Hey everyone. Most of you know me but for those of you who don't . . .Im Penny :).
As of last week I started a Dr. supervised diet. I also gave increased the amount that I exercise.
I am morbidity obease and desperately want to be healthier. My Dr is lookingvinto getting weight loss surgery approved for me. but that takes time and any weight I loose before surgery will help my to recover better . SO . .
Im starting this thread to get support.and give support to anyone else who is trying to loose weight.
please feel free to share healthy recipes, dieting tips, weight m.ore goals and accomplishments and if you get discouraged let me know I'm awesome at pep talks .
Today is June 22,2012 and I weigh 404 pounds I am on a 1500 calorie a day diet and I swim 3 or more times a week for exercise.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. :)

You go, girl! It is a lot of hard work, but so very rewarding when you can see and FEEL the results of your hard work!

Go for it my support is with you :)

alright , I'm gonna help you out here, cuz I like you.

Swimming is a great start! You work and tone every muscle, make sure your doing laps and getting your heart rate up (unless its a bad idea for health reasons).

- Eat less quantity, and more frequently

- Although it sucks, and believe me I know I lost 30lb, try to avoid eating anything from fast food restaurants. Its greasy, buttery, fattening bs. Some people are so accustomed to it a healthy sandwich won't do the trick, they need that fat and grease to even feel like they ate a fullfilling meal.

- Jogging is ALWAYS good. Great core work out, helps the lungs, cardio vascular system, and you lose weight in all the right areas such as chest/butt/stomach

- after cardio, make sure to do sit ups! when you run, bike, or whatever cardio it is you do, your heartrate raises, and at a point, after about 10-20 minutes depending on metabolism or if you ate before, you begin burning fat. When you burn fat, especially around your abdomen, all the fat around there loosens up, doing sit ups to tighten muscles while the fat is loose in your stomach can help tighten things much faster. 3x50 is what I tried to do when I was over weight.

- If you can, run/bike/swim in the morning! on an empty stomach, just drink some water about 20-25 minutes before to stay hydrated, and exercise! play your favorite jams and exercise, although its the first activity of the day and you may be tired, its worth it knowing that people burn 3-5 times more fat this way! If you wait till later , like evening runs after meals and what not, you burn more carbs then fat, which your body clings to.

- Drink. Green. Tea! 2-3 times a day, with every meal. boosts metabolism, helps loosen fat

- drink a glass of lemon juice every night, and try to eat at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. the lemon juice is acidic and can help break down lipids, especially when you've got an exercise regimen going on

Good luck to ya, hope this helps you succeed!

(((((((((((( Penny !!! )))))))))))).......This is the most wonderful news I have heard on here for a long, long time!!...You are a favorite of many people here....Your beautiful smile and kind loving heart is always there with something "real" to say....I love you woman and I am here for you anytime night or day...If you get frustrated, reach out to your friends and we will gather round you and make you laugh.....This is a life saving endeavor and you will succeed.... I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!...

Wow Penny that is wonderful.......You go.....I will keep you in my prayers and cheer your winning with each lb you lose....way to go Penny!!!! Pennies shine!!!

You can have a little success every single day!
Best of luck :-)

Penny, you know I'm always here for you... You're off to a good start by seeing the dr and following his advise.. Swimming is one of my favs and I do it when I can get in our small pool without others in the way..lol Just take it one day at a time and if you backslide one day, just get back on the next...

Check out www.hungry-girl.com for lots of recipes and tips :)

Good luck Penny! Swimming is an awesome way to get in shape AND it's much easier on your joints. I've watched a few episodes of a show called 1/2 ton,and it follows obese people for 6 to 7 years during their weight lose journey,including various surgeries. Their stories were very touching and inspiring. You can do it girl!

Fantastic Penny!!!

How exciting for you.

Eat, breath, move and be kind to yourself.

I lost 65 lbs 8 years ago and have kept it off by doing those 4 things.
I lost my cravings for soft drinks, meat, greasy food, heavy carbs.

Some form of meditation, prayer...whatever, is helpful
on those days when it just seems ya can't go on.

Love and light

I'm on a diet that allows me to eat as many calories a day as I want and I've lost 40 pounds so far (I had lost 52, but then I fell off the diet for awhile).

Good luck and if it doesn't work out for you, try the Protein Power Life Plan, it works for me.

