Eating Healthy and Losing Weight
@sahsports4883 (441)
United States
December 14, 2009 12:54pm CST
I need some advice, I'm 24 years old and I'm under 200 pounds but I'd like to lose weight and get into better shape. I had a sleeping disorder in high school which helped put unnecessary weight on, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which has a symptom of chronic fatigue so all the extra/unneeded sleep resulted in weight gain and lack of exercise. I've tried to lose weight, I joined a gym but it got too expensive, I try and watch what I eat, I love fruits, salads and veggies but I'm getting so discouraged. I have a lot of heart and diabetic problems that run in my family and I'd like to live a long, healthy life. I don't currently have health insurance because I'm unemployed because of the current economy so I don't have a doctor to go too and see and/or ask for advice on this situation.
Does anyone have any advice on exercises I can do at home that help with weight loss, I only have a problem with my stomach/hips/my back some. I look average as far as my body, people don't think I even weight as much as I do when I tell them but I want to feel healthier and better about myself than I do, I hate being discouraged. Are there certain foods that help you lose weight also? I've been trying, as I stated I love fruits, veggies, salads and yogurt as well, I have something junky occasionally since I don't want to never enjoy myself or good food but it's not like I sit on the couch all day and eat out of bored em and depression, I am conscious of what I'm eating, I try and write down what I eat so I can keep better track of it.
If anyone has any ideas, please help. I know if I were to go to the doctor they'd tell me I'm overweight since I'm 5'1" and the ideal weight for my height is 90 to somewhere in the 110 range which is insane, I've never been that small, even when I was younger and in school and was active and played sports, I still do have a lot of muscle and it weighs a lot more than fat. I could never see myself being 90-110 pounds, I'd rather not be a stick, I'd like something to my body, you know? I'd just like to be healthier and at a lower weight than I currently am, like I stated I'm not even 200lbs but I'd be considered overweight by a doctor or doctors.
3 people like this
14 responses
@musicman6 (2407)
• United States
14 Dec 09
I've had a lot of trouble, trying to lose weight, and I've tried almost everything, but what has worked for me is; in my case it is psychological, I think I am hungry but I am really not, and so forth! the one thing that has worked for me is to keep my mind so occupied, that the thought of eating doesn't enter my brain, until I get to the point to where I have to eat to restore my strength! And really we don't need to eat that much food, especially me, I don't work a full time job!
When I am working during the tax season, I only eat one meal a day, and that is when I get off of work at night! Well naturally I lose weight as long as I stay busy, but then I gain it back when I sit around and not do anything!
Another thing that has worked for me, if you can keep it going is; when you order a meal, or serve yourself a meal, only eat half of it, and get rid of the rest, anyway you can! Usually you stay kinda hungry all the time, but if you stay busy, you won't notice it as bad!
And I really think that what it boils down to is, for me it doesn't matter what I eat, it's how much I eat at mealtime! And this has helped me at least stay semi-trim!
@sahsports4883 (441)
• United States
14 Dec 09
Hi musicman6,
Thanks for the response, yeah I've had the problem of eating when I'm not really hungry, I just think I am because I don't know what to do with myself, which is really bad. I've noticed since I've been watching what I'm eating some that my stomach must have shrunk somewhat because I don't get as hungry. One thing I should do is wake up early and eat breakfast even if I have no reason to get up early, I tend to sleep late and it makes everything go whackey.
I just need to tell myself things and listen to myself, I guess being a Taurus does make me stubborn lol but self discipline can be so difficult! I miss being a child, I was so active and never had to worry about weight gain, I was always playing sports and out and about with my friends or riding my bike. Most of us as we get older, we get lazy because some of us are so busy we don't realize what we're eating or how late we're eating, it's a vicious cycle sometimes.
1 person likes this
@musicman6 (2407)
• United States
14 Dec 09
Well at least now you have a different perspective of the problem, and I know for sure that both Taurus, and Cancers love food, so we have a double duty to do!
@phoenix1344 (698)
• United States
14 Dec 09
Hi,
I think I can help you! I am 4'10 so I am pretty close to your height. So a couple months ago I was over weight and I was also having alot of issues trying to find the right ways to do it. My problem was I was looking for all the 'easy' ways to lose weight. I tried diet pills, I tried diets in general. Nothing seemed to work. Even just exercising because I also attempted to join a gym and you are right, tehy are too expensive!
