My excercise has been going well (Sister in law can get insistent when I drag my feet, but tommorow we ARE doing the Pilates. We skipped last night -- did cardio instead. I don't like it as well. She doesn't see where the strength training or pilates helps... Silly girl)

Staying away from the chocolate though has been a problem. First yesterday then today. I tried some chocolate frozen yogurt, but that only fills up part of the craving. Can someone help? I get REALLY hungry just as I get off of work and that is really throwing me off...

Hi all!

Betty - Thanks! I love being on this forum.. I just was so busy last semester.. I did not get to post as much as I had wanted. Everyone here has been such an inspiration. Thats pretty cool about you and Kevin. How long is he going to be gone for? And I'd love ot hear more about this machine.. what is it like? A treadmill?

Monique: I think I need to take your advice and stay off the scale. My weight is all over the place (up down.. down up..). Good decision with the ice cream.. you handled it well. I wish more people would think like you do.. instead of just giving up when they have a bad day.

LadyNai: I have heard that magnesium is a good way to fend off the cravings for chocolate. Try taking some either regularly or when you get the cravings and see if it helps? I'd love to know if the theory is right.
Here is an article on it:
http://test.bagus.org/nutrition/expe....02-11-00.html
http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/nc/magnesium.asp

As for me, I got to the gym last night (I drove .. they are really good about plowing streets here). I did some cardio, weights, and situps. I am slowly getting back up to speed.. but not as good of shape as I used to be. I will get there.. just gotta stick with this.

Well.. hope everyone has a great day. And for the US people.. I hope you have a 3-day weekend like I do! :)

-Tanya

Happy Friday Everyone!

I did okay yesterday and have been all right (not fantastic) with food today so far. I find myself bored sometimes at work or needing to take a break that makes me want to pick up a snack. Not sure what to do about this.

Exercise has been good. I am an avid swimmer and didn't miss any workouts this week. Woo hoo. I wish I had more time to hit the gym and do a little more cardio and weights though. It's not that I am unmotivated, but rather that I wouldn't have any time to spend with friends or boyfriend (who has recently complained about this).

Betty - The advice on not eating after 8 pm sounds like a good idea. I'll have to try that - thanks. I generally don't buy junk food for myself. My roommate will buy it and unfortunately, we've gotten a lot of holiday food gifts. I think I just need to hide it. Once I've had a small "taste", I usually end up "trying" more...

Monique - I am impressed with the way you handled the ice cream - I know I would have thrown in the towel. Good job on the breakfast choice too. I generally go out and know what I SHOULD order, but everything else sounds so much better!

LadyNai - If I crave some chocolate (or anything really), I usually drink some water and wait 10 minutes to make sure it wasn't thirst and that I really want that particular item. Sometimes I find that the craving passes. If the craving is still there, I'll usually just let myself have a small individually wrapped piece if I've been doing okay with food for the day. I recently read an article online somewhere about sugar cravings and that if you quit cold turkey, you'll just stop craving sweets.

I have to admit that I am a little jealous of you guys with snow. I'm in southern California where the whether has been wacky lately and today it looks like a sunny spring day. It'd be nice for it to LOOK like winter once in a while. :)

Hey! Today has been another good day! I'm pumped about having made it to the gym every day this week (Monday thru today) to either do Cardio or lift weights. I finally got up to the 3 sets of lifting today. I started out with 1 set of 10 on Monday...then did 2 sets on Wednesday..and now today I'm at the full force...it's TOUGH! But I know it will get easier as I do it.

News about this machine. The best way I know how to describe it is like this...it has pads or pedals for your feet with the edges built up in the front so that your feet can rest against that. But you are standing up....and your feet go in a circle (almost like you are jogging or bicycling...maybe it's a combination of the two. The handle for your hands are connected to the feet pedals and the faster you move your feet the faster you move your hands the faster your feet go...and vice versa. It has a random program which is like the stair stepper or so it seemed to me...but not as up down...up down....and then the aerobics program which is what I've used the most...focuses on arms (pushing, pulling) legs fast, slow, legs ONLY, and then going in reverse....it's an AWESOME work out...and the calories it burns...well..that blows my mind. Everytime I've used it, it for 30 minutes or so it's burned at minimum 330 calories. Kevin is doing about 3-5 miles on it right now (for 30-45 minutes) I'm only up to "almost" 2 miles during 30 minutes...but I'm working hard at this point to get up to 3 miles...that's my first real goal as far as pushing myself on this.

