Diet Pixies to the rescue-HELP!! About This Page:

[lil poohbear]

Hi guys! I need some major encouragement. And I have no pride about asking for help! I cannot afford weight watchers or Jenny Craig right now(paying for my upcoming Disney Cruise) and am trying to lose weight on my own. I know all the right things to do but I am just at a wall right now.

Maybe your personal stories of your weight loss, strength gains, energy levels, down a size or two, would help me to keep my eye on the prize here. Most days I do very well with my eating and my exercise but no one around me in my realm of influence cares anything about their weight or their health for that matter and I feel as if I am swimming upstream all of the time with this issue.

I know only I can do what needs to be done for my health but any encouraging words or stories would lift me up right now so I can see over this wall...thanks guys...your the best!! [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]

lil poohbear [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Disney Fan]

I've lost 20 lbs (give or take a couple) on WW after the birth of Peyton. The thing WW did for me was helped me assess foods in terms of were they really good for me and if they weren't were they worth it? For example, I think yougart is a good healthy choice, however, some are 3 points. When I only get 18-23 I don't want to eat 3 points of yougart. You get the idea. Two WW options are, buy the books but don't go to the class, there are plenty of us here that could coach you. Or, go on-line and pay the $100 or whatever it is and be an on-line member. My daycare provider did that and it she's lost almost 20 pounds (from where I'm not sure, because she was small to begin with). Otherwise, I would say just write down what you're eating and come up with a plan. (Oh, the words are so easy, if only I could follow my own advice). I've done my best when I planned ahead and was accountable for everything I ate. When I had good options in front of me I would stay on track. When I was at work and getting hungry and I knew what we're having for dinner then I'm not as tempted to stop by some ugly place for some million point meal that isn't even that good. Let us know what you need and we'll be here for you. Also, check out the daily diet pixies check-in. They've been a great reminder for me!

Good luck! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[iloverags2]

poohbear...don't fret! I am one of those weight watchers who doesn't belong to Weight Watchers, or any other weight loss group for that matter. Same reason as you, I just cannot justify the cost right now. Having said that, I am down 6 lbs. in the past 2 weeks and working like a dog to get to my goal of losing 50 lbs. It will happen, trust me. One of the things which keeps me going is reading the diet pixies posts everyday. It is so comforting to hear others successes, and also humanizing to hear we all have our setbacks. I know I'm not in this alone when I read everyone elses posts and stories.

About a year and a half ago, I was losing weight in the same way...on my own. Managed to get 20 lbs. off then (only to gain back 10! arrrrgggghhhhh!).

Just keep your chin up and whenever you need an ear to listen, we are all here, in this together.

[GoofyMom]

Lil Poohbear, I don't know how much help I will be. I've lost 20 pounds since Halloween, and reached my WW goal so now I'm a lifetime member. I still want to lose a few more. I find that when I make sure that I write down everything I put in my mouth I'm much more inclined to make sure that it's good food. It's funny how it works but if I have to write down 2 oreo cookies, then I probably won't eat them. But if I want an orange I'm almost proud of myself when I write it down because it's a healthy food. [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img] Weird maybe, but it works for me! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] I also write down the times that I'm actually eating and that way I notice when my "munchies" time is. For me it's in the evening so sometimes I brush my teeth early and that deters me from snacking. Or I'll just go to bed!

And I also recommend checking out the Diet Pixies check in threads every day. I foresee that the wall is coming down!

[whoSEZ]

Definitely start writing down everything you're eating -- you'll be amazed at how much it is some days! And I have to second (or is it third?) the Diet Pixies posts. It's been so nice to look forward to that every day. I'm just at the very beginning of my long road (I've lost 6.6 in about 3-4 weeks and need to lose about 130 [img]graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] ) ... but it's nice to know I'm not alone. I might be alone in ***how much*** I have to lose, but I'm not alone in the fact that I'm trying. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

The only other thing I can say is WATER, WATER, WATER.

Good luck to you!! Hope to see you on the Pixies posts.

[Belle*]

Ok, I signed on as a Diet Pixie in the original post but have never checked in since. [img]images/icons/blush.gif[/img] I was just afraid everyone would be losing less than me or doing better than me. So I'm going to try to be better! I can't really "Diet" right now as I'm undergoing Infertility treatment but I'm trying to eat healthier and exercise more!

lil poohbear, if it helps any, I lost over 20 lbs (from 218 to now 194 and I don't care who knows it!) by using a low carb diet. This diet is not for everyone, it worked for me because I am insulin resistant. I would like to love 30 more lbs and also can;t afford WW or Jenny Craig. (I've done Jenny Craig and wouldn't recommend it anyway!). As soon as this baby thing is resolved, which it will be in a month one way or the other, I'll be right there with you!!

