ChristiansUnite Forums

 :P  Hey Ladies (and those men who read these), I need some advice and tips on losing weight. A quick run down of what I'm dealing with, I am 5'8" and weigh approximately 300 pounds. I have finally reached a point where I am disgusted with myself, and want to really get serious about losing the weight. I want to do it the natural way, with no surgery. I want to get healthy in the process and not take any kind of weight loss medications. Anybody got any suggestions on what worked for them? I'm open to all ideas and help that you all can offer. Thanks ahead of time for your help. God Bless!! :)

Hi babybear.

While in the Navy one of my collateral duties was as Command Physical Fitness Coordinator. In addition to running the Physical Fitness Testing I had a number of people that had a weight problem that was about to get them released from the Navy. I worked with a Navy Dr on this for them. We came up with a diet and exercise program that was tailored for each one so that no one went hungry and no one had any health repercussions from diet or exercise.

One thing we had these people do was to eat more raw vegetables as snacks instead of other things that was high in calories. A veggie plate is great only leave the dips, peanut butter and such out of it.

When sitting down to a meal eat only one serving of everything. If you still feel hungry don't go back for seconds but you can replace seconds with things from the veggie plate. Vegeatables have almost no calories ( in comparison to other foods ) but are high in nutrition.

An exercise program is necessary. It is the only way to really burn off the extra calories. The most important thing for you to remember is to build into any exercise program slowly so as to not overdo it and to not get burned out on it before you even get started.

The first and best thing to do is to make sure you see a Dr that will make sure you have an exercise program that is suited for you and that you are physically able to handle.

Sister I have a book called body by God, it has some recipies I will look them up and some tips and put them in a zip fiile and email them off to you if you don't mind.  ;)
It may take me just a day or 2 but I can send you some info, and hang inthere sister this is a battle we all face. It's good to know we can count on each other, I'll start praying for you right now.
your friend and sister in Christ,
Maria.

Do you know who the author of that book is and where I might be able to buy it? Also, does anybody have any opinions to offer about the book "The Maker's Diet"?

Sister the author of the book Body by God is Ben Lerner, he visited my church in the fall and I got the book from my church I don't remember what I paid for it though.

Babybaear, I just checked I paid 22.99 for the book some of the capter titles are:
 "Food by God: The Un-Diet"
  "Understanding The Different Types of Fuel"
  "The Un-Diet Food Guide"

I'll still will email you some info if you want, just let me know.

That would be great if you could e-mail me some of the info. I haven't had a chance to look for that book yet, but hopefully this week will yield me some time to do so. Thanks for the help and the info.

God is with you, Babybear1980!  He loves your body and loves your heart!

On October 30 of last year, I sat in my doctor's office at 5'9", 257 pounds.  My doctor was in tears, for she had just diagnosed me with uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes.  My previous physical behavior did not lead her to believe that I would do much about it.

This morning, July 3, I weigh 188 (69 pounds lighter), on my way to 175.  I've done two simple, natural things.

1)  Calorie counting works, especially if you're balancing your food intake and eating a variety of stuff.  I try very hard most days not to exceed 1500 calories (usually about 1350).  You can do it.  Fill up on the stuff that won't hurt you.  Carrots, rice cakes, popcorn . . . all good snacks.  I also buy lots of Lean Cuisine, Michelina's, Healthy Choice frozen dinners.  You can get them on sale all the time, and the controlled portions are perfect.  Remember to drink lots of water (I love Fruit-Two-0).  We've got to stay hydrated.

2)  I joined a gym with a friend.  My regimen is simply this . . . treadmill for a half hour, weight lifting for a half hour, walk the track for 15 minutes.  Done.  Not scientific, and I'll probably add other stuff eventually.  But at 47, I don't need to look like a model.  I just want to be healthy.  The secret is:  FIND A FRIEND TO WORK OUT WITH.  If you don't, you'll be much less motivated.  If you do, you have a commitment to another person to keep.  It works.

I am complimented every day on my success, and my sugar is well under control.  God is a very present help in time of trouble . . . if we let Him.  And I let Him because people who love me are counting on me to be around for them!

Many prayers, Babybear!  And goodbye pounds!

