Conference rocks::weight_control

    Hi Nancy,
    
    I'm still here; don't have much time to write.  This is one of my
    favorite notesfiles too.
    
    (Since I'm "here", by any chance, is there anyone else here who works
    out at MSO2?)
    
    Gail

    Looks like it's just you -n- me, kid!
    
    Leslie   =)
    
    P.S.  Still on the diet, still struggling. 
    Thanks for all your support!  {hugggggs}
    

    This is my first time responding in this notes file.  I've been
    dropping in from time to time but it looks like the activity here is
    dying.  Is there another note that has been created to replace this
    one?  
    
    I have more pounds to take off then I want to think about and am trying
    to find the motivation to get started and keep going.  I have tried and
    failed so many times that it is hard to start again.
    

    I'm still here, reading from time to time, replying rather rarely.  For
    the last year or two I've been overweight by about 30 pounds.
    
    As of this Monday, though, I've had a little extra motivation in the
    form of a doctor's recommendation, a little card marked by her with my
    current weight and a target weight, and a short term goal of 7 pounds
    to lose in 7 weeks.
    
    I'll join in here if anyone is interested in making this a progress
    discussion string - but I don't intend to make it a soliloquy!
    
    Good luck
    
    Brian

    I just started reading this conference.  
    
    According to the Body Mass Index (BMI) measure (http://www.shapeup.org/sua),
    I'm 60 pounds overweight, and at least 70 over my personal goal.  At a
    health display at Solomon Pond Mall they had a simulated five pound
    mass of fat.  It was HUGE!  I can't possibly imagine that I have 12
    times that all over myself!
    
    Anyway, I really hate diets, and don't believe in them.  I've tried
    various workout programs.  My latest attempt is using a heart monitor
    to pace and track my training.
    
    The most amazing thing to me, is that the "moderate" exercise level
    (50-60% maximum heart rate) is difficult to maintain, because its so
    *slow*, but still shows dramatic improvement.  My resting heart rate is
    already coming down, I've already come down one threshold level on the
    BMI scale, and I'm 20 days into my program.  I'm looking forward to
    gradually increasing my workout.  Sometime in the next week I hope to
    start power walking with my wife, who can't stand my indoor NordicTrack
    program.
    
    I agree that any source of encouragement is a good one.
    
    jeb
    

    Well, I too am some 45lbs overweight and I' started on a
    weigh down workshop two weeks ago. So far I seem to have cut down my
    food intake drastically, am not hungry & the weight loss is minimal. 
    I'm starting to think we can live on hardly any food at all.
    								  Nick

    I pop in here occaisionally.  I've successfully maintained a 75 lb
    weight loss for 3 years, "the old fashioned way", diet and exercise.
    In the past year the exercise component has become much more important,
    and I've really been focusing on my overall fitness, and have relaxed a
    bit about the diet.  I know the feeling Nick is having, it was usually
    a sign to me that I wasn't exercising enough.  Smaller plates help a
    lot too!!  
    
    Motivation comes from within - mine came from some serious thinking
    about who I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing for the rest of
    my life.  The  fact was that the extra weight was interfering with my
    life, on many levels.  You need to do it for you - whatever reasons are
    important to you.  And they can be really silly reasons!  
    
    Good luck - you *can* do it!  
    
    dana

    HI..
    
    I also pop in occassionally. I'm at a customer site full time and don't
    have time to get in much. But I've been thinking about losing 20 pounds
    for a while now. It's creeped on 5 lbs at a time over the past several
    years. I was able to lose some weight this fall when I had a wedding to
    go to (and relatives who hadn't seen me in a while) and actually kept
    the weight off through thanksgiving and xmas. Then January hit and I
    gained it back.
    
    I'm a terrible dieter, no will power what-so-ever.I generally eat
    healthy food, but too much of it, and over the past year, too late in
    the evening. I'm getting home between 8pm and 8:30, eating and going to
    bed soon after, getting up again at 7am.
    
    Just recently I dusted off the manual treadmill, used it once and then
    got a massive sinus infection (I know it's not related but I definately
    joked the first week about the allergic reaction to exercise!) which
    I'm still fighting, so the treadmill is once again gathering dust.
    
