I'm Too Fat

[noflyingfan]

So...Jeff has been brave enough to post about his journey of quitting smoking, so I'm posting about mine.

My name is Erika, and I am a foodaholic.

Okay, not really. But I have been getting a little flabby lately. So I'm on a diet; I started on Tuesday. So far it's not so bad, except that it's been a test to stay out of the candy bucket at work.

I want to lose 15-20 lbs., and I'm really hoping I can. I'm going to be really disappointed if it doesn't work.

[WillFlyToDisney]

I am dying to exercise again - havent since I broke my ankle in June. I too sit on my butt all day at the computer. I think I make up for it on the road when I am on my feet 17 hours a day and am lucky if I remember to eat one meal! LOL

I also drink about 100 ounces of water a day. Not sure if that helps but I sure have to run to the bathroom alot! LOL

Kelley

[WillFlyToDisney]

Yeah I take something for energy too, Chelle. It's called PEPSI! :rotflmao:
Kelley

[noflyingfan]

Yes, Chelle, I do exercise. I go to the gym about three times a week (luckily, there's one right around the corner from my office) and every once in awhile I'll go out and run (but I don't like to do that in the winter, because running in the cold weather really sucks and I'm afraid I'll slip on some ice or something and hurt myself).

I considered Atkins, but there seems to be a lot of cheese consumption, and I'm lactose intolerant, so that's not really an option for me. I can take those Lactaid pills and be okay with dairy, but I still have to watch it. My big downfall is bread and other starches. I never realized how many I was eating on a daily basis. I get almost enough of everything else, but I've been going way overboard on the breads. So I got some of that low-cal bread (tastes the same as regular but has half the calories) and some fat-free pudding (still tastes great), and I'm set!

I weighed myself this morning and had lost one pound. I knew I felt thinner.

[noflyingfan]

Well, after a week of dieting, I am officially down two pounds. I still have several pounds to go, but those two are two I don't have to lose later. Yay for me! :pompoms:

[noflyingfan]

Congrats on your loss, Deb! (Funny, this is one of the only times you can congratulate someone on a loss!)

I'm now down five pounds. Another 15 and I'll be at my driver's license weight.

I used to be good at eating well but not about exercising. Then it kind of switched and I was always exercising but eating a lot of junk. I've been really amazed at how easy it's been to cut out the junk food this time around though. I don't know if it's just motivation or what, but it hasn't been too hard. In fact, I don't eat ENOUGH a lot of days, which I really do have to work on, because crash dieting is not good. Hence the gigantic bowl of broccoli in my lunch today.

[Lynda]

3 pounds for me this week tooI would rather have the seven like Deb! Deb you don't look like you need to be at weight watchers from your photo's!


Congratulations all you losers!

Lynda

[noflyingfan]

I agree with Chelle. Don't buy it if you don't want to eat it. (Or, perhaps more accurately, don't buy it if you DO want to eat it!)

I love those flavored rice cakes, and I eat a lot of those fat free pudding snack packs. And since I'm lactose intolerant and worried about getting enough calcium, I get those Viactiv things in chocolate or caramel flavor. One a day is sufficient, and it's not bad if you just want a little something sweet. (Not that I'd eat it just to have something sweet, but since I have to have them anyway, I get the flavors I know I'll like, and that helps curb the cravings a little).

I also drink a lot of tea. Green tea is supposed to be great for weight loss. I can't really stand the stuff, but with a little honey, it hits the spot (and the honey, if it's just a little and just once a day isn't terrible).:coffee:

Something else I do is snack on dry cereal. If you're worried about carbs, you probably don't want to do this, but my plan is all about balanced nutrition -- everything in moderation.:thumbsup:

I have some good diet-y recipes I can post here if you guys want. If you guys have them too, maybe we can have our own little support group within a support group.:grouphug: We could call ourselves the Flying Forum Fatties :hamster: -- or something a little less insulting. :shakehead

[spiffyone]

Now, I am the queen of carbs. I would never do a low carb diet because I would cry very hard for one day, and then I would kill people.
But Huey has some great low carb recipes. Hey HUUUUUUUEy....come out Huey! (oh, now he'll kill me for using his name and the phrase "come out" in the same sentence .....)

but hey...how bout some recipes?

spiffy

[Lynda]

I am a carb addict!!! So when I diet I have to go low-carb. after the first 4 days or so the cravings go away.

If I eat a small amount of potato , bread or cereal my brain decides I want more and more. I say my brain because I can eat when I am not hungry.

Debbie I admire your small portion will power.

Looking at the weight watchers system is much more appealing than Low Carb but I just can't stick with it.

Lynda

[noflyingfan]

News from Erika's bathroom scale -- I haven't lost any weight this week, but I did lose half an inch off my waist and an inch off my hips! Yay me! :pompoms:

Debbie, I loved that story! That was spectacular.

