Posts by aheiney

It's so hard to come up with something other than fruit and veggie trays!  I'm glad I get to be in charge of the food because the last shower I went to had all sorts of delicious things and I had no idea what was in them or the calories or anything! I just kinda avoided ALL of it.  A good number of the ladies attending are on one diet or another so I figure it's a good time to turn the tables and have just a couple of decadent desserts and everything else pretty low-cal.  That is, unless someone also has a good recipe for low-fat cheesecake.  I'm not even sure I'd want to know it because the real thing is the key to my heart (and the mom-to-be's)

First of all... "skinny jerk"... I can't tell you how often I say this to my own or how hard I laughed when I read it. How did you get him to cook healthy with you?!?!?!!? We cook together almost every night, and the night's that it's just me cooking I do fine.  I eat a balanced meal, he eats everything in sight.  I guess the problem I have partly with changing our meals is that he really has no taste for vegetables and there are very few vegetables (relatively) that I enjoy.  Plus I have been out of work since I broke my ankle (waitressing and crutches don't mix) so he's been footing our grocery bill and I feel like he gets dibs kind of.   We are on a budget food wise too, and growing up with a father who's a gourmet chef (the source of many food issues for me :) ) has made my taste for canned and frozen vegetables very limited (think LeSeur baby peas, and those single serving broccoli and cheese things you can get frozen... that's about it).  Fresh produce just gets too expensive sometimes and  get bored really quickly eating the same thing all week.  Does he just enjoy the act of creating new dishes? Or does he really enjoy the healthy food?  What's something nutritionally sound that he likes? maybe I can baby step my boyfriend into it.

ooooh... I love a grilled cheese sandwich (complete with weight-watchers low fat cheese, whole grain bread, fake butter spray:) and low-sodium tomato soup.  It's quick and easy and somehow fabulously satisfying.  Smart-pop popcorn.  Give me that and a desert island and I'll be happy.  I get all the satisfaction of mindless eating without the guilt, or the calories.  By the time I'm done with 100 calorie bag I'm actually full.

I just graduated from college and I tried 100,000 things that never worked.  Don't mean to say that to discourage you but I know how hard it is to make the right kind of changes.  I bought a bike fully meaning to ride it to class and never did.  I didn't really take traffic and safety into account with that plan.  I did live near a river walk that had the miles posted and it was a nice ride I would do with my roommates every once in a while.  Plus the cafeteria food was awful, student union food was SO fattening (think Pizza Hut and Coldstone Creamery).   I got hooked on fast food for the convenience.  I didn't eat healthy then but maybe I can help now.  One great purchase I made was a book called "Eat this, not that".  It's like $10 on Amazon and it's a great reference for good choices to make when eating out.  Plus just seeing the calories in your favorite foods is eye opening.  Food was always a major social event for me in college (along with drinking, so watch those alcohol calories too).  

At my university though I did take some PE type classes that were really fun and kept me more active than I would otherwise have been.  Plus I got a friend to take them with me so I was more likely to be motivated to go.  It's harder to skip a workout when it's for a grade.  I loved my kayaking class and I always meant to try the Karate class.  I also took some more traditional routes with jogging and weight training classes.  The great thing about being in school is having free access to a gym.  I don't know if this is the case where you are but it was a plus for me.

Oh but back to food...  the key is just to plan plan plan.  For me at least it is.  The minute I'm hungry with nothing planned to cook I start making BAD choices. Big changes are harder to keep than little ones. Start slow, replacing white bread with whole grains (double check the sugar and calorie content though- it always tastes good for a reason).  Try adding a vegetable to one meal a day for a week, then two, etc.  Replace regular sodas with diet ones or water would be even better.  Experiment a little too.  If your favorite thing to eat is a bacon cheeseburger then eat it.  Just try replacing the regular ground beef with the 95% lean version or a leaner meat like turkey, use turkey bacon, low-fat or fat-free cheese.  Every little change you can make counts.  I don't really enjoy mayo enough to make it a must have condiment and by skipping it I save almost 100 calories.  Ditto for ketchup.  It has a high sugar content so unless it really adds something to what I'm eating I leave it off too.  Try baking things you might normally eat fried (think chicken wings, fries, etc.)  Hope these things help... let me know if I can give you some more specific ideas.

When I'm on a plateau weight wise I try ignoring it for two weeks and then weighing again.  In the mean time I evaluate my fitness level and eating.  It's easy to do the same routine at the gym and not think about adding weight or reps.  If that doesn't seem to be the problem, don't give up.  I had the same problem when I first started working out.  I used a personal trainer at my gym and he would take my measurements (arms, waist, hips, legs) and my body fat and figure out what my lean muscle mass was.  These measurements really helped keep me motivated when it seemed like I would never lose weight.  I didn't lose a pound for two months but I dropped inches off of my entire body and had a six percent drop in body fat.  He kept telling me that any day I would start seeing the pounds melt off, just to stick to my goals. Don't fear! Eventually the scale will move!

Ugh! I wish my BF was supportive! It's not that he makes negative comments or anything, it's just subtle sabotage.  We just moved in together a few months ago and I broke my ankle.  With me laid up for four months he was a gem! But I'm trying to get back into a normal activity level and normal eating habits and he just doesn't get it.  His job is very physically demanding and he's already ADHD so while I'm struggling to motivate myself to get to the gym, cursing all through sit ups and aerobics classes, he's just hanging out at home.  While I'm scouring the aisles for nutrition information, the girl scouts at the door convinced him to buy one of EVERYTHING! Have you ever tried portion control with those things? Thin mints will be the death of me.  Plus his darn deep fryer.  I love fried things! But they just can't be a part of my life right now. I tried to get him on board with healthy eating but he just joked that he can't lose anymore weight.  (He's 6' and maybe, maybe! 150lbs.) He is very muscular and lean but without doing anything he drops weight and I pick it up!  He loves me, loves my body, tells me to do it for myself but it's SO HARD! 

I totally feel your pain! At about the age of 17 I started a job sort of waitressing (not full table service but I definately walked anywhere from 3-8 miles a night!)  I, unlike you, did develop an extremely unhealthy way of eating.  Not full blown anorexia but I major food issues.  I say this not to bring on criticism but to make a point, stay with me.  I'd always been a little heavy, but I dropped 30 pounds in 6 months.  People started rumors like crazy! Even one that I was addicted to cocaine and that's why I'd lost the weight! I was hurt and confused by the talk.  I felt like people should be supportive and proud of me and instead everyone was a critic.  Ultimately you have to decide who to listen to and who to give a piece of your mind.  If you're on here then I'm guessing you use the food log.  Show your dad and his girlfriend.  Point out the responsible way you have shaped up and ask for their support.  And while you're at it call them out on their own secrets.  They are trying to create drama where there is none so that nobody notices what's really going on and that's so not fair to you! Congratulations on your success by the way.