BP.Net Weightloss CHALLENGE

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

the master cleanse... you are supposed to drink the salt water to cleanse your colon...

(and thanks for the compliment)

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I'm talking about the lemon water/maple syrup and cayanne pepper cleanse. I'm not going to be drinking any salt water.

the master cleanse is a cleanse. you drink that lemonade drink during the day but you are supposed to drink salt water in the morning and at night as part of the cleanse as well.

:P it's not as bad as it sounds... but be near a toilet!!!

so you are drinking the m/c but without actually doing the m/c cleanse. i get it ;)

:whisper: weigh in today... down 53 lbs!

LOL... earlier today my friend ended up getting dumped/beaten up by his girlfriend, and I gotta admit he had it coming. The gal he WAS dating was naturally a bigger gal so she knew even when she lost weight she was never going to be small. So when she started her diet and set weight goals, she made her boyfriend also go on the diet for "support". Turns out he hated the diet (no suprise there huh?) and ended up playing on her belief that she would never be thin, just less heavy, by dialing back the scale a few pounds every couple of days to assist her in meeting her goals so he could get off the diet. All was going well for him until one day she made him jump on the scale to make sure it worked because she wasn't believing what it was reading, and it showed 120lbs when you can tell by lookin at him he's no less than 150. Let's just say he's actually in hiding now, once she started telling her girlfriends what he had done, all hell broke loose... Atleast he get's his McDonalds now right?:O

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

:whisper: weigh in today... down 53 lbs!

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Fantastic!! Great job. :banana: Keep up the good work.
Mine is at a standstill right now.:(

have you tried adding some green smoothies to your diet? perhaps for breakfast and lunch?

127 lbs in 25 weeks is what she lost... by having green smoothies. check it out here!

okay so i'm pleased. i lost another pound this week... i figure being in vegas and eating out all the time probably upped my sodium a lot - as well as walking a lot probably brought me some more muscle mass to my legs. i do know that my cellulite is completely gone from my legs. i bought a mini-skirt to wear one day and my hubby happily walked behind me the entire day with a very nice grin on his face. *too bad the kids were sleeping in our room with us* LOL

i went to yoga today and could not believe the body i was staring at in the full length mirror. WOW... my flabby chicken arms are reducing in size and flab... my waist actually looks like a waist... it goes in!!! who knew that could ever happen again!

my face is so different... i'm so thrilled with every single change i'm noticing. even my elbows look more like elbows now instead of pancakes wrapped around overstuffed sausages LOL

so 54 lbs released so far!!!

Congrats!! Maybe you could model for us sometime!!;)

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

so 54 lbs released so far!!!

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Way to go Aleesha. You Rock :gj:

Isn't it awesome how you feel too...not only do you look different but all the hard to do activities are just soooo much easier now.

Keep up the great job.

oh isn't THAT the truth!

i just may model it for you all!

very very exciting news everyone. i hope you are sitting down!!!

i went to buy some new yoga pants today cause i look like a clown act in my old ones... soooooo baggy.

so i went to pennington's and guess what? the smallest size is too big! so off i went to the 'normal sized people' stores and i tried on an XL - too big! so i happily paid for my size large yoga pants!!!!!!

and wow, stuff in those stores are waaaaaaay cheaper than penningtons.

ya me!!!

Great job!! I bet that feels great! Bet you look great too!! ;) Keep up the good work.:)

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

very very exciting news everyone. i hope you are sitting down!!!

i went to buy some new yoga pants today cause i look like a clown act in my old ones... soooooo baggy.

so i went to pennington's and guess what? the smallest size is too big! so off i went to the 'normal sized people' stores and i tried on an XL - too big! so i happily paid for my size large yoga pants!!!!!!

and wow, stuff in those stores are waaaaaaay cheaper than penningtons.

ya me!!!

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Thats excellent news Aleesha! keep it up and you might disappear....:P

no chance of that... i won't be disappearing! :P

but i do hope to release around another 45 lbs approx...

Well.....here I go!

I had avoided this thread for most of its existence. :rolleyes: But now I'm ready to let it go. Let go the bad habits. Let go the junk food. Let go the weight.

I've been wanting to do this for awhile now. Especially since Dean left. But...I'm sure most of you can relate to the power of emotional distress and its effect on eating habits. Instead of getting started and making any progress...I went backwards. Seriously backwards, ever since Dean left. :(

However, I've realized that I should not beat myself up for that. What's done is done. I can't start making progress yesterday....I can only start today. And so today....I started.

