Weight Loss Help...with The Chunky Monkeys!
Lounge By TexasSugar Updated 28 Oct 2011 , 1:50pm by TexasSugar
I was just asking because sometimes when we diet we get a little carried away and don't take in enough calories. We do want to make sure we are getting at least 1200 calories a day or your body thinks you are starving it and holds on to more food. Plus if we are exercising and burning alot of calories you have to make sure your body is getting enough protiens and carbs to full it.
I haven't dealt with the thyroid issues so I can't help any with that one. 
I'm doing the one step forwards, two steps back thing now. Or maybe it is really two steps forward and one step back. I'm getting better with the eating, though I did eat out for lunch yesterday. The two meals I did control went well though.
Now it is weekend time and this is my hardest time to stay on track. We shall see what happens.
I know, weekends are so hard for me because I am out of my busy work routine, and I have more time on my hands to eat...and bake. I try to bake healthier things so at least if I snack on it, it's not as bad. My plan this weekend is to make an angel food cake. Maybe if the weather is lousy I will make some veggie soup too.
just wanted to report that I've not been keeping track of my calories........however I havne't been eating bad stuff or a lot of stuff so I'm pretty certain I'm still within them.......gotta get back to the habit of writing everything down though!!
Pouchet, I get off my eating schedule and want to sleep in on the weekend so I find myself skipping meals then getting hungery than normal. Saturdays have been better since I have had classes and had to get up, but Sundays, I just can't talk myself into getting up when that is the only day I can really sleep in until when ever.
I was able to leave work for a little while to finally go and do some flower shopping. So now this weekend I have some flowers I need to pot, a small flower bed to clean out and plant in, and I need to get my herb seeds in some dirt as well. I meant to buy a few herb plants but I got a little carried away with my other flower shopping and I already have $10 worth of seeds to do something with. It is cool but pretty here, so that is nice. I'll just have to get up early enough to get out there before class though. Thinking maybe I'll plant some this evening after work and save the trip to Walmart for after class tomorrow.
KH, as long as you are not eating bad things I'm thinking you will be okay. It is hard to go over calories wise when you are eating healthy veggies and salads (with out the crap on them) and watching your portions on the other stuff. 
I tried really hard yesterday to keep my snacking to a minimum. My meals were pretty healthy -spinach salad with one hard boiled egg and beets with 2 tbsp low fat dressing, sugar free applesauce and a piece of angelfood cake as a snack. I went a little off because my dh bough caramel popcorn at the mall, but I only had a handful. Forfinner I had chicken breast and steamed veggies. Today I am armed for my snacking, I made sugar-free jello and sugar free mousse.
My main problem is that I am afraid to weigh myself!!!
Pouchet, if you are worried about it, then don't. It won't hurt you to slip weighing as long as you keep up the healthy habits.
It is when you start avoiding the scale cause you know you haven't kept up the habits that you should worry.
I spent Friday evening potting flowers, made a late trip to Walmart for some potting soil so I could start some seeds, then crawled in to bed. Saturday morning I got up, potted some more, went and taught then came home and potted a few more things. Didn't actually get to the seeds until yesterday evening after I cleaned out a flower bed and planted two flats of flowers in it.
I got carried away on my seeds! I didn't buy a lot of them this year, just mostly herbs and a few veggies, but I found the seeds I got last year and went through them and saw how I had quite a few of those left, and since I had a big bag of potting soil and tons of little pots....
I ended up with two flats of 3in pots of herbs, tomatoes, bell pepper and green onions. I also did some larger pots with lettuce, not sure how those will do. And I have another 4 flats of 3in pots, as well as another flat of 6in pots, of flowers.
Even got some sun this weekend, which is nice. Since I was busy alot of it I didn't have alot of snack time and tried to keep eating on the good side. I did slurge and have a hamburger this weekend. Sigh.
You're lucky it's warm enough to get some planting done. I have some big pots outside, but they are still pretty frozen and I am worried they will crack if I move them. I want to start planting my dahlia bulbs, so hopefully in 2 weeks it will start to warm up a bit.
