OT - Going on a Diet

[anniemcu]

Jessie, I just wanted to drop a line and express my respect and appreciation for what you have done in donating your hair to Locks of Love.

Your hair will go to help a suffering child hold his or her head up a little higher.

My wife Shannon recently had her hair cut short, and she also donated hers to Locks of Love as well. I'm very proud of her, and also very proud to be married to her.

Anyway, I just wanted to express how much I appreciate your having done this.

--James

I agree... when my dear departed bro was with us, and had to give up his own hair to the cancer gods, my husband and youngest daughter both had theirs cut really short and sent one to 'Locks of Love' and the other to 'Wigs for Kids'.. then we took pictures of the three shorn heads - two bald knobs and one very nearly so... Dh's ponytail was nearly twenty inches braided, and dd's was about 12. A small sacrifice and a great gift.

[Jerry Freeman]

Jessie,

The two things that come to mind are,

1. You may be retaining water, possibly complicated by the kidney infection. That should naturally resolve itself eventually.

2. Your metabolism is probably slowed right now due to hormonal changes associated with pregnancy and the post-partum transition. I'm inclined to think that a combination of time, stress reduction and finding a way to be more physically active without stressing yourself will bring your metabolism back up to where it will be easier to lose the weight.

Best wishes,
Jerry

P.S. I assume I'm allowed to comment, in the photo you posted to show how you look with the extra weight, you are strikingly beautiful. It's OK to want to lose some weight, but I hope you can be at your ease and happy with yourself along the way.

[mcfeeley]

Ok...my milk has dried up and I am going on a diet - tomorrow. I gained 40 pounds while pregnant and have lost 20 already. Another 10 off (from my starting weight) wouldn't hurt, so I want to lose 30 another pounds.

Anyone want to go on a diet, too, and be my diet buddy? We could compare progress on an ongoing basis and inspire each other. If a bunch of people are interested, we could keep the thread going and it can shrink over time. Hee hee.

Hi Jessie ---

Coming in late to this thread and haven't read all the posts.

Doing the math -- you want to end up 10 lb.s lighter than what you were before pregnancy?

A couple of things -- first and foremost, be sure you like yourself, regardless of your weight. Ask Dan for a reality check on this one. Does he like you the way you are? I bet he does.

Losing weight and keeping it off doesn't work with short term gratification. Take your time, don't do it too quickly, give your body the time it needs. A year, *at least* is needed for any long term changes.

The best way to start with a weight loss program is first look at your lifestyle, make the necessary changes, and let your body take care of itself. Bad dietary habits? Change them. Sedentary lifestyle? Change it. Then, give your body the time it needs to adjust. After that, give consideration to a programed weight loss program.

Most importantly, take your time, and be sure to like yourself, regardless of how much you weigh.

Oh yeah, lots of women have said it takes at least a year for their body to get back to normal after giving birth. Take your time, don't worry, let your body take care of itself.

Hope this is helpful!

[peeplj]

The "math" doesn't work.

That said, you can always be more fit and in better health, no matter what your weight. And if your weight changes for the better as a result, well, I consider that an addded benefit.

So my take is, increase your level of fitness, try to live as healthy as you can, and ignore the numbers, because they really don't mean that much.

--James

[Darwin]

The "math" doesn't work.

That said, you can always be more fit and in better health, no matter what your weight. And if your weight changes for the better as a result, well, I consider that an addded benefit.

So my take is, increase your level of fitness, try to live as healthy as you can, and ignore the numbers, because they really don't mean that much.

It's not just the numbers...it's that I want to be beautiful again...

[Jens_Hoppe]

It's been 5 weeks and I want it gone, but Dan says I should be patient and relax about it.

And he's absolutely right too.

Joey woke up ONCE in eight hours last night (in the middle)!! Yay!!!

Heh, small children make one appreciate one's sleep.

Cheers,
Jens

[anniemcu]

Yay Jerry!!

The calories thing has worked for me as recently as a few years ago. I am still only 27, but my body is definitely different after having the baby. (I will be curious to see what happens with monthly hormonal changes once they start, because, as many of you will remember, I used to get SERIOUS PMS.)[/qoute]

Mine were actually better - fewer headaches and less cramping. I was able to nurse longer, and that held the cycle off a long time... I liked that!

... As for exercise, waking up a million times in the middle of the night, carrying a growing infant AND the extra weight on my own body - it's exercise. What a wimp I am.

- No you're not! You're a tired Mommy... but it does get easier in many ways.

...it is interesting to see that, though I was a lazy person all my life, I never let her cry. I always take care of her needs promptly. I am proud of myself for that.