I got up at 5:30 in the morning to get in about 30 minutes of walking before I had to start waking kids for school. I ended up going 1.1 miles in 25 minutes. Felt brisk to me, but obviously not all that fast. Still, it got my heart going nicely and that's the whole point. My goal is to work up to a full 2 miles in 30 minutes...but I know that won't happen overnight. As that goal is attained, I'll set more.

My general plan as of now...it's subject to change as I educate myself more fully and as I assess my progress:

--30 minute brisk (for me) walk 6 days a week
--Free weight and resistence training 3 days a week
--Eat five small meals a day...each with a minimum of some protein and some complex carb...higher calorie meals in the morning
--Avoid refined sugar and flour products if at all possible
--Journal every bite and track calorie count, as well as fat, carbs and protein ratios
--Daily calorie limit is yet to be determined as I write this post, but will not drop below 1500...probably start off a bit higher than that
--Goals written...daily, weekly, short term and long term
--Affirmations written....read daily...positive thoughts to change a lifetime of negative attitudes
---And lastly...be accountable to the dears who have started this thread and kept it alive.

Don't worry...I won't bore you with daily reports....but I do plan to check in weekly and let y'all know how I'm doing.

I would like to lose 120 pounds, but my primary goal is keeping and building muscle while burning fat. A 16% total body fat would be ideal for my frame and body-type I believe...and I'd be thrilled with that, no matter what number showed up on a scale.

:grouphug:

congrats judy and remember... if and when you slip up and hit a road bump... just move on from there. it happens... it's life. what is more important is THIS moment... not the ones which have passed!

:hug: and supporting you 100%. consider adding a green smoothie to your morning or lunch... one or two bananas, with a handful of spinach... and then any other frozen fruit you desire. blueberries make me happy! then serve and drink. it'll keep you full, give you energy and assist with you getting your protein (raw greens have protein), calcium and healthy vitamins!

and it tastes soooooooooooooooooooooooo good. here's a video to show how to make one (cause i know this helped me, i was dumping everything in at once LOL)

http://imsorawkin.blogspot.com/2007/...hies_8060.html

Cool video! I love making fruit smoothies with a little orange juice and lots of different fruits (the base is bananas and strawberries).....never thought of adding greens to it. Hmmmmm....

Congrats on being proactive in deciding to make a change, Judy. It's NOT easy to face our demons--at all. I've had "issues" with food for a long time. I use food as a comfort tool, as a way to numb my emotions...and it's a really hard cycle to break. As of this summer, I was doing fantastic! I was down to an all-time low. I weighed in yesterday at 160 (up 9 pounds from the summer). It may sound trivial...but I was hoping to head in the OPPOSITE direction. I let my stress-eating get the better of me in the last month and a half and I've slid downhill.

Thank you SO MUCH Judy for making a commitment to yourself. You sound like you have a plan. I've been skirting around the issue of facing all my fears and habits once again, but I know it's time to hop back on the weight loss train myself. So, thank you for inspiring me to do so. Just know that if you EVER need someone to talk to, you can drop me a PM or call me (if you want to call I can PM you my phone #). This weight loss thing is NOT easy--the emotional part is the hardest. When food has been your Prozac, your friend, etc. for a long time, it's hard to let it go and make it be JUST FOOD again--nourishment without emotional connections.

So...yeah. Your long post inspired this one :D I guess I needed to vent about it in a place where I feel like the people know me and care about me in a genuine way. I've been a part of weight loss forums in the past, and I feel more at home here than anywhere else on the internet and more than some places in my day-to-day life.

:grouphug: I love you guys!

Awww Kim! :hug: Made me feel so good! I never expected my rambling post to inspire anyone! :sunny:

Food has been your Prozac....I can SO relate to that! As well, for me, it's like one of those insidiously addictive chemical substances that I won't name because I don't want to censor myself. :P

So...don't worry about yesterday. Today is a GREAT day to make the right choices! Hey....I think I just found my new signature tagline! :D

:hug:

Im doin the oppostie. Tryin to gain weight. Muscle weight. Im 6'2 140lbs. I wanna add about 15-25 lbs. Should take a while.

i've got extra you can have!

no really, i don't mind at all! :P

so judy, how's it going?

i haven't weighed myself in awhile but... i just bought myself some size 32 jeans... and i can buy clothes in regular stores now. i got some nice stuff today as my old clothes are just hanging off of me LOL

Girls, I don't know how you do it! :clap: :bow:

I still have a major attachment to my foods. I can't seem to cut out the sweets, and I suck at moderation. I do exercise quite a bit, but I really need to cut out the calories so that I can drop those last 20 pounds. Although I am REALLY enjoying my workouts. I get to talk with a bunch of wonderful women, and I know I'm doing something good for myself.

