Seasonal Weight Loss

[digitS']

I did fairly well to keep most of it off thru the Off-Season .

Reporting on TEG has helped me with all of this the last few years. I'm only slightly overweight but have mobility problems so if I was content with weight gain - I'd be in a wheelchair fairly quickly. There is no doubt in my mind.

Up & Down! I had some problems in 2011. I gained 20 pounds during the winter of 2010/2011 and, altho' I did well by dropping 15# during the summer I couldn't get my weight down to the goal of 185 by fall.

So, I went into winter at 190. The good news is --- I only gained 10# thru the past winter!

. . . and, I'm still here . . . at 200# . The only thing I can say is that it is obvious now that I've been active for about 6 weeks that my pants fit better. The idea of "muscle weighs more than fat" soothes my disappointment of not dropping even a pound so far in 2012.

I've little doubt that I'll lose some weight this year but I sure wish it was easier . . . and, that 185# goal looks pretty far away . . .

Steve
who is just over 6', and don't you dare say that 200# is okay: see that wheelchair comment above.

 

[grow_my_own]

Oh, I am right with you there! I don't know WHAT happened. I am normally quite petite, 5'1" and my normal weight is around 125 & I wear a size 6. I gained a little bit of weight late last summer/early fall, got up to 134, no big deal. Then winter came... and it was cold and our first winter living in the mountains and I just stayed in the house all winter. I am most displeased to report I gained 25 pounds all together and found myself back up to 150 where I NEVER wanted to be again! (At 5'1", that's pretty chunky & I'm 49 years old.) I have almost nothing that fits me! But the weather has been good & I've been gardening and more active outside, just hiking up and down the hills where we live. I started getting out about 2 weeks ago and am down to 147. I also know that part of my issue is eating all that delicious COMFORT FOOD in the wintertime & I need to get back to the way I was eating before, which is less carbs and fats and more whole, fresh food.

Besides gardening and hiking, I also like to do yoga and stability ball workouts. When the weather's nice like this, I'll take my stability ball outside, only not this year... we completely tore up the yard & we don't have any grass right now. We are replanting the entire yard with new landscaping, and all the plants except for the new grass will bear something edible, whether it's fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs, etc. Growing fresh food like that also helps me eat healthier/better and keeps my weight under control which is very important to me. I am the only person in my family without type 2 diabetes, and I don't want it.

 

[lesa]

As I age, the winter weight gain takes longer and longer to go away... A few years ago I would be at my fighting weight by June. Now, I am lucky if I make it by September. I have been super busy, and active- and being careful of portion sizes, etc. I got on the scale expecting to see at least a little change- nope! I will keep fighting it, but it does get depressing! I think not only being in the garden- but eating what is growing in the garden is the best thing possible. We have been enjoying asparagus, but nothing else is available yet...

 

[thistlebloom]

We must be at the same stage in life Lesa! I was exactly that way a few years ago, if I gained a little all I needed to do was go a little lighter on the fork and it disappeared. Now it's next to impossible to budge that "muffin".

I traded work for an elliptical last summer, and though I didn't really start working on it until late January, I worked HARD. About an hour a day at a challenging pace and sweating like a race horse! I expected the pudge to melt away as in the past, but it didn't happen... so discouraging.

Now that I'm also working all day and doing the elliptical a few times a week my clothes are fitting better, but I don't have the heart
to step on the scale. ( I have to keep it in the garage, no place else in my tiny house to fit it in. )

 

[digitS']

. . .Besides gardening and hiking, I also like to do yoga and stability ball workouts. When the weather's nice like this, I'll take my stability ball outside, only not this year... we completely tore up the yard & we don't have any grass right now. We are replanting the entire yard with new landscaping, and all the plants except for the new grass will bear something edible, whether it's fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs, etc. Growing fresh food like that also helps me eat healthier/better and keeps my weight under control which is very important to me. I am the only person in my family without type 2 diabetes, and I don't want it.

All that landscaping and edible fruits & veggies will make a difference for you, GMOwn. That stability ball? DD has one and claims that I should too. Don't know.

As I age, the winter weight gain takes longer and longer to go away...

I have gained weight in the winter for the last few decades: 15# usually. Then, I could lose 15# thru the summer. Then, I only lost 10# on a few summers. Then, gained 20# winter before last. I've never lost more than 15# at a time. See where this is going? At 5# of gain per year . . . 10 years . . .