Well what I did that worked was I went on a 'sugar-free diet'. And you may think you are eating that way now or close to it but nearly EVERYTHING has sugar in it now. Or if it doesnt have sugar it has 'high fructose corn syrup'. And that believe it or not is where all the extra weight comes from.
So do this for 2 weeks, just give it a shot. Don't eat any sugar. Unless it is bread, but you want to eat either rye (real rye, make sure you check the ingredients) or wheat. And bread can have up to 3 grams of sugar but you want to only look for wheat or rye.
And then seperate your carbs, fats and fruits. That will speed your metabolism up. So if you have a meal either make it all carbs or all fats but do not mix them. Also always eat fruits on an empty stomach. And wait 20 minutes before you eat a carb and an hour before you eat a fat.
And last but not least you can even eat sugar free sweets if you want too. Not in excess but that was one of my favorite parts. I could eat sugar free candy or make sugar free deserts and not feel bad for having it. :)
Anyways I hope this helps! Suzanne Somers also has wonderful recipes for non-sugary meals.
It really works. I was at 135 when I started and now I am down to 120. It was all about how I was eating. Good luck and I hope this helps!
@sahsports4883 (441)
• United States
14 Dec 09
Hi phoenix1344,
I appreciate the response and thank you for it. I will definitely remember all this and check out Suzanne Somer's recipes. Sugar is one of the hardest things to stay awake from, especially when you do your food shopping for the month and that's it, I have a room mate as well so it's hard when someone else is having something you want.
I'm going to try my best to do a sugar free diet, it sounds like it could be a good idea and work. Losing weight has to be one of the hardest things to do but I want to lose weight so badly and be healthier. A lot of the bad habits happen now and only get worse as you get older and I want to try and take care of it now and stick with being healthy.
Thanks again.
@mzz663 (2772)
• United States
14 Dec 09
Hi sahsports,
I can't tell you what to eat, sounds like since you like fruits & veggies, you have a good base to start with. As far as writing down what you eat, are you counting calories?
I found a great site, actually two, depending on which you like better. They are sites where you can track your progress and goals. There is prevention.com and sparkpeople.com Sparkpeople has more tools, videos and just a whole lot of information, even for diabetics with recipes and meal planning. Prevention is similar but simpler, without so much 'bling'
Hopefully I've been of some help!
@sahsports4883 (441)
• United States
14 Dec 09
Thanks, well I haven't been eating a lot of things with high calorie or fat amounts, I just can't seem to lose the weight, it's discouraging. I'll check out those websites you mentioned, thank you
@insulin (2479)
• Philippines
15 Dec 09
I am also having problem in losing weight since I started to have sleep disorders.I can say that I sleep really not healthy.totally abnormal routine that made me gain weight.I also figured out that if your sleep is less than 8 hours,it can gain weight more.Maybe you wanna try some water therapy and more on oats and nothing carbohydrates.Do you drink soda?try avoiding it for 2 months totally no cola or anything that's can make you gain weight.Also putting some mirror in your room will make you feel conscious to your body and don't want to eat something.Also try to sleep more than eight hours and don't stress.Incline walking is much more effective than jogging.Do the slow procedures because it's really much more effective.I hope this advice can help you because I already experienced this thing.
@benefits_of_honey (34)
• Singapore
21 Dec 09
I thought the hibernation diet might be helpful for you. Eat honey and sleep. it sounds quite crazy until you read the science behind it. It helps promote quality sleep and makes our fat metabolism works for our body during the recovery mode (sleep). More details in: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/hibernation-diet.html
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
8 Jan 10
One thing you can do is start walking. It is low impact and should help pretty quickly. Burning calories is the only way to get rid of them. Then you can do things like exercise your arms and legs just sitting in a chair or on the couch. One of the best things to do is just to start moving more. Get up every fifteen minutes and walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water and little things like that. It doesn't seem like much, but adding steps helps!
@drakesuyat (1063)
• Philippines
15 Dec 09
hi sahsports4883! its good that you love fruits and veggies. but since you said that diabetic problems run into your family, i would suggest that eat more veggies than fruits. be sure that 90% of what you eat is vegetables. but one best advise though this may sound new but i have proven this very effective is cleansing diet! try to blend different types of vegetables or in your case, blend bitter melon and make it a substitute for your dinner. it may taste unbearable at first but you'll become used to it once you get started. after a week of doing it, this time try drinking bitter melon shake 30mins before your breakfast and then continue substituting it for dinner. after a week again, try doing it 30mins before having breakfast and lunch and substitute it for dinner. it may be difficult at first but you bet you wont only look healthy but you will for sure feel healthy.