Monique-- I'm VERY impressed with the way you handled the icecream thing. And I'm not at all surprised at how well you did on your eating out. You are definitely my inspiration for that!!! And as far as breakfast goes...YES!! I'm so proud...I've actually managed to eat breakfast everyday for 2 weeks. I had a breakfast bar the first week or so. Then these last couple of days I've done oatmeal...but I am doing breakfast every day. :) Yay!!

Tonic--As far as how long Kevin is gone for...your guess is as good as mine. He was due back January 8th. The ship was supposed to pull in that day...then make it's next stop on the 16th and the last stop on the 20th of January. But the deployment was extended. And no one truly has an idea for how long...so I am trying my best just to throw myself back into "deployment" mode and do so without a "count down." It was HARD to do that before the 8th....because I was really disappointed that he wasn't going to be home then. But I do understand. The potential for war is so great right now. And I'm just so grateful that there are people like him willing to sacrifice for our freedoms. He would like to be home as well...but with that said...he'd be heartsick if he missed out on making a difference like the things that they are doing now, are doing. So I wouldn't wish him anywhere else...just peace for us both for the fact that there's no time line on when he will be back in the States.

Lady Nai-as far as the chocolate goes....I'm a chocolate addict myself too!! I think that Monique gave you good advice about the hot cocoa and so did Tonic and Lacia. But I'll throw my 2 cents in. When I have a true chocolate craving...nothing but chocolate stops it for me...and if I don't give myself at least "some" chocolate then I eat things in it's place. So maybe allow yourself 1 small piece when you crave it, but no more...at least that is what I try to do. :) I hope that helps some.

Lacia- as far as eating when bored. I can completely relate. Now I try to drink water instead...or find something for myself to do. I know it's hard...I've also begun to notice my peak moments for or wanting to snack and trying to work out during those times. Other than that I would say...if the snacking urge is that strong...snack healthily. Do fresh fruit, flavored rice cakes (I just tried them for the first time again yesterday...they are nothing like what I remembered them being, much better now) or dried fruit. Keep us posted on how that is going.

Tonic--Good job on going to the gym. And hang in there...you will get back into the shape you are wanting to be in. You are definitely taking the right steps. Do enjoy your long weekend!! I'm not off but I will be thinking about all of you who are!!

Talk to y'all later!!

Betty

hey everyone. i hope everyone had a nice weekend!

i am finally getting over this cold! although i have had an ongoing headache since saturday night. the good part about the cold was that i didn't eat as much. :-) the bad part was that I didn't exercise as much either! :-( but today i am feeling pretty good, even with a headache lurking. i am not at work today. i am at a computer training class (Crystal Reports-anyone use it?). I think it is over at 4 or 4:30, which is great because I can get to the gym early & do the 5:30 step aerobics class.

i better get going, the class is about to start. sorry for the short message! Keep it up girls, we can do it!!!!!!!!

Jenn

I cheated! I only worked out 1 day last week. Indiana is just to cold, I miss CA...I think I am homesick! I bought a pilates for weightloss last week and it was great!! I felt 10 inches taller!

I hope to be back on track this week...
I feel like such a looser sometimes :(

Dolphin girl--It's okay! We all have those weeks. If you only knew how many times I'd said to myself...I'm going to work out 3-5 times a week and it just never happened. I watched Monique, Jenn and everyone just doing so great and thought....why aren't I?

But then a couple of weeks ago something clicked. I'd been saying to myself it was because it was too cold, or too hot...or I didn't have time. The long and short of it is....Monique walks most days in cold that I can't imagine during the winter. And as far as too hot, it's not this time of year. But it's all about saying...Okay self, I AM going to do this! And making it a priority. Start small. You made it 1 day this last week. Aim for 2 or set a challenge up for yourself that gives you a reward afterwards.

I have a spreadsheet that I check off each day. It's so great to be able to check off my list each morning!! I'm playing a game with it right now. Essentially there are 9 things that I can check each day...and I've managed 7 for almost a full week. But it's small changes that make the difference. One day is a start!! Good job!!

And now, pick yourself up...dust yourself off...and start a new week. The past is the past...we can't change it. And if you dwell on it you get caught in a cycle of repeating it. So learn from it...ask yourself what you are going to do different and set out again. Also feel free to post about what you are going to do on a given day...and know that we will be looking forward to hearing about it. For instance you could say I'm going to go work out for x amount of time this afternoon. I know a post like that inspires me from time to time and occasionally all that gets me to the gym or gets me out and working out...and may be what really pushes me through the workout as well.

