Obsessive Exercising and Weighing

[anonemouse 1]

I quite agree with you, but the prevous message had said that going below 1000 calories was definately an unhealthy obsession that can't last. I am not attacking the post, just pointng out that there are 2 sdes to everystory.

Sorry, I skimmed the posts and missed that part.

[katieo 0]

puddin

I won't mention any names but you certainly were not one of the bandsters I was thinking of!!!! The way you lost your weight was clearly the right way for you and obviously was not unrealistic or you would not have reached goal.

I have a few people in mind who's stories are very similiar to each other's, they started off at over 400lbs and have lost 80 - 100lbs extremely fast. At over 300lbs they are exercising intensively for hours on end which I believe at such a high weight is dangerous, they weigh themselves a few times a day and when their weight loss begins to slow down(which is only natural) they are very dissapointed and begin to worry about failing. At the same time they are annoyed that they have worked their butts off in the gym for 'nothing'! This indicates that they are not enjoying what they are doing so therefore it isn't sustainable but the obsessive exerciser blames him/herself and we all know where that gets us!

kebsa

I don't feel that you are at all obsessive, you don't have any choice but to be extra careful given the situation and I take my hat off to you for working so hard to do what it takes to get yourself where you want to be!:clap2:

I journal too because it helps me to make sense of things, it's what has helped me discover why i have a problem with food and I will continue to journal probably for the rest of my life. Even if i ever get to the point when my weight is not an issue i am sure there will be other issues to work through.

I hope i haven't upset anyone posting this thread, I posted it because it is an issue that concerns me. I am not criticising anyone who counts calories, weighs themselves and enjoys exercising I am just expressing concern for those of us who are taking it all a bit too far.

x katie

[katieo 0]

Oh one more thing! as if i haven't already said enough!

kebsa, I totally agree when you say there are two sides to every story and that is exactly why I posted this thread, I wanted opinions from both sides of the coin and i really apreciated your input.

[kebsa 1]

They are running series 2 the australian version of biggest loser and must admit that I am concerned when I see people who weigh over 300 pounds being pushed to the point of vominting, being hospitalised due to chest pain, having to drop out because of injury, requiring oxygen after a challenge-all this in the first week! Once of the trainers has repeatedly said she needed to break the contestants, that the only reason they should stop is if they are vomiting. Even if this is being done under medical supervision I can't help thinkning it is more about good ratings and sensational ratings than good habits- It is sending a really bad message to the morbidly overweight. One contestant only lost 4.4kg (about 9.7pounds) in the first week and she was in tears because she - and everyone else thought she had done badly. I can just imagine someone sitting out in tv land who is morbidly obese, thinking that this is the only way they hope to lose weight- If that is the sort of thing you are concerned about- we agree. It may work for some, but it could jsut as easily kill someone else

[kebsa 1]

Katieo, I think this is a good thread- yes, i voiced some frustration but that doesn't mean that I took offence anything and I certainly hope I have not cause any.

I really respect the bandsters around that have achieved such fantastic results- Yes Puddin- that means people like you!! you and other like you are the inspiration that shows what is possible- the specifics of how we achieve our goals are going to vary, thats human. There is a vast difference between safe, enthusiastic, vigorous excercise programs that peolple like puddin and jachut have commited to and built up over time-to the scarey kinda stuff that I am seeing someone who weighs over 450 pounds, doing on biggest loser

[puddin 7]

Kebsa

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend with the 1,000 calorie comment. There are certainly exceptions to the rules. There is another bandster on this thread who has Lupus and can't lose weight on 1,000 calories a day. I was speaking in general terms and I'm sorry. I SHOULD have said, "For me, 1,000 calories or less a day would be a bit obsessive." But I'm with y'all on the Biggest Loser bit. But if they're able to maintain that weight loss, more power to them. I have a feeling they're getting the financial backing to be able to sustain that kind of weight loss. It takes a lot of money to lose and keep weight off.

