Christian weight loss

[photosynthesis]

I think I gained weight last semester with all the stress I was going through... so now my clothes don't fit me right now. I've got two options:

1. Buy new clothes.
2. Join a gym, and go on a diet.

I'm poor + unemployed, so I have to think about what is most cost-effective... Buying new clothes is way too expensive, and being overweight is unhealthy so I'd probably be better off in the long run to lose weight as it would be less of a liability. I probably should lose about 40 pounds.

But I hate the mentality that weight loss programs and diets try to sell... They try to make you think that you are a bad person for being overweight, and that being thin automatically makes you beautiful, successful and sexy. I've been thin, I've been fat, honestly I know that I'm beautiful either way so my weight has never been an issue for my self-esteem.

I have lost weight simply by making different choices in how I eat and doing intense exercises... but I hate how people react when I lose weight. People tell me how "sexy" and "hot" I look, and how I'm a "new woman." It's really aggravating, because losing weight doesn't make you a new person, it just makes you a thinner, fitter person.

I know a LOT of people that have found Weight Watchers to be an effective program that has helped them control their weight better.... My mom is like a poster child for W.W. But she is so irritating when she tells me exactly how many points there are in the glass of wine I'm drinking or how many points my glass of 2% milk is compared to her glass of skim. Her whole philosophy is that certain foods are always bad, and that one should always avoid them, and she goes out of her way when other people try to enjoy a good Chianti or eat chocolate in front of her. That's not to say that drinking too much wine and eating too much chocolate is good either, but no one should be made to feel guilty for doing something that's normal.

Weight Watchers and other methods seem to only focus on the earthly reasons for weight loss -- to be "successful" and "sexy." It's almost like a religion in itself and I want no part in it. If I were to lose weight it would be because my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and I'd want to take care of it... Are there any resources on weight loss that would come from this perspective?

[Luthien]

Walking is the most underappriciated form of excercise out there. Also, just eliminating 500 calories a day you can lose a pound a week.

Well now that I got the practical out of the way, here we go with the spiritual aspect. Here's what I learned at my Dead Theologians Society:

[b]Mortification of the senses, of the imagination and the passions[/b]


4 - In what concerns the quality of food, have great respect for Our Lord's counsel: "Eat such things as are set before you." "Eat what is good without delighting in it, what is bad without expressing aversion to it, and show yourself equally indifferent to the one as to the other. There," says St. Francis de Sales, "is a real mortification."


This is extreme, but I think that it would be good to do ones best to live like this.

[franciscanheart]

thank you Luthien. that is awesome.

[Mrs. Bro. Adam]

Not sure on any resources, but shouldn't the fact that our bodies [b]are[/b] temples be motivation enough for us to get healthy and look our best?

Making people feel guilty is wrong if you're just doing it because you don't eat a certain food. It would be like diabetics telling people who eat a donut each day that they're so horrible because it could be fatal to a diabetic in the long run.

Remember, we're here to do God's will. Why not get healthy so that we can be more effective at that?

Just a few tips:

Instead of 2% milk, drink more water each day, and by the time you get used to the water, skim won't taste as bad.

Run every other day, and the days you don't run, fill half gallons up with water and that can serve as weights for toning up your muscles. Nothing cheaper than free homemade equipment.

[Fides_et_Ratio]

I need to loose some as well... since I left Steubie I put on some pounds.


While in HS, I lost about 40 pounds (I'm now back where I was), and I HATED the way people would talk to me about the weight loss. It either made me really uncomfortable, or made me hate the way I was before (/now), i.e., "was it really that bad before?")

But realizing over the break that I needed to be in better shape, I've tried to look at it from that perspective.. as a health issue and not one of appearances.

[shortnun]

Photo, I really support what other people on this thread have said about a healthy, Christian body image. And you most certainly have support for a healthier lifestyle here on Phatmass.

You also mentioned that you don't care for Weight Watchers, perhaps b/c of how your mother had presented it to you. I have friend who SWEAR by W.W. And I'm not always a fan of Dr. Phil, but there's a lot to be said about finding a weight-loss program (not a diet) that works for you. You're not going on a diet, you're making a lifestyle change. Blessed be God for this!

My suggestion, go to the library. Look at one of the "Weight Loss for Dummies" books. I'm not saying you're a dummy on the matter, but rather suggesting that you find a resource that will you give you a little bit of information about a whole lot of things. Furthermore, find out what kind of system works best for you in modifying your diet. Do you like counting points? Would you rather just write your food down and keep track of it that way? Do you want to "work out" (walk, jog, etc) with someone else or alone? These are all questions that will help you in your pursuit of becoming, not a new person but, the fitter Christian you so desire.

Prayers!

[1337 k4th0l1x0r]

If you don't want to count calories and points and all that stuff, I highly recommend the South Beach Diet. My wife and I have adopted it for the past couple months for certain reasons. I'm going to promote it now, so skip the rest of this post if you don't want to hear about it.

The SBD relies on the theory (and most of what people say about how metabolism works are theories) that weight gain and difficulty in weight loss is caused by a condition that is best described as insulin resistance. In extreme cases, this is called Type II Diabetes, which is why you hear about overweight people being susceptible to diabetes. Being overweight because of insulin resistance is easily discernible from being overweight from other causes. IR weight gain takes place mainly around the abdomen. You might call it a beer gut of baby fat, but if most of your weight gain occurs there, it's probably insulin resistance. The rest of your body will look like it belongs to someone with quite a bit less weight. Granted, you gain some amount of weight throughout the rest of your body, it's nothing compared to abdominal weight gain. If you have no trouble getting your old pants on until it comes time to button them, it's IR. If you can't get them past your knees, you've either grown or have a different cause of weight gain. A good reference point is your upper arm. If your upper arms look like they could be on a thin person you see at random, then you probably have IR.