I agree that portion control is key. But unlike Debbie, I can't eat just 15 M&Ms. I don't have the will power. For me, it's all or nothing. Not that I have to pig out, but if I sit down saying, "okay, Erika, just 15 M&Ms is all you get," that totally makes me want to eat the whole one pound bag. Right now, I'm not letting myself snack on anything but rice cakes and fat free pudding. And the occasional Oreo (no more than three at a time). Except, and this is going to sound weird, fake peanut butter.

I LOVE peanut butter. I am seriously addicted to it. I eat it all the time. But it's full of fat, despite the protein, so it's kind of a diet no no. The diet I'm on right now has a tablespoon of peanut butter counting as one meat and two fats! So I got this stuff called Better 'n' Peanut Butter, which is made from peanuts and peanut flour. It doesn't have much fat, and it still tastes pretty good. I don't go hog wild with it, though; if I have a hankering for peanut butter, I just eat a tablespoon of that, all by itself, and that curbs the cravings.

Drinking water is also a good idea. LOTS of water. Sometimes, when you THINK you're hungry, you're really thirsty.

I'll post some recipes tomorrow when I've got my cookbook in front of me. The only recipes I have memorized are the fattening ones! (Once we've all reached our goals, we can start posting them).

[noflyingfan]

I have the Better 'n Peanut Butter. I love it! That's what I've been eating by the spoonful lately. I don't know if I could get through this stupid diet without it. Luckily, my boyfriend doesn't like it much (says it tastes like dirt), so I get the whole jar to myself!

And yeah, I'd much rather lose inches than pounds -- I don't actually put too much stock in weight, because two people who weigh the same can look completely different. It's just a gauge for me at this point. I'd just like to not have to lie about my weight anymore. (I was actually told by an acting teacher once to lie about my weight on my resume, because I looked thinner than I weighed and might get passed up for roles if I put my real weight on there. That was actually kind of nice to hear).

[WillFlyToDisney]

Well my Endocrinologist read me the riot act yesterday. I have gained a whopping 16 lbs :mg: since my office visit in November and he had a fit. My Gyn put me on Progesterone in December which my Endo says makes me crave starches and sugars (nice to have an excuse for eating a whole bag of red hots a day). Until I have my ankle surgery the amount of exercise I can do is very limited (climbing the stairs to my home office makes my ankle swell and throb) sooo I have been put on a "modified" diet to try to counteract the pre-diabetic state I am in now. The doc told me to eliminate ALL sugars, starches, breads, pasta and potatoes. :cry: You might as well shoot me! I know I cant go cold turkey but I have made an effort to give up as much as I can.

There is a new gym down the street that has personal trainers. I am going to call them and see if I can get an appointment with one that can taylor a workout that will not hurt my ankle. I bet I can do this exercise: :happyguy: .

Kelley - who apparently now looks like this: :hyped:

[noflyingfan]

Kelley,

See if there's a hospital-owned gym somewhere around where you are. I wrote a story on those last year; they not only have personal trainers but they have medical training and specialize in working with people who have injuries and other health concerns. The one I went to had 90 year olds on the treadmill and everything.

[WillFlyToDisney]

I'll check that out Erika - thanks!! I think MUSC has one downtown. I just need to get back on the road where I go non-stop for 17 hours straight and forget to eat! We usually eat one meal a day about 3pm and then drink bottled water the rest of the day. I know its not the healthiest way to live but I sure do drop weight fast when I do that.


Kel

[EditorASC]

Pl

I also just started taking some kind of Chinese herbs, not so much for diet but for energy... I've no idea what they are... I talked my mother into trying Acupuncture for a condition she has, and went with her to her first appt. The guy looks at me and tells me I look like I have no energy (gee, I've been sick for over a week.. ya think?!?) so he gave me these pills that are supposed to boost my "Chi". I wasn't aware that I even had a Chi, or that it needed boosting, but what heck! They are actually giving me more energy, and it might motivate me to get to the gym :D

Please, please, Chelle, never take any pills that someone gives you, if you have no idea what's in them, or what the dangers of side-effects are...... :shocked:

Would you be uncomfortable, if you found out your daughter was doing that?

Some herbs are very dangerous, and have even been the cause of some deaths, as well as permanent injuries............. To make it worse, many are dispensed only on the basis of anecdotal evidence (what someone else says it did for them), which is just about as un-scientific as one can get.

I have yet to read of a case where there is any kind of pill (including herbs) which can give us extra energy, without charging a very high price in the way of damage to our bodies and/or minds. The laws of physics precludes such................. :wired::nuts:

[EditorASC]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2240546.stm

Analysis of some products, particularly Chinese remedies, has shown they contain steroids and toxic heavy metals.


http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2002/NEW00826.html



FDA Warns Public About Chinese Diet Pills Containing Fenfluramine

FDA is alerting the public about Chinese weight-loss products, Chaso (Jianfei) Diet Capsules and Chaso Genpi, because they pose a potential public health risk.

