[Stand Tall]

Hi Everyone,
 
  After going to my doctors appointment last Monday and talking about weight loss and eating plans I thought to myself that it would be nice if us LBS's could have a place on HS where we could talk about what we are doing to get healthy through weight management, exercise and eating right. 

  In this group we can talk about the different plans that we've tried or are trying, what we eat, share recipes, maybe something cool that we find on the internet that has to do with this subject.

  My doctor talked about weight watchers. I do like their plan, but not all of us have the spare money to do a plan like this. She also talked about the new thing called intermittent fasting.

  This is the eating plan I am going to try. I'm going to do the 16/8 plan. This means I will eat all my calories in an 8 hour period and fast for 16 hours. In the 16 hours you can have water, plain tea or black coffee. I've been doing this for two days now and since I never eat breakfast anyway it hasn't been hard for me. I can choose to do this for 5 or 7 days a week. I'm starting with the 5 and will be eating from noon to 8pm.

  Ideally, I would like to lose about 60 lbs. I did lose 55 since BD. I also have a gym membership, but sometime I find it hard to get motivated to go. I'm hoping to find someone in here that would like to have a motivational partner to keep each other going.

  I am looking forward to this group supporting each other on our journeys in GAL. I really think this is one of the big hurdles to accomplish with as much stress as we are under. Food just always seems to be our comfort.

  Please feel free to contribute anything you have and please keep this positive.

~Stand Tall

[Anjae]

I lost a ton of weight after BD even if I was eating everything that come by way - I'm a LBS who never stop eating. Plus drinking more than I should (which to me is a drink or two a day since I don't usually drink). It was not good, I become too thin.

Every Summer I lose weight without any sort of diet. It is hoter so I eat less. I eat when I hungry and as a general rule my meals are home cooked. I am Portuguese I tend to eat our normal diet, not American style. Our portions are also much smaller than American ones.

I'm a walker, I can't run because of a bad knee. I also lift mild weights, do streching exercises and meditation. I pretty much do everything in moderation. 


If I convert it right, you want to lose 27 kilos.  If I lose 27 kilos I will be very, very ill if not die. I have the right weight for my height and body type/frame and still use clothes from 10, 15, 20 or so years ago.

For a number of reasons, for me me diets only for serious health reasons and prescribed by a doctor.

[Finding Joy]

Hi!  I’m following along.  I typically just eat healthy 80 percent and splurge a bit on the weekend.  My daughter wanted us to do Trim Healthy Mama(which I typically do some, but not all).  So today was day 1.  After a month or so I will probably do a cheat meal once a week.

For excercise I generally walk the beach or bay, and do beach body 3x a week.

Have y’all heard of chaffles?  The basic recipe is 1 egg and 1/2 cup of mozzarella missed together and put in a waffle maker.  There are many variations.  It can be used instead of bread, pizza crust, traditional waffles.  Tons of ideas.   

We eat a ton of smoothies, açaí bowls, eggs with sautéed veggies under, lots of spaghetti squash meals or zucchini pasta.  I will post some recipes on occasion of our favorites.

[Father5]

I have become vegan before BD. I am down 50 lbs so far. I play tennis , surf do yoga and play softball. I am beyond active! Instead of WW try an app called my fitness pal. It's by Under Armor. It's free and easy to jse. You can add recipes and frequently eaten meals. It tracks calories and our exercise.

[Stand Tall]

Thanks for participating everyone.

Finding Joy,
  Those chaffles sound interesting. Great way to get a little extra protein. I bet they would be good with sun dried tomatoes on top.

Anjae,
  I guess some of us are just a little more lucky when it comes to weight. I wish I was. When H and I still lived together we both drank too much. I have all but quit now. I do like a nice glass of wine every now and then though. I hear champagne has a lot less calories then wine. Maybe I should switch to champagne. 

Father5,
  Thanks so much for telling us about My Fitness Pal. It will be a big help. I think my S30 uses that website and lost 60 lbs. I'm going to check it out.

I'm going to be checking out some recipes today to add to my list of what to eat and will share. Does anyone have any they would like to share?

You're a fighter. Look at everything you have overcome. Don't give up now.

[xyzcf]

Many LBSers lose weight after BD. I lost 45 pounds very quickly. Often LBSers are "happy" with the rapid weight loss. However, many will gain it back.

The problem with this rapid weight loss is that it resets our body's "set point" and then the body will find that it requires less calories then previously and pushes you into a situation where you eat less than ever and still gain weight. This is why so many quick weight loss diets are not helpful.

I have used My Fitness Pal and found it very helpful.

Basically consuming less calories and exercising more is the essential diet. To me, anything that eliminates eating real foods will eventually fail..that is why WW is so successful because you can eat anything in moderation and the calories are split over the day to make sure  that you are not feeling "hungry"

When I am hungry I binge eat. I was outside this am doing yard work and I also attended a  barre class and just came in....rather than prepare a healthy lunch, I had chips and peanut m&m's. I was hungry, hot and needed some salt..and I know better than to do this.