Amen SSV, Babybear I will send you some tips from the book, I'm sure you can find it on the internet especially Christian website, the Author is a Doctor and a Christian, or you can find it in Christian Book stores, I wouldn't look in other well known book store chains, they have very limited Christian material

Oh I forgot to tell you, another good thing to do is drink pleanty of water, drink at least 8 ounces before each meal that way you won't be very hungry, chew your food at least 40 times (who counts?), but anyway chew longer than you have been, eat 5-6 smaller meals, for some reason that works, give your body food to burn that way your metabolism will increase, that is why working out is important, it increases your metabolism which helps burn those calories, if you can't get to a gym, walking after each meal is another good exercise, try not to eat at least 3 hours before bedtime, make breakfast your biggest meeal, lunch the second biggest meal and dinner your lightest meal. Eat plenty of vegetables, try to eat raw vegetables as often as you can. Go easy on the red meats, it takes your digestive system several days to break down red meats. Chicken breasts without the skin is great, stay away from fried foods as often as you can, stay away from sugar substitutes, instead try raw sugar. If you drink soda it's better for you to keep drinking the regular soda indtead of drinking diet sodas, they don't make much of a difference anyway, and the sugar substitutes are not really healthy, drink natural fruit jucies. I have a juicer, I make as much juice as I can drink in one day, since these huices are not pastuerized, they have to be consumed within 24 hours or you may risk getting undesireable bacteria. These are some tips I got from my nutritionist and dietician, not from the book. I have high chlesterol, and high triglicerides (both are controlled thru diet and medicine). I also take coumadin which means I have to stay away from vitamin K which causes the blood to clot faster, so I have to limit my intake of green vegetables (brocolli, green beans, mustard and collard greens, kale, etc) I also have to limit my intake of starchy foods. It sounds hard but it really isn't once you get used to it your body will adjust. I am 5'1" I lost an inch to osteoporosis and I am disabled, which means my mobility is very limited, even though I can walk I can't walk fast or far, nor often. I weigh 121 pounds I can still stand to lose a few pounds but, I lost a lot of weight after I started walking from being in a wheelchair for almost a year I weighed 163 pounds. I am not trying to lose a lot of wight fas I just want to lose as much as I need to and then keep my mweight steady. My weight has been steady for about 4 years now.

The battle of food.

Well, I have been involved in nutrition and excersise for a number of years and crash dieting doesn't work. I would start simple. Do some walking daily until walking no longer fatigues you and then start with something more intense...."running, stair master...etc." Counting calories without depriving yourself...Nurti - system is great if you don't want to count calories, but those programs can be expensive. If you eat small meals every 3 hours and stay around 1200-1500 calories a day, I can almost guarentee you will lose weight. It will be hard for the first week, but your stomache will shrink, therefore you will be satisfied quicker and you can eat the food you love as long as you only have the 1 serving listed on the package.

I hope this helps....
Good Luck...I will pray for your strength and success.

one thing for sure crash diets don't work. go slow change your diet slowly and exchange  red meats for white meat. eat plenty vegetables and fruit.

AMEN AM, and eating slow also fills you up faster, try serving yourself smaller portions and eating them slowly, chewing and enjoying every bite.  :D. If you can't exersice (like me) walking is good, you can start out slowly and increase the rate as you feel fit, you can also increase the length of time you walk. If you have access to a pool or to a YMCA you may be able to do water aerobics. Due to my physical limitations I can't swim an inch, so I just hang on to the edge of the pool and do bycicles, or just move my legs as if I were swimming, then I stand and exercise my arms, and finally I hang on to the edge again and twist and turn as far as I can go. It may not seem like much but you are actually burning calories and exercising without hurting yourself. Try to stay away from white sugar, white flour and white rice. No need to go starving, or hurting yourself doing a lot of exerscise, and of course like Brother Amorous said PRAYER, pray while you walk or sing to the Lord.  :D

LOL,
I took my post down because after I re-read everyones, I saw that I was just repeating everything that was said!
 ;D
Babybear, know that my prayers will be with you and that everything that has been said here is really wonderful advice.
Blessings!
-Am-

Well you sure fooled me AM   :o :o :o
I thought I had been seeing things, besides your post said a lot of things that weren't said so feel free to post again, repetition is good.  :D

 ;D

 :P :P :P :P

Thank you all for the help, I have really taken into consideration all of your suggestions. Maria, were you ever able find those recipies and tips for me? I am interested in what they are. Amorus, would you be so kind as to re post your comments, i am interested to see what you have to say, even if you think that it was repetative of what was already posted. I am still struggling with trying to make the necessary changes, but I am trying. I ask that you all keep praying for me.

