Weight Loss Help...with The Chunky Monkeys!
Lounge By TexasSugar Updated 28 Oct 2011 , 1:50pm by TexasSugar
HEre were have bad weather and sometime I am too lazy to walk. I started projects--organizing my photos, cleaning up the house, etc. I keep a to do list when I have free time. I don't eat and burn some calories.
Yesterday, I sorted out my DVD's and CD collection. Items I did not want gave away to the local senior center and library.
Clothes that don't fit gave away to charity.
I forgive you Margie. 
It is melted away today, so I didn't have to cancel my Course 1 this afternoon.
I spent my afternoon and evening attaching granny squares together and then making some more of the colors I need more off. Still have quite a few more to make and attach though I've made progess on it since last week.
Did my class at Michaels this afternoon then came to my parents for dinner. Steak and potatoes. Yummy! I didn't eat all my steak though, so that is something.
Tomorrow I'm going to clean and do laundry and get ready for the new week to start. Probably need to make a trip to Walmart too.
So how is everyone doing?
hello...my name is tesso and I am a chuncky monkey. I have PCOS and have been fighting the weight gain that comes with it for years!!! 
so sick of it.
I have lost 75 pounds so far..with MANY more to go...and I am at a complete standstill. the ()%&)(#(( scale just wont move any lowerer!! I am following a life plan of watching portions and calories. And the hardest thing i had to do was learn NOT to eat my cake creations. 
Welcome Tesso! Congrats on the 75lbs. I totally understand the rest of the sentence as I am sure all of us can say the same thing. But sometimes we have to take a moment and give our selves credit for what we have done, not what we need to do.
Don't give up. We all hit walls. You just have to figure out how get get over or around it. Do you need to adjust your calorie intake? Do you need to work out more (this is my biggest weakness)?
As far as the cakes, you do enough of them, and you get tired of them. I've been doing cakes often since 2001. At this point I'm like, oh cake, yeah I've been looking at that things for hours or days, I'm so over wanting it. Of course you stick cheesecake infront of me and it is a whole different story. 
Welcome to our little group! Feel free to jump in any time with those tips and helpful hints that has gotten you to 75lbs lighter, and hopefully we can all help boost your motivation and help you get past this wall!
It is a new week and of course my weekend went so so. I'm getting better at ignoring Hank, which I hate. I just have to forget the excuses and do it every day. No more taking breaks, it just doesn't work for me.
So I went shopping yesterday. I find it funny that I am trying to lose weight but keep buying clothes. I did buy a pair of pants, but they are size 10, which I can now fit into, though they are still a tiny bit tight. I also bought a dress and a couple of tops. All I can wear for a while, so that is a plus.
I need to go through my closet some time and weed out a few more clothes. I put on a top this morning that always made me look skinnier and this morning it made me look bulkier. And I'm at the point of if it looks shapeless or bulky I'm not wearing it. I have too many other clothes that look good on me.
Me and my mom bought me some flowers last night at Walmart. I'm trying to decide if I want to bring them over here and put them on my desk. I'd see them more here than I would at home since I'm here more than I am awake at home.
Hope everyone has a great start to their week. I just got done with my breakfast, about to add up time sheets for last week then sweep the floor.
Good Monday morning everyone.... Hope all had a great week-end and a wonderful Valentine's day.
Tesso - WELCOME!!! WOWIE!!! You've lost 75 pounds. How awesome is that? Seriously, that is fantastic. I'm sorry that you are at a standstill at the moment. I hate it when that happens but I'm sure you will get over that hump and start seeing the weight come off again. We all hit those plateaus and it can really test your willpower. Hang in there, I believe you can reach your goal. Geeeez, look how far you've come. You've done GREAT!! It's great to meet ya.
Tracy, I got my size 10 jeans out the other day. Looked at em and kinda chuckled...... Put them away and tried on my 12 jeans. Just a little snug but it won't be much longer and they will fit. I had another great week last week. Scale shows another 2 pound loss this morning.... I'm really happy about that cause there was one or two times that I felt I over ate and wasn't sure what the scale would show. I helped move my mother in law into a new place so I guess maybe the exercise helped with the extra calories that I consumed a couple of times. So it all worked out well.
