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I was wondering if you follow traditional Asian eating patterns? The reason I'm asking is that most Asians are slender when they they eat traditionally...they (and other people from other ethnic backgrounds) gain weight and Western diseases (obesity, heart disease, diabetes) when they switch to the Standard American Diet (and all our many, many snack foods and sugar rich sodas and pseudo fruit drinks).
I'm not sure limiting carbs is the answer. Limiting the highly processed white carbs, sure, but not carbs from whole grains and vegetables.
Have you read the book Forks Over Knives? There's an excellent cookbook by the same folks.
Do you cook using a rice cooker? I use mine a lot. Make brown rice, quinoa, wild rice and other whole grains in it..it has a steamer insert that I use to steam vegetables at the same time. Make a little sauce to put on top. Voila! A filling, healthy meal so easy to make.
You have my sympathy about the arms. Though my weight is okay (5' 5" and 140 lbs, size 10), my arms are huge and out of proportion. I've given up sleeveless tops...I like sleeves that come just above my elbows. Despite lots of weight lifting, stubborn fat still accumulates in my upper arms..drives me crazy so I hide it when out in public. I spare people from seeing the flab swaying in the breeze <grin>
Maybe you could join Weight Watchers and get a healthy eating buddy to support you--and you, her? Changing your eating habits can be tough, and we need all the support we can get.
And finally--is there an emotional reason you may have that influences your eating? Pain, sadness, a past that's hurtful? That often contributes to our food habits.
Hope this helps...ask your husband to be your biggest cheerleader and not a critic...
That day, I cooked brown rice for the very first time, it didnt smell as good as white rice, and the texture was dry and wasnt as chewy as the white rice, but after a few times of eating it, I got used to it.
You can try sweet (short grain) brown rice which is much softer than the standard (long grain) brown rice. To get the right consistency, I mix the two kinds of brown rice.
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I used to hate grapefruit because of the sourness, but my husband said I should try it since it helps burn fat and I did. Now I eat 1.5 a day, at first with salt to help take away the bitterness and sourness, but now I eat it plain
Some grapefruits are actually quite sweet. Yes, adding a bit of salt can help if you are not used to the taste but you also want to limit your sodium intake. Too much salt in your diet not only raises your blood pressure but also retains water. You can loose weight by reducing salt. Your taste bud is used to a certain saltiness level, you have to cut salt intake slowly to get use to the low salt diet.
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I weigh myself everyday just to make sure I am doing things right and up to date (drum roll) I have lost 11 lbs. My highest was 234 when I started and I am now 223
Congratulations on losing 11lbs in few weeks. I plugged in your current weight (223lbs) and the height you mentioned in another post (5'3") and got a BMI number of 39.5 from this site:
From the BMI categories listed in this site, to move down to the next category, you need to weigh 169 lbs. This may look daunting but it seems that you are on the right path to get there.
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BMI Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
IMO, weight-related health issues are the biggest concerns. If your weight limits your physical activities (can not walk too far or too long, can not climb stairs), you can not build muscle tones, strength, endurance, you can not burn off fat/calories etc then the weight keeps adding on. There are a host of other health issues associated with weights (diabetic, heart, joints problems) so it is very important to keep your weight in the healthy range.
So again, I think that you are on the right path with regards to diet. You don't have to severely limit carbs, you just have to replace the empty calories carbs with nutritional carbs. Whole grains, beans, high fiber fruits (such as pear), vegetables are loaded with nutrients and keep you feeling full longer. BTW, you can also slowly replacing white rice/flour with brown rice and brown rice flour. You can also try to replace white rice noodles in Oriental soup recipes with whole grain spaghetti, vermicelli or linguine.
Besides reducing carbs, you should also try to limit fat intake. Trim off all fats, eat lean meats or seafoods. Replacing deep-fried food with pan-fried or oven-baked foods.
The rest of your family may not need to loose weight but eating healthier food is good for them as well. It's hard to switch to a new diet, food style so just do it gradually, cutting back on salt, sugar, fat, white rice/noodles slowly (substituting ingredients, reducing amounts) and change your ways of cooking foods.
