Weight Maintenance

I am sure everyone knows that so far I have lost a total of 15 lbs. I am now 160 lbs. I can't wait to get to 145 lbs. Last thursday I took my dad to a steak dinner at a casino where I used to work. I ordered a 12 oz King size prime rib (medium rare). Would you believe that even though I had that I haven't gained pounds! Here's the trick that I used.


1. I drank ice water with my meal.

2. I usually eat soup with mmy meal.

3. Steamed vegetables

4. I took the mash potato over the rice

5. I waited about 3 hours before I go to bed

6. During the 3 hours, I had a half liter of water if I get thirsty.


I think what made a big difference in my weight goals is drinking 8 half liter bottles of water everyday. I commited to make sure that after an two hours of eating a meal, I would grab two bottles of water just to keep me full. Bring bottled water when you go walking and it will make a difference. I sweat alot after 10 mins of brisk walking so I grab a bottle of water to take with me and take occassional sips which keeps me going.

Water is important, not just for dieting but for health in general. and as for exercise, ya gotta find something you enjoy doing. I couldn't pick running as an exercise, I'd get bored after just 10 minutes....but I could go bike riding for 4 or 5 hours and enjoy every minute of it.

I LOVE to bike ride ... it works sooooooo well ... on everything :).

dyan

Dear Tiger,

After I had my second child last year I weighed 179 lbs. this was in January. After 8 months I was down to 128 lbs. and I wasn’t starving myself either. So I guess I consider myself somewhat of an expert. Therefor, I would like to comment on your actions and approach.

1. Drinking with your meal is not good for a few reasons. The main reason is that water dilutes digestive juices and gets on a way of proper digesting. You will never see an animal drinking and eating at the same time. In addition, liquids feel up your stomach and give you a false sense of satisfaction. You get hungry a lot faster.

It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to receive signals from your stomach that it’s full. So take your time eating instead of filling up on water. Remember, when you’re digesting you’re burning calories as well. Drinking water doesn’t give you that.

2. Soups are fine, as long as they are not fattening like the cream-soups are. As long as your soup has tones of veggies in it go for it.

3. Steamed veggies are great choice as well.

4. NO!!! You should’ve taken RICE. Mash potatoes are pure carbs made with tone of cream and butter, especially when it’s been prepared in the restaurant. But even at home, always go for a whole grain over potatoes.

5. Waiting 3 hours is good, but it’s even better to not it after 8 PM. Actually 7 PM would be ideal.

6. A friend of mine who was a professional dancer and was studying to be a doctor told me once that dancer do not drink anything after 9 PM, because whatever you will have will stay in your system. I tried to not drink after 9 PM and so a huge difference on the way how I felt when I woke up. Many of my friends followed this advice. I hate waking up feeling full of water. It also makes a difference on how much you’d weigh that morning. Try an experiment, one day drink as usual and then weigh yourself in the morning, the next day don’t drink at all after 9 PM and weigh yourself the following morning, same time.

What made a difference in your weigh loss is your walking. That’s how I did it. I would walk for 1,5 hours 4 times a day for about 3 months. That’s when I saw a major weight loss happening. I was also weight lifting 4 times a week. That helped me to tone up.

Now I am pregnant again so in 3 months I’ll be back on my plan, although this time I am really watching how much weight I am gaining.

I hope this is helpful.

Empress

Wow - you're doing a good job with the weight loss Tyger. CONGRATULATIONS !!!! I know what a battle it can be. I've been fitness walking for probably 15 years and although its good for you, it just hasnt been doing the trick lately. So in January I kinda changed my whole lifestyle just to see if it would work and so far, so good. I started doing the high protein/low carb thang which has been kind of a chore since i dont eat much meat, so i use protein power alot. Also I started weight training - which I LOVE!!!! Wish I'd started it along time ago. I havent lost alot of pounds per se, but have lost fat and replaced it with muscle, which burns more fat. Anyway, I'm just happy I can get my clothes back on LOL. Guess thats it, just wanted to tell ya congrats because I know how hard it it - and keep up the good work !!!!

Southerngal :)

Being the resident "phatty" and not doing anything about it, I find both of your stories helpful. I'm a size 10/12 right now, but I'm bigger than I've ever been in my life, so I'm pretty bummed! :(

I just read Denise Austin's little booklet (in grocery stores) about becoming firm and fit over 40. She's 45, has had 3 kids, and is as solid as a rock. According to Denise, it's all about 30 minutes cardio exercise every day and toning (weight training) 4 times a week. I'm psyched! I'm going to do this! I went to buy clothes today and was totally disgusted! I think the store mirrors make you look fat on purpose! Anyway, Denise has a diet plan (it kind of sucks, it's the usual rabbit food stuff), workout plan that's not hard at all, and lots of encouraging ideas.

Tyger, if you can do it, I can do it. One question: When you were drinking all that water, did you just sit on the toilet all day or what??? Don't you WORK??? How can someone drink all that water and not have to pee every two minutes?

Dear Polly,

Way to go!!! You're welcome to pick my brains anytime. Once I have my 3rd baby in October I will join you.

30 mins of cardio a day is good but not enough to make a real difference. You can start with that and gradually build to 1 hour to 1,5 hour. Also I would suggest you to buy a pedometer (the thing that measures how many steps you've made). Doesn't have to be anything fancy. You can find one for $15 - 20. You don't need to measure the distance only steps. I used to put it on in the morning an check at night. Of course it's not 100% accurate but is pretty close. I read an article somewhere that if you do 10,000 steps a day you will start losing weight like crazy. It worked for me. During my walks I would do between 3,500 and 5,500 steps, the rest would come from just daily activities. I would never leave the phone close by which would force me to get up and walk to answer if it rang. I would do everything to avoid shortcuts. It really worked.

Good luck!

Empress

Thanks for the replies and I want to add that with my weight loss was through trial and error. I do appreciate the positive results of others that have used that work for them. Keep up the good work everyone!

There's one problem with that Tyger. I noticed that you never included any type of protein in that diet, only high starch and sugar carb.

Alot of the weight that you're losing may be muscle. You don't want to lose muscle, you want to lose bodyfat weight. So you have to feed the muscle first.

Alot of people assume "Well if I lose muscle or fat, it's still weight." Here's the problem. When you lose too much muscle, you get sluggish (i.e., lazy). Then what happens when you become sluggish? You minimize your exercising, you'll eat more, and low & behold, the weight that you've lost find its way back. And what's worst, they bring some friends to join them, that is extra weight.

So stick with what you're doing. Keep up the water intake but not too much. You should consume no more than 8-10 servings of 8 oz. glasses of water. So a gallon a day would suffice. But include some egg whites, chicken or turkey breast, and/or tuna with your diet. The proper balance is supposed to be 40/30/20 (protein/carb/fat).