personal experiences

Re: Maintenance Forum

MNJJJMOM — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:24:27 GMT

pat..really a size 6 is pretty fine..have you tried maintaining that 130 for any legnth of time??although you would look good at 125 i am sure also..it will take some time for "those people" to get used to looking at the new you..maybe they are a bit jealous of your new look and thats all it is..you know how misery loves company.. also there is the fact that you should listen to your doctor..are your lab tests indicating that all is well?? maybe they just want to make sure that you dont go the opposite extreme of obesity and go for the annorexic..it will take some time to adjust your own body image.. even you said that you dont automatically go looking for the right size..maybe once you get used to that yourself , your friends and family will be more accepting..it takes time for us to adjust to our new self image..especially if we have been fat for a long time..it might take them some time too..the big issue for me is how much better i feel and how much more energy i have..i wish i would have done it a few years ago.. but i am just glad that i did it..i am sure you are too..lets face it .. fat is not fun or easy...keep in touch ..its easy once you reach your goal to drop off the radar..i dont post as often now , but i still do on occasion,, it helps me stay on track..and i have made some wonderful new friends....kathy

Re: Maintenance Forum

judyyarnell04 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:44:09 GMT

Hey Pat, don't listen to your doctor's nurse, listen to your doctor! Last year everyone was telling me to stop losing weight, that I looked too thin. I told my doctor that and he said don't listen to them, if you want to lose five or ten more pounds, that's fine, you're healthy. So I went back and told everyone what the doctor said and they shut up. I wish I could say I was successful staying at that weight but I can't, but as of today I hope I'm back on track to stay.

Judy

Re: Maintenance Forum

H2Obug — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:24:16 GMT

Hello everyone! Welcome Pat, although I am a new comer here too. Big congrats on the weight los and your change in lifestyle! That is what this is all about! By what you are telling Kathy, you seem to be in the right track. Hey, I have also been told not to lose more (5'4" at 133), but I do think that I should get down to 130, just for the heck of it!! Well, I did go up one pound this week, but I did not work out at all last week, some bug or other. So this week back to basics. As long as I do not get up to 135 I am still within my limit. Have a great day u all! Love,

Elia

Re: Maintenance Forum

patobert — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:01:42 GMT

My goodness ... what a great response. I consider this a lifestyle change ... I know the portions of food I should eat and what types of food I I should eat now. Fried foods, hamburgers, chips, cookies etc does not even tempt me at all. Now my favorite snack is Cherrios .... love them ... a handful of those and I am set for anything. I drink water now - never use too but now I would rather drink water than anything else. I walk 30 to 45 minutes about four times a week. Yes my life has changed. I am 5'3" tall ... just turned 56 yrs old a few days ago. I am in better condition than I have been in years. I have been able to get off from some medication simply because of losing the 120 lbs. Now - when I look in the mirror ... I don't recognize myself at times and at other times I simply look like I did when I weighed 250 lbs. I still look in Lane Bryant for clothes but I really don't know why ... I fit comfortably in size 6 pants and medium shirts but I still want to look at the sizes that are way too big for me now. Most people around me keep telling me to stop .. even my doctor's nurse told me not to lose anymore ... I have been at 130 for three weeks now and I am really going to work on getting to 125. Hope this answer some of your questions. Thanks again!!!

Re: Maintenance Forum

MNJJJMOM — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:28:00 GMT

pat! first of all, congrars on getting to your goal (s) how tall are you??..now as far as the "diet".. are you on a diet??.. or have you changed your eating habits and perhaps even added more excersise into your life?? are the people telling you that you are "too skinny" overweight themselves?? how is your body image?? do you still see the "fat you"..in the mirror?? when you shop for a new pair of jeans do you try on the correct size the first time?? i guess for me, anyway..i still can eat pretty much whatever i want and still maintain my weight loss.. i have been at 133-134 for over 4 months now..i rarely if ever take any more alli.. i have just changed mostly what and how much i am eating.. its second nature now.. i also am much more active than i used to be....so now i am 5'5'' tall and wear a size 8 in most things comfortably....my ribs dont stick out and i have a waist and i dont have a bunch of flabby skin hanging there.. i think that i am fairly toned..now if i wasnt toned, i would probably weigh less, but that is really not what i am going for.. i am trying to look and feel healthy.. i think that when you are there you will know it.. if you are not excercising regularly, that might firm you up if you still are feeling flabby....but take an honest look in the mirror and if you like what you see, you are probably just fine..if you are 5'9 or something like that, you probably are too skinny..you lost an awful lot of weight pretty fast..also how old are you?? too skinny does not look great on women over 40..(i am considerably over 40).. have you been still losing or have you tried to maintain your current weight?? i know -- wayyy too many questions i ask, before i give you my thoughts!! sorry.. kathy

Re: Maintenance Forum

patobert — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:56:32 GMT

Hi all ....

Just discovered this forum. Congratulations to all who have reached and maintaining their goals. My original goal was to get to 140 ... then I moved it down to 130 which is where I have been for the last 3 weeks ... so once again i moved it down to 125. So 5 more to go.

Just curious to know from people -- when you reached your goal weight did others tell you that you looked too skinny and need to be off the diet. I am getting this from everyone and I really think that I know what is best for me.

