Forums » Smalltalk » The BIG weight loss deal

Well my mom and I have an agreement. If I manage to lose 50 pounds, I get two things.

1. My mom will make me a dress out of the fabric I choose, It will be blue with a two layer skirt with the upper skirt being semi transparent light blue and the lower skirt a shiny darker blue. My mom made some clothes for me when I was little and she is a pretty good seamstress. However she hasn't made me any clothes is years due to time issues, but she will happily find the time if I manage the weight loss.

Now that is a pretty good incentive right, but oh no, that's not the only incentive, in fact let me reveal the grand prize.

In addition to the dress if I lose 50 pounds, my mom and I will take a trip to Hawaii!



I have currently lost 9/50 and I was hoping for some tips as well as encouragement from you guys.

Do you have a time frame to do this in?

Nope, the only condition is lose 50 pounds.

I have lost over 60 pounds since may of last year.
And I changed hardly anything of my life style except TWO SMALL THINGS.
(I'm disabled, so I can't do heavy exercise and don't have the money to diet)

Eat a LITTLE bit less than you usually do. Most people eat far too many calories then they need.
But flat out dieting can be expensive, and eating a lot less suddenly can leave you hungry!
So even like, two scoops less of mash potatoes at dinner, or one piece of chicken instead of two!

Second. Some people find flat out exercising a bit hard, or cannot find time.
Instead, work small things into a schedule you already have. Say you usually drive back and forth to work. Or take the bus? Walk home. When you have the time and don't have a deadline, walking back home, even 3 times a week instead of taking the bus/cab/whatever helps you slide off the pounds and also build up muscle mass slowly and at your own pace!
It doesn't feel like a work out, but it adds up fast!

Good luck and please, if you don't have a deadline DO NOT RUSH.
Losing weight very quickly can be extremely hard on your body.

Congrats on dropping 9 pounds already! Cutting out sugary drinks like soda really helps a lot! I'm always surprised by what a difference it makes when I cut that stuff out of my diet

@Amirrora I am disabled as well, but I can do some exercise, but I have a different set of challenges with it. I am also extremely weird in that I don't feel hunger, but I also don't feel full either. Basically I have been trying to cut out some of the sweets and portion control my food. There is no deadline, so I feel no need to rush.

@Loki Actually I drink very little soda and even when I have the chance, I prefer sports drinks like Gatorade or powerade. That being said, I don't drink much of the latter either, maybe once or twice a month. Most of what I drink is water and nonfat skim milk.

Anyway speaking of sweets, I figured out the perfect thing to make for a party on the tenth.


Raspberry buttermilk ice pops.

I am going to do the low cal option where you replace the buttermilk and sour cream with low fat plain yogurt instead. Healthy, good for you and perfect for summer!

Lost 40 pounds during the course of 10 months. BMI-wise in the upper-mid range of the healthy category. Appx current fat percentage is 16%, which is enough for a man. Laying off them sugary drinks was all I did. Ez.

But it's quite different for everyone I guess. Congrats! Now you'd have to make sure you don't bounce back. It's the trickiest part for any weight loss.

Definitely understand. Cutting out sweets and portion controlling is a big one.
I can't walk long personally, so what I did is have a folding chair (one of those light ones) and bring it along for my walks. You can stay out longer, but take breaks! That way you can still hit maybe 15-30min walks<3

You're doing great so far, so keep at it! I'm rooting for you.

Hi Katia!

I apologize but I'm a bit clueless in this area. I have a over-active thyroid so I lost a lot of weight automatically.

I am rooting for you though! Wearing that nice dress in Hawaii will be a real treat! I really hope you meet your quota

I understand your side very well! For those who do not know me well, I am an older female who is disabled. I can walk short distances but I hate to exercise. One way you can add a few calorie burning moments is to rock while you are watching TV or knitting or something else that you can do and enjoy. I am working on strengthening my knee that I have replaced 8 weeks this way.

You know how to reach me if you want to talk and you go girl!

I can only echo what's been said already. Cutting out and replacing foods in ways that are sustainable long term is key. Don't go fat-free, lots of things that are 'fat-free' have a ton of added sugars to them (and things like full fat milk and dairy, while calorie rich, make you feel full faster so you eat less). Don't go carb free because your body can't use fat and proteins properly as a fuel source unless you're very active and exercise regularly. (Having a herniated disc and now knee injuries, I know what it's like not being very mobile for exercise.)

Diabetic diets are really good because they're not excessively low-carb (40 grams of carbs per meal or below, three times a day) and they focus heavily on just healthy foods with a lot of good proteins. They'll give you plenty of energy without making you feel like you can't have certain foods. If you make pasta or pancakes, choose for a whole wheat option that has tons of fibers. Skip the white bread but go for the whole wheat bread (the ones with the fiber thingies in them, not just brown bread - brown bread can be plain wheat bread without fibers).

