Weight Control Support Group

Gosh, I hope I didn't come across as being a know it all. I didn't intend that. When I reread my post, I think I may have sounded condescending.

Anyway, I'm just trying to share a bit of my knowledge that I learned while on WW. I think I am a 'success' story, and perhaps others can use some of the info to get themselves on the right track. I know how hard it is. I had never had a weight issue until I had kids. I suddenly went from always being a perfect size 4, to suddenly being a 14 and hating every second of it. A very good friend of mine helped me get on the program and get on track. And I felt the change almost immediately, got so much more energetic, and felt great!!

I just want to help all of you if I can in any way.

Ok, I'll stop rambling now.

A SIZE 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whattha? Gosh that is tiny, we only go to a size 8 or I think there may be a 6 now and then it's kiddies clothes!

Oh and yeah yeah so condescending (not) we still love you hehehehe! I appreciate your knowledge and am taking notes on what everyone has to say.

Hmmmmm better go have another water (grumble, grumble, slosh)

Okay...I may not need 48 hours before I put my 2 cents in here again! I'm feeling a little better!

Daniela, I read in Woman's World this week that we are supposed to drink a gallon of water a day. It's equivalent to approx. 4 litres per day. Holy Water!!! I will eventually get there but so far, I am not capable of drinking that much!

BTW: I consider your post motivating and not at all condescending! Keep up the great wrok. We look forward to your advice. I am inspired and hope to one day be a success story too, just like you. Thanks for your help!

It's so nice to see so many of you wanting to do this. I just love it!

Question: I picked up a bottle of Liptons Lemon Green Tea. Has anyone tried this and if yes...is this a good choice in drink? I know Green tea is excellent for the digestive system.

Have a great day everyone. I am making my way through my first litre of water.

Size 4 huh...I recall wearing that once. I believe my size and age were the same! :LOL:

It's equivalent to approx. 4 litres per day. Holy Water!!!

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Perhaps it was a typo and you are supposed to bath in it instead? hehehehe!

Question: I picked up a bottle of Liptons Lemon Green Tea. Has anyone tried this and if yes...is this a good choice in drink? I know Green tea is excellent for the digestive system.

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it is my personal oppinion only based on what I have read about green tea and I think you are better off buying organic green tea and making up iced tea with some honey and a little lemon juice to drink. I think there are to many hidden chemicals and sugars in those drinks but it's my oppinion only!

Also NEWS FLASH!!!!!

If you drink a glass of warm water (boiled) with fresh lemon juice squeezed into it first thing every morning it is suposed to really speed you metabolisim up and get rid of the toxins better and faster from your system. Also it is best to drink your water at body temperature not ice cold as your body works with it instead of fighting it if you now what I mean/.

Anyway that's my 2 cents worth if it helps anyone!

Hugs and sliming thoughts

Leslie the cuddly

Ick - I can't drink warm water - it has to be icy cold or it makes me nauseated. I have an idea. How about every time you read someone's new post you have a large glup of water. The amount of time we are on this site, we should rach a gallon of water by noon!

I was very bad this morning - I had a rough day so far, so I treated myself to a skim milk hot chocolate with no whip cream and a croissant. - I will exercise when I get home to work off those calories!

Good luck today people!

A gallon of water?!? Like Gys said...Holy Water!

OK, I thought if I did the conversion into ounces, i.e. glasses of water, it wouldn't seem so bad (So much for that theory!). I think this goal may take a couple weeks to obtain. 1 gallon = 3.785 Litres = 127.986 oz. = 16 (15.998) 8-oz. glasses of water a day. START CHUGGING LADIES!!

For goals, I think we should still stick to the 8 8-oz glasses of water a day, and then kick it up a notch later. Any other thoughts?

Daniela, we can use all the knowledge and support we can get. Heck, you have already been through what we are going through, most of us without the help of an "official" program. We welcome any tips!

Bundy, that is really interesting about the warm water. See, I found just the opposite information, that cold water was better because your body has to work harder to digest it (warming it up, then digesting it), thereby burning more fat. There is so much conflicting information out there! ARGH!

Leslie, thanks for the Green tea advice!

I heard about the warm water too. A chinese woman in a health store once told me that it is a highly recommended thing to do. And, she told me it was to flush the fat out of your system. (She drank her water hot) Apparently the hot water breaks down the fat stored in our body and naturally flushes it out. (just like you said Heidi)

I also heard that drinking cold water with ice revs up your metabolism therby burning more stored fat.

