Saturday, April 28, 2012

Slimming Saturday: Week 1

Confession: My weight has been a struggle for me since before I was a teenager. I have tried just about every diet you can imagine. I have had some small successes in the past, but they were short-lived. The weight kept coming back and then multiplying.

Last Saturday I embarked on a commitment to diet and exercise in an effort to improve my overall health. I'm normally a very private person, but my hope is that blogging about this will help keep me focused on my goal.

I walked for 20 minutes each night. I also followed the Weight Watcher's Points Plus Program. We made several healthy meals, including fish, which we rarely make at home. My husband Stephen found the recipe for butter herb baked fish on Cooks.com. Note: You can use less butter than the recipe suggests. Also be sure to crush the saltines up really well.

After one week I lost 0.4 lbs. The scale wasn't especially generous, but I'm not going to let that get me down.

I would love to hear your slimming secrets and words of encouragement. Thanks for listening and I'll be back tomorrow with some stamping.

Hugs,
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5 comments:

Julie Ebersole said...

From everything I've read, the most successful weight loss occurs when you make a food "lifestyle" change and stick with it--it isn't just temporary. That, plus regular exercise and reducing portions seems to be the key thing I've noticed about people who lose weight and are able keep it off.

I think another key thing is not to deprive yourself of things you really love, but learning to modify--instead of a whole piece of cake, just have 3-4 bites, eat them slowly & really enjoy them.

Don't get discouraged if your hubby loses more & faster than you do; it's always that way.

I think you're off to a great start! I've got my pom poms out and cheering you big time! :) *hugs*

Jana said...

I am so proud of you Joy for being so open about your struggle and your plan. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you - I don't. But count me as someone who will root you on every step of the way.

Dawn T said...

Good luck with your endeavour Joy. The older we get the harder it seems to be to lose weight. I've had success with WW before so stick with it. Changing your lifestyle as well makes things much easier than just dieting.

Brenda said...

Hi Joy! I just had to come and comment because this topic is very close to my heart, not because I am particularly overweight, but simply because I believe in how important it is to be healthy in every aspect of our lives, and more so as we age!

I am also trying to lose about 10 pounds and I love great tasting food.

I second everything that Julie E says above, it is a total LIFESTYLE change.

It does help to a) get rid of those unhealthy snacks that are lying around in the pantry b) allow yourself a "cheat" meal once a week c) eat small, frequent meals, maybe every 3 or so hours, it could be a fruit or low-fat yoghurt d) if you have a sweet tooth like me, and I typically like to eat one thing sweet a day, allow yourself that, like a small square of dark chocolate, and you can buy them all pre-portioned so that you only take one out e) water, water, water! f)exercise, minimum of 20 min a day but if you can work it up to an hour a day, awesome!And it should be a combination of cardio and basic weight lifting, especially if you are over 40 g)don't be too hard on yourself

But again, most importantly, it's got to be a lifetime change. You have to want to change your habits permanently.

Don't get despondent, I will share with you that I go to the gym 5 times a week for about one and a half hours each time. I do weight training for an hour and then anything from 30 to 45 min of cardio after that, plus abdominal exercise! And let me be honest with you that I am seeing changes in what my body looks like, but not necessarily losing hectic amounts of pounds! Some people lose faster than others, so just hang in there!

(Oops, I hope I did not sound like I was preaching, I was aiming more for sounding really excited because that is how I feel about it). Hugs, Brenda

Libby Hickson said...

You're off to a great start Joy!! I'm so inspired by you! My biggest piece of advice (and thing I struggle with most) is to forgive yourself if you slip up, and keep moving forward. I have a tendency to let one bad day crumble into a bad couple of days and next thing I know I haven't been paying attention for days. I'm trying to learn to just acknowledge what I did, forgive myself and move on. It's not always easy!! The other thing is sleep - impossible to do well if you're not getting enough of it! GO JOY GO!!

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