Ok, how's everyone else doing??
I had printed out a list a few weeks ago of some fruits and veggie calorie counts (since those don't always come with the nutritional facts stamped on them). After using the list I realised it was missing alot of the veggies I like and cook with often, so I went on a hunt for another one. I figured I'd share this with everyone, since it seems to have a good variety in the list. I am guessing it is attached to some diet plan, I didn't pay attention to that, I just wanted size and calories.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14099/Fruit-and-Vegetable-NutritionFactsChart2007
Margie, woo hoo for the minus 2 pounds. I'm not sure what my weight is going to do this week. We shall see when we get there.
When I was in 5th grade I was already wearing 12s, 14s by the end of middle school and 16s by the end of high. From there I went up to 18s. When those got snug on me is when I finally decided I needed to do something about it.
I didn't have alot of smaller sizes sitting around. When I moved 5 years ago I went though my clothes and almost everything that no longer fit didn't make the move with me. I did keep two boxes of 'skinny' clothes, but they were mostly 16s with a few 14s mixed in. I actually passed the 16s before I even pulled the box down and what was left I decided I didn't really need anyway.
It's a great feeling to know that I can get my butt into a size that I haven't worn in like 20 years. That's the one thing I can say. When you are gaining weight you start hating clothes. But as you lose, it is very liberating to toss out the too big and move down in sizes.
I'd say to anyone that has too large clothes in their closet to remove them. It is motivational. If the bigger clothes aren't there then it makes it harder for you to gain the weight back, because you aren't going to want to go out and buy that bigger size of pants again. Plus getting rid of them gives you more room for clothes that do fit.
Thanks for the warm welcome. It has taken me two years to get the 75 off. and I still have 100+ to go. Doctor told me it would be a long slow process, yah, he wasnt kidding.
The best thing I have found to help me find those, what i like to call 'hidden calories' is www.calorieking.com . it has calories listed for almost everything. I also have his small pocket book that has restaurants in it. I about cried when I realized that wendy's chicken blt salad was 690 calories with the croutons and dressing. that is more than half my calories a day ! 
I also keep a food log. I spent a weekend designing an excel spreadsheet, so that when i type in what i eat, it automatically puts in the calories. and totals for the day/week/month. It also charts my weekly weight. Which i desperately wish would looked like a stockmarket crash.
I will be giving up central cake forum for Lent. I wish you all a Happy Easter!
Hang on there. If I had a bad day there is always tomorrow.
Walking or just finding an activity for food will help curb the cravings.
write to you bake after Easter.
I will be leaving February 20th to Lions Bay to visit my sister and Family and attend the closing winter olympic ceremony.
hope you like my new profile name.
I decided to keep this one. After losing 100 pounds I feel so much better.
It is a slow journey-took me 3 years but if you focus on eathing healthy, exercising at least 30 minutes a day or just moving you will reach your goal.
Hello everyone!
I've been a little busy lately - our oldest son got married on Valentine's day! I did the wedding cake and the groom's cake. They turned out really good. I am especially proud of the groom's cake. After all, I did it for my baby! It was a beautiful wedding and everything went really well.
I was the matron of honor. I felt very honored that Jordan (my new daughter-in-law) asked me to do that. Because of all the exercise I've been getting and the good food choices that I've been making my dress fit so much better than when I brought it home! Since Jan.27 I've lost 1 1/4 inches off my hips, 1/2 inch off my waist and I've lost 4 pounds! Instead of being uncomfortable and self-conscious at my son's wedding I felt beautiful! I am so proud of myself!!
I hope that you're all doing well. I'll try to catch up more with everyone tomorrow - I am still exhausted!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melissa
Tesso, from everything that I have read if you take the weight of slowly you are more likely to keep the weight off. So I say slow isn't a bad thing.
I have a little notebook I carry that I right down what I eat and about how many calories. I will round up some and don't worry about getting to the exact number. I really don't want to live the rest of my life freaking out about calorie numbers. But I do know listing out what I eat every day does help me be more aware of what I am eating and how much.
