How I lost 50 lbs and have kept it off for 14 years-


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RoxyRedhead is offline RoxyRedhead Post #1  January 12,2010, 4:10pm
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In 1994 I was 50 lbs+ overweight (I refused to weigh myself back then, but I was wearing a size 22). I had hypertension, uncontrolled by 5 meds, insulin using type 2 diabetes, constant knee and ankle edema and had just injured my back, requiring surgery.

I'd been in a physically active job but had transferred to a less active more technical position but kept eating the same way. Plus my husband was a great cook and we loved to eat out, belonged to a couple of dinner party groups and generally didn't watch what we ate..we were both active after all.

As a tall muscular woman, extra weight didn't show right away on me. But each year I had to buy a size larger jeans, starting at 14, then 16, then 18 and up-and my husband jeans went from his 34" waist up every time he needed jeans also. But we had a great time!

Finally at my yearly doctors appointment, I was told my blood pressure put me in risk of a stroke. I got really scared-this was the first time my doc talked to me about my weight-and he talked to both of us-seriously. We were getting older and he was concerned.

I checked out several different weight loss plans, went to the gym and finally my sis told me about Dr John McDougall and his vegetarian weight loss plan
McDougall Program & Dr. McDougall's Health and Medical Center is the url. I started slowly, transitioning into vegetarian eating-but my husband decided he wasn't interested

Over the next 18 months, I lost at least 50 lbs and am now a size 8, healthy except for the usual aging issues and an auto immune disease that this food plan actually helps. I am no longer diabetic, my hypertension is controlled by 1 medication and my back, knees and ankles are fine. My cholesterol is low and my other blood work is high normal-excellent.

McDougalls plan is free-it's posted on his website and there is a support group.
And it's easy to follow too.

I encourage anyone who is seriously interested in losing weight and gaining better health to try this way of eating.

My husband?-he died from an MI 5 years ago. He could have turned around his diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, plaque and other issues if he had joined me, but he chose not to. He died from diet related issues-he ate himself to death-really.

The SAD (Standard American Diet) kills people every day. Eating vegetarian can save your life.
 
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nightling is offline nightling Post #2  January 22,2010, 5:06pm
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Roxy I applaud your post and your efforts! That is really fantastic and I think you are an amazing woman.

I will add my little story to yours touting the benefits of exercise. When I turned 40 I hurt my knee and couldn't be as active as I had been, plus I was promoted to a desk job which was nice for the additional pay but didn't do anything to help my waistline. Long story short I very quickly put on a lot of unwanted extra weight and my knee was getting no better for being coddled along.

I got myself back into the gym two times a week walking 10 minutes to start. I figured the knee would either go bust and I'd have to have it fixed surgically or it would repair itself. The latter was the case.

I worked my way up slowly from the two times a week at 10 minutes to an hour five times a week. I didn't seek to lose weight but just to become fit and healthy. I ate a pretty good diet before that, I just had no metabolism from being so inactive.

Benefits included improved sleeping, better mood, no more knee problem, no more hip pains, lots more energy and zest for life, sharper mind, ability to keep up with 18-year-old daughter. I recently got a wellness screening and my health score was 98 out of 100 and I totally credit the exercise for the vast improvements there. They say I still need to lose about 20 pounds, which I'm sure I will do by the end of the year the way the trend has been, but I'm not too concerned. Just want to keep up my fitness routine and remain as healthy and strong as I can.

Once I'm at the right weight I'll start some weightlifting, too, bc I read that stimulates bone growth and helps prevent osteoporosis.

So anyone else out there, even if your goal isn't to lose weight, the effort to be fit is well worth it and you may be pleasantly surprised at the results even if you didn't do a lot of dieting.
 
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eHA_Admin_Lori is offline eHA_Admin_Lori — Advice Official Moderator Post #3  January 25,2010, 2:51pm
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Roxy, congratulations on that stellar weight loss! And Nightling, thanks for sharing your story of benefits through exercise.

I don't love vegetables nearly enough to be a vegetarian, unfortunately, but I'm definitely making progress with eating healthier and am now exercising every day (but only 3x/week at the gym) so I'm looking forward to having my own success story to share!
 