IR is caused by sending your insulin levels on a continuous, cyclical roller coaster ride. The path out of insulin resistance is to at first eliminate most carbohydrates from your diet. You do this for a week or two. During this time you are banned from eating certain things, but you don't have to count calories and can eat until your satisfied at meals. You get snacks too. This first stage helps you get rid of cravings. After this stage you can add back in certain carb containing foods like fruits and whole grain bread. You should add things back and monitor what adversely affects you.

I've felt a lot better on this diet. I don't have to drink nearly as much coffee during the day to stay awake and I've enjoyed eating healthier foods. Anyways, I'll get off of by soapbox now. You should change your diet to one that works well for you. South Beach can be pretty inexpensive (just don't follow their meal plan that demands fresh salmon and steak a couple times a week) and doesn't require much effort in food selection.

[HomeTeamFamily]

the makers diet

[photosynthesis]

[quote name='Fides_et_Ratio' date='Jan 10 2006, 12:19 PM']While in HS, I lost about 40 pounds (I'm now back where I was), and I HATED the way people would talk to me about the weight loss. It either made me really uncomfortable, or made me hate the way I was before (/now), i.e., "was it really that bad before?")
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That's probably one of the things that repels me from losing weight. I hate being treated differently for any reason. I also don't like the idea of buying into the weight loss culture. People like my mom see themselves in terms of "Before Weight Loss" and "After Weight Loss," but I don't really think of such lifestyle changes as that significant.

[quote name='shortnun' date='Jan 10 2006, 12:28 PM']My suggestion, go to the library. Look at one of the "Weight Loss for Dummies" books. I'm not saying you're a dummy on the matter, but rather suggesting that you find a resource that will you give you a little bit of information about a whole lot of things. Furthermore, find out what kind of system works best for you in modifying your diet. Do you like counting points? Would you rather just write your food down and keep track of it that way? Do you want to "work out" (walk, jog, etc) with someone else or alone? These are all questions that will help you in your pursuit of becoming, not a new person but, the fitter Christian you so desire.
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I actually like the "For Dummies" series... I have "Linux for Dummies" and "Resumes for Dummies." They're so much better than the "Complete Idiot's Guide To" series.

I definitely prefer going to the gym and working out alone. There's a treadmill in my house that my mom uses, but I like being able to use a variety of equipment and do strength training as well. I used to walk a mile every day in the summer and go to the gym every day in the winter, so I probably should start doing that again.

I don't like the idea of going low-carb. It seems so unnatural not to eat carbs, since for thousands of years people have been able to eat rice, pasta and potatoes without being overweight.

I am thinking about joining Weight Watchers, but my mom's on the program too and I think she'd use it as an oppurtunity to become my "accountability partner" and annoy the life out of me until I get fed up and move far, far away. She's under the impression that losing weight HAS to involve cottage coagulated milk. "You need to be eating more cottage coagulated milk," she says. "You'll never be successful unless you eat a serving of cottage coagulated milk each day." But even the sight of cottage coagulated milk makes me want to vomit, so I don't think her style of weight loss will work for me, unless I want to try bulimia.

I want to get in shape and eat more healthfully but there seems to be so much B.S. involved.

[photosynthesis]

[quote name='VoloHumilisEsse' date='Jan 10 2006, 01:52 PM']the makers diet
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what's that?

[Mrs. Bro. Adam]

[url="http://www.makersdiet.com/publicsite/funnel/index.aspx?promo=ED716AA7-6C2D-43CE-90B9-AFAC33BB897E&np=1"]The Maker's Diet[/url]

[1337 k4th0l1x0r]

[quote name='Mrs. Bro. Adam' date='Jan 10 2006, 01:33 PM'][url="http://www.makersdiet.com/publicsite/funnel/index.aspx?promo=ED716AA7-6C2D-43CE-90B9-AFAC33BB897E&np=1"]The Maker's Diet[/url]
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Darn, I was thinking it was the diet where you have a shot of Maker's [Mark] with every meal.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

i don't get any exercise

[photosynthesis]

[quote name='1337 k4th0l1x0r' date='Jan 10 2006, 03:44 PM']Darn, I was thinking it was the diet where you have a shot of Maker's [Mark] with every meal.
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LOL! Now that sounds like a great diet!

[jiyoung]

There's a lot to be said about cutting out simple carbs. Complex carbs are good for you, like whole grains and such, but simple carbs are supposed to be what makes you gain the most weight--mostly, avoiding junk/processed food will help you. For me, I'm trying to lose weight because I figure I'm not the way God made me to be. I'm unhealthy and I actually had some blood work done on my mom's insistence; I'm at risk for diabetes, apparently, and my HDL levels aren't very high either (my LDL isn't too bad, though, I guess).

It really has to do with health, because there is an ideal weight where there wouldn't be all sorts of health problems and stuff. It shouldn't be about being skinny, but about being healthy. I think the main thing motivating me now is discernment--a nun's life can be pretty active, and being overweight can really slow one down. Furthermore, if I have diabetes, probably a lot of communities would become closed to me because it's a burden on them to take care of me. That's basically that's getting me to take this all seriously now. If it's about health, then you're doing it for the right reasons, and it shouldn't matter if people are going to pester you about how you look or anything.