And, the more muscle you build the more efficiently your body burns fat.

Try doing 'back bridges' every day. Lay in bed, flex knees and then lift your bum while tensing your abs. Works wonders.

At the age of 70 - 5'4" I weighed (get that, weighed) 145 pounds. I knew I would steadily get bigger if I didn't start to take off pounds. Now, 1-1/2 years later I weigh 118. I walk my dog every day. Try to do 2 miles a day but in MN it gets hard in the winter and in the hot sultry days of summer. I ate a lot of salads. No sweets - at all. I used sweetners if needed. I ate meat and a lot of yellow vegetables. It's all will power. Saying "NO". I've noticed the weight has shifted. Suddenly my hands got thinner. It's good to drink water, but not to much. That to will stretch you stomach. You want it to shrink. Simple sit-ups will help a lot. Even if you are not the exercise type, and if you are determined to loose, you will exercise in some form.

hi there.

something no one else mentioned, that I do and it helps so much, is write down everything that crosses your lips. I track all my foods and the number of glasses of water, even. Also I keep track of my exercise. I gave up juices (except occasionally in a cosmopolitan!) and diet products as the artificial sweeteners cause our bodies to experience the calories wrong though i can't quite explain this in a way that makes sense. No diet drinks, no diet anything--though it didn't immediately make a visual impact, it did with time. and the advice to eat foods our grandmothers would recognize is spot on!

good luck, it can get easier with practice...and remember a lapse in not a relapse, just think of it as an opportunity to learn why you did what you did

Laurie

If you want to lift weights, you can use 1 lb can from the grocery store with the food still in it. Cheap and effective!

Congrats on the weight loss...any weight loss is hard work.

Jumping rope can be fun inside if the dorm is solidly built. I tried it in an apt building and the manager came running upstairs and made me quit.

Congratulations! I think you're doing all the right things, you wouldn't have lost 30 pounds if you weren't doing something right! It sounds like you just need to get more movement/activity in...how about getting a pedometer and tracking the # of steps you take a day? Here's what I did when I was losing weight: I snapped on the pedometer and tracked my "average # of steps" for the first 3 days. I didn't just track 1 day because some days, based on what you have going on, you just walk more or less than others you know? After that I took my average # of steps for the 3 days (approx. 4,100) and decided to increase it by a minimum of 100-150 steps per day until I had worked up to the suggested # of 10,000 steps/day for weight loss. Yes this was a slow way to do it, some people may have added 1,000 or more steps per day and that is OK too, but I was determined to make this a gradual "lifestyle shift" not just a spur of the moment thing to try and get to a certain # right away. It worked! As I started adding the 100 steps and my legs got stronger, it became easier to walk longer and there were some days I walked close to that 10,000 without even knowing it. Other days when I wasn't so active I made the conscious effort of not going to bed until I had walked my average at least so I would just march in place in front on the TV for 30 minutes. The weight started to fall off my lower body so much quicker.

Hope that helps! You're doing awesome and I think you already have the right mindset to continue losing weight. Good luck!!!

Where I live there are no gyms or work out areas to go to, and the icy streets etc prevent much outside walking. My favorite is the Leslie Sansome walking dvd's. You can go 1,2,3 or 4 miles, and it's all easy to do. Only need a little area to move in, cause it's all walking in place. The few extra moves she has you do makes it a good workout. Goes quickly, and feels good when you are done! Good luck with your weight loss...watching Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights is always motivating. Try to cut down on your white flour, sugar, pasta, etc. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

Congratulations on your weight loss!!!

I used to watch biggest loser, till I started school and my TV decided it no longer wanted to work, and I have yet to check Hulu for episodes or if I can watch them on NBC's website... I joked with my mom about getting a stationary bike and peddling while watching the show! But due to cost thats not feasible... I'm going to see if the school gym has a stationary bike, I'm sure it does. I should consider working out there anyways, gets me out of my room. When Spring rolls around I'm going to start the couch to 5k program, which I hear is a good program, but I don't want to do that on a treadmill. My school does keep the walk ways on campus clear of snow and ice, best to their ability, so I could always walk around the college mall a few times too. Since we are snowless at the time, I'm going for a walk tonight... which those walks are pretty long... I'm usually gone about one hour to an hour and half.

today I've decided to start drinking water all of this week. I need to start saving money on my J-Pass for the rest of this month, since I'm at about $190 and that needs to last till January 30th. I figured if I don't buy soda or the iced chai (that I drink on mon. through friday and it is expensive) I'll be saving about $34 dollars a week and from now till the 30th that would be approximately $102 give or take a few. I rounded up to the nearest dollar on the prices of the soft drink and the chai. I can make my own coffee in my room and my own tea. I had two bottles of Fiji water left over from last semester (due to price at the grocery store I only get them so often) so I'm drinking those off and using the bottles to store water in for grab and go type situations. I like the taste of water, so it doesn't bother me much.

I've created a playlist of songs I like to listen to when walking. They are all high energy so I can dance to them too. I'm trying to keep everything to somethign that I can stick to... so keeping things fun helps.