You were talking about the salad being so high calorie, that is the thing with fast food eating, well at eating at home. You think you are being healthy by getting the salad but it is all those yummy extras that raise the calorie count. I took a quiz online one day on which were the healthier picks at fast food places. Almost everything that sounded like the healther version was actually the higher in calorie. It is crazy!
100poundsless, I hope you enjoy your trip!
Melissa, I am so glad you enjoyed yourself at the wedding. It is amazing how just shedding a little of our weight makes of feel huh? Awesome job on the inches lost and the 4lbs!
A friend of mine called me last week to ask me how to make chicken and dumplings. She's not much of a cook but is willing to learn. I had to tell her that I had never made them by myself so I didn't know either. I'd helped my mo before but never did it all on my own. Well since that conversation I have been thinking about chicken and dumplings. You know how that goes right? Last night I cooked the chicken and tonight I am hopefully going to finish it up. It will be lunch for me and my brother tomorrow and I'll probably send some to my parents house.
I know they aren't the most healthy thing, but they are comfort food and we haven't had them in ages. I will keep my portions low, and get rid of the left overs so I'm not eating on them for days. I know people that will take them.
I started taking my multi vit again this week and I have to say it doesn't agree with my tummy. I took it yesterday right after breakfast and in a short time frame I had that sick to my stomach feeling. I was sweeping the floor at the time and had to sit down and let it pass. So this morning I thought okay I'll take it before I eat. Half way through my oatmeal I had the same sick to my stomach feeling.
When I took it before I took it with Fish oil pills and always assumed the fish oil was the one that made my tummy do flip flops, but since I haven't taken those this time it has to the be multi. They are still in date, so it isn't that. I'm going to try to stomach my way through this bottle, then maybe try another brand.
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Where are the Monkey girls today?
Shelley, How are you and your grandson doing?
Katherine, did you get over your cold yet? Have they got you working too hard again?
Margie, I forgot to tell you I saw those Sketchers this weekend. I considered it, but they kinda scared me. I'd be afraid to go up steps in those babies as I might misjudge how high to step up. Not that I have steps in my house. I definetly know where to get them know if I can get over the fear factor.
Tesso, I took your suggestion and took the Vit on an empty tummy. Well I waited until two hours after breakfast, and guess what... No icky feeling! Will try it agian tomorrow to see if it was a fluke of is that is just a better time for me to take it.
Melissa, have you gotten a chance to catch up on sleep and relax yet?
I made my chicken and dumplings last night, shared them with my parents, then had another smaller bowl today at lunch with my brother. Most of the left overs are going home with them, and another smaller bowl is going home with someone else. That way they can not find a home on my hips. They were good and I have gotten my craving fix and won't have any more until next winter.
Tonight it is turkey breasts and fresh veggies.
My weight was 146.0 this morning. Which means I am down 1.4lbs since last week. I'm happy with that number, especially after the small loses the last two weeks. I am down a total of 7.6 since the first of the year. Of course I'd love for it to be a bigger number, but I'm still happy with it because I am losing weight. 19lbs to go to get to 127. I haven't really dropped any inches yet, but my pants are fitting loser. Go figure.
So where/how is everyone today?
ok, I've been on Cc for a while now as I'm sure most have seen (since I post like a million times a day according to my DH )...
this July I am flying w/ my 3 kids and DH from Ohio to Florida to go to Disney land YEAH.
I was listening to the radio this morning and they reported a news report about a guy who was flying on Southwest Airlines and was removed from the plane because he was "too fat"!!!
I'm totally freaking out here, the last time I flew on a plane (only other time) was like 8 yrs. ago and i remember the seat belt being snug then and I know i'm bigger now.....I'm so scared i'm gonna get booted off the flight!!!
We're flying Southwest too!!! OH NO!!
anyhow I have been overweight my whole life it seems and it's just become worse and worse as I get older. I've really noticed my energy level decreasing drastically lately and it's no good for me. I lead a really busy life between cakes, kids, and helping out my mom and BFF's grandma who is unable to get around to the doc's, grocery shopping, take out garbage, make insulin needles...I do a lot with her and I just really need my energy back.
I've read this forum thread many times before and never wanted to commit.....but I think today is the day.