- You are a *good* Mommy too! I firmly believe in attachment parenting.

Jessie, do you have one of those baby slings, or a baby wrap so that you can carry her up against your body and have your arms free? They are a god-send, and you can do so much more with those... do your mail, put away laundry, whatever you normally do, take a walk, get really effective exercise out of it, and hold her close at the same time with little or no extra effort... babies *love* it. I know you had your surgery to take strain off your back, so try a couple of different designs to see what works for you.

I carried my little ones that way untill they were strong-necked enough to handle being in a back-pack carrier, and then they were with me at that vantage point for a long time too. They loved having the high seat, watching and participating in music sessions (a two year old belting out 'la-de-dahs' into a stage mike are pretty darned great crowd pleasers, LOL!

[JessieK]

Jerry, thanks for the compliment. James, thanks for the appreciation.

As for those who say I should like myself regardless of the weight, this has nothing to do with liking myself. My self esteem is totally fine. My belly, on the other hand, is flabby and my jawline is a little too puffy, and so is the rest of me. Eeew. My feet hurt from carrying the extra weight. It is no crime to want to feel and look one's best. Dan is attracted to me the way I am because his love for me runs deep. I am not going to just accept it, but I AM going to be a little more patient with it. I have decided not to do a formal diet (anymore) until after the kidney thing has resolved itself and I am sleeping more...last night, I swear, she woke up every 45 minutes.

Yeah, I am postpartum and I have to accept that this is not the time to attack my body in any way. I'll just make healthy choices and try to get a little more active. I don't have enough energy to get A LOT more active.

I tried the Baby Bjorn, Annie, and I will try it again, but it wasn't so great. And the sling bends her neck too much.

Today I am going to do my first jewelry show since February...should be interesting. My mom will be with me.

[peeplj]

Jessie, your reasons make a lot of sense to me! I'm sure your body will return to its normal balance after its had some time to recover.

Not specific to Jessie, but just a general thought: I don't think there is anything wrong with losing weight by dieting, and if you can, then I am glad for you.

I would like to present a thought: this is not a very pleasant society to be overweight in. If losing weight were as simple as reducing food intake or counting calories, there would not be half as many overweight people in the world.

A frustration that the chronically overweight deal with over and over again is that dieting, over time, causes weight gain instead of loss.

This is something that has to be experienced to understand just how devestating it can be.

That's why I feel a better approach centers on level of fitness and health rather than weight or percentage of body fat. No matter whether or not your body will lose weight--and there are people who simply cannot, not without literally starving themselves and having all the health problems that chronically poor nutrition brings--no matter what your weight, you can always increase your level of fitness.

For many people--but not all, not by any means--as the level of fitness goes up, the total weight will go down, although it may not go down so much as to fall within socially acceptable levels.

Now if dieting does work for you, then I think that's fine, too. I'm not critical of dieting when it works; I'm just aware that (a) it often fails to work, and (b) for many people, it results in overall weight gain.

Why am I throwing this into a thread full of dieters? Well, stastically speaking, some of you are either already discovering or will soon discover that diets just don't work for you. When it happens, there is no need for you to feel like a failure or that there is some fault with you or with your willpower.

If you turn out to be one of those folks, you may want to check out naafa.org . This site does a good job of debunking many diet and weight-related myths and misunderstandings.

No matter what size you are, I wish you better health and happier times.

--James

[Azalin]

If losing weight were as simple as reducing food intake or counting calories, there would not be half as many overweight people in the world.

I think it's all about will power. It *is* as simple as reducing calories intake, but to be strict about it is something else. Same with people who try to quit smoking. It's simple in theory, but to actually find the will to do it is the real challenge.

[Jerry Freeman]

James makes an excellent point.

For my part, I'm not really dieting. Just changing my eating habits so as to avoid perpetuating the carbohydrate addictions and cutting out eating when I'm not hungry. I'll be very happy with this regimen if I lose even just a pound a week for awhile and then stop losing but don't start gaining again. It reminds me of something an old farm hand told me when I was a teenager doing laborious farm work. "Pick a pace you can keep for the rest of your life."

Back when I was editing the health related website, I came across a very interesting piece of research. Someone had decided to compare Amish populations with mainstream Americans to see if there were any differences in incidence of type II diabetes. The rationale for the study was that the Amish were of north European descent, as were a majority of the mainstream Americans, they eat similar foods, including breads, pastries, etc. from white flour, red meat, saturated fat, etc., and they have a comparable rate of obesity.