But besides all that...know that we are human. We make mistakes. So long as you learn from it you are on a good path. Now get to setting those goals for this week!!

Jenn-I haven't heard of that type of computer class but would love to hear more about it! Good luck with the step aerobics this afternoon and I'm SO glad that you are getting over your cold. I completely relate to not being too hungry during a cold, I rarely am either. Just keep up with the fluids etc...and I hope that you have a wonderful day!

How's everyone else's week going?

Betty

Hi Everyone,

I had a so-so weekend. I did not manage to stay within my calorie limit but I did journal and exercise on Sunday at least. I went to the gym yesterday, only to find that they closed early due to the holiday! argh. Am going to try to make it tonight...

Betty - I think I know what machine you're talking about. It is kind of like an elliptical machine? I love those. They really work your legs!

Dolphingirl - Don't feel bad. We all have bad weeks!! The other girls gave great advice. It's a new week and a new opportunity for a fresh start!

Jenn - I've heard of Crystal Reports, but only because my sister also took a class in it also. Hope the class is interesting.

Monique - I am so inspired by you! I have such a hard time with "cheating" then giving up. The cake you made sounds yummy - how did it taste? I recently made a low-fat cheesecake and was told that it kind of tasted low-fat and was not sweet enough. Personally, I thought it tasted fine and that maybe they were only saying that because I had told them ahead of time it was low-fat (mistake on my part).

Hi!!

Monique---WAY TO GO on the no binging. That is AWESOME!! And good job about keeping up the exercising 5 days a week. I do understand about not being able to drag yourself out all the time...but 5 days a week is still really good. And rescheduling to manage that is wonderful. I'm going to have to do some schedule shuffling this weekend myself to manage my 5 days this week. Please ask me about it on Monday.

Thank you for the cake recipe! That looks great! I look forward to trying it sometime soon.

As far as the workouts go. Yes the machine is pretty intense. I used the stationary bike and the stair climber tonight instead just to mix things up some...but I do love this Lifetime Fitness machine.

On the spreadsheet I have 1)Quiet time
2) Exercise 1 hour (I count 45 minutes as close enough to an hour b/c on cardio days I'm in the gym 45 mins. Weight training days more than an hour so it all evens out).
3) Drink 64 oz of water.
4) Stay on eating plan.
5) Take vitamin/supplement (I'm just taking vitamin C but considering a multivitamin)

Those are the main ones...the others are added bonuses
B1) Read health article
B2) Share friendly word or inspiration
B3) Share motivational quote
B4) (I'm drawing a blank here and I don't have my spreadsheet in front of me so I'll have to get back to you on this one).

In answer as to how I handle days I'm not exercising. The way I have it set up is that I have a big box that has blanks for me to check each one of these things off numbered 1-5 and then for B's to circle below the 5 blanks. I have something telling me what each number B stands for at the bottom of the page. And on days I don't exercise, I just don't mark those blanks for the exercise etc... I don't try to do the exercise every day of the week, just 5. So I figure that 2 days box number 2 just won't be marked. I guess I could plan ahead and not put that blank on those days...but it leaves things more flexible by having it on all days and just picking 2 that I don't mark it.

On a different note:
I am taking the kids out of town for a debate tournament. I'm getting nervous thinking about it and all the eating out we will have to do. I think I can, I think I can. It's all about planning ahead!! Right? But anyway..I usually go to the gym in the evening. We will be leaving at 10:30 that morning so I will need to work out either Friday morning (find out if there is a workable gym in the hotel) or something!! Suggestions? Please help!!

In answer to your question about breakfast. Yes I can definitely tell a difference. When I first started eating it, there was the part of me that said it was silly, even though I knew it was good for me. I got more hungry before lunch than when I didn't eat breakfast. But now....I keep things very much like what you described in your desk if a hunger moment hits me in the AM or PM and I feel so much healthier eating all 3 meals a day. :)

Lacia--Good job on continuing to journal and exercise over the weekend. That's no easy feat. As far as not maintaining your calories. The past is the past...figure out what happened. And move forward. Why didn't you stay in your calorie range? Did you binge? Did you not plan ahead etc... and it's a new week now, so just focus on doing better this week.

So did you make it to the gym tonight?

Well..my evening has continued to go well. I've stayed on eating plan! I did splurge today and have a veggie burger and fries from Burger King, but also adjusted and still was where I needed to be on my eating plan at the end of the day. Yay! And I did 25 minutes on the bike and 20 on the stair climber. So I'm pretty excited. No other big news here tonight. I hope that everyone's week continues to go well. And I will check in later!!