I used to plant herb but they always die on me. I had some beautiful veggie plants last year: tomato, eggplant and squah, but my dog kept chewing on the stems and destroying them. I am hoping that habit has passed....
That is one of the pluses about living in the south. We have had some nice pretty weather lately. I'm watching my Iris and Lillies I planted recently sprout up.
I've done herbs the last few years but have never really eaten them, just end up watching them grow. This year though, since my favorite salad mix has them in it, I plan to use them for that. My uncle does a huge veggie garden and he always passes along veggies to us, so I'm looking forward to that. Besides the herbs I'm just doing tomatoes, bell peppers, green onions, lettuce and a white funny looking squash. My uncle will have brocolli, cauliflower, zuchini, yellow squash, cabbage, potatoes, onions and of course tomatoes. Mmmm I can't wait for it.
Good Wednesday morning everyone! Hope everyone is having a great morning. Hope the weigh in's are going well today. I am happy to report another 2 lb loss. It was a really good week and I felt good about everything I ate. Getting closer to the 140's. Soooo anxious to get there. So my progress thus far:
Jan 4th 183.0
April 14th 154.6
Total loss of 28.4 lbs and gulp 24.6 more lbs to go to reach final goal. Still gonna take some time but I'm feeling better and better and have more energy as the weight comes off.
Hope everyone is doing great and has a GREAT week!!!
Awesome Job Margie!! Congrats!
I'm still sitting at 142 again this week. Which means no lose but also so no gain. I'm still having a hard time getting back into it all. It will happen though.
Welcome to our group Pouchet!!
Well, it's Wednesday and here I am. I have been an un-faithful Chunky Monkey participant as of late... I have not been eating properly and have not been exercising enough... My weight is back at 170. *sigh* I have been running just enough to continue my 1/2 marathon training but not enough to take my weight down, and with bad eating, well, it's a slippery slope isn't it? I MUST get back on track!
Things are beginning to calm down at work, we have made huge accomplishments in renovations of our family room! I did most of it myself, DH was there when I needed him, but I am so proud of my painting and rewiring. I decided to paint it red (it was an awful yellow before), we have some new darkish hardwood, and will be getting some light wood colored blinds, a beige couch, and I need to sew up some new valances. It's a busy life!
I hope you are all good, looks like you guys are all still awesome! 
Thanks Tracy. Oh yes, you will start losing again. Sometimes ya just need a break. I know you will reach your goal!! I have decided that I'm gonna pick up the walking today. I know that I have got to get into exercising. I've slacked off because of my injuries but these particular injuries are always going to exist so I just need to work through the discomfort and get into a routine. The Dr has told me to take Prilosec and Aleve for a two week period which may help with inflammation. No matter what, I need the exercise..... Now I know what my momma meant when she said "it's no fun getting old"
Wow, Kay, it sounds like you have really been busy. I'm so impressed that you did so much of that work on your own. How AWESOME!! It's difficult to really get into watching what you eat and counting calories, etc. when you have so many other things going on in your life. I'm sure that you will get back on track when things calm down a little. I have faith in you!!
I'm so sorry, I also meant to welcome pouchet to our group. I'm looking forward to chatting with you. I've been really busy also and haven't been on the site as much as I would like. I'm hoping things will slow down at work a bit and I can get back on here.
Thanks for the warm welcome Kay. I kinda fell off the wagon yesterday, which I attribute to my PMSing.
I am hoping with the warm weather starting here that I will be able to start walking more, I find that it always pushes my weight loss. My pup is big enough now to take on long walk, last summer it was more of walk 5 mins and she would plop down for a break. I wish she was bigger so I could take her jogging, but I think it might be challenging to jog with a basset!
Hello everyone -
It has been a while since I have been on. I finally got some answers to my burning question.... Why am I not loosing weight? My thyroid is/was out of wack and I was put on medication about 1 month ago. I am happy to report, as of my follow-up with my dr yesterday.... I have lost 3 pounds and my thyroid is back where it needs to be. YAY!