[arielsmom]

Might I offer a suggestion on what helps to keep your fat burning going??? Try eating some protein at breakfast for a few days and see if it helps. Protein is important in fueling the fire that keeps your fat burning machine running.

I started at 239 lbs and have lost almost 16 lbs in 6 weeks. Prior to that I have weighed the same for 4 years and I am a believer that eating right and exercise is the only way to take it off and keep it off.

Keep your spirits up lil poohbear and we are all pulling for you to take off those lbs...

[lil poohbear]

Thanks for the tips guys! My problem is is that I know too much. I have always been considered "athletic" and fast walking is my favorite workouts. I try to eat 1000-1200 cal a day and exercise at least 5 days a week. I ift weights 3 days a week and do 75 crunches.

You guys are right about writing things down in a food journal. I was doing real good with that for a while then kinda slacked up. I'll start again tomorrow with that. It does help a lot.

At one point about 2 years ago I lost 35 lbs and hate to admit it but I thought I looked great (Wore size 12-not tight)!! I gained almost all of it back and have a closet full of cute clothes that I cannot wear. I do not want to be skinny by any means but around 147-150 is perfect for me and I look lean at that weight. I do have hypothyroidism which I do not use as an excuse but it IS harder for me to lose weight than the average pixie out there and sometimes I just get tired of fightin' I guess... [img]graemlins/pout.gif[/img]

Well, thanks again for the help and I will keep checkin' in with you. Congrats to all who are accomplishing their goals one ounce at a time!!!

lil poohbear (hope to be 20 lbs "littler" by my Disney cruise in November 2002)

[luvnwdwgal]

OK here goes, I've never really told "my story" to anyone, and this may be long, but hope it helps. Last year in July on my 39th birthday I decided to weigh myself to see what the damage was. Everybody says it just gets harder to lose it after you're 40! Well the scales read 230lbs! The last time I had weighed myself I was around 220 and still didn't do anything about it. Now I was the heaviest I had ever been! Well something just snapped (thank God!) and I decided that I was going to start a diet and try to get down to what I weighed when we got married (170lbs.) I'm 5'7 1/2 and have never been small, and I can "hide" a lot of pounds (no one thinks I'm as heavy as I actually am). I started out just watching what I ate. No more junk food, watched the fat and sugar. I have done this diet on my own, no programs, no pills. By Feb. I had only lost 20lbs., so I knew I had to do more. Started drinking only water and lots of it, and also started working out on the treadmill every morning. I lost 10 more pounds by the end of Feb. and another 10 in March. Things started to slow down after that, and I've only lost about 9 lbs. since then, but only 1 more pound and I'll be at the 50lb. mark, hopefully tomorrow! With only 10 more to reach my goal. It has been a long, slow process but you can do it if you really want to! I never wanted to exercise or eat right! That's why I weighed 230lbs! But I have a goal now and I intend to make it! Another goal is our trip to WDW in Sept. I want to look nice for my DH, but more important than him, IS ME! I want to feel good about myself for once! The last time we went to WDW in '98, I was so ashamed of the pictures of me that I tore them up and threw them away! I felt like crying everytime I saw them! Give yourself a GOAL and stick to it! YOU CAN DO IT! I still don't know how I manage to get on the treadmill every morning, but I do! and it's been almost a year now. WILL POWER IS A VERY STRONG EMOTION, FIND IT IN YOURSELF, IT'S THERE!!! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Cinderella_68]

Lil Poohbear, go to Ebay and you can usually find someone selling their WW starting materials. With those materials and the WW food point value books, around $8 each at a meeting, sometimes more on Ebay, you will have all the tools you need to follow the plan. You owe it to yourself to do it! Think how much better you'll feel on your cruise!!
Check in here with us daily for moral support, and check out www.dwlz.com for ideas and recipes and even more moral support.
In 10 weeks, I've lost 23.6 lbs! For the first time in my life, I feel healthy, and I feel that I actually have a chance of weighing what my driver's license says I weigh!! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
I'm a bad pixie this week, though. Circumstances + my lazy hiney have kept me from WI this week. I know I'm down at least a pound or more, since I'm showing a loss on my home scale, but I haven't made the time for me and WI. [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[ 06-14-2002, 02:13 AM: Message edited by: Cinderella_68 ]