Posts by clarkac4

I agree with kristicro.  You can't make her do anything.  All you can do is set a good example and make healthy food for her if you're doing the cooking.  Maybe you can suggest substitutes or lower fat/cal foods for what she normally eats (e.g., ice cream -> low fat ice cream, pizza -> make her own, pancakes -> again, make her own [I've found some great recipes here and elsewhere], etc.).  Just making simple substitutions might be a good place to start.  If she finds she likes those okay, then maybe she can start counting. 

I'm glad that you want to motivate her (I'm the same with my mom), but it is ultimately up to her.  I hope she doesn't feel hopeless!  Seriously, making simple changes would make such a difference!

I like to snack too (since doing it more often, it's actually boosted my metabolism!), but I make sure to pack healthy things for work.  I have a desk job that gets rather boring, so I sometimes tell myself like, "Okay, you can have your snack at 3:00 or after, but not before", etc.  Here is a (simplified) typical day for me:

Breakfast: oatmeal or cereal with milk (which I eat at my desk so it doens't seem like so long before I get to eat again)

Mid-morning Snack: fruit and/or almonds

Lunch: veggie and sandwich or some other fiber-filled carb like pasta or rice (I always have cheese everyday, usually at lunch - it's really filling and good)

Afternoon Snack: apple or banana with peanut butter; carrot sticks with hummus

Dinner: veggie, rice or pasta, some kind of protein (like chicken)

Usually nothing after that unless I'm starving, but yeah.  There you have it.  I hope those are some healthy snack ideas for you!

Right before I started on CC, I started adding almonds to my diet almost daily, and I think they've helped with my fat loss (of course, in combination with other things too).  They are so good and really filling; plus, I sometimes need some extra calories, so they're great for that.  Thanks for posting this.

Check out the experts page under Advice and there's a guy named Paul Rogers who specializes in weight training.  He has several articles about it and in one, he suggests a simple circuit that combines cardio and weight lifting (it takes about 45 minutes, depending on how fast you do it).  I've only done it twice, sprinkled among my regular Tae Bo workouts, and it has already made a huge difference!  And it's so simple, you can memorize it after doing it the first time!

http://weighttraining.about.com/od/succeeding withweights/a/circuit_fit.htm

I'm not a teacher, but I am a college student, so I know how hectic it can be to eat healthy and make sure to exercise.  I had a pretty good routine last semester.  I prepared easy meals for myself almost everyday, and I only at a cafeteria twice a week, where I would normally get a salad and a bran muffin.  I worked out five days a week (usually; if not, 4) right after class or work, I'd take a shower, and then do homework.  My routine is going to have to be a little different this semester as I'll be a LOT busier.  Here's my plan:

Work out in the morning like I do now before work (I will have class or work at 8 everyday, so my booty will be out of bed at 5:15, like now).  I plan to work out Monday through Friday and give my body a break on Saturday and Sunday, unless my boyfriend and I decide to do a light activity one day.  I seriously need the weekends for homework and to rejuvenate my body!

As far as meals go, I'm going to try to plan out what I'm going to have everyday a week in advance so I can prepare everything ahead of time to just pop in the microwave or eat straight from tupperware, except for stuff like breakfast food, which can be easily prepared.

On top of working out, I will be very active everyday.  I have quite a lot of walking to do on campus, and I work at a bakery where I am constantly walking or on my feet, so no problem burning calories.  I think I might even have to eat a little more than usual! 

I guess my advice to you is work out when you can -- for me, it's in the mornings because it gets it out of the way and gets me ready to start the day.  I personally feel sooo much better throughout the day with that burst of energy and knowing that I don't have to work out after class!  And as far as eating healthy, just plan ahead and have something easy to prepare so you only have to worry about it for one day.  The rest of the days you don't even have to think!  It's already ready!

I think with the treats thing in the teachers' lounge, it would be okay to take something IF you want and just make sure to keep it within your daily calorie intake.  I usually try to surpass stuff people put in the kitchen at work, but I'll occasionally enjoy a little bit.  It does take will power not to, but I feel so much better for not taking it in the end.  I'm sure you can say no and don't feel bad about it!