And it's not just for health reasons. I want to be able to keep up with my niece! She'll be walking soon and she'll be a year old in March! I want to be the cool, fun aunt! I've been over weight most of my life and I'm just tired of it, I don't like feeling tired all the time or out of breath every time I climb the stairs (which gets better, I'm not as bad as when I started the school year!). I don't have an elevator in my Dorm hall, so I run and down three flights of stairs several times a day, and due to not liking the elevator in Daniels Hall, I use those stairs and they are long flights of stairs in that building, I believe there are four flights all together. I do those stairs three times a week due to classes.

If you can get into a physical training class at school you would have encouragement and a great amount of help in choosing the work out that would help you most.Choice of foods , leaving out beef and all dairy, cheese, ice cream, I know it is hard to do 'cause I am doing that very thing. I try to concentrate on other exciting ideas rather than what I am missing.Quilting is a win, win for me.

easy plan.. no sugar, no flour, in other words, NO white stuff. try it,,,with plenty of veggies, and only 3 oz. of meat or protein 2 times a day..............

Green Tea is supposed to help with the tummy area. I take the pills, but also drink the tea to keep warm in the winter. Not a fast miracle, but it does seem to help over time.

A low fat diet has worked for me. Look at the amount of Sat Fat. If it is more than 3, I do not eat it. It is hard to do. I am 62 years old and have lost 15 lbs on this type of diet. I use soy a lot. My brother in law says that being 80% good and 20% bad works. So every so often I have to have something that has more than 3 Sat. Fat. But then it's back to the low fat! Good Luck!

Oh I also go to Zumba classes 4 times a week. Zumba combines latin dance. It is so much fun!

OK, first of all, what anybody else thinks of you is not your problem and you can't let it stop you from taking care of you.

Lecture over.

Now a suggestion - try the gym and keep reminding yourself that while you don't look quite the way you want, you are at the gym when most others aren't... and feel good about yourself.

My sister is a college freshman. She is always busy and doesn't want to waste a bunch of time getting ready to head to the gym, actually going to the gym and working out, then coming back. She bought an exercise tape at Target. I think the lady was named Jackie that did it. There were several 10 min or maybe 15 min workouts on the tape as well as a 40 min one. This lady does one heck of a work out for the short amount of time. She also used hand weights. Anyways my sister loves doing the workouts in her dorm room. Quick and easy and she can do them before class in the morning and not take a bunch of time out of her day. Might be something to look in to :) Good Luck! You are doing great so far!

Also when I was in college I also enrolled in an exercise class every semester. There was a bit of an extra fee 40-50 bucks I think. But it was totally worth it to me. No way was I going to fail a class and the only way to fail those courses is to not show up! So in a way it pretty much forced me to exercise 2-3 times a week for 45 minutes!

30 pounds! Good work! Keep it up!

I lost 100 a few years back, Had an adominal plasty and momoplasty to remove this. Also arms. the past 3 years the weight has shifted to thighs and below bust line. I am going to have it removed with lipo. I have only gained 10 #, My surg was paid for by ins. co, due to health issues.

WOnderful on your weight loss.

Keep drinking the water, but give up the fruit juice, eat the fruit instead, an apple is more satisfying than a glass of apple juice. Congrates on your wieght loss so far. Keep up the good work.

I just signed up for Jorge Cruise online, a 4 wk program called Fast Track to the Belly Fat Cure. (catchy, huh?)
I am a nurse, but have still learned lots from his videos and support system. I encourage you to check him out.

A lady at work lost a good bit of weight & really lost inches using the Leslie Sansone walking DVD. Using one of those stretchy bands like she does really helps too. The program gives you a really good work-out in the privacy of your own home; You can order on-line cheaper, & the deluxe set comes with the stretchy band & the 1, 2 & 3 mile walk. In whatever your efforts, be consistent, and if you can, have a close buddy for mutual encouragement and accountability. Good luck!! Don't give up!!

You are doing great with your weight loss! As for reducing the "middle areas", those are the first places the weight goes ON and will be the last it comes OFF. Just keep doing what you are doing and be patient. Eventually when you near your goal, those areas will be smaller too.

My son lost a ton of weight when he decided he would not drink anything other than water. We really don't need anything to drink besides water. Too many calories hide in other drinks.

My last advice to you would be to BUILD MUSCLE. Learn how to lift weights. You can learn a dumbbell workout that you can do in your dorm room. Muscle mass is the greatest fat burning furnace there is. Muscle consumes a lot of calories and will burn fat even when you sleep. Boost your metabolism by putting on as much new muscle as you can.

You can do it!

Lots of water, dont give up there are bad times but write down your weight today and keep on walking every day and compare your weight next week with todays, dont look everyday at the scale.

You are doing great! Thirty pounds is a huge accomplishment. Can't offer any special advice, but wanted to say I think you are doing well. :-)

Yes I forgot, don't eat any white food on your plate.

