Posts by jl9802

One thing I've noticed is when you've got a lot to lose, it comes off rather quickly, especially if you've really changed your lifestyle from completely sedentary and lots of food to smaller amounts of food and lots of activity, the latter of which is clearly true for you. You could try eating a bit more - especially if you're feeling hungry, unsatisfied, or tired, but otherwise you're probably fine. Go by how you feel. If sluggish, tired, and low on energy, eat more. If you feel fine but it seems "too good to be true," well, maybe it is for right now as your body regulates. The weight loss will slow as you get closer to your goal weight. But I agree with the others - you probably need to be eating about 300-500 more cals a day on Tae Bo days.

I have the same problem! First of all, don't stay in the house all weekend, but do plan for going out. I have some restaurants I prefer with healthy meals so I know what I can order and around how many calories it will be (some places have Weight Watchers menus, for example, or a healthy soup with a salad or sandwich). Then I have options when I'm running around. Also, if you're going out drinking, eat beforehand (or for me I will binge on nachos!), and know how many calories you should be drinking (I usually have a 2 drink limit while I'm trying to lose weight). Know the calories in the drinks - you can choose more wisely.

For breakfast, instead of cereal or toast like the weekdays, I make eggs with cheese and turkey bacon, sometimes some roasted potatoes. I can then have a lighter lunch since I was so full from breakfast.

I also recommend planning things to do that are active: walking, ice skating, playing tennis, hiking, skiing, basketball, etc. Then you are still working out but it doesn't feel routine, and it turns out that way more of my family and friends like doing stuff like that than I'd ever realized! It doesn't hurt to suggest it when you're making plans. Way more exciting than a trip to the gym.

My resolution is to establish better habits. This includes: eating more veggies, drinking more water, exercising at least some daily (sex counts!), bring less work home, set aside time weekly to organize my stuff, reading more, and finally keeping in better touch with friends and family.

Good for you! Congrats!

Your doctor told you to eat 1200 calories a day? What kind of nutjob is s/he? I can never eat that little... especially if I work out! My minimum is about 1600 calories, and then I have enough energy for a good workout.

The gallon of milk is a great idea, so are pushups. You could even keep an empty gallon to fill with water and use. I don't go to the gym or have weights, but I love pushups and things like squats and lunges for some leg toning. You can even do the pushups against a wall at first (when muscles aren't strong yet), and that allows most of your body weight to still be on the floor so it feels "doable". I do a couple sets of 8-12 reps when just starting out. When it gets easy, then move onto your knees on the floor. You can also vary where you put your arms - shoulder-width, out further to the sides or in further, to vary the workout and what muscles.

Arm dips are another favorite of mine and they work the triceps - sit on a chair, couch, bed, etc, with arms behind you holding the edge and then lift your butt off the surface, legs at a 90 degree angle, and "dip" down, starting small and then adding reps at sets.

Good luck!

Hummus is really not high in fat! Tribe hummus is 40 cals for 2 tbsp. It's such a good protein! Chickpeas in general are a really good protein, very low in calories. A few tips for you:

Increase the intensity of your workouts and make sure to do weight lifting at least twice a week. It looks like you aren't doing any and when I hit my plateau that was the thing that pushed my metabolism back into gear.

Some great veg protein/ higher calorie suggestions include:

drinking more milk/ soymilk (good proteins there), adding sunflower seeds to cereal or yogurt, peanut butter or nutella for sandwiches or snacks, and eating nuts on salads is one of my favorite things, or as a snack - 200 cals per 1/4 cup, which I find plenty filling as a snack. Also I water down my hummus some and use it as a salad dressing. Recently, I made a Kalamata olive hummus watery so I could toss my salad with it and it's very tasty plus a good protein to my salad of spinach, carrots, celery, and almonds. Yum!

Whoa, charming, you are going too far! Not to add any more stress (I think you're doing that well enough yourself), but if you don't start shifting the way you think about food you're going to develop an eating disorder! Keep things positive, always thinking about the future and not too much about the past.

Keep a few things in mind as you move forward: 1) what's past has passed, and I need to figure out how to learn from this minor problem so I don't repeat it, 2) I am a great, attractive, nice, fun person (or whatever you consider to be your positive attributes: talented, interesting, passionate, etc). This is not affected by what I eat. I am no less a great person just because I enjoyed a treat, and 3) It's just food. Looking forward, I'll just focus on eating good food that's healthy and allow myself to sometimes eat a yummy treat, perhaps in smaller portions so I don't freak out. But really, I need to enjoy my life, which sometimes means a piece of spongecake, and it's not the end of the world. The rest of the week, I'll make sure to exercise normally and eat balanced meals and EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE JUST FINE.

I do not recommend undereating on consecutive days. Trust me, here's what will happen: you'll feel too tired to exercise, you'll get cranky, and (here's the big one) you'll get hungry and overeat again and again and just continue this spiral of overeating and then feeling unreasonably bad about yourself. Remember always: you're a good person. As a person, you are human, which means that you will make mistakes, but that you are also capable of learning about yourself from those mistakes. Mistakes are good - they are how we grow!