Mmm, I can't wait for dinner b/c I'm making one of my favorites tonight...stir fry! 1/2 cup brown rice, 4 oz chicken, broccoli, sweet onion, yellow and green bell peppers, a little garlic powder, and some soy sauce. My favorite meal because I feel like I'm getting SO much food and getting in everything I need (protein, fiber, veggies, grains).

I agree Brittany, that sounds delicious! I don't have the products to make that for dinner (I think I'm going to have tuna but I don't know what to have with it) but I will definitely have to make it soon!

RocknRoll ~ GOOD FOR YOU! I have found the worse thing you can do is let others know you are on a diet. GEEZ. You either get, "Should you be eating that" type mantality.

Tinky is so right on. A few years back I was experiencing the same problem and did research and found several articles to back what she told you, can't remember what they were now.

I started jogging, yes I am old, overweight and jogging, hehehe! Not a pretty sight but have to start somewhere. Yep 10 minute job/20 minute walk, 30 minutes of Curves and 45 minutes of shoveling/hauling horse poop up a hill to dump it.

I did great all day yesterday and then went to Subway and the lady messed my salad up and I ended up with a bacon salad. I thought she was preparing my DD's but it was mine. I said something to her and she offered to remake it abut I said no I will just fix it up when I get home. It was a bacon salad. I mean I like bacon but I told her I just got done working out and decided they were a healthy alternative. GEEZ. What a dip, bacon a healthy alternative. HAHAHAHA! I don't know planet she is from.

Brightside ~ I hear you on losing weight with aging. I am 39, 40 in January and it just seems to be getting harder and harder. I am also perimenapausal can't wait till its over.

Carrie ~ How are things going? You are so strong, I don't thing I could handle such limitations on my foods, your such a good Mom!

Anna ~ Have you looked at brown rice pasta? I think its high in calories but low in the glycemic index. A program I was on that required all low glycemic carbs did allow rice pastas.

Well I better go and get some work done.

Ok, I have all those products for dinner and I think I will have to make it. YUMMO!

Tinky - Yes, I HAVE done it with egg whites and it is delish!!! It does always feel a little sinful to eat it, b/c it feels like so much food, but it fits very nicely in my calorie count, and all the ingredients are good for you! As for the bean sprouts, I've never put them in my stir fry, but sometimes I make chicken chow mein with bean sprouts, chopped carrots, peas, chicken, garlic powder, and soy sauce, and that's also really good.

I don't know what's wrong with me - I've been hungry since an hour after I ate lunch. I'm usually not hungry and eat more by the clock. Today i've had oatmeal & walnuts, apple & string cheese snack, lunch- whole wheat tortilla stuffed w/ rice, nf 3 bean salad & 1tbsp feta cheese. I've since had 1/2 cup of greek yogurt & blueberries, and I just ate rice crackers 60 calories and then a trader joe's low-fat fig bar. Good grief! This is the first time this has happened to me since I started counting calories 7/17. Normally I don't eat dinner until 7pm but I think I'm going to get cooking right away, maybe it will help. My stomach feels empty! And, just in case you were wondering, I've had a lot of water today, at least 48oz. Any advice in case this happens again? I'm going to post in the what's for dinner thread...if my fingers are typing I can't put food in my mouth!

Tonight is crock pot dinner night, since the 3 year old has dance class. Because the chili I picked out took 10 hours just to cook in addition to some prep, I decided to do it last night. We ended up having it for lunch. 500+ cals per serving! but high in fiber, etc. So I'm having my lighter lunch for dinner.

Last night was Chicken Curry in a Hurry, and it was sooooo good! over brown rice, and used lite coconut milk in place of the cream.

Yesterday's numbers: calories 1809, 31% fat (fiber was good: 29 grams!). This is 200 calories more than I should have.

I had an unplanned snack after dinner: an apple w/2tbs.peanut butter. I guess that's better than a brownie w/ice cream but I certainly didn't need to eat it. It was frustraton eating - I was mad that I couldn't walk the dog (rain w/ lightning). I should've just left the kitchen and went upstairs to bed! GrammyL did you get all the storms in your part of Michigan too?! We had a lot of rain yesterday! Do you still go clean pastures when it's all soggy or do you wait?

I'm going to a fancy restaurant for dinner tonight. I'm calling this afternoon to ask about lower calorie options on their menu (I checked the menu online). Everything seems to come in a fancy sauce or at least sounds like it does. I prefer not to ask in front of my dinner companions - I don't want to get into a discussion about my lifestyle changes and I don't want to dismantle all my efforts of the last couple of weeks.

Lots of challenges!

Brightside ~ Yes we did but the thunderstorms rolled thru in the early morning. I did my morning feedings (horses/chickens) and my morning walk/jog with the dog in the rain. I forgot how hot a rain coat can get but I am addicted to my morning walk/jog with the dog.

No, I would skip the horse pasture. I will be glad when that is all done. We have wild rose bushes that are growing everywhere and I have been working on getting them cut down and the burrs that are in the pasture. Then they are growing all around the edges on the outside of the pasture, beautiful when in bloom but a pain in the rear because they like to touch the electric fence so it doesn't work. Thank goodness we have horses that don't constantly test the fence or we would be in trouble. My daughters miniature horse I can see is just choosing to stay in because I caught him taking my ridding horses hay from under the fence and the fence was touching him so he knows its not working. The little stinker will have an awakening after this weekend because the fence line will be clean and he will be setting on his rear from the poke. I have touched the fence when its on and it just tingles but horses spaz when they feel it.

From my experience, this is just me, the more water I drink the hungry I am. I don't know why but in my silly brain its things are being pushed thru my system faster but it doesn't always appear it on the scale. Your body does require extra energy to process water because it has to bring it to the right temperature.

I usually eat around 1700 - 1800 calories a day so that wouldn't a high count for me. Wow, you at a lot of foods that I just love and are so healthy but they are all foods for me that don't stick around and keep my tummy satisfied. I eat them and within and hour they are gone. Yogurt, beans and nuts trigger something inside of me and I don't like the end result, over eating. Soy doