Stay Off of the Merry-go-round

[Jullianna]

I wasn't really sure where to put this, so I'm putting it here; especially since most singles attempt to look their best.

Do you have friends/family members who stay on the dieting merry-go-round all of their lives? Have you done it?

I have relatives who have weight issues. Part of this is due to thyroid issues they have, but MOST of it is due to their eating habits. They will diet laboriously, but once they reach their desired weights, they return to their old bad eating habits and it comes right back. My mom tried to help them understand that if you want to live as a thinner person, it's important to EAT as a thinner person. Rather than diet, my mom taught me from a child to eat healthy, which doesn't mean I can't eat what I want, but to be WISE about it...don't eat it all the time and eat it in small portions.

I'm getting older and we all know what that means: It's important to watch our weight closer than ever. I don't diet. I eat healthy and wisely. I maintain my weight and work out a little more when I need to. Yes, I have days when I eat more than I should and most definitely things I shouldn't. But only for a DAY, not a week or a month or a year or the rest of my life. My life is far more important to me than food.

I'm a bit frustrated today about this as I'm watching a friend do the same things my relatives do, and I know it will be a lifelong cycle for her if she doesn't just jump off of the dieting merry-go-round and eat like the thinner person she wants to be. That's a lifestyle change, not a diet.

 

[rus_lady]

we have dif kind of food here if to compare with usa . like my american friends says tht been here tht our food is much healthy . im not skinny like i used to be in my 20s and yet i dont eat much . either way i dont recomend to get on diet if to be honest , cuz i know some number of ppl who went on it and then they put alot more then they lost . i think better way to try to accept the way u r or if u dont like it go to the gym but then u need always to keep with it . anyways this is how i look on it .

 

[CatWoman]

I understand your concern but you say "jump off the diet merry-go-round" like its easy. It is something that is very hard for me to do. I rarly buy junk food or sweets. I know if I bring that kind of food home Im going to eat it up, even thou I say Im buying it for the grand kids. Im not into frozen dinners or packaged foods. I rarly eat out. I love home cooked meals. I recently have been portionind out my dinners.When a recipe says it serves 6, I now devide that into 6 portions. I have one for dinner and put one in the fridg for the next night then I freeze the rest. So this helps me not to over eat.

 

[Jullianna]

Sorry, didn't mean to imply in any way that it's easy. It's not easy for any of us, is it? Neither is working out

 

[CC_Bride]

I think the majority of the issue is exercise. I did a lot of it as a kid and teenager, always involved in sports and athletic competitions and the like. Then I moved to college and spent 3 years sitting on my butt in a lecture theatre 12 hours of the day writing notes, then walking home and spending a further 3-4 hours reading required readings for my papers and researching and typing. I ate very heathy, never ate junkfood or energy drinks (exept for a morning coffee) and yet in the space of 3 years I went from a very slim muscular 55kg to an overweight 85kg. I went to the gym about once a week and walked up hills every day to college, but I just piled it on. Now as a new grad, Im poor all the time so I don't get free gym memberships (as I did when I was a student), instead I have to join the rest of the world and pay $100 a month to run on a treadmill with annoyingly skinny people which I can't afford. I still eat healthy, I still walk everyday and use my bike for errands. Yet my weight is just stagnant. Its so annoying.

 

[MrHonest]

I think... we are addicted to tastes & we should treat it as if we are a drug addict.. It will harm our health very much. It takes away our breath & our will but we ignore it. In the moment it tastes good it feels good.. so we abuse it & over time we are heavy with grief & disbelief. We should be glad we are not seen as addicts & cast away like filth but this IS an addiction. Feasts at celebrations is normal so many overindulge. Some treat it as a strength & a reward... this control of foods needs to be taught to children too before they become addicts unaware or fully aware. Food tastes good because God wants it to, we find that it is good & abuse it.

 

[erika83]

I'd say that our genes determine our weight in like 80% and rest is healthy lifestyle, otherwise I can't explain why some people lose weight so hard even thought they are active and eat healthy.

I've never had weight issues myself but I'm trying to stay around 19 BMI or even closer to thin, so I work out and like Julianna said just eat smart. I eat everything but small portions and don't eat junk food daily. If I didn't work out and didn't watch at all what I'm eating I'd probably gain like 5-6 kilos but not more. That's why I think our genes have a lot more influence on weight than most think. Also some people have bigger appetite than others so must be harder for them.

Anyway, my advice for those who want to lose weight is to eat often, at least 3-4 times a day and small portions and do at least 30 min of work out every day! It could be running, walking, cardio (which could be done from home too).

 

[MrHonest]

Enjoy foods in moderation

 

[suthrnboy]

i never have put any thought in what is healthy eating im one of those corn bread fed southern boys i work out at home or at the gym from when i was in high school .. but i have seen alot of people struggle with weight i go with 5 other people to the gym just so they have a workout partner i eat 2 meals a day breakfast and dinner.. i grow a garden and do all my cooking i dont do the can or box food if i cant grow my veggies i dont eat it

 

[zeroturbulence]

I have always struggled with my weight since I was a kid. In high school I was on the football team and my wieght was under control and I kept off the weight but after high school I started to go back to yo-yo dieting and the weight started to slowly come back on. Then about 10 years ago I decided enough is enough and I got serious and started putting to use everything I knew about nutrition and working out and I dropped 30+ pounds and put on muscle too. I was in the best shape of my life.

But then a few years later my work started stressing me out big time and I fell into a deep long depression and I actually put on 50 lbs in about two years. It was during that time that I found Jesus, and then in 2009 I got serious about getting in shape again and I began running and weightlifting and dropped 28 pounds. I was running 3 miles a day and was lifting almost the same weights I lifted before.

But then I badly sprained the ligaments in both my knees and I couldn't work out at all or very infrequently for over a year. When I started working out again the pain would come back after only a few minutes. I gained back all the weight I lost but now I am working out more regularly and my knees are almost completely healed. I mean now I can run for at least 30 minutes now without them hurting the next day.

 

[Blue3Falcon]

I know what you mean Jullianna, my mom is not in the best spot health wise, and on top of it she has taken on a lot of weight due to some medication she takes. BUT I also know she doesn't, and never really has, eat right! It's not that she is gorging on junk food, but that she doesn't eat enough or pay attention to what she is eating. I'm concerned for her a lot because I know if she focused more on what she should eat her body would stand a better chance when it comes to her health issues! For me I really became a health nut, and this might sound funny, after listening to a weight loss hypnotism cd. I bought it through ebay, and though some people may think these things are weired, it was actually pretty cool. It took me through mental images of looking in two mirrors, one where I see myself if I keep eating the way I do, and the other what I could look like if I change my eating habits. But despite this it still has been a long process, and i'm not even where I want to be yet! (its been I think 2 years). It takes a lot of work and a lot of patients to change your eating, and a definit strong desire. I would highly suggest to anyone to look into hypnotism, I believe it worked great for helping me get on the right track. Just remember it won't work if you don't believe in it and take it seriously, thats what is wrong when people say they can't be hypnotised.