVERY morning (I now have clinicals I have to be at by 6:30 in the morning, which means getting up at 5 something, usually after staying up most of the night working on an assignment FOR the clinicals), and its not conducive to completely cutting out dairy, since there is not way I can commute home for all my meals. I am considering weight watchers, but due to all my money being put into nursing school, I'm wanting to just gather ideas of what other people have successfully done, paid program/gym or not.

How have you lost weight?

[Asha]

jeepgirl - when i was in college i gained the freshman 15 which turned into a 30 pound weight gain. i know that didn't make me obese, but i was not healthy or comfortable with my weight so i did the following things to lose weight and it worked. now more than 6 years i later i have maintained my weight. though, recently i have gained 10 pounds and i need to get back on track too. this is what i did way back when i was a senior in college.

-i exercised vigorously at least once a day.

-i ate two small, healthy meals and ate whatever i wanted for one meal. i also had one healthy snack a day.

-if i was having a sugar craving, i would choose the low fat option (smoothies, fig newtons, and sorbet).

-i wouldn't eat for at least two hours before i went to bed.

- drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, in fact, that was the only beveragei would drink except for alcohol (which i only drink if i went to a party.)

you know what it worked within the matter of about 3 months all the weight was gone. people were shocked when i came back to school after the summer having lost that weight. it was a huge boost to my ego.

since you are at a hospital, do they have a gym that is available to employees. you could always go in a half an hour early from work to get your workout done. i understand about getting up early bc i am out the door by 6 so, i have to do my exercise at around 8 pm and i hate it. you don't really have to cut out dairy, just make sure to drink non-fat milk, and they do make low fat cheeses. also, i find if i pack my lunch the night before it is a lot easier than trying to rush in the morning to pack it. i really don't like the idea of going on a program bc it is difficult to maintain once you go off the diet. it is just best to change your lifestyle. though, i really am not the best person for advice since i have not struggled with very large increases in weight.

[Elizabeth]

Weight Watchers. Just doing it on my own - even working out - doesn't do it for me. I HAVE to eat less and be on a structured program.

[bellaprincess]

I lost 10 pounds on the Special K diet ( :) I actually enjoy the taste of Special K!). I went from wearing size 10 pants/ jeans to a size 6 a few months ago. I would eat a bowl of Special K( the original plain kind) for breakfast with soy milk, have a small bananna or apple for a snack, then another bowl of Special K for lunch, another piece of fruit for a snack, and chicken or fish and veggies for dinner. I also started exercising and would do 25 minutes cardio 5 days a week and 3 days of light weights for my arms and legs.

[linekelei]

I lost 20+ pounds about 5 years ago simply by not snacking. I was a huge snacker (entire box of Wheat Thins, anyone???!!!!), having a large stress-induced snack every afternoon and then another one in the evening. I also cut back my portions-started eating one serving of cereal for breakfast, rather than randomly dumping half the box in a large bowl. It took five months, but I lost a fair amount of weight, and wasn't even exercising at the time.

I exercise a fair amount now, and find I can't get through the day without a snack, or else I feel like I'm dying. But I noticed you said you don't have much time for exercise. I'd focus on cutting back portions-eating half a hamburger instead of a whole one for dinner. Measuring out everything is a good way to make sure you're not eating more than one serving.

[jeepgirl]

Thanks everyone for the ideas... and keep them coming.

I joined the "weight challenge" thread started on here! Weighed myself today... it scared me enough to go ahead and join Weight Watchers online... atleast its cheaper than the meetings, which, although may be better in some ways, I just don't have time for right now with nursing school. At least the online program will help me track my intake (which I went over today... oh well... didn't join until late this afternoon anyway... will do better tomorrow) and I can "sign in" anytime and get some motivation. I'm hoping the combination of our weekly online weigh ins and the ww online will help, along with some of the tips "ya'll" have shared. Thank you.

[betsyboop]

I am just finishing losing the weight I gained post wedding (about 10lb). What I did was write down every single thing I ate during the day along with how many calories each item was. www.nutritiondata.com has the calories of pretty much anything you would ever want to eat. I also have a food scale, which was really helpful in determining my serving sizes. Anyway, I kept it to about 1000 calories per day. I also made exercising a priority because when I lose weight without exercising, I feel like it's a lot easier to gain it back later. Building up muscle tone helps burn even more calories during the inactive parts of the day and helps keep weight off for longer. So, I started running a mile 4 days a week and now I'm up to 2 miles, plus a 1/4 mile cool down. The whole thing takes less than a half hour, but my legs have never looked so good! And my arms and abs aren't too shabby either. I'd highly recommend running/jogging.

[emmjay]

Well, I did lose 15 lbs when I lived in NY because I partied 5 nights a week and spent all of my money on cigarettes and booze instead of food, but I don't recommend that program! :D

I really like Weight Watchers, and I have found that a combination of counting points and eating more protein is what works for me. If I'm not paying attention to my diet I end up eating way too much bread/pasta/rice, so I have to be sure that my dinners are mainly protien and vegetables. I still eat Kashi cereal every day for breakfast and usually a sandwich for lunch, but I try to limit carbs at dinner so I don't go overboard!

Writing everything down is essential as well, and I have found that a food scale is really useful for helping me with portion sizes. And I drink at least 3 liters of water every day.

