Philana - so you are quitting quitting the redbull? Haha!! I think if you can limit yourself, then it should be fine. I hate having the feeling that I'm addicted to something, but I know I am. However, I feel like if I can limit myself to one or two drinks a day then I'm more in control than I was before.

Hi everyone, I hope you don’t mind if I join in :)

I was using a different support forum site, but it is nowhere near as great as 3FC, in my opinion! I am just finding that the people on here are so much nicer and supportive, which I need to finish this!!

Philana – I know red bull is a really hard habit to kick! I’ve never even had a sip of it, lol, but I have quite a few friends who are totally addicted. I think slowly going off of it will be the key, and it sounds like you’re totally on the right track

Kawaii – Where in Japan are you? I was in Okinawa for 3 years, miss it like crazy. I’m working on my masters right now so I can teach at an international school over there (current long term career goal.)

Astrix – That program sounds awesome!! I wish I could find something like that out here…maybe I’ll have to look into it.

QB – Giving up soda was the worst for me. I was a 3 a day pepsi drinker, and the withdrawal was awful. I couldn’t even do diet soda, I went cold turkey. Even now I only have like 1 a month. But I do miss it!!

Sgregg – Sounds like you are so super busy!! Reinforces my belief that moms are superheroes

Buutastic - :welcome3: I really do love this 20-somethings chat thread. Been coming here on and off for a few years now. And I'm not too busy yet, but starting the 23rd I will be..eeek!

Astrix: yeah, the biggest loser program sounds really good! I think that’d be exactly what I need too… someone to check-up on me and kick my ***! lol.

Philana: oh, I see! hmm.. then I’d say… beans! lots of beans! lol. Oh, I live in Japan already! I’ve been living here for the last 3+ years, but I live in Shizuoka prefecture, and I’ve been wanting to move to Tokyo forever, so finally, it’s happening! but it’s freaking me out a bit… and problems I hadn’t anticipated keep popping up… gaaarh! but otherwise I’m just really excited! aww… big hugs about your living situation!! have you tried having a serious talk with your mom? but you’re right, buying and cooking your own things is probably for the best. just explain it to your mom so that she doesn’t get offended that you don’t wanna eat her food… as for your redbull thing. how about just diminishing your quantities first off and eventually quitting? or switching to another, less sugary, caffeinated beverage? I know I’m never quitting coffee, so I can understand how you feel!!

stronger: the book was actually a really funny read! if that’s all you get from reading it, I’d say it’s 10$ well spent :p well, I liked it anyways. let me know if you try it! I could have a buddy! ^_^

sgregg: it’s going good this time around! I haven’t had cheat day yet though… wanna get back into the habits of things and focusing about being healthy. and thanks! I hope I can sort out everything quickly! and wow, just reading about your day makes me exhausted! congrats on the good day yesterday and hope you can keep it up! sounds like if you just make a bit of an effort on the food, as busy as you are, you could probably lose weight anyways!

Buutastic: welcome! I’ve been in Shizuoka for 3 years now! but I’m moving to Tokyo in March!! ooh, I had a friend who got placed in Okinawa, but I never went there to visit her. She loved it too though!

okay, so happy Friday guys!! I’m so glad the weekend is here! Even though this week was only 4 days, it felt so long for me… lol. I weighed in this morning and the scale had gone up .2 kg… but trying to keep it in stride… also I finished a (small) bag of nuts that I’d told myself I would only eat half of last night… which I know wasn’t the brightest move ever… but then I had a salad for dinner, which I think was a nice save! lol. I have to learn not to even BUY nuts! dammit…

oh and I figured I’d share, since everyone is talking about their cola addiction, that I’m obsessed with Pepsi NEX. I dunno if you guys have it in the States, but in Japan, it’s the only kind of pepsi available. there’s no regular or diet pepsi! (which is weird if you ask me since they do have regular coke… oh well) anyways, and I think it tastes much better than Coca Cola Zero! :p

one thing that happened that is not-so-cool is that the apartment rental company mailed me back, and they are basically saying that if I have no job in Tokyo (which I don’t. yet) I can’t rent an apartment with them. it SUCKS, and after a bit of googleage, I think a lot of companies have the same requirements… I really hope the guy I interviewed with can come through real quick, cuz otherwise, I’m gonna have to first move into a guesthouse for a month, and then move again to an apartment once I have a job. and I REALLY don’t want to live in a guest house…. meh. but anyways. all is well!!

