Welcome to my journey
Welcome to the Let's Get Real blog as I begin my quest to bring some common sense to eating, exercising and weight loss. I am so tired of the hysteria that surrounds obesity and dieting in America. It seems as though each day brings a new medical study blaming some disease on being fat. What, skinny people don't have high blood pressure, heart attacks or cancer? Before long, obesity will be blamed for everything from hangnails to warts. On the flip side, there is the constant push to lose weight. From weight loss and fat-free food commercials to the latest diet book or magazine article: "How to Drop 30 pounds in 30 Days." Over the years I have been on almost every diet imaginable. Well, no more. I am not willing to put myself through all of that again, just to gain the weight back when I go back to "normal" eating. This time I am going to find a way to make adjustments to the way I eat, along with exercise, to not only help me lose weight, but also that I can live with for the rest of my life. Want to come along on the journey? I want to hear from you! Let me know what you thought about Sunday's article, what was the craziest diet you ever tried, what way of eating works for you, or your own experiences with weight in general. Do you feel like slapping a skinny person when they complain about being fat? Do your mother/husband/ wife/ boyfriend/etc constantly nag you to do something about your weight? I want to hear it all. I'm looking forward to this adventure with you. So, come along! Linda
Linda,
First of all, I give
Linda,
First of all, I give you a standing ovation for doing this, letting the public in on your quest. That takes amazing courage and guts, and you deserve major applause for it.
Not only am I looking forward to following your journey, but I think having your blog here will also help to motivate me as well. I'm fairly content where I'm at, but I could stand to shed a few pounds, as I'm sure many people could, and I've been trying to motivate myself to step up and do something. Thanks for making the public a part of your adventure! 
~Bri
Me too!
Hi Linda!
I agree with you on all of it! Why does it have to be so hard to eat what we like but not overeat?
I started a book called "Overcoming Overeating" by Jane Hirschmann and Carol Munter. It is good. It's a different approach. Someone said to me not long ago to make your own food list of cans and cannots. You know what you want but whow does it make you feel? Eating 3 donuts tastes great but how does it make you feel after...tired, sluggish, great? If bad, then maybe that should be a limit on "your" list.
I also need to lose weight. I'll be reading, supporting and working on it with you.
My mom just said today that our new mantra is "Eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full!" I noticed today that even my 9 year old needs to learn this.
Let's learn together! I'm looking forward to it!
Karm
First of all, I want to
First of all, I want to welcome you to blogsNH. Glad to have you as part of the community!
As for me personally, I've always been the sort of person who's had a hard time caring about weight issues. When it seems like everyone around me is buzzing about diet and exercise because they're dreadfully unhappy with the way they look, I just can't seem to muster up the energy to care. It's not like it's something that's a null issue with me... I'm not exactly in shape nor do I have the heathiest diet in the world... but I don't hate how I look (but I do think I could look better). There just seems to be so much negativity associated with diet and exercise (at least from being around some people I've been around) that I'd rather be pudgy than trying to commiserate with people who hate the way they look and no amount of diet is going to fix it.
I tried to track my diet once, it lasted about a month before I just couldn't keep up because I'm a snacker who eats like half a serving of everything and can't remember what she ate five minutes after she ate it... I did it through SparkPeople, which is a free website that allows you to easily track your diet and exercise and other goals... Their basic philosophy is that it shouldn't cost people money to try to be healthier. It's a great website, I'd recommend it to anyone. I just stink at keeping track of stuff.
KISS -- Keep It Simple, Stupid!
I'm into week five of my diet, and I'm trying to follow the KISS principle - keep it simple, stupid!
Two rules: 1) write down everything you eat; and 2) if you're hungry drink a full glass of water and wait two minutes before eating. The second rule keeps you hydrated, and staves off the "boredom" eating. If you're still hungry after drinking a full glass of water and waiting two minutes, you're probably really hungry!
good luck,
Grins (down 14 pounds)
"Scribbling in the margins...."
Apple snacks
Hi Tee,
It is great to hear from you. I had forgotten about those Weight Watchers apple snacks. I wonder if they still are out there. Of course, dried fruit is pretty popular these days.
It is a little scary to think that we have been friends since 7th grade. It is also scary knowing all of the secrets you could tell everyone about me! 
Cheer away! Goodness knows I need all of the support I can get!
Linda
Standing ovation
Wow, Bri, I don't think I have ever had a standing ovation before. Thanks, and I hope you find my adventure (and my mistakes) helpful. My only thought is, since you are comfortable where you are, and if your health is not at risk, just make sure it is not outside pressure that is pushing you to "step up and do something." It never hurts to eat better and exercise, but it is also important to be happy in your own skin.
