[Batwoman]

Five years ago I lost nearly 50 lbs. and got into great shape over the course of about a year. I've kept the weight off, I am still in great shape, and I feel better than ever. A lot of people have asked me how I did it, and have been surprised with the answer since it is really pretty simple. Here is what I did, just three things:

(1) Stopped eating between meals. NO snacks, ever. It was very hard at first but once I got used to it, it was easy.
(2) Limited myself to 1 alcoholic drink per day, maximum.
(3) Started working out 3 time per week, every week, no skipping.

It worked for me. Took a while, but I am SO glad I made these changes. What has been great is that none were hard to live with for the long term once I got used to them. Do I have more than one drink a day now sometimes? Or an occasional snack? Sure -- but I kept to my plan until I had all the weight off that I wanted.

Workouts? I started practicing martial arts -- Tae Kwon Do. It has been great for exercise, mental discipline, and flexibility. If a middle-aged lady can do it, you can too! (I am now a black belt, by the way). There are all kinds of other good options for exercise too -- the gym, weights, classes, swimming, running. I don't think it matters too much what you do as long as you do it regularly and work hard at it.

Anyway, you would be surprised how some relatively simple changes can make a huge difference.

[JonPop]

Kudos, Batwoman. Black belt, eh? Too cool. (jP

[biggie smalls]

Good for you.

I am currently in my weight loss battle right now because like a lot of people i over ate a lot in high school, mainly to always have plent of fat on me i can turn into muscle because i was a starting O-lineman. Anyways I have lost nearly 65 pounds and and want to lose another 65 or so. But the routine that has worked for me is, I eat 4 to 5 times a day, I have given up Soda or any other product with processed suger (candy, cake, ice cream) stuff like that, I eat fast food maybe once a week now, and eat way more fruits and vegetables. Here is the best part for all you lazy people I have only recently started to actually exercise this week on wednesday. I started this in the second week of September 09, at first it absolutely sucked but now I have absolutely no craving for soda, candy, ice cream, or anything like that and it actually makes me a little sick to eat stuff like that anymore. For Example, on Christmas day I ate a piece on Pumpkin pie and felt a little nauseated. And I plan to keep this up along with some exercising from now on for the rest of my life. So for everyone that needs to lose weight there is really no excuse not to I did not exercise for 5 months and still lost 65 pounds and am now weigh about 270. Yes that does sound like a lot but I have a good amount of muscle and am 6'2 so while i am still big I am no longer a fat ass lol.

That is my little story.

Also I have got to say that it is an absolute amazing feeling of how much more energy i have to do stuff. Plus it is a nice little confidence booster to.

Very nice with the Black Belt. Once i loss about 30 more pounds (hopefully in about 2 months or so) I plan on training in Muay Thai.

[Batwoman]

Biggie, that's a great story. It takes a lot of determination but it is so very worth it, isn't it? I agree about how much more energy and confidence comes with losing weight and getting in shape. I find that it makes it easier to stay on track and keep up the good diet -- positive reinforcement, so to speak. I have a lot more energy now than I did ten years ago.

As for martial arts, I love it. I like the mental part as well as the physical, and I really enjoy all the people I have met in classes. I was surprised how many people take up martial arts as adults, I had previously thought it was mostly something that kids and teenagers did (or at least that you had to start then if you were going to do it as an adult). But none of that is true. I found a very welcoming community at my Tae Kwon Do school. There are really only two requirements for someone who starts training as an adult: patience and a good sense of humor!

I am also a runner now. I started running only after I had been doing martial arts for about a year and had already dropped the weight. I wasn't able to get to my Tae Knwon Do classes often enough due to work/kids etc., and running was something I could squeeze in around the edges at home. Like cutting back on snacks and alcohol, it was awful at first. But after a while I came to love it, and now I go crazy if I cannot run regularly.

[biggie smalls]

Originally Posted by Batwoman

Biggie, that's a great story. It takes a lot of determination but it is so very worth it, isn't it? I agree about how much more energy and confidence comes with losing weight and getting in shape. I find that it makes it easier to stay on track and keep up the good diet -- positive reinforcement, so to speak. I have a lot more energy now than I did ten years ago.

As for martial arts, I love it. I like the mental part as well as the physical, and I really enjoy all the people I have met in classes. I was surprised how many people take up martial arts as adults, I had previously thought it was mostly something that kids and teenagers did (or at least that you had to start then if you were going to do it as an adult). But none of that is true. I found a very welcoming community at my Tae Kwon Do school. There are really only two requirements for someone who starts training as an adult: patience and a good sense of humor!

