Good morning everyone. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

I am definitely having some zig zagging moments this weekend. Calories for Friday and Saturday I am guesstimating at about 1600 each. I don't know I kinda felt the need to just RELAX a little and not be so strict. Today I will try to get it back down.

Welcome Rocknroll, one of my favorite things by the way. Your percentages look fine. Welcome to the group.

Diva, today is your 5k, no? Good luck.

Walking2lose, I'm real glad you liked the Fiber One.

Mami, I hope you like it as well.

Bobbo asked me for a typical menu of mine, so here goes:

Breakfast has been the same for about 2 - 3 months now - 1/2 cup Fiber One Cereal mixed with 1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal with 1/2 cup skim milk - about 175 calories.

Snack - Danon Lite and Fit Fat free yogurt with 1 tbsp of Fiber One cereal - under 100 calories

Lunch - Almost always 1 Morning Star Farms Chick Patty with 3 cups of cauliflower - about 250 calories

Snack - usually jello free sugar free pudding with a squirt of fat free whipped cream and a sprinkle of Fiber One Cereal - under 100 calories

Dinner, this varies the most, but usually a big chicken breast/veggie stir fry or a huge salad with a grilled chicken breast cut up into it or a piece of fish with tons of veggies or spaghetti squash with sauteeed onions and portabello mushrooms and cut up chicken breast, to name a few - about 400 calories

Snack, which I just recently added and only if I need it. I just added a workout at night, so I like something lite to eat afterwards. Usually these 60 calorie fat free/sugar free ice cream bars that I found or another pudding - so 60 calories.

Total for the day - under under 1200. These past 2 days I stayed to my menu, but had a few extra snacks, not much, but enough to tack on a few extra hundred calories, oh well.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

Good Sunday Morning to Everyone!

Hope nobody has a Irish Hangover this morning!
I've started my fast of clear liquids this morning in preparation for my colonoscopy tomorrow and will have to stay close to the bathroom with all the junk I have to drink. I hate missing church but maybe I'll catch a T.V. sermon. Yesterday's menu:
Calories...989 (Low but we were gone over lunch and decided to eat a early supper)
Fat...13%
Fiber...39 grams

Breakfast: Fiber One, dry ~ 2 slices low cal toast spread with a serving of strawberry cream cheese.

Snack: SF Chocolate pudding mixed with a serving of Fiber One and SF/FF Cool whip. (My quick fix version of Haystacks) It was delicious but you have to eat it fast before the crunch goes out of the cereal.

I had coffee with my dad, bro and SIL, brought along snacks to eat while they had cake. One was General Mills Cinnamon Apple slices, (real dehydrated apples)very good with only 50 calories per bag. The other one was Oreo chocolate crisps that I loved and 100 calorie bags.

Supper: Cheese Burgers made with Elk, FF Cheese slice, low cal bun, dill relish and oven baked french fries. I have a great recipe for oven fries that taste like the real thing if anyone's interested.
Lettuce Salad with Feta cheese, Olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Evening snack: Jello whipped with Strawberry cream cheese and mixed berries/SF Cool whip
FF milk

Robin... Thanks for sharing your menu, it's always fun to see what big losers eat, I don't mean that like it sounds. Have you ever made the W.Watchers recipe for mock mashed potatoes using cauliflower? It's pretty good and I've used the recipe while counting calories. As you can see, my menu pretty much stays the same for breakfast and lunch too. (It makes calorie counting and planning a "no brainer" ) I'm lucky in the fact that DH doesn't like a lot of sauces on meat, etc. I've been eating and cooking CLEAN for years, I just didn't know there was a name for it.
Everyone have a great low calorie day. Think how hard you worked all week planning, counting and exercising. You don't want to eat something stupid today and blow all your efforts of the work week.

Hi Bobbo. By all means, call me a big loser. Though I'd like to be an EVEN bigger loozah. And I would love your recipe for the fries. Although I try to stay away from potatoes. I don't have good control with potatoes, so that's why I stick to lower calorie vegetables. I get to eat A LOT without worrying about calories. So now that we're talking here. What's up with all this elk? Where does one buy elk and what does one do with it, well okay I see elk burgers. What are the advantages of it over beef or chicken? What does it taste like? Oh and I prefer my cauliflower cooked in a little chicken broth. I love it in fact. I also see that you are SO close to goal. You must be thrilled!!!! Didn't you do this quite quickly? Do you mind if I ask you how tall you are? Okay, I just did. What are your plans for maintenance? Wow, I just asked you a lot of questions. And don't worry, I'm not eating anything stupid today. Tomorrow's weigh-in day. I'll be fine. Thanks for caring.

Good morning everyone
Welcome Rocknroll


my counts were:

Total: cal: 1332
Fat: 19%
Carbs: 58%
Fiber: 37%
Protein: 24%

treadmill 30 min.

I am not loosing weight with these numbers much, I am going to try to kick up the tread mill.

I am also having hard time eating the 1600 cal. everyday. Its a lot of food.