I am so proud of your new commitment to your health. I have experienced that yo-yo cycle all my life and understand how difficult it can be. (And am trying to break that swing, AGAIN!)

I'd advise keeping a food journal...not just what you eat (and be honest, because you may surprise yourself)but also when, why, how you feel at that time, how it makes you feel, how you sleep that night, etc. It is interesting to find patterns in your own behaviors and then you can try to find positive change solutions.

Three cheers for good health! That's what it has really got to be about!

Thank you everyone for your support. I love you all. :)

Hi Penny,

Just do what your doctor says and remember to drink all your water and take your vitamins.

Do you kill yourself exercising. Do what you can at your own pace. It does you no good at all to over do it and then not be able to exercise at all because of injuries.

Do not do weird fad things. Just what your doctor tells you.

There is a series of videos called Chair Dancing http://www.chairdancing.com/ NO, that's not like pole dancing. It's exercising while sitting for those with injuries or who are bigger and would get hurt putting all that weight crashing down jogging or something. It's very effective. I used to do it all the time and it is quite the work out. Follow the dancer who is doing the slower pace. Remember 5 minutes is better than no minutes.

I had a gastric bypass a long time ago and I was not good and gained most of it back. I am losing weight again by being vegan most of the time.

Whoever said avoid fast food was correct. It's the worst. Remember cholesterol comes from animal products only if that is a problem from you.

Also if you do get the munchies, I challenge anyone to prove to me someone got fat off of low starch raw fruits and veggies.

Do not live for the scale reading. Periods, salt intake, etc. can make it vary greatly day to day and the bigger you are the greater margin for error on most scales.

Love,

TL

There are a lot of excellent books on the subject of weightloss and why we get fat. Wheat belly is a great starting place. The "Protein Power Life Plan" book also has great information on how the human metabolism works and how to maximize your weightloss.

The most important thing you should know about dieting is that 60 years of "science" has been based on a hypothesis that isn't true. Dietary fat does not make you fat! Insulin is the bodies trigger to start storing fat. Dietary fat does not raise your insulin, it's just calories. Without the insulin trigger telling your body to store calories as fat, the excess calories will be expelled from your body in your breath and urine as ketones.

Eating Cholesterol also doesn't raise your blood cholesterol! Do you know why? Because your liver makes cholesterol to make up for cholesterol that you don't get in your diet. The danger of cholesterol is in the type of cholesterol, not the amount. Pattern A LDL is perfectly fine. Pattern B LDL causes heart disease. Do you know where you get Pattern B LDL from? YOUR LIVER MAKES IT! Your liver makes it when you don't eat enough fat, because the only difference between Pattern A LDL and Pattern B LDL is a triglyceride.

Think about this for a minute: For millions of years, humans primarily lived off of animals we killed or the vegetables, fruits and nuts we could find, but those were all seasonal. Farming is a very recent invention. Our bodies have not adapted to wheat and potatoes and certainly not high fructose corn syrup.

Thats true about the sleeping.. I recently changed my diet and am sleeping all night now, before I was awake every 2-3 hrs or couldn't get to sleep at all...

Hey Penny,
Glad to here you are focusing on a really nice person; YOU! Hurrah; Way to go lady!!! !00% Behind you.

Things that help me keep my weight from getting too far out of hand follow.

Give your body the tools it needs to be active.

Swimming has already been suggested but a couple of comfortable suits, a fast drying towel, and pool shoes can help you be more motivated to go more often and prevent foot injuries. If you feel unsteady in the water there are walkers that can make moving in the water feel safer. Saftey first OK? Ok.

Good walking shoes are essential. Payless has a great walker that with a cute upgrade of shoe laces that will save your feet, ankles and knees without spending big bucks when you drop some pounds but to start or if you still have wide feet spring for specialty shoes and check your insurance because with a prescription there is help paying for them. If your ankles/ legs are not strong you may do better with basketball or boxing shoes. Sas.com, Redwing, Easy Spirit, Mason's, are good shoe sources once you go to Macy's and have them measure your feet for accurate shoe sizes to order. If in doubt send a traceing of your tootsies when you mailorder shoes. They don't want returns anymore than you do. Also if anyone you know is military the PX sells really great shoes. As do most nurseing shoe stores. Walmart has long shoe horns for only a couple bucks so you don't need to break down the heels of shoes which ruins their design and structural value to protect you.

