7/27/08 - Entering maintain mode at 134 pounds.  :D  happy ever after!!!  LOL  nope...  i have a 5 pound leeway & once i hit 139, it's back to basics til i get back down to 134, or maybe i'll get down to 129 instead!  then my high weight would be 134 & that'd be way better.  i hate 139!  :(

5/15/08 - Entering maintain/lose mode... hopefully maintaining will be easier than losing. :D i guess i'll see. i weighed 142 today & would still like to get down to 134, that's why it's maintain/lose. then i'll switch over to maintain.

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i'm 50 with 5 children & 3 grandchildren. 

the doc scared hubby into losing.  LOL  that's why i started...  to help him!  he came home from his doc appointment on 9/4 & the doc had upped his diabetes meds & told him AGAIN to lose weight or he'd have major problems up the road & soon.

my reply was:  let's start now!  come on...  let's go walking.  :D

me & hubby both started this new lifestyle on 9/4 AND are both doing extremely well.  i've lost 84 pounds!  that's 38.5% of my starting weight!  hubby lost around 60 pounds, before quitting on christmas eve.  he's gained alot back.

i am eating less and eating better foods, and getting more exercise.  we love to watch the biggest loser, and the fat march was pretty cool, too.

i never thought i could do this!  i would have been happy just to get below 200 again & didn't even think i could do that!  this is soooooo royally awesome!!!  if i can do this, ANYONE CAN!!!

just burn more than you eat!!!  and take it one day at a time...  it seems like forever, but it's not.  AND don't deny yourself any of the foods you love OR you'll end up binging.  i still eat whatever i want & i go berserk at parties & buffets & even just going out to eat, but i try to eat better on most days & get my A in the analysis.  :D

i really learned alot here!  i always thought i was born to be fat!!!  i never knew that you could just pick a certain weight & just be it!!!  this is soooooo awesome!!!  no!!!  it's not gonna happen overnight.  if you thought that, you've come to the wrong place.  LOL  it takes time, but it DOES happen!!!  yes, you WILL have your ups & downs, but who cares?!  it's worth it!  it's ALL worth it!!!

i'm done being FAT!!!  LOL  because this is NOT just another diet!  just make some changes in your life - no matter how small.  every little bit helps!  changes that you can live with.  think before you eat!!!  stop living to eat AND eat to live!!!

with both food & exercise, always remember:  ANYTHING is better than nothing!!!

Since i've had alot of people asking...  Here's what i do:

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i try to stay around 1300 calories a day, but some days i eat like 1600 or even more.  if i eat more, i try to exercise more because i want to burn more than i eat.  i try to keep my deficit between 500 - 1000.

my daily burn on sedentary is down to 1600 now & they say if you subtract 500 from that you'll lose 1 pound a week, but that would be 1100, so i need to burn at least an extra 100 calories a day right from the start because you need to eat at least 1200 a day.

if i walk for about 10 minutes, that burns about 100, so if i burn an extra 500 a day i should lose an extra pound a week.  it usually works.  i try to do little stuff like crunches, stretching, etc.  now & then just to boost the metabolism.  i think them spurts of exercise work miracles.  the body thinks it's gonna be in "burning mode" for awhile & then it's not.  lol  so the body starts to burn & you're done exercising already.

also, i purposely eat higher & lower amounts & burn higher & lower amounts to keep the body from learning what to expect.  i think that really works, too, because i have never hit a plateau!  :D  i really think that pigging out helps too!  not often, maybe once a week or so...  that way your body never thinks it's starving & will never start to store fat.

i have chocolate on most days, but mostly just a piece before bed to reward myself for being good.  that piece never counts!  :D

drink lots of water, exercise, and eat lots of fresh fruits & fresh or frozen veges.  things like that are really good for you & fill you up longer & they are low in calories.  when you eat junk, it tastes great, but leaves you hungry for the day...  UNLESS you add the fruits & veges.  i try to never be hungry!  even if i had too many calories already, if i'm hungry i'll have something low cal rather than nothing.

THANKS reading my story!  LOL  anyway it's really hard to explain what i do, but i hope this helps.  PLEASE ask if you don't get it or something & i'll try to explain it better.

always remember:  anything is better than nothing AND keep the body guessing!  :D 

AND GOOD LUCK!!!