Hey you guys, thanks for all you said. I took the courage to change my diet a little last night and I cought flack, but it sure does feel great that I have the control as to what goes in my mouth.
I do a lot of physical exercise, I just can't run. I enjoy stretching and working out in the garden. I spent 3 hours yesterday cutting wood.
ge78, thanks for the advise.
I'm gonna add some fats to my diet. I do use olive oil. anything else that will work?
I am back from our trip to the village ( it was orthodox easter this weekend and here in cyprus it is a very very big celebration with so much food that you actually can blow up ) and i am so proud of myself.
It was a really big fight with myself and food but i won. And it feels so absolutly great now. Still little envy to my husband who is rihgt at this moment eating icecream in front of the tv but at least i am in the other room and dont have to smell it. 
What really helps me is to think that what do i enjoy more, the piece of cake or jeans that are not too tight.
i just wanted to ask you guys who are on diet, do you enjoy cooking while you yourself cann't eat it ?
I hope i am not the only one but i absolutly adore coocking for my family especially if i cann't eat it and if i really crave something going though the cookbooks with lovely pictures really helps me to overcome the cravings.
Alright BO.........what's up with the crutches?!?!?!
remember how I said i was in the er friday nite? well, I sprained my ankle really bad. My leg fell asleep and I got up to go up my stairwell and my ankle twisted under me and cause It was numb I didn't feel it. I felt it 2days later after walking 3 miles. 
IT's about the size of a golfball on one side. ( it dosen't help that I tore all of the ligiments in it 6yrs ago).
thanks for asking
But I'm still trying to watch my diet, trying to exercise a bit...
Be PROUD OF ME.. 
I'm getting ready for my visit 
and am craving junk food really bad.. so i hobbled over to the vending machine and got a diet pepsi out of the machine.. I took two sips (literally) and threw the rest out. After the two sips I was content. AWESOME HUH?????
That's great...just two sips.
My mom did the same thing to her ankle when I was in high school...many moons ago, lol...NOT! Her foot/leg, something fell asleep and when she got up, she turned and caught her toe on the heating vent...the ones on the floor and she literally cried!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I feel for ya!!! Hope you get better soon!
i just wanted to ask you guys who are on diet, do you enjoy cooking while you yourself cann't eat it ?
I hope i am not the only one but i absolutly adore coocking for my family especially if i cann't eat it and if i really crave something going though the cookbooks with lovely pictures really helps me to overcome the cravings.
I love cooking! So my family is stuck eating a healthier with me. 
The best was when I got my dad the meat eater to have a portabello mushroom sandwich, and he liked it.
Find foods that both you and them can eat. You don't always have to do with out, just cut down your portions if it is something that isn't exactly good for you. Also look into healthier ways to cook your favorite dishes.
I get several emails with recipes in them from different places.
This is some infromation from http://www.thedailyrecipe.com that I
would cut and paste to share with everyone...
SOME LOW FAT ALTERNATIVES:
* For low-fat gravy, use a separator (from any kitchen
wares store), cool the gravy so the fat rises to the top
and pour the flavorful liquid from the spout at the bottom.
* Use half the amount of high-calorie ingredients like
chocolate chips, but use the mini kind, or chop things small,
so they go evenly throughout the dish.
* You can remove most of the fat from a can of soup by
putting it in the freezer for 10 minutes and scooping the
fat off the top.
* To flavor your next batch of rice, without adding lots
of calories, cook it in broth.
* The three biggest dietary-fat culprits: salad dressing,
margarine and cheese. Aim for low-fat versions of each.
* Peppers, chives, garlic and onions tend to satisfy your
taste buds so you eat less.
Here is some other infromation I got as well. This one is a newsletter from jillianmichaels.com. She is the trainer from the show The Biggest Loser.
Slow and Steady
Remember the fable about the tortoise and the hare? The hare got off to a zippy pace and seemed sure to win. But he didn't, did he? The tortoise, while naturally much slower than the hare, kept moving steadily towards the finish line and was able to cross first.
What's the take-home message of this fable? Slow and steady wins the race. To reach your weight-loss goals, you need to switch from the hare's to the tortoise's mindset. In other words, you must break the "all or nothing" mentality.
