I have been struggling with weight loss for a decade. Nate thinks that a support group would be beneficial, so in January, I started one. It has never really taken off, and now I think it is officially dead, so I’ve decided that on Saturday mornings, I’m going to indulge myself a little bit and post a weekly report. For the brief period of time the Health Group was meeting, I found it a weekly renewel of dedication and optimism. It was much more helpful than I expected. (That husband of mine is a smart one). In the group, we each had a turn to report the exercising we had done for the week, any fabulous healthy meals we had discovered, and an opportunity to give a weight update.
What does this have to do with knitting? A lot, actually. The magazines and books of knitting patterns that I have and see are full of great clothes. None of which will fit me. It drives me crazy that I can’t knit myself clothes. This is a great motivation for me. Once I shrink enough, this blog is going to be full of great clothing posts.
I am opening this up to anyone that would like to participate. If you are interested, please post whatever you would like to share in the comments each Saturday. Regardless, I am going to participate, even if I am alone. At some point, I will have a section in the side bar, charting my progress.
Before I post my report, I’ll give a little bit of background:
In a perfect world, and what I am constantly trying to do is a) drink 12-16 cups of water a day; b) get at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity 4-5 days a week; and c), lift weights 6 days a week. I have a 30 minute workout for both upper and lower body on my weights, and I alternate them. Mon, Wed, and Friday I do upper body. Tues, Thurs, and Saturday, I do lower body.
Health-wise, I eat whole grains, I am trying to learn more about and more fully incorporate sprouts into my diet, and I hope to buy a juicer sometime soon. I want to juice wheatgrass, among other things.
SO, here goes….
This week, I did a Hula workout video on Tuesday. On Thursday, I did a full body workout with weights, upper and lower. I’m hoping to get some aerobics and weights in today also. This is not up to par for me. I missed Mon, Wed, and Fri. I’ve also eaten quite a bit of birthday cake and Thai curry recently. I need to step it up again. May was a great month. June has been sliding.
I don’t count my glasses of water anymore, I’m just in the habit of drinking one glass per hour.
This morning, I weighed in at 231 1/2 lbs. I started this year at 245, so I’m down almost 15 pounds so far.
June 12th, 2004 at 9:16 am
Hi Laura! I am THINKING about all this!!
I have been struggling with my weight for a long time. I just am amazed at how hard it has become! When I was in high school, all I had to do was give up one doughnut a day and I lost weight!! Now, it seems the more I try, I am just not gaining anymore, but also there is no loss. My husband has been on Atkins for two years, so we have changed our grocery and cooking habits drastically, but even though we rarely have goodies in the house anymore, my weight hasn’t changed!! I also started drinking mostly water in the past two years. I do not like to exercise in front of ANYONE! You’re doing great , however!! Jenny
June 12th, 2004 at 1:24 pm
I am impressed with your resolve. Losing weight is one of the best things you can do for your health – excess weight affects joints, blood sugar, your heart, etc., etc. AND the clothes are a plus, too. If your Body Mass Index is over 30, losing just 10% of your weight makes a statistically significant difference to your physical health (or so they teach us in nursing school). You have already lost just over 6% of your starting weight of 245 lbs!!!!! Hooray! Keep it up – if you lost just nine more pounds, that would be about 10%
If you want to calculate your BMI (call me masochistic, but I do this sometimes), here’s a good website maintained by the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/bmi-adult.htm
June 13th, 2004 at 7:29 am
Thank you for the support! My BMI was 33.9. I’ve known for a long time that I was clinically obese, but I thought I was further in the zone than I am. That was exciting to me. I need to get to 204 lbs before I’m no longer obese, just overweight according to the above mentioned website.
I’m determined to do good this week, and hopefully, can report another decrease next Saturday!
June 13th, 2004 at 12:10 pm
That’s so cool! I’ll check back 🙂
June 14th, 2004 at 2:01 am
What a perfect side topic to knitting! And I have been thinking about it again when I got the Phildar magazine with the patterns for the Kate Along and an issue of Rebecca which has a couple things I love…. but of course can’t fit! Dammit! I signed up for SparkPeople.com just to use the food tracker. I was doing Weight Watchers and lost like 30# but it got boring and I started getting pissy about paying $10 bucks to weigh in and be told I gained 2 pounds/lost 2 pounds/gained 2 pounds/lost 1 pound and so on. I’ll join you and post on Saturdays too! Thanks – Jenn
June 14th, 2004 at 2:07 am
Excellent, welcome!
June 14th, 2004 at 3:48 am
Laura…I am 30 years old, 5’5″, and approximately 137 lbs. According to my BMI, I am obese, which is pretty funny, if you think about it, I guess. Basically, my problem is that I just love ice cream and chocolate. I could lose those last 5 lbs., tone up, and lower my BMI if I gave that up!
I have a friend who is a fitness trainer. He recommends doing whatever you love as exercise, because if you love it, it won’t be torture. Play soccer with the girls, walk the dog, swim…whatever you like! He also recommends eating 6 small meals a day, so you never get hungry. On top of that, strength training is key…slow strength training. You’ll get amazing results if you buy into that. That and Ben and Jerry’s Frozen Yogurt…it almost passes for ice cream.
Oh, and try the cook books by Nava Atlas. Nava is a vegetarian cook, but she actually makes stuff that isn’t all new-agey or icky, translation: the kids will actually eat it, too. Which just means healthier eating all around, and weight loss to boot.