    I'm the expect on excuses for not exercising, though I know I have to
    exercise to make weight changes in my body. 
    
    So - I'm willing to join in here, though it may be infrequently. I'm
    also tired of having clothes I really like not fit... and with warm
    weather always seem to get more motivated.
    
    good luck to all of us!
    
    janetb.

    Hi - I also check in here once in awhile to see if there's anything
    new!  I started watching this conference in January of '95 - I weighed
    162.5 pounds at the time.  I started walking and watching my fat
    intake (basically tried to eat healthier) and had dropped down to 
    127 by July of last year. BUT - then, for various reasons I stopped
    walking and picked up my bad eating habits again and gained back
    15 pounds!  So now I'm at 142 and have once again started walking
    and eating better.  You know, once I started walking again I realized
    how much I really enjoyed that time to myself with no distractions
    (kids, etc.!!).  And, now I'm beginning to recall what it was like to
    actually feel good and have energy!!!    I guess I just needed to
    get jump-started again!!  It really is true though that the more you
    exercise and the healthier you eat, the more energy you'll have and 
    the better you'll feel.   Good luck everyone on your weight-loss
    goals!!
    
    Lila

    Well, after two weeks, lost 12lbs & two notches on my belt.
    So far so good...
    			:o)

    WOW! That's great!!!   What an inspiration you are!  Keep it up!
    
    Lila
    

    The Weigh Down worshops come from Memphis Ten. & are run by church
    groups. The basic idea is fix your mind & forget being slaves to food.
    In my culture, in France, we often worry about what we are going to
    have to eat 24 to 48 hours out. Another one is if it is in your plate
    eat it all, as it is perceived as sinful to leave anything in your
    plate.
    
    So on this workshop, you learn on how to diffentiate between real
    stomach hunger, when your tum is grumbling versus brain hunger when you 
    you look at your watch & say if its noon, then it is feeding time.
    Or if you are miserable or under stress eat & feel contented or even more
    miserable, if you were trying to loose weight.
    
    So listen to your tum, only eat when you are hungry, eat in moderation,
    for me this means eating off a smaller plate. It means if your not
    hungry at noon, don't eat, but if you are hungry 1t 3:30, then eat
    until satisfied (but not over stuffed). 
    
    One thing you discover is that you can eat really small portions, & not
    be hungry for the next 4 to 6 hours. No food is banned, there no
    counting of calories, or fat grams or what have you. All food is good
    in moderation.
    
    When you eat, eat slowly, enjoy what you eat, take lots of sips of
    water.
    
    When you have to eat out, taste a sample of everything on your plate,
    then concentrate & eat what you really like best & leave the rest.
    (I have not tried that part yet.)
    
    I have only been on this worshop 2.5 weeks & yet colleagues who have
    not seen me for a week or so, mention without prompting that I have
    lost weight.
    
    More anon. when I have learnt more on this 12 week, eat like a thin
    person learning experience.
    				:o)
    

    
    I'm back here at Digital again.  The 20+ pounds that I lost using
    Herbalife products is continuing to stay off.  (;^)
    
    Two weekends ago I attended a weekend workshop in Rowe, MA, given by
    Dr. John Doulliard, a former Olympic triathlete. He is now an
    Ayurvedic practitoner with his own clinic and spa in Boulder, Colorado.  
    He had much to say about diet, exercise, etc., and as time allows I'll
    write up some of the tips he gave and enter them into this conference.
    I highly recommend his book, "Body, Mind, Sport".
    
    Cindy  

    I just love this conference since I have always been interested in
    weight_control.  I have rejoined Weight Watchers 1/1/96 and have lost
    38 lbs. so far and just about at my goal.  I had lost 39 lbs. in '85
    and kept it off for 2 years but with stress at work and new job I
    worked thru lunch and worked all kinds of crazy hours.  I had stopped
    excercising and not paid attention to what I was eating.  My goal is to
    become a life time member at WW and get weighed in monthly.  I really
    believe now that I am in control and decided that there will always be
    stress in life (work and homelife!). I did not attend the WW meetings
    in '85 and only ate the bare minimum for 8 months (I never even ate a
    cookie hard to believe).  I was determined to shed the weight.  I
    realize now I was wrong and that was too strict. I attend weekly
    meetings and exercise on my Cardio Glide 3 times weekly.  I did have an
    operation in Nov. '96 and out of work for 1 month but still lost 4 lbs.
    in 2 months.  Since I have lost most of my weight, I was thrilled that
    I still stayed on course since I was not exercising and the fridge was
    right next to me for a whole month.  To me the key is eating properly
    and WW is to me the very best program since it isn't a diet but proper
    eating.  Exercising also goes hand and hand for me.  I am determined to
    keep the weight off now since I am 44 and really don't want to keep the
    yo-yo effect anymore.  My Mom also has diabetes and my extra weight was
    a real negative for me to also be a prime candidate for diabetes.  
    
