Amy, you'll get control of this again. You sound ready, and that's half the battle.

Just don't compare yourself too closely with your sisters, other than you have similar goals. My own body type couldn't be more different than my own sister, other than we have the same hands. Similarities stop there where she is curvy and I'm not ;0), brunette to my blonde...

You don't have time right now for 6 miles or an hour a day. Aim for 15 minutes, it's enough to make a difference. Start slow, earn big rewards...but be happy with yourself now too.

We all do what you have done. Eating has to be mindful and planned. We as women tend to pack on the pounds easier than men and it is more difficult to lose.

Do you track what you are eating? This keeps you mindful of just how much you are consuming.

I'm a WW lifetime member. I do what your sisters do and cut back on calories.

You have a hard work schedule. I would try to get 3 days of some kind of exercise. But, honestly, if you really watch what you eat, you don't have to exercise. I believe that exercise is for your health, for the way you feel and look. It is not for the purpose of losing weight. I think often we misjudge and think we can eat more after exercise. Not the case.

I would get my weight down first, then add the exercise. Sometimes, it's just too stressful to do both when starting out on a plan.

There is much talk about intermittent fasting. I am not a fan of the restricted version, but I am in agreement of putting a stop early in the evening. So, if you start eating at 7:00am, stop at 7:00PM. Twelve hours to eat, then twelve hours to digest. No snacking. Have snacks during the day if you need to.

It's all about mixing things up. Have a heavier meal for lunch. Then, soup and a half a sandwich for dinner. I learned about the Tummaro wraps, that are only 60 calories. You can even find breads that are 60 calories. It is all about shaving calories. All food options have lower calorie choices.

I'm against artificial sweeteners, even ones that claim to be natural.

Start by planning what you will be eating, writing it down and knowing how many calories you are consuming.

I weigh myself every day. When I stopped, my weight started going up.

Drink water or flavored seltzer. Limit tea and coffee. I have one of each per day.

You can do this, give yourself a break and don't be hard on yourself. It's great that you have sisters to commiserate with!

I’m trying to get back on the wagon too. I can really relate. I’m overweight and out of breath. My stamina in walking is almost nil. I can stand or walk about 5 minutes and then have to sit. I feel defeated too. I’ve been walking in the evening with DH for the past several weeks but I don’t get far in 5 minutes! I’m now going twice in the evening when it’s cool.

I think my lack of exercise is worse than my way of eating i like low-carb too

You are so lucky Amy to have sisters to help keep you motivated Good luck!

Thanks you guys.

Morz,we all have the same body type. We are all quite curvey. The problem is, once we get past a certain weight, we go from being elegant hourglasses to looking more like a bunch of oversized watches. ;) :/

We all lose weight differently too. I don't do well on restricted calories. I am always hungry ,have no energy and it takes forever to get any significant weight off. On low carb I am almost never hungry,have plenty of energy and I lose more consistently. It's the exact opposite for them. We dont really compare what we eat. We just try to be there to encourage each other. They did have to text talk me out of buying that eggnog today.......

Eld, I do keep a food journal. I find that when I write it down I do much better than when I don't. I tried to do it with apps but it got on my nerves,so I just keep a handwritten one. My employer paid for 17 weeks of WW for all employees a few years ago. All I remember is that I used all my points with 6 hours of waking, I was cranky and hungry,and gained 4 pounds. BUT I saw how well it worked for others in my group. Especially the men,go figure. As for exercise,I just want to do it because i am so sedentary now, it will no doubt have a positive effect on my health if I do it. Excercise has never helped me lose weight. But it does help me feel better.

I'm the same way about restricting calories. I've recently lost some weight by eating more of a plant based diet. I start the day with a heavy cooked cereal of millet, oats, flax and sunflower seeds. Then I usually have a quinoa or chickpea salad of some sort for lunch. Dinner is whatever, but I'm trying to add more whole grains and less meat/cheese. I actually thought I was sick b/c I lost almost 10 lbs without trying. For some reason, the change in diet seemed to make me sweet and empty carb adverse. I just don't crave them the way I did. This may change once my body adjusts, but right now I'm enjoying the little extra play in my waistband.

Good luck!

Amylou, you can do this one small step at a time. Set realistic goals for yourself. Sorry you are feeling down. Exercise may help. Do you have a dog you could walk? That never feels like exercise to me.

Dolly I have 4 large dogs. But they don't really like going for walks. They have acreage to frolic on and while they will walk on a leash, they don't really like it. Sammy was my walking buddy. Now he's gone, and we have moved to the sticks away from the parks that we used to walk in anyway.

