Posts by cheftastic

Regarding the "expensive food" dillema, what someone said about paying "89 cents" for a hamburger versus a pound of meat is correct.  Depending on the food you buy, where you buy it, and how much planning you do before you go to the store, you can get food for cheap.  I get chicken leg/thigh quarters for $0.89/lb at Fresh&Easy!  I get an entire POUND of chicken for the same price as one gross hamburger!

Check out local ethnic supermarkets in your area versus your "name brand" grocery store.  If you live in a city, you can find carnicerias, Asian supermarkets, even halal meat markets where prices are generally lower.  Avoid "Whole Foods" and stuff - honestly, its not worth it if you're watching your money.  The meat you get in ethnic supermarkets is clean, and often very fresh - more fresh than the "name brand" grocery store.

If you live in a rural area, you may be able to buy directly from local growers.  I wish I lived near local chicken or beef or pork farms!  Talk about fresh!  Farmers markets are good too.

Or eat less meat alltogether!  Beans are EXTREMELY cheap and really stretch food dollars.  Yeah beans don't sound as good as burgers, but it doesn't have to be expensive.  Buying, cooking, and making your own food IS cheaper than dining out, and its much more "rich" for your diet and weight!

Original Post by m0m6:

This is what I tell myself when the scale bounces up and down. "it took me x amount of time to get the weight on, so it should take me about twice as long to get it off."

Also, I never EVER set a number. Just a 5 lbs range so that the everyday bounce of wieght doesn't get me down.

This is trite, I know, but just keep on pressin. If you don't meet your goals for a day, then hit erase and start over the next. As much as I would like to some times, I can't change yesterday. I can only learn from my mistakes so that I won't make the same ones today. Case in point

Had about 3 mini german chocolate cupcakes yesterday, 220 cals a pop.(They were so good!!) I didn't punish or torment myself today by "making up for it by eating less." I just reminded myself of my cal limits, and that was it.

Last idea. This is for you, what you want and what you need. No one else. You can be selfish in this area. Screw anyone elses ideas or suggestions ( unless they are a doc -_-) You are working for you!!

 

 

Very wise.  I do the same thing!  Not everybody loses weight the same way.  Some people do lo-carb, I know I can't, haha.  But this morning I weighed myself, and when  I saw the number on the scale I thought "That's weird, I really just *feel* lighter..."  So I went to the closet and tried on my two goal outfits - a dress I got in 2004 and a pair of jeans I got back in college (in the 90's - don't judge me!  hehe) And sure enough!  For the first time in YEARS!  I zipped up the dress all the way (and it wasn't too tight!) and I zipped up and buttoned the jeans (still a little tight, but those are some pretty tight jeans to begin with).  Remember, there are lots of ways your body loses what it gained.  Maybe you are retaining water; maybe you haven't passed everything you ate the previous day.  Your body will respond in its own time.  Its frustrating, I know, but the day you see the number you want, or zip up the pants you want to wear, you'll only think of how "easy" it was!  :)

ohtobeghinagain:  176 now.  Goal is 145-155.  That's a comfy size 10.  So, I don't really care what the scale says as long as I'm a .................... comfy size 10.

That's a size 8 most likely!  I'm 5'7" and currently 155, and I wear a size 8 in most clothes - sometimes a 6, depending on the retailer!  So its a good goal.  I was around 170 at my heaviest, I avereage a plateau of 155.  I want to be 145.  We can get there together!!

I have to overcome myself.  I'm my own worst enemy.  I'm working a busy full-time job, going to grad school at night, and trying to balance relationships, a long-distance boyfriend, and a family working through grief over the tragic death of my brother a year ago.  My weight has shot up in the past year, and while I have heard people tell me I have "bigger things" to worry about, or that I look great the way I am, I somehow feel like, things will be better for me if I just lose the weight.  I want so bad to be below 150 lbs (I'm 5'7") and no matter what I haven't been able to get there in years...I always flirt with that magic number of 149 on the scale but never hit it.  If I can just get there, its something I can control, something I really want, and I just want so bad to get there.  When I weigh myself and I'm heavier than I was the day before, its almost crushing...I don't know.  I have a lot of things to be grateful for, I just feel like everyday I'm not just overcoming weight-loss obstacles, but an entire life of unpredictability and difficulty, and yet so many things to be grateful for, and so much love.  Its very conflicting.  But I just really want to get there.

Right now I'm at 154.  I've been at 154 many times before.  I've been at 153, 152.  I think I was even 151 and some ounces.  Maybe this year, I'll do it.  I just have to keep trying.

I gained a lot of weight earlier in the year after losing a family member and grieving...emotional intensities often lead to outward expressions of self-destruction.  I'm trying very hard to undo a lot of that.  I gave up all alcohol for a month earlier in the year and began slowly re-introducing it to myself, socially.  An emotional setback made me give it up completely again.  Now, I limit myself to no more than 3 drinks a week, and I only drink wine (red if I have the luxury of choosing - when I'm at a friends, and they offer, and its white wine, I'll have a small glass mixed with diet Sprite or something).

Alcohol doesn't have to be bad for you.  It is empty calories, etc, and all that health advice.  But don't neglect its effect on your emotional well-being.  If you're a happy person, it may magnify that happiness - and can lead to poor choices if you're not careful.  More commonly, I think, if you have emotional down periods as I've gone through, it acts as a depressant and can make it worse.  A healthy emotional "body" leads to a healthy and happy physical body.  Drink what makes you feel healthy, inside and out.