Posts by plaidpooka

When there's a food I feel like I just have to have, I have it, I just try to make sure I make the healthiest choice I can.  I like pizza.  I'm not willing to spend the calories on traditional fat-city pizza though.  So I order thin crust, veggies, chicken breast, and no cheese.  If I have to have a touch of cheese, I sprinkle a small amount of parmesan on.  Even with the parmesan, I have found that I can eat about 3 pieces for the calories of one slice of cheese and peporoni, for example.  It still tastes delicious, and I get more bang for my buck.

I'm 5' 7", and I started at 230.  I'm down to 188 and still going.  I have to tell you, if I'd waited to get good and motivated, I'd still be 230!  What works better and more consistantly than motivation is to get a plan, and stick to it until it becomes habit.  Once you get in the habit of making healthy choices for yourself, you get some momentum going, and then even if you have  a stumble, it's easy to get right back up and get back in the swing of it.

Exercise can be anything you like to do.  The swimming rocks.  Swim every day, and there's your exercise.  It doesn't have to be boring, it doesn't have to be an intense kick your butt gym routine.  I'm down to 188, and the mainstay of my exercise is walking.  I also have a cheap mini-trampoline I like to use while watching TV, and I do some hand weights and ankle weights now and again.  It's spring, so I've got bike riding to look forward to as well.  Anything that gets you moving is a good thing.

I'm 5' 7 1/2".  I started at 230.  I'm at 188 right now.  My goal is 150.  the lowest I would go is 145.  I got down to 175 before a backslide, and honestly 175 was feeling pretty good except for too much tummy.  I think 150 would be a very healthy weight for me.

Some people have very odd reactions to other people's weight loss.  I imagine jealousy and envy are playing a big part.  You could try having a serious talk with her and ask her flat out why she is trying to sabotage you when it's so important to you to get healthy.  Remind her how much hard work you are putting in.  It sounds like she wants to believe honest weight loss isn't possible, because that makes it easier for herself to do nothing about it.  But even that might not change anything.  She sounds very bitter and belittling to me.  I hope the rest of your friends and family aren't listening to her nonsense.

It can be hard to get back on track after a long period of being off track.  I had a major slip up last year.  I had lost 55 pounds, then I went off the wagon for a full year and gained back 25.  It can be difficult to get back in the swing of healthy habits.  But the good news is that you can build those healthy habits back up just as easily as they slipped away.  Get back on track for one week, and it gets much easier after that.  Set yourself some goals, log your cals and exercise, and start builing those healthy habits back.

I got back on track 8 weeks ago, and I'm headed right back down to where I was before.  I've lost 15 pounds so far, and still going.  If I can do this after a whole year of slipping up, you can do it too!

There's 4 things that often cause cravings.  (Well, there's probably more than 4, but these are the ones that jump to mind.)
Eating too few calories.
Eating too much sugar.
Eating too many calories from fat.
Eating too few whole grains.
Take a good look at what you've been doing, and see if any of those is the culprit.

You might want to join one of the groups on the board to find that.  Right now, I belong to two groups for accountability, the 25 Pound Challenge, here on the CC, and a yahoo group called Weight Loss Buddies 2.  Checking in with these groups daily, whenever I can manage it, really helps me stay on track and keep my focus.

Hi all!  Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while.  Had a rough week last week.  I was busy, and the weather was gloomy and rainy, which always gets me down.  I managed a maintain last week, and hope to do better this week.  Now the sun’s back out, I’m feeling much better, and I’ve got my exercise back up to snuff.  I managed some sort of exercise every day last week, but not enough.
So I’m still at 190.  Nine pounds down from when we started, and 14 down from when I got back on track about 8 weeks ago.  Not bad, all things considered. But I can definitely do better.

Ali- sounds like you are doing very well!  About your drinking question, I never drink much, and when I’m losing I cut it out almost all together.  For a special occasion I might have one drink or two, and that’s usually a shot of tequila for me, but I don’t even do that often, maybe once every two months.  Alcohol just has way too many calories for me to drink it very often.  I’ve got other ways to relax, and I can go out with my friends and have a great time without the drinking.  I’ve had several friends that had very good results with WW.  Sometimes folks need the structure and the meetings to keep them on the ball, and there’s nothing at all wrong with that.  WW has changed a lot over the years, and from what I have seen with my friends, they have a very sensible program.  It beats the socks off of those crap food pushers like Jenny Craig.  So if you think it will help, give it a go!

Roger- great job on the loss so far!  You inspire me to step it up a little, and do better myself.  I hate when the weather doesn’t cooperate.  It was cold and gloomy and rainy here all last week.  Such a drag!  With your wonderful attitude, I think you have indeed said goodbye to 230 forever!  That’s exactly where I started out 2 years ago, at 230, and if I can say no to it forever, so can you!

Tanya- Great job on the loss!  You rock!  Kick boxing sounds like a great stress reliever to me.  And good for you for turning down the DQ!

Sarah- I ate a bit too much last weekend too.  Easter dinner at my folks’ house, I managed to stay away from the sweets, but still over did it a bit.  Let’s you and me get back on track, and it won’t even be a bump in the journey.

Ekai- Great job on the loss!  You rock!  Good job on the exercise too!  We all get busy some times, and don’t have time to cook and eat the way we want to.  Don’t be afraid to lean on some easy things like healthy sandwiches and healthy frozen dinners when you don’t have time to cook.  There’s a lot of easy fast and healthy choices out there.  Stock up the fridge and freezer with easy options for when you need something fast.

