Enjoyed reading your story, Nightkatt. I envy you the grandchildren. I'm 55 and I'm still waiting for grandchildren...it will be at least another few years yet. Oh well, no doubt the wait will be worth it!

Hello everyone! It is a good day here, so far. I weighed myself this morning and am wondering if I should be happy to see the numbers dropping fast. I started the week with a weight flux due to a bad week and weighed in at 313.7 and then yesterday was back down to 309 ish... and now this morning I weighed in at 306.9. So yeah, not sure if I should be happy or worried that somethings broken inside me.

Monday and Tuesday night I hauled butt at the gym. Increased my resistance during cool down last night and this morning my legs are a little achy. Tonight I am going to do the elliptical, and pray I don't hurt myself on it ( I have before ).

Nightkatt: I like the idea of being more "involved" with my weight loss. I gained all of this weight over the last 10-15 years. Before that - no worries about that. So I tend to think of weight loss as a "side event" in my life...well, THAT hasn't been working.

My challenges are time, age, fibromyalgia - and I must admit, not caring enough about myself.

My goodness 14 car accidents...you need to ride with safer drivers!!
I am 62 and never been in an accident.

Great idea - even if I don't feel like posting much I can at least do that everyday. I have been working on keeping myself positive - NO MATTER WHAT...faltered a little today after work..but came here and am feeling much more positive.:

It's so exciting to see all the people joining us...goona have some tuna for dinner...I KNOW you are all jealous!!!!!!!!!!!

Positive thought for today: My home is a peaceful haven.

Howdy everybody! Just got back from a walk with my hubby. He has finally decided that maybe he should get his butt in gear too. That's great, but he walks so much slower than I normally do. But, if he's going to make the effort, I will slow things down to a pace he can manage. Stayed OP today. Had whole wheat pasta for dinner with some grilled shrimp and a ton of broccoli. It was within points, but I got to admit, I feel like a ate a ton of boulders. It's just sitting in my stomach making me miserable. Going to stay away from the pasta for a while. Well, I have a shower and a book waiting for me. Time to relax! Everyone have a great evening! And, if you didn't have a great day, remember tomorrow is a clean slate!

My biggest challenge right now is motivation. I was 100% perfect on plan for nearly 4 months, went on vacation, and now I've been back to work (teaching) for two weeks and can't stop eating crap!

Trying my Best - I am excited too ... I just get so motivated to keep going when I pop on here and read everyones updates and posts and thoughts ... keeps things in perspective and keeps encouraging me not to give up and get lax.

Suzyquk - You are more than welcome to join on in .. the more the merrier. What a great goal and a fantastic reason to go for it Good luck and I am sure that all of us will support you in your journey

Cheeriloos - aw thanks I have my down times too lol .. but I try to beat the crap out of them so they dont come round too often and sabotage my day (scuse lingo if that offended btw lol)

Tuscany - Never thought I would be a grammy before I was 40 .. but just like having kids young there are pros and cons lol. I do love them to bits .. but I love the freedom I still have to do what I want and the energy (mainly) to do it. Was hard being a young mum .. but dang .. some of my friends my age are having kids and Im like "WHAT???!!!!" lol .. now I think Im too old. I have warned my daughter to warn the kids grammy doesnt want to be a great-grammy before Im 60 so dang they better behave lol. But yes .. they are worth everything

Heather - Don't stress over the numbers so much. You will find some weeks you think your scale is broken cos its not moving even though you have been OP .. and others it just plummets and you wonder what did you do and can you do it again lol ... sometimes your body has just had to adjust to different activities, or food .. and when it does, it acts accordingly. Enjoy these weeks, don't think it allows you a little leeway though .. that is usually the wrong reaction, but take them as a positive to hold you steady for the times when it may not move as well.