Keep in touch,
Linda
Hi Karmie
It is so good to hear from you, too. I love the idea that your mom and beautiful little girls will also benefit from the lessons we learn.
I think learning to eat when we are hungry and stop when we have had enough is the hardest, but most important, lesson on the weight loss journey. Think of all the times we eat when we aren't hungry--watching TV, surfing the Web, or just because everyone else is eating.
Hopefully this is a case where practice makes perfect.
I know the #1 item on my cannots list--sweets. I plan to post about that later in the week.
Linda
Hi Nicole
Thanks for the welcome. I feel so 21st century now that I have my own blog.
You make a good point about the negativity. I use to be inspired by Oprah's attempts to lose weight until she kept stressing how hard it was. I know it's hard! I think that the changes I want to make will be pretty easy once they become a habit.
I guess that's what makes this more of a lifestyle change than a diet. I won't do anything I don't think I can stick with forever.
Keep in touch,
Linda
Hi Grins
KISS...I agree with that! I want to make simple changes that I will always follow.
I've always been a water drinker. I've done the food list thing in the past. What a pain. Still, I also believe everyone needs to find what works best for them, and writing down what you eat is a good way to become aware of just how much you consume each day.
Congratulation on you success so far. Keep us posted.
Linda
Thank you!
Linda,
Welcome to the Blog! Like the others, I'm so glad to have you here, and I'm going to look forward to your future blogs.
Thanks for having the courage to tackle this sensitive issue. It's really some thing which needs to be addresses, as obesity is the number one health risk in our country today.
I've been on the Atkins, the Slim-Fast, the protein drinks, the pills, and for various reasons, I've fallen off each one of these diets. Usually it comes down to stress, lack of portion control, and my love of good food. What I have noticed that works for me lately is just plain old physical labor. We've been working on our house here in Central Texas since the middle of July, and this has helped me lose about 20 lbs. I also drink about 90 oz. of water every day (you have to drink alot of water down here or you get dehydrated real fast!), and excercise portion control. That has helped alot. But there are days when my brother in law makes that Chicken Fried Steak, and I just can't help myself, it's so tasty!
Also a factor in my dieting is that I have no thyroid activity right now. I'm on synthroid for that, but according to my doctor, this also makes it really hard for me to lose weight. And there was all the steriods I was on this winter when I got very sick.
At my heaviest, this past February, I was almost 200 lbs, and growing out of my size 16 jeans. Right now, I'm somewhere down around 170 (i don't have a scale right now), and back into my size 14 jeans, and on a good day, I can put on my size 12 jeans. I am determined to get back to the size 10 jeans I was wearing shortly before we left NH, and I'm hoping to do that by Christmas. But I'm not putting any deadlines on myself, because I don't want or need that kind of pressure.
Again, Congrats on being on the blog!
Susan
You are so right...
Susan,
You are so right about exercise. The last time I lost a lot of weight (65 pounds) I was a nanny for a terrific family in Manchester by-the-sea, MA. I spent my days pushing two little kids around in a double stroller and climbing the numerous stairs in their large house. In my down time I walked, did Jane Fonda videos and even learned to play tennis. The only change I made in my diet was cutting back on sweets, and the weight seemed to melt off.
I'm like you about setting deadlines. I don't need the pressure and if I miss a deadline I sometimes just give up. Besides, I have enough deadlines in my line of work.
Thanks for your post and keep in touch.
Linda
Fast Weight Loss
We all seek Fast Weight loss, right tip and resource is basically the most difficult part of going on a weight loss program.
It gets easy to be focussed on a routine, if one is really focused at leading a life that has perfect Health & Fitness.
I always drink water through
I always drink water through out the day i have a 20Oz bottle always full and with me no matter where i am on the computer watching tv in the car etc. I think it helps curve my appetite but i still over eat which is my problem portion control. I eat healthy just to much. So i just bought some discount vitamins online and herbs especially high in fiber to take along with my daily multi vitamins. It keeps you fuller longer since the body takes longer to digest it. Usually i'll take it before or after a meal.
Does this mean no more Weight Watchers' dehydrated apple snacks in your lunches? ;)
I've been your friend for 40 years (when did we get so old?), which means I've seen some of the poundage ups and downs. I've seen the apple snack cardboard lunches and wondered how you could limit yourself to merely eating what a profitable diet food manufacturer suggests. I've experienced being smacked in the face by a snack of wet lettuce during a particularly silly sleepover. I remember your long-ago comment that my attic...the place we used to explore and think about writing stories about people killed with the cocktail pickle fork we found up there...my attic was like a sauna, and perhaps if we spent enough time up there in the summer, the weight would come off.
Life's too short for cardboard apple snacks. I want you to enjoy the apple. It appears to me that you're ready to do just that. Can I be your cheerleader? :)