[Marlene]

I was thinking this morning, as I was plodding along on the treadmill (it's really tedious but gives you lots of time to think ), about weight loss plans and what makes them sucessful. A big part of the success of WW for example is the accountability or the dreaded weigh in every week. You really don't want to be the only one who didn't lose that week. (yes yes, in theory it's confidential, but you can always tell by people's face's who's lost and who's gained that week).

I'm not much on meetings, but there's something to be said for accountability. Its the reason I used a personal trainer in the past and have decided to do so again. Just having the appointment, forces me to get to the gym, otherwise, I'd just procrastinate all day. I'm an expert and finding reasons NOT to exercise!

So here's what I'm going to do. Each week, starting on Tuesdays, I will report in on my progress. I'll start this morning by posting my plan and goals. Anyone is welcome to join in and play along. Whether you just want to get fit, lose just that last 5 pounds or just generally feel better. It doesn't matter what program you're following or not, or just trying to do your own thing as I will be doing.

Once upon a time, I weighed approximatelly 250 lbs. I know weight loss backwards and forwards, at least what works for me. Knowing that, and knowing that I'm not likely to give up great food or even fatty foods, or alcohol for that matter, puts me in a realistic place about what I can and can't do. I'm also blessed or cursed with a weightlifters body type. I can pack on muscle faster than most people I know, once I start with the weights.

There are a few basic premises of weight loss regardless of what plan you follow or what you do. If you dont' do these things, it is highly unlikely that you will be successful no matter what else you do or how much you exercise.


WaterWater water everywhere, and drink as much as you can. Certainly at the minimum a litre of water a day and more is better. It is a peverse fact that the more water you drink, the less water you will retain. Also, fat cells tend to retain more water, so the more weight you carry, the more your body wants to store to accomodate that.

Weight loss plans like WW are very successful, because if you follow what they tell you that first week and drink gallons of water, you will "lose weight". So when you go for that first weigh in, you think "hey this works" and you're motivated to do the whole plan. And WW works, there's no doubt about it. I lost 75 lbs doing weight watchers a few years ago.

Breakfast It may come as a surprise to some people, but undereaters are as likely or more likely to gain weight than over eaters. If you don't wake up your metabolism in the morning, it will stay asleep. If you don't give your body food in the morning, it tends to be unsure when its going to get some and will then store what it does have as fat, so as to protect itself.

The Scale This is where people get discouraged. The needle either doesn't budger or god forbid, goes up! Two things about this. Only weigh yourself once a week. That needle will fluctuate daily depending on what you've eaten/done the day before. Had a high salt meal the day before? That needle is going to show the temporary water retention the next day. Also, (see the next section on exercise) be aware that muscle weighs more than fat. So you might be losing fat, but the scale may say you're gaining weight because you're packing on muscle. Be more guided by how things fit and how you feel.

Exercise No one I know likes to exercise, including me. Particularly cardio exercise which is where you're burning your fat off. I'm not going to push it here, but walking is the second best exercise in the world. The first? Swimming. If you only went for a brisk walk for 30 minutes morning or evening, 3 times a weel, you'd find yourself toning up without even realizing it after the first two weeks. The weather's getting nice out. Go on, I dare you. Give it a try for two weeks. When I say brisk, I mean brisk, not a saunter or leisurely stroll. Take your walkman, ipod, best friend, spouse. Whatever works. I prefer to walk alone, and the thing I found was that if I walked at the end of the day, it was a great way to burn off stress, and if I walk at the beginning of the day, I have more energy for the day. If you are going to hit the weights be aware that you will appear to gain weight as you convert your fat to muscle, but there'll be significant inch loss.

What the experts sayThere are all kinds of charts out that that will tell you what your ideal weight etc should be. Unfortunately, most of them aren't realistic goals that any of can achieve much less maintain. Pick a weight or a clothing size that you're comfortable with. That's your goal. Not what anyone else tells you it should be. for me, it's a size 12 I dont want to be perfect, I just want my clothes to fit.

Other factors Know your body type and what works. For some, salt is an issue, for some is carbs and for some its sweets. Be aware that for women, hormones will come into play and that it tends to be harder for women in menopause to lose weight.