Eating alone is another difficult thing for me. I find vegetables and fruit go bad before I can use them up.

I eat out too much but find the portions so large that I take home and have them for another meal or two.

Exercise doesn't necessary cause you to lose a lot of weight (unless you are really into powerful stuff)  but I find it is my most important tool to help me psychologically and physically. Research shows that 30 minutes of walking a couple of times a week is as effective for mild to moderate depression as an antidepressant. Exercising outside is even more beneficial psychologically.

Finding exercise that you enjoy is the key. The rec center which is a community rec center that I belong to and is quite reasonable offers both exercise workout machines and several classes. I prefer the classes for I find it motivates me and I enjoy the social interaction with people.

[PJ Ames]

I've lost about 40 lbs since BD in June, 2016. My MLCer was a live-in wallower for 3 years and her crisis was pretty low-intensity. So I never had a huge event that precipitated rapid weight loss. I did start exercising a lot more post BD, which helped my energy levels, which helped me eat less.

Other than that, I just improved habits - walking more, snacking less.

Intermittent fasting works well for me, but I can't do it permanently.

[Stand Tall]

PJ,
  What was the hardest part of intermittent fasting for you? I'm just getting started with this. I need to do a lot more studying on it. I think I did pretty good today. I ate at 1pm and had a chicken salad then I had a regular portion of spaghetti for dinner and a small snack closing out my day of eating at 8pm. I need to start getting more active. I'm just waiting for the heat to break so I can start walking.

 What is everyone else doing in their lives?

[barbiedoll]

I am going to follow along and try some of the suggestions . I lost near 40 lbs after BD ..fell off me with zero effort. Now I have gained most of it back and NOT happy at all. So it is time to get serious and change some parts of my life style , get active and get in control. I am interested in the "fasting" idea and will do some research on this. Thanks for this topic!

[Disillusioned]

One word:  PALEO

 

[Finding Joy]

I thought I would share what I ate for dinner because it was so yummy and filling.

Fresh zucchini sautéed in butter with Parmesan cheese(I often use fresh spinach instead) and two eggs on top over easy.  Sometimes I eat it this with a half of an avocado. 

We ate overnight oats for breakfast.  You can easily find it online.  I typically use 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup fresh berries.  Sometimes I add nuts, or use a half of a cut up banana instead of berries.  If I do banana sometimes I add a teaspoon of peanut butter.

For lunch I had a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with one teaspoon of natural pb and half of a slice of banana cut up on top with a green smoothie. Green smoothie- I typically use 1 of these for the liquid; coconut water, coconut milk, or almond milk(1 cup).  For the greens I use 1 of these; cucumber, kale, zucchini or spinach(1 and 1/2 cups), for the fruit I use 1 of these; 1 cup of frozen-berries, mangoes, pineapple, or small banana).  For the filler I usually do 1 of these; 1 tbsp nut butter, half avocado, 1 scoop of protein, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, or 1/2 cup of cottage cheese).  I typically add 1 or two other things strictly for health, but unnecessary for the recipe(collagen, flax meal, chia seeds, coconut oil, MCT oil, boabab powder). 

We do typically eat healthy as a lifestyle, but we are foodies(my d14 and I)  and I love talking about cooking, eating and recipes.  So forgive me if I post a lot of food ideas, it is one of my things. 

[Stand Tall]

Finding joy,
  By all means post away. That's exactly why I wanted to start this page. So we all can get new ideas and try new foods. We all got our kickstart the same way I thought it would be a great way to continue it.

Disillusioned,
  I've never looked in Paleo. Maybe you can tell us a bit about it.

[jazzy03]

I've lost 20 pounds since BD. I was active before BD, but maybe my eating habits changed? I teach two yoga classes a week, practice yoga frequently, do a water fitness class, jog, and maybe some other classes. I use the class pass app to do different classes in my city. I've always loved to be active.

I don't overeat. I make sure to use leftovers and not be wasteful with food. I incorporated more vegetarian meals. More water, not as much junk food. The biggest thing is I rarely eat out anymore.

[beyondblessed]

One word:  PALEO

 

Paleo, Keto, IF, whatever method you all decide works best for you, just remember ALL work under the general rule of caloric deficit to lose weight, caloric surplus to gain it.  Any plan you choose to follow obviously has to be backed with solid nutrition, but should also be geared towards your physical goals.

