i had a hystarectamy in 2002 and im having a time losing weight because i can't take any kind of diet pills because i have tacacardia ? can anyone give me any tips plz? ty

[atackett2010]

dieting

[Barb135]

The biggest problem I have with specific "diets" is that any diet changes must be those that you can live with from now on because if you start a program that you aren't going to stick with, you will only gain back the pounds you lost as soon as you stop that particular way of eating.  That's why a lot of "diets" don't work.  Same with diet pills, so don't feel bad that your tachy keeps you from taking them, because you wouldn't stay on them forever anyway and as soon as you stop them, you will gain back the weight.

And of course, I'm a firm believer that exercise has to be a considerable part of a weight loss program because in the process of losing pounds and inches, you could be losing as much or more muscle as as you are fat.  Exercise will help build muscles and muscles burn more calories than fat does.  In addition to that, exercise will help give you more energy and the more energy you have, the more you will move, so the more you will lose ------------

I think the first thing you need to do is figure out how many pounds you want to lose, then figure out how many calories you need to eat per day to maintain your current weight.  A good healthy amount to lose is 1-2 pounds/week.  Considering that 1 pound is 3500 calories, you would need to come up with a calorie deficit or combination of calorie deficit, plus exercise to eliminate 500 calories/day in order to lose 1 pound/week (7 days X 500 calories = 3500 calories = 1 pound).  You can start the food diary here on MH to calculate your calorie needs.  

We always recommend that a food diary be kept because writing down everything you eat or drink during a day's time will help you keep up with how many calories you are actually consuming/day vs trying to keep track of them in your head, plus it will help you be able to pin point areas that you might be able to cut back - such as "hhmm - maybe that turkey sandwich from Subway would have been a better choice than the 1/4 pounder at McD's" --- or "maybe I should have had baked chips instead of the fried"   or  a baked potato instead of french fries ---- you get where I'm going here.  

As far as a food diary - you can do the one here on MH, which is really very easy to use or you can just keep a notebook that lists what you eat.  I've started keeping a "day planner" with my food choices, because I'm often not near a computer or have time to access the formal food diary.  Even though I don't know all the calories of everything I eat, I can look at what I wrote down and say "gee, maybe a couple bottles of water would have been better than that soda"....

The easiest way to start out is to make very small changes.  Like start out replacing 1 soda per day with a glass of water.  Then take a 10 minute walk.  Once it feels "natural" to not be drinking soda and to be walking for 10 min/day, make another change - like walking 20 minutes/day and exchanging your white bread for whole grain, exchange regular pasta for whole grain, white rice for brown.  Add an extra serving of fruits and veggies every day until you reach 5 -----.

Okay - I've probably rambled long enough, but I have to say one more thing ---- set small goals for yourself -- i.e.   don't say "I have to lose 50 pounds" because that looks like an insurmountable goal to me -- but if I set a small goal of 5 pounds, then when I lose the 5 pounds, I can set the next goal at another 5 pounds -------- It's like cleaning my house....... If I come home on Friday and say "oh my, I have to clean the entire house this weekend" - I'm going to be overwhelmed and will feel like a failure when the end of the weekend comes and my house isn't spotless; but if I split it up into rooms or even "small projects" within a room, I can work at it and each small project is a goal completed and gives me the confidence to continue on to the next project and often before I know it, I've got my house cleaned.........

Okay --- all that said, I'm going to recommend that you have your doctor check you for thyroid or other health issues.  The reason I say this is because I went "gung ho" trying to lose 30 pounds that I'd gained in a period of about 3 months and couldn't budge an ounce and when a simple blood test showed that I have hypothyroidism, that explained it all.  I'm just now getting my thyroid levels to a point where I CAN lose weight.  This journey has been going on for well over 2 years, so needless to say, I got intensely discouraged...........I don't want that to happen to anyone else, because it's so hard to come out of a slump like that.........

Okay --- I'm done ranting now............good luck and I hope you will stay with us and keep us posted on how you do.........

[Lonelymom]

I had a hysterectomy almost 2 years ago now and I understand what you mean about loosing the weight and keeping weight off.  I am not very patient with diets so I tend to fall of the band wagon, but from experience I can tell you Weight Watchers does work. They teach you how to eat properly and to start paying attention to quantity as well as calories, fat, and fiber intake. You will learn what foods are good for you and which ones aren't.

I like it because you are stuck to just one type of food and you aren't depriving your body of something you basically learn how to eat the foods that you love!

Also with Weight Watchers even if you are not a hard core exerciser you will loose weight and inches.