Choices Be aware that true weight loss involves making choices, not sacrifices. You can choose to eat chips, ice cream, fried chicken and drink gallons of alcohol every day. If you do it every day, you probably won't lose any weight whether you exercise or no. But you can certainly have all those things and more. You just need to learn to chose where and when and how much. And finally have fun with it. All we really want is to look a little better, and feel a little healthier. So don't beat yourself up if you have ice cream or chips.

So having said all that, if you're still with me Here's my plan. These are the minimum things I need to do to get where I want to be. Your milage may vary.

Water - minimum of three litres a day
Exercise - walking three times a week, light weights on the alternate two days.
Alcohol - a couple of glasses of wine in the evening during the week. On the weekends, all bets are off
Food - whatever the hell I want.
Goal - 10 lbs by the end of May with a further 10 pounds over the rest of the summer.

[Madge]

Thanks for a great post Marlene. It is very timely for me as I have just started AGAIN to do the treadmill thing. For about the past 10 days I have been doing 1.5 - 2 miles a day. That's 40 minutes worth. I usually just put on some mindless cooking or house and garden TV show and it is relatively painless. While losing a few pounds wouldn't hurt my real goal is to try and fix up what I have. I must admit I do have more energy since starting this. I usually do it in the am pre shower and coffee so I am only half awake.
Great advice on the water. I thought I was drinking enough but from what you have said I will have to pick up the pace.
I am not a big eater and don't eat sweets but I do enjoy my martini in the evening.

[Marlene]

And you should continue to enjoy your martini in the evening as well! Particularly if your goal is to fix up what you have, you are doing the right thing by focusing on exercise, at least walking!

I've just come back from fixing up my personal trainer. I've worked with this trainer before, and had good results. I start Thursday.

[malawry]

Nice post, Marlene. As you know from chatting with me via AIM, I've been doing WW since 7 January and it's working quite well for me. I'm down 28lbs so far. I have some goals, the big one being within striking distance of my big goal by the end of the summer so we can try for another baby. Some days are easier, some are harder. I always try to keep my eye on the culinary treats that really matter to me before I indulge in something. And I've been hitting the gym 5-6 days each week, and not eating my "activity points" that I earn by doing so.

[Marlene]

Congrats! I knew you had lost, but not how much. That's an outstanding loss for the time you've been doing it. Howa re you finding the working out? Do you find you are losing inches as well as what you are losing at the scale? If you aren't tracking that, you might want to consider taking some measurements on a monthly basis. Weekly won't make much differerence, but monthly will.

[malawry]

I haven't been measuring inches. I guess I'm too afraid of those numbers! I have dropped 2 dress sizes, though...I am wearing my "skinny skirt" for the first time today since several months before I got pregnant.

When I set my mind to it, I can be very disciplined about my diet. The problem is, I don't always set my mind to it!

[Dana]

Congrats from me as well, malawry. Are you counting points or following Core?

[Marlene]

I'm pretty sure malawry is counting points. Especially if she started in January of this year. Like you Dana, I'm a core girl. They brought the points system in while I was on the six week maintenance to get to Lifetime. I've always had trouble with the point system and still tend to think in core when I think WW.

[Bombdog]

Good stuff there, Marlene.

I'm in too. I started in October of '05 with an ex gf on the Providia 6 week Body Makeover. I thought I knew all about how to lose weight and was just going along for the ride to be supportive. 60 lbs later I have learned an awful lot. I'd still like to lose another 10.

I drink at least 100 oz of water every day. That, and eating 5-6 small meals a day, were the most enlightening things I learned.

I do cardio at least 5 times a week now, alternating between running intervals for 30 minutes one day and an hour at 5 mph the other. I do mild weights 3 days a week and at least 100 crunches every day.

Oh, and btw, I still have my wine every evening, and 3 or 4 cappuccinos (read cream) every morning. Like you said, it's all about choices.

[Marlene]

Oh well done Bombdog! I've not actually heard of Providia 6 week Body Makeover. Water is absolutely the key to any sucessful weight loss plan and subsequent maitenance.

There are certain choices that I made every day while on WW. I was not going to go to a light cream for my coffee, and I wasn't going to margarine for butter, for example. I cut fat out in other places, and ate low fat yogurt for example, but there are some things that are just sacred!