""I've started my fast of clear liquids this morning in preparation for my colonoscopy tomorrow and will have to stay close to the bathroom with all the junk I have to drink. I hate missing church but maybe I'll catch a T.V. sermon.""


Bobbolink:
Good Luck! I know you will do well.

My prayers go out for you.

Morning everyone.

Robin, I had the same questions about Bobbi. Hope everything goes well tomorrow Bobbi. I also want the FF recipe.

Diva hope the race goes well. Please give us the details. What do you do at work with those hours? If I may ask.

Hi to the new members/lurkers

I ate 2100 calories yesterday. Today I must get back to eating much lower.
But I did burn 500 calories on my elliptical.

Do you all think the calories burned on the machine are accurate if I'm using a chest strap heart monitor that beams my pulse into the machine (it came with the elliptical)? The number SEEMS pretty accurate, its a bit higher than what the RMR test said I would burn in 30 minutes at moderate intensity (the test said 179 calories). I set the HR program to 70% so I think that's a little higher than moderate, so it does seem really accurate (and its a lot less calories burned than the ellipticals at the gym say).

Robin... You can buy Elk meat in most grocery stores that have a health food section. It's kind of spendy, $18.99 a pound! I'm married to a big game hunter and he bagged an 800 pound bull Elk last year so we have plenty of Elk meat plus a couple of deer in the freezer. We gave one (deer)to our daughter, she wanted mostly burger made out of it. That's low calorie meat too! He's going hunting again this fall for another Elk so we won't run out of game meat for awhile.
You can use it the same way you'd use any red meat and it's a good thing I like it or I'd starve. Look at the 1.9 grams of fat compared to pork and beef, quite a difference. I see 3FC took the boxes outand jammed the number all together. The last two sets of numbers is the cholesterol and protein. Elk has 146 calories ~ 1.9 grams of fat. What does it taste like? It depends on if the big guy was in rut or not. (Horny) Usually when DH hunts, it's in the rut season. That's when you can bag the trophy elk. Last years elk made the Boone and Crocket book which means the bull was a big sucker with huge horns. If in rut it's strong tasting, but I usually marinate it and that tames the critter.


I'm not sure of my height anymore, I used to be 5'4 but have probably shrunk with age. Too bad my stomach didn't shrink too!

This recipe is out of a No-Fat Cajun Cookbook. It's one of the best recipes in the book and you can serve these to your family and they won't be able to tell the difference between these and fries made with oil. The spice mix makes a big batch so freeze what you don't use for future fries. This combination of spices is the key to making these taste like the real thing. The spice mix is great on potato wedges too!

No-Fat Cajun French "Fries"
4 medium white potatoes ( I scrub the spuds and leave skins on)
Cold water to cover (important step)
Butter-flavored nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 teaspoon Cajun Spice Mix This can get too spicy so use just 1 teaspoon the first time, then adjust on your next batches. I use more, but we like spicy!
Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Cut potatoes like regular fries (I cut them a little fatter)Place in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 3 minutes.
Spray baking tray with 0 calories cooking spray.
Remove spuds from water and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle the Cajun Spice Mix on them and place on baking tray. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and season with extra salt.
P.S. This is a hot oven so if you cut your fries too thin, they'll burn.

Cajun Spice Mix:
1/4 cup salt (I cut this down)
2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. paprika
1 1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. fresh ground pepper
1 Tbsp. white pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Use all the spices, mix and store in a covered jar.

Theresa...

Quote:
I am not loosing weight with these numbers much, I am going to try to kick up the tread mill.

I am also having hard time eating the 1600 cal. everyday. Its a lot of food.

I think it's too much food too, I'd cut it down if I were you. Thanks for the prayers tomorrow, a month ago my brother was diagnosed with colon cancer which is why I'm doing this.
Robin... Get your glasses out, this print is soooooooooo small! I did lose it quickly, I've been on 1200 calories for 14 weeks, averaged 1.67 pounds per week. I only went over my 1200 calorie range twice, Christmas & Thanksgiving. I didn't gain any weight over the holidays either. I actually started at 161, not what I posted. I had dropped three pounds a week before I started back to 3 FC's. I've lost a total of 23.5 pounds.
I'm not going to go on maintenance yet, I'm not concerned about my actual weight. I have a closet full of beautiful dress clothes and that will decide what I should do next. I'm already wearing most of them, I have some size 6's that are still a little snug.

See Ya!

Oh boy! It's confession time, and I'm not even Catholic!

I posted yesterday about going to a baby shower and feeling thrown off about how to enter in fitday... well, I actually didn't overdue it too much at the shower (no cake or sweets, just a bite of this and that). No, the shower was the least of my problems. It was the leprechauns that did me in!

We go to a super fun St. Patty's party every year, hosted by some wonderful friends of ours. Well, I wore green, drank green drinks, ate corned beef, danced, flirted, had a blast, and was totally off program. By the time I finished my first drink, the willpower was totally shot. I don't even want to think about how many drinks I had or calories... nor do I want to see the damage it'll do in fitday. Nevertheless, I'm going to take a shot at entering, just to have a moment of reckoning for myself. I know it will be humbling.

