SueK24's Weight Loss Journey

[SueK24]

Hi Everyone!

Here's a little about me. 14 years ago I was well over 200 pounds, with more than 50% body fat. I'd tried to lose weight but usually ended up gaining more. Resigned in my mind to the fact I'd always be obese, I decided to try to approach things form a health standpoint. It was getting scary that I couldn't even walk up the stairs in my house without getting a bit out of breath. I did a lot of reading on the subject (nutrition, healthy diet and lifestyle) and I began making changes. Little did I know how this was about to change my whole life in a huge way. Over the next 2 years I lost 100 pounds, down to body fat in the low 20%'s and my current size 8. I've maintained this for the last 13 years. (Yeah me! ) The before pic in my avatar was taken in January 1995, and the after is from last Thanksgiving (2007).

Mine has truly been a lifestyle change. I continually build on it even 13 years later. I hope my experiences can help others. If I could do it, you can! I'm looking forward to sharing tips and experiences, as well as getting support from everyone here!

 

[maleficent]

lifestyle changes are what are effective...

congrats on your success...


as part of your lifestyle changes - what types of exercise did you incorporate?

and based on your siganture -you used the zone diet plan as your means of changing your eating? you d idn't find that plan faddish? how did you find following it in the real world?

 

[SueK24]

Thanks!

Exercise was one of my first changes. At first I took a walk daily, first thing every morning. I live near a rail trail that goes for miles through a beautiful wooded area (old RR beds turned into walking trails). I got up an hour earlier to be able to fit in a walk, and walked rain or shine, even through the deep snow! About a year into it I began adding step aerobics. And a little weight training. I couple yrs after that I added jogging/running, and then a few yrs larer, snowshoeing, and swimming, depending on the time of year. My most recent addition has been yoga classes. I love it! I'm still doing some form of aerobics 5 or 6 days a week plus strength training 3 days a week.

Yes, I used the Zone diet, but didn't realize I was at first. Funny how it happened. I was going to a cardiologist at the time because I had high blood pressure which my doctors (including the cardiologist) were unable to control, even though they had me on 2 BP meds. My cardiologist had written a book on heart-healthy eating, very much like the Mediterranean diet. I loosely incorporated some of the info in his book together with things I was learning from studying the topic on my own. One of the things I was hard and fast on from the start was avoiding saturated fat and trying to get most of my fat from monounsaturated fat. The second thing I stuck with was always trying eating a combination of lean protein, lower glycemic index carb, and some fat at each meal and snack. Third, I drank more water to stay fully hydrated as much as possible. I had figured out the amount of food I needed to eat every day based on my size and amount of exercise. The pounds bagan to steadily drop off, 1 or 2 pounds a week, with only these basic changes together with the daily walk.

After I began losing weight this way, a friend of mine, who was in charge of the book section at the local health food store, insisted that I read a Zone book. I'd heard of the Zone, but knew nothing about it. She pestered me about it so much, that reluctantly I gave in and said I'd read it. And wow, was I surprised! Only a few pages into the book I realized this was almost exactly what I'd been doing as I was losing all this weight! No no one had to convince me it worked, because I'd already been experiencing the benefits first hand for months! At that point it was no turning back. I've been eating the Zone diet and living the lifestyle ever since. I can't imagine ever going back to the way I used to eat.

No, it's not faddish at all. It's very easy to do "in the real world". In fact, it's always felt like a freeing experience to me. I can apply the basics to what I eat anytime, anywhere, any type of cuisine (parties, BBQ's, holidays, vacation, etc). It's all about the choices you make, one meal at a time. My husband and I even "ate our way through Italy a few years ago, "in the Zone". Way back when I began steadily losing the weight, my husband decided to pay more attention to how he was eating. He lost 67 pounds in about a year's time (with the Zone), and has also kept it off. He still eats the Zone diet, too. I never made different meals for myself, just began cooking "better food" for the whole family. I never insisted they consume it in the particular proprotions I was eating, but eventually they took interest in the diet and lifestyle too. My youngest (of 3 kids) was only 9 or 10 at the time (22 now) and he also still mostly eats this way.

 

[SuzAtHome]

Congrats to you on getting off that weight and keeping it off!!!! It is a huge accomplishment!

I have tried the Zone diet years ago (too bad I didn't stick with it!), had purchased 2 of their books, and once you understand the concept of that diet it is very simple and makes a lot of sense, and doesn't really take detailed figuring once you get the idea of it.

Just starting a new committment today to work on this again and will be eating low carb this time around. When my son was about 16 years old and about 380 pounds he made up his mind to diet and over the next couple of years lost about 200 pounds. I am SO proud of him as it is about 4 1/2 years later now and he has kept it off. If he starts to go up he gets to work on it and gets it back under control

If only we had all kept off all the weight we ever lost - that is a huge accomplishment!!

 

[SueK24]

Thanks SuzAtHome! Yes, the Zone is simple and easy to do.

Congrats to you're son! That's a fantastic accomplishment!

Good luck with your new start. You can do it!