This the Saturday p.m. WHEE diary - a place for people with any kind of weight issue to check in and get support. Sheddhead is the inspiration and organizer for this twice daily diary and the diary is based on the GUS diary (which I don't know much about). The tag for the diary will be WHEE and the plan is to have someone do a diary every morning and evening.
I can share my own experience and tips/ideas below but basically this a place for people to share ideas and give each other support as they work to lose weight, gain weight, or generally become healthier and more physically fit.
I am relatively new to KOS and haven't done many diaries, so if there are technical things that need to be done, (adding people to a roster), I may have to wait for Sheddhead or someone else to do those updates.
Run, bike, swim, or walk carefully to below the fold to see more.
There is a schedule for those interested in helping with the diaries and a roster of people interested in participating.
Planned diaries:
Sat PM - bluesophie
Sun AM - louisev
Sun PM - Stage Stop (weekly, unless otherwise noted)
Mon AM - Sheddhead ( a joint diary with fitness Monday)
Mon PM - cusoon
Tues AM - help
Tues PM - debbieleft
Wed AM - Edward Spurlock
Wed PM - Sheddhead
Thu AM - StrangeAnimals
Thu PM - help
My goal is to lose about 20 pounds - I have been very busy teaching for the last two years and have not been able to keep up a regular exercise routine and I also haven't been able to include enough fruits and vegetables in my diet.
I have always had to work to lose weight - in my twenties I ran 3 to 4 miles regularly and did a lot of biking. Usually, I could keep my weight under control by running more miles - this meant that I didn't have to worry too much about watching calories.
In my thirties, I switched to walking because my knees were starting to hurt more. Even walking one hour a day, by my mid thirties I found that my weight was starting to creep up - I have never had a fast metabolism and it did start to slow in my thirties. Sigh.
I have done Weight Watchers several times, and have usually lost 10 to 15 pounds with them (in two to three months). I like Weight Watchers because they really do emphasize a healthy diet, and they are very supportive, especially for people who have a lot of weight to lose. I have to go to actual meetings to really lose weight - WW online doesn't work for me. WW does now also encourage focusing on 5% and 10% weight loss, so you can work with manageable goals. There are several things I don't like about WW:
- their target weight goals are just too low for me. I am very healthy at about 5 to 10 lbs above the upper limit of their target range.
- WW has a tendency to be very upbeat about weight loss - they like to say that it is not a diet, but a lifestyle. While it is great that are so positive, I have to say that losing weight takes a great deal of work. It's not easy, and the weight doesn't just fall off. Losing weight with WW means that you have to watch everything you eat everyday and spend a certain amount of time thinking ahead about buying and preparing healthy meals. WW is effective, but it is work.
- I don't like WW recipes. Their recipes are always too bland or not quite right. I did Ediets for a year and really liked their recipes, which they often modified from Cooking Light magazine. Cooking Light is great if you like to cook and experiment with healthy recipes.
I have done weightlifting, and was very serious about it for about a year - I really like lifting weights and at the time I liked how strong my muscles had become. Weight lifting is also really great for back problems - it helps to strengthen your entire core. I have also done a fair amount of yoga, and think that it is a great practice for stretching, building core strength, and for helping with stress.
On pedometers: I have been using a pedometer for about four years now, and find that that they vary tremendously in quality. My favorite manufacturer is Omron - you can order their pedometers from REI or from Amazon. I just got a new Omron pedometer at Walgreens.
Pedometers should measure your steps accurately, not make too much noise while you are walking, and stay securely attached to your pants or belt.
I once bought a pedometer that measured steps while I was driving - I could get 5000 steps just by driving for 20 minutes. Don't get one of those.
And finally, a couple of more political comments about weight loss:
- as a feminist, I'm always struggling with the fact that I feel a need to lose weight to fit within society's standards of acceptable weight for women. I have never had to lose weight for health reasons and I feel the internal pressure of shame and guilt that push me into losing weight.I see the damage that is done to very young women through anorexia and bulimia and I struggle with how to best talk about weight with my female students. I try to reframe my own weight loss as being healthy and eating well. I like to exercise and I do think that because I've spent so much time exercising and trying eat better, I have been able to have healthy levels of cholesterol, sugar, and a healthy heart and lungs.
- Healthy fruits and vegetables: I live in an area where it is difficult to get organic produce in the winter. I know a fair amount about food politics and find it really difficult to buy non-organic fruits and vegetables. I stand in front of a stack of grapes at the grocery store and think about my need to lose weight and balance that against the lives of the workers who were exposed to pesticides on the grapes and what those chemicals do to the planet. In the summer, there are farmer's markets, and it is easier, and I am grateful to food activists everywhere who make it easier for everyone to get socially responsible food.
Anyway, those are my thoughts - the diary is open to everyone to share their experiences and support each other.