I do spend time daily playing with the doggies outside. But its not really exercise. They mostly want belly rubs and ear scritches, so no real effort.

Muffin, my newest edition, is proving quite good at RAISING my blood pressure, since she thought it would be fun to rip the downspout of the gutters off the house.....

Ahhhh...puppies! Take heart amylou, she'll grow out of the puppy/juvenile delinquent stage eventually! ;-)

A thought about your work lunches. What about packing dinner leftovers to take with you? When I was working, my lunch was almost always whatever we'd had for dinner the night before.

I'm working on dropping about eight pounds. I was doing great until a little over a year ago when I badly twisted my knee and broke the tip of my tibia. Between boredom eating and not being able to move around the pounds started piling on. My knee is about 90%now and I had lost most of that weight until we went on a six week vacation this summer. Between eating most meals out and drinking a lot of very high carb, high calorie beers at artisan breweries, I'm back to square one. But we're home now, I'm back on my program and expect to see results soon. If I don't break my leg again I should do ok!

Best of luck to you!

Thanks Dawn. Shes so BAD!!!!!!

I have really weird habits that don't help the situation. Since I work nights, (5pm to 5am) on those days i work i only cook breakfast for SO (dinner for me) when i get home in the morning. I very rarely get up early enough to cook another meal, and when i do , its for him and probably something i cant or don't want to eat. So there are no leftovers.On my off days, i really dont have a regular sleep schedule, as i try to do all my errands and housework and stuff on those days,but i still sleep in some days.. The shift in sleep doesn't help either. My (work) days usually start when i wake up at 3pm. I get up and play with and feed/water the fur-heathens, then get ready for work. The drive is 30 to 45 minutes depending on the traffic. I stop to get something to eat or cook at work on the way. I eat my largest meal here, around 5:30 or 6pm, whenever i get settled in. I usually eat again around 11 or midnight. Then i get home and ill cook SO his breakfast and will usually make myself an egg and either 2 strips of bacon or a sausage patty before i go to bed. When i am following my program, i stick to this schedule. However, lately i have been eating more, snacking on garbage constantly, and generally being greedy. Now i am paring it back. I only have stuff here that is allowed on my plan, and tonight i started walking around the building whenever i had a lull.

I was talking to the staff nurse here at work and she told me that since i work almost exclusively nights, that takes some sort of toll on the body that makes it much more difficult to lose weight,regardless of the fact that i sleep well during the day. Great. ( I don't know if i actually buy that, but what do i know?)

Thats why puppies are made so cute - we cant help but forgive them for their misdeeds.

Ok, leftovers are out. Another thought would be to make a pot of soup that you could take for your lunch for a few days of the work week, especially now that we are into soup weather. Or, perhaps a rotisserie chicken paired with veggies and a dip could make you a few meals. Thats all I got at the moment; getting late here and I can feel my brain starting to fade.

Ive heard that before about people who work nights having a tough time with weight gain. It must throw the body clock off or something.

I assume you have a freezer and microwave at work? The frozen food aisle at the supermarket has new offerings of low carb frozen food from lesser known companies.

Yes, graywings, i stock up on those for when im in a pinch or feel lazy.

Amylou, I have bicycles that take up a lot of room but also a Deskcycle that takes up very little room and fits under one's desk. It is adjustable so that it can always give a good workout. I pair it up with my headphones listening to music as I exercise.

Sorry you are feeling down. Sending positive thoughts for your ability to climb back on, and take control again. You can do this!

Your shortness of breath may not just be from being overweight. You may already know if you have asthma or COPD but there are other things. I had a problem with being overtired after exercise classes and it turned out I had a spiderweb of inflamed tissue surrounding my lungs. It took me years before I could exercise. It still flares up occasionally. Since I have hated how my body felt after exercise since my childhood I have wondered it this was/is a lifelong problem.

I used to work 12 hour shifts. Did it for 3 years. I only exercised on my 4 days off. I only ate portions I brought with me to work. I always brought extra, in case I wanted to binge....ie: a can of tuna, a can of green beans, a can of squash w/ tomatoes. I was skinny! :0) Now I don't limit myself and ripped both knees(years ago) , I make excuses not to exercise.....I get it. I feel better if I exercise, but it's a lot of trouble.

IMO, your first step should be to consult with your doctor. Get a complete physical exam and tell your doctor what you wish to accomplish.

There's no magic to doing this. I'm with your sisters. Cut calories. Don't buy junk. Never eat out of a container; take a portion and be done with it. Keep busy. WALK a mile a day -- fast --inside if you have to. DO work up a sweat -- at least a little 'glow'! I'm best exercising early, then freshening up up.