[Marlene]

I'm just going to keep hammering away at the water thing. Because I cannot stress enough how important it is. You may think you are drinking enough, but most people really don't. Lots of people tell me they have trouble drinking water. I have to admit, for the first few days of getting back into the habit, I had some trouble too. It took some fairly concious effort on my part to get two litres in and I felt I was working at it. Within a couple of days, I had two litres in before the afternoon was over, and as of a couple of days ago, I've been downing four litres without even thinking about it and still have it all in by early evening. Of course, I spend my life in the restroom, but that's a different story.

If you don't have one, get yourself a litre water bottle. Most supermarkets have the Rubbermaid ones with straws. I drink bottled water, but it's expensive and I don't advocate that here for people. But think about it. If you filled that litre bottle up two or three times a day, your water intake is done. Keep your water bottle on the counter beside you when you're cooking. or just beside you anywhere you are. When I'm at the computer, I'm drinking from my water bottle now without even realizing I'm doing it.

If you're going to form a habit, this is a good one to form.

[Bombdog]

Marlene, on Mar 28 2007, 09:38 AM, said:

I'm just going to keep hammering away at the water thing. Because I cannot stress enough how important it is.

Absolutely!

I too had a hard time getting down water at first. Now I use a powdered drink mix (peach tea), with no calories, no sodium, nothin'....that works for me. I normally get 36 oz down during my morning workout and it's pretty easy to get the remainder down after that.

[Dana]

I put either a slice or lemon or lime and a sprig of mint in my water. Much more refreshing.

[malawry]

I am counting points. If I have a plateau I may switch to Core briefly, though.

I crave water. But I've been drinking my water for years now.

This post has been edited by malawry: 28 March 2007 - 01:33 PM

[Marlene]

I developed my plan with my trainer this morning. He's looking for me to lose about a lb to a lb and a half per week. We took all sorts of fun measurements today. I'll report on weight loss every week, and inch loss once a month. Tuesday will be my first full workout in two years, at the gym. I'll probably crawl home, get into bed and be unable to rise for 3 days.

[Marlene]

Tomorrow is weigh in day for me as well as the start of my torture - I mean workout with my trainer. In the meantime, here are a few things to consider and discuss.

When to weigh in What is the right day to weigh in every week? Mondays, so you can get a good start to the week? Mid-week? Fridays, so you can hopefully go into the weekend feeling good about what you've accomplished? This is largely a matter of personal preference, but generally speaking, I don't advise weighing in on Mondays. No matter how you slice it, there is usually more eating and drinking done on the weekends than any other days of the week, particularly as summer rolls around and grilling season starts. You're going to pay a temporary price at the scale likely on Mondays, after a weekend session of eating and drinking. I tend to like mid-week as it gives me a recovery period from the weekend, and a barometer of where I need to go the rest of the week.

Do I eat before or after I exercise? You eat after. Always. If you eat before you exercise, your body will just burn off the calories you've just consumed. But what you are trying to do is burn off some fat. That means what's already in your body. After a workout, a light meal is good, nothing to heavy, but try to include at least a small piece of protein. Try to eat carbs in the morning rather than at night as carbs are harder to burn off and are more easily converted to fat. And most carbs contain a significant amount of sugar.

Give yourself permission I dislike the word diet. It feels temporary. "I'm on a diet right now, but later I won't be and I can eat what I want". Not only does that feel temporary, its going to start to feel like you're depriving yourself. Keep that up long enough and it's human nature to start resenting what you're doing. "I'm an adult I can eat what I like", which tends to lead to binge eating of the "forbidden" food.

Get two things into your head. NOTHING is forbidden, and you are not on a diet. All things in moderation are just fine. They key is moderation and choice. Choose to eat potato chips today and maybe fruits tomorrow. One of the things I saw over and over at WW and with other people on different plans, was how rigid they became about everything that went into their mouths. They weighed, and counted calories, and concienciously consumed their salads every day. They were virtious at every meeting they came to. And inevitably, they all crashed and burned. Take a day off. Give yourself permission to eat anything you want, and don't think about it! I generally choose Saturday as my "free" day.I cannot stress this enough. Deny yourself something long enough and eventually it will become the only thing you can think about. One day is not going to make a difference in your long range plan, and it should be a long range plan. You don't see results in a week, it takes a while. Know that you didn't put the weight on overnight, so it isn't going to come off overnight.

