You need a yoga mat if you are going to do yoga a regular mat or towel won’t work- you need something non-slip. If you are heavy you especially need extra hell keeping you hands and feet in place.
Yoga Mats are typically about $20-30.00
XS Cargo Stores have yoga mats on sale for 9.99
Giant Tiger Stores also have for 9.99- not sure if this is sale or rgulaer item
Loblaws/Fortinos/Zehrs have nice yoga kits- mat + 2 blocks + strap + yoga dvd + eye mask ( not sure what for! ) for 19.99. This is a great deal. I biought for blocks and have extra mat for kids to do with me…
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Daily Posts at 12:02 PM EST
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Create Before and After Pictures of yourself . You can use a Virtual model to see how you look now- and how you will look at your goal weight. Several online shopping sites have these they will be called “virtual model” or “my virtual model” or something like that. Land End has one- but the highest weight it will take is 250 lbs. I guess they think no one will buy their clothes if they see what they “really” look like.
The one I like best is the My Virtual Model, it is easy to use and VERY customizable. After you finish it- just use print screen and copy in an image editing software to edit/crop save or use a screen capture software of some sort.
Note: Prevention magazine also has a “weight loss simulator” here , which to me looks like exactly the program as the clothing sites are using.
Here is my model at 318 lbs:
How I will look at goal weight of 225:
Here is what I am supposed to look like now at 280:
is not a bad likeness. I will get new pics up in next couple of days.
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Diet and Weight Loss Tools at 5:58 PM EST
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I have joined many fitness clubs in my life. I am a fairly confident person and their have been times where I have felt eyes burning on me when I have walked into a weight room or felt people looking over onto my treadmill to see how I am doing, etc or felt self-conscious while working out. Going to the gym is half the battle and I have felt good after wards but I am more conscious of not “fitting in” there than anywhere else.
having Balance- Connecting Your Mind and Body
I have started doing Yoga. I have been doing for several weeks. I can honestly say it has been life changing for me.
I have been doing a type of yoga, Hatha Yoga- the encourages the concept of “Yoga is For Everyone”. It is about accepting and respecting yourself. And understanding that everything has a balance. With strength their is flexibility and with tension is relaxation and there must be a balance.
If there is too much relaxation- you end up out of shape and not in tune with your body. Living in your head is what most fat people do. I think they literally separate their mind from their body . It may be for all kinds of reasons Woman and men you have been physically violated often end up overweight and obese and living “outside of the body” yoga is one way of getting back in sync.
I have done yoga many times- lots of stops and starts- and never once have I felt out of place or like I didn’t belong. The beginner class I was at last night had an eighty-year old BLIND woman coming for the first time.
Many times while I have been trying a pose and listening to the words of the intruder i have felt tears in my eyes- finally feeling connected to myself and like my body was worth caring for and respecting. Loving yourself- your whole self is not something only skinny and fit people do.
Yoga For Beginners
If you are intimidated by the thought of going to a gym try a yoga studio or community center/Y for classes. You need very little to start, A Yoga mat, belt and pillow are pretty much all you need, yoga blocks are also good to have. If you have to buy you can buy everything for under $20.00. You can often get for free in Freecycle groups.
Gyms Are Scary for Fat People
I am 285 pounds and have seen others heavier than me in classes and there is nothing to be worried about. Please give your self this gift of taking care and loving yourself!
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Daily Posts at 3:12 PM EST
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Wow. this call really got me thinking. Last week I was in husbands car and he had Howard Stern show on. A woman called in to discuss her problem. Child protective services had warned her that they might take her daughter away from her. Her 15 year old daughter weighed 285 lbs (about the same as me now) . For fear of her daughter being taken away- and then her other kids- she was encouraging her daughter to purge after a binge!!!! OMG. If you are unaware of risks and stupidity f this- terry Schiavo was doing this and this is what made her go into a coma! Other risks besides death are your teeth rotting from enamel, burns and danger to esophagus, etc
The people on Howard Stern came down on the woman pretty hard- who seemed to think she would get sympathy and praise (!)
She said she had tried everything.. Her daughter would eat whole dinners for the family, etc.
I have been thinking about this all week- it really disturbed me. My husband and I have talked about what we do if we noticed our kids leaning toward obesity. But hterory is different then reality.
One thing with my dieting is I am just not keeping temptation food in the house. We can all survive without puddings, cakes, cookies and ice creams. If I do have treat here in cupboards they are ones I don’t care about. My kids can always buy chocolate bar or whatever with their allowance if they feel the need.