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JerryC is offline JerryC Post #4  February 12,2010, 7:13pm
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I'll add my story. 5 years ago I weigh just under 290 lbs. After a series of A-Fib incidents, 4 in 5 months as opposed to one ever two years or so and taking a good look at myself naked in front of a mirror, I decided I didn't want to be a fat old man. I set myself on a diet. I didn't give up anything but measured and wrote down everything I put in my mouth. I kept my caloric intake at an average of 1500 calories a day. It took two years but I lost 85 lbs. There have been some flucuations but it was too late to save my knees. I had both replaced October 30th. The weighed me before the surgery, I had bounced up to 218 by the time I left the hospital I was down to 205, and now at the end of my physical therapy. I weigh 194. I wouldn't recommend knee surgery as a diet option, but it did impact my weight and finally get me below 200 lbs.
I eat very little red meat, I've increased my intake of whole grains and vegetables. I'm still doing PT exercises every day, and as soon as the snow quits falling and melts I'll start walking again. I still measure everything, but allow myself a real treat every so often. Hopefully, 9 years from now I can say the same thing that I've kept it off. Good work, Roxy.
 
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mianoelle is offline mianoelle Post #5  March 22,2010, 6:24pm
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You guys are so inspiring! I too am on a journey towards leading a healthier lifestyle, and I often stumble, but it's part of the journey. I topped out at 215 in 2007, but am now down to 180. I've still got a bit to go, but I'll get there. It's all about diet for me though, the exercise comes pretty naturally and I don't really have to work to make time for it. Hopefully five year's from now I'll be down to 160 and keeping that weight off!
 
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chemgal is offline chemgal Post #6  April 10,2010, 10:37pm
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nightling wrote :
Once I'm at the right weight I'll start some weightlifting, too, bc I read that stimulates bone growth and helps prevent osteoporosis.
And here I said I was going to stop posting about weight. I have to do it though. Don't wait until you're the "right weight". Start weight lifting now. Not only is it great for maintaining bone density, it also does crazy good things for your metabolism and helps to make sure that the weight you lose is fat not muscle. And that makes the weight loss "stick" better. (The main reason people regain weight after traditional diets is that they lose a mix of fat and muscle so when they go back to eating normally, their metabolism is lower than it was before and they gain back fat. Then they do another diet, lose muscle/fat, eat more, gain fat. Rinse, lather, repeat. Most of the health issues associated with being overweight are dramatically magnified in yo yo dieters.) You've already upped your activity level - which is a great start. Now, mix in some heavy lifting with your cardio. You'll see a short term weight gain as your muscles retain extra water from the new activity, but it's not "real weight" and the feeling when it drops back off again with several more pounds is just amazing. Plus, even before it does, you get to see your body changing and getting slimmer before your eyes.

Weight lifting is the best thing a woman can do for her health. Two years ago, I was just barely "obese" and realising that scared the bejeebers out of me. I started tracking my food, went back to cooking mostly from scratch, added more activity to my life in general and, after a month or so, started weight lifting. I lost 40 pounds in just under a year and have maintained that loss for just over a year. I am now wearing "small" and "extra small" clothes - and, while I know some of that is due to vanity sizing, it's still an amazing feeling. I will never be a waif; I don't have the bone structure for it, but every time I catch an accidental glance of myself in the mirror, I'm amazed at how great that person looks. To realise that it's me is just crazy and great.
 
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nightling is offline nightling Post #7  April 11,2010, 7:30pm
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chemgal wrote :
And here I said I was going to stop posting about weight. I have to do it though. Don't wait until you're the "right weight". Start weight lifting now. Not only is it great for maintaining bone density, it also does crazy good things for your metabolism and helps to make sure that the weight you lose is fat not muscle. And that makes the weight loss "stick" better. (The main reason people regain weight after traditional diets is that they lose a mix of fat and muscle so when they go back to eating normally, their metabolism is lower than it was before and they gain back fat. Then they do another diet, lose muscle/fat, eat more, gain fat. Rinse, lather, repeat. Most of the health issues associated with being overweight are dramatically magnified in yo yo dieters.) You've already upped your activity level - which is a great start. Now, mix in some heavy lifting with your cardio. You'll see a short term weight gain as your muscles retain extra water from the new activity, but it's not "real weight" and the feeling when it drops back off again with several more pounds is just amazing. Plus, even before it does, you get to see your body changing and getting slimmer before your eyes.