So far today, I have counted points like with Weight watchers, since in the past this has worked for me (as long as I stick to it).
so far today I've eaten 2 pieces of raisin bread w/ smart balance butter, a raisin bagel (not sure what the raisin bread/bagel obsession is right now, bear with me lol), a bowl of chicken noodle soup w/ crackers for lunch, and a large cappuccino. (I was really cold and it smelled really good)........I'm already at like 30 points for the day so I'm probably going to eat a heap of veggies w/ no calorie spray butter for dinner LOL
Not off to a good start eh?? I know....nothing like eating NOTHING but carbs and expecting to lose weight. Although i would have eaten much worse and much more had I not been keeping track of the points!
I really need some help!!! Maybe having a daily accountability will help, I don't know!
KHalstead, welcome! I'm glad you decided to join us!
I saw something very breif yesterday on the Southwest Airline thing. Kevin Smith the actor/director right? I'd be curious to hear the full story on it. I know he said that he "could fit in one seat, but two were more comfortable and he had the money for it." My question would be did he actually buy two seats or just decide to throw the arm rail between the two up? If he actually paid for the two seats then I can't see why they would throw him off the plane? I also have no idea his current size since I haven't seen him in anything new in a few years.
Why not call Southwest and ask them what their limits are? I'm certainly not saying not to lose weight, but instead of panicing now you can always find out what their rules are on it. After this incident with a big named person, I'm curious to see how they handle it in the future? I'm guessing they are catching alot of flake over it.
Okay now to the diet, umm I mean life style changes (right Margie?). I am the first one to say we need carbs. I was getting on to my mom about this last night. The idea with carbs is to get the slow burning ones like what you get in whole wheats and whole grains.
Instead of giving up your raisin bagel or bread, how about cutting your servings in half. How about pairing a piece of bread or half of a bagel with a boiled egg or yogurt or cottage cheese? You still get your raisin bread/bagel fix plus you are getting some protien for energy. You can also add some fresh fruit to balance it out.
I haven't looked in to WW so I'm not sure how things things add up in points though.
"Not off to a good start eh??... Although i would have eaten much worse and much more had I not been keeping track of the points!"
Don't beat yourself up over one day, especially the first day. You said before you have been over weight your whole life, I'm right there with you. Right now you are going from eating what ever you want to cutting portions and probably cutting out foods you have always eaten with out a thought. It is a big change and no change happens over night.
Focus on that last sentence. If you weren't paying attention to what you were eating you would have eaten a ton more calories. What you did today was a start. Now you take it and build on it.
We can't let one day get to us, because there will always be days where we eat more than we should or didn't eat as healthy as we could have or what not. We didn't get to the weight we are now because of one day instead it was days, months, and years of eating and lack of exercise stacking up. If you go a little over board one day you just have to learn to cut back a little the next day, or work out a little harder. Your efforts will equal out in the end. Because even though we have bad days, we also have really great days.
I'm glad you made today the day to join us. If you weren't ready to commit before then you wouldn't have done it. But you are doing something about it now. So give yourself a big pat on the back.
Also don't forget to take time out for yourself. No let me rephrase that. Make time for yourself. Have a talk with DH and tell him you are committing to losing weight and that you need his help and support. Let him know you are doing it so you can be a better person for yourself, a better mother, better wife, better daughter and so on.
Schedule time to work out, or plan healthy meals for the whole family, or sit in a quiet space for a while. You deserve it, and need it to keep your sanity.
Your new Chunky Monkey Sisters are here for you when ever you need support!
you are so incredibly sweet, thank you for the support I'll definitely need it.......maybe after I lose 100 pounds I'll let ya'll know what I weigh LOL
the weight watchers system basically counts calories, fat, and fiber....the more calories and fat something has, the more points it has, and the more fiber the lower the points.
So If I have a regular bagel for instance lol it's 280 calories and 2 grams of fat and less than 1 gram of fiber (which is O, even though I'd love to say .5 grams)
That comes out to 5 points, a light bagel is 200 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 9 grams of fiber.....virtually same calories, a little less fat, but tons more fiber...that bagel comes out to 3 points so that would help just switching to light I know, but I haven't gone shopping since deciding to watch my points lol
Basically they assume that the more fiber something has the better it is, it will keep you full longer and generally things with whole grains have more fiber so that is a plus as well.