The bad news... well, I have to see an orthopedic surgeon in 2 weeks. I have messed up my right hip. Gosh I am a mess. Let's hope NO surgery is required.
I have alot of catching up to do. Seriously, I haven't forgotten about you all.
I'm back!!!
I've missed y'all. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with 'stuff' I don't even want to go on the computer. And I haven't been a very good monkey. I haven't been eating very bad I'm just having a hard time getting the exercise in. So my weight has been stuck around 193 - 194.
I have started a forty day fast. It's for spiritual reasons, but I'll take the weight loss that goes along with it!! Don't worry, I have done some research, I'm being very careful. And I'm trusting God to let me know if I get off track. I have finally broken my plateau, this morning I was at 186 3/4!!!!! I have to be really careful with my exercise, I can't do too much. But I'm still getting some in. I feel good. I feel like I am finally back on track.
Tracy, I know you were talking about how frustrating it is when you realize that it just takes a few days and you can start slipping back to your old ways. That's what happened to me, I started making excuses for not exercising. And the Easter candy!!! That is some evil stuff! I curse the person that invented Reese's eggs!!! But I finally finished off the bag so I can move on. Of course the hubby has few left in the fridge...
One thing I've noticed on this fast is how often I would grab 'just a little bite' of something. No wonder my weight was stuck. I was getting more calories than I imagined. Food journaling is so important.
Gotta go, busy day today - take Mom to the doctor, finalize baby shower cake plans, shop for cake stuff and food, school with the kids, laundry, plan dinner...can I just go back to bed!?
Have a great day monkeys!
Melissa
I know I wrote another post yesterday but I guess the interweb ate it. UGh!!
I'm viewing my stand still as a break but nto a given up. I'm really trying to get back on track. I've gotten to close to stop now.
Pouchet, I was thinking about the idea of taking the basset on a job, not sure that would work well. My dog isn't really all that great to walk with because he thinks he needs to mark his territory every foot or so. It gets annoying after a while.
Shelley, I'm glad the DR visit got you some answers and you can take that infromation and make it work for you!
Florida gal, I would realise at the end of the day that I had just eaten and eaten, not really anything super high in calories or that bad for me, just was getting alot more calories than I needed. And the longer that went on the less I wrote in my food journal. I still know though, when I eat stuff, I think ugh I shouldn't have eaten that or I was already full and didn't need to eat more.
I think alot of mine has to do with emotional eating. I have felt down and just off lately, so I think that is playing a big factor into my eating habits. Now I just have to change that.
I have a Candy Class at Michaels that I am not ready for so I feel a little stressed about that. I had class Monday and Tues though, so I couldn't get ready for it then. Yesterday I went to Walmart after work then came home and started to get ready for the class. I'm planning on spending my lunch hour finishing up some samples, then I'll pack up. Leave work at 5, hopefully be on my way to Michaels by 5:30 and set up for the class. I need time to melt chocolate and rearrange the room and such.
I enjoy teaching, it is just that I currently have 3 courses going on, so it has made for some long days this week. Next week will be better since I will have Wed, Thurs and Friday to do what I wish with, not spend Wed getting ready for Thurs like I did this week.
Things will get better though, I'll make them better.
I'm glad to see everyone reappearing even if we have been struggling. I know I try not to avoid this thread when I'm not doing so good, but sometimes it is hard. I think though by us coming back over and over that we are still in this fight and that we will win it!!
Now I'm off to type up a list for work, then type up some notes for class then get ready to hussle during lunch hour to get the rest of the stuff ready for class. I really don't want to go and be all frazzled when I get there cause I'm still behind and running late.
Shelley, good to see you! So sorry to hear of your medical problems. I hope you make a full recovery with your hip!
Tracey, you are certainly busy with a day job and all those classes!
Ugh, it is snowing out, and way too much. We had an awesome Easter week with temperatures around 20 celsius (which is around 68 F) and I think we were all spoiled. This snow and cold is much more typical of our Aprils! So many of my flowers were starting to poke through, my daffodils even had flowers!! Hopefully they survive after this and I can get out in the garden soon!! I missed my running club tonight as I wasn't in the mood to run in snow again, and spent the time painting baseboards instead....