Weight lifting is the best thing a woman can do for her health. Two years ago, I was just barely "obese" and realising that scared the bejeebers out of me. I started tracking my food, went back to cooking mostly from scratch, added more activity to my life in general and, after a month or so, started weight lifting. I lost 40 pounds in just under a year and have maintained that loss for just over a year. I am now wearing "small" and "extra small" clothes - and, while I know some of that is due to vanity sizing, it's still an amazing feeling. I will never be a waif; I don't have the bone structure for it, but every time I catch an accidental glance of myself in the mirror, I'm amazed at how great that person looks. To realise that it's me is just crazy and great.
Thanks for the information chemgal. I was weight-lifting for a while as well as the hour of aerobic activity, but I found the intensity too much after a while. Couldn't keep up the right protein intake and so forth to sustain so much working out. I also haven't been dieting to lose this weight. I just eat what I normally should eat, but no more than that. I have found I can deplete the glycogen stores, burn fat for about a half hour and then eat what would be a break-even diet and lose about 1 to 2 pounds every week or so. Very slow progress, but very steady, and I don't feel at all deprived.

So after a few months of weight lifting I decided to focus for a while just on the aerobic part bc it seemed like I was making better progress based on measurements (not necessarily just the scale, I understand that muscle gain = weight gain as well as the whole diet lose muscle cycle gain back more fat cycle). I'm going to wait until I'm not losing weight any more with strictly aerobics to go back to weight lifting.

It's interesting you mention cooking from scratch. Prior to starting back to the gym, I went on a kick of cooking from scratch to save money and surprise! lost 20 pounds in 3 months just from that change alone. I've started really paying attention to food labels and noticing the things like high fructose corn syrup and fat solids that are added for preservation purposes to the foods we eat ... it's adding a lot of calories that you don't really notice!

I also read that HFCs can turn off an appetite suppressant mechanism in the brain, so I don't really believe their industry hype about how it's not any different from any other sugar. /shrug I don't know ... but I've had much better results since I went to eating stuff I make myself that contains no HFCs.
 
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chemgal is offline chemgal Post #8  April 18,2010, 11:44pm
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Re: Cooking from scratch.

The biggest thing I noticed within weeks of cutting out most of the processed food (and my diet had had *way* too much of it for the couple of years prior) was that I had a ton more energy. Something in that boxed food just drains the energy right out of you. And, of course, more energy = more active (even just in terms of walking places and doing chores and such) = burning more calories.

Also, 1-2 pounds per week really isn't slow at all. It's perfect! Much faster than that and people rarely keep the weight off longterm.
 
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nightling is offline nightling Post #9  April 27,2010, 9:45am
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chemgal wrote :
Re: Cooking from scratch.

The biggest thing I noticed within weeks of cutting out most of the processed food (and my diet had had *way* too much of it for the couple of years prior) was that I had a ton more energy. Something in that boxed food just drains the energy right out of you. And, of course, more energy = more active (even just in terms of walking places and doing chores and such) = burning more calories.

Also, 1-2 pounds per week really isn't slow at all. It's perfect! Much faster than that and people rarely keep the weight off longterm.
Yep! that is what I noticed too.

I have a theory though ... I think there is a range on the metabolic scale where the body says OK we need to burn calories and lose weight to be fitter to get more food. Like in the forest do you see overly fat squirrels?

I think that is why what I did worked out even though I was not expecting it. I didn't cut calories particularly, I had already cut the processed foods when I started the exercise. I ate the same all throughout the exercise, got moving, and started losing weight.

I think if you cut too many calories, you trigger energy conservation and the body slows down your energy levels all day long. But by just exercising and keeping food normal, you're telling the body food might be getting more scarce and its time to rev up the agility to compete better. So you lose weight even though you didn't "diet" as long as you keep the intakes to normal.

That theory might not be right, but it sure seems to work that way for me and I notice when I try to cut too low, I can't sustain the workout, and the fat loss doesn't keep going.
Last edited by nightling; May 2,2010 at 8:11am.
 
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chemgal is offline chemgal Post #10  April 29,2010, 8:59am
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It's possible. There's certainly a calorie deficit window in which weight loss is most effective. Eat too little and the weight comes off initially but stops after a few weeks/months. Eat too much and clearly the weight isn't going to come off.
 
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