I know it's one step at a time, and one day at a time and that's how I'm going to focus on it!
Thanks again for the support I really need it1
You don't have to tell us your actual weight. But we do love to hear about loses around here.
Sounds like you have a good knowledge of food, which is a great thing to build off of. Eat what you have (or feed it to the kids) and start working on that healthy list. I find I do better at adjusting my eating habits when I ease into it.
All or nothing generally never works for me. I like my baby steps.
Hello Everyone!
I hope that you're all doing great. I feel pretty good tonight. It could be because I just finished dinner - brown rice and lentil casserole, one of my favorites!
My sweet son and his adorable new wife got me a prize today - a pedometer! I am so excited. I've wanted one for a very long time. So far it seems to be working very well. I can hardly wait to try it out tomorrow to see how much I really walk around. My Mom got me a 7 lb. kettlebell yesterday. I haven't tried it yet. But I can hardly wait. I might have to check out the dvd when I get off the computer.
I've done really well on the exercise today. I got 17 miles in so far! That's between riding my bike and using the gazelle thing. I'm really proud of that. But I sure would like to get in 3 more miles tonight. I can't imagine having a 20 mile day!!
Welcome KHalstead! You will love it here. There is so much support, encouragement and knowledge. I just love my chunky monkey sisters!
Ok, I'm off to try out the kettlebell. I'll let y'all know how I like it.
Melissa
hello my fellow monkeys!!
just checking in. saying hi. Yesteday was a food nightmare, with hubby getting in at 3:30 in the morining b/c of overtime. Eating schedule got a little off track. Anyway. Today has been good.
Tex--I am glad the vit time change has worked. hope it continues to.
Khalstead-welcome.
I saw the thing on carbs...I LOVE CARBS!! but body does not like to process them. so i have to be very careful about how many and what kind of carbs I eat. WHICH SUCKS!! i love pasta..i love potatoes..i love starches!!! But i have been good and kept them to a twice a month treat. It is only whole grain carbs for me. I miss my little starchy friends... 
I LOVE carbs!! Give me a tater, some pasta and bread, Yum! I am a happy girl! I don't even need all of the extra stuff - but butter makes everything better!
I tried out the kettlebell - I really like it. I'll be anxious to see how well it works. It seems like a really good cardio and upper body workout. Has anyone else tried them?
Then I went on a walk to try out my new pedometer. I got in a mile just going up and down my street. I hate it that you can't even feel safe walking around in your own neighborhood. But I feel really good tonight. I feel energized and I know that I can reach my goal. I just have to keep moving forward.
I hope that everyone has a good night!
Melissa
I'm a total carb person too, my mom was just recently diagnosed with celiac's disease (can't eat gluten, which is in EVERYTHING) ......she's a bread lover too, but she literally gets a build up in her esophogus (I know that's not spelled right) of yeast, like a baby would get thrush and her throat literally starts to close off, it doesn't happen within seconds like an allergy to peanuts will cause for some people...it happens gradually depending on how much of it she eats. When she eats something with gluten she gets horrifically sick and vomits and can't function for a day until everything is through her system.
Her doctor keeps telling her to tell me to get blood work because it's usually genetic and her doc says 98% of the time if the parent has it, the child does too and vice versa.
I recently (over the last year or so) developed red dots on my cheeks, looks like rosacia almost like pimples but they're not pimples. It can pretty easily be covered up with make up, and just gives my cheeks a flushed look, like I'm hot all the time or something.
Evidentally this is one of the biggest warning signs to doctors that someone has a gluten allergy!
I have no health insurance which is the reason I haven't seen a doctor about it, but part of me just doesn't even want to know...because once I'm told i'm allergic to something I can't just eat it and not think about it. I don't want to cause my body harm.
i really need to just suck it up and try to go gluten free for a week and see if my decline in energy changes. My mom swears when she's totally faithful to the gluten free diet she feels her best and has tons of energy! We live in a really small town and they have virtually NOTHING in the way of gluten free foods. Even some of the meat has gluten in it, which kinda scares me lol
Way to go with racking up those miles, Mellisa. I've seen the kettle bells at Walmart, they look interesting.