Isles - cant say the tuna is doin it for me lol .. I hate seafood lol .. but I have tolerated the odd piece of fish .. and I even had a scallop once .. thats it though Im more a chicken gal (down the bottom will put my dinner last night and todays lunch down as an idea ) I think a person HAS to be involved this this journey. I was involved in adding it on .. why on earth I thought that thinking it will work itself away on its own is something I must have been dreamin lol .. As for not caring about yourself .. how about just taking it a day at a time .. go to bed thinking "tomorrow I am going to do something good for myself" ... wake up thinking "today is a good day to be good to myself" ... you can always use that as your positive for the day

Boating Mommy - I think its fab that your darling wants to do some of your journey with you .. my hunny would love to but as he had childhood arthritis and has hip replacements, he is limited to what he can do, but he is joining me on the food journey. I do know what you mean about the pasta .. sometimes I just get a craving for a nice plate of pasta .. but after I feel like its just a mass of glug .... I mean really ... its flour and water .. ice .. but dang it calls me sometimes lol ..

Superhero Teacher - I know what you mean sometimes its hard to get back into a good routine after a break. Maybe you can focus on one meal at a time .. how about you focus on a healthy breakfast? Or if you dont have time, then make time for a healthy lunch .. once you have done that for a couple of days try for a healthy dinner etc .. or even have healthy nibble options available for you to grab rather than that naughty snack that you just know you should leave in the machine/on the shelf lol .. its little steps that make the challenge to change not so overwhelming, its also allowing yourself to make wrong choices, acknowledge them, learn from them and then start again. You can do it

Right well .. today and yesterday I had a late start so still missing out on having breakfast, and Im nowhere near the calorie intake I am supposed to be (1900 cal), but honestly the food I eat makes me full enough and I really dont want anything else. Almost 2 weeks with no chocolate, at the end of the month I am treating myself to a piece (will have to give away the rest of the bar otherwise I know I will scoff the lot lol).
Last night I cooked a lovely healthy stir-fry which is great for the whole family. 2 Chicken Breasts (skin off/no bone), slice thinly into strips, lightly fry in 1Tbsp of Olive Oil until just white, add in finely chopped/sliced Onion, carrot, courgette, Bell Pepper Red & Yellow, and some bok choi sliced up. Stir fry lightly .. I added a little honey/soy/ginger mix I put together at the end and mixed through, then sprinkled over a tablespoon of sesame seeds. Makes 2 big servings (or you can split it into 3-4) , 728 cal, Protein 97.8g, Total Fat 18.4g, Sat Fat 1.1g, Sodium 1388mg, Cholesterol 214mg, Tot Carb 53.7g, Dietary Fibre 14.5g, Sugars 23.5g (Based on 2000 cal diet - vit A 637%, Calcium 102%, Vit C 974%, Iron 72%).

Or what I had for lunch today - Chicken Breast sliced thinly again, in a pan (no oil this time), grated carrot, courgette and sliced bok choi, also about 50g of holoumi cheese .. 1 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce and a tsp of Sesame seeds (total calories around 626). Will just be having a shake and fruit salad for dinner tonight.

Positive for today ... I actually ate before 3pm lol.

Just wondered .. what sort of foods do you eat in a day?? Are you doing a program or are you just doing the best you can and making better choices each day?
Yesterday should have started with a meal shake ( I really cant face a lot of food in a day .. its just bad choices of what food it was that got me to this point), and then the salad I had in my fridge .. but I didnt have either so it all came down to that Chicken Stir-fry above for my dinner .. with half a cup of basmati rice, 500ml of Orange Juice (with pulp). An hour later I had the fruit salad I had made - Strawberries, Grapes (red & green), banana, nectarine & apple with half a pottle of symbio yoghurt. I try to make sure I dont eat after 8pm, but I always have a cuppa (green tea with strawberry) before bed and take a 750ml water to bed with me which I drink before I go to sleep. I do drink a lot of water through the day .. I have at least 4 of those bottles a day. When I have the time .. this is a usual day of food intake for me ... unfortunately time is not always this good, but I try to focus on veges then .. and if I am out and about then I try to get something like Pita Pit at least.

So how about you??

As far as the choices I make in the day...