Tori- you are doing wonderfully!  I’m glad that your troubles are easing up a bit.  I have found that when I’m eating healthy and exercising, life’s troubles just seem a lot easier to deal with.  Sometimes that slow and steady loss seems like you aren’t getting anywhere, so it’s good to look at the big picture and see how far you have come already.  I see you’re out of the 200’s!  Yay you!  that was one big red letter day for me, so I know how you are feeling!

Fly, you did great, what with being away on vacation for a week.  Digital scales are great, but they can also be detrimental.  I certainly wouldn’t think of any gain under a pound as something to be ashamed of.  A lot of folks gain 5 pounds or more after a week away, so you did fabulously!  Just get right back on track, and you’ll see that 143 again soon!

Brenda- Welcome!  It’s so easy to lose sight of your own health when so much sadness is going on.  I’m so glad that your life has taken an upturn, and that you are back on track now.  Try to get some exercise in daily.  If you have a busy schedule, break it up into smaller chunks, like 15 minutes at a time.  You don’t have to join a fancy gym to get exercise.  Most of my exercise is walking, and it’s brilliant.  I also got a mini-trampoline from Wal-Mart for 30 bucks, and it’s a godsend.  It lets me take the intensity up a notch from my walking, and it’s easy on my knees.  But even if you just walk for a half hour a day, divided into two or three pieces as necessary, you’ll notice a big improvement, not only in the weight loss, but also in how you feel.

Honey, you are losing about a pound a week, and that may seem slow, but it's a very respectable loss.  Think of how fast the time goes by.  Most years, it seems like I barely enjoyed the Spring, and then suddenly it's Fall!  At just one pound a week, you could be 52 pounds lighter by this time next year.  (And it doesn't look like you have that much to lose!)  If the pound a week is truly too slow, try adjusting your plan slightly, to go for a 1.5 or 2 pound a week loss.  A slight cut in cals and a slight bump in exercise may be enough to do that.

I have found that the healthier I eat, the less I want the junk.  Time helps too.  The first week of my healthy habits, is was hard to say no to treats like that.  By week 4, it was pretty easy.  I also eat a lot of whole grains, and I find that they seriously help with sugar cravings.

Simple carbs (your cliff bar and probably the cookies too) and the fruit may both be causing sugar crashes which will leave you hungry.  You might try limiting such things while you are having trouble.  A planned evening snack is a great idea.  Your oatmeal would be a fine choice, as would any whole grain.  Lean proteins would also be ok, as it looks like you are not overdoing the protein.

If you like the bars, you might try the Fiber One bars.  They still have sugar, like the Cliff bars do, but they have a lot more fiber, which makes a big difference.

I'm glad that the Stevia is helping you.  I've never experienced it curbing my hunger, but it's very possible that ovoiding sugar may be helping you avoid the sugar crashes that leave you hungry.  So keep it up!

When we need comfort, we often turned to food, which is a little ironic because food isn't a good source of comfort.  We get a smidgeon of comfort while we are eating, that dissapears as soon as we stop.  We are often left more upset than before we started eating.

Trying to feed comfort instead of dealing with it directly is a learned response, and can be unlearned.  Learn to do other things when you need comfort.  Call a friend, go for a walk, take a bubble bath, write down your feelings in a journal.  Do that often enough, and you will stop automatically reaching for food when it's comfort you need.

Sarah- Good job on the weigh in!

My weigh in-
Last week- 191
This week- 190

One pound down and I'll take it!  7 weeks back on the wagon, and 15 pounds down.  Nine down since the start of this challenge.  So I'm doing ok.  I know I could get back to loosing 2 lbs a week, if I could get my cals down just a little bit.  So I'm going to work on that this week.

Fly- Good job on the size 4!

Ali- sorry you’ve been off track.  Get back to it and that goal will soon be in sight.

Ana- Hon, those mega green tea pills are just caffeine (from both Caffeine and Guarana) and herbal diuretics.  Taking diuretics when not absolutely necessary because of a medical condition is just not healthy, if you ask me.  After all, we are all trying to be better hydrated, not less hydrated.  All those things make you do is lose a little water weight, and while we say we want to lose weight, what we really mean is we want to lose fat.  So please think about it carefully before you continue to take them.  After all, if any of those pills actually worked none of us would be in here.  That’s why all those pills say to take them in conjunction with proper diet and exercise.  And with proper diet and exercise, you just don’t need the pills.

Ekai- Good job on the loss!  You rock!  Good job on the exercise too!  And not to worry, I’m not giving up.  I was honestly wondering if I was getting more hungry because I bumped up my exercise. 

Sarah- I’m missing the sunshine too!  It’s been cold and rainy here, so no walks in the park for me.

Me- I’m doing fine.  I had too much chocolate today.  Two Dove Promises and a chocolate cupcake.  Don’t know why, I’m just off of TOM and that’s when the chocolate cravings usually get me.  But other than those treats, I had a very healthy food day, and came in close to my calorie goal, so not too much damage done.  I hate the cold rainy weather.  I managed a 25 min walk at lunch, and 35 on the mini-tramp tonight, but I want my sunshine back!

I cannot use Slenda or Nutrasweet, because they trigger my migraines.  But I have no trouble at all with Stevia.  I've cut out 50-100 cals a day by switching to Stevia in my tea and coffee.  And there's good news for the Stevia users.  The FDA has finally approved it as a food additive because both Pepsi and Coke backed it.  So there are stevia sweetened products soon to be released.  VitaminWater10, is the same as VitaminWater, but only 10 cals a serving.  Trop50 is a half the sugar orange juice sweetened with stevia.  Both Pepsi and Coke have all natural diet sodas in the works.  And I'm hoping we'll see other products, like sugar free jello soon as well.