The one most notable difference, obviously, is that the Amish don't drive cars. They walk or bicycle as the primary mode of transportation, and they're far more active. The study found that even with similar rates of obesity, the rate of type II diabetes among the Amish was far below that of the more sedentary, mainstream population.

James is right on.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[burnsbyrne]

If losing weight were as simple as reducing food intake or counting calories, there would not be half as many overweight people in the world.

James,
I think you left out half of the equation. In addition to reducing caloric intake it is essential to increase physical activity (exercise). The exercise increases the body's metabolic rate and helps to remove fat reserves while also decreasing the craving for simple carbohydrates.
Less food and more exercise - that's the way to do it.
Mike

[Darwin]

If losing weight were as simple as reducing food intake or counting calories, there would not be half as many overweight people in the world.

I think it's all about will power. It *is* as simple as reducing calories intake, but to be strict about it is something else. Same with people who try to quit smoking. It's simple in theory, but to actually find the will to do it is the real challenge.

Well, as far as I can tell, I have no "will power" at all. In fact, I don't even really understand what the term means.

When I smoked, I tried on many occasions to quit cold turkey. I'd toss half a carton of cigarettes into the trash one day, and be down buying another carton a day or two later. I did this so often that when my wife saw unopened packs of cigarettes in the trash, she'd pull them out and save them. I also tried substitutes--gum, candy, even a pipe. None worked. This went on for the better part of ten years.

I finally came to the realization that "I can do anything I want to do...I just don't know how to really want to quit smoking more than I want to continue smoking."

That's when I ran across a book in the library, called something like Quit Smoking Painlessly. Since I already have fairly detailed info on the method up on my Web site at http://www.coastalfog.net/personal/quitsmoking.html I won't go into it here. I'll just say that it involved a variety of techniques, including self-hypnosis, that worked to change the way I felt about smoking, leading to my quitting, as advertised, painlessly.

There was no "will power" involved...at least not matching the traditional picture of a struggle of the individual against temptation. I just sort of tricked myself into not wanting to smoke anymore--at the deepest level. When I didn't want to do it anymore, I quit--no will power needed.

Over something less than two years, I lost about 22 percent of my weight (55 pounds), again without the application of will power. I picked foods that I really enjoyed eating, learned to tell the difference between thirst and hunger, and gradually reduced my intake per meal. I've found that I can still binge on sugar if I get started, but I no longer find sugar as appealing as it once was. I don't even miss chocolate anymore. So, there's no struggle, no will power, no need to resist temptation, just a change in attitude.

So, if you're weak-willed, like me, you can still lose weight. You just have to figure out how to trick yourself into doing it.

[mjacob]

Ok, just to jump in here and hopefully not restate what everyone else has already said:

To begin with, I really think Atkins should be looked at as a last resort, loose wieght or die kind of diet. Not for someone who just wants to loose 10-20 lbs. Keep in mind that your brain runs on glucose, and w/ atkins, you take in very little sugar, so theres an issue there. No doubt it works, but at what price? My dad has lost at least 20lbs. on it, and swears by it. I wonder about it, long term. Its kinda like experimenting with your health, what is it doing to your arteries? To your colon?
Fiber is great for loosing wieght. It lowers blood sugar, which lowers insulin lvls, which means less sugar is going into your cells and turning to fat. Protien is good for loosing wieght too. I go high fiber, high protien.
Wieght training will build muscle, and raise your metabolism as a result.
I look at it this way:
After you run, your metabolism is higher, but only for a little while, then it goes back down. With wieght training, those bigger muscles raise your metabolism all the time, and even moreso while they are repairing themselves for a few days after you work them hard in the gym.

[Dale]

Not to be discouraging, but.....

I've known lots of people who, after a long period of not being overweight, gain weight and then subsequently lose it and keep if off. That's good.

On the other hand, I think about people who have been obese for most or all of their adult lives---I know very, very few who have lost the weight and kept it off. Like me. I lost 40 lbs on Weight Watchers around 1985 and gained it all back plus. Took me 10 years, but I gained it back. I think about three friends of mine--all M.D.s, coincidentally. One has had 2 heart attacks & has a pacemaker. He DID quit smoking. He has not been able to keep the weight off. Another went on a medically supervised fast and lost a lot of weight, gained it all back. Another really did weight-loss right: Joined a very sensible plan to lose the weight sensibly and gradually. Lost all the weight he wanted to lose--kept it off about a year. People can cite examples of successes, of course, (my Dad lost all his excess weight and kept it off after he was diagnosed with diabetes.) I just lament the fact that there are so many failures for ever success.

I don't know what the answer is. People who aren't overweight can't really understand why overweight people can't just choose to eat right and exercise.

DW