The agency is alerting the public to this health risk because several people in Japan have become ill, and some have died, after consuming these diet products.

"FDA is taking this action as a precautionary measure to help assure that people are not exposed to this potentially dangerous product," said Dr. Lester M. Crawford, FDA Deputy Commissioner.

Products of this type are often sold in small urban markets as alternatives to Western medicine. In 2001, FDA issued a nationwide alert on the recall of thirteen "Treasure of the East" herbal products because of a dangerous ingredient, aristolochic acid, which is toxic to the kidney.

http://www.herbalwatch.com/


Slim 10 linked to deaths in Asia


July 2002 - One Japanese woman died and 11 other people suffered liver problems after taking Chinese-made diet pills, some of which were similar to a brand banned in Singapore. The "Slim 10" diet pill was yanked from Singapore store shelves earlier this year after being linked to the death of one woman and the illnesses of at least 20 more, including a top television host who nearly died of liver failure.


Deadly Diets from China (http://www.herbalwatch.com/HerbalNews/Diet-Teas/cbs020719chinesedeaths.html) - July 19, 2002 A popular brand of diet pills from China promised a quick path to a slimmer figure. Instead, at least six women died in three Asian countries. Dozens have been hospitalized, their internal organs damaged and digestive systems poisoned by substances not listed on its label. Some have sought liver transplants. With its long history of producing herbal remedies, China has become one of the world's largest producers of fake medicines, which are believed to be responsible for thousands of Chinese deaths every year. Last year, authorities closed 1,300 factories while investigating 480,000 cases of counterfeit drugs, according to the state-run newspaper China Daily. Last year, 192,000 people in China died after using bogus or poor quality drugs, according to the state newspaper Shenzhen Evening News


Four more deaths in Japan (http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/07/21/japan.pills/index.html) - July 21, 2002 Imported slimming pills from China are being blamed for at least four deaths and over 150 cases of illness in Japan, with health authorities bracing for a further increase in the number of casualties.

Chinese shut down alleged source of deadly diet pill operation (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/reuters/npek7649.html)

Chinese diet pills kill one, sicken 11 in Japan (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/reuters/nt54969.html)


Health Canada warns about another aristolochia threat


OTTAWA - May 17, 2002

Health Canada is warning people not to consume any Longdan or Lung Tan Xie Gan (http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/05/16/Consumers/herbalwarning_020516) herbal medicine products. They may contain aristolochic acid.

Chinese herbal scammers Hua Fo


OTTAWA - Health Canada is warning consumers not to use Hua Fo tablets (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/warnings/2002/2002_26e.htm)bearing the (Drug Identification Number) DIN 02243366, after they were found to contain an unauthorized substance similar, but not identical to, sildenafil. Sildenafil is a prescription drug approved for male erectile dysfunction, sold under the brand name "Viagra". Inappropriate use of sildenafil could cause severe adverse reactions.


Heart patients warned against garlic, ginseng supplements (http://www.acc.org/media/news/sept99/altmed.htm)

Herbal slimming teas contain banned drug (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-03/bmj-sro031302.php) Traditional Chinese medicines for slimming still cause health problems and stringent regulation is urgently needed, according to a letter in this week’s BMJ. High concentration of banned weight loss drug fenfluramine were found in tablets supplied to patients and also in the patients’ urine.

Doctor condems Health Canada for allowing sale of dangerous herb (http://www.dietfraud.com/HerbalNews/Ephedra-mahuang/cp020304vancouver.html) - Canadian Press Leading specialist in eating disorders says that the federal government is shirking its responsibility by allowing the sale of products containing a potentially dangerous drug that people are using to lose weight. "It's addictive, just like speed," Birmingham said. "People get used to it, they may have to steal for it. It ruins their life and it also changes their behaviour." He said ephedra, also known as ma huang, can cause strokes, seizures, hypertension, psychosis and depression.


http://www.securityworld.com/library/health/dietarysupplements.html


Studies suggest that 40% of patients do not tell their doctors that they use alternative therapies, which makes diagnosis of some bizarre reactions very difficult. Smolinske was recently called in to diagnose two astonishing cases.

In the first, a 47-year-old Detroit woman was losing her ability to swallow and breathe, as her muscle tissue was rapidly dying. The culprit: a ma huang, a Chinese herb also known as ephedra. The herb is often used for weight loss, but has been linked to 15 other cases of muscle destruction.

In the second, a young woman was covered head-to-toe in a rash, complete with itchy pustules on the soles of her feet. She has recently switched from her normal multivitamin to one with added ginkgo. According to Smolinski, in rare cases, ginkgo can be contaminated with a poison ivy-like substance.


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