Do you gals have any strategies for not eating the bad stuff?

I thought I'd make a post that I've finally made a commitment to myself to make a change in my life. I know what I want and I'm going to go after it. I'm going to start something and actually finish it!

Thank you all who have kept the thread alive for so long :) *HUG* Congrats on the new clothes, Leesha! I know that's been one of the most exciting parts for me on this long road. I weighed in today, to see the damage. I'm right at 162. I was down to 151 this summer, so that's a good 11 pounds gained back! Though it's a far cry from 185, where I first started. :) I'll make it to my goal yet!

Christie-- I've had that same problem, with the junk food. What happens to me, though...is that I'd usually be "good" for 5 days, then binge on crap for two. It's counter-productive and the reason that I've been treading water for so long. I'm trying to satisfy my sweet tooth with fruit, and I'm giving up the cookies, candy and all refined carbohydrates (chips, white flour-based things, straight sugar, etc.). I wish I could tell you what has worked for me, but the reality is, is I'm still struggling with those demons myself. Maybe after a few weeks, I'll have a good report. I jumped back on the wagon starting yesterday :) :hug:

Love all you girls (and boys)!

Well...it's finally a week from my start day, and I weighed in today. I let go of 3 pounds. Not as much of a sprint-start as I was hoping for, but I'm not gonna complain. I didn't follow the plan perfectly and didn't exercise as much as I'd intended. Having a bad cold hit right after I started didn't help much.

What I did right though...was journal every bite I ate. And because I did that, I was able to stay aware of my calorie intake and keep it at or near my intake goal each day of the week...even if I didn't make the most healthy choices for how to spend those calories.

Christie, I know exactly how you feel. Junk food and "convenience" food are my downfall, my demons, my drug of choice. And especially when going through emotionally difficult times, it's been very challenging to let them go. Sometimes, too challenging, so instead of letting go completely, I made an effort to keep it moderate and to track every calorie. I'd have a couple of cookies and take very tiny nibbles to make them last as long as a bigger handful of cookies might have lasted. And so long as I was careful about the entire day's food choices and monitored exactly what I was eating, I could fit a couple of cookies or some chips in with everything else and not go over my calorie goals.

For tracking purposes, I found a very cool website.

www.my-calorie-counter.com

It's a very nifty program that lets you keep an online journal. It has an extensive database of foods and as you put in the food and amount you ate, it automatically calculates all the food stats for you (calories, fat, carbs, sodium, cholestoral...you name it). If the food you ate isn't on their list and you know the stats for it, you can add it to your own personal list and it will keep track of that, too. And tons of other great features there. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to journal their meals and who spends a fair amount of time either on or near their computer.

And that's my report for the day. All in all, a very successful week. I'm not beating myself up for any missed marks this week. This is a life-long change I'm working on here...and it will take TIME to get good at it. No matter what it is we begin, we're never perfectly accomplished at it in the beginning...it takes time to build the skills....so long as you keep practicing and working at it and never give up!!!

:grouphug:

I too have avoided this post for about as long as I can, but lately, I've really looked at myself, and instead of being satisfied, I was disgusted and ashamed. I've always been at war with my body, usually letting treats and salty foods take over and win.

I was pretty heavy in highschool, I think when I hit 200 I just about freaked. I played soccer my whole life, but my junior year I really stepped up, quit afternoon snacking and really put myself in my sport. I lost 45 lbs in that season. (Jan-may)

I was doing really well after my graduation. I had only gained about 10 pounds in 4 years putting me roughly at 160-165, but since I've met Chris, I have gained all of that weight back, plus more. I'm right back to where I was back in highschool as a sophmore.