You may already know about the new food guideline replacing the food pyramid with food 'plate': 1/2 plate of vegetables/fruits, 1/4 plate of grains and 1/4 plate of proteins. If not, you may want to check out this site
Regarding fitness, you don't need a personal trainer for physical activities. You can start with easy, simple things like walking, climbing up and down stairs. Start with short walks, short climbs and as you build up strength and endurance, step up the activities. You can also try to do some stretching/bending exercise in combination with light weight lifting. With kids, you can find ways to get exercise while taking care of them. Take them to places where you can do longer walks. If they are old enough, see if you can get them on bikes and you can either walk or bike with them.
As you can become fitter and stronger, you will find that it helps with losing weight, and of course losing weight helps you to be more active, fitter, stronger. So this is a great health cycle loop of losing weight <-> fitter, stronger.
I did not read your entire post but what I did read shows your husband is an inconsiderate idiot.
Ask him why he married you if he is so troubled by how you look.
Have to agree here, he kind of sounds like a jerk.
BUT (and this is a big BUT)
Are you sure all these things actually happened? I'm not saying I don't believe the OP, but I am saying that these recollections sound more like a narrative than a recollection of actual quotes and events. People can be way over-sensitive about their weight, leading them to pick up and infer things that end up being greatly exaggerated.
Have to agree here, he kind of sounds like a jerk.
BUT (and this is a big BUT)
Are you sure all these things actually happened? I'm not saying I don't believe the OP, but I am saying that these recollections sound more like a narrative than a recollection of actual quotes and events. People can be way over-sensitive about their weight, leading them to pick up and infer things that end up being greatly exaggerated.
Like I said I did not read the whole thing but I will, I had to go to physical therapy.
I have always been on the chubby side.
To give everyone an idea this is how I look like now. I personally don't think I look too big, so I don't know where the weight is going. Guess the primary culprits are my arms and thighs. I'm 5ft3
I think you look pretty good, I wouldn't give up on yourself. You can tone your arms and legs. Wear clothes that flatter you too. Why not join a gym? Or maybe you and your husband could walk with the kids after dinner. Keep it up and don't let anyone discourage you.
To give everyone an idea this is how I look like now. I personally don't think I look too big, so I don't know where the weight is going. Guess the primary culprits are my arms and thighs. I'm 5ft3
I have a totally different build. I am big through the hips and thighs but not that heavy on top. My bra band is a 36. You may have issues with sleeveless tops but you can wear shorter skirts since your legs are thinner in comparison to your top. There are pluses to every body type!
To give everyone an idea this is how I look like now. I personally don't think I look too big, so I don't know where the weight is going. Guess the primary culprits are my arms and thighs. I'm 5ft3
Seriously I would go with a lap band surgery. Any weight lost you may have now will be temporary and you will fall back on bad habits again on the first sign of stress. Also i would seek a counselor too.. You are using food as a escape from your daily stress. Your battle will be life long as your body has acquired the fat genes syndrome. It just stores every possible food you eat thus all the weight gain. Where as a normal person would burn 80% of the food they eat, you will just burn only 30%. Good luck, you will need it... Obesity is a life long disease...
I think you look pretty good, I wouldn't give up on yourself. You can tone your arms and legs. Wear clothes that flatter you too. Why not join a gym? Or maybe you and your husband could walk with the kids after dinner. Keep it up and don't let anyone discourage you.
Thanks. I do have a gym membership and according to plan was supposed to go every day for an hour, but the past 2 weeks my husband has been working since 11 am til 10 pm. I work from 6-10am...so basically between the two of us, we are working 16 hours a day, so its hard to find time for me to hit the gym when he works so much. My gym opens at 5 am and closes at 11 pm. It would be a hassle and I wouldnt that much done if I took advantage of that hour since there's also time to get ready and commute.
Seriously I would go with a lap band surgery. Any weight lost you may have now will be temporary and you will fall back on bad habits again on the first sign of stress. Also i would seek a counselor too.. You are using food as a escape from your daily stress. Your battle will be life long as your body has acquired the fat genes syndrome. It just stores every possible food you eat thus all the weight gain. Where as a normal person would burn 80% of the food they eat, you will just burn only 30%. Good luck, you will need it... Obesity is a life long disease...
I dont know how to respond but I do know a lot of people (there are a few on here like momma_bear herself) who have lost and kept it off.
For those who are following this thread and have lost over 100 lbs, did it "come back" for you?
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