Posts by watchmeshine82

welcome back msn, shapie and muppet :)

*hi* to ally

dalma, as a former size 26er (or even very loose 28s) myself, all i can say is, DAMN.  size 4.  people in my family kind of laughed at me when i said that my blissfully happy goal of all goals was to be a size 8.  they said just getting down to a size 14 would be a miracle for me.  as of right now, i guess i am letting them be right since i am an elastic size 22.  though i am working my darndest to prove them wrong.  you are my own living proof that it *can* be done though.  :)

thanks, ana.  *hugs*  good luck with all of your work!  i am very proud of you too -- managing school and weight loss is not easy!!  :)

shapie, not 11 but more like 8 pm.  every night.  yeah.  i am so tired all the time.  that is why i still do use the occasional sugary thing or the milky way flavia coffee to perk me up when i need to pull out some brilliant memo on some unknown topic.

hi ladies!

just checking in.  i've had about 1300 calories so far today.  feel good about myself.  i cannot say it enough but having healthier food prepared for me where i just have to open it and go is so much better for me.  or else, i was just sticking crap in my mouth:  burrito beach/chipotle, pizza, mcdonalds.  i also am not wasting money on eating out and no longer have to grocery shop.  i just buy diet coke and skim milk from 7-11 and all of the other food is delivered to my place so i stick it in the fridge :)  for anyone living alone and working more than 60 hours a week, i highly recommend it.  it is actually more economical than i thought it would be.

anyway, yeah, i am in a crazy good mood because i just ate a yummy lunch that was only 510 calories (and i only ate the main entree out of it so far -- have put the rest to the side... apples and sweet potatoes).

hope everyone else is doing well!

iftheymet, welcome!  i joined the forum in feb 2008 after having lost 35 lbs on my own.  i lost about 40 lbs in 2008.  i have actually regained most of what i lost in 2008 (30 lbs, though i definitely put on muscle because i was seeing a trainer for 6 months) due to a crazy schedule but i am still here battling away.

i am about 1/2 an inch taller than you and in the high 270s right now.  frustrating given that i was at 251 last year but i am not beating myself up (or at least trying not to!) and trying to learn from my lapse.

i just started getting my food catered from seattle sutton and i am slowly trying to get used to exercising more often again.  i am 27 years old and a lawyer so my work schedule can be quite chaotic.

anyway, i am sure some of the other girls will tell you about themselves but just wanted to welcome you :)  tell us more about you!  feel free to gripe!

hello ladies!

just checking in.  not many posters today... early weekend?  i fell asleep on my office floor for 1.5 hours.  trying to wake myself up now.

ahhhhh!!!!

dalma - love the dress!  cannot wait to see pics!  love the calvin klein ones they have there too... am trying not to drool over 'em.

akela - my goal is about 10-12 lbs i guess.  probably too ambitious for the next 6 weeks but i have a lot more to lose than most so it should come off faster, right?  :)  we shall see.

kathleen - thanks for the encouragement.  i am still sneaking a "fun size" snicker here or there but by eating only what seattle sutton gives me, i know that my calories are under 2000 for the day.  actually, i sometimes feel like they give TOO MUCH food for certain meals (like their breakfast cereal) and end up saving part of it for later... it makes a good snack for later in the day.

also, since the last time i checked on my somewhat broken scale, i was in the high 270s teetering on 280, i have decided to ignore the scale for a while and to continue focusing on eating this yummy, healthy food.  i am also trying to get back to the gym a few times a week once more (though working til 11 each night this week is not helping with this!). 

i have set a year-end goal of 268 though.  i am hoping and praying that that is realistic, especially since i am going to buy new batteries for my scale next month and hope that a more accurate reading will work in my favor.  my "i'll be happy" weight goal is 168 (no longer obese for my 5'3.5" frame) so being at 268 by jan 1, 2010 would put me at the 100 lb to lose starting point.... still an overwhelming task but not quite as overwhelming as the 160-180 lbs challenge i was facing at the beginning of this process...  overall, i would be down by only 60 lbs though at that point.... frustrating, since i was down as low as 251 last year and more like 75 lbs.  (*kicking myself*)

hey ladies!  just checking in.  i am on my first day with seattle sutton and i have to say, the food is actually decent.  not as delicious as say, the salmon and veggies that you can get for about $25 in a restaurant, but much better than frozen dinners.  i really think that this is going to help me to get in better food!  i have healthier and more filling breakfasts to choose from, salads that are already made -- with dressings on the side!! -- and lots of fish, turkey and chicken meals.  the "desserts" are decent too... sugar free rice pudding, different fruits, etc.  best of all, they have all of the nutritional info on the package so this is making logging a BREEZE!!!!  i am going to try 1-2 other services in the next few weeks and settle on one for the New Year.  this is the first time in MONTHS that i have felt like i have some control over the process and over this aspect of my life IN SPITE OF MY SCHEDULE in ages!!!!!!!!