My kids are all very healthy and athletic and I have done all I can not to pass on my issues to them. Forbidding foods is not something I do- but I am fine with just buying them. About the only food I don’t “allow” them to have is anything with aspartame or caffeine. I also tend to not buy juice that much.
I have a quite over weight girlfriend and her son is very heavy- probably by about 50 lbs. She stocks her cupboard with Kraft Dinner and lunch is usually hot dogs or pizza pockets. We just don’t have those foods in the house. Even before dieting My issues would be with sneaking foods.
I actually place no limits on my kids eating- I also don’t have crap in the house. There is likely to be an argument for that last orange as the last bowl of ice cream.
If my daughter wanted to buy 10 chocolate bars with her allowance- its not something I would forbid. Who knows- if my parent had thrown giant quantities of chocolate at me maybe i would have turned my head away.
Over eating isn’t always about food. it can be about self-esteem, feeling good, being angry and especially control. Fat parents do have fat kids- they are usually eating the same things. MacDonald’s, Fried chicken, deep fried food, donuts, pizza, etc. All foods high in white flour and fats.
Getting rid of these foods is half the battle.
Exercise has to be fun if it is to become a habit and a life long one. All kids have a passion for something- hockey, dance, gymnastics, etc If your child doesn’t like it- find something else. Forcing your kids to do exercise they don’t want to do becomes a control and power play. Sometimes doing something with them is a big part of it. Making a special time for you an done of your kids to go for walk or hike may be more than just exercise :-)
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks, Obesity and Children at 7:39 PM EST
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I am on a real roll- and hate to jinx it! Weight is just dropping off with seemingly little effort and despite a fudge incident earlier this week. I am trying VERY hard not to have any sugar and earlier in the week I had about 3 pieces of fudge. Nothing nuts but I do fins when I have sugar it leads to more sugar… and more.. There weren’t any repercussions to the fudge. I feel like a smoker vowing to never smoke- then trying it just to “see” if they still like it.
I have been VERY conscious of the protein intake and drinking lots of water. I have my husband trying to lose weight as well now and following my advice :-) he is normally very thing and fit but has put on about 20 extra pounds over the last few years. So his idea of dieting and my idea are totally different. 5 lbs to him is a quarter of the way there!
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Obesity and Children, Weight loss Updates at 7:21 PM EST
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One thing about being overweight - there is a lot of money to be made off of people who hate themselves. Our culture continuously sets people up for failure by bombarding both children and adults with cheap, easy to make and empty of nutrition and highly profitable food. I don’t just mean Fast Food. Go down any grocery aisle and you will countless combination of white flour, sugar and fat being marketed at you. Little Debbie, Vachon, Kraft, frozen pizza, etc. It is unavoidable. It is fast easy and cheap ( to make AND buy) Fresh fruits, vegetables , etc take more effort and can be more expensive to eat.
Add to that media that streams perfect photoshopped bodies at us all day long and you have a recipe for self loathing.
Over the years I have spent probably thousands of dollars trying to lose weight. I have bought and not used gym memberships for at least 6 different gyms in the last fifteen years- and risked bad credit when I couldn’t keep up with monthly payments that ballooned and I couldn’t get out of. I have spent money on initiation fees to various weigh loss groups like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers and then weekly fees for meetings mandatory appointments. All the while my waistline expanded as my bank account shrank.
This time around the only money I have spent on dieting was a new scale, a blender and a yoga DVD. I am following diet plan my OHIP covered doctor. I am determined not to sucked into the giant machine again. I won;t look for a miracle that can be bought- but will earn my health and fitness!
How about you? Have you spent money on dieting that you regret?
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Daily Posts at 9:40 PM EST
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I have been having serious issues getting enough protein on my diet. The recommended intake is 90 grams a day. This is HARD enough but I am also not a big meat eater. No red meat at all and very little chicken and fish. Dairy is fat laden and a bad option for the most part. I have been relying on protein shakes and meal replacement bars.
My morning ritual has been to make a smoothie. I used to find is a DRAG to make with blender- huge mess and takes up too much counter space. Hand blender can’t do ice or frozen fruit very well. I broke down and bough a Magic Bullet blender. I am THRILLED with it. I I LOVE this thing! I can make smoothie/protein shake in the same container in blends in.
