It's time for me to get healthy

[Droopy]

I hopped on the scales recently for the first time in a long time and I'm up to 275. I'm 5'10" with a big frame. I think I look fit at 200, but I think if you go by those height/weight charts I should be down to 175 to be considered healthy. I'm 100 lbs overweight. I've been this heavy once before and I started lifting weights and dieting and dropped 50 pounds, but I couldn't stick with it in the end. I just felt like I was depriving myself so much. I guess you could say that I have a few addictions and I caved into them. Except for a few brief periods over the last 12 years I've smoked, drank beer, and ate fast food at will.

So I went down to the local YMCA today and inquired about a membership. It turns out that they base your monthly fee on your income and I can get in the door for $75 down and $27 a month. That includes everything that they have to offer: weights, treadmills, stair climbers, bikes, pool, basketball court, indoor track, aerobics, martial arts, and a personal trainer. I thought that personal trainer deal was the best part. It costs me $200 a month to smoke and drink beer. If I give that up it will more than pay for the membership to the Y.

I've got to do something about my health now or I'm probably going to start paying for it in the not so distant future. Let's hear your stories about the YMCA and your weight loss stories. It will help motivate me.

[liss681]

1. Good for you!

I have been doing yoga and pilates for about 18 months and I lost 35 pounds and I have kept it off for a year... sticking with it is the hardest part. There are days I don't feel like doing it, but I feel a lot better after I do.

[Droopy]

2. Cool, but what's pilates?

[liss681]

10. Pilates is an exercise done by dancers

it focuses on your abs to strengthen your core muscles...

[Droopy]

15. Good deal

I learn something new every time I log on to DU.

[auntAgonist]

3. Hi Droopy!

there is a great group of folks on the weight loss group here on DU.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=337

I've lost a tremendous amount of weight since March 15th. As a last resort I opted for weight loss surgery. I've never felt better or had more energy! I'm down 80lbs so far with more to go. I don't advocate that others take the same path. You have to have tried everything ...

Anyway ..
check out the Weight Loss group!

good luck!

kesha

[Droopy]

5. Hi! Thanks for the link

I will have to check it out. That weight loss surgery sounds scary to me. Hell, any kind of surgery sounds scary. I hope I can get the job done without going that route, but I guess I should keep it open as a possibility just in case.

[auntAgonist]

18. Very much

a LAST resort. It took me 3 years of research to find the right surgery for me and the right surgeon. I did what was right for me. You'll do the best for you. I know driving and eating in truckstops isn't the healthiest. Try eating the heartsmart meals if they have them on the menu, go for the salad bar, skip the rolls and potatoes. WALK around and around the truck, park WAYYYYY in the back (daylight hours only) and walk into the truckstop.

YOU can do it!

[LastKnight]

6. we have an exercise group as well.

[Heidi]

4. Go, Droopy!

:pals: You can do anything you want to do, absolutely. :pals:

[Droopy]

8. Thanks for the encouragement

I've got the application here at the house. I'm going to fill it out and take it in tomorrow.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Good for you, Droopy!

I'm always so happy to hear that the people I care about are doing something good for themselves and their health...

It is so much better to start when you are relatively young; it's MUCH easier then.

I too am overweight. Back in 1995 or so, I got fairly serious about getting more fit and getting some weight off. I didn't smoke or drink beer, but oh boy did I love to eat. My husband and I joined a gym and started going. At first, I didn't change how I ate, and though I was getting more fit with the exercises, I didn't lose any weight. I discovered that if I gave up desserts then the weight would come off...But it came off slowly. Maybe a pound or two per month.

However, this is the best way to do it. That's the way it went on, and I knew that diets don't really work. You need to eat sensibly and in a way that you can live with for the long term. Now I've come down about 30-35 pounds. I need to probably lose 20 more. It is getting harder as the body does resist weight loss more as you get nearer your ultimate goal. I just have to keep at it, and I know it will come off and I will be thinner...

Eat less and exercise more...that's about all there is to it. Very simple. NOT easy.

GOOD LUCK! Did you know we here at DU have a weight loss group? They might be able to help you as well...

:pals:

[Droopy]

12. Thank you, Peggy

The diet is going to be the toughest part for me. Well maybe quitting smoking will, but the diet is pretty close to that. I don't know how to cook and I live alone so there's nobody here to help me out with that. I will ask the personal trainer if s/he can recommend a good diet and possibly a healthy eating cook book.

[Tweed]

9. There is so much good tasting food that is terrible for you

It's a tough fight.

[Droopy]

13. Yeah

And to top it off I don't know how to cook. I guess I will have to learn.

[enigmatic]

11. You can do it, bro

When I played football in HS I was at 175; when I came up here to be w/ my wife I went up to 220, which was too much on my frame, but my wife was a goooooooooood cook. So we got on the low-carb thing and I started biking about 5-10 miles a day when it wasn't too cold, and doing as meny sit-ups as I could when it was.

Finally got back down to about 180 and have kept it there give or take 10 pounds for about 2 years; no more pasta, potatoes, or sugar.

You can do it:)

[Droopy]

14. Thanks man

I think if I can manage to get down to under 200 lbs. I will be happy. Even if it's 195.

[knowbody0]

16. happy Droopy

[Droopy]

17. Haha. Yeah that's kind of a contradiction

[UrbScotty]

19. I've lost 35 pounds since I started taking walks a couple years ago.

You can do it.

[caty]

20. I've lost weight by doing this:

I look at the clock when I sit down to eat and I stop eating in 15 minutes. I put my fork down after every bite and do not pick it up again until I swallow. I have water with my meals. Why add calories from what I'm drinking, the food has enough of them. And, my food tastes better when eaten with water instead of something else that would alter the taste of the food.

[flamingyouth]

21. Hi Droopy

Consider yoga as part of your fitness plan. I think you'll find that it can help reduce stress and makes a nice accompaniment to aerobics-based exercise. :)

Also, from personal experience, try not to think about "ideal weight," think about getting back to 200, where you said you felt good. Good luck, and come visit us in the Exercise and Fitness Group here on DU. :hi:

[pdx_prog]

22. You don't have to kill yourself....

Just stay away from High carb foods (potatos, bleached flour breads), eat protein as much as possible, leave the sugar alone, and eat sensible portions. Exercise for about 30 min three to four times a week and you will be surprised how quickly the pounds fall off.