My goal now is to build more muscle.  I am working towards my personal training certificate and am just a couple months from obtaining my nutrition coaching certification, as well. I keep toying with the idea of competing,  but have to grow more in order to do the category I'd want to be in, so gaining weight is what I need right now.  In a couple of months, that will change, and I'll be shredding to cut the excess that wasn't muscle.  It all goes hand in hand.  Diet is king, gym is queen.   If anyone has questions, I am always here to help and share my journey on FB and IG

[New Day Rising]

I lost a lot of weight after BD (End of 2015), but I was pregnant at the time and it wasn't ideal. I then piled all the weight back on.
However in the last 12 weeks I have cut out carbs (not completely) and have lost 19 lbs. I am really pleased. I haven't struggled and I don't miss bread now. I would always have toast for breakfast. I have replaced with Yogurt and berries.

I'm not as hungry as I used to be. We all love our food in my house, so really thought I'd struggle.

I have generally followed the Michael Mosley's Mediterranean diet.

I did have 2 roast potatoes yesterday though. I tried to avoid making them, but the kids love them and so do I.

I want to lose another 19 lbs and then I'll be happy.

I don't go to the gym, but I cycle a lot. I have made the conscious decision that aside from getting to work by car, I will only use my bike. Not sure how that will work when it gets colder and rainier. I have never enjoyed the gym and having 2 kids makes it hard for me to get there. At least on the bike, they can come with me. My daughter goes on the back of my bike in her seat and my son takes his bike.

[stillbaffled]

For lunch I had a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with one teaspoon of natural pb and half of a slice of banana cut up on top with a green smoothie. Green smoothie- I typically use 1 of these for the liquid; coconut water, coconut milk, or almond milk(1 cup).  For the greens I use 1 of these; cucumber, kale, zucchini or spinach(1 and 1/2 cups), for the fruit I use 1 of these; 1 cup of frozen-berries, mangoes, pineapple, or small banana).  For the filler I usually do 1 of these; 1 tbsp nut butter, half avocado, 1 scoop of protein, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, or 1/2 cup of cottage cheese).  I typically add 1 or two other things strictly for health, but unnecessary for the recipe(collagen, flax meal, chia seeds, coconut oil, MCT oil, boabab powder). 

I am very familiar with Trim Healthy Mama.  My favorite thing is the Good Girl Moonshine!  It helped me break the diet coke habit.   

[Finding Joy]

Still Baffled-I have sort of loosely followed their way of eating for years, but d14 wanted to start doing it all in, so here we are.  Neither of us are doing it to lose weight per se, just to eat healthy.  She got a couple of pimples(two;) and wants to clean up her eating.  She ate pretty healthy before.  I do like their approach.  It is all about being healthy, and trim.  Not just trim.  Their are a lot of benefits people see outside of weight loss, like clear healthy skin, healthy hair, better digestion, etc.

[Stand Tall]

So, tonight I made a steak Fajita for dinner. I didn't have a flank steak so I used a ribeye instead. I stayed away from the tortilla and had about 2 Tbsp of sour cream, 2 Tbsp of salsa and about 1/4 C. of cheese. I washed it down with a glass of wine. This recipe was very easy to make and tasted really good.

https://cookingmadehealthy.com/beef-fajita-skillet/

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed. 

[Stand Tall]

Hey everyone,

  Happy blessed Tuesday. Hope everyone is doing good with their own health and happiness. I just wanted to remind anyone who may have questions about nutrition and eating healthy that BeyondBlessed has offered her knowledge to answer questions for us. Don't be afraid to ask.

Remember the Sun is alone too, but still shines. 

[beyondblessed]

Stand, the fajitas sound amazing.  If you are looking for a great substitute for the sour cream....fat free plain Greek yogurt is awesome...and high in lean muscle preserving protein.  As for tortillas, whole wheat, whole grain varieties are available and usually pack a lot of necessary fiber that too many diets are lacking.  I use the Santa Fe Tortilla Co. Whole grain & Flax wraps.  They are good sized at just 100 cals and have a whopping 8 grams of fiber...and just 5 net carbs, so they are perfect even for those doing a ketogenic lifestyle.

PJ, I hear you on the IF because I did a 16:8 window while I did my first introduction to Keto.  It took about a week to adjust, but once my body adapted, it worked well.  I had never done low carb up to that point, and it was exactly what my body needed to reset and learn something new.  Sometimes you just need to shake things up to get the response you are wanting. 

[Stand Tall]

Thanks BB,

  I have heard that about sour cream. I don't use much and most times I don't even eat the tortilla. I just put the meat mix on a plate and eat it like a salad per say.

  I don't think I did very well today. I'm finding myself not eating enough. I've been eating like 1 1/2 meals a day and 1 snack. Not sure why I'm not skinny unless my body is holding on to fat because it thinks I'm starving.

 I did just go through a situation with H and now that is in the past, as of yesterday, so maybe I can start focusing more on myself.

  One of my biggest downfalls is procrastination. Working on it.