I agree with cutting it down to one day.  During my weekends at school, my boyfriend and I would basically eat anything we wanted, and I always felt so horrible afterward because I'd been doing so well during the week working out and eating well, and then I'd let myself go the whole weekend.  Since getting on CC, I've pretty much cut back to indulging one day and I've been completely satisfied.  If you want to extend it to two days, I'd suggest just watching portion sizes and not stuffing yourself.  That's when I always feel horrible.  If I want to indulge a couple days, I just eat less and I find that I'm still satisfied.  You'd be surprised how satisfied you can be with smaller portions.  I definitely have been!

I agree with le3.  It's okay to have a cheat day.  You deserve it!  I mean it's the big 4-0!  If you don't want to cheat too much, just take a smaller portion.  My family is the same way -- trying to make me eat more, but I just say that I'm full or "maybe later" (which doesn't always come).  They may seem disappointed at that moment, but I know I'm better for it. 

If you go out for ice cream/dessert, most places have low-fat or healthier options, so try one of those.  If you stay in, could you request low-fat ice cream at least?

I hope one of those suggestions helps, but I would just enjoy it.  Don't fret about one day.  It's your birthday!  Enjoy it!

I'm eating about 1700 cals a day, too.  I don't really eat more calories at one time than another; I usually keep it pretty even at each meal I suppose.  Here's close to what my breakdown for the day would be:

Breakfast: 250-350 cal

Mid-morning snack: 50-100 cal

Lunch: 250-400

Afternoon Snack: 250

Dinner: the rest of the calories I have left, so about 600-700

It really depends on what I'm eating.  I decide everyday exactly what I'm going to eat the whole day and then break it down into chunks.  Hope this helps!

I have milk on cereal a couple times a week, but only half a cup because of the calories.  To get my calcium, I take a multi-vitamin that has lots of calcium, I eat cheese everyday and yogurt sometimes, but another great way to get your calcium is to eat Tums or Rolaids (or something similar).  It's great because they're packed with calcium AND soothe upset tummies!

I started using this site at the end of July, and it has been such a huge help!  I didn't need to lose weight really, just maintain, but it's been so helpful to see what I need everyday.  To my surprise, I hadn't been eating enough!  You can imagine my happiness upon finding that out.  :)

Just look around at the different tools, do some discovering, and you will be well on your way to reaching your goals.  Also, I've found everyone very encouraging and helpful, so ask advice!  People here want to help!

I know exactly how you feel about sweets!  They're so hard to resist!  I've been able to curb my cravings a heck of a lot more now than I ever have, so here are some suggestions I have.

If you love chocolate, try eating one Dove dark chocolate (or one piece of some kind of dark chocolate) after a meal, and make sure to chew it very slowly and getting as much flavor and enjoyment out of it as you can.  If you eat it slowly, it tastes richer and is so much more satisfying and will not make you want more to gobble down.

In another post I read the other day, people were suggesting to freeze bananas.  When you take them out after freezing to thaw for a little bit, the texture is almost like ice cream (I mean as close as you can get without having the actual thing).  I tried it last night for the first time and drizzled a little Hershey's dark chocolate syrup on it, and it was great!  Since the banana was frozen, it made me eat it more slowly, and I was satisfied.  Not a bad treat for 210 calories!  Of course, you need to make sure that you keep that within your daily calorie allowance, but it's a much healthier alternative to ice cream or candy bars.

Here's another suggestion: chocolate banana peanut butter smoothie.  I went to Kashi's site and found an awesome recipe, which I have yet to try, but it sounds so good!  Apparently they have pre-made shakes and shake mix, and they suggested blending together a frozen banana, peanut butter, and a chocolate shake.  I think it said one serving is a little over 300 calories, but it's loaded with protein.  Try that, or mix in some other protein shake.

I hope that helps! 

I do several different Tae Bo videos (similar to kickboxing) and I LOVE it!  It really is exhilarating, isn't it?  I've been doing it for about 4 years now and have increased my intensity quite a bit, but I have also wondered how many calories I burn doing it.  I feel really tired usually when I'm done, but a lot of times I feel like I'm not working hard enough, even if I know I am.  That was kind of off topic, but anyway...

If anyone knows if that's about how much I burn an hour (800), please confirm that for me as well!  If anyone knows anything about Tae Bo (if that's more useful to know), I've been doing the Bootcamp Elite and AMPED videos - not any one of the beginner ones.  Every one that I do is between 40 and 55 minutes.

Thanks in advance if you know anything!