I hate posting numbers but I've wanted to be as clear as I could be when I posted to this, so I'll just tell it all.
I gained a lot of weight when I was pregnant, and though some of it came off in the month or so after I delivered, I actually gained more such that I was heavier than I had been when I was pregnant. At my heaviest I may have been over 240 pounds, but the first time I got the guts to weigh myself, I was 233. This was November 8th of lat year.
From there, I talked to my doctor and looked extensively into different diets and workout plans. From my doctor and all of the sensible accounts I've read, the best way to lose weight was gradually. This wasn't going to be a "lose 30 pounds in 30 days" thing, and that was going to be difficult in itself. I was in it for the long haul, though I didn't know how long it would be. I wanted to be 140 pounds by June.
I've stuck religiously to a balanced 1200-1500 calorie diet except on holidays or a treat day. Though I wanted to, going below about 1200 calories a day is thought to be unhealthy and even counterproductive by every doctor I spoke to. I also didn't eat low carb, glycemic index, low fat, or do any sort of fad diet. It turns out that you eat those ways to one extent or another anyway when you're counting calories.
I also have made sure I eat what I like-- after all, the changes I am making now are changes I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life if I expect to maintain this weight loss. I can eat things like chocolate, fast food, ice cream, and even pasta if it's done in moderation. I really like Subway, for instance. When I'm there, I load up on veggies and seasonings so that I don't miss things like 1/2 pound of cold cuts. I even eat at McDonald's if I have to, but I eat 8 chicken McNuggets and call it a meal.
The worst thing that I was doing to myself before I started this was going out to eat. One Friday night splurge at a Ruby Tuesday's or the local Chinese buffet would weigh in at well over 3000 calories, plus all the fat and sodium. The other thing I was doing was not paying attention to the size of the portions I was eating. A small handful of pretzels is fine but an entire bag is not. A pint of ice cream is not a proper serving.
I've had to learn to cook for myself if I want something specific and control the ingredients so I know what I'm eating and how much. One thing I can say is that cooking more has helped tremendously because I'm making good food that I want to eat. I make a killer black bean salad, among other things.
Working out and fitness have been very difficult for me for a few reasons. I've never been very into fitness and exercise, in fact, the mere thought always made me shudder. It helps that I have a 2 year old who keeps me running around so I'm not entirely sedentary anyway. I have obstructive sleep apnea, so I'm pretty much always in a state of exhaustion and that makes exercising very difficult. I'm working on getting a CPAP, but my insurance company is not being very cooperative. Also, apnea affects almost every body system including metabolism along with making you a walking zombie most of the time.
I started walking a few times a week at 3-4 mph to get a decent cardio workout. I'll walk anywhere from 2-5 miles per outing, and have even walked in the mall when I had no other option. I also have been doing ab exercises because my abdominal muscles were very weak from the c-section I had. My weight loss has begun to plateau a bit as I've gotten closer to my goal, so I'm ramping up the fitness regime to include swimming 1-2 times a week and strength training. Working out is my stumbling block, much more than the food. I don't have the time or energy to go to the gym daily, hell, I don't even have a gym membership. I also don't want to get into a mindset where I'm going to train hard for a few months, get to where I want to be, and then slack off. I want to be able to sanely fit this into my life.
Doing things this way has been frustrating because it's so slow and it's not a fast fix. At the moment, I am down to 179 pounds, which is 54 less than I was in November. I am hoping to be down to my goal weight, 145-150, by November of this year. I'm 5'9" and I don't have the urge to get stick thin, just strong and healthy. I'm hoping I'll have real reason to celebrate at the one year mark.
All the work has paid off. I used to have very severe IBS, and it's mostly gone. I rarely spend 30-40 minutes after a meal doubled over in pain on the toilet. I've slipped up a couple times and have gotten a good reminder of how much better life is without the IBS. I'm able to shop at any store now and fit into theie clothing. For a long time, it was Lane Bryant or nothing. Clothing for fat women sucks. It seems like clothing manufacturers think being fat means you don't want to wear attractive clothing.
One thing that's been cool was that last year I'd go walking with friends, and I'd struggle to keep up. Now I'm outwalking and outpacing them all. We're going to walk at the place where I felt like I was going to die when I did it last year on the 11th. I'm hoping to see a dramatic difference. I also hope to attempt to climb Mt. Washington in August, but I realize I will probably only do part of the trail.
The places where I'm still struggling are mostly workout related. I need to be more consistent, have a better routine, and do more strength training. With food, I need to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables especially now that it's summer and produce is local, fresh, and delicious. I also need to not compensate for not doing a workout by eating less. That's not good for me and is counterproductive. I keep drilling into my head that there is no substitute for getting off my ass and moving.
So that's my story. I'm not going to recommend that people PM me for my secret weight loss tricks because I think you have to find what works for you, not for me. What's helped me more from others is motivation-- and I have a lot of people on this board to thank for that. I guess my tip about getting tips is to stick to prefessionals for the mechanics of the thing and lean on your friends for the emotional support and to ease transitioning into a new way of living. Weight loss and fitness are much more emotional than they are physical is what I'm getting at, I think. Your brain has to lead and the body will follow. There's no magic diet gem that will make it easy.
Thanks for this thread, Lex.