I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself.
I am a 32 year old mother of two, married almost 15 years to my high school sweetheart. We are currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after a recent move from Muscat, Oman. I am originally from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana but, when I move back to the US, my home will be in Houston, Texas.
I found this website after a search for a recipe for chicken. I didn't cook the chicken because I was too into reading this forum. So I thought I'd better join, since I've spent so much time reading all these great tips and ideas anyway.
I have been trying to lose weight for 14 years. I lose a few, but always gain it back and some. Last December I started reading about health, nutrition, and detoxing so I thought I'd try it. After a 7 day detox I had never felt better. Because of how good I felt I continued to stay away from caffeinated soft drinks and coffees (I only drink green tea now). Unfortunately I have not been able to stay away from junk food. I lost 20 lbs from December to March, but gained it all back when we found out we were moving. After a very stressful few months we moved to Kuala Lumpur, about a month ago, where I have become determined to eat healthier and lose the weight I need to get rid of.
To get into a healthy BMI I will need to lose 75 lbs. My husband wants me to have the lap band surgery but I am actually scared of doing it, even though a good friend of mine had it done and loves it. I still want to give it one more try to lose it naturally.
I have been reading a lot of nutrition books and different diet plans hoping that I can put something together that will work with me. I've tried so much in the past from Sugar busters to weight watchers to even taking diet pills (which worked for three months before coming right back on).
Now I have the determination to do it. Mainly because I am now in the position where I can have the surgery, but don't really want to. I want to show myself and my husband that I can do this on my own.
I am just looking for more positive reinforcement and a little more support and encouragement to help me get over the hurdles when I get to them, and a place to go when I'm out of ideas.
I'm trying to walk every day, I'm using my Wii Fit, my husband has made me a spread sheet to use to keep track of what I eat (and for him too since he wants to lose weight with me)it turns the food I type in into points using the weight watchers system and keeps a running tally on what I "spend" for the day/week, and I drink lots of water and Matcha (which is Japanese green tea leaves ground into a powder and added to water instead of steeping in water and removing the leaves when done.) It tastes delicious to me, but it seems to be a taste not everyone likes. My family only like it in Latte form at OChaCha (the Starbucks of green tea).
So here's my plan:
breakfast is at 6:30 am. I have a flax seed waffle, with unsweetened applesauce and chopped up fruit (kiwi, strawberry, raspberry, whatever I have around) with 32 ounces of water with one teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of matcha powder (I refill this bottle several times during the day, but I don't keep adding the Matcha and honey, just water).
When the kids go to school,and hubby is off to work, I go for a walk around the city. I live in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, and I love walking around this city. It's so beautiful. I'm building up to walking for an hour, but so far I'm at 45 minutes.
For lunch I'll have salad, or veggie wrap, never anything with meat. I'll add nuts and olives for my fats and protein.
My snacks are fruit. I love fruit. Especially here since there are so many exotic fruits that I can't get in the US, like manogsteens and passionfruit and dragon fruit and yellow watermelon. Sometimes I'll add a few chopped up walnuts to the fruit. Tastes great with watermelon.
Dinner time is usually grilled chicken or lean ground meat with pasta or potatoes. Sometimes a big salad with grilled chicken.
If I need something at the grocery store, I will walk to the store if it's not a lot of groceries. But if it's a lot I'll drive to the mall, park in the parking tower at the farthest end and take the elevator to the top of the mall (6 stories) and walk around each floor and down the escalators (I don't take the stairs because they are too hot and dimly lit)till I get down to the lower level where the grocery store is. If I don't have to go to the store I like to play with my Wii fit. It's gotten to be a competition with my family, we all want to be in first place.
Weekends have been a little difficult because we head to one of the malls to walk around and explore while we finish getting things we need for our house. That means eating mall food. Luckily I am learning about the local foods that are low in fat but high in nutrients, and also which "health food stands" are actually healthy. I'm hoping this coming weekend I can try out what I've learned and choose wisely, instead of the typical burger.
It's been almost two weeks since I started this. It's hard to keep myself motivated and to make sure I do these things. Sometimes I do skip something, and I feel guilty. But I just think that tomorrow is a new day.
So, that's me. In a nutshell. A very long winded nutshell.

Good luck to you on your fitness goals! It must have been very stressful moving, let alone to another part of the world. I know what you mean regarding surgery. My husband offered me a tummy tuck last year for x-mas( hint hint I suppose!) but I turned it down. I'm scared to go under the knife-weird b/c I am a nurse and worked with a neurosurgeon for ten years and never came across anyone who didn't make it out of the or. I felt, though, it's the easy way out. Besides, even if I had done it, I still would be eating the same garbage and still have the untoned chubby arms, hips, etc. I need to change my lifestyle if I want to truly be happy and fit. Surgery is not the answer for me.

I wish you the best, keep up the good work!

Keep up the good work, it will pay off!

I want to let you know that estimating your healthy weight using BMI is not the most accurate method because this formula does not take your true body composition into account. You should consider measuring your body fat percentage to weight and use that information to determine what your healthy weight should be.

I do want to comment on you considering surgery. Surgery should be considered a last resort and is usually reserved for the morbidly obese! You said you need to lose 75lbs, I doubt you are morbidly obese. You should be able to lose the weight if you stick to a system such as logging your calories, as you seem to be doing now. The key is to remain consistent!

You should make sure that as you continue to lose weight you should re-evaluate your metabolism and adjust your calorie intake accordingly as to maintain a fat burning calorie deficit. If you need a way to calculate your metabolism and daily caloric needs check this site out: www.permanentweightlosslab.com Just click on calculators and use the daily caloric needs to determine your calorie budget. Hope this helps you, if you have any questions feel free to contact me at: www.permanentweightlosslab.com/contact/

Wishing you all the best for your success!