The key to long-term weight loss is choosing a sustainable diet. Crash and fad diets don't work because they force you to change how you eat temporarily. You need to find a way to eat that you can easily maintain for the rest of your life, otherwise you risk gaining your weight back and even adding on more than you lost. You need days where you can just have a couple slices of pizza. Eat healthy salads with vinegar based dressings before a meal, because the fibers fill you up faster and prevent bloodsugar spikes (which create hunger pangs when they crash later). If you're craving a sweet or hearty snack, have a serving of fruit or some salted nuts instead of candy. If you want chocolate, go for the dark/rich varieties with 70% cocoa (they have more cocoa in them than they do sugar, which is key). Allow yourself a piece of candy every now and then so you don't feel like you're never allowed to have anything ever.

All in all, it sounds a lot more complicated than it really is!

As much as I am proud of you for living healthier, I do urge you to be careful with the numbers on the scale though. Losing 50lbs doesn't make you healthy. You can lose weight in unhealthy ways after all. If your focus is eating healthier and doing small things to increase your activity, then the weight loss is an automatic side-effect. Try tracking inches instead of lbs if you can, especially because we can literally fluctuate between 5-10lbs in weight during an entire day. (I once lost 5lbs overnight like magic, it's a very unrealiable way of measuring progress!) Health before weight is super important, please keep that in mind!

I'm really not a believer of diets, because like Sanne said, they're just temporary. It's really not about eating lesser portions, but what you eat and what you do in those windows between meals. One mistake that many people make often is going to bed not long after eating. Make sure your active in those following hours after dinner. Try to eat before 8pm. Staying up late, messing with your internal clock can cause weight gain as well, so make sure that you go to bed and wake up at a good time.

Another big factor is stress and depression. I've never had either so I really don't know what it's like and I don't know if weighs on you, but if it does, try what you can to be uplifted. Honestly, I think your mental state really effects your physical state. Good sleep can also help with that as well.

It's great that your already attuned to drinking water. As for milk, that's fine too. There's no need to change the kind of milk you drink. If you're used to drinking skim milk, keep drinking it. Your body will go through some funny phases if you switch your dairy products because it also switches out the bacteria. That aside, water should keep you from eating more than you should. I got myself a squeeze bottle because I'm more prone to drinking water that way, rather than from a cup.

Lastly, you can eat sweets, just have a limit on it. Your body still needs energy, so treat yourself to a cookie or something every now and again. If you don't think that's a good idea, though, I guess you can just eat some strawberries (covered in chocolate ) which is some good natural sugar. Deprive yourself of nothing. Just work out a sleeping pattern, be happy, and drink water. Try and be active between the meals.

It might take a while, but good luck and congratulations! You've already nearly gotten through the first ten pounds. Keep the motivation!

Edit: Lol! Just one more thing! Your weight fluctuates, so if you see you've gained four pounds or so back, don't be disheartened. That's very normal. No one has a stagnant weight. I'd say use a measuring tape to see how much you lost instead. The first places you gain weight is the last place you're going to lose it. Measuring the places you gain weight last should show you more progress. Okay, I'm done. Good luck!

I have lost more than 120 pounds, replacing food and such is actually just you choosing healthy stuff over bad stuff. The trick to actually stay grounded and not give up for example by giving yourself something small you like each day without feeling guilty.

I also walked EVERYWHERE.. I drank about 2 liters water everyday and I didn't drink soda for months on end.. I ate my hot meal for lunch and for dinner no bread, maybe some soup, salad or something that will fill you but not give you too much energy. The energy you take in but don't use will turn into gaining it in weight.

The thing is, a diet is so different to every person and how the look to it. I have been dieting my whole life and no diet worked until I changed my attitude towards it. So make sure its a diet to your liking and make sure that you are motivated, but really motivated. No lying to yourself because being motivated isn't the same as saying you are.

Greetz Vicky

Thanks guy, I have not been dieting so much as making small changes here and there to what/how much I eat. Trying to keep an eye on calories and trying to make sustainable changes.

My dad said something wise once which is when it comes to food keep an 80%/20% balance. Be good 80% of the time, but indulge a bit 20% of the time.

Don't think of it as a diet. Diets fail. What I would personally do is look at this as a life style change.

The advice already presented is fairly substantial and pretty spectacular.

The main thing is to want to do it, and be happy about it. You can lose all the weight in the world, but if you ain't happy about it, it doesn't matter.

Edit: you're also carrying around 15+lbs of water weight, and probably around 20lbs in your intestines at any given time, this will make your weight fluctuate A LOT. Also, use the same scale when you weigh yourself. I can weigh myself at home and I'll weigh around 203lbs, I get to work and suddenly I'm 210lbs.