looking for a solution

[EndofmyROPE!]

I am looking for a weight loss solution!! I am about 5'4, 190 lbs....I know that is very overweight for my height, but I am muscular too, I was always athletic in high school. I wear a size 16, and I really would like to get to my ideal weight. I have tried several things, but I have a weakness when it comes to junkfood, and I think that is my problem. Last summer I took some weight loss pills (phentermine) and they really worked, I lost 13 lbs in the forst month and about 25-30 lbs all together, but they run expensive and insurance doesnt cover them and I have to go back to the MD office every month to get them, because he can't give refills which adds up to be a lot of money every month. I just really would like to get in shape and get to a better weight like around 130 or something and in a size 8 or 10 at least, I know I would feel so much better if I could. I just don't have a very good willpower when it comes to dieting or regular excersise programs. Does anyone have some weight loss advice.

Eating right and excersise is a given, I already know that...but does anyone have any tips or tricks that might help me stick to a weight loss plan?

 

Thanks!

[PurpleAngel]

I’ve got 2 words for you WILL POWER!!!! It really works! That’s all you need!

 

Every time you put something In your mouth think,.. Will this help me reach my goal???

 

Good Luck, You’ll do it if you believe you can!

~PurpleAngel~

[clia]

As my very intelligent (and very thin) mother always told me, "Don't put the food in your mouth!"

 

Disclaimer: She did not mean to starve myself, she just meant cut out all the fatty, crappy food that pack on the pounds.

 

There is no trick to getting thin except to exercise and watch what you eat. You have to change your entire lifestyle. All these diet pills and quick fixes may work for the short term, but they do not work for the longterm. It does take willpower, but you will eventually get used to it.

[Ryan]

Why to stay with a plan....well, the typical starting point is reaching the degree of overweight where it is just becoming overwhelming....which is where you are now. Mounting consequences, unfortunately, are often the initial fire-under-the-ass.

 

From that point on, it's results.

REAL results....not the kind that come in a bottle....the kind that require a change in how you live your life.

 

It's not worth discussing a sensible approach until you are dedicated to implementing it.

[jrdn00]

I used to be 5'4 and 180 pounds. This is when I went to college, I went from 130 to 180 in half a semester! Ouch! I know that there has been a lot of talk about Metabolife and things like that because of the ephedrine, but I must say, it worked! I got back down to 130 in no time! Well, maybe not that quickly, but it reduced my appetite which was most needed, and it gave me the energy that I had lost from losing all the weight so I had the motivation to exercise again. Alot of people don't like to use it because of the ephedrine or not wanting to take the easy way out, but it did work for me, and it gave me my self-confidence back as well.

[maskee28]

A good way to give your motivation an added boost is to post a picture of yourself on the front of the fridge - that will remind you of why you're NOT going to have that bowl of ice cream, or bag of potato chips. Just constantly remind yourself whenever you're tempted to cheat, which is more important? This junk food fix, or your long-term goal of reaching your ideal weight & looking great?

 

jrdn00's success with ephedrine is I think a very rare exception. I think that mostly, with those types of pills, it is water weight you are losing, not fat, and any weight lost is almost always gained back. Also, ephedrine can be very dangerous. It can cause heart palpitations, for example. I actually tried Xenadrine once a couple of years ago, and it would cause my heart to race. It would give me this incredible energy boost, but then after a couple of hours, I would just come crashing down and feel awful.

 

The best method for successful weight loss is to find a good plan that's easy to follow, e.g. Weight Watchers. And don't be discouraged if you don't see a lot of weight loss really quickly - it has been proven that the slower the weight comes off, the more likely it is to STAY off.

 

Good luck!

[quankanne]

find a diet and exercise partner who will encourage you to hang in there even when you don't feel like you want to continue. And start eating foods according to what the food pyramid suggests – I guarantee now that summer is here and fresh produce is more readily available once you get hooked on eating it, your taste for junk will change. Especially when it comes to fresh fruit versus junky sweets. I've got a horrible sweet tooth, and it's hard to give up things like cookies and brownies and especially candy. But, when I have switched over to snacking on fruits, the other stuff tastes different, or at least not as good. Same goes for fresh vegetables -- I hate tomatoes, but offer me a vine-ripened one out of someone's garden, and I will fight for the thing, they taste like nothing in this world.

 

good luck with the weight loss, and as Ryan points out, it's more a matter of making a lifestyle change than finding the "right" over-the-counter remedy to weight loss.

[longlegzs80]

end of my rope,

 

I can't say I have been in your position, but my friend and my mother do almost the same kind of thing to loss weight.

 

(1). Drink those slimfast drinks. Seriously, I have seen the pounds lift off my mother and one of my friends.

(2). Don't stop there, drink slim fast and do some kind of excersize. Anything would do, maybe house cleaning, maybe going to the gym 4 times a week, maybe walking at a local park.

 

*My mother drinks slimfast and she walks while at work on her break for half hour, then after work she walks at a good speed for 1hour and 20 minutes. This has made her get excellent tone to her legs, and she lost weight everywhere.

 

*As for my friend, she too drinks slimfast and goes to the gym for an early morning workout. She I would say had to have been 195 or so in weight, but she has lost alot throughout her years at college.

 

I suggest to you, your best bet is to get active, drink slim fast, eat plenty of fruits and veggies, lots of water and treat yourself 3 times a month. If you do everything on the list, and keep a steady routine, you will for sure loose the weight. Anyways, good luck and let us know how your making out with whatever choice you decide to do.

[Ryan]

I suggest to you, your best bet is to get active, drink slim fast, eat plenty of fruits and veggies, lots of water and treat yourself 3 times a month.

 

This is not a good idea at all. What you are recommending is starvation. The reason Slim-Fast works is because you're drinking very few calories in the place of eating meals. Drastic caloric restrictions are not an effective means of fat loss because they promote muscle cannibalization. It is important to discriminate between WEIGHT loss and FAT loss.

 

...do some kind of excersize. Anything would do, maybe house cleaning, maybe going to the gym 4 times a week, maybe walking at a local park.

 

I agree that one needs to partake in regular (not excessive) exercise in order to effectively lose bodyfat. None of the things listed count as exercise. Going for walks and getting around a bit more is a part of having an active lifestyle....but that is simply not sufficient for improving one's fitness. People are often told it only takes a slight increase in activity to be exercising - this is tantamount to malpractice. I frown heavily on the numerous "health conscious" associations that promote such nonsense. People that seek serious body composition changes need to be told the straight truth....not coddled and fed fairy tales.

 

This is not a personal attack on you...I'm responding to the information that you've received and perceived to be valid.