CHOOSE this lifestyle *because* it makes you feel good.

Is there something "eating you" that needs resolution?

Right there with you Amy! I also just started again - doing low carb/keto. I tried it before and liked it but fell off the proverbial wagon. My problem is menopause has kicked my butt! I probably need to lose 40 lbs now. Ugh. I also feel down that I let myself get to this point.

But I now have a goal in sight - hubby wants to go on a Caribbean vacation for his birthday this spring. I feel very motivated to get in better shape so I can truly enjoy myself.

Good luck!

dont get discouraged. I’m currently about 20 pounds overweight and I’ve tried several different things to get it to go down. Right now I’m finding being active is the best way. I try to get at least an hour of running/cardio/upper body workouts in a day. It helps to have active kids, mine play soccer and volleyball so they help motivate me and sometimes workout with me. Ive been being active for about two weeks now, and I’ve lost 2 pounds. You can do It! Sometimes I feel discouraged but it’s all going to work out in the end.

Now I just have to resist the Halloween candy my kids bring home tommorow :)

With all of you folks that small steps are the best way to accomplish a goal. I was always very thin and ate everything in sight. Then came my 40's and a family to cook for every night...and weight gain. After all the fatigue, nausea and various other side effects of chemo, I had gotten out of the habit of exercising. Low and behold, after my wellness visit with my PCP this spring, my Cholesterol was high for the 1st time in my life. She suggested I try lowering my carb intake and gradually begin walking for exercise. Well, 6 months later, I'm 17 lbs lighter and able to walk 5 miles, 4 days per week. Just as others of said, take baby steps. One of the "tricks" I find very useful is I allow myself 1 meal per week with no restrictions. My freebie meal is lunch on Thursday. A group at work always orders in that day, and I participate.

Good luck, everyone! DH and I are both want to loose 5 to 10 pounds before the holidays. We recently re-started the 5-2 intermittent fast diet. It's worked well for us before. My dad moved to a near-by assisted living home a few months ago, and visiting him every other day or so got our exercise routine off kilter -- will have to work on that also. All it takes is organization and will power :-(

When I had an office job, my overhead light had a motion sensor. If it didn't sense movement near the door for 20 minutes it would turn off. I could have had it aimed more at my desk instead of at the door, but it was a good excuse to get out of my chair at least every 20 minutes. Must think about how to get something like that going now that I'm retired ... it's so easy to get involved and hours pass and I've barely moved -- not healthy!

One way to sneak in a little exercise is to dance while doing household chores. I always have music playing and get dancing in while dusting, sweeping, cleaning up the kitchen, folding laundry and even while cooking, except while using a knife. ;-)

Idstarr, I do one cheat day a week as well. When i went to a weight loss clinic the doctor told me that when you do super low carb, its good to have at least one meal a week with heavy carbs. It supposedly helps "restart" the bodys metabolism. (thats what he said anyway, another doctor would probably tell me the opposite)

Anyway, a few years ago when i did low carb religiously, i lost 50 pounds in 5 months and i had one cheat day a week. (I called it "faturday") Kept me from losing my mind.

Dawn. thats a good way for me to pull a muscle and break a lamp or two. :)

(If i had lamps)

My issue is that usually after I lose, I gain back more than I lost. This is quite common, but I heard about an eating plan that combats it. Supposedly, if you eat very restricted calories (maybe 500?) one day, then eat as you normally would the next, it stops that cycle. I haven't tried it, but it intrigues me.

You've gotten great advice regarding diet but I just want to suggest you have a checkup with your doctor at the same time. You may have already had this test, but I'm mentioning it since not every doctor requests it or knows how to read the results.

Having high lipids is one of the causes of heart attacks at an early age. My DH has the problem and it was discovered several years ago by our 'new' PCP. The cause of his high lipids was not due to his diet but his genetics. The tendency can be hereditary and we now believe that is why his grandfather died suddenly in his early 50's. DH had always been on a strict diet and daily exercise, so they added cholesterol meds to his regimen. Even with that, and yearly monitoring, he recently developed shortness of breath and ended up needing a stent in a major artery.....doctor called it the 'widow-maker'.

So.......needless to say, I believe everyone should have a complete blood panel done.

eld6161 -- what are those tummaro wraps? Do they have a lot of chemicals in them? I want to check them out!

Just want to clarify. I do not have a cheat DAY, but rather a cheat MEAL. I still eat low carb for breakfast and dinner on that day. It just isn't worth losing that much ground when 1 meal with carbs is a sufficient treat.

Blues

This one is 70 calories but others are 60