I'm pretty bummed with myself. I used to have a high activity job, working frieght. I would literally move a ton of product by hand a day. It was stressful, but I never really lost much weight. I gained more upper body strength. Now, since august 1st, I have a desk job. I sit in my computer chair, listen to music on headphones and just work for 8 hours. I go home, tend to the animals, and go to sleep at 9:30- 10. I don't want to blame chris, but I do. LOL. He used to snack ALL THE TIME, on doritos, chips, everything. The man has the metabolism of a bird I tell ya. I gained 30 lbs in that first year with him!

But now, with how sedentary my life is, I know I need to start exercising. I HATE running, but once I start, I know that I like it. It's a weird love hate relationship.

It's funny, last time I was fed up with my weight was in the middle of winter too. Now I need to buy some goofy long socks, leg warmers, long johns and start running again. I know it will be harder than before, because I dont have any teammates to help push me. Or me help pull them. And I also smoked for about 3 years. I've quit a while ago, but i know my lungs aren't what they used to be.

When I used to run by myself, I would push myself until I almost fainted. It was addicting to hurt that way. The ecstacy of finishing a mile in 3 foot snow drifts will do that to ya.

Okay, enough rambling. I'm going to hop on this thread, and tell you guys and gals how well, (or not) I've been sticking to my running and no snacks. :oops: Wish me luck!

Oh, I forgot to add. My eyes are bigger than my stomach! I serve myself huge portions, and feel bad for it, so i always finish. I never know when to say "that's enough food", and put down the fork! It seems like my stomach comes around an hour later and says "*SMACK!* Fool, you ate too much! *groan*"

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Originally Posted by JLC

For tracking purposes, I found a very cool website.

www.my-calorie-counter.com

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Oh, Judy! I'm so glad that you've done so well! 3 pounds is fantastic! Unfortunately, I can't allow myself any sort of "junk food", even in small amounts. A small amount always turns into wolfing down the whole package (those 100 calorie packs? I'd end up eating most of the box, which defeats the point ;)). But I'm SO glad that you're able to do it! It keeps you from felling deprived. :)

I wanted to add, about the tracking your food aspect. In regard to websites to track your food intake, I wanted to say that I use www.fitday.com (just to provide options, if anyone's interested). It sounds like Judy's site is very similar. I like how Fitday's set up (it's very easy to navigate). It tracks your food, exercise, weight, etc. I liked the free online version so much, that I bought their $25 program for the PC. :)

littleindiangirl, if you're determined to make the changes, you will succeed. If your eyes are bigger than your stomach, I might try tracking my calories for awhile. Once I started weighing and measuring my food, I was shocked at how many MORE calories I had been eating than I thought I was (eyeballing is rarely accurate). Be careful about running in the wintertime, too! After having to go out in my car today during a snowstorm, it reminded me why some people shouldn't have drivers' licenses! I prefer doing HIIT for cardio, or taking a class at the gym to running :) But if running's your thing, then do it! Whatever you enjoy for exercise!

Let's do it, ladies!

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Do you gals have any strategies for not eating the bad stuff?

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Don't buy the bad stuff to start with, in my house during a diet you will not find any bread, rice, pasta, cookies, candy, ice cream etc. (of course this mean cooperation of the whole family)

Bad stuffs out, good stuffs in. The reward one day a week is to go out treat yourself, eat your favorite food, ice cream whatever you want but do not have it in your house or you will not be able to resist. ;)

And the most important thing write down every single calories intake, every day throughout your diet, know what you are doing wrong and how you can make up for it.

This is such a great thread. My room-mates and I are all on what we call the "Peer-Pressure Diet." We have to write down all of our calories for the day and post them on facebook. Writing down all those calories really helps me not to eat. I don't want to report that I broke down and ate 200 calories of raw cookie dough...lol Some things that I've been doing to avoid the junk food and snacking: 1) eat crushed ice (it gives me something to eat that is zero calories) 2) eat hard candy (lasts a while and most have less than 20 cal each) 3) I also have found several foods that make good snakes that are very low : tomatoes (down south we just cut these up and eat them raw...:-) grapefruit and tangerines, pickles, fat free jello pudding (60 cal! and chocolate!!!) Well I hope those tips at least help somebody. Good luck everybody, and congrats to those who are sticking to it!!

i agree... if the food isn't in the house you are more likely to NOT go out and get some when you are craving.

personally i replace my cravings with fruit or a raw dessert as there is no 'bad' fats or sugars in them. here's an easy one for you to try!