Fruits, veggies and Fat

One of the things I see people do when they start a weight management plan is to cut every scrap of fat out of their diets. They read labels zelously, eat low fat or fat free everything and dont' understand why they still gain weight. First of all, your body needs fat. We all know there are good fats and bad fats, but don't make the mistake of thinking that something fat free is necessarily good for you. Check those labels. Because fat is what gives food its flavour, fat free products need to figure out a way to make their fat free stuff taste good. So what happens? The sugar and or the sodium content is increased. Read the sodium content on a fat free container next time. You might have a heart attack at the amount.

Fruit is good, but be aware that fruit has a lot of natural sugar. But wait, shouldn't natural sugar be ok? Much better for me than that refined stuff, no? No. Sugar is sugar, and while it gives you a temporary boost, it also converts easily to fat and can be quite high in the calorie intake.

Veggies. Now veggies are really good for you. This is my major downfall. I don't eat nearly enough veggies. Fruit and veggies were the two areas I had the most trouble meeting my daily intake of when I did WW. I had to conciously make an effort to include them in my diet and I still do. And to make it worse, two of my favourite "veggies" corn and peas, are considered starches by WW and didn't count as veggies. So part of my plan will be to include more veggies in my evening meal, and less carbs. I'm not a huge carb eater, but I do like potatoes.

A final word about water Coffee and tea do NOT count towards your daily water intake. Anything with caffiene in it is considered a diuretic. The "water" in your coffee or tea is being flushed right out of your system bypassing the part of your system where you want your fat and other toxins to be flushed out..

Thus ends my musings from today's treadmill walk.

[Madge]

Thanks for the great tips Marlene. You are really motivating me!
I measured our how much water my tumbler holds and while I thought I was drinking enough I have to bump it up to twice as much just to get the 3 litres in. While the physiological reasons for drinking so much are sound I'm sure there must be an exercise benefit also,with all the up and down and to-ing and fro-ing to the bathroom.
Good luck tomorrow with your trainer.

[malawry]

Interesting. I have to have something to eat before I work out, but I usually work out after I have breakfast--I wake up pretty hungry most mornings!

Your note on weighing on Mondays is well-taken. I officially weigh on Saturday morning, but I check a few times during the week to keep me motivated and on-target. I checked this morning and I was up 2.5lbs from Saturday! Oh my! (I visited a nice restaurant and pigged out Saturday night, and Sunday is my day off from working out, but still!) Maybe I should have waited until tomorrow morning to check in on the scale!

[Marlene]

Malawry, try eating as light a breakfast as you can before you do your workout. Unless of course, you've got a few hours between breakfast and said workout. I mean, I don't want you fainting on the treadmill or anything!

Madge, if you can, get a rubbermaid or other 1 litre bottle. It will be empty before you know it. If it looks imposing, try using a straw. It's amazng how much fast people seem to drink, using straws. I have no idea why, but it seems to work that way!

[Marlene]

Dutifully weighing in this morning, I've lost 1.5 lbs from last Tuesday to this. I suspect it is really two pounds, but since we didn't eat until almost 10 pm last night, I also suspect that I'm still holding some of that dinner, since it wouldn't have had much of a chance to digest, much less burn off. Hubby now knows that I will hold his dinner for him if he wants to go to the gym, but I just can't eat that late at night and expect to lose weight, so I'll eat earlier.
I suspect the weigh in next week will be tough as we are spending the weekend in the city and gee, I'll be eating foie both nights. I don't suppose that will help my weight loss efforts any

In looking at the WW site, (which I hadn't viewed in quite a while) it seems they've brought the core program back as an option. I lost all my weight on core, but they switched to the points system during my maitenance phase, and I had a really hard time getting used to it. At that time, they completely wiped every trace of core from their program. They've also finally gotten with the program and offer some of the tracking tools online and even the program online.

One of the best things WW teaches you is to track what you eat. Write absolutely everything down that you eat and drink during the day. You may be surprised at what you are eating and drinking that you just don't even think about!