hi akela, i have been living off lean cuisines and kashi off and on for more than 3 years now so i feel like i just cannot take it anymore.  i really miss eating fresh food and seem to eat out 3-4 evenings a week just to get it.... that is on top of getting a sandwich or pizza (or a salad when i behave) at least 2-3 times a week for lunch, monday through friday... i very rarely have the time to make a sandwich for myself in the morning so i usually just grab a frozen meal or a can of soup and go.  i really want something fresh each day and i just don't know how else to get it without taking a few hours out of my day to cook.... and i have also tried the whole cook on sunday and freeze thing and it just doesn't work well for me.  sigh.

boots, i did look into amy's kitchen but it seemed really high carb... probably b/c it is vegetarian.  i do like some of their stuff and kashi so i will try to get some of that to tide me over for the next month or two.  i also have a bunch of lean cuisines that i have not had the desire to eat that are still sitting in my freezer. 

as for prepared meals, i decided to try seattle sutton for a week starting on monday just to see how it tastes and b/c i got a good coupon.  i do think that if i use a prepared food place, i will end up going with alter eatgo though just based on the reviews and what i have read about it.  i will start that either the week of november 16th (based on when a project at work wraps up) to do my test run or else in the second week of december when i get back from thanksgiving (i will be gone for  a week and so i will miss their deliveries pushing me back by a week.)

hey ladies,

i was wondering if anyone has tried prepared meals?  i think someone mentioned using nutrisystem but not liking it very much.  the 2 companies i am considering right now are SEATTLE SUTTON (which is a franchise) and a Chicago-based company called ALTER EATGO.

Here is what I have found on Alter Eatgo (www.altereatgo.com)

http://inchicity.com/alter-eatgo?nomobile

Anyone have an opinion?  A whole week of food at the 2000 calorie level for Seattle Sutton costs $155 and for Alter Eatgo costs $220.  With Seattle Sutton, I pick up the food twice a week and it is 4 blocks away from my home.  With Alter Eatgo, they deliver the food twice a week, in the evenings.  So, with both plans, the food is fresh and kept in the fridge... you do not do the whole frozen foods thing or the yucky preservatives that they put in Lean Cuisines and the like to freeze the food, and which is bad for you.  For both plans, I do not have to commit to more than a week at the time so worst case, I may just get a week of each and see which one I like better....

Both are steep, pricing wise, but I really feel like this is the only way I am going to see results with my crazy work hours.  Also, I am finding more and more that because I am too tired to grocery shop during the limited free time that I do have, I tend to run to McDonalds (across the street) or 7-11 and buy crap for all of my meals... I need to break this cycle.

What do you guys think?  I know that ideally I should be planning out my meals myself and that this is NOT a long-term solution to maintaining a healthy life but, especially as a single girl who lives alone and works 65+ hours a week, I also think that having a partner one day and not just cooking for myself or being the only one to cook, grocery shop, and do all other household chores and errands, PLUS having someone who will be there to share the bills and hence, not having to work as hard, will allow me to reach that balance better.

I really want candid opinions and advice from all of you. 

(Oh, and a shout out to Boots for sending me a whole list of possible food delivery places from which I narrowed my search.)

posted a journal entry for all of the core.  i have hit rock bottom.  sadly, work is still crazy too.

so i have been gone for like 5 days and i only had 2 pages of posts to catch up on... that seems odd for this group.... normally, there are much chattier cats in here :)

mladdy, thanks for the encouragement.

ally, you are welcome.  i am glad that you came back!

dalma, thanks for sending me a pm.  work has been crazy, that is all.  i have to go back to doing more of it as soon as i finish writing here.

am writing a journal entry for the core.

hey everyone :)  just checking in... have been really busy.  will not be around much this week or for the first part of next week but things will ease up after october 20th!  i have a pro bono case that day.

i'm glad you're back mladdy :)  and thank you for finally messaging me back

even with the 15 lb gain, you must still be in onder-land.  don't dismiss that accomplishment!  that's still what, like at least 40 lbs down overall?

the weather is rotten here.  it completely matches my mood.  i took shopping to a whole new level.  i am like shop-binging.  i got much more than i was planning on getting and probably more than i need too.  but, it feels so nice to have nice clothes and i feel a lot better about myself and how i am dressed.... less frumpy, more fabulous.  i think that is worth it.  even if it comes with a $325 (yes, $325!!) price tag.  most of the pieces i got are good for layering and will last me all of next year (i got 10 different tops and 9 camis/baby dolls).  i also got 11 sweaters/cardigans.  although i was by no means walking around without clothes on, i was definitely looking frumpy for the past few months so i guess, in looking at those numbers, i'm realizing that i basically bought myself a new wardrobe.