Velvet Chocolate
1 cup raw cashew or macadamia butter
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons raw carob powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt

Blend well, pour in a flat dish, freeze until solid
Serves 1-12 (depending on how much you like chocolate)

or you could make:

Carob Balls
1 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup pitted dates
2 tablespoons carob powder

Mix in FP until they form a dough consistency. Roll into bite size balls.
Then you can either pop them in as they are or roll them in coconut, caorb
or cacao powder, I rolled mine in hemp nuts, rolling them in chia seeds
would be good too. Really you can roll them in anything..Chill in your
cooler and munch at will..

Congratulations to everyone that has been part of this challenge and has done so well! I have always struggled with my love of food and control of weight. I just finished a challenge of my own (which you can check on on my MySpace). But the real challenge is getting to where you want to be and keeping it off. Good luck to everyone!

Jamie

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Congratulations to everyone that has been part of this challenge and has done so well! I have always struggled with my love of food and control of weight. I just finished a challenge of my own (which you can check on on my MySpace). But the real challenge is getting to where you want to be and keeping it off. Good luck to everyone!

Jamie

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Jamie, I just checked your pics on your MySpace page and read your blog there on the weight loss. My biggest hugs for you friend, that's a major chunk of weight to lose and you are looking great! Good for you, Jamie. Weight is always a struggle and the junk food is just to easy and handy. I'm very proud of you Jamie, what a cool thing for you to do for yourself. I bet you feel great! :D

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Jamie, I just checked your pics on your MySpace page and read your blog there on the weight loss. My biggest hugs for you friend, that's a major chunk of weight to lose and you are looking great! Good for you, Jamie. Weight is always a struggle and the junk food is just to easy and handy. I'm very proud of you Jamie, what a cool thing for you to do for yourself. I bet you feel great! :D

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Thanks Jo!!! I appreciate the support!

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Congratulations to everyone that has been part of this challenge and has done so well! I have always struggled with my love of food and control of weight. I just finished a challenge of my own (which you can check on on my MySpace). But the real challenge is getting to where you want to be and keeping it off. Good luck to everyone!

Jamie

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Lookin hot! So proud!

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Originally Posted by darkangel

Lookin hot! So proud!

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Thank you baby! I had some inspiration... :rolleyes:

Hmmm...this is my second time restarting this post....I am not sure how to word it.

I live with my fiance and we're on a budget of $155.00 for food per month. We buy a lot of hamburger and hamburger helper. Also hot dogs, mac and cheese, spaghetti and sauce. Then whatever goodies we can afford.

I've dealt with anorexia in the past and for the past few weeks my fiance pointed out I've been skipping meals and we usually only eat dinner and snack thru-out the day. Not good, I know, but I just feel so fat and ugly. It takes so much energy to even eat sometimes....

Anyway, with us being on a budget, and me being a picky eater, I am not sure what to do.

I've attempted South Beach Diet, but love bread and pasta, and hate to cook so making the meat was hard.

I do enjoy salads, cheese, yogurt, veggies, chicken, pork, hamburger, steak (which is a major luxury), potatoes. I am a big meat and potato girl.

I have access to a weight room with a weight machine, bike, and tread mill. Also access to an indoor pool, but sadly no swimsuit that fits.

I guess my biggest obstacle is the budget. Sorry is this post is so schizophrenic, but I am having a rough evening....

:hug: for Layna!!!

I can SO relate to a rough evening. Been having a lot of them here, lately. And working hard to hide it from the kids so they don't feel the brunt of my issues.

I've never had issues with anorexia...but I can totally relate to feeling fat and ugly. And there are way too many times when it just takes too much energy to "eat healthy"...

The thing is...find a healthy plan that you know will work for you (not a "diet" that you have to force yourself to stick to) and then just never give up on it. You don't have to be perfect at it every day...just never, ever give up. Eat healthy and stay active...and the weight issues will take care of themselves over time. (This is my mantra lately!)

:hug:

Thank so much Judy!

I've been hunting around online and ended up at CDC.gov and followed their healthly living links to get some tips and some recipes, this might be doable.

This is what I've found and am working on...

http://www.burnthefat.com/

One of the great things about it is that he has guidelines for every bodytype and fitness level. It's VERY customizable and it's all about stuff you can buy at your regular grocery store. Also, TONS of stuff to learn about the truth about weight loss and eating healthy. There are so many myths out there that are accepted as gospel truth...kinda scary!