Do you start diets with super superhuman resolve determined to eschew temptation and work out seven days a week only to fall off the wagon and give up hope?
This kind of approach to anything especially to your health can be very appealing, even motivational. Hey, I'm telling you right now it's the most dangerous way to set out. Human beings are imperfect. When you do skip a workout or give in to temptation (something we all do), you're more likely to throw in the towel.
So, start thinking like a tortoise. Pace yourself. Have a slice of pizza and take a day off now and then, but don't stray too far from the path that will you to your goals.
JILLIAN'S TIP OF THE DAY
Measure Your Journey
When just starting out, the road to losing 20 pounds or more seems to stretch out forever. Checking for incremental signs of progress along the way like weighing yourself everyday looking for ounces lost isn't going to make that road seem any shorter. Instead of measuring your journey in feet, set your sights on mileposts. Weigh yourself just once a week. You'll see steady progress over time, not discouraging daily ups and downs.
I agree. I either look for a way to lower the calorie content in the dish or else I just make it as a side rather than the main dish and always divide the recipe by at least half... (I read somewhere that if you took the old additions to Joy of Cooking or other such cookbooks that the servings in the SAME recipes have been changed from 6 to 4 to 'keep up with the times.' Isn't that sad?)
Ok here's my confession: I used to have my fiance trained to order dessert with two spoons even though he doesn't like sweets just so I could eat the whole thing while pretending we were sharing. 
Hey Cindy, I used 1/2 the packet of Crystal Light in one bottle of water today. What a difference it made! I actually enjoyed drinking it! Thanks to you I will now save money on Crystal light & enjoy the taste.
I am new to CC and when I started reading this forum today I became inspired. It has been my goal for a long time now to lose weight, but I haven't done anything about it and I am now about 25 lbs heavier than I was when I decided that I needed to lose weight.
Part of the problem is that I lost my job in January and since then I have been sitting at home doing nothing. I sleep late every day and sit on the computer or in front of the tv and eat. I have been avoiding the scale for a few weeks now because I didn't want proof that I am still gaining weight, but the fact that all my jeans are getting tight is a good indication that I am.
My mother tries to inspire me to lose weight because she has done a very good job of it herself and wants me to be happy with myself. She has lost over 40 lbs with NutriSystem, but that is very expensive and like most people I can't afford to do it because I no longer have a job.
I think my main problem is that I have no willpower. It would be so much easier for me if I had friends or family that lived close to me that I could go workout with or things like that. My DH tries to help, but when I told him that I weigh almost 190 lbs he made the mistake of saying "oh my god!". That really hurt my feelings and has not helped the situation much.
I am going to see Rascal Flatts for my birthday in June and I am determined to lose atleast 5 lbs before that but more would be great. I don't like to drink water, but the only other thing I drink is tea that my DH douses with sugar because he detsts any other kind of sweetener.
I have to admit that I am a smoker (something I also plan to work on), but one thing I have started to do is deny myself a cigarette until I have had atleast one 20 oz bottle of water. I don't let myself have another one until I finish another bottle.
Another thing I am going to do is make a "fat chain". I am going to make a paper chain with a link for every pound I want to lose. I am going to put this in my living room for every one to see. When I lose a pound I will take link off, but if I gain a pound I have to put a red link back on and it will be a visual reminder to me and everyone else of my progress.
I am also going to make my DH walk with me every day. It is a mile to the end of my road, so we are going to walk down and back every day. He could stand to lose a few lbs himself =).
It is nice to know that there are people here to help and inspire me when I feel like I am losing the battle. It is a hard battle to win when you love doing cakes!
I know I have said a lot, but the main thing I wanted to say is that everyone here is an inspiration to me!
Welcome to the gang, texaskitty!!! There's lots of support here to go around!!!
It's been a trying week with my MIL in town this week - I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow!!! Please, at least 1 lb. LOL!!!! 
Welcome to the group TexasKitty! And good luck!
I love your idea of a fat chain, though maybe we can come up with a happier name for it. HeHe! I think it is good to have a physical reminder where we are in the weight lose and it is a great thing to let those around you know where you stand with it as well. If your family see's what you do they are more likely to help you with it. If you do it in the closset then you don't have the same support you could have.