So are good sunglasses and finally there are a couple of companies that make comfortable afforable ones. If you get a sun headache or cataracts from too much sun it is not going to be fun to be active. Same story for sunscreen. Or a good hat that will not blow away.

Comfortable outdoor clothes in ALL sizes and styles are availbale from All Season's Clothes.com. A comfortable breathable jacket, shirts that wick away persperation, pants with a pocket for a cell phone and water bottle, and even a nice wide brim hat can not only make you comfortable but prevent sunburn, wind burn, or chill when walking early in the day when polution is usually lighter and you won't get winded as easy.

If you need a cane, walker, three wheel bicycle, or even a wheel chair/scooter, disabled transportation don't let anyone talk you out of useing them if it makes you more able to go some place safe to get exercise. I was particularly fond of walking in the hospital because they have tempature control, peer support groups, railed bathrooms, healthy cafeterias, and less temptation to blow money than Mall walking but that is a good alternative too. YWCA actually offer sliding scale memberships to people who have health issues.

Find things that get your body moving that you find enjoyable. Chair exercisieing at home is a great place to start but even if you just make and effort to stand during commercials that is increaseing movement. Putting your lap top on a podium or pub table will discourage you from camping on line too long. Doing muscle flexes and streaches while on the speaker phone. Doing a few curls when you go to the bathroom parking a few more aisles away can sneek in a little more movement without thinking about it. even just setting and rocking burns a few calories.

Yea routine exercise burns calories but to me it is more like torture than enjoying doing something that I actually like such as gardening, refinishing furniture, bowling, grooming a pet, singing; well you get the idea. While I have gotten better at forceing myself to walk it is much easier if I am walking someplace I like such as at the zoo, a museum, or even in a nurseing home or church as a volunteer. You don't have to do marathon type efforts just work into it.

If you have any barriers to eating healthy like dental problems, ulcers, or arthritis that makes cutting and chewing certain foods work to correct them. Doctor's Without Borders and most dental societies have assistance programs where a dental problem is part of the health issue. You can even request a waiver or exception to policy for state programs if morbid obesity is part of the problem because it is consider life threating. Good kitchen shears, a food chopper, crock pot, blender and maybe even a juicer can make whole fresh foods easier to add to your diet. Some of these handy things are on sale in thrift shops and or online aution sites. A microwave steamer and popcorn popper can cut thousands of calories from your diet.

Variety of your diet is a huge move in the right direction. While you may not like some foods by trying and adding even one new food to your diet, especially an herb, spice, flavoring, fruit, vegtable, bean, or whole grain product to your diet weekly you can reduce boredom, increase food volume without fat, and diet satisfaction rapidly because you will by law of averages find something you like. No diet will ever be honored if it is miserable and makes you and outcast in a society that has so much social interest in dining.

Believe it or not food overall is not the enemy and eating well is not just for successful wealthy, or beautiful people. Many poor people are healthy if they don't fall in the trap of eating fast food versions of traditional foods. Yes portion control does help but sometimes just changeing presentation and how you cook or serve it can really help. Frying and boiling is always going to have more calories and less flavor than steamed, baked,and even broiled foods.

My snack teacup is my favorite serving dish because it is a delight to the eye and an easy way to have a reasonable portion of most foods.

Anyone that trys to tell you that just looseing weight with out adding skills to deal with fear, shyness, anger, depression, stress, greif, physical pain, a chronic illness,poverty, and minimal social skills is just lying to you. I do not know anyone who can fight on several battle fields so adding troops to conquer a few of whatever other enemies you might have besides weight is a battle in the win column for you. That you enlist professionals and friends here is HEROIC and I encourage you to continue and repeat that move. And deleteing anyone who is toxic.

I have found if you forgive, loose, or at least check the people you are putting on the wieght to buffer yourself from, or punish, suddenly you are way nore sucessful at shedding pounds. Good Luck.

Thanks for all the awesome tips guys. :) Keeping a food journal is a great way to help you manage your diet. I found a great app. for my phone is called My Fitness Pal it. I add everything I eat and the exercise I do. it dose.all the work. It will tell you how many calories you.have left and how much you have burned exercising. I love it. its very convenet. Even my Dr. thought it was cool.
Eat a fresh veggies instead of chips today. :)
And drink lots of water. Have a great day everyone.

happy for you Penny!

my bestest advice i can think of is...
if you stumble...
don't beat yourself up over it..
but do
start fresh the next day

teasingbrunette