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Hi Katherine:
I glanced at your blog yesterday and wished you well. today I read it through its entirety. I must say you are leaving a encouraging journal for those who sometimes find it difficult to lose weight.
I recently joined the new Weight Watchers program. So far it's seems to be easy to follow, but I do use all of my points...and then some...
You will be my encouragement through my journey in this program.
What advice would you offer to those who find it difficult to lose weight?
We sometimes get overlooked because of our weight, what gives you the confidence to speak out? You took a bold step blogging your journal to inlcude your weight. I can't imagine telling anyone how much I weigh.
I joined the forum for support. I sense from you that you joined as a means of empowerment. You are helping others with your honesty.
I find it difficult to make time to exercise. Do you think that really matters?
What gratification do you get from the seeing the scale go down? My past mistakes were to celebrate with food when I lost which is why I could never keep it off.
What is the culture like in Canada? I'm from NJ where most people try and and eat healthy.
I think you have started your own fan club
.
Keep up the good work. I hope your dad is okay.
~jaramb
It was so nice to see a positive, encouraging message from someone, so I will do my best to respond to you with all honesty.
What advice would you offer to those who find it difficult to lose weight?
I started out counting calories, and it made me VERY aware that was I was eating, was HORRIBLE! It was full of fat and sodium. It was just BAD! So I would advise counting your calories, looking at the daily %'s of what you eat, and just set a point to not go over and set it low, because if you say "at the most I don't want to go over 1800 calories" you will get up to 1800 every day. I found that just looking at the calories on things made me a lot more aware, and I started eating better things. Ermm... Making some low-fat meals is a great way to start. I know there are a TON of Weight Watchers cookbooks. We have a couple at home. They tell you the points, and the calories, as that is always great, and if you don't want to buy the book, you can always visit The Food Network website, and there are a bunch of free recipes on there that are good, and have the nutritional facts posted!
So... I advise you to look at the packaging of what you are eating, and hopefully it will disgust you as much as it disgusted me.
We sometimes get overlooked because of our weight, what gives you the confidence to speak out?
I feel as if I am overlooked everyday because of my weight. It makes me feel like hibernating like a bear, and for the most part, I do. I don't like to go out of the house, and I don't like to go anywhere, I don't like to be seen, and I hate attention. I am far from confident, but I feel like posting on here will help me. If I eat something bad, or have a bad week, I'll have to come back here, and tell everyone, and feel like crap, So instead, I try my best to make you guys proud of me!
I felt like including my weight in here would actually show people how badly I need their help and encouragement. I felt like doing this wouldn't seem real if I didn't admit to my weight. I didn't want to reach that 300lb mark.
I joined the forum for support. I sense from you that you joined as a means of empowerment. You are helping others with your honesty.
I also joined as support. I joined for the inspiration. I joined to have a place where people were or have gone through the same thing as me. I joined to have a place to share how I feel. My whole inspiration to join, was because of a member here. Her story, her start, it just seems so much like mine. She was high up in the 200's, and she was around my age, and was going through the same things as me. I'm so proud of what she did, and I want to be able to do it to.
This is her Before & After ... and In-between thread;
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/before-after-between/42557-280lbs-174lbs.html
I find it difficult to make time to exercise. Do you think that really matters?
I think that when trying to lose weight, and changing your lifestyle, if you were to try and cut down by 500 calories, cutting 250 out of your diet, and working 250 off would be the best way. But lets be honest, a lot of people here are .. well.. really, really, obese. Dangerously obese. Exercising may help us, a lot, but we are big, and right now, at the beginning, I feel like I don't have the energy to exercise, and I feel that exercising a lot right now would just be more harmful than good. I try to walk as much as I can. 4km a day when I go to school is a LOT for me, since I would usually take the bus. So I am REALLY proud of myself for that. Sure, 4km is nothing, and Matty's mom goes on 5km runs, but hey, she is fit! lol <3 I think that exercise matters, but do it in moderation, and be careful to eat enough, and to not get sick of it! Getting sick will just make you want to quit.
What gratification do you get from the seeing the scale go down? My past mistakes were to celebrate with food when I lost which is why I could never keep it off.
When I get on the scale those Thursday mornings, dreading the horrible number I am going to see, because I feel my week was just awful, my gratification is just seeing that number go down, just knowing that I did something great for myself. Seeing that number go down, encourages me to keep going. My reward, is to keep going. It's to make myself healthier! I don't celebrate with food, because that would ruin all my hard work, I don't go out an buy things, cause well, I'm 18 and have no money. :3
What is the culture like in Canada? I'm from NJ where most people try and and eat healthy.
Here in Canada, there are a LOT of Fast Food places, and it is really hard to resist. Food is everywhere in the media, and McDonald's just had their "Free Buttermilk Breakfast Biscuits" campaign. At school, everyone is eating fries from the cafeteria, with their chips and chocolate bars and Coca-Cola from the vending machines. It's hard.. I used to not bring lunch to school, and a friend of mine would get me a bag of chips, or a root beer. I started bringing lunches when there is something to bring, and it helped a ton. It's like no one here realizes what they are doing to their bodies. It's really sad to see. I saw a lady in the grocery store the other day, and I couldn't believe what she was buying. Sugar filled juices, pizza pops, BAGS AND BAGS of potato chips, it was like the avoided the boarded of the store, with the dairy, meets, and grains, and spent her time in the aisles full of processed foods. I just wanted to shake her... >.<
A fan club would be cool!
Not really cause there would be fans... but because there would be people to share my days with, and people who could share their days with me!
It was fun responding to your message, leave me some more sometime!
~Katherine
! That's some good advice