    Good Luck to everyone out there like me who needs the encouragement.  A
    little hard work does pay off!

    After 3 weeks 15.5 Lbs off & feeling a lot better for it. :o)

	I just entered a note under the Herbalife topic 869.59. Go and check 
	it out. I have tried lots of other programs but this one has been the
	easiest to lose weight by. If you would like details on the program
	give me a call 

	Regards

	Steve

	DTN: 226-6990
	Home number: 508-393-4927

    19lbs off in March, with no special food, no banned foods, no
    additives, no exercise, just eating: only when hungry & in moderation.
    
    I fully expect that the next 20lbs, won't come off quite so quickly or
    easily, but "fixing the mind", as this program recommends does work 
    (for me, that is).
    								    :o) 

    Re Nick:
    
    Congratulations on your weight loss!  
    
    I wrote the original note and was amazed to see that others replied -
    yeah!  For a while there, I didn't think that anyone else would
    respond.
    
    Nick, I'm curious - are you just eating when you're hungry?  Wow, 
    19 pounds in March with no exercise?
    
    A little about me - lost 31 pounds since January 1st and ideally
    would like to lose about 10 more.  I have to exercise daily to see
    results (work out for 1 hour on my cardioglide and I love it!).
    
    Glad to see all of you here.  I joined an Internet weight loss support
    group since I thought this conference was dead - it has been very
    helpful to me.
    
    -Nancy in Colorado Springs
    

    
    	re .12
    
    	Nick,
    
    	I lost 17 pounds through the Weigh Down Workshop last
    	year (Jan - Mar).
    
    	What an awesome program, and what FREEDOM !!!  
    
    	I will never follow a "diet" plan again.
    
    	Karen
    

    re: .19
    
    Karen, what's the Weigh Down Workshop?  Sounds interesting...
    
    Help...
    Leslie (in Colorado, looking green with envy at a slim Nancy!)  =)
    
    

    re: .12
    
    Sorry, Nick.  Just noticed your explanation of Weigh Down Workshop
    when I went back and read .12.  Guess I'm losing brain cells instead
    of pounds!!!    ={
    
    Yeeeks.
    L.
    

    I read the next note on excercise with interest, as in 85, i followed a
    casette & workbook called the neuropsychology of weight control, where
    you try & reach 100 points a day, by exercising for one hour, usually
    a one hour walk, & cutting off coffee drinking mucho water & eating
    less. I lost 45lbs between feb & april. But in Feb 97 I weighed 20lbs
    more that when started in feb 85. 
    
    Today with no excercise but just eating in moderation only when hungry
    & using a smaller plate, I have lost 22lbs over the last 5 weeks, with
    another 22lbs to go. Every week I imagine that I'll reach a plateau,
    but somehow, at the Friday morning weigh-in, I have lost another 4lbs
    or so... & I'm delighted. Having measured chest size, waist, hips &
    thigh size, at the start, today for fun, I went through the measuring
    again & the resuls are:
    I have lost 2" at the chest, 5" at the waist, 3.5" at the hips & none 
    at the thigh. 
    			:o)

    A friend told me that the Weigh Down Workshop can be found on the web
    under www.wdworkshop.com, I'm no guru on the web, so I have accessed it
    it is there., but have no time to browse.
    
    All I can say is this system works, you don't have to buy any special
    food, in fact you can reduce your shopping bill quite a bit, as you do
    eat a lot less. & our fridge gets filled up with fresh salads or
    vegetables that we did not eat & have to throw away, as getting soft,
    old & wrinkled etc...
    