So, Susan, while you were doing EXTRA weights last night for your buffet, I was being a social butterfly. I don't regret the night off -- we had such a good time, and we needed it (we have a tendency to be homebodies), but I need to do some serious damage control today. I LOVE that you challenged me, Susan. It helps me a ton when I know I have to be accountable to someone else... in weak moments, I might let myself down, but I do NOT like to let others down. So, here is my plan, and I will report back later. Walk/jog one hour in my neighborhood. AND a 30 minute Gillian Michaels DVD, which incorporates weights. The dvd kicks my butt, which is what I need. AND, I'm going to follow your lead and have a light day on calories -- very, very clean foods and lots of water.

Bobbi - good luck with your fast today. You will be in my thoughts tomorrow! Is your brother doing well since his diagnosis? I hope so!

Diva - hope race goes well today. I agree with the rest... it makes me tired to think about it. I'll be struggling through my planned walk/jog!

Everyone else... have a great day. I better get some water in me and get out the door!

I'll be reporting back about calories and exercise... gotta do that to get back on track.

--Claire

Theresa-
When you first got here I recommended 1600 as a starting point-a place to start playing with your numbers-because everyone is different. You have reported eating closer to the 1400 range the past few days. How long have you been trying to stay around the 1400 range? Give it a couple of weeks before you try to drop it lower than that-because you are still a pretty long way from goal. Don't drop too much, too soon-or 10-20 pounds the line, you won't have much to go-without dropping your calories to an unhealthy level.

I personally don't like to go under an average of 1200 a day. I think it is too hard to meet your nutritional needs at very low levels. I think it is fine to cycle your calories a bit-such as aiming to be at 1200 a day when you are nearing goal-and maybe having 1100 one day, and 1300 the next, 1000 the day after, and 1400 the day after that-because that averages out to 1200 a day at the end of the week.

I also think that it is normal, if we are very busy or ill-to occasionally have a "low" day...like 800-900 calories. I don't think it is a good idea to have low numbers like that regularly.

A healthy weight loss rate is 1-2 pounds a week as well-but as we get closer to goal that also slows sometimes to only a couple pounds per month instead-and this is also normal. It is also normal for someone starting out at 250 to lose the first 10-15 pounds faster than someone who is starting at 170-180. Their weight loss will eventually slow down, as they get to a smaller number.

When you drop your calories, I find that a drop of 100 is a good increment. You don't want to drop from 1600 a day to 1200, for instance-and skip the levels in between. You also want to give each level some time before deciding to change down.

Another option besides lowering your calories-is increasing the exercise, which you mentioned.

Just things to keep in mind while you are playing with your calories-to get them at a good level for you.

Bobbolink

My average # of calories for the last 2 weeks is 1358. (from fitday).
fat and protein aveerage out about the same.

What do you think should be changed?

Aphil,
you posted at the same time as me... so I did not see your answer. I guess I will stay where I am and start walking more.

thanks

Good morning Ladies!

I haven't posted lately because I caught this awful virus that has been going around work and have been stuck in bed for the last three days. Needless to say I haven't been calorie counting, but I haven't been eating much either.

I only walked 4.5 miles this week versus the 7.5 I was aiming for. I'll just chalk it up to being sick and try again when I feel better.

I have lost 3 pounds this week though. I know it's a little over the 1-2 pound a week ideal, but I think it's because I've been sick. Hopefully, none of it comes creeping back.

Diva--Good luck today with the race! I quit smoking (cold turkey) a few years ago. I did really well except for social situations until I got sick on menthols and red wine. That cured me. I can't even be around others who smoke with out getting queasy. The only thing I miss is having something to do with my hands, so now I crochet instead.

RockingRobin--I was looking at your signature and I'm amazed at the size you are in. I realize that everyone's bodies are different, but it really hit me when I saw you are wearing a 10-12. That is wonderful! I'm five inches taller and barely in a 14. You have come so far and I love that you don't mind being called a "big loser." I don't know about anyone else, but losing weight and maintaining seems like the biggest accomplishment possible to me. Maybe because it's so hard and weight problems effect people in every category across the board. Okay, I'll stop rambling now... it's the cold meds...

Bobbolink--Have you tried Ostrich before? There is an Ostrich farm about 30 minutes from my house and the meat is really good. It's a red meat (You'd think being a bird it'd be white) that is very low in fat. In fact, you almost have to re-learn how to cook a steak because it's so lean. It's no good if it's over cooked. The eggs are crazy too. They are the equivalent of 18 chicken eggs. That's a big omelet.

Thanks for the welcome guys

So far today i'm doing pretty well. My lunch was 266 calories with 10 grams of fiber. A little high on calories for my typical lunch but i slept in and missed breakfast so i guess it was fine! The hardest thing i find is to stop snacking! i snack way too much and the calories add up VERY fast!

Well, i'm going to go exercise but i'll def check in later