As far as the tea, would it be possible to make 'his' and 'her' tea? Let him make a pitcher of his with the sugar in it, and make a picture of yours with out suger and add to it your favorite sugar sub. Also water isn't my favorite things so when I get tired of just water I add FullFill or Cyrstal Light's to it. I've also seen where you can use a little lemon or lime to flavor it.
Alrighty, last night was my weight in night and I'm now at 169.6. So I'm down a 1lb. This is good since I really didn't think I was going to lose this week.
I saw my brother today and was wearing a pair of jeans I haven't worn in a while and he told my the butt area was saggy. It's a good thing since it means I lost weight, but at the same time I can't afford and am not ready to buy more jeans yet. So I guess I'll be walking around with a saggy butt for a while longer.
Good luck everyone!!
So I guess I'll be walking around with a saggy butt for a while longer.
LOL!!! I'm ready for that saggy butt look!!!! When my mom lost her weight, she gave me her jeans every time she dropped a size. She would get rid of them so she didn't have the larger sizes in case she put a few pounds back on. Now, I just have to lose to get into them!!!!
No weight loss this week. Still at 217. I've been exercising, so my pants do seem to fit a bit better. Muscle gain, I guess. But you'd think with all the weight I have to lose that I would drops some pounds too!!! The lasagna we had for dinner probably didn't help any!!! But instead of having seconds, I had more salad. Have ya'll seen the sprays they have for salad dressing now. Wish Bone makes them. At our store, they only have the Italian and Balsamic Vinagrette. But it's pretty cool. 10 "spritzs" only have 1 gram of fat and 1 carb and only 10 calories per serving. Rather than smothering the salad with dressing, you just spray it to get the taste. I can't do just oil and vinegar, or lemon like my mom does!
Hope everyone did well this week!! MIL is in town this week - very trying, but almost over!!!!
Welcome to the newbies on this post! To those who lost and who stayed the same! To those who gained, a little bit gained is way easier to lose that if it had been a big gain.
I feel like I have lost some weight. (I don't own a scale yet.) I stopped eating at McDonald's for breakfast so much last week, and my body looked way better for it.
My exercise this week has been working in the garden. I had to get my garden ready this week for rototilling. I raked a HUGE pile of leaves out of my garden and pulled up all the dead plants from last year out of the garden, it was more of an upper body work out though. MIL rented a rototiller (or what is now called a cultivator or tiller) from Home Depot....5'3" me tried to use it and the big old thing started to take off on me instead of digging into the ground 
so FIL stayed to help till my garden and then when we started on his garden (they live across the street) he had me use it again, it didn't run off on me again...but it required me to use my arms so that it would go where I wanted it to go and not the other way around. (Should have seen my FIL, he at first didn't want to use it, but while he was using it he was like a big kid, he was smiling and also sweating quite a bit...so we exercised together yesterday )
Maybe Friday or Saturday I will mow the yard to get some exercise 
Keep up the hard work everyone.
MIL rented a rototiller (or what is now called a cultivator or tiller) from Home Depot....5'3" me tried to use it and the big old thing started to take off on me instead of digging into the ground so FIL stayed to help till my garden and then when we started on his garden (they live across the street) he had me use it again, it didn't run off on me again...but it required me to use my arms so that it would go where I wanted it to go and not the other way around. (Should have seen my FIL, he at first didn't want to use it, but while he was using it he was like a big kid, he was smiling and also sweating quite a bit...so we exercised together yesterday )
We rented one of those monsters a couple of years ago. Sure I can do it, no problem!?!?! The ground was too dry and it took off with me. If ya just let go it will stop, but it never occurred to me to let it go!! DH laughed his little butt off!!! Until he tried to use it and the same thing happened to him!! Definitely can get a good arm workout from one of those things!!!
Congrads to everyone!
I haven't officially joined so I'wanted to join now~
I weigh on Monday's so I've already weighed this week. Lost 2 lbs. I've been loosing 2 lbs per week for about 3 wks. To those of you who don't know me I want to be honest with everyone, I had lap band surgery on March 6th. I am loosing weight BUT not without working my butt off doing it! I have plataued (sp) 2 wks in a row about 2 wks ago which was very depressing. I'm back in the gym & working hard!! There is no "support group" through the dr who did my surgery so what better way to get support then to come on CC with my old friends!
m0use.. mowing is a great way to exercise! I do it every weekend. This weekend liked to have killed me though! It was really hot! What are you fixing to plant? I usually do a veggie garden every year but have been to busy this year. I did plant 2 tomato plants in my petunia bed! Can't wait till they start putting out!!
