kimanalynn, 1400 calories seems kind of low if your working out everyday!! You have to eat to burn, or it will burn off muscle i believe!! I'm not a scientist, thats just what i've heard!! Great job though working out like that, i wish i could do it!! Whats your secret to get motivated everyday??

mmdd, the zoo sounds fun, my husband works long hours, doesn't that suck?? sometimes i feel like a singel mom. But then i feel thankful, because single moms dont get to stay home with their kids all day. I'm just alone all day Funny how you can still feel alone even with 3 kids in the house!!

snicker -
It may be kinda low; might be why I can't do it?!

Anyway, I have fun with my workouts. My cardio is either walking in the park with my kids, or swimming with my kids (and if you think swimming with your kids isn't strenuous enough, then you try hauling two kids to the ladder as soon as they jump off the diving board for an hour, against jets!) . My husband also works out with me, so I'm not alone. He likes working out with weights, so on our weight days, he's really ready! I don't do too much, because I know what its like to be sore for a week, so I just do as much as I feel like I can which is usually only 20 mins. Also, this week, hopefully, we will start going to yoga and pilates classes. I love that stuff, too!

hi all sorry i have not been checking in much. i have been sick for the last week. my weight has not changed any and i am a little upset about that. i am drinking nothing but water lately and it is not doing anything for me. i am going to get a summer pass to the pool with the kids so i am hoping that will help me shed a few more lbs. TC i am so happy for you that you have broke the 200lb mark i cant wait to get there. congrats to all of you who have lost and are still losing.

I hope you're feeling better, alracntna.

I was wondering where you were!!

i am doing better thanks i still have a stuffy head but i am surviving. i had popped in a few times but i didnt post cause i couldnt keep my eyes on the screen for too long.


i thought with how sick i was i would have lost something but no such luck.

Thank you Carla! I'm so sorry to hear you've been sick! Hope your back to normal soon. You will see 200 one day too! Just don't loose sight of it! It will happen!

Glad you & your family had a great time at the zoo mmdd! This weekend was the weekend for sunburns, LOL! My daughter got a good one too.

I was reading above about lifting weights & thought I'd add my 2 cents. Rememeber when I over did it on the weights? I talked to a trainer after I skipped a day of weights (I was way too sore! LOL). He told me that I can work out with weights every day after my workouts but he recommended me do this... 1 day work my upper body & the next day work on the lower body. I work the stomach area the same day I work my upper body. So I've been doing it his way & it is so much better! I'm not sore either! Oh, also when you get sore he says you have been lifting too heavy of weights. Drop the weights down by 10 lbs. That worked! I enjoy lifting weights this way. Oh I almost forgot! The reason he says do it this way is to let my muscles rest. Your muscles need a break every other day. So when I do my upper body my lower body is resting & vice/versa. Makes sense to me. Everyone does things different . They are so many things out there to read & go by. It's hard to choose something that works. So far so good. Just thought I'd share that with you.

My 3 month dr.'s visit was Friday. I'm down to 194! They said I'm doing really good. I have a different dr.'s appt Wed. about my migraines. Hopefully my dr. can get me fixed up!

I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Ok, I have a question. And, hopefully someone will know the answer.

Are you just born with the metabolism rate that you currently have, or can you really do something to increase your metabolism? (besides taking pills)

And, I'm not talking a quick fix, like caffeine...I mean CAN YOU SERIOUSLY CHANGE YOUR METABOLISM????

Thank you if you can answer this.

kimanalynn- your lucky, sounds like your family is active. We try to be, i know what you mean about taking the kids swimming, i have 3 kids, and just getting in the car is a small workout!!

mmdd, i think its both. Some people just are born with a rocket of a metabolism, but you can make yours better. one thing that is important is muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat so its sooo important too build muscle and not just do cardio. Also, eating good carbs i think helps burn calories. Pretty much a healthy diet which consists of lots of fresh veggies and fruit, and EATING is important. Crash dieting, and starving yourself keeps your metabolism sluggish. Thats why its soooo important to eat a BIG breakfast. I've been doing that since i started and i can tell the difference. YOu have to get your body burning calories right away!! Also, stop eating early in the evening, your body doesn't burn food fast at night when your asleep!! Sorry this is sooo long. You'd think as much "reading" as i've done i would be thinner. LOL

Oh yeah, one more thing. Yes I feel like pulling my hair out EVERYDAY!!!!!!!

sorry this is so long!!

mmdd,
this just my opinion. Some people are lucky enough that they don't gain weight. maybe because they are so active maybe it really is their metabolism.

i believe that the only way you can change it is with food. Don't eat carbohydrates or if you cann't do the atkins count your calories.Just don't eat the bread and sweets. even this will make a big difference.

