The birds are forcing me into healthier habits.

Customcasket

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Aug 24, 2011
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New Jersey
Parrots
Female Dusky Conure (Kayak) Female Sun Conure (Carlisle) Female Budgie (Meister) Male Budgie (Spooky Burd)
So, to make a long story short I packed on almost 80 pounds within a couple years. Laziness, eating habits, genetics and medication all contributed to the weight gain. I realized I couldn't keep going the way I was. I couldn't walk up 3 flights of stairs to a classroom without getting totally winded. When people see me they can't tell that I packed on the weight. It's hidden quite well. I'm tall and most of the weight went to my stomach and thighs. I tell them how much I weigh and I get a shocked look and a "NO WAY!" from them. My back issues are definitely much improved since losing some of the weight and my knees don't creak and pop as much. I don't have to be skinny, I just want to be healthy. Genetics are quite cruel on both sides of my family. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and some other not so fun ailments are on both sides. I don't need extra weight to move those issues along. This is my story so far of the birds "helping" me get my butt back into better shape.

I slowly changed my diet in December and lost almost 20 pounds so far just by changing my eating habits. That was so hard for me. I LOVE my junk food and chocolate. Mmmmm chocolate... Now I find myself asking "Should I be eating this? How would I feel if one of the birds tried to steal a bite of this? Would I feed them this?" and that has changed what I eat in my daily diet. I love to snack while I read, so now instead of eating junk food and reading I'll eat some sort of veggie or fruit and read my book. I still have a 60 pounds to lose to get back to the weight I'd like to be at, but realistically I would like to lose another 40 or so pounds and get back to a weight within a healthy range for my height. My doctor has been quite pleased at the weight I've lost and my blood pressure has gone down. Changing my diet wasn't enough to lose the weight I wanted to. I knew I'd need to exercise and I wasn't too happy about that idea.

I dusted off the exercise bike that was in the basement and started using that along with other exercises. The birds are almost always included in my exercises. They're great motivation when I'm doing my squats. I have Carlisle on one hand and Kayak on the other. I can't let my arms drop or else the birds fall off. My brother witnessed this a few nights ago for the first time and just shook his head and walked away saying something about "Why am I not surprised you included the dumb birds when you exercise?!" He hates the birds and the birds hate him. The birds keep me company while I ride my stationary bike. Somebody sits on my shoulder and screams in my ear while the other sits on the handlebars giving me dirty looks because they're not the one on my shoulder. It's nice to have company while exercising. I listen to my music and hang out with the birds. They don't care that I'm exercising, they just care that they're getting attention and are with me.

Well, that's my adventure so far. The habit change was quite a bit difficult but once I got into the swing of things it got much easier. When I changed my eating habits it rubbed off on my father a bit. I'm glad it did. He's at a very high risk for developing diabetes and already has really bad arthritis that has recently been calmed somewhat with Humira. He's lost 10 pounds since changing his diet. We eat a lot more veggies and fruits and less snacks and processed... crap. Crap is a good word to describe what we were eating. Tonight for dinner we had salads and a bit of leftover BBQ chicken from the other night. 6 months ago if I would've suggested a salad for dinner he would've laughed at me and told me "I'm not a damn rabbit!" and eaten whatever. I always had the fruits and veggies in the house for the birds but I never ate them myself with any regularity. Now I eat pretty much what the birds do (aside from their pellet :p) and couldn't be happier.
 
Congrats on your.progress, I know its hard work.
It's a win win for everybody, your birds are happy, and your health is better.
 
How awesome! Your giving me some serious motivation. I don't exercise much but usually eat pretty good, every once in a while I get a sweet tooth and want ice cream and Reese's and other junk food. I always regret doing so lol.
I'm 5.10 and weigh 185, I should be 150-160 for my body type. I really want to loose 30 pounds.

Sometimes I wonder what happened to the world, in the day and age of Marylyn Monreo many women were a healthy weight, now everyone wants to be crazy skinny. I like when people have flat stomachs because they're lean and fit, not because they starve themselves or get lipo. And most models have a fat ratio less than what is recommended. It gives all these people unrealistic expectations, even I sometimes wish I could look like a skinny model. I find it sad.
 
So, to make a long story short I packed on almost 80 pounds within a couple years. .

Nothing short about that story. ;) JUST KIDDING!!!!

Many congrats on losing 20 pounds already! I can very much relate to your story. I've struggled with my weight all of my life. 1.5 years ago I joined a gym and seriously got into pretty good shape. THEN my son left when he joined the army. He took ALL my good will and motivation with him - NO kidding. Even though I continued going to the gym, I also picked up on my WORST habit ever. COMFORT FOOD. Within 3 months I managed to pack on 30 pounds. (I had lost over 50 before my son left). :eek: I was/am SO discouraged. :(

BUT, even though I'm still far from my "dream" weight (and I won't be resembling those skeletors on the catwalk EVER!!!), my blood pressure and overall health is still better than before I picked up on excercising.