KittisKakes... Wow, I have never seen the spritzer salad dressing! That is cool! I will look for it now!! Thanks for mentioning it!
TexasSugar.. enjoy that saggy butt!! LOL!! Be proud!!!
Carla, congrads on the 3lbs loss!! That's awesome!!
I've never cut grass in my entire life!!!!! Maybe I should try!!! No, I'm not spoiled, either...well mabye a little, lol!
What exactly is lap band surgery, tc? I hope that's not too personal of a question.
Congrats to all you losers, lol!
Hey, socake, where ya been........haven't heard from ya in a while!!!!!!!!!!!
I can answer that... Lap band surgery is when they take a small ring and clinch it around the top of your stomach creating a smaller pouch. The ring itself can be inflated or deflated by injecting a saline solution (think of a donut around the top portion of the stomach that can squeeze it). It is adjusted so the person can feel more full on a lesser amount of food.. or deflated if they are losing weight too rapidly (which is actually a bad thing...) and need more food intake.
Its an alternative to gastric bypass surgery that is popular today. Hope that helps~
m0use.. mowing is a great way to exercise! I do it every weekend. This weekend liked to have killed me though! It was really hot! What are you fixing to plant? I usually do a veggie garden every year but have been to busy this year. I did plant 2 tomato plants in my petunia bed! Can't wait till they start putting out!!
lima beans (for my mil), sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, spaghetti squash.....and marigolds around the border to keep the bunnies from eatin' everything.
Last year my MIL insisted on buying like 6 tomatoe plants last year, despite being told that we did not have a lot of time to keep on the garden last year, and we had so many tomatoes that they were rotting on the vine 
So this year, the garden is MINE and I decide what goes in and what doesn't! So this year only a couple of tomato plants!
I am also trying to get my front flower bed to sprout. I planted some seeds in it and I am hoping they will sprout soon...I think it's too cold yet up here in WI, so I might buy some ready to go plants too to go in the bed since it looks pretty empty.
This weekends exercise will also consist of cutting some posts to stick in the garden and attach some chicken wire on them for the beans that I want to grow.
Also we are going to take our son to a local park in Milwaukee that is a big huge floral garden. I am hoping the tulips will be in bloom, they should be since mine are blooming right now.
TC- glad to see that you are loosing some weight...I know you've been trying.
I know my joints feel better with some of the weight off that I have lost.
Sorry Sassyinsg, that's not the lap band that I had done. The one your talking about is the adjustable Lapband surgery. I had Laparoscopic Vertical Banded Gastroplasty. It's been around since 1966 & has improved big time. My stomach is stapled & there is a band around my stomach making my stomach the size of an egg (2 oz). It is not adjustable. What I have will be this way forever unless I have it reversed. I can only eat 2 oz at a time, 3 times a day. I get full very fast. The weight does not come off fast, it comes off normal (about 2 lbs a week ONLY if you exercise & eat what your suppose to). Just like if you were dieting. It's major surgery but not as bad as gastric bypass. You don't get sick if you eat the wrong foods & don't stay sick like some people who have had gastric bypass. This surgery is the less evasive surgery out there & the oldest. The best thing about it is that it can be reversed! It's not for everyone that's for sure. I'm doing good with it & hope I continue to do good. The work is hard though! I'm killing myself working out everyday! The best thing about this surgery is the feeling of being full!! I've never really felt full before. It's awesome~ Anyway mmdd... that's the surgery I had. Hope I explained it well enough for ya'll to understand. I'm not good at explaining things. If you have a question just ask, it's not too personal~
m0use... your garden sounds divine!!! I love doing a garden, I wish I had planted more then just tomatoes! I hope your garden turns out wonderful! Working in the garden in the early mornings with my grandparents is one of my fondest memory of them. I learned all I know about gardens from them. Squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, new potatoes, & butterbeans are my favorite! Yummy!! I guess I'll have to buy them from the Farmer's Market this year Good luck with your garden!
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