I know many of you will say it is not good what i do but i totally disagree with it after reading and studying the atkins diet.
Many people say that it is bad for you. mainly because there is so many atkins diets that go around that you do for 2 weeks only. This is not the way. if you are interested sign up in http://learningcenter.atkins.com/ for some courses read and decide by yourself if it is so unhealthy or not.

I have to say that before i started with it after lunch i couldn't keep my eyes open. sleepy and tired. now i haven't had that feeling for few months. i feel exellent and the good thing is that now i don't crave sweets or bread at all anymore. i have a fruit or diet jelly if i really want something sweet. works for me. and yes breakfast is very important!

i have to say that i have done many diets in my life but they were always just for 2 weeks. i lost and i gained. i always was waiting to get off the diet because i was starving. This is not the case with atkins if you do it PROPERLY.
anyway. this is becoming too long. but there is nothing what will make your metabolism faster if you don't change your eating habits.


Snicker... i have 3 kids as well. I totally understand the workout in getting their shoes and jackets on and all of them in the car Mine are all boys so another fun in stopping them playing bruce lee and superman and making holes on the wall to blow up the walls just see what happens.

good luck to everybody with their diets!

Thanks, liis, for the information!

Wow! Three boys....I have two~I can't imagine three, lol!

Hi everyone, I too have just been lurking lately. I have been so busy and out of town so much that I have not even had time to post my weight nevermind any other kind of post.
I believe that they only way to loose weight and keep it off is to change your lifestyle, not just your eating habits but also your workout habits, because bothwork hand in hand.
I dont think I can give up carbs, just a personal love of them. I have cut down on them considerably.

My heel is feeling GREAT and will start my workouts again in about a week.

I am leaving on Thursday for a 1 1/2 week vacation with my family and will be in the remotest parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and South
Dakota. If any of my family members have internet I will try to post while I am away, if not I will "see" you all June 20th.
M

liis, your post about your boys made me laugh. Mine pretene they are Harry and Ron (Harry Potter)and try to do spells on everyone and everything!!

Well it is Thursday! weigh-in day again!!!

I am 181.2 again! still right back where I started.

I am still working on it though! mmdd got me back on track with my weight loss mission last week...thanks again!!! I am back to exercising every day and I am watching what I eat a bit more...no more chocolate biscuits!!!

As of last night I am at 163.2. Which means I am .2 away from -20lbs (since Jan). It also means I have lost 9.7 since we started this.

I have fallen out of my walking schedule and hope to pick it back up next week, as I have a cake and a few other things going on this weekend.

Good thing is that I think my eating habits have improved, which I think is helping me keep what I have lost off even while I slacked on the exercising part.

That is sooooo good texassugar! well done!

Thank you SoCake. When I mentioned my weight to my dad he promptly commented, "just think of what it would be if you'd been walking."

It was like rub it in why don't you! But I know that if I hadn't stopped I would have lost more than I have been. I just gotta do it!! I went shopping with a friend Monday and Tuesday and there was lots of walking involved, can I count that as exercise?

YAY!!!!!!!!!! I LOST 2 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


It sounds like so little, but it feels like a lot!!

How'd everyone else do?

Hang in there, socake, you'll be losing weight in no time again.

Great job, texassugar! You're almost there!!!

Good Luck everyone!

First congrats to all who have lost.

I have gained I am now up to 215.

I will be leaving for my vacation this afternoon, and am hoping that I can be strong and avoid some of the bad things that my family eats.

YEA!!! I lost 2 lbs. also!!! That puts me at 213. Getting back below 200 seems so close!!!! Everybody, keep up the good work!!

CONGRADS MMDD & KITTISKAKES!!!!!!!!! 2 lbs is important!!!!!!! BE PROUD OF YOURSELVES!!!!! We're proud of you!!!!

I went to the dr. yesterday about my migraines. My dr put me on 2 different meds again. I HATE TAKING MEDS!!! But I know that's the only thing that will help my migraines. If I remember correctly... the dr told me that my weight loss is the reason the migraines have started up again. He also said that I might be lacking vitamin B-12. I think that's what he said. Anyway I am on new vitamins. I was taking Centrum... if anyone is taking Centrum I had 2 different pharmacys adviced against it. It doesn't have what we need in a vitamin. Never knew that! Anyway hopefully the meds & the new vitamins will help with the migraines! Somethings gotta give!