Winter is always hard for me as I'm an outdoorsy kind of person, but I despise the cold. So now that it's warming up, and I'll be spending MUCH of my time gardening and taking my dogs for long walks, I'm hopeful I can get back on the right track.

You have certainly given me MUCH needed motivation, and I THANK YOU for that!! :)
 
I love this! I think our pets can have the best influence on us when we let them. :) I also struggled with my weight (i was "fatty patti" as a little kid.....ugh) until as a young teenager i was anorexic and unhealthy. And that doesn't look like it does in the movies. I looked horrible, felt horrible and was weak and sickly.
My first motivation was my dog, Pablo. I wanted him to be healthy and happy and walked him all over the place. Gradually i had more and more stamina and actually got in shape.
And, as crazy as it sounds, Gilbert eats dinner with me every night and watches every bite i take. (you know, if i gave him a bowl of healthy fresh food while eating a piece of cake or something else decadent, he would climb down and want what i am eating.) He keeps me more in check so to speak. That's not to say that i didn't eat a bunch of Easter candy behind his back.....ugh....but at least my basic meals are very healthy! :)
And the "full figured beauties" like Marilyn--i don't think they will ever truly go out of style. I think deep down we all love them best and don't want to look like stick figures. Dove's campaign for true beauty is my favorite and i think the way we should be. Healthy for who we are meant to be.
 
Thanks for sharing your story and you should be very proud of yourself. I loved the idea of exercising with your birds and asking yourself if you would allow your birds to eat it? Great idea:)
 
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I am feeling extra lazy today but I know I need to go do my workout. I worked a long hard shift today at work and would be quite happy to sit on my butt in front of the laptop and play on the forums all night. :(

I am 5'7" and before I packed on the weight I was only 120-125 pounds. I could eat what I wanted and never packed on a pound. As soon as I turned 19 I kept my crappy eating habits and all of a sudden I ballooned to almost 200 pounds. :eek: It was kind of shocking to look back and realize all that weight was packed on in about 18 months and I just kept the weight and did nothing about it until shortly before my 24th birthday. I don't want to look like a skeleton. I want to be healthy and in better shape. :D I guess it's time for me to go grab my angry birds and do my workout.
 
I am the TOTAL opposite , I need to GAIN weight. I don't have any mental problems ( besides being a slave to my fids :p ), and I have really good self confidence ,so I NEVER dieted to fit in. I'm only 55 pounds , and thats low for a eleven year old. I don't have strong hunger urges , I just eat when I want to . Sometimes my parants excuse me from dinner but they don't approve of it. People say I'm lucky, but it prevents me from doing some activities . My mom won't let me try horse riding because I'm " weak " , and its , well, embarrassing sometimes . Like ANYBODY could pick me up,andmy wieght has an effect on my strength. I'm scared that if I try out for volleyball next year the coach might turn me down because of my wieght . It's not always good on the other side either. GREAT job losing weight ! I know it can be hard, but fids always can motivate you !
 
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I am the TOTAL opposite , I need to GAIN weight. I don't have any mental problems ( besides being a slave to my fids :p ), and I have really good self confidence ,so I NEVER dieted to fit in. I'm only 55 pounds , and thats low for a eleven year old. I don't have strong hunger urges , I just eat when I want to . Sometimes my parants excuse me from dinner but they don't approve of it. People say I'm lucky, but it prevents me from doing some activities . My mom won't let me try horse riding because I'm " weak " , and its , well, embarrassing sometimes . Like ANYBODY could pick me up,andmy wieght has an effect on my strength. I'm scared that if I try out for volleyball next year the coach might turn me down because of my wieght . It's not always good on the other side either. GREAT job losing weight ! I know it can be hard, but fids always can motivate you !

Wow! 55 pounds isn't a lot at all. I hope you can gain weight and gain it the healthy way. I'm pretty sure at 11 I was already near the height I am now (5'7") and I was probably over 100 pounds at that point. Are you short and petite? There's nothing petite about me. Even if I lost a lot of weight I'd still be a "big" person. I've got big hands, big feet (size 11 womens), and the smallest pair of pants I ever fit in was a size 8 womens and that was when I was 12. What does your doctor say about your weight?
 
