Group loses 202 pounds
Group loses 202 pounds
| Carolyn McDonald gives a thumbs-up because she has lost one inch on her upper leg due to her participation in the Healthy Weight Journal Challenge. (Journal photo by Miriam Moeller) |
By MIRIAM MOELLER, Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Participants in the Healthy Weight Journal Challenge recorded losing 81.5 pounds at their second weigh-in recently, increasing their total weight loss to little over 202 pounds.
Although this is great news, Donna Marlor, director of weight management at Marquette General Hospital, warned that the honeymoon is over.
“You really have to check your thinking,” she said. “This is just a stage.”
Marlor warned that losing weight in the first 6-8 weeks is easy, but after that maintaining a healthy diet and keeping up exercise gets more and more difficult.
“It’s a lot harder work to maintain what you have been doing,” Justin Niemi, of MGH Rehab said. “It’s a little bit of a battle.”
Marlor described the stage after the honeymoon as the frustration stage where people tend to want to go back to old behaviors. She said to stay away from high-sodium foods such as pizza and eat fresh foods instead.
“Fresh fruits, vegetables and meats have no sodium but everything processed and packaged does,” she said.
Also common is people feeling sorry for themselves for a variety of reasons. Carolyn McDonald, participant in the program, said when she found out she will not be able to walk much due to an ailment on her foot, she threw herself a pity party. However, after talking to Marlor and other participants, McDonald said she learned to focus on the positive things in her diet and exercise program, remembering that attitude is everything.
The group also discussed how often participants should weigh themselves.
“It’s important to weigh yourself once a week,” Marlor said.
She added that most people weigh more on Mondays since they tend to eat more on the weekends; therefore, she suggested to step on the scale on a Tuesday or Friday.
Participant Renee Deroche said that she placed her scale in her pantry to discourage her from breaking her diet.
“Our culture does not make it very easy to lose weight,” Marlor said.
The group will meet again on July 26.
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