Stand Tall

[Velika]

One of the healthiest things you can do for your mind, body, and spirit is to become a vegan or a vegetarian.

Try giving up meat, dairy, and most sugar. Your microbiome will respond according and you will no longer want to eat these foods so much, if at all. Not only this you will feel so much better! Plus you are extending compassion to all living things and making a stand for a healthier environment.

[beyondblessed]

ST, you are most likely not eating enough to sustain your daily activities, so your body isn't necessarily going into "starvation mode" because truly, that is a myth in the fitness world, but your metabolism has slowed down so drastically and your body adapted to this state that even with the deficit in calories, your weight doesn't change much.

The only way to create change is obviously to do something different than what you've been doing.  There are a few different ways to calculate your caloric needs and of course many different lifestyles that can help you achieve the body and fitness level you are wanting.  Anytime you are ready, feel free to message and I can get you some numbers based on your current stats and lifestyle, that you can use as starting point to make those changes.

[forthetrees]

Lost 10%+ of body weight after BD and it got scary. Have since gained about 4-5 lbs and am ok with this weight but would like a stronger core to have a stronger back.

Have tried intermittent fasting and now just don´t eat late nite snacks or otherwise. Heads up- even coffee can alter your blood sugar levels- learned that the hard way when having a fasting blood draw for Ac1 level and had thought coffee was ok- it´s not.

Tried keto and did it so fast that I got a yeast infection that took 6-8 weeks to clear- with drugs. Decided that my body likes beans:)

I eat steel cut oatmeal every morning and add cinnamon or nutmeg, flax oil, nuts of some sort that are toasted but not salted. You can make a week´s worth of oatmeal by boiling 4 cups of water, dumping in 1 cup of the oats and turning OFF the burner but letting the pot sit overnite. Then you can refrigerate and easily nuke whatever portion you want. IF there is a green coloring when you look in the pot the next morning, your oatmeal is not bad- it´s a chemical reaction to minerals in your water. I just mix it up and the color disappears.

"You cannot outrun your fork." 

Medical news today highlighted a nutritional study- focus on healthy foods and you´ll be okay.

Give away your "fat" clothes so that there´s no going back. Pre BD, I was a size 10. Now it´s a 4,6, or 8 depending on the item.

Don´t make this effort to lure your spouse back. Do it for you.

Your skin is a reflection of the health of your cardiovascular system. Inflammation will show up on the outside.

Become a fan of leftovers.

Recently had Peruvian tacu tacu at a restaurant and have now made it twice at home. Yum! It´s basically a spin on rice and beans.

Oh, a pressure cooker is your friend.

[Stand Tall]

Hi Velika,

  Thanks for the response. Although I love all vegetables I just can't see myself as going vegan. I think I see things a little different then you when it comes to cleaning the air and compassion for "ALL" living things. But, thanks for the suggestion.

forthetrees,

  I love the recipe for the steel oats. Thank you, I definitely going to try that one.

  I agree about giving away your fat clothes. I have done that mostly, just kept some T-shirts that I can work in. I think I'm going to hit a few thrift stores to get some clothes that fit me know. I would hate to spend a lot of money on new pieces and then have them not fit me in a few months.

  Don't even think that I am doing this for H. When I studied myself to make changes to the things that I didn't like about myself this was at the top of my list. Back in my 20's and 30's I was in very good shape. I worked out 3 days a week either with karate or at the gym. I love working out and do have membership to a gym, but I am a big procrastinator and have been lazy. I plan on changing that.

  My number one goal is my health. I have been working on that since BD and I feel I'm doing very good at it. I had my teeth fixed and I've had surgery for Hyperparathyroidism, now I need to get my weight healthy. Believe me I am past trying to get H back. If he comes back I will worry about it then.

  I'm going to check out that tacu tacu. I'm open to try almost any new recipe.

Thanks everyone. Lets keep this page going.

Stand

[Stand Tall]

  I tried a recipe tonight for dinner that was so good that I thought I would share. Here it is.

  http://kitchmenow.com/mexican-chicken-casserole/

So, I was going to do the intermittent fasting diet, but it seems that because I haven't been eating breakfast and lunch for so long that my weight loss was stagnant. I didn't gain or lose weight. I decided to change to more of a field to table type of eating. This means that I will do all my own cooking and using very little to no processed foods.

  This particular recipe called for a mix corn, black beans and rice frozen, but I couldn't find that in my grocery store, so I just made the rice with a can of Rotel and I added corn and black beans after rice was cooked.  I ate a scoop of this on a bed of lettuce. It was so good and I felt lighter and not blotted.

  I think I'm going to start basing my eating more on vegetables, legumes and grains. I've also been drinking mostly just filtered water.

  I am so looking forward to seeing how my body responds. Oh and I will be eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day.

Don't be afraid to share what you are doing.

Stand Tall