Yes Sister, I would be delighted.
First and foremost this is no easy task and there is no quick fix.  This must be a lifestyle change for you, so it will take all the tools that our wonderful Lord and Savior has provided you with, including patience, honesty, understanding, compasion and love, just to name a few, and last but most importantly you will need to rely on prayer (which I'm sure you already understand).  Sister, the first thing I would do when I looked in the mirror is not say that I was disgusted with myself and have that be the reason I was trying to be as healthy as possible.  What I would do (if you don't mind my advice here) is tell myself just how much the Lord loves me and that I too should love and respect the body that I was given.  Smile and give thanks to know these things.  Secondly, I would begin to keep a journal and you could simply call this a thoughts journal, or if it fits, a food journal, but do not focus simply on the food, put your thoughts about your day in there as well and see how it all relates.  Now, as it relates to food, I would honestly take a look at the food I was eating during the day, and you must be honest with yourself, and how often you were eating it.  I would see how many meals I was having and how much I was snacking.  What you might want to try and do is break your meals up during the day into smaller portions eating more meals a day.  So instead of 3 major meals every 5 hours, you would be eating 5-6 meals every three.  Example (breakfast  7AM- morning snack 10AM- Lunch 1PM - afternoon snack - 4PM - Dinner 7PM)  If you find you are still hungry you can add a before bedtime snack, but nothing too carby.  What this allows your body to do is "NOT" think that it is starving, therefore it will process the food differently (good food remember  ;) ) and boost your metabolic rate.  It will also help control your insulin levels (but you really don't need to know all that unless you want too).  I would also replace all the white processed flour products with Whole Wheat products.  Make sure its 100% Whole Grain Wheat and not processed whole wheat (just look on the ingredient label, if it says refined or processed you know to stay away from it).  The reason this is better for you is Whole Wheat products contain more fiber, slowly up the breakdown of the carb in your body.  Whole Grains are much tastier IMO.  Get rid of any regular soda, fruit juices and replace with water.  I know it can be boring, but water is what your body needs right now.  Drink plenty of it.  See Sister Maria's post. I would also consult my Dr. about a workout routine,  meaning at this point no more then walking.  Sister, this is where I would start and I would give it two months before moving to the next step.  If you need advice on food selection let me know, I will be happy to post some recipes and what I consider to be healthy and yet yummie foods.  Most of all sister, know that you will be in my prayers, that you are loved by your brothers and sisters and that the Lord loves you very much.  I pray that this experience will be a blessing in your life.  Please keep us all posted on your condition, and know that we are all here to encourage you.
Blessings!
-Am-

I had a friend that was over 100lbs overweight and her key to success was a 20 minute workout per day and LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of water. All she drinks is water. Non stop. It not only helped the weight loss but it made her skin look beautiful and healthy. Our bodies need water and we neglect that a great deal.

I know for me to try slimming down takes a lot of discipline but once you get started and feel better it becomes easier and easier to do it. Just remember, "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you."

 ;)

There you go Babybear, everyone so far agrees that all of us need pleanty of water. I myself drink at least 1 gallon of water a day, that may sound like a lot, but it really isn't. One more piece of advice, please chechk with your doctor to make sure that your body isn't retaining water. If you eat a lot of salty foods that can be a cause for water retention. Your book is on the way.  :D
Love in Christ,
Maria

Thanks Maria, I look forward to getting that book and putting it to use.

My pleasure Christy, but please don't wait for the book to get there before you start exerscing. By the way have you already started using some of the tips we've given you? I hope so.  :D

Give the book enough time you know how snail mail is.  :D

Thank you all for your advice and prayers. I really do appreciate them all.  I ask that you continue to pray for me. I am having some trouble getting myself motivated to go to the gym and cook my meals when i get off work. I am a hairdresser, and i stand on my feet about 8 hours a day, and then 4 days out of the week, I am heavily involved in activities/studies at my chruch. I get home from work, and I feel tired and my feet and my back hurt, and I don't have much enthusiasm or motivation to go to the gym to work out or go out for a walk. I know its just a mental block, because I have done it before. I just need to get over my mental block and I asking for you to pray for that for me also. Thanks again for the support.

Hello there! I am new on here. My husband was reading through the boards and saw your topic. I also am overweight and finally decided that I had to do something. I found a website that has been a Godsend to me! I have been doing it for just a little over 2 months now and have lost a total of 15 pounds. There are different support groups and it is all free. The website is www.sparkpeople.com . I started a team on there called Johnson County Christians. All of us who are on there just try to support and uplift each other. My user name on there is the same as here, so if you decide to check it out, please check out my page. I would be more than happy to help you with whatever you need help with. I know what a struggle it can be, being overweight. It is not just physically, but also emotionally draining. It helps to know that there are others out there that are praying for you!!!! I hope you find this information helpful & good luck with your journey!!!                       Love& Prayers, Paula

Hello Paula, welcome to CU, I looked at your link it is pretty nice, I have to go back and look later on, I hope you enjoy your visits here and stay for a long while.  ;)