Tomorrow I vow to run at lunch time, I need to do hill repeats that I missed tonight! Only FIVE weeks until my half marathon, I am still almost 12 pounds less than January 1, but still not near where I would love to be... Oh well, I hope to get there!
I've been lurking here getting encouragement for a while, but it isn't helping- I think I need to come out of the woodwork.
I am VERY overweight. I won't be posting my weight, just whether or not I gained or lost. Last summer, I had another miscarriage, and was told to lose 10 kilos before TTC again. I went to a dietician, got a food plan, and joined a gym. I really kept to it, and after 2-3 months lost abt 20 lbs. Then I stopped being as careful- it was too hard to keep up. I coasted for a month or so- basically maintaining- some slight ups and downs. At that point I had to let my gym membership go for financial reasons.
So I have been coasting, but lately my weight has been creeping up again. I'm starting to feel it in my clothes. I know all the right reasons why I need to lose, but I still can't get myself going.
I guess I'm looking for help how to start up again- especially in the exercise dept.
TIA
Leah
Hi Leah,
I know it's really hard to stick to a diet! That why you need to try to change your eating habits and not just diet, make it something that you can stick to. In terms of exercise, what were you doing at the gym? There are a few things that you can buy so you can work out at home. How about some fun exercise videos? I love Zumba, which is a latin dance type of aerobics, are when you have fun with an exercise it much easier to stick to it! So other good things to have at home would be a stability ball and some free weights, a set of 2lbs, 5lbs and whatever else you think you could handle. There are some great resources online that can help you with some exercises at home.
Good luck!
Carly
Leah, I'll repeat something I read in Abby's Blog from the Biggest Loser and shared on here before. I think it really says something and I also need to be reminded of it myself.
"One of the most common questions I'm asked is, where do you find the motivation? First and foremost, motivation is NOT a feeling. Motivation is a choice. Actions provide feelings, not the other way around. Feelings often impede action. Different things will push and drive you on different days."
We can find encouragement from those around us, especially the way to go's when things are going well and the pick me ups when things aren't going well. But this whole journey starts with in each one of us. It has to be something we really want, something we are willing to make changes for and something, many of us have learned, that we will always have to work for. If it isn't, it doesn't matter how many way to go's and pick me ups you hear.
As Pouchet said, we can't diet for the rest of our lives, we have to make changes that we can realisticly stick to from now on. That is why I am not for 'diets' that cut out certain food groups or specific items. Our bodies need vitamins, protiens, carbs and yes even some fats. Our bodies are designed to use them all in different ways to make everything run smoothly. For me it is more about moderation and portion control, not cutting out all pasta, bread, chocolate and ice cream.
There are many things you can do at home, with/with out a few purchases, in the exercise department. Walking about the block is free, and while it may not burn as many calories as some things at the gym it is still about you getting up and getting moving. You can jog or even run around the blog. You can turn on some upbeat music and dance around the house, or even clean to the beat. Cleaning, the bending down and stretching up, is a good get your body up and moving.
You can purchase serveral different types of small exercise equipment that you can use at home. You can also use the internet. There are many exercises that don't need alot of equipment. I've also seen some articles online of items you can use around the house when exercising.
My best suggestion on help for getting started is sitting down and having a talk with yourself. You need to be clear on why you want to lose weight. If the answer is anything else other than you, you will have a harder time doing it. You have to be completely on board, if you aren't then you have to figure out what is holding you back and how to work through that.
When you know you are ready for it, then make a plan. I'm a firm believer in babysteps. May a list of things you need to do to be productive in your weight loss journey. These can be simple things like, drink 64oz of water a day while cutting out cokes and other empty calorie drinks, to eating out less, eating better foods, eating more veggies, cutting down portions, doing 15 mins of exercise a day, and so on. Then put the items in a order that you feell you can do them and start working on them.