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So, my best friend was on The Rachael Ray Show today. She has become a part of my inspiration. She was alway a "big girl" as my parents would put it. When I realized that she had lost over 60 pounds it was kind of a shocker to me that my best friend who has always been way overweight has lost that much weight! She lost the weight in a healthy way of changing her diet and exercising. I have never been more proud of any of my friends the way I'm feeling now. When she texted me last week and said that she was going to be on The Rachael Ray Show I was super excited for her! Her blog is http://fatsoweightloss.tumblr.comand that's where she originally posted the letter for Bob Harper on March 22nd. The clip of her appearance on the show AOL On - A Double Bob Harper Surprise!

Now between the inspiration from Jackie losing her weight, the birds who will take no excuses, and the fact that I really want to drop the pounds I should be able to keep myself on track to lose this weight!
 
Aye, it really is about changing lifestyles; 'diets' are not a solution, because at some point you won't be on the diet, and the circle starts again. If you suck it up and eat properly, you end up saving money and losing your taste for bad food.

I eat one square of dark chocolate every two days; I wouldn't savour or value it if I ate it more frequently. Everything else is the sort of food most non-vegetarians might consider hellish, lol.
 
WOHOOOOO!!! Way to go Jackie!!!

That story just gave me goosebumps!

Jackie's face, when Rachel told her "Why don't you look around in the audience and see if you recognize anybody?" HAHAHAHAAHAHA! Her jaw literally dropped when she saw Bob!

Thank you SO much for sharing this! WHAT a success story! Incredible!
 
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WOHOOOOO!!! Way to go Jackie!!!

That story just gave me goosebumps!

Jackie's face, when Rachel told her "Why don't you look around in the audience and see if you recognize anybody?" HAHAHAHAAHAHA! Her jaw literally dropped when she saw Bob!

Thank you SO much for sharing this! WHAT a success story! Incredible!


None of us (her friends or family) knew what to expect when it aired this morning! She didn't tell us anything other than she was on the show. I couldn't be happier for her.


This picture is from June 2007. The 4 of us have been friends for so long. Tara (far left) and Letty (far right) I've known since Kindergarten. Jackie we all met in 4th grade when she moved to NJ from Philly. She and I became good friends in 6th grade when we had a lot of classes together. I had gym class with her and I always looked out for her because people were so cruel. She's an amazingly nice person and people were so mean to her throughout school. I remember people asking me why I was friends with a "fat girl". That always made me so sad. Her confidence was nonexistent. I'm so happy she is feeling more confident in herself after losing the weight.

I wish I could get back to that weight. I think I was 125 pounds in that picture. I don't know if that's an obtainable goal or if I should just stick to my original goal of 140 pounds. I'm just so shocked when I look back at pictures of me and see how thin I was. Now it's shocking to see how Jackie looked before losing all the weight. I can't wait to watch her continue to lose the weight. I can't wait to see myself lose the weight! :D I rode my bike earlier without the birds and it was amazing. Nobody was preening my eyelashes as I exercised. I was lonely though, lol.
 
Well I'm 6,2 and 166 pounds and I feel like i need to lose weight lol... So no complaining on these forums...:p. although I can lift my body weight so I'm good;). I mean your all so healthy and skinny to be complaining..
 
no matter what we look like on the outside, it's the inside that counts.
customcasket....good for you to go through your struggles and start achieving your goal!!
I can sort of relate to your issues, when I met my husband 30 years ago, he was skinny minney miller, weighing just 150 lbs. & 6ft.

3 years ago he ballooned to 250 lbs. I could barely wrap my arms around him for hugs
I on the other hand I am quite petite, barely 5 ft, and if I'm lucky I'll hit a 100 lbs, but usually I weigh less.
I so wish I could gain any weight, but it's just not in my genetics.
my husband lost 65 lbs, and is a healthy 185 now, it took him 2 years to loose all the weight, with diet change, and what ever exercise he felt like doing at the time, but he stuck to it and got the results he was looking for.
I applaud you for your efforts, and if you want to send some extra pounds my way, I will accept them with open arms!, lol
 
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I applaud you for your efforts, and if you want to send some extra pounds my way, I will accept them with open arms!, lol

How many extra pounds are you willing to accept? :p
 
I am definitely a health enthusiast!!! I work out almost everyday and eat decent, but I'm still about 20 lbs over where I want to be. I have a lot of muscles but I don't always eat the best, so I'm definitely looking forward to having a bird in my life again. I've been trying to keep to the "paleo" diet, if anybody has heard of that, but its hard when you have a raging sweet tooth!! It's easy to eat healthy when you have buddies!

I am definitely planning on exercising with my bird, so I'm so glad I'm not the only one!! I frequently go on hikes, so I'm looking forward to that so much!!

We should start our own group to help each other out and think of new ways to incorporate our fids into our work outs. :)
 

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