Layna--have you tried buying food in bulk and then freezing it to save money? Whenever I'm shopping for meat, I'll buy those huge family packs of chicken breast or pork chops (usually when they're on sale). Like, this past trip to the grocery store I spent $5 on a package of 7 large chicken breasts (weighing in at 3.5 pounds). I eat a lot of chicken breast when I'm watching what I eat, so I'll probably go through 6 of those large breasts in a week. I put Adobo or a southwest rub on the chicken breast, then pop it in the oven at 350. It doesn't take too long to cook and usually comes out juicy. I'll cook 6 at a time, then put them in tupperware in the fridge. Then, I pull them out to heat up when I need them.

I think the key to eating healthy is having healthy food available. When I'm being VERY on, I'll pre-cook my proteins (chicken, pork chops, bacon...whatever) and my vegetables on Sunday night, so I have most of the components of my meals pre-cooked. If I want to have a chicken caesar salad, I've got the chicken pre-cooked. I've even started pre-chopping my Romaine lettuce so I can't make any excuses not to eat a salad. :)

Fruit and vegetables can get pricey, but I feel that they're worth it. I personally am not eating anything refined: pasta, bread, cereal, white flour or sugar, etc. They just don't keep me satisfied and those are the sorts of things I overeat on. Instead, I use a Joseph's whole grain Pita for bread (60 calories, 8g carbs, 4g fiber per pita). I do substitutions for things a lot.

Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to give up what you like. If you like pasta and hamburger: try whole grain pasta and ground turkey breast. As long as you're measuring your portions and it fits into your calories, it's fine.

I think buying in bulk might help you out. Do you have something like a B.J.s, Sam's Club or Whorles near you, where you can buy food in bulk?

I'm sorry, I've taken to ranting ;)

And Jaime!! Congrats on 30lbs gone! That's an awesome accomplishment :D It's definitely not easy. Thanks for encouraging all of us, who are still struggling! If you're still going to keep at it (providing you've got more to lose), feel free to pop in and keep us updated :) Success is inspiring!

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

I'm sorry, I've taken to ranting ;)

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LOL, that's a good helpful rant! Thanks so much for the tips. Now a few questions. With the pita bread, can that be frozen? I'll look into buying whole wheat pasta too. Maybe I'll look into making homemade spaghetti sauce to cut down on salt and sugar.

We do have a Sam's Club right down the street from us. I'd have to find out how much the fees are to join....wait, I think it's a Sam's club, maybe it's a bjs.

Great idea on buying chicken in bulk then pre cooking it.

Now, with lettuce, what should I go for? Iceberg or romaine? I know iceberg has little nutrients in it, so I am guessing romaine.

Hmm....I thought there was an edit button on posts.....oh well.

One more question. I love croutons! If I make my own with wheat bread, is that ok?

Also one tip we've done in the past is with chicken, we marinate it in an oil based dressing (vinaigrette, Italian, etc.) It turns out so yummy. That's what I am going to do for dinner tonight, LOL, chicken, yum.

I've been freezing the pitas, and they're still fine unfrozen. They're not as soft as they are when they haven't been frozen first, but they're not bad :) When I get a hankerin' for a pizza, I use one of those pitas as crust. Then I use a self-made sauce (I use a small can of tomato sauce with the lowest amount of sugar listed on the label, some italian spices from a shaker and a little hot sauce), top with 1 ounce of shredded mozzarella (I measure with a kitchen scale to get the right weight) and with 5 slices of pepperoni. It comes out to about 225 calories--and it's a yummy snack :D

I like to go for Romaine lettuce. It has more nutrients than iceberg and it's still crunchy. :) As far as crutons go, I personally stay away from them. But as I said before, as long as you're recording the calories for everything you put in your mouth, I don't see why you couldn't use ones you make yourself or ones that you buy. If they fit into your calories, go for it!