@celebratelifeh (1142)
• China
15 Dec 09
we have realized that the health realted to the food very closely and we also want to eat heathy and can't get more weight. we are trying to eat one kind of fruit and at least 2 kind of vegetable daily now. but sometimes i'm really worring about the quality and healthy of the food we ever taken.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
15 Dec 09
If you have a problem with your stomach, hips and back then the best thing for you would be walking. That is if you take 10,000 steps per day within a month I know you will lose weight. Also eat healthy foods and portion control. Put your food on a smaller plate. Eat plenty of fruits and veggies like you say you have been. Take a multi-vitamin. Drink plenty of fluids such as water and if you like green tea. I drink Sun-made Iced green tea all day. I love it because for me its a thirst quency, its healthy for you and it helps in losing weight. I have heard all these tips for years but most recent from Doctor Oz on his TV show. I hope all these tips help you in someway. Good luck to you and think positive always.
@checkmail (2039)
• India
15 Dec 09
Hello sahsports4883 this is checkmail and would like to give you some tip about getting healthy and losing weight at a time.Well as you are also fond of fruits and veggies than just go for it, means try more and more of it, it will provide you with necessary carbohydrates to your health.
Also cut on the sugar, use Honey instead of it, it also has properties of slim, and also good for diabetic persons.
Well also avaoid junk fiood, try some fresh boiled food stuffs.
And in exercises do the breating, meditation exercises, or also can opt for yoga/Pranayam, its easy to perform, and also can acheive your result quickly(Anti-ageing).
Hope this all stuffs will be helpful to you in your pro.Happy Mylotting.
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
15 Dec 09
Well, seeing that your health problem might make it difficult for you to lose weight even if you eat healthier, it's going to be a little difficult to give you a good advice, but I'll share with you what worked for me.
There are no foods that will help you to lose weight, but there are foods that might help your body. It's better if you avoid sauces as much as possible, as they're a big source of fat. Also not only eating veggies and fruit, but trying to eat all kind of foods is really good for the body, including meat and fish too.
Also trying to move. If you live in a 5th floor for example, using the stairs instead of the elevator is a way to make your body workout.
Also some people gain weight because of retaining liquids, and not because of having body fat. Tea works really good for that, as makes your body get rid of the excess of liquid.
I hope I have been of any help even if it's only a little.
@olisaur (1922)
• United States
15 Dec 09
I'm 5'3" 19 years old and about 115 lbs now. I have struggled with keeping a healthy weight- I had eating disorders through high school and got down to 79 lbs once.
It is very hard to keep a healthy weight when you are not "normal."
I would reccomend just going for hour long walks in your neigborhood or at parks 4 or 5 times a week. It's easy excercise and can also be really good for clearing you mind and thinking about important things without stressing out. And some good food to eat to lose weight are : egg white omletts (they're full of protein and have no fat!) and really any fruits or vegetables. The most important thing about eating is portion control. I would also reccomend using a 9 inch plate rather than the traditional size dinner plat- it holds less food and yet creates an illusion that makes you not feel like your eating less.
@Emvy548 (387)
• India
15 Dec 09
In order to lose or control weight the best strategy is to follow a mix of methods. For example you can follow a mix of moderate dieting and easy exercises. In moderate dieting you may allow yourself facorite foods as well as remember to include fruits and vegetables. As far as exercise goes the best is to walk for 30 minutes to an hour a day. With such activities your basic metabolic rate goes up and your weight stays in control or can decrease according to the quantity of such methods used regularly.
@fsll518 (304)
• China
15 Dec 09
hi, Sahsports.
My GF also has Fibromyalgia... she came to my city for TCM treatment in Oct. and Nov., and she would like to come again early next year. Later, I will add you as friend, and later she may also join Mylot, and you can add friends too and discuss more about that.
As for healthy food, surely you know vege and fruit are good for you. It is just necessary to be consistent.
I heard that some dieting hospitals give lots of cucumbers to their customers/patients.
Take care and good luck!