I try to eat a lot fruit, veggies and legumes.
I incorporate old favorites like peanut butter and the occasional white potato (maybe 2 a month).
I do eat whole grain breads but I use the low calorie (40 per slice).
I have a standard breakfast sandwich that I eat every morning with low cal bread, turkey sausage, a scrambled egg and a half serving of 2% cheese.

I stay within/ under 1700 calories a day.

Thats brilliant .. love the idea of a breakfast sandwich .. but couldnt face something like that in the morning lol .. would probably me something about 2-3 hours after I had gotten up if anything. I have been keeping a food log .. I am stunned how little calories I actually get in on a day .. Im lucky if I hit 1500 (400 short each day) ... I am eating pretty much the same amount as I always did .. but then I also used to have packets of chocolate biscuits or bags of chippies each day .. terrible to think of how many meaningless empty calories I consumed. Im thinking once I start exercising I will probably want more to eat, and I just have to keep listening to my body (I got a virus which makes me tired all the time so its a push to do anything without feeling like a wet rag after lol) and doing what I can when I can to the best of my ability.

When you say legumes .. how do you prepare them?? What sort? Love my fruit & veg .. thankfully heading towards spring here our fruit is coming in alot more affordable lol ..

Legumes... here in my neck of Texas and a lot of the south is just good old pinto beans... I cook them in the crockpot/slow cooker, cover with water... I add salt, pepper, onion powder and either Mrs. Dash or garlic powder... and cook for at least 4 hours...

**this is the low fat version as my grand mother makes them with a chunk of salt pork or a load of bacon...

the way I make them is about 120 calories per cup and very filling!!! I like to make a pot on the weekends and take for lunch or eat at home for dinner during the week... a great source of protein too!!!

ps... I also love black eyed peas cooked this way as well...

I'm on medifast so my day consists of 5 medifast replacement meals (shakes, bars, etc.), and one "lean and green" meal, which consists of 6-9 ounces of lean protein and 2-3 cups of low carb veggies.

I'm perfect on plan all day while at work. When I get home, different story...

I know what you mean .. when Im home all day its not so bad .. I have time to prep things so I don't go for the quick fix .. but when I have been out all day and come home .. its a case of feed me now!! lol .. I am having the Kate Morgan shakes, found I like the flavour and the thickness of them over others I have tried. Occasionally I will grab an Atkins bar .. but I havent for a while ... so its a shake in the morning (when I remember) and either a shake for dinner or lunch .. and a meal for the whichever I dont have the shake for.

Is there any way you can organised the end of day snack perhaps so that its there when you get home and it can tied you over while you organise your meal?


Does anyone set a time limit for their eating day? Like for me its no food after 8pm if I can do that. So many times it was a packet of crackers at 10/11 at night .. so not doing that anymore.

Me too!

Positive post for the day...I am eating a little more food today to help kill my stall, hoping my scheming against the scale will work

OMG - finally got off my *** and put Disco Sweat (with Richard Simmons) and OH MY ACHING BODY!!! lol .. Only made it through the warm up .. 3 songs .. and the cool down ... Im looking at this positively though for 2 reasons .. 1 I actually started a workout .. and 2 .. the last time I started using this disc I barely made it through the warm up lol.

So, while I am finding muscles I am sure werent part of my body before, I am feeling very good about myself. Now I just need to be able to lift my arms so I can do the dishes and clean up the kitchen lol .. funnily enough .. even using that extra energy its not making me want to eat .. if anything its making me not want to .. just drink heaps lol .. I should have had breakfast before I did the workout ... still 30 min today . ... will see how I do Sunday (I am going to try to do some real exercise every 2 days).

Cheeriloos - great idea .. I think all these little comments and tips could help everyone ... maybe something for someone else to try when they face an issue they cant get passed. For me its late night snacking .. so a bottle of water is becoming my best friend lol .. it does help.

Hi,

Nightkatt: congrats on exercising. I love exercise but with Fibromyalgia it is always very painful. I do go to the Fitness Center three times a week...and I ordered the latest Richard Simmons "system" hoping that it will help get me to a level where I can do Insanity!! Now there is a goal!!!

Positive thought for today: My body is getting stronger, slimmer, and healthier every day.