Also, knowing that you've had problems with anorexia in the past, make sure that you're eating enough calories. It's as important to record your calories to make sure you're eating enough as to record them in order to make sure you're eating in a deficit. I think when dieting, people get into a "less is better" mentality...but that can cause metabolic shut-down. So, please, don't eat less than 1200 calories per day. I like to use a calculator to figure out what my daily calorie burn is, then subtract 500 calories from that number to determine how many I should be eating. That should give a pound of weightloss per week with just diet alone--then any extra can come from exercise! Here's a link to a calculator, where you can figure out your estimated calories burned per day: http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm

I burn a little under 2,000 calories a day so I'm eating between 1400-1500 calories a day. :) Now, I could realistically eat 1400 calories worth of cookies and still lose weight...but I would end up starving an hour later, and probably would end up binging on more junk. For me, protein and fat makes me feel really full. So, I focus on proteins, fats and vegetables and fruit for my carbs. Other people process the componants of food differently. A 60% carb diet would make me ravenous and miserable, someone else, it might keep them completely satisfied. It's all about knowing what makes you feel satiated. :)

I hope that answered your question! Again, I tend to ramble. I've been reading about weight loss obsessively (I've taken two nutrition courses at college, too) over the last year and a half. I know exactly what I need to do to lose weight...It's all a matter of putting it into practice and sticking with it :D

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Originally Posted by JLC

This is what I've found and am working on...

http://www.burnthefat.com/

One of the great things about it is that he has guidelines for every bodytype and fitness level. It's VERY customizable and it's all about stuff you can buy at your regular grocery store. Also, TONS of stuff to learn about the truth about weight loss and eating healthy. There are so many myths out there that are accepted as gospel truth...kinda scary!

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That's a great link, I have read over that site before, but I never gave much credit to it. I thought it was all bogus, so instead I bought the south beach diet book lol. Yea, that is such a dramatic change of eating! I would never be able to stick to that, and requires a lot of will power. Now I'm reading this site again... and thinking about buying the book. It's just I don't want to buy another book that's just like the rest, and they give no examples of what I'm buying. Plus, $40 for an e-book?? Hefty price...

Oops :)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

That's a great link, I have read over that site before, but I never gave much credit to it. I thought it was all bogus, so instead I bought the south beach diet book lol. Yea, that is such a dramatic change of eating! I would never be able to stick to that, and requires a lot of will power. Now I'm reading this site again... and thinking about buying the book. It's just I don't want to buy another book that's just like the rest, and they give no examples of what I'm buying. Plus, $40 for an e-book?? Hefty price...

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Yeah....it's pricey. And printing it up ain't cheap either. Before committing to that one, I scoured the 'Net for any negative testimonials and couldn't find a single one. Tons of positive ones, though.

I honestly think, with this book...it's the "real deal." It doesn't just offer an "eating scheme" to make you drop a bunch of weight really fast....it teaches you how to create a lifestyle of healthy eating AND exercise. It'll tell you more about how food and nutrition and dieting really work than any "fad" diet. And in addition to the book...once you buy it....you get plugged into a ton of free support...newsletters and articles and forums and all sorts of stuff I haven't really explored yet.

The thing with this book and the money you might put into it....IF you're willing to do the work and make the commitment to real change, this book WILL be worth every penny paid and you'll know you got off really cheap in the long run. But if you still can't bring yourself to put into practice what you're reading and learning....then it's just another $40 (plus printing costs) gathering dust on the hard drive or bookshelf.

so how goes it judy? i wish great release for you!!! (release not lose cause you don't wanna find it again LOL)

congrats jamie... good job!

i'm still doing my thing... amazing what my body looks like in clothes that fit me. i bought myself a few things that fit and WOW - it's so nice to see myself in smaller clothes. :D

here's to ending the year under 200 lbs... and continuing with my pursuit of health!

I am back in on this :) I want to lose about 25 lbs. See my avatar? That was in 2002, and I had a washboard stomach. Let's just say.. now, I do not. I have more of a potbelly-stove thing going on :) Any hints? I am at a desk job and get up every 2 hours for a brisk walk. I started today, eliminating sugars from my snacking, mostly. NO non-diet soda. No sweet candies. I nibble on pretzels and poocorn and am growing to like the Crystal Light packets that you put into a 20-oz. bottle of water.
EDIT LOL I meant popcorn. That typo was too hysterical to delete though!

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

I nibble on pretzels and poocorn

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Ok, I say LOL alot, but rarely do things make me actually laugh the hell out loud. This is a rare exception, and poocorn is the funniest thing I've heard all day. :rofl::rofl:

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Originally Posted by darkangel

Ok, I say LOL alot, but rarely do things make me actually laugh the hell out loud. This is a rare exception, and poocorn is the funniest thing I've heard all day. :rofl::rofl:

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Doesn't everyone poocorn?