Good night,
Betty

Good morning! Its so very cold out today. The wind is painful. Unfortunately, it probably will not snow unless it warms up a bit.

So far so good this week. Exercised on Saturday and last night. I have my self defense class tonight and then more exercise tomorrow, Sat, and Sun. Last night the gym was packed. I had to sign up for a slot over 1 hour ahead of time. There must be tons of people making new years resolutions to start losing weight.

Yesterday was also the first day of a new semester.. so all the students are back (which would be why the gym was packed). I'm very excited about this semester. Last semester turned out pretty well (grades wise) and I hope to keep up and not get as stressed this semester. We shall see :)

Betty: Sounds like you are doing pretty well. I can not even imagine how much it sucks not to know when Kevin will be back. I am against the Iraq war, although I respect and support our troops.. I just think the decision to go to war with Iraq is a bad one for our country. But we will not get into this political discussion :)

Monique - Congrats on the eating well and exercising! You are doing really well!

To everyone else.. keep up the good work! Sounds like everyone is pretty much on plan this month. It will be awesome to see how this months challenge turns out!

I'm feeling fairly good today. I had pretty blah workouts on Sunday and Monday but yesterday and today were much better! I hope this doesn't sound too competitive but I seem to do better when more people join my lane (swimming). I'm more pushed or motivated somehow.

I am also keeping on track so far with eating today. I'm not really sure what happened on the weekend. It's probably lack of planning on my part and me being easy on myself because it's the weekend... though that should be no excuse! All my good intentions seem to fall apart over the weekend. I guess I just need to get out of the mentality that the weekends are "days off."

I did end up going to the gym last night. Was planning on only doing weights but when I jumped onto the scale and noticed I didn't lose any weight from last week (1/2 lb doesn't count, does it?), I was more inspired and did 30 minutes of cardio along with the weights.

Betty - Monique gave some really good suggestions on exercising while away from home. I sometimes have to go out of town for my job (am actually going to Orlando for a week starting Sunday) and manage to work out at the hotel gym. If there is no gym, I will usually do pushups and sit-ups in my room and go for walks/runs. I've also heard that jump rope and exercise bands are very useful for exercising while traveling.

Tanya - January is the worst month at the gym! I've noticed it as well and have been trying to go at off-peak hours. My brother has been complaining for weeks now that the college's gym is so packed with people and their new resolutions to lose weight. The exercise fever usually dies off in a month though - very sad, but true.

Monique - I definitely learned not to tell people about something being low-fat from that experience!! I love to cook but a lot of things I like are not entirely healthy. I know a few tricks for baking to cut out fat and calories but not too much for regular cooking (entrees) so if anyone has any, I'd love to hear them.

Hope everyone has a good evening!

i've noticed that phenomenon on the boards, too -- tons of new members in january! must be all the resolutions. i just hope that the ones who are coming here are the ones who are going to stick with it, because they are motivated and all that. i'd hate to see tons drop out.

aww, hi monique! i'm always hovering here but i do most of my posting to the 100 lb. club.

i've hit a wall as of late. it was VERY frustrating to me because it wasn't a self induced wall, i ate OP, i exercised and weight trained, and i gained a pound over a week.

hopefully it can be chalked up to TOM and maybe a little muscle gain, cuz i really didn't cheat. but we'll see this next wed. i'm just doing aerobic this week and i bumped my calories to 1400.

thanks for the cooking tips! i do all of that too but i don't eat fish much. david doesn't like it. i'm going to have to get some for myself though!

Thanks for the cooking tips Monique. I didn't realize you could use chicken/veg broth in place of oil - very cool.

I am having a rough couple of days. I got into a fight with my bf a couple of days ago. It was bad and I was feeling sorry for myself and cheated a lot. Argh. I am hoping tomorrow will be better.

Hi everybody out there in Forum land. I love this place, I love the idea of a forum. I am already thinking of Feb forums. I am super psyched about being able to post, I was hung up for a while. I am hoping that this site will be a real terrific place to vent and get and give support. I am in midterm ****, doing pre-nursing science stuff at school, and am binging out like crazy. My emotional addiction to food is so extreme, I didn't realize it for a while, now it is here in full force. I am convinced I can survive and be healthy. My goal for the rest of January and possibly continuing into Feb is to re-prioritize my reasons for wanting to lose weight, redefine my goals, and hopefully come to a health place mentally, where I can tackle what I need to tackle without beating up the parts that dont need it at all. Peace out for now, G