Tesso, so far so good today with the vit's too. Maybe that was the trick I needed.
I think we all love crabs. At least you can still get some of the whole wheat variety.
KH, I totally understand not having health insurance. I just finally got on a policy back in Dec. Of course I haven't been to visit the DR yet. I know I need to, if just to have my blood work done, but I keep putting it off.
You could try to go on a gluten free diet to see if your enegery changes. I think just losing weight will help with that alot. I am right over 35lbs less than I where I started a few years ago, and I can tell you I can do alot of things so much easier. When your body gets lighter, you find it takes less energy to do normal every day things as well as those out of the norm things.
Plus just be eating healthier foods you can feel better. Fried stuff, heavy calorie ladden sauces, and all those other things that our bodies don't like, drag our systems down. Instead of getting engery from our food, we end up feeling blah-ish. Think about the difference you feel when you eat a light healthy meal vs when you have fried chicken and mashed potatos and all that gravy. After a light meal you don't feel weighted down. You can get up and do chores or other things. After heavy meals you just want to sit on your butt and not do anything.
I decided this morning I may just have to change my weigh in dat and NOT tell the scale. For a third time I have gotten on the scale the day after weight in and it showed a lower number. Grrr to it!
Last night for dinner I pulled out this Turkey breast that I had bought. It was already cooked and ready to go. I sliced it in to portions, and froze what wasn't for my dinner last night. The 4oz portion was 100 calories. So then I decide I wanted zuchinni and green beans, get them out and get them cooking and am like well crap that is only 80 calories. I need more than that. So then I added a salad, which still only brought it up to 265 calories for the whole meal. I try to aim my meal calories at 300-400 each, so that I'm averaging around 1,300 for the day. Because you can have alot of veggies with out stacking up the calories I ended up with a plate full and actually ended up sharing a little of the meat with my dog. I gave a small piece to the cat, but he wasn't interested in it.
Since I had chicken and dumplings, and have no idea how many calories they have, plus have no desire to find out, I figured I averaged out okay in the end.
I have class tonight, so it means a late eating night for me. Unless I get away from work early enough to eat before. But then I have to eat at like 5:15 and find that when I get home from class at 9 I am hungry again. I'm really hoping to make it to bed earlier tonight. I made it into bed at a good time last night, but then picked up a book and had a hard time putting it back down. Sigh. Bad habit of mine.
I wish I had trouble staying up too late, I have trouble just staying up until the kids go to bed at 8pm LOL
I did much better food wise today, well kinda.
Breakfast I had a cappucino (I was hungry, but I was really sleepy), then for lunch my mom and I went out together and I had the salad bar and stuck to salad and veggies and had a small cup of chicken soup and dinner today will be grilled chicken breast and veggies so I'm good!
I'm tired tonight, but I've been absolutely running ragged all day, taking kids to school then picked up my mom to take her to therapy (she just had knee surgery) she's in a wheelchair so I got a good workout pushing her around, then went to lunch, picked up kids from school, picked up my best friend's grandma, took her, my mom and my 3 kids to the grocery store (fun fun!), droppped off Best friend's grandma, dropped off my mom, and just got home 2 minutes ago. I'm pooped, and now I gotta go make dinner and wash clothes for the kids to wear to school tomorrow (they have 4 sets of uniforms for school and all are dirty UGH).
I'm gonna sleep good tonight though!!
I don't envy you having those late classes at all I'd be half asleep!
I'm usually good until I leave the store, then it's like oh man I'm tired. A couple of years ago I babysat my friends daughter and I would get her at 6:30 to 7 in the mornings and would have her until 5:30, change clothes then go teach. Now that was a long day and I did it twice to three times a week.!
Since I started working this job (no nap time with the baby any more) I have gotten alot better at going to bed at a decent time, before I could stay up until 1-2am easily. Every now and then, like last night, my inner night owl sneaks back out.
One thing me and my mom has noticed about cooking healthy is that it is usually faster to good. That is a plus right? When you cook the sauces or casseroles with all the yummy gooey cheese in them, it takes longer to get food on the table.