    At the same time you can also try to get rid of other habits eg: for me
    untidyness, inability to throw things away, occasional pipe smoking,
    etc...
    
    The good news is that you forget about food period!, but when you do
    eat, you eat things that you really like & really enjoy them.
    
    Of course, as this program does not cost anything, apart from the kit
    (audio casettes & workbook) and as no special this or that are required, 
    it may not appeal to A.N.Other, but I'zze 23lbs down, not hungry & smiling.
    Which is what it is all about :o)
    
    		All the best,
    				Nick

    
    	The main reason the Weigh Down Workshop worked for
    	me is that it got me to finally face that my weight
    	problem was not due to not following the right formula,
    	or not accurately counting calories.  It was due to
    	simply overeating.  I did not know how to stop emotional
    	eating, or to stop eating when I was full, or to not eat
    	when I wasn't hungry.
    
    	Weigh Down helped me learn how to listen to my body and
    	to eat only what I really needed.  By lifting the classifications
    	of "good foods" and "bad foods", I did not feel like my only
    	option when faced with a rich dessert was "Eat it all now, for
    	tomorrow, it's forbidden."  I could comfortably eat only
    	what I had room for, and either save the rest for later, or,
    	(gasp), give it away.
    
    	The program deals with more than food - it was started by
    	a Christian and the program includes prayer and devotions
    	as a daily part of the program.  As such, it also helps
    	to understand and deal with those things that contribute
    	to our overeating.
    
    	Many of the people that I know that struggle with a weight
    	problem are looking for a solution that will allow them
    	to overindulge and still lose weight.  In the meantime,
    	they fight with diet rules and restrictions that leave
    	them feeling deprived and even more in need of that
    	comforting that is often sought through food.
    
    	There is tremendous freedom in learning how to eat in
    	moderation and still be fit.
    
    	Karen
    
    

    well after two weeks off, of travelling & eating three course meals &
    eating everything in my plate & drinking all the wine that was poured
    into my glass, I have resumed my Weigh Down workshop ways & this
    morning I stood at -25lbs, with tons of spare tires to go...
    								  :o)
    
    It is great discovering long forgotten clothes, that one can get in
    again, as well as more challenging clothes, where one can't quite
    get into...
    		nm

    I weighed 191 lbs. on Jan.30 of this year. I weighed myself on Mar.28
    and came in at 168 lbs. Then I just weighed myself Apr.27 and it was
    165 lbs. Just about 26 lbs. w/in 3 months. 

    re.26
    		165lbs is getting close to where I'm aiming to get to, 
    but that is still a long way off... but we are getting there slowly. 
    
    How did you do it?
    				nm

    I went for a dr. appt on Jan.30 to find out I weighed 191 lbs. I was
    mortified. On Mar.28 I weighed in at 168 lbs. At my last weigh in on
    Apr. 27 I weighed 165 lbs.
    I still would like to go lower. I want to be around 130-140. I was SO
    disgusted at the end of Jan. that I almost didn't try to lose weight,
    since I was already up there. I'm glad I did though. Now that i'm about
    26 lbs. lower i'm hoping it'll keep my going.
    

    How'd I do it?
    I definately cut my calorie intake. I also cut out peanut butter,coke,
    and cheese completely. I bought a new Nordictrack CTX and it's a
    wonderful machine. 

    I've kept off 40lbs for about a year and a half now.. I was loosely
    following Weight Watchers while I was losing it. But I lost it due to a
    dramatic increase in exercise.  For me, keeping the weight off is
    harder than losing it. Some of my bad eating habits have come back.
    Exercising has helped me maintain my weight. I can eat normal amounts
    of food and stay the same weight.  It will always be a battle for me
    even though I'm at a very heathly weight with a BMI in the low 20's.

    Well I managed to get 29lbs off, but then went on an extended
    celebration for my daughter's wedding & put on 4 lbs, which is not at
    all surprising.
    
    However I'm back in the saddle, eating off small plates, & looking
    forward to loosing lots more, as my doctor on Wednesday said, can't
    stop now, as he stared at my remaining spare tires...
    								:o)
    
    PS: What is a BMI when it at home? & what are the ranges...

    See the new note I created on BMI.
    
    jeb