Hi Holly,
Thanks sharky, you know its just struck me that you lost fifty pounds in one year... That's a stunning achievement on its own, total respect.
Do you row every day? for how long and what did you change in your diet, sorry a million and one questions.
...
Thanks!
I've tried to keep this brief, but I'm afraid it's a bit long.
First I row about 4-5 days a week. Usually once a day in the morning, but if I'm working on a challenge I'll add a row when I get home from work as well. My morning row is typically 20-30 min. The key thing (IMHO) is to make it part of your routine, not something special that you have to find time for. My alarm goes off, I row for 20 + min, shower, get ready for work.
The other thing I try to remember is that the toughest days are the days I'm making the most progress. Progress doesn't always trump staying in bed for another 30 minutes, but usually it does.
Also when starting out I try to remember that it takes about 6 weeks to build a new routine. So if you figure 4 days a week for 6 weeks it's only 24 rowing days. Not, I'm going to do this the rest of the month or the rest of the year, or whatever, but rather, I need to do it consistently for 6 weeks. If you do that the rest will take care of itself.
On to diet and weight loss.
The following are my opinions. I am not a medical professional or nutritionist, I've just been very overweight most of my life.
First it is very tough to change 2 or more things at the same time and be successful. Focus on either activity or diet for the first 6 - 8 weeks. You will naturally start changing the other as you progress.
Second be realistic about your goal. If you lose 1-1.5 lbs a week how long would it take you. You will probably beat that time, but it's important to set your expectations. You didn't gain the weight overnight, you're not going to lose it that way either.
Next, understand your goal. For me (and I assume most people) the goal isn't to lose the weight, the goal is actually to keep it off once you lost it! This is important because, while you'll be making some changes to lose the weight, you're also learning what changes you'll need to make to keep the weight off.
15 years ago I lost 150lbs in 2 years. I kept it off for a few years, but let it creep up again, and 12+ years later I was back to where I started. (Now I've lost just over 100 lbs in about 2.5 years)
How did I do it? Basically learning to say 'no' 24/7.
There will ALWAYS be reasons to over eat, or eat poorly. And yes when there's pizza at the office I totally cave! But I don't cave when there are donuts. (well almost never anyway

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I started with just not snacking between meals. Then upping the veggies and fruits. After that, it's mostly about evaluating what food are you willing to trade a weeks worth of work for! For example, I like cheese. But if I'm having breakfast out with friends, I'll order my omelette without cheese, because having that cheese on the omelette just isn't worth giving up the opportunity to lose weight that week. However if it's pizza, all bets are off. I'm ok with losing a week of work for an occasional pizza night!
I admit I'm very lucky in that I live alone, so I have total control of what I cook / eat . Also I'm not a real meat and potatoes kid. Don't get me wrong a good steak or prime rib and a baked potato are very high on my list of favorite meals. But I like chicken and fish, and I'm not afraid of tofu.
To be specific, I do Weight Watchers online. It works for me. Having said that, I didn't do it for the first 6 months or so. I was doing pretty well with just doing the things I mentioned (no snacks, more veggies and fruit), but I got stuck and went back to WW. I have friends that have had good success with other programs. You just need to find what works for you and helps you to say 'no' when you need to.
You don't jump on the rower for the first time and row for an hour, you start with a few minutes and then work to increase that a little bit each time. You don't lose weight (and keep it off) by drastically changing what you eat. You make a series of small changes that, in the end, add up to a big change. (IMHO

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Sharky
keep on rowing, just keep rowing