Every time I grocery shop I plan to go home and break my veggies up into portion sizes to make the prep work that much easier. Of course even though I have 101 bowls to put them in, it never happens. At least I got that turkey breast cut up and frozen last night. I still have ground turkey I bought to figure out what I am going to do with. I've made Turkey patties with it the last few times I got it, but I want something different this time I think.
Hope you get some rest after your super busy day today!!
Oh Margie, my Walmart had the pepperoni 200 calorie pizza the other day. I need to compare it side by side with the other one I have but I'm pretty sure it is smaller, which would make since since they had to make up for the added pepperoni calories. My un-official report, for what it is worth, is that I like the tomato and cheese over the pepperoni one. Of course I'm not a huge pepperoni person, so that could be why too.
I am so sorry ladies, I am 4 pages behind here! Life was a crazy ride for a while, my husband's dear aunt died, work was stressful and busy, etc. I ate badly, I exercised little, and I hope that I can re-start and stick to it....
Sometimes life just gets in the way of our goals, but I am determined to make it only a little set back, I will still get there!!!!
Tracy (that's your name right?), it's soooooooooooo helpful if you can find the time to break down the veggies, makes you want to eat them too if you don't have to bother washing and cutting them every time you want a snack.
Here's some tricks I did in the past that have worked that I'm implementing again.
I would grocery shop one day, break down the stuff the next day, then it doesn't feel like such a BIG chore.
Also, things like celery and broccoli and cauliflower, I will wash and cut into smaller pieces and put in ziploc bags in the fridge (it's amazing how much my kids want it too when it's already cut up)
When I buy chips and things (low fat of course) I break them down too. I put them in sandwich ziplocs in portion sizes (I'm very meticulous lol, I weigh everything so it's exact)
since I do weight watchers I take a perm. marker and right on the bag how many points and throw them all in a basket in the pantry. (this makes packing lunches for the kids REALLY easy in the morning too, since I can just grab a bag of chips, bag of celery sticks, etc. and throw it in the lunchbox)
but the biggest thing is when I want some chips, I'm not sitting down with the whole bag trying to figure out a portion size!!
I also buy lots of quick little snacky things, yogurt, pudding, applesauce, 100 calorie packs of sweets for those cravings, etc.
I'm an instant type of person so I like to have things ready to go or else I'll reach for something not so good!
Just thought some of these ideas might help some of you too.
Oh and another hint that is REALLY good, when you buy chicken breasts, before you freeze them, pop them in a bag with a marinade or even just some seasoning and then freeze it.........it totally marinates and is sooooooooo good and ready to go for cooking once thawed.
In fact (not sure if you're supposed to do this but it works) I individually freeze the chicken breasts that are seasoned and just throw them on a cookie sheet, solid frozen and bake at 400 for like 25 to 30 minutes and they are soooooooooo tender and juicy and since I'm impatient, I don't have to wait for them to thaw lol
Good morning!
I totally understand about life getting in the way of our goals. I'm really struggling with some personal issues right now. But I am determined not to fall back to my old ways. The 1000 mile challenge that I'm a part of really helps keep me accountable and on track with the exercise. And I'm doing pretty good with the eating, too.
I lost 1 3/4 lbs this past week. I'm happy with that. And when I saw the wedding pictures I was really happy with how I looked in my dress. There was even a 'butt shot' and I wasn't upset! Seeing my progress and feeling better in my clothes is helping to keep me focused and motivated.
I hope that everyone has a great, healthy morning!
Melissa
Katherine, we can all relate about how life can get in the way. I'm glad you popped in. I've been thinking about you and wondering how everything was going.
KH, yep I'm Tracy.
I have broken up crackers in to portion sizes and have dropped the bags back into the box for quick serving sizes. And I love the 100 calorie packs for chips and things that I don't want all the time. It is nice to have that single serving in the bag to eat then move on.
Every time I go to the store I have big plans on getting it all organized, and of course it never happens. Sigh.
I have started buying the chicken breasts that come single wrapped. Again I'd buy a package of breast with plans to grind some and wrap and freeze some and I would keep putting it off. The single wrapped ones cost more, but I save money with them since I'm not throwing past date chicken out.
