One  of the reasons I use the elliptical right now, is because - 20 wind chills. I do walk quite a bit too when temperatures Are above 25. Thereis a 5 K on April 1st, & I think I am going to walk in it.one thing is for sure I definitely want to stay active. I weighed myself today and lost 8 pounds. So I guess that is something.

This is probably the most sensible approach to weight loss I've ever heard.  Great job on reversing the trend and establishing healthy habits!

Two years ago I was at about a 35 BMI, and with a history of knee problems not serious enough for surgical intervention, but painful enough that they had derailed previous exercise program attempts.  I was also starting to get borderline diabetic fasting blood sugar readings, and was terrified of the idea of having to give up my beloved sweets entirely.  I got to that weight not quickly, but by gaining 5-10 lbs a year for 15 or so years.

 

My goal in returning to running (I had run in high school) was not to lose all the weight in certain period of time, but to reverse the weight gain trend.  To lose 10-15 lbs per year until I hit a "normal" weight, and then maintain that weight indefinitely.

 

I started out by walking on the treadmill 30 minutes at a time a few days a week.  Both trying to make exercise a sustainable habit, and strengthening my joints.  After a few months of that, I started jogging, still on the treadmill and very slowly.  At the 6 month mark I was only up to three mile runs, but out of sentimentality ran painfully jogged a 5.5 mile race.  It was way too much too fast, but luckily I ended up with just shin splints.  It could have been much worse, but it was still hard to take a couple weeks off and have to start over building mileage and the habit.

 

I also work on my diet, but again, small changes.  The first was getting out of the soda habit.  If I'm thirsty, I drink water.  Flavored beverages are only for when you really want it, not to quench thirst.  Well, except coffee, but I started measuring the creamer so I only used just enough to make the coffee drinkable, and then decreased that over time to where it's less than 50 calories a cup.  For unrelated reasons, I also stopped eating all meat but seafood.  But other than meat, I haven't banned any foods, I've just worked hard to be conscious of what I eat.  Do I really want a cookie, or am I just hungry and would be satisfied with an apple or a handful of nuts?  Or maybe an apple and one cookie instead of 4 cookies?  The impact of my food choices on my running is a powerful motivator.  I want to get faster, and properly fueling a workout is much more motivating to me than adjusting my food just to lose weight.

 

I also worked on stress relief.  Music is great for running motivation, but it also kept my thoughts at bay.  After I forced myself to leave the ear buds at home, I found myself figuring out a lot of issues during my runs that enabled me to cope better with the stresses of the rest of my day without turning to comfort food so often.

 

In a little over 2 years I've lost about 35 pounds, and am just a few pounds away from the obese/overweight line (30) on the BMI chart.  So only a pound or two per month.  But, month to month, I've never gained any of the weight back.  I didn't go on a diet, I made a sustainable lifestyle change.

 

My question for you, is not whether your current diet and exercise plan will get the weight off this year, but will it get you where you want to be five years from now?

This is probably the most sensible approach to weight loss I've ever heard.  Great job on reversing the trend and establishing healthy habits!

 

+10-15

I have not given up yet. .lol  I have been on the elliptical pretty much every day.  I walked 3 miles last Sunday and 4 on Wednesday.  I plan to walk 3 tomorrow. My weight is down 17 pounds at 265.

 

Great job! Don't worry at all about time -- everyone's mile is same distance, regardless of time. You did 3 miles more than all the folks who did nothing.  The absolute best training you can do at this point is walking day-in, day-out.

 

Sounds like you're doing great, so keep it up.

+1. Down 17 lbs