I've written about my experiences here a couple of times. I went through what everyone is trying here a couple of years ago. I changed my lifestyle, eating habits and became 40 pounds lighter which are still off. I do read this post every week and silently applaud you all for your successes and silently try to push you through your little setbacks. It is hard to make these changes but so worth it.
Good Luck to all. I think of you every week and remember my struggles and my successes and revel in how much better I feel (and look!).

Gibby - veggies and fruit. I love to mix corn, black beans, red pepper, purple onion, tomatoes and cucumber as kind of a relish. It's great added to chopped lettuce for a salad - add a little cheese and ranch dressing - yum. I also like to add it to grilled chicken - either plain or shred the chicken and put on a tortilla.

Grilled veggies are one of my favorites. Also chicken. Sweet potatoes are very filling and better for you than white potatoes. I like post bran flakes - taste good, low calorie and fiber (filling). I also love yogurt with the special k low-fat granola. Something else I do because I have a WICKED sweet tooth is the the packs of york pepperment patties that have the 2 patty servings. Satisfies my sweet tooth with not alot of calories and low fat.

I'm still doing just okay on eating but improving on exercise as we are outside more now.

Kudos to you blfenton - keeping the weight off is sometimes harder than losing it!

tina

I managed to get through a "food heavy" weekend without gaining, which is a huge accomplishment for me (patting self on back). We went out to dinner w/ friends Fri. night, went to a Bat Mitzvah on Sat., and had a big family brunch here on Sun., where we had a TON of baked goods. Oh, and went out to dinner Sun. night. I think what worked was that I had fish for dinner Fri. (and no dessert, of course); the food at the Bar Mitzvah wasn't that great, and because that was midday, we just had a small dinner that night; and, well, I did eat my share of treats at Sunday brunch but because it was technically two meals, my overall intake for the day wasn't too bad. And yesterday morning I went for a 90-minute walk. Got on the scale this morning and it was the same as it was on Friday.

My mainstays are:

- a veggie chili I make with tomatoes, beans, peppers, corn, basically whatever I feel like throwing in. I make a big batch and I might eat it for lunch 3-4 times in a week! On WW, it's all zero points except for the beans and corn.

- putting the fruit at EYE LEVEL in the fridge, not in the produce drawer.

- I recently discovered Post Great Grains cereal. If I have this cereal (and I measure out the portion size, 3/4 cup) with berries or banana at 8 am, I don't even think about food again for at least 4 hours!

- Finally, I keep a bowl of hard candies in the house now, which I never used to do. But if I'm having a sweet-tooth attack, sucking on a Jolly Rancher (which lasts forever) = a lot fewer calories than sucking down a cookie or two.

Down 4.5 lbs., still about 10 to go. I am happy to report that I put on my "fat jeans" this morning, just because I was feeling sloppy/lazy, and they were really too loose. Had to put on a different pair. I'm only 5'2" so the 4 lbs. makes a difference in my clothes.

Tonight I got back to swimming. Ahhh, I feel so relaxed. Yesterday I did the spin bike and then did the weight machines and worked out arms and back. My friend who I swim with is training to be a yoga instructor, she wants to teach me yoga for free so she can get her certification. I just got the DVD you recommended Gibby, so I will try that and also yoga with her. Thursday I do a boot camp class at my gym. Last week was my first one- and Oh my- I couldn't walk down stairs for 2 days after, I'm hoping it will get easier!
I find eating right to be the hardest. I always start with the best intentions, but then I eat my kids left over grilled cheese- ugh! Why can't I stop that??

I've stalled weight-wise: eating out, being overly busy & very tired throw my eating/exercise plans off. But still working out, if only just cruising & not working hard at it, and at least I'm not putting the lost pounds back on. In the past I would give up from frustration, but now I know if I just muddle through I'll get to an inspired point again. Hang in there, hang in there...

Where is Kelly???!!! I hope nothing is up with her knee!

tina

Why can't I stop that??

Maybe you're not eating enough so you're hungry and your resistance is low?
Maybe you're not eating enough based on your exercise efforts?
Maybe you're like many people and hate to see food wasted?
Maybe you're like many people and hate to see food you went to the trouble to prepare wasted?

I know snacking off the kid's plates is a big issue for many Moms. Can you get someone else (your husband, the oldest child)to clear the plates so you're not tempted to snack on their leftovers?

We were away last week, eating dinner out every night, so I was relieved to come home at the same weight. We walked every day for at least an hour but I didn't do any of my other exercises, in spite of having weights & an exercise ball there. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, making it a nice smooth surface for a jog I guess.

I used to eat my kids leftovers as well (hence the 40 lb weight/gain) but then I decided that I am worth more than that and shouldn't have to be eating someone else's food scraps. I hate seeing food go to waste but I decided that I'm not a garbage can.

blfenton - love your perspective. I've been wondering what inspired you to make the changes you did to lose 40 lbs and what your secret is for ongoing success. Are you kind of an exercise fanatic?

I'm still here, just had a killer work week but it's over and I have the day off!

I finally had a break in pain and swelling this week for my knee - so relieved.

Still plan on juicing. I've been reading a lot about nutrition and healing. Books from Ornish, Fuhrman, "The China Study" by Campbell and ""Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford have been very very enlightening.

DH and I have been juicing this past week, just adding two to three juices to our regular diet. I'm drinking the best one yet right now: Pineapple, celery, arugula, pear & ginger. This coming week, we will juice all day and have dinner, then the following week we will be juicing only.

Also, my trainer has entered me in a "Biggest Loser" type of contest at my gym. Apparently he has a lot of faith in me - hope I don't let him down.

Hi Ladies,
Just returned from a visit with my mom in Florida. Something about traveling brings out the worst in me! I was barely down at WW last Saturday, then went to Florida on Sunday.