I am also a runner now. I started running only after I had been doing martial arts for about a year and had already dropped the weight. I wasn't able to get to my Tae Knwon Do classes often enough due to work/kids etc., and running was something I could squeeze in around the edges at home. Like cutting back on snacks and alcohol, it was awful at first. But after a while I came to love it, and now I go crazy if I cannot run regularly.

Absolutely one of the best decisions I have ever made to quite honest with you. It's not only the satisfaction of seeing yourself lose weight and looking better but it also feels really good when people are always telling you how good you look. That combo=major confidence boost lol. Also the energy is magnificent I have more energy now than I did when I played football and i was 300+ and able to run 3 miles non stop, I now have a tremendous amount of energy. And the best part about losing the weight is when I go out to bars I do not have to initiate the contact between me and another women.

I would do almost anything if I could become a runner, but I absolutely hate just running it is so boring for me I lose interest with in 5 minutes. I much prefer to play basketball with friends which is still good physical activity but I would love to be able to run a lot I just do not for see it happening.

As far as martial arts goes I don't think I am going to be uncomfortable to do it because my best friend and I have decided that when I lose some weight that we are both going to go at the same time so we would know somebody there.

[Batwoman]

Originally Posted by biggie smalls

I would do almost anything if I could become a runner, but I absolutely hate just running it is so boring for me I lose interest with in 5 minutes. I much prefer to play basketball with friends which is still good physical activity but I would love to be able to run a lot I just do not for see it happening.

For me, I might have said "running is too boring" several years ago but in truth what I felt was "running is too hard." I hated it. I tried running several times in my 20s, and always failed after a few weeks of miserable workouts. But looking back I realize what my mistake was -- I was trying to take on too much to fast. I would go out and actually run 2 or 3 miles, and be in agony most of the way. This time around, I did it differently: I walked when I got tired. I started out with 2 miles and probably walked at least half of it. I would run until I got out of breath, then walk until I felt better, then run again, then walk again, etc. I built up slowly. It was a special day the first day I could actually run 2 miles without stopping -- and without feeling bad! It was a revelation. After I could run two miles, I did that for a while, then moved up to three miles. I never ran more than three times a week for the first year, and that was plenty. AND, much to my surprise, I found that I actually liked running!

This sort of program may sound silly, but it works. Here is how it turned out for me: after running for four years, last November I ran the New York City Marathon.
Amazing things really are possible if you work at them and don't give up.

[kingpole]

17 years ago i weighed about 280 pounds. Im only 5'9". I wore a tight 44" waist. Now i wegih 190 with a loose fitting 34". You have to make the changes stick doable and make it your lifestyle. I frequent the gym 2 times per week and my job is very physical. Im 46 now and im younger now than when i was in my twenties.

[budlightlion]

May I ask the point in one alcoholic drink a day? It's not even going to get you tipsy.

[Batwoman]

Originally Posted by budlightlion

May I ask the point in one alcoholic drink a day? It's not even going to get you tipsy.

The point was that I was drinking more than one before that! Limiting myself to one drink a day cut out a lot of calories.

[biggie smalls]

Originally Posted by Batwoman

For me, I might have said "running is too boring" several years ago but in truth what I felt was "running is too hard." I hated it. I tried running several times in my 20s, and always failed after a few weeks of miserable workouts. But looking back I realize what my mistake was -- I was trying to take on too much to fast. I would go out and actually run 2 or 3 miles, and be in agony most of the way. This time around, I did it differently: I walked when I got tired. I started out with 2 miles and probably walked at least half of it. I would run until I got out of breath, then walk until I felt better, then run again, then walk again, etc. I built up slowly. It was a special day the first day I could actually run 2 miles without stopping -- and without feeling bad! It was a revelation. After I could run two miles, I did that for a while, then moved up to three miles. I never ran more than three times a week for the first year, and that was plenty. AND, much to my surprise, I found that I actually liked running!

This sort of program may sound silly, but it works. Here is how it turned out for me: after running for four years, last November I ran the New York City Marathon.
Amazing things really are possible if you work at them and don't give up.

I never thought about going at it like that before. I'm actually going to try that in a few minutes and hopefully it will be the first of many times I run.