I'm really glad I found this forum. I think that people that are 100 and 200 pounds overweight are in a very different situation than people that are 30 or 60 pounds overweight.

Personally, I think that obesity has many causes ranging from poor self-discipline to serious medical conditions. By having a forum that is focused on the seriously overweight, we are likely to be interacting with people that are suffering from the same or similar root causes and so the approaches and experiences that we share are probably more relevent.

I think that it is also the case that we have a significantly different mindset. Being 60 pounds overweight put few restrictions on my life - at 240 I could run a 7 minute mile and could run 5 miles nonstop. But at 380 I can walk about six miles max nonstop and the slightest hills are a challenge. There are very few physically active things I CAN do. We also have to deal with a longer time horizon. It's one thing to look forward to reaching your final goal in three months. It's another when you realize that a couple of years is more likely.

Our progress is also much different. I need and want to try to determine what are realistic weight loss rates and I can't do that knowing how fast people that are 25% overweight lose - not when I am fully 100% overweight.

I really looking forward to sharing experiences with people in a similar boat.

Hi Wbahn,

I can very much identify with you. At 400, a 15 minute walk was the best I could do as intense cardio.

As for rate of loss, it depends on a lot of variables such as age, previous dieting habits and state of metabolism. When I first started, I lost 30 lbs first month, and about 20 lbs a month afterward till I reached goal, 400 to 180. Now it's much slower, possibly due to medication, undereating (while workaholic), less activity.

So it may vary from person to person, and even for the same person dependig on where they are in their life. From listening to many low-carbers, it seems the more you gain and lose (yo-yo dieting) the slower you lose, that's why now I'm in it for life, even when I reach goal.

A very useful thing to do, is to keep regular journal and chart your progress in weight and in measurements. This will help gauge your progress and look backward to tweak things for optimum results.

Keep me posted and I'll be glad to compare notes with you.

Wa'il

Thanks for the encouragement Wa'il.

I'm a bit confused about one thing. You said that you maintained 20#/month from 400 to 180 but your profile indicates that your presently at 290. Was the 180 a typo or is your profile just out of date?

The reason I am curious is that it would be nice to know if someone was able to maintain 20#/month all the way down to the 200# range. That is the rate I am hoping to achieve and think that I can, given prior short term experience, at least for a while. But I'm sure that my rate will drop off as I get closer and closer to goal. None-the-less, it would be nice to know that it can be sustained, at least by someone else even if I can't quite get there.

Looking forward to this journey. I think that this support forum is likely to be the real key to my success - and failure is not an option!

Sadly, it's no type. After reaching goal, I maintained for a while, and within 3 years gained half of what I lost. Click on "stories" from the menu above, and you'll find the details, mine is at the bottom.


No, I had a periodical stall for 2-3 weeks every 3 months or so.

Wa'il

Thanks for the clarification. This is all good information.

I was 239# my sophomore year in high school. I decided that I had to lose weight and followed, roughly, the Scarsdale Diet. I got down to 180# in less than six months. I was in a routine there where I would lose a little weight and then stall for a few days to perhaps a week and then I would suddenly drop four or five pounds and keep going down until I stalled. That seemed to happen every ten pounds or so.

I stayed in the 190# to 200# range for about four years and was very physically active. I loved my life. Then things got real rough for me in college (ended up dropping out) and my weight shot up to 245# within two months.

Then I got called to active duty and spent four months in Basic Training because they wouldn't let my out until I was below 202#. I got myself down to 190# during Tech School and kept it there for about a year.

Then I got injured and couldn't run for quite a while. Running had always been my key to keeping the weight off. I put on 50 pounds real fast.

After that it was lose 20 gain 30, lose 40 gain 60. If I don't make it this time I will almost certainly hit 400! I would plateau and fully expect to stay there for a while but the "while" never went away and then my weight would start going back up. I could only persevere under those conditions just so long.

I'm hoping that once I get down to about 250 I can start jogging again. My knees and back are in pretty good shape but they just can't stand the stress of jogging at my weight for more than a couple of weeks. I know that there are alternatives, such as swimming, and I have tried them but just can't get enthused. It's very possible that this will change once I get enough weight off to allow me to enjoy the activity.

Makes perfect sense. Don't underestimate the benefits of walking. It's amazing what a regular 30 minute walk can do. I'm always at my best when I need to walk. My last job was within 25 minutes walking distance, and it helped boost my loss.

In addition, resistance training is great for giving a boost to metabolism since it increases the muscles mass. I'm fortunate to have a gym in our building, otherwise, I'd be too intimidated, or too repulsed by fashionable, skin tight spandex wearing gym goers

Wa'il

Welcome Wbahn!

I agree with you that we're in a different boat than those with 30 pounds to lose. Our need to lose isn't for mere vanity, we have a serious health risk. And the source of the problem goes beyond a few too many desserts. Still, I have gotten a lot of inspiration and some good meal ideas from snooping around in the journals of the skinny members. They have also been visiting my new journal to offer support. So don't just confine yourself to this forum.