I think all in all, the key to all of this is drinking Water.

Ady, I think the drink every time you read someones post is a great idea! I'm in!

I am doing the water thing slowly. I can't imagine drinking a gallon (yet...) I will someday. And if we keep it up, we'll be drinking a gallon all at the same time!

I know girls, the water thing is a lot!! I thought I was going to die last spring when I started to drink so much. But you'll be amazed, with time you'll actually CRAVE it. I know its hard to believe, but really, I wouldn't lie to you!!

As far as being a size 4 way back when I was in my early 20's...I should clarify. I am only 5 feet tall, so a size 4 is pretty typical at a normal weight. I am just a short thing!! Trust me, I wasn't tiny by any means, I always had hips and boobs!!:tounge2:
Right now I am a comfortable 10, and love it! If I could get into an 8 that would be great, but I am happy at a 10, and even though I am still trying to lose another 5 or 10 I am in no big rush.

So, DRINK!!!!!!!!!!! Exercise!!!! And journal everything you put into your mouth!! Each of you will get there, but you have to be committed and understand that not every day will be easy. This is a lifetime thing, not just a fad!

Daniela, your help, advice, experience and KNOWLEDGE are motivating and you didn't come off at all as a know-it-all!

Debby! You're gorgeous! You know how you look at the others pictures and see beauty? That's how we see you. You are your own worst critic, and you have to STOP IT! Right now!

...and Leslie, Daniela's right! Some of us were just made little (and some of us littler than others). I'm barely 5' 2" (157 centimeters?), and regular sized clothes for my size don't fit - arms and legs are too long, so either I find "petite" size stuff, or I have to alter just about everything I buy. In my 20s I had hips and boobs, too, but I fear I won't ever be "curvey" again.

I had the opposite of an over-eating problem for a while. I stopped eating. Everything in my life was terrible. Then Gary and I got together. We moved in together. He fed me lots of protein and carbohydrates for a month and a half, we drank lots of wine (very fattening), and when I saw the Doc - after six weeks - I weighed 90 pounds.) This is not good either! I'll look through my files - THAT is a scary picture. My collar bone and cheek bones are sticking out, my color is kind of gray, and I looked like a ghost made of a bag of bones. I fit into an Ann Taylor size 00 petite. I'd gone from a full "C" cup to barely a "B." I stopped having my periods, and my body just didn't work right. It took about a year to recover from that, and I never got my boobs back. I did fill out my "B" cup better, but that was about it.

When I quit smoking last year and I went from a size four to a size 12, I turned into a weeble, as I gained so much of it in my hips and thighs. I filled out my size 12 pants, but not my size 12 tops .

So...what I have to add is this, I guess.

In addition to drinking water, you MUST work on changing your self-image. If we believe we are fat, we feel fat, and we create an image that "looks" fat. When I weighed something much less than 90 pounds (I didn't own a scale, I still thought I was fat. Hard to believe - looking back at those pictures, I barely had skin on bones). This is SO dangereous - it is partially how people develop anorexia. You guys might not think of it as a problem, or "wish" it was a problem you had - but be careful what you wish for!!!!!

When you lay down to sleep at night, and before you get out of bed in the morning, just take a minute for yourself. Create a beautiful self image. Feel the beauty inside of you, shining out. Don't worry about how you look. Focus on how you feel. The power of our minds is incredible, and, whether conscious of it or not, we project the image of ourselves that we create.

Then drink some water!

BTW, I drank 2 litres yesterday!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry. I still have more to say. I know, I know, blab blab blab.

But I had to finish a glass of water!

Green tea is just about one of the best things you can drink. It is a PHENOMENAL cancer fighter. It is packed with polyphenols, which have been shown to be very powerful cancer-cell fighting agents. Here's a link:

The Power of Green Tea

[...I just checked the link, and it just pulls up a search screen - sorry! Just type in Green Tea, and it'll pull up the stories.]

Also, drinking tea boosts your metabolism. Researchers believe it is the flavonoids in the tea that do it. A study done shows that drinking one cup of green tea with each meal caused 6 out of 10 men to burn 80 calories more the next day than when they didn't drink tea. This was compared to a caffeine pill and a sugar pill, so it isn't the caffeine!