I wouldn't try to change everything at once. I would pick one item off the list and spend the week focusing on that. Then the next week add in a different item and so on. This is way less drastic than trying to make every possible change at once, and is easier to stick to. I have found that some help you do others. Such as exercising 15 min (or what ever time frame a day) will lead to you eating better because when you look at the calories listed on the back of a candy bar and realise how much exercise you have to do to work it off, you are less likely to give into the candy bar.
Start a food journal. Even if at first you don't chart the calories in everything you eat, it is still a good tool to be aware of what is actually going into your body every day. But you have to be completely honest with yourself when you do it, and every little things has to go down.
Start paying attention to portion sizes and calorie counts. When you get into this then you can start tracking those calories in your food journal so you can be aware of how many calories you are actually eating and what you need to do to adjust it down to where you need to be.
And as each one of us can tell you, if you have a bad eating day or what not, you can't let it derail you. And if it does, you just have to jump back on the train, and keep going.
You can do it, we all can, if you put your mind to it. Be real with yourself, don't except excuses and just go for it. If you have lost the weight before, then you know what to do. You just have to do it.
The nutritionist broke down what would an appropriate caloric intake for me into the food groups. Basically each day:
6 breads
8 proteins
3 fruit
2 milk
veggies- unlimited
based on my eating schedule, she helped me map out how to break them up. I can't handle counting calories- this is much easier for me.
I like the idea of taking baby steps and incorporating one thing at a time. I have been looking at it rather black and white. I'm trying to work on myself to just get out of the house and walk- then I can worry abt working out.
I guess this week I'll try to drink more water, and walk for 15 in every day. I will also try and cut down on my carbs and stick to the 6 breads a day. I am a big carb person, so this won't be easy.
I know that I need to lose weight for health reasons, but the actual getting down to business seems to be hard. I think that a food journal would also be a good idea. Then I can see where/when my weaknesses are.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions- keep them coming!
For me it is the taking things one day at a time and one change at a time that helps get you started. It is so daunting and overwhelming when you think you have to change 10 things all at once. That is why people quickly give up, somethings before they really get started, because all the changes scare them or they think it is too much and they can't do it.
When you break it down to steps and stages it seems more do-able, and is usually something you can keep doing for the long run.
Good luck with the water drinking and the walking! You can do it.
Pouchet- nice job! Isn't it a great feeling?!
So last night I collapsed into bed, with no walking first. Boo for me. Hopefully today will be better. I'm drinking more water- my goal is 6 glasses a day, more than that, and I spend the day going to the bathroom!
Leah, it's not the end of the world if you can't walk every day of the week. I know thta some days are just so exhausting for me, I can't do anything, let alone cook dinner when I get home.
Have you had an endocrinology work up for you miscarriage? There are hormone problems that can cause you to gain weight, be tired, and have miscarriages. If it is not something that has been done, you should speak to your doctor.
Congrats Pouchet! Loose clothes are always nice!
Leah, remember, don't be hard on yourself. As with anything new it takes a little time to get into routine.
My weight is the same, again. Atleast I've stopped gaining but I really need to get things going in the other direction again.
I've decided that I'm going to stop letting negativity get me down. I had a student Monday night that was apparently in a bad mood and really negative all through class, then you have threads on here that have a negative vibe and I have those on facebook that want to b*tch and gripe about everything and everybody. My favorites are the political people that say you shouldn't bash their side, and yet they turn around and bash the other side with out a thought or care about it. UGH!
So anyway, I have decided I am ignoring all negativity around me. I am not going to let other people's negativity effect my mood or emotions.
I am going to be positive! Who wants to be postive with me?
Leah, it's not the end of the world if you can't walk every day of the week. I know that some days are just so exhausting for me, I can't do anything, let alone cook dinner when I get home.
Have you had an endocrinology work up for you miscarriage? There are hormone problems that can cause you to gain weight, be tired, and have miscarriages. If it is not something that has been done, you should speak to your doctor.
I have had numerous workups for m/c. It isn't thyroid. I have a few other issues which my weight exacerbates, so getting my weight down will mean less medication and a greater chance of finally staying pregnant.
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