Sorry it took me so long ro reply ive been at my mother house for the week helping my little sister study for exams :S

I looked into the white noise machines and i think they carry them at Sears so im going to go check it out... if not i can always keep his swing running it has the oceans sounds on it.... :)

sgregg: that sounds like an impossible schedule to keep. I am SO never having kids. Haha. Though with being so busy I don't think you really need a gym. You are moving around a ton. Or you could add in some walking, like parking your car a bit further from your work or the kids school. I bet they'd not mind walking 10 minutes with you, and you'd have a 20minute walk everytime you pick them up. Something creative I'd think. Also wondering if there's a dad involved? Cant he bathe one of them? So you can use that time for a run? Goodluck on figuring it out. I think everyone needs a bit of 'me' time.

Buutastic: welcome to the thread! Hope you'll enjoy your stay ;). This and the Feathers chat are the only two places I really post on this board. The rest I just lurk for ideas and such. ;)

Kawaii: Why'd you move to Japan? And how do you like it? It sounds so cool! Goodluck on the move then, it's always a hassle moving. Especially not in a country you grew up in. Hope it works out with the jobthing so you won't have to stay in aguesthouse. Though it's really not the end of the world so you'll be fine either way! ;)

---
Yesterday was a total failure. I was at a study-day for my job and the lunch was so high carbs and no other options and I was hungry. So I went overboard. I was planning on fixing that later on. In the store I saw these really nice rice-crispies that were only 90calories a piece. I thought they'd be prepackaged and rather big. When I opened it they were tiny and a lot of them. So... I ended up eating the whole pack. And felt really sick with nauseau and headache the rest of the day. So.. epic fail. Won't be doing that again. Hahah.

The redbull thing is settled, I am back to drinking the light versions again. It's such chemical nasty stuff for the body, but everything else I try and eat clean so I think I am gonna just deal with it. It's like those people that drink coffee that can't go without it. I drink nothing other than water and redbull. Will try and keep it at max 2 a day.

My mom has decided to just not count me in on her mealplans anymore. Which is for the better. I can feel less guilty about eating my own stuff. So now it's just taking the time to cook a bit better.

I am gonna set up a rather strict regiment for myself because this half-half thing this week is not working. I know I did well in the summer on a strict schedule and I can do it again, it mostly takes effort in the planning department. If I plan my food I don't feel like starving and I will get the right amount of proteine. I am also gonna strictly plan my workouts because that works best. I want to loose atleast 1kg/2lbs a week for the next month.

Update: much appreciated side effect to drinking energy drinks again is that my appetite isn't as big as when I was off it. Yay!

Good morning.

Well, I decided to move back in with my parents again and try to work things out. My boyfriend was real understanding, thank goodness, he said that what mattered was whether or not I was happy and if I was happy, that I had his full blessing. I was sad to leave him and his mum but I reckon if I can work things out with Mom and Dad that that would be even better. :)

I have tried to manage my weight and I have done okay, but yesterday seemed to be a crash day. I ate fast food and soda in I don't know how long and I'm feeling it today, just feeling gross. I think today I will go grocery shopping and clean things up around here just a touch, so I don't have to rely on fast food or use the excuse that the kitchen or microwave is not clean. (Which is true, unfortunately.)

Philana- I feel you on the quitting caffenated drinks, I recently tried to cut out drinking soda and it feels much better than drinking all soda all the time. tea drinks a day. It seems to work for me for now. :)

Coco- Hope you feel better soon! :)

To anyone who asked- I am getting my Associate's degree in Health Information Management. It's somewhat like Medical Billing and Coding except it encompasses a little bit more than that. I want to go into the data analysis part of it, cause I'm a big math geek and also a big medical geek so it all worked out. :)

Hey everyone, have to make this a quickie but it's great seeing this chat pick up! Today I reached 160 lbs!! Wow, can't believe it, 40 lbs lost - gone forever! Just 10 lbs away from healthy...never thought I'd see the day!

Rie congrats!!!

Quiet Ballerina and anyone interested in tracking their water intake, if you have an Iphone (might also be available for other phones), you should get the Water Lite app. I love it. Tells me how much water I need to drink based on my weight and grades me each day on my water intake (not that i want another grade in my life right now lol). You just open up the app and tap the screen and it adds however many ounces you've preset it to be. There's a graph that keeps track of your water intake over time. And a number pops up on the app icon so you can keep track of how much more you need to drink without opening the app itself. You get a little congratulations note whenever you hit 100%.

It's been a great motivator to push me to drink more water. Today was the first day I finally reached (and exceeded!) 100% intake, I've been at around 50% (60 oz.) for the last few days. But I've lost more weight drinking more water than when I was just shooting for 8 glasses a day so I'm pretty stoked about that.