[Janey]

I lost 38 lbs doing The Zone Diet. I liked it a lot -- basically it was: 1) eat small, balanced snacks in between meals (a piece of fruit & a stick of string cheese was one of my usual snacks), and 2) at mealtime, divide your plate into thirds and put fruits/veggies on 2/3 of it, and lean protien on the other. I worked out at a gym during that time, but I don't remember how often. Probably 4 days/week.

Then I quit that, and went back to my old coca-cola drinking, convenience-food-eating ways, and started gaining the 38 lbs back. I knew if I didn't do something, I'd gain it ALL back, so I started doing a program called HMR through a local hospital. On that program, I lost 80 pounds... at my lowest weight, I'd lost a total of 115 lbs, but I was on the verge of being too skinny at that point. I've gained 15 of it back now -- I'd like to cut the 15 in half, and hang out between 130-135 lbs.

[Belm]

I lost 10 pounds on the South Beach Diet. Too bad I gained all back. :eek: So, I need to do more cardio - a lot more cardio! I'm trying to get back in the habit of going to the gym 3x a week and hitting that treadmill.

[honeygirl]

I lost 27 pounds in about a year and have kept it off for 3+ years now.

I joined a gym, went about 4X a week for the first 6 months. I got a trainer who taught me about weight lifting and food stuff, saw him about 2-4X a month for 6 months. I cut out processed foods and soda. I was a quasi-vegetarian, only eating fish and occasionally chicken.

I drank tons of water (80-100 oz a day).

I surfed 3-6X a month.

Towards the end I was doing pilates and I saw a BIG difference with that. I can't explain it but Pilates are a miracle shaper for me. I did them about 2x a week.

Now 3 years later I hardly ever exercise but have healthy eating habits (and good portion control). I'm no longer vegetarian and do eat processed foods, but keep them to a minimum.

Good luck!

[Wrighty26]

I lost a good amount of weight by cutting out sugar/processed foods (who knew I ate so much of it!) and add lots of fruits, veggies, and fiber. I still had portion control issues though--I was eating 3 HUGE meals a day, so at some point I stopped losing and started gaining again.

To remedy this, and to maintain my weight, I now eat 5-6 times a day. I still eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner-- but in smaller portions with snacks. As for snacks- I find that dairy/yogurt is SO fulfilling and I try to eat that at least once a day. I also like Orville Redenbacker's (sp?) healthy pop mini-popcorn bags. They are the perfect size-- and only 100 calories.

The most important thing I've found-- and I know it's been said a zallion times-- is eat breakfast! If there is ANY meal you splurge on-- make it breakfast, because you have the whole day to burn the calories :D

:p

[jeepgirl]

You guys have really given me motivation! Since Tuesday, logging everything I eat and giving it "points" (and exercising for more points!) has really helped. I weighed myself yesterday (I weigh myself on one of those HUGE scales in the "foyer" of my grocery store) and I had dropped 3 pounds. Woohoo! I know it can't be "official" yet till I weigh in on my 1-week anniversary (Tuesday), but still... very gratifying.

[Wrighty26]

Yay! Great job :) Keep up the good work!

[miel]

I totally agree with Wrighty --I wish I had read her post 2 years ago when I gained all this weight!

I lost 20+ lbs. so far just by cutting out sugar and fruit juice. And I eat anything else I want. Of course, I eat very healthy. And not even that many calories. I always wondered how I could gain so much weight and not be able to lose it no matter what. (It happened overnight almost.) I suspected it was some reaction to sugar and I was right.

If I ate 1 candy bar every day for the next month or so I would gain all the weight back. I've actually seen my weight jump from a lazy day or two of sweets or juice. The calories in/calories out theory is not the whole story.

[bunnyboo]

Weight Watchers. I lost 27 pounds a few years ago and still to this day have only gained about 5-7 pounds back. I re-joined a couple weeks ago and swear by this program!

DOnt quote me, and DD or another WW member can correct me, but I believe you can only earn activity points after the 3rd week of Weight Watchers? Not 100% positive, but pretty sure. Good luck!

[jeepgirl]

I like reading about the difference in clothing sizes. Way to go DiscoDiva!!! From a 14 to a 4!!! That's awesome! What a difference 40 pounds makes. Hmmmm....come to think of it, if I lost a total of 40 pounds I would fit in a size 4 too. But I will be happy just to be back in my usual size 6! Can't wait.

[miel]

Thanks for your input Disco Diva! I don't imagine I could ever be a size 4...I don't think my BONES are a size 4. Size 6 is about my limit. :p But you still inspire me!

Honeygirl Pilates lessons are too expensive for me right now but I'd like to try Pilates eventually. How hard is it? Is it as hard as yoga (and by that I mean not really 'physically strenuous' but 'technical and difficult to master.'

[mel7dog]

I followed WW 2 years ago and lost 10 lbs! Went from a size 6 to a size 4. Since then I have been following it for the most part (just in my head) and have recently dropped a few more lbs (now I am a size 0-2) I haven't been this small since 10th grade! IMO eating right is way more important than working out till you kill your self. WW is the best thing I ever did!

Now that I have learned how to eat, I just eat what a want, watch portions etc and I have only lost more :) Good luck to you, you will be SO happy when you stick with a program!!