I just need to quit putting things off and just do them, but of course I'm the worlds worst procrastantor.
Mellisa, woo hoo on the loss! Yea!
My parents called me at the end of my class and offered me dinner out so I joined them for mexican food. They were kind enough to wait to order until I left the store, so when I go there I didn't have a lot of time to eat chips before my food got to the table, which was a plus. I also had eaten lighter for breakfast and lunch so I had some extra calories to use up.
I'm so glad it is Friday. This week as felt long for some reason. I have class tomorrow afternoon, maybe after that I will spend some time cleaning house. It is much needed (remember I said earlier that I am good at procrastinating).
Happy Friday everyone!
Hey everyone. WOW!! I am so many pages behind.... It's been a CRAZY week. In between work, I've scanned 255 photos to put into a digital photo frame for my mother in law's birthday. I have been at this for days on end. Anyway, sorry I haven't had the time to chime in here.
I do want to Welcome KHalstead!!!! It's great to see you on here and I so look forward to chatting with ya. I see that you are doing W.W. I started the online program on Jan 4th and have lost right at 18 pounds. I'm really happy with that. It takes some getting used to counting the points but it does seem easier than counting calories. I love the W.W. cakes and ice cream.... I can eat them, stay within my alloted points and not feel deprived at all.....Pretty cool!
Tracy - thanks so much for posting that link. It's great. Also, congrats on your weight loss. See, I knew that scale would move......You're doing GREAT!!!! So, you're not a pepperoni girl, huh? As for me, I luv my pepperoni. 
I tried the Lean Cuisine and I actually thought it was pretty good. Let us know how you like the 200 calorie one you found at Walmart. I do love pizza......... 
Tesso - I also use calorieking. You're right, they have just about any food that you can think of. Your spreadsheet sounds wonderful. Great idea!!!
Oneboxmix - WOWIE!!! You've lost 100 lbs. Congratulations. You are an inspriation!!
Melissa - I'm so glad that you felt so good at your son's wedding. I bet you looked great too. You should be proud of yourself. You worked hard and it showed......
Ok, got lots to catch up on but my break is now over. Gotta get back to work. Have a wonderful evening everyone and a great week-end.....
Wow, I'd like to join this fun forum!! I have been on the losing weight game since Sept. I had my second sweet baby in Sept, the first 20lbs melted off--which was crazy, cause that was NOT the case with my first pregnancy, then I worked off 25lbs which got me back to prepregancy weight plus a little more. BUT I want to be pre pregancy weight before my 3 year old, and then plus some. So Since I started Weight Watchers in Oct, (that's when I lost the 25lbs) I've lost some of my drive So I would like to get refocused. I need to lose 14 more pounds to be pre-FIRST-pregnancy. Then I'd like to lose 24 more pounds after than, and then see how I feel then I'm so behind in the forum that I don't think I can read back that far. But I will start from this post on!! We just went grocery shopping again, and so I'm confident I can get back on the wagon. Unfortunately I'm on a plateau right now and I keep hovering the 183 range.....I'm ready to see the 17 in my number. I had to give up WW for money reasons, so I'm going to do the program on my own now. Well, and hopefully with all ya'lls help!!
I am so glad I found this group! What a wonderfull idea. I am Shelena. I have been heavy since my Daughter was born 9 years ago. I started a program in April of 2008 aftering hitting a horrible 210lbs. My cousin is a weight trainer in NY and asked for his help. which she was glad to give. What an amazing change I lost 40 lbs. I was in so happy with myself and my husband thought i was sexy agian and everyone told me i looked great...
....But then it happened I wanted to see if i could make Cakes. I found out i was pretty good at it and started getting people that loved them. As i made people happy making cakes i started gaining my wieght back from having all the frosting and cake around and before i knew it i had gained back 30 lbs and I can't get my self back to where i was even though i KNOW i can do it. I still eat good but the exercise is my problem. I work late nights and use to work out after work but now find myself making excuses of being sleepy or making cakes.
It might be the Weight or the Cakes.
I love both.
Thanks Shelena
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