I tried walking interspersed with small jogging sprints a couple years ago and really don't recommend it. I weighed 260 then and having all that force slam down on my hips, knees and ankles was too much. I only lasted two weeks and then found it painful even to walk. I had never had joint problems before.

I found that using a NordiTrak (machine that simulates cross-country skiing) caused no shock to my joints but got my heart rate up as high as I wanted because it included arm movement with resistance. (You can also control the level of resistance for the legs as well as give it an incline.) Those elliptical machines look like they wouldn't cause any pounding on joints. (I have to admit that I'm scarcely doing any exercise now.)

Glad you're here!

Allison

Thanks for the response, Allison.

That's where I'm at now - even a little jogging interspersed with walking goes along fine for a couple of weeks and then I can barely walk. I was jogging fine at 245 - but I was also 15 years younger and my body hadn't been subjected to the pounding that just normal life puts on your knees at 350+. I will probably try to start jogging again when I get below 250 - but if I have to stop and wait till I'm below 200 then that's the way it goes. I just hope that I will be able to do it eventually.

I've tried the ellipticals and they just felt so unnatural - I suppose once you got used to it.

I'm walking pretty regularly now and will be trying to steadily increase it. I live in a VERY hilly city and so getting my heartrate up isn't too much of a problem.

Just wanted to Say HI and hope to get to know you around here!! WE ALL CAN DO THIS!!

TheGoddess

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Hi all:
I understand the feeling of being 200 pounds or more overweight. I started December 10th at 325 pounds. I am now at 282 pounds.

I too have been up and down the scales. I lost 100 pounds about 12 years ago and maintained that weight for 5 years. Then work and college made me seditary and the weight "flowed" back on.

I started Adkins last Sunday. This was due to the fat levels in my blood being high. So I decided to try to lower those levels as I loose weight. Here I am.

We can all do this, for me it has become #1 priority. I am not letting anyone or anything (Ok, the ice storm put a stop to walking the dog <g>) stop me from my goal. As long as I am on WOE plan, I don't stress over not loosing. I know my body will catch up sometime.

Talk to you all later

Dee

Well I'm 25 pounds down!

That's 1/8 of the way to goal. All I have to do now is what I've already done - seven more times.

Piece of (low carb) cake.

Bill,
I think you have the most wonderful sense of humor..."piece of (low carb) cake". Just too funny!!! It can be discouraging when you look at the whole amount of weight loss. I haven't had 200 to lose, but almost. At my heaviest I had a whole person to lose--175. I really truly felt like I had no hope. But when I finally tried low carbing I realized it really is possible. I look forward to future events and try to imagine what weight I'll be at that time. I know that it will be smaller. Slowly and steadily I am shrinking. Before I just kept getting bigger. What a turn around! It is so good to see your progress and others and be able to share in your success. I look forward to actually NOT feeling obese. I know that even before I reach my goal I will get to where I'm not wondering if I'm going to break a lawn chair. It's been so long...I wonder if I'll get it into my head that I'm not that big anymore. Maybe it is good to lose slowly...so one's mind can catch up? Victoria

That last comment you made hits a lot of nails.

We tend to think that losing the weight will solve all of our problems (all of the image, fitness and social problems - few people think that losing the excess weight will restore their sight or pay of their mortgage or fix the exhaust system on their car ).

But it doesn't. It solves a bunch of problems - yes. But it creates a WHOLE lot more.

Think about it - we have learned to function in society as fat people. We have learned to live with people's reactions. We have learned what we can and can't do. More significantly, we have NOT had to learn how to live and function as people of normal weight or, if we have, we have forgotten much of it.

Losing weight slowly allows us to tackle that transition bit by bit - and there's a lot to be said for that.

As I loose weight, me self-esteem just keeps going up. and up and up. I have already noticed that people are now considering me as "part of the group".

I square dance, and generally when I go to a dance people would give me "the look" -- you got to be kidding someone of your size can't dance. Or they would try not to get in a square with me because of the room I take up. Sad but true. Now that I have lost soooo much weight and am striving forward, I am greeted with hugs and the same people make sure I get out to dance...to help with exercise to help the weight loss. They couldn't see I needed that support before.

I am not angry with this, I except it as part of human nature. It just feels good not being treated as a monster.

As I continue to loose, the exceptance will just be greater.

Keep up the great work everyone.

Dee

Wbahn, I also used to be a 3-mile-a day jogger and always kept my weight off when I was doing that....but, as soon as I quit, my weight just went up, up, up, thus started the struggle. And, I have always gained sooooo fast. Due to knee and feet problems, my doc told me to just walk and that I could get just as much benefit from a fast paced walk and that the jogging would hurt my joints. So, I am walking. Like you, I would like to be able to jog again when I get closer to my goal weight. But, I have tried over-doing it before and I have learned my lesson quickly.

Hope all goes well with you.

Tonya