Good luck! Just for extra inspiration…I think you are lovely in the photos you’ve posted…as lovely as those 3 little girls!
June 14th, 2004 at 7:29 am
Thank you very much. This weight struggle over the past 10 years has taught me to find my beauty and value on the inside. Once I truly discovered that, it became much easier seeing my beauty on the outside as well. Believe it or not, it has done great things for my self esteem.
As for exercising: I have found that relying on the same means of exercise every day isn’t working for me. I tend to get hurt when I do the same thing every day. So now, I’m rotating walking the dog two miles, rollerblading, biking, and two workout videos. One is Hula, the other is a pregnancy workout. The nice thing about those is there’s no jumping or bouncing, which I can’t do to my poor knees. I enjoy jogging, and look forward to losing enough weight that I can do it without damaging myself.
June 14th, 2004 at 9:27 am
Hi Laura!
I’ve been reading your blog since about day 2, I just don’t think I’ve ever commented in. Being short and at my weight, I am consider “morbidly obese.” Can they come up with a term that doesn’t scream “End it now there’s no use in trying!!”?? sheesh. Anywho, my BMI (please don’t be frightened) is ummm..56.7, Yep. But, in my defense, I do have PCOS and that lovely metabolic syndrom that comes with it. Ok, so it’s an excuse. I like food. But, I have started eating healthier (McDonald’s stock will now plummet) and my hubby and I are walking and such at night. I am also trying to get pregnant (fertility meds are sooo much fun) so I really do need to get weight off. So, I will be joining you on your Sat. posts and voicing in. I too understand what a difference a support network can make. I have been struggling with weight since I hit puberty at 12 (PCOS is fun) and went from 115 lbs in May to 190 lbs by August of that year. I have steadily gained ever since. So, for me losing even 9 lbs is a reason to celebrate. I am definitely looking forward to Saturday’s for a whole new reason!!
Hope everyone has a great day!!!
June 14th, 2004 at 12:58 pm
Thanks for reading! This is going to be fun!
June 15th, 2004 at 6:14 am
Hi! Just discovered your blog through Wendyknits. I weigh about 250 and am 5’8″. I have PCOS too (hi Angie!).
About knitting and not being able to find patterns for garments that fit: you might enjoy being part of the Ample Knitters list (www.ample-knitters.com). It’s a really great group of women that includes some pattern designers and LYS owners. Some are trying to lose weight, others are not, all are interested in knitting beautiful garments that *fit.* It has inspired me and helped me to believe I deserve beautiful sweaters even though I’m bigger than most patterns.
June 15th, 2004 at 6:38 am
La,
I am so glad that you have made this a part of your website! I definitely think that I, and a lot of people will benefit from this, and I am looking forward to knitting lots of new clothes with you for our new skinny bodies!
General info to the group:
A few years ago I met Laura & family as they live in our neighbor hood and we were out putting up Christmas lights. I’ve been privileged to be able to call her one of my best friends for the past few years now and she has turned this pretty good crocheter into a “not-half-bad” knitter.
I am 5’3″ and over 200lbs. I was overweight before, but in 2000 diagnosed with a serious illness that led to even more weight gain. I was surprised that my BMI was only 37, as my body fat is 48%. I’d love to be back down in the 125-135 range again or a size 5/7 I think. I’ll know as I change.
My biggest challenge is ice cream and soda pop and getting up early enough to actually work out. I plan to do the Slim in Six series (as many times as it takes and possibly do the Power 90 program as I love weight lifting) for my exercise routines. My fear is a relapse medically which has been what has stopped me everytime so far. If you want to check out my progress on beachbody the url is http://www.mybeachbody.com/fyrkrkr I have not started yet, but I did post my story if you are interested and will post updates there as well.
Angie – what is PCOS? I can certainly relate to your situation!
This is great motivation! I am already looking forward to my workout!
Gayle
June 15th, 2004 at 7:59 am
Abby, thank you for that! I will check it out. Personally, I’m not at a point yet where I want to knit for myself at this size, however it sounds like I could learn a thing or two from the list. Regardless of whether I weigh 250, or 150, I will always have a HUGE chest, and so I know that modifying patterns is going to have to be a part of my life. Welcome to my site! I had no idea I was linked on Wendy’s blog.
December 4th, 2004 at 5:44 am
Laura ~
I really like the Hayden hat pattern and can’t wait to try it.
Your site, your knitting, your girls, and you are all very beautiful.
Weight loss is an issue for a lot of people, women especially. I salute you for your courage to share your struggle – and “the courage to start.”
Speaking of which, if you are interested in taking up jogging I’d recommend the book “The Courage to Start” by John Bringham. (Aka: “the Penguin). His story is inspiring. I also got the chance to meet him in person and we crossed the finish line together at the Honolulu Marathon. He was over 300 lbs when he started running/jogging…. waddling like a penguin. He’s now literally, half the man he once was – thinner than I am – but that’s not saying much I suppose.
Athletically I’d have to say I’m a penguin too. 5’4” 190 lbs.
Don’t give up – but don’t be too hard on yourself either. You are a beautiful, talented, courageous woman and you are capable of far more than you know.
Congradulations on all you have done so far – thank you for your honesty, courage, and thank you for inspiring me to strive to do the same.
Most Sincerely,
~ Suzanne (aka “Froggie”)
August 14th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
I am a fat mama, trying to lose weight, but like myself at the same time- the whole knitting thing had really got me down too, but my husband bought me a plus sized knitting book for xmas, and it sort of lifted my spirits- I will try to find the title and post it for you