But all this water also makes me hungrier so now I have to figure out what to do about that.

Went to thai boxing class today and had a great time. Afterwards I walked the 10 blocks to run errands and then another 30 blocks to grocery shop near my place and then home. My legs were killing me but I loved the walk. It's starting to make me groan at the thought of going to the gym and getting on the ellitipical, but alas, once classes start I won't be able to make it to boxing as often as I would like so I have to learn to like it.

Hope you all are having a good weekend!

philana: i moved to japan cuz i came on a (3 month) trip here back in 2004, just before i started uni, and i just fell in love with the place and KNEW i had to come back. even though it's challenging, i really do love living here. thanks for the well-wishes! aww, sorry to hear about the food fail yesterday, but just get back on track today! and yay for mom deciding to let you do your own thing!

namaste: good luck with moving back in with the folks! and try no to let the mistakes you did yesterday deter you from doing good today!

Rie: congrats!!!



well don't have too much to say today, but i've been good all weekend, and this morning the scale said 181.6! joy!

oh and that lady from the rental agency got back to me and said that if i was really interested in the place, she could try to talk to the landlord to negotiate letting me move in without a job. score! that would be sooooo good!

Just a quick update: I stayed a bit under my rather high calorie limit yesterday. I had to push up the limit because I constantly failed due to hunger. But yesterday it was easy. I also cleaned house and organized my stuff. I feel much better today. About everything. Haha.

My mom is gonna quit smoking tomorrow, which will mean she is soon going to understand my issue with quitting carbs a bit better. So yay for that.

Goodluck to you ladies and have a nice sunday!

woah! no posts! i guess it's all still sunday for most of you :p already monday here for me and back to the grind.

nothing much to report except that i'm still doing good. scale was showing a little increase this morning but i'm choosing to ignore it! lol.

Philana: congrats with finding something that works for you! hope you can stick with it!

Kawaii! Exact same here. Monday morning. Dentist visit in 10 mins. And the scale was up by half a pound. Which I am also gonna ignore.

I've been doing good on the calorie counting. Am contemplating calorie cycling though, because on the days I work my half-night shifts (from 10pm till 2 am) I just worry all day about leaving enough calories for the evening because it's such a logn day and I don't wanna get hungry.


OMG, so my grandma used to make oatmeal for me when I was a kid but it was gross. Was just with milk and a bit of sugar. Ew. But I just made it myself with water, raisins and brown sugar and it's a great brunch.

Hey ladies! :)

Monday night here, and I've got my fridge stocked with all the healthy groceries I need to do Phase I of the Fat Smash Diet. Phase I is a detox phase that you do for 9 days. You are basically getting your body away from caffeine, sugar, unhealthy, processed foods, and getting used to eating small frequent meals of veggies, fruits, and whole grains like brown rice and oatmeal. You get your proteins from beans and lentils. You can also have so much milk and yogurt per day, and up to 4 egg whites (yuck!..lol). Anyway, it's not too terribly limiting, but it's going to be tough those first few days. I've done it before and felt really great. So, I'm doing it again to kind of "start over" and get back on track with healthy eating. It really makes you appreciate the sweetness of sweet veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes and fruits aren't so tart anymore. Phase II starts after the 9 days and I'll add a few things. If anyone's interested in trying it with me it's The Fat Smash Diet by Ian Smith. :)

Kawaii - I really hope you can get the place that you want! Fingers crossed for you!!

Rie - That's awesome!! I know you are so excited to be so close to the 150's!!

Stronger - Thanks for the mention of the app...I'll have to check it out.

Namaste - We all have our bad days. ((hugs)) Pick yourself back up and keep going. :) Let us know how it goes with the parents. I'm glad your bf is understanding.

Hey everyone!

I'm back from the dead! So happy to be over whatever virus I had last week. My eating has been awful in the last week...I did manage to lose just under a pound last week, but me being impatient doesn't help.

Rie - Congrats on the 40lbs loss! That's awesome.

Namaste - Thank you! How is the gym going?

Shauna - My knee *was* doing somewhat better, but I accidentally hit it in the car door on Friday. It's still really sensitive, but I was able to do spinning yesterday! I've heard a lot about the Smash Diet...let me know how it goes!

Philana - :lol: my grandfather used to make us oatmeal too...all I remember, is it tasting/looking like paper mache. We used to poor our oatmeal in my grandparents' bowls while they were't looking. Ahh memories.

Kawaii - Good luck with the apartment!