Apples, dark veges, and dark berries (Blueberries, black raspberries, raspberries and even strawberries, although the darker the berry, the more it has) all have polyphenols. And taste great!

You know what we keep in the freezer to snack on all day? See if you have it there - Dole frozen Fruit'N Juice strawberry bars. I also love Edy's frozen wildberry bars. While they have about 80 calories a piece, they taste great and are good for me.

And when I must have chocolate, go for the low-fat fudgecicles! (Good Humor). They only have 45 calories, but are SO chocolate satisfying!!!!

TWO LAST THINGS. I promise.

Heidi - it is much better to start your day with something than with nothing. Breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day. But if you don't have time, try these alternatives to that bagel:

Slice up an apple and eat it with peanut butter. It'll get your metabolism rolling, and the peanut butter will help keep you from feeling hungry longer.

Wheat toast. Two pieces of wheat toast will give you four more grams of fiber than that bagel and will have less calories. No matter what you put on top. Again, I suggest peanut butter. Although packed with calories, they are VERY healthy calories, and will keep you going all morning.

The journal. Kim - the journal is GREAT. Thanks so much for sharing with us!

During the day I don't have time to fill it out, and it's a big page.

I bought one of those little Memo Books. It's about 4" by 3". It fits in my pocket. I just write down what I eat as I eat it. It REALLY helps up my awareness of what I'm eating! No more snacking without really noticing it!

I have to say, I'm doing pretty good on the water thing. I actually brought a bigger cup to work with me, I think it's about 12-16 oz. I'm counting it as 1-1/2 8-oz. glasses. With keeping that at my desk, and taking big drinks instead of sips, I'll be at my 8 glasses before I leave work. I've been increasing each day. Tuesday, when we started, I drank 8 glasses. Yesterday it was 10. Today I should end up at about 12. Tomorrow and the weekend will be the real test. It's easy to keep drinking water when I'm sitting in front of a computer all day, but tomorrow I only work 1/2 day and then the weekend.

Just wanted to share that I am reaching our goal for the week so far!

Go Heidi Go!

Good job Heidi!

I have a water bottle on my desk at all times also. Yesterday, I refilled it 3 times. When I left, there was still a little left in the bottle but, it's an improvement to how much water I drank in the past.

Today, I plan on making sure my bottle is empty when I leave.

It's a little bit before 7am and I've had one glass so far. I think that's a good start!

Have a great water day everyone.

Anyone have a suggestion about what we'll tackle/do next week?? (of course....keeping up with the water also!)

As an idea for next week, how about adding one serving of fruits or vegetables each day? Americans, on average, fall short of the amount of fruits and veggies they are supposed to get each day. Also, they are filling AND lo-cal

Christy

Okay Christy. I'm in!!! I will start my morning off with a fruit (instead of toast). And I will make sure I have some kind of vegetable with my supper. I think one of each should be easy enough for now. In a few weeks, that'll be all I crave!

And, I will continue my water.

How about everyone else?

A good mid-afternoon snack are berries and fat-free yogurt. As Laurie said, berries are very good for you and the combo of protein and fruit will keep you feeling full longer.

Since everyone else is posting pictures, I'll try and put mine up. I had to futz with the size and color a lot, so it may look a little funny.

Christy, you are just cute as a bug (as my mother would have said).

The fruit/vegetable thing works for me. It's going to be kind of tough to me, though. I have this thing about certain consistencies in my mouth that just make me gag. Have always had this, don't know why. Can't even think about yogurt - too slimey. I'm going to have to get creative with especially the fruits. I've tried quite a few and can't handle many. I don't even like strawberries and I really tried to like those. I'm going to try oranges again, since I can eat a lemon with no problem. I know juice can work as a serving.

Any other creative ways to get fruit in? Any other suggestions for fruits I can try?

Any other creative ways to get fruit in? Any other suggestions for fruits I can try?

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Heidi,

How about smoothies with berries, or bananas? I've often heard that a way to get little kids to eat veggies is to puree them and put them in soups/casseroles/etc.

I don't think it's too necessary to focus on fruits and veggies being two separate things. If I remember from my food chart, they are considered the same. So, If you don't like fruit, just add more veggies!

Christy

Heidi, (I said I would cheerlead!) Have you tried frozen low fat yogurt with fruit in cone? I don't think the cone would have many calories. I hate yogurt, but like it frozen in a cone, for some stupid reason!