. . . the scale. ( I have to keep it in the garage, no place else in my tiny house to fit it in. )...

Thistle' my scale is sitting on edge between a bathroom cabinet & the wall. I think it is important for my motivation to see what it has to say, on a regular basis. Yes, I get discouraged along about Christmas . . . and, refuse to look at it for awhile. I bet it really doesn't help for me to do that.
Just my 2.

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

I have a suggestion bc I, too, am losing weight, but I'm doing it slowly, losing a few pounds, maintaining, repeat.
Plan your meals and start this WEEKEND, where you have more control.
Figure out if you are "type A", who gets ravenous AFTER a big gardening workout,
or
"type B", who gets ravenous when you sit too long. That's ME.
NOW, break your meals up into 5. Make your breakfast into a breakfast and a brunch, but make the volume and calories equal to what you are eating NOW just for breakfast. You do the same for lunch/mid-afternoon snack.
Make your dinner (supper) the smallest meal of the day, but DON'T make breakfast huge and DON'T eat dinner after 7 PM. The calories you don't burn will stick to you when you go to bed.
This will help you to shrink your stomach, but 5 meals won't drop your blood sugar.
WHAT you eat I leave up to you. Substitute treats for fruits or vegetables. Eat ONLY whole grain breads with the grain pieces in them. Some breads that say that they are whole grain are cheating. MY personal favorite bread is Brownberry Oat Grain. ALL the Brownberry breads are whole grain and really taste good.
Do NOT consume cheap marjarine. I don't know why we don't get sick on it but even the bugs won't touch it. Butter is healthy for you. Many substitutes, like "I can't believe it's not butter" use some butter and buttermilk, and those are healthy, too. There are also substitutes with olive oil that taste great, and have fewer calories.
Hope this helps!
BTW, "Cracker Barrel" has a small selection of low carb breakfasts, now, that leave you feeling light when you leave. Just thought you'd like to know for when you're travelling this summer.

 

[peteyfoozer]

I have no idea what I gain or lose in the winter and summer anymore. I evicted the scale from the house when it said "One at a time please..."

 

[ninnymary]

The trick for me is to nip it in the bud. I weigh myself every morning as soon as I get up. As soon as I gain 2 pounds, I go back to my healty eating. I'm 57 yrs., weigh 115, and 5' tall. I go to the gym 4 times a week and work my butt off. But when my weights starts creeping, I know it's that Ben & Jerrys chunky monkey ice-cream and cheetos which I love!

Just bought an old bike and hope to ride it on weekends so I can eat more "chunky monkey" !

Mary

 

[nachoqtpie]

When I met my husband we were both slim and trim. I, at 5'8, was a healthy 140, and he at 5'9 was 180 (And also a Marine).

Then.. we started dating... we played poker a lot and would be in the bar 3 times a week. That lead to more fried foods... which lead to a little weight gain. Since he was a Marine at the time... he could PT and it would be okay. I started to gain a couple pounds, but not too much, since I was a poor office worker who ate mostly PB&J and Ramen when not with future hubby.

Then, we get married. Sams pay increases, we get an apartment, and I start cooking more at home... with butter... and exercising less and less. Sam gets hurt... we all stop working out completely.

Fast forward 3 years.... I'm 200 Sam is 270... It's a giant mess..... LOL

 

[digitS']

Well, I missed it . . . The first week of May (last week) is National Drinking Water Week. But, this might be a good place to mention the importance of drinking water.

It is possible to get too much water but I think that at this time of year with the change of seasons - it is more likely to get too little water. I know that one of the first things I notice as I transition from mostly indoor to mostly outdoor existence is how much more water I need.

And, it doesn't just help with thirst (& fatigue). It helps with hunger. But, we don't just need to start off a meal with a glass of water - a very good idea itself. Us gardeners have "high-water-content foods" at hand! Yep, fruits and vegetables: 7 Foods That Help You Shed Pounds (click)

So, How Much Water Do You Need? (click) It is quite a lot but it is "total water intake" so those fruits and veggies count. With all the extra nutrients in them - they count BIG TIME!

By the way, I first came to realize that about.com could be a good source of nutrition information when my wife's doctor sent us home with information from them. Still, you should see who the person is behind the information and talk to your own health care people. I mean, that's just a good idea anyway.

Steve