Ya'll we're talking about motabalism earlier... here's my take. I think you are born with a good one or bad one. But I do believe that with food & exercise & of course breaking bad eating habits that you can make a bad motabalism a good one. Once you turn it around it's so easy to go back to the olds ways, that's why it slows back down & you stop loosing weight. That's my take.

Ya'll hang in there!!! Keep them motablisms up!!! As for me... mine has got to be bad this week! I have been so lazy! I slept till 11 today!!! But I did go to bed at midnight. Unlike me! Gotta have my beauty sleep! LOL!!

SORRY SO LONG!!!!!

Yeah mmdd, texas sugar, and kittiskakes!!!!

THat is AWESOME!! If you dont mind, i'll post my loss on sunday which is my WW weigh day. I try not to weigh more than once a week so i dont get frustrated!! I'll admit though, the last couple of days have been tough for some reason!!

Just reading this thread tonight has helped me though!

TC, hope your migranes get in check!! Yuck i HATE headaches!!

Karate, have fun on vaca, and dont be too hard on yourself if you slip!!

Hey guys... So here's my story. I'm 25 with a 2 year old. I'm about 5'4 and weigh about 220 I've been doing some reading and from that I've determined that I am addicted to food. I'm not sure how this happened... somewhat am an emotional eater and I eat out of boredom. I want to loose the weight but my self confidence is somewhat sabotaging my will. Sometimes I feel like I'm only trying to lose weight so that my mother stops looking at me like a loser (I know for a fact that she is embarressed of me). My husband keeps telling me that I'm married and what my mother thinks shouldn't matter, but why am I totally consumed by the need for my mother's acceptance and approval? So, then I try to tell myself that this is my way of motivating myself to lose weight... but then my conscience is telling me that I'll never be successful at losing weight if my reasons aren't for myself. Such a dilemma.... is there anyone out there with a similar situation?

{{Here's a big hug}}
I'm glad you found this post...it is very encouraging to everyone and we all have emotional issues to deal with but we are all a support system to each other.
Perhaps seeing a therapist will help you with some of your self-confidence, that will help you work on your weight issue.

Oh mymichelle. That is quite a situation. First of all, i dont think there is anything you do, we want our mothers approval even though we hate that about ourselves. I'm going to guess that you are a great person and your mother is missing out. Listen to your husband!! He is really the one who matters now!! Easier said than done i know. Mouse is right, you have found the right post, we are here for you. And you are going to do this for the health of yourself, and to live a long healthy life for your husband and child!! NO OTHER REASON!!!

(((((hugs))))))

Nicole

mymichelle~
Welcome! Your among friends! We all have similar problems & we're all here to help each other! If your not wanting to loose weight for yourself I doubt you will be successful so don't do it for someone else. Do it for YOU~ Start with YOU first. Make yourself important! Because you are!!

Hang in there Michelle,
I was addicted to food also. April 1, 2005 I started a low carb diet. I weighed 333 pounds. This morning I weighed at 210. I had to realize that food is not a comfort thing.....even though I make cakes......... it is really fuel for our bodies. We have to treat it so. Set goals.....realistic goals...... work toward them. Its like taking baby steps. That way you can acieve your goal several times over and have that good feeling each time.

Thank you all for your words of wisdom! I think that you are right kmcguire.... it takes baby steps! And I know it won't happen overnight. You guys are so great.... I'm glad to be apart of this community!

Doing some web surfing, found this article if anyone is interested ~ http://muscle101.com/tips.html#fat