I think I might skip the weigh in tomorrow. :) I did walk every day on the beach, so that was good.

Beth P.

All of you are so inspirational. I'm down 2 more pounds. Slow, slow, slow. I kind of fell off the wagon the week of Valentines when my DH brought me those chocolate covered strawberries. I'm a chocolate addict and once I taste it I continue to crave it. So I've fallen off the wagon now and again with the sugar fix. I'm back being good and off the sugar.

I actually eat yams for dessert. Whole Food has one, I think it's the garnet yam, it's so sweet and juicy all the time. I keep those stocked in the cuboard.

Congrat's to everyone doing so well.

I did get on the treadmill yesterday, first time in 20 years. It was weird at first and when I stopped I was dizzy as a bat. I liked it though and will continue with that along with my water exercises.

gibby3000 - I lost weight because I was basically scared into it. I do run 3 times a week and go to the gym 2 times a week but I was doing that while I was carrying the extra weight.

My DH and I were renewing our life insurance in Jan of 2009 and because of our ages at the time (56) we had to have a little check-up by the public health nurse. She dropped by the house and was doing our weight, blood pressure, blood tests and heart monitor. I knew I was carrying extra weight but I didn't know how much. Anyway, she weighed me (I didn't look at the number) and then took my blood pressure and she noted that it was quite high. I didn't know why. I thought to myself - I exercise, and I think I eat properly. But whatever. She took again at the end and it was still high and she commented that it shouldn't be that high. So then I looked at my weight and just about fell out of my chair. I was shocked at what I weighed which was about as much as a man.

So I got on the internet and just started researching healthy eating, checked my BMI, looked at calorie counting, looked at what fat is and how many calories are in a pound, etc. What I realized is that I can't and wasn't prepared to exercise anymore so I had to look at my food intake. I don't eat chips, cheezies or any type of junk food (dark chocolate is definitely an issue and continues to be so) but what I was doing was just eating too much food during the day. I was exercising and so used that as an excuse to eat but that attitude does catch up with you eventually.

I found out through research that 1 pound has 3500 calories in it and so if I want to lose a pound a week I have to drop 500 calories a day. So, no more mid-morning snack, no more eating dinner leftovers for lunch and no more cheese and crackers in the afternoon. I started eating a sensible, prepared for me by me lunch. Some fruit, some protein and a carbohydrate. I do get hungry mid-afternoon and so I have applesauce with cinnamon. I do prepare sensible dinners but now I don't have seconds. And nothing after dinner and that was the hardest thing to let go of.

It took 9 months to lose 42 pounds and I feel so much better and that is what keeps me motivated to keep it off. My running is better, my walking is easier, bending to get things is easier - I just feel so much better and that is the incentive to keep it off. The changes that I made were ones that I knew I could maintain over the long haul. I didn't give up the cream for my coffee because I knew I couldn't give it up for the long term. \\

I think that it's important to only make those changes that you can maintain for the rest of your life and not miss. If you can't give up that cookie at night - cut back someplace else but still count it in your calories, if you can't cut back sugar in your coffee for ever then cut back where you can and not miss it. Eating healthy and maintaining a healthy weight shouldn't be or feel like punishment for life.

A couple of people have commented about how they blew it one week or were "bad" over the weekend. During this process I gave myself permission for the occasional lapse. I knew it was going to happen because I'm not perfect, I'm not a robot and I'm trying to break a 25 year eating habit. You don't do that without a misstep along the way. Now, I have given myself a 5 pound leeway for those times when I'm away or we have a busy couple of weeks of entertaining. I do weigh myself everyday and do start to regroup if I put on 3 pounds. I don;t beat myself up if that happens because now I have the tools to deal with it.

This is just my opinion but I don't believe in these fad diets because they are too hard to maintain as a long-term lifestyle. (I'm not talking about diets relating to gluten allergies or diabetes, etc) Like I said - my opinion.

blfenton, I agree with you 100%. I too don't believe in fad diets and know what I can and should eat. I do great some days and not so great others, but I don't go into a tail spin. I just do the best I can one day at a time. I'm no longer in my 20's and 30's and can not physically do any high intensity execising anymore so I know the calorie count and type of food I eat is the main thing for me to lose weight. I do exercise but not at a level that I even consider for any real calorie burn. I do it because it keeps me strong and flexible.

I do what I can and don't worry about the rest.

Congrat's on your weight loss, that is fantastic.

HIWTHI - it's good to hear how you recovered from the sugar lapse. I'm sure I'm going to have something like that happen to me at some point as I am an addict. So far I'm doing reasonably well just having a limited quantity for dessert occasionally.

blfenton - thanks for sharing that. Your story is similar to mine - though I knew how much I weighed and that I'd gradually been gaining a few pounds over the years. It was the post-menopausal high blood pressure and high cholesterol that was the wake up call for me. I was hoping I'd be like my mother who died at 85 and never had either of those problems. But I'm like my dad who had all those problems along with a first heart attack before age 50.

I had that health epiphany about five years ago and started paying more attention to eating a healthy diet and increased my exercise regularity. I lost about 12 pounds at that time. This past December was epiphany #2 when I realized I'd lost some of my discipline (actually completely out of control over the holidays).

So I got back at it Jan 2 and things are back under control. I am really in the groove now after 10 weeks as far as eating. Busy work schedule and prosthetic problems are currently impacting exercise frequency but I know I will get back at that shortly.

I never felt worse because of weighing more but I didn't like the way I looked. I felt like I was getting that frumpy old lady look. I'm so much happier with that now that I've dropped 9.8 lbs as of today. That really inspires me to keep this up. I just ask myself - what do you enjoy more: eating that half gallon of ice cream or looking fit and trim?