I have been buying protein power at Costco. Soy protein is not where near as good as Whey protein. The soy is very grainy and chalky and you can really “taste” it.
I would get Vanilla. They come in huge containers and you are pretty stuck if you don’t like it. Any vanilla Whey protein powder is a pretty good bet. I did try Proteins+ brand one and it was delicious- but its about 4 times as expensive as anything else.
I would be curious to hear what other brands people like.
So protein shake is scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, the a add 2 frozen strawberries and about 1/3-1/2 a banana. The banana make a huge difference in the taste and texture of the shake.
you could also use older bananas and throw int the freezer and use for smoothies and protein shakes later.
Using the Magic Bullet (or similar) give you great shake pretty much every time- if you can find one at yard sale, ebay or wherever I would pick one up- worth it. Each shale has 25+ grams of protein ( depending on powder you use).
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Food and Snacks at 9:25 PM EST
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I have all nearly lost over 40 lbs in 4 months. I would like to lose at least another 75 by the end of Summer, My weight loss has slowed down- they was an awful hiccup over November/December but I seem to have a handle on things again.
- I would to be be wearing a size 18 two months from now.
- I am 30lbs away from qualifying for “company” Life Insurance. This will be a major relief and one of the main reasons I began losing weight.
- This may sound nuts- but I would like to wear a two piece bathing suit, I have been look at 2-piece and bikinis online, at Seafolly swimsuits, they have some really really cute tankinis- like this turquoise blue tankini . We have a pool so so no chance I would go to public beach but it would be nice not to have giant bath suit and cover-up on all summer! On really hot days it will be nice to finally get to wear a two-piece- which I haven’t done since I was a teenager.
- Tone up- I would like to be fit. Not just sort of fit but really fit. About 6 years ago I was going to the gym every day and felt fantastic!
Do you have any goals or milestones you are looking forward to achieving?
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Goals at 12:11 PM EST
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Been I while since I felt good enough to update my photos. I have only lost about 5 lbs since my last update in late November. I am just under 285 and thank make a 33 lbs weight loss since the beginning of September.
I am wearing same outfit and really though I could comfortably wear these jeans by now! I keep saying another 5 lbs and still they are not comfortable. I am really struggling for clothing- nothing fits… I have to roll waistband of my pants to get them to stay up.
My next appointment with Dr. Wharton at the Bariatric Clinic is late January so I hope to be under 280. I will be happy to see that number.
Glitch with camera so only side and back view for now..
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Daily Posts, Weight loss Pictures at 7:45 PM EST
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Wow- After several WEEKS of going up and down between 285 and 290 lbs I can now report that I am doing really well and I weighed in at 294 this morning. WOO HOO!
I am quite happy about it. I feel like I am back on track and it has not been that hard. I was really struggling through November December. I was down to 284 mid November and then within a few days was over 291 and scale just would not move. When I went to see Dr. Wharton at Canadian Bariatric Clinic late November I weighed in at 289. He was encouraging. Then Christmas put me into a tailspin. I didn’t binge but I sure wasn’t dieting! Bit scary how fast and out of control things can get.
So basically I have lost all the weight in the last week.
What Have I been Doing Differently to Lose The Weight?
- Drinking LOTS of water
–eating first thing in morning, I will eat 2 diet yoghurts ( 40 calories each) while I wait for my tea to be made. Later I will make a protein smoothie. I bought myself a Magic Bullet blender to make them in. Making them and clean up is a breeze.
- Protein Bars. I have been relying heavily on these. I buy Detour Bars at Costco as well as another Meal Replacement type ( which are very good) I will get name of them . Dr. Wharton was the one who suggested I get more protein.
Protein reduces cravings. I am supposed to have 90 grams of protein a day and it can be REALLY hard. I don’t eat much meat and trying to get enough protein has been a challenge.
- Keeping DANGER food out of the house. Not kidding myself by baking or buying foods I am tempted by and telling myself that they are “for the kids”
- Never letting myself get hungry. If I feel hungry it may be too late. I pace myself and snack often and eat apples, clementines and pears.
- Avoiding white sugar and white flour at all costs! These are trigger food for me. Foods with white flour usually next to know nutritive value. Sugar+ flour+ fat is a BAD combination for. If I stay away I am better off all around.
Posted by Linda J. - Weight Loss Using Diet, Exercise and Meridia as Weight loss Tip Articles at 11:13 AM EST
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