[ReneBean 3]

Rene,

I'm envious. I hate excercise now. Hmmm, one reason I'm fat??? Duh. But seriously, I so envy the excercise enthusiasts. I aspire, some day - to have the passion for it as you do.

Sherilynn

Alas - I am not OBSESSED with exercise - but I trying to become obsessed with it.

I was just saying - if you have to pick an obsession, go with exercise. Far healthier than most other choices.

:]

[Kat817 19]

I do not think of myself as obssessed with either---ok, ok, ok, NO ONE would think me obssessed with either one!!! In the very beginning I counted some proteins--so I could maintain, I didn't care for the taste of the Liquid Protein, so I just wanted to get it done! But since then, I do not count. I have a vague idea in my head, whether I have eaten in a healthy manner, and base my actions on that. for instance if I know I ate good for Breakfast, and lunch, and haven't snacked like crazy, I know I can splurge a little more if I want ice cream after dinner. If I snuck Valentines candy all afternoon, I know I better skip the ice cream!

I do weigh every few days---it keeps me in check. BUT I have learned a better judge for me is how my jeans fit. My DH and I have begun a new workout program this year, and I have stalled pretty much on the weight loss, but I am down another size in jeans--and my old ones are getting really saggy---so even though the scale hasn't moved, I am moving weight around of something.

I do not live by this---if we are out for the night, I enjoy myself. My little buddy in there, will not allow me to go too far overboard! I want a way of life, not a life long diet. I may never be stick thin again---so be it. I will be much thinner---I AM much thinner. I started this at a size 22-24 pants, and my new ones are 14's. I'm not done yet...but my blood pressure is normal, my sugars are normal---I have the life I wanted.

That said, I have found myself, enjoying being out and moving my body--now that I CAN move it! I take part in a challenge on here (LBT) to exercise a certain number of times each month (this month is 18 times). It can be any type of exercise. Hula hooping with my niece counted...but I don't do it everyday---I DO walk everyday---or try to. My heart needs it. I come froma family line with serious heart problems, my DH just had heart surgery, so we are committed to daily walks. But in reality that is not band related---we would be doing it with or without.

I have 2 DD's who neither one even own a scale, they come to my house and weigh here every now and then....someday I will do the same!

Sometimes in order to maintain focus on the task at hand though, one must be temporarily obssessed!

Hang in there---make your own "normal"!!!

Kat

[Mommy0105 0]

My husband says I am obsessed with weighing myself. I weigh every moring when I wake up and also every night when I get home from the gym. For me, I went so long without weighing myself that a pound here and a pound there eventually led to carrying around 100 extra pounds.

For me - if I don't weigh myself each morning, I can rationalize bad food choices or taking "breaks" to reward myself for a period of hard work. And too much of that, will certainly lead me down the wrong path and I will end up right back where I started. While I know much of it had to do with salt and Water retention, I was able to pack on 5 lbs in 2 days over superbowl weekend - most of it coming from poor choices rather than volume. Had I waited to weigh myself till the end of the week though, I never would have worked my way back down so quickly. It is just too easy for me to forget about something I ate if I wait too long before weighing myself. While a 5 pound gain was depressing, a 10 or 15 lbs gain might have made me want to throw in the towel And since I am not a food journaler - I use my scale as a reminder to stay focused and honest.

While being obsessed with the scale might seem like an unhealthy obsession to some, I think being 100 lbs overweight is even unhealthier, so if it works for you, then I say great! I do not fear becoming anorexic over my behavior. Illnesses such as eating disorders generally come form much deeper rooted problems. Scale / exercise obsessions alone will not cause you to go there. There are so many other contributing factors that lead to eating disorders.

As far as exercise, I have to go to the gym at least 4 times a week to see continued results. When I took a "break" from Thanksgiving - New Years, I barely lost at all. And getting back into the whole gym routine was sooooooooooooooooooooo difficult. I don't want it to happen again!

