Wednesday, December 14, 2005

a couple of explanitory notes before I go to another subject

About exercise:  Cliff and I walk a mile and a half, five days a week.  My feet and knees won't do more at one time, but I'm thankful that the shoe inserts I got recently have made it possible for me to walk for exercise at all.  I'd like to pick up a good exercise bike cheap; I've used them before, and I don't think it would hurt my knees, used 15 to 30 minutes a day.  Years ago I literally wore out a Sears exercise bike.

About dieting during the holiday season:  Since I've already had all my favorite Christmas goodies (brown sugar fudge, fantastic fudge, fruitcake, home-made cheeseball, cranberry bread, etc.) I really won't feel cheated; I've already had it all this year.  And remember, on weekends there'll be one regular, high-carb, high-fat meal, with dessert.  If there's some holiday food I'm craving, I'll work it in at those times.

I usually base any "diet" on the food pyramid, which means I concentrate more on what we can have than what we shouldn't have, making sure we have lots of fruits and veggies.  This has worked very well for us in the past.  Cliff and I had maintained our weight at decent levels for over two years, until I got my job five years ago.  Left on his own, Cliff gained.  I did all right working because of the very active job I had... I walked all day long, for eight hours (that's also what finished off my knees).  Once I gave up the job, my knees felt better, but I gained weight.  I'll never be able to exercise vigorously like I did in the past to keep fit.  So I'm going to have to learn ways to be vigilant about my food intake.

As to HealthyGene's comment about Cliff drinking too much water:  Cliff won't be doing the water thing anyhow; he just can't force himself to drink a lot of water.  I'll be aiming for 6 to 8 cups a day, and those will be spread out throughout the day.  I've had four so far today. 

I love to eat out; Cliff wouldn't care if he never ate out.  When we do go out somewhere, we'll have to stay away from buffets (we'd just keep going back until we waddled like penguins), and we'll split one meal  between the two of us at other places.

We've done all this before and been successful; it will be a little harder now that we can't exercise as much, but we can succeed.   

As I said, it's about making right choices.  And this is the last you'll hear about "diets" until next Wednesday.  Really!  I promise.  I just wanted to answer some questions posed in the comment section of my other entry. 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanx for clarifying that! rich

Anonymous said...

There is no doubt in my mind that you and Cliff will lose weight...cause you have the right attitude....and no one is telling you you should do it....you are doing it because you KNOW you need to lose....good luck....and my prayers will be for you both....Hugs....Ora

Anonymous said...

dang metabolism :(

Anonymous said...

I got the "water lecture" from the doc today...but there wasn't much I could say...loll..my feet were doin' the talkin'!

Glad you have such a good plan...I have one more site from your last entry to see.  Off I go...(with no mention of prom dresses).

;)

andii

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your lifestyle changes! You are so right that it's all about deciding to make the right choices. Most of the battle is mental. :-)  I just wish I could make that commitment to myself. One day soon, I hope.

Anonymous said...

I'm having a hard time also keeping my weight where it has been for years.  It's not easy when everything tastes better as you get older. :(

Anonymous said...

Great planning - you will succeed :)

betty

Anonymous said...

I have no doubt that you and Cliff will succeed at losing weight, or at least maintaining the weight you are at!

Jackie