LMBO!!!

roflshmsfoaidmt (Rolling on floor laughing so hard my sombrero fell off and I dropped my taco!)

go to Diabetesnet.com This is a great calculator even if you don't have diabetes. After logging on, go to Nutritional tools & Info. Click on Calorie Estimator. Put in your info. No matter what, choose "very sedintary" & "35%" when filling out the info. This will give you a little chart that tells you how many carbs & calories you can eat in a day with suggestions on how to divide up your eating. Now go to library or buy a little book with foods listed & how many calories & carbs in each. Make yourself a list of EVERY food in that book that you LIKE & how many calories in one column & how many carbs in another column. You will most likely have to give up real soda to do this just like I did.It took me a few weeks to fully realize this. You won't lose any wt. for about two wks. Then all of a sudden,you will!! People always talk about calories & fat when talking diets. BUT it is the CARBS that you are going to be most concerned about, & keeping in the cals recommended. Look for the more Healthy carbs on your list, but without the soda, which is at least 49/soda, you can do alot of other eating. You will be surprised!. I found this out because after 4 major surgeries in 8 months, the last one leaving me disabled, I could no longer work, walking/standing is painful, etc. Because of that & my terrible addiction to real Coca cola, my blood sugar was getting bad & without the ex. I got walking 8 hrs a day at work I gained a lot & I'm 60 so it's harder to keep it off.. It took 3 wks to change over to diet cola (coke zero).Juice is bad. After I got rid of the coke, it felt like the wt. was falling off. I swear I could feel it! I can tell you more about it if you are interested if you want to PM me. But give it a try. My magic carb # is 149 per day at 5" 4". Now 130#lbs & loving it!!!

A dietician told me not to eat anything that you can't tell what it was when it grew. Meat qualifies because you can see it was muscle. Veggies, fruit, etc. are obvious. I have lost 100lbs, just following this simple plan. What does a pasta tree look like anyway????

P.S. I did lose it around the middle, the rear & the top of my legs. My too tight pants feel good again & clothes in general look much better! In good weather my dogs & I walk only 15 min a day because that's my tolerance of wt. bearing now. In bad weather (since NOV. here), I haven't walked outside at all. I ate all the Thanksgiving & Xmas crap & I haven't gained any back. I attributue this to no more real coke carbs, leaving me room in the count for some crap :) Too many carbs in juice. Go for skim milk, water, and diet soda.

Thanks!

I had a doctor tell me that I should limit my sugar and fat gram intake to just fifty a day. This was a few years ago, and I did it for a week. I lost fourteen pounds that week, which was mostly water. Had I continued I'd have probably of lost more, not that much of course. I'm thinking of doing that again since it would be healthier, but then I'd have to ask for the nutritional facts on everything I would be eating here at school, which I could do. It's a good thing they serve a lot of chicken and stuff... It's a good thing I like chicken! (I eat chicken A LOT)

Put you cutting mat, iron and machine in different rooms. I would end up walking an extra 5 miles a day.

WELL DONE , dont dispair it WILL come off IN time . Please DONT concentrate on what you wont to loose but be PROUD of what you have already achieved . Thinking positive is the answer . THe gentle exerise is fantastic . My daughter has lost 1 stone by walking a short while each day. Again WELL DONE.You are doing really well . Good luck . keep us posted

Is it possible you are not eating enough, I know this sounds mad but I couldn't lose weight even with going to slimming classes, after discussion with a dietician it came to light that my calorie intake was so low that my metabolism had slowed right down hence no weight loss, once I started eating again(the correct type of food) I started losing weight.

Also a quick and dirty rule is make your plate half green...any vegetable that isn't starchy is great. starchy includes green peas (but I still love 'em) and beans, but beans can substitute for protein, good for the planet and us. Beans are high in fiber, you should look for high fiber foods.

That's why eating the whole fruit is ok versus juice. The new weight watcher's program allows fruit with no count to it, since the majority of us don't eat enough. I tend to eat more fruit then veggies, even tho I love veggies. If I could eat out all the time...salads are my fav, but they seem a lot of work to get a good one.

This is true! How many people have you heard say, "I just don't understand it. I haven't eaten a thing and I can't loose any weight"? When you starve yourself your body goes into starvation mood. Everything slows down. So you have to eat. I found this to be true. Eat the right things. Also, you can take B-Complex vitamins. They help with energy.

I started to eat three times a day when I came to school. The weird thing is, I've never been one for eating. Theres a history as to why I ended up overweight... and it involved the "clean plate plan" from when I was a kid. It was my Moms second husband and his parents who made me finish everything n the plate, I started to put weight on. Plus I was depressed while in grade school... so I ate through my feelings. When we left that horrible enviroment (that was the house of hell) my eating habits where up and down throughout school... then I left high school and I didn't eat as much.

I think my issue lies more in not being as active as I should be... since I started eating like a human and running up and down stairs all the time, has helped me to lose the weight. I just need to start doing more.

But I agree with the eating thing... after leaving school up until i came to college, I ate maybe once a day. Now I'm eating three times a day. So that has to be helping.

Try Sparkpeople.com! You will find a lot of advice plus places to track what you eat & track your exercise. They have a 28 day challenge going now! Good Luck!

B. Louise: People who drink 2 8 oz. glasses of water before their meals exercise by running to the bathroom!


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