[enterprise01 0]

Alas - I am not OBSESSED with exercise - but I trying to become obsessed with it.

I just want to learn how not to hate it. I'm fine with weight lifting, but the cardio stuff is absolute torture. Never have found any activity that I'd didn't abhor.

[Mommy0105 0]

I just want to learn how not to hate it. I'm fine with weight lifting, but the cardio stuff is absolute torture. Never have found any activity that I'd didn't abhor.

Most of my cardio is treadmill. I have exercise induced asthma, so running on it for more than 4 minutes at a time is pretty much out, so I set it to the highest incline possible and walk as fast as my little feet will carry me - holding on to the bar of course! I know a lot of people find the treadmill boring, but with the right music on my iPod to motivate me - it is certainly a lot less tedious. I am trying to get back into the elliptical - I really work up a bigger sweat there and it doesn't seem to bother my breathing the way it does if I run on the treadmill.

[spldgrl 0]

Great thread. I think it is important to remember we have pasts that predict how we respond to our current.

Like exercise, I could never exercise, if I worked out treadmill max 30 min. I thought I was doing good but never saw results. Now, I work out (yeah, prior to tt & bl) 3x's weekly with a trainer one on one and the results ARE addicting. I have never seen my arm muscles or my calves so defines so it inspires me to work harder and my desire to feel the increase heartrate when I run or my cardio is up feels great and I miss the feeling on working out. Maybe because it is new to us and we see stregnth where once was fat we are inspired.

For calories, I sorta count them. more compare, and if coice a is 100cal and choice 2 is 300 cal, I opt for choice a. Other day was at KFC with kids and wanted a "bowl thing" 780cal so I took bits off daughters. I find it great to know the cal count so I can make choices that fit into my perscribed 1200 cal a day. When I am excersising regularly I find I ned more cal to survive. its all what I need to fuel my body now and it differs from how active I am.

I have not hooked up to threads I found obsessive, I just know that majority of over weight people have an addiction, food, and when that addiction changes we often move to another food of addiction. exercise, shopping, you name it.

[Jachut 487]

Yeah, I do have a rough idea of how many calories I'm eating - an entire lifetime spent dieting means you know the calorie count of nearly everything, lol. As well as WW points!

[marys 2]

The longest time I was skinny and maintained my weight was when i worked in a gym, exercising about 4 hours every day-could eat anything i wanted and loved life. When I got the band my hope was that i would learn to eat like a normally thin person - eating when hungry, stopping when full, eating a wide range of foods in moderation...

well since i haven't yet been able to lose my weight with the band i continue to obsess about what i eat, when i eat, how much i eat, exercise etc. I don't want to but i'm still trying to figure this out.

I have food diaries for every day i have been banded (minus a few) and have also tried 1200-1500 - nothing, 1000-1200 - no loss but pretty good at maintenance (that is with exercising hard 4 days a week), now I am trying under 1000 and using an appetite suppressent prescribed by my band doc and I find i am eating very low - still exercising

yes i am obsessed, no, I don't want to be but I have been through the ringer trying to lose weight - I can not express here the utter desperation and frustration i have felt to not have the band do what i expected/wanted it to do. I have been to the brink of giving up many many times and something always gets me to try again.

After two years, if i haven't lost 25% of my weight I will be considered a band failure and it is unlikely i will make it. but if i can lose 25lbs in 2 years i will at least feel like i'm getting there.

I'm envious of those who are where i want to be - i wish i was with you but i can't relax for one second

[katieo 0]

jachut

WW points - tell me about it! When I first discovered I had a binge eating disorder I was told to have a break from dieting, stop monitoring every crumb I ate and just focus on taking care of myself but i had been with WW soooo long that I automatically worked out the point value for everything that went into my gob! It was hard work stopping!

marys

I really feel for you hun, it must be very upsetting for you because if your anything like me you pinned all of your hopes on the band.

I am aware that it might not work for me but it's worth a try!

I truly admire you for keeping going :clap2: