FitFatGirl
New member
Figured I'd say "Hello!" to start. 
I'm a 47-year-old mom of 2 college-aged kids. I've needed to lose weight for my entire adult life.
I'd love to lose 80 pounds, but would be thrilled if I could lose 120.
Such big numbers are daunting, which is why I'm here - for support.
I think I've tried every diet on the planet. Low fat, in the 90s, actually caused me to gain weight. Now, after doing a ton of nutritional research, I understand why.
I've tried Keto and after 3 months of being miserable - I had only lost 5 pounds and realized it wasn't worth it.
After my husband visited the doctor for some routine bloodwork and found his good cholesterol low and bad cholesterol a little high, the doctor suggested he give up all grains (although oats on occasion are OK), potatoes and all refined carbs. I call it a quasi-Paleo diet, because he can have cheese and other dairy, within moderation.
Then, I read Wheat Belly and am happy we gave up grain - specifically wheat.
I just started another diet program that a neighbor has been on for a couple of months and has lost 20 pounds-ish. It's going well, but involves relatively small - 400- to 600-calorie dinners - and with the restrictions of no grains, potatoes, etc. I'm finding it sometimes hard to not just run to Jimmy John's and buy a "day old" loaf of bread for lunch. LOL
I chose my username - FitFatGirl - because that's kind of how I've always seen myself. Despite being very overweight, I do love to jog (albeit slowly), swim and cycle. I'm the big girl that comes into a spin class and all the skinny girls roll their eyes at, then are amazed when I hold my own all class long. I've also done numerous 5Ks and actually did Disney's last Tower of Terror 10-Miler, before they stopped that race. I've done a couple of sprint distance tris. Although I never finish near the top, I always finish. I'm basically proof that anyone of any size can get out and do these kinds of things.
But, with that being said - for me - exercise isn't the answer. For my first triathlon, I was at the gym 1 to 2 hours a day. I'd either jog for an hour or catch a spin class - then jump in the pool and swim laps. Yet, never lost weight.
Extreme calorie counting doesn't work for me either. Last spring, I hired a personal trainer - to make sure I was working out effectively and staying under 1,400 calories a day. At my size, I should be able to sit on the couch and lose weight at that calorie level, according to "experts." Nope.
So, like I said, I started this new program, and it's going well - Day 5 and down 4.6 pounds - but, who knows, that could just be water weight, so time will tell. With the cravings for carbs, it's not that I'm hungry really - just would love to sink my teeth into a nice warm piece of bread. LOL Plus, I have 2 "cleanse" days coming up tomorrow and Thursday, so it's an all-liquid kind of thing.
Just feeling a little overwhelmed. So, I apologize for the rambling.
I look forward to getting to know everyone and helping support everyone. I'm a great cheerleader. I've done a ton of research on nutrition, trying to figure out what will work. And, I can definitely give advice to anyone who's interested in starting to run.
If you made it this far in my epic tome of a post - thank you for reading!
I'm a 47-year-old mom of 2 college-aged kids. I've needed to lose weight for my entire adult life.
I'd love to lose 80 pounds, but would be thrilled if I could lose 120.
Such big numbers are daunting, which is why I'm here - for support.
I think I've tried every diet on the planet. Low fat, in the 90s, actually caused me to gain weight. Now, after doing a ton of nutritional research, I understand why.
I've tried Keto and after 3 months of being miserable - I had only lost 5 pounds and realized it wasn't worth it.
After my husband visited the doctor for some routine bloodwork and found his good cholesterol low and bad cholesterol a little high, the doctor suggested he give up all grains (although oats on occasion are OK), potatoes and all refined carbs. I call it a quasi-Paleo diet, because he can have cheese and other dairy, within moderation.
Then, I read Wheat Belly and am happy we gave up grain - specifically wheat.
I just started another diet program that a neighbor has been on for a couple of months and has lost 20 pounds-ish. It's going well, but involves relatively small - 400- to 600-calorie dinners - and with the restrictions of no grains, potatoes, etc. I'm finding it sometimes hard to not just run to Jimmy John's and buy a "day old" loaf of bread for lunch. LOL
I chose my username - FitFatGirl - because that's kind of how I've always seen myself. Despite being very overweight, I do love to jog (albeit slowly), swim and cycle. I'm the big girl that comes into a spin class and all the skinny girls roll their eyes at, then are amazed when I hold my own all class long. I've also done numerous 5Ks and actually did Disney's last Tower of Terror 10-Miler, before they stopped that race. I've done a couple of sprint distance tris. Although I never finish near the top, I always finish.
I'm basically proof that anyone of any size can get out and do these kinds of things. But, with that being said - for me - exercise isn't the answer. For my first triathlon, I was at the gym 1 to 2 hours a day. I'd either jog for an hour or catch a spin class - then jump in the pool and swim laps. Yet, never lost weight.
Extreme calorie counting doesn't work for me either. Last spring, I hired a personal trainer - to make sure I was working out effectively and staying under 1,400 calories a day. At my size, I should be able to sit on the couch and lose weight at that calorie level, according to "experts." Nope.
So, like I said, I started this new program, and it's going well - Day 5 and down 4.6 pounds - but, who knows, that could just be water weight, so time will tell. With the cravings for carbs, it's not that I'm hungry really - just would love to sink my teeth into a nice warm piece of bread. LOL Plus, I have 2 "cleanse" days coming up tomorrow and Thursday, so it's an all-liquid kind of thing.
Just feeling a little overwhelmed. So, I apologize for the rambling.
I look forward to getting to know everyone and helping support everyone. I'm a great cheerleader. I've done a ton of research on nutrition, trying to figure out what will work. And, I can definitely give advice to anyone who's interested in starting to run.
If you made it this far in my epic tome of a post - thank you for reading!
