Posts by convertible_chic

Om namah Shivaya Om!

rough translation: Greetings to She Who I Am Becoming!

Working your "core" - upper thighs, abs, lower & mid back - will help shape your still ample buttocks and hips by providing a stronger frame to hang the weight on that, in effect, re-proportions your figure. You stand up taller and straighter. This helps with the dreaded middle muffin top. You also exercise your bigger muscle groups which helps with metabolism.

Testify, sister!

My 30 minute shopping trip turned into a 2 hour nightmare when I first switched. Now that I am a smart shopper, with a menu plan and list, it only takes me about 45 minutes.  It's easier to bypass the bakery when you can tell yourself firmly that those cupcakes are NOT on the menu plan or grocery list so they'll just have to stay on the shelf.

As iheartsin said, when you stay to the outer walls of the store, there's not as much reading. Plus you will know which processed foods (bagged, frozen, boxed or canned) you wish and you will nip in and out of the aisles.

Original Post by karefreeman:

Yes, I think so.  YOu just have to be aware that there will be lots of ups and downs and not get depressed by the 'ups'.

Ditto. The hard thing is not to obsess/depress over your NORMAL weight fluctuations.

I suggest a different method of weighing rather than daily or weekly exclusively.

Weigh yourself every day at the same time. Morning is better after elimination, before you shower or eat. Do this without emotions! Record your weight every day. After 7 days, average the weights together. Record that number. Use the weekly average weight to measure your progress. No matter what the daily weights say as they bounce up and down, the weekly weight trend will show you a gradual, true weight loss. Keep it up and you will see a difference.

Why do it this way? Two reasons.

1) Scales normally have a +/- 3 pound range...so you can weigh yourself multiple times and potentially see a 6 pound swing!! Weighing daily and averaging weekly will take into account the variability of the scale.

2) Your body fluctuates in weight daily depending on water content, metabolism, exercise, food intake, elimination, etc. Weekly averages will take this into account.

So, after a few weeks, what you should see is a gradual weight decrease (hopefully!!) even if you are fluctuating up/down on a daily basis.

Original Post by sugar_and_spice:

I pretty much only drink diet soda. How do I get un-addicted? I drink at least 4-5 a day and need one in the mornings to wake up. It also keeps me from eating to just have a diet coke and fill up, know what I mean?

If it will help my weight loss I may quit... Its just really hard. Any advice?

You have a double whammy of caffeine and sweetener. Depending on your tolerance, you may just start cutting down on the diet soda. You can substitute with water or maybe club soda with a lemon/lime/orange slice in it. Keep in mind you'll probably experience a "health crisis" (feel like the flu) when your body starts crying for more caffeine or sweetener. Other techniques are to always drink a glass of water before every meal - and perhaps every time you want a soda. If you really think you need caffeine, then substitute with some herbal teas. Many of the fruit teas have some natural sweet taste so you shouldn't need to add sweetener.

I managed to break the cycle of soda and now only consume water, herbal teas, fresh vegetable juices, and the occasional fresh fruit juice.

Good luck!

Last week: 241

This week: 239.5

I didn't make my weekly challenge of getting to the gym 3x. I was just too frazzled. I keep thinking that I could really accelerate my weight loss if I could incorporate some exercise. I got my power juicer back out this weekend in order to make some high potency green drinks. Yesterday, I drank red/green kale and lemon juice (diluted with water) and carrot/apple/lemon/ginger juice. I am not using juicing to replace eating my raw veggies - just using it as a way to increase my veggie servings. I save the pulp and use it in soups, salads, or muffiins.

So my goal this week is to drink a green juice in the morning and get to the gym at least 3x this week!

Original Post by ckimber_67:

The title of this post says it all. I see people suggest whole wheat pasta and multi grain bread but how can I fit a 100 calorie slice of bread into a 1400 calorie diet? Whole wheat pasta is 360 calories for 1/2 cup!! Who eats 1/2 cup of pasta? If that's all I can have for dinner with some tomato sauce and a green salad and maybe some fruit for dessert then I am going to be one hungry girl! But then again, if I don't have either bread, potatoes or pasta I starve! What do you guys do about this?

CK, I am lo-carbing it as well. The one thing that really helps me get over the carb crave is adding more lean protein into my diet. It really helps with the hungries and lasts longer than with carbs. If you feel you must eat carbs - substitute the "bad" carbs with carb foods that have high fiber. The fiber will help moderate the absorption.

 The other thing I recall is that sometimes the combination of food (protein, fat, carb) is just as important to satiety as the total calorie count. I'll try to find a reference about this.

Great advice from Bagga! Breathe, center, refocus!

I get the feeling from your post, redhawk, that you feel like you lack motivation. It seems that your activities aren't giving you satisfaction. One possible thing you could do is to set one simple goal like "I will go to the gym once this week". The human brain is hardwired to release the feel-good hormones when you accomplish something. After this positive reinforcement, you will be more likely to repeat the behavior. So, your next goal would be, "go to the gym 2x/week" and etc  until you reach that big goal of the routine you would like to be doing on a regular basis. Small steps pave the way for great changes.

Original Post by sunkissedbliss:

Ehh whatever. Most people are all "a calorie is a calorie" here but I guess you don't follow that way of thinking because if you did whether you ate good sugar or bad sugar wouldn't make a difference.

In most cases, it is a calorie count. However, depending on your metabolism, some people are "sensitive" to allergens (like gluten) or carbohydrates, etc. For example, some folks may lose weight eating 1500 calories composed of 75% carbohydrate. Some, who are sensitive to carbohydrates, will not lose but may actually gain. They would lose weight if they ate 1500 calories with only 25% carbohydrate. It'd be nice if there was one rule for all, but sadly this is not the case.

Last week: 242 (up from 241)

This week: 240!!

Made my first 10 pound loss goal! It took about 6 weeks.

My goal this week is to really really get to the gym 3x.