Fat Loss Diet & Training Tips
1. Have distinct goals- both short term (2-4 weeks) and long term (3 months-year). This helps keep your training and diet focused, and gives you something to aim for.
2. Write up a plan- writing a detailed plan of what you need to do to achieve your goals helps you identify precisely what you need to do, sacrifices you'll have to make, etc. Failing to plan is like planning to fail!
3. Keep motivated- keep inspirational pictures in places you see them regularly for motivation, dream of your ideal physique, take pictures so you can see improvements.
4. Measure progress regularly- if one or two weeks go by without any progress, something has to change. Try cutting back on carbohydrates and calories or increasing cardio.
5. Do 20-40 minutes cardio 3-4 days a week- preferably in the morning on an empty stomach.
6. Vary your cardio intensity(interval training)- Low intensity (25%) burns more % fat calories, but medium intensity (65%) burns more net fat calories, along with more glycogen, and muscle protein. Vary intensity to stave off boredom, shock your body, and develop more slow twitch, fat oxidizing muscle fibers.
7. Train with higher reps (or higher intensity cardio)- again, this stimulates Type 1, slow twitch muscle fiber which develop more mitochondria which in turn can oxidize (burn) more fat.
8. Use caffeine + ephedrine + aspirin stack- if your going to use any fat burning supplements, this combination has been shown to be very effective. Synephrine may be a new, emerging supplement that replaces ephedrine with less jitters. Buy separately or look for supplement that combines them.
9. Eat plenty of protein- this prevents muscle wasting which ultimately lowers your metabolism and ability to burn fat, and they are more difficult calories to assimilate.
10. Eat 6 meals a day- this prevents major insulin/blood sugar fluctuations, helps control hunger, increases metabolism, and prevents storage of excess calories as fat(because there is no excess).
11. If you can't count calories, at least count portions- a portion of meat might be a chicken breast, and a portion of carbs might be a cup of pasta. Always include a portion of protein.
12. Eliminate juice/pop calories- Substitute pop and juice with water or diet drinks with virtually no calories, milk is fine, but not between meals.
13. Prepare meals beforehand- so you always have healthy foods available. Spend a Sunday afternoon preparing chicken breasts and pasta, and chopping vegetables so you can have good food readily available all week long.
14. Understand the Glycemic Index(GI)- it is a measure of how much blood sugar is elevated in response to eating food. White bread & glucose have value of 100, and the lower the better. High blood sugar leads to high insulin levels which leads to fat storage (of excess calories) and less satiety (hunger pangs come again sooner).
15. Eat lots of fruit and veggies- fruit may contain fructose, but though it is simple in structure, it has the least effect on blood sugar out of all foods! Veggies are high in fiber which also lowers GI. Some exceptions: bananas, carrots, and most dried fruit.
16. Stick with whole grain foods- when selecting bread, make sure white flower is not the first ingredient! Eat oatmeal instead of flaky cereals, and get protein fortified or whole wheat pasta.
17. Don't boil your veggies- fiber lowers GI, but there are soluble fibers that are lost when boiled in water (and poured off), so steam your veggies, or eat them raw.
18. Start meals with salads/fruit/veggies- eating low GI/high fiber foods before a meal lowers overall GI, so eat your salad first, or start your meal with an apple.
19. If eating high GI foods, limit calories and fat- it's OK to have some cheat foods with high GI from time to time, but increased insulin surge will more readily store any excess fat or carbs as bodyfat.
20. Don't eliminate fat from diet- make sure to get enough fats, preferably from oils (olive, flax seed, hemp oil) on salads and/or meats, and avoid carbohydrates with this meal. Fat is released into blood for up to 5 hours, so your next meal should also be very low GI. Perhaps adding some oil to the last, low carb meal of the day would be the way to go.
21. Don't cook healthy oils- good fats are 'damaged' with heat, so consume oils on salads, or add to food after cooking (flax oil is highest in linoleic/linolenic acids, essential fatty acids).
22. Avoid junk food- I shouldn't have to even say this, but I will anyhow! Avoid chips, fries, chocolate bars, and doughnuts at all costs! (high GI from white flour/potatoes/sugar with lots of fat). If you absolutely must, have it as a meal by itself and hope the calories are low enough to avoid being stored as bodyfat.
23. Drink lots (~10 cups/day) of water- especially first thing in the morning. Good hydration is essential for optimal functioning of all biological processes, including fat oxidization and waste removal.
24. Avoid processed foods- processing removes most vitamins and fiber(raising GI), and tends to destroy essential fatty acids (hint: stay away from anything in a box unless it's whole grain).
25. Don't have late meals- try not to eat anything less than 2 hours before bed, if you do, something light, low fat, high protein, low, low carb.
26. Taper your meals through the day- make your biggest meals in the morning, and taper them off as the day goes on. Though by biggest meal, I don't mean huge, all meals should be roughly 300-600 calories, depending on your requirements.
27. Eat about 14-16 x lean bodyweight (in pounds) calories per day- this is a rough measure, adjust according to energy levels, activity levels, and progress.
28. Allow yourself one cheat day a week- if pursuing a strict diet, have one cheat day a week so it's easier to stick with your diet. It's also best to have any 'cheat' meals after working out when you can store most of the carbs as glycogen, not fat.
29. Try cycling caloric intake- staying on a calorie restricted diet for too long can make your body adjust by dropping metabolism. Having a day of no calorie deficit or surplus may hold off unfavorable metabolic changes. Anabolic Burst Cycling requires 2 weeks high/2 weeks low caloric intake.