All input greatly appreciated.

SW over 250 in April 08 CW - 130 GW now 125

Good luck all ....

Pat

Re: Maintenance Forum

H2Obug — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:48:10 GMT

Hello everyone! Congrats to all of for maintaining or just keeping up with keeping up! I figured it ws about time for me to join this thread, finally reached goal. I think it may have been about a month and a half, now. Of course I still would like to lose 2 more pounds but am no longer sweating it!! Goal was 135, and I have reached 132, so am very happy! Dave, great to see you here. Judy sistah, get with the plan!! PORTION CONTROL!! Hey, I have known Judy since '07 when we both started the plan. Kathy, you made it before I did, but I am following you! Nita glad to see you here! I have not read all the posts but I will. To all of you out there, the plan does get easier, think of it as a lifestyle change. I am 54, and feel so much better! I should work out more, but I am not lying about it, I do try, once in a while! I do keep moving though!! I love to swim and picked up walking after joining the alli family. Now, the weights? I was gong ho there for a while but have slacked of terribly! I do water resistance exercises in the pool. Well, being form Doral, very close to Miami, the water is where I love to be!! Good luck to everyone! Hey, if I was able to do this, anybody can!! Love,

Elia

Re: Maintenance Forum

judyyarnell04 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:35:20 GMT

Oh man, I'm so bad I don't even deserve to be on the maintenance forum. At least it sounds like I'm not the only one having problems "maintaining". I swear I eat lots of fruit and veggies, more than the normal person I'm sure, but I just consume too many calories, it's that simple. I think the fat grams are low enough, but portions and exercise are not good. Let me give myself some advice: at least get in 30 minutes of walking every day, and write down everything you eat and keep a running total. There, now if I can live by that, I'm home free.

Good luck to everyone.

Judy

Re: Maintenance Forum

MNJJJMOM — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:07:40 GMT

barbie.. how are you doing??? i had to make up my mind that i was going to do this.. dont you feel better now than when you started?? jane had a great post about all of the things that are easier, feel better and improvements made with every thing that you are doing right.. the scale is not the only way to tell improvement, you know..

judy.. how are you doing out there??? huh??..i hope you are doing well...

kathy

Re: Maintenance Forum

nita47 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:26:04 GMT

Barbie,

you are so close. i'd love to be in your shoes. i still have a ways but totally staying motivated. these posts really help.

you can do it.

nita

Re: maintenance

nita47 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:24:07 GMT

Angie,

can you lift hand weights every other day or workout your upper body without affecting the foot?

good luck to you. i've seen lots of ladies on the boards that have shoulder injuries and such and they work around it. doing the most and best they can do. basically being clever about it and not getting stuck.

i had a badly sprained ankle last year and once i didn't feel pain i was hobbling all over the place. i had gone to yuma az. and was hobbling to the local wal mart. getting lots of stares but i didn't care. lol. i had to do what i had to do.

good luck.

nita

Re: maintenance

nita47 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:16:03 GMT

Judy,

good luck. you can do it.

analyze the weekend thing. maybe make lots of cut up veggies friday night and bag up some pretzels. try some new veggies or fruits out there. have you tried a grapple? it's an apple that smells like grape. i haven't tried yet due to the price. last i check at safeway they were in a 4 pk for 6.00.

nita

Re: Maintenance Forum

bkirkland1 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:09:09 GMT

Congratulations!!! I just started this week and your maintenance post really motivated me! I am 59 and had given up on every reaching 135 again but maybe....., I started at 158 CW155 and GW142. I'll see how this goes! Thanks for the boost.

Re: maintenance

mysticldy — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:46:43 GMT

Congrats to you for such a loss - - What is your secret?

I started eating the whole 1800 cal but I cannot exercise right now because of a foot injury so this last week I dropped the cal's down. I have not lost or gained weight but still feel something is not going right. I have only taken the pill once a day with dinner and have had a problem with getting gas, which makes me scared to take the pill more than once.

any advice will help

Thx

Angie

started on 6/30/09 with a weight of 196

still at 196

Re: maintenance

MNJJJMOM — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:52:27 GMT

judy...what is with the weekend falling off the wagon??? it seems like its kind of an ongoing issue for many people..is it because of we get out of the routine?? is it because we forget about the calories in the alcohol and the alcohol makes us not care about what we eat??..i am taking a look at this myself..i really dont eat differently on the weekends, but sometimes i dont get to the gym..i need to pay attention to this because i am sorta new on the maintenance thing here..i really dont want to slide backwards..i have gotten rid of all my "fat clothes" so if i gain weight i am in trouble...i probably have a couple of glasses of wine on weekends that i dont have during the week..but i have been having that all along..but i realize that its easy to throw "the diet" out the window ..maybe i am lucky now ..my new boyfriend is really into eating healthy and he enjoys the alli way of eating with me..so i am not tempted to eat junk..because there isnt any!!....i have found that this is immensely helpful..i dont feel any pressure to join the crowd and eat stuff that isnt fitting with the plan..neither one of is ia much of a party animal, so we are not around all of that snacky stuff that is always served when you are out in a crowd....well good luck to you and thanks for checking in with us..i will be looking forward to hearing from you again.. kathy