How to lose weight when working so much

by Jamie S.
(St. Louis, MO)

I'm a 5'11 girl who weighs 200 pounds. I'm 28, and have a successful career keeping me working 60+ hours a week. My goal is to fit into a size 4 but I don't think that's possible.

I've tried losing weight by running, going to the gym, walking at lunch, but it doesn't seem like anything will do the trick! I've also tried all the diets (low-carb, grapefruit only, low-fat), but nothing seems to work. Usually I am able to lose 5 pounds right off the bat, but usually that's it!

My girlfriends don't know what I'm doing wrong... Can you help?

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Ever Try Weight Watchers?
by: Natalie

Jamie-
I was a 21 year old female, 5'6", and 165-170 lbs about 5 years ago. I, like you, tried everything I could think of to lose some weight. I would watch what I was eating and only eat 'healthy' foods, I would go to the gym, I would run outside, I would do as much 'active' things as I could think of, but, like you, only 5lbs would come off, and then it would come right back on again.

My mom had some old weight watchers books lying around the house, so I decided that I would pick them up and start the program informally...trying to follow as best I could. I really got into it and ended up losing 20 lbs (It took about 6-8 months, but I did it!!) I kept that weight off until I was married at 24.

When I saw my weight creeping back up after the wedding (although it has NEVER made it back past 155 lbs), I decided I needed to do something about it. I went to a weight watchers meeting. Within 6 weeks, I had taken off 10 lbs. And, I learned WHY I wasn't losing the weight before.

Turns out, things you may think are healthy aren't always that great. Also, just because you work out, doesn't mean you can eat more (WW has a handy little tool to calculate how much more you can actually eat from working out).

You hear in the news and in health magazines that crash or fad dieting is not the way because it doesn't 'teach' you anything. Weight Watchers, on the other hand, teaches you how to control your portions, and what is a 'good' choice when making decisions about what to eat.

I'm not trying to 'push' the program on you (I get no kickback)! But, it was a miracle for me. I'm on it right now as I'm eating my lunch! Even if you don't want to do meetings, you can get the materials from a friend/co-worker and use them. Or, you can go to a first meeting (only $14 till mid-March) and get all of the materials (and a detailed explanation of the program). If you like the meeting, you can always go back, if not, you have no obligation to show up (Unfortunately I no longer attend meetings...I was much more strict when I went though!!)

Hope this helps!!

Exercise tips
by: Anonymous

Daily you have to exercise at least three hours. Run three kilometers per day.
And you have to maintain diet control. Drink fresh fruit juices.
Brain exercise is important to reduce tensions.
Drink five liters of water per day.
Before doing the workout exercises do a warm up exercise.

Tips to lose weight
by: Anonymous

I can completely relate to what you're saying here. I had the same problem a few years back. Though I wasn't really too overweight, I just could NOT lose the extra 10 pounds that I wanted to lose for myself. Then my girlfriend shared something with me that I tried and it really and honestly WORKS.

First off, I know we don't have a lot of free time but walking really is good exercise and will help you drop the pounds. My girlfriend said what she did was walk for a half hour EVERY NIGHT (weather permitting) after dinner and before lounging around and watching t.v.

But, here is the most important part of HER plan and it worked for BOTH of us and is still working. It's the size of the portions of food you eat that matters. We all tend to eat MUCH more than we really need, so here is what she told me.

NEVER eat a portion of any meat, potatoes or pasta larger than the palm of your hand. I know, believe me, I know that seems way too small but hear me out. You can still eat all the vegetables, fruit and salad that you want and eat AS MUCH of these things as you want.

But keep all meats, potatoes and pasta portions down to the size of your palm and believe me not only does it work, but after a while you will become USED to the smaller portion and won't even miss the amount you used to eat.

Also, as I started trying her portion diet - I began doing sit ups. Only 50 a day - which anyone can do and it is not too hard, along with downsizing my portions - I lost 15 pounds in 5 and half weeks and I have KEPT it off !!!!!!!!!!

BUT I also walk 4 days a week for at least a half hour a day. It's not bad at all if you think about it, you can still eat everything you love, just not as much of it.

Shift you focus
by: Anonymous

The most success I have ever had losing weight was to shift my focus. Rather than weighing myself daily or counting calories, I simply made it a goal to just FEEL better, rather than LOOK better or weigh less.

The first step for me was doing yoga. I did yoga once a day 4 - 5 times per week for an hour. I immediately noticed an improvement in how I felt mentally, as I felt less stressed and tense. (And I actually look forward to this workout!)

Next, I completely cut soda out of my diet. For a couple of weeks this was very hard for me, as I was addicted to it. But after I got through that time, I actually stopped craving it. I actually learned to enjoy drinking water!

Lastly, I started following a low GI diet, which basically is cutting out simple carbohydrates and replaced them with more complex carbs. There are lots of great recipe books out there on this topic, and I would highly recommend them.

All in all, I lost about 30 pounds, and felt so much better all around!

Diets Don't Work
by: Jennifer Blanke

There is no magic formula to lose weight, but sometimes we will try anything and everything to lose weight. I know - I have tried every diet only to see my weight go up and down like a yo-yo. This past year, I lost 53 pounds by making better choices about what I put in my mouth, moving more, and eating smaller portions. I was eating way too much food and snacking throughout the day. Basically, I wasn't aware of what I was putting in my mouth.
In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume. I suggest keeping a food journal every day of what you eat. Try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grain foods. Increasing my fiber has really helped me.
I lost my weight with Weight Watchers. It really isn't a diet at all. You can eat anything you want, but you have to count it all using a Points system. I have changed my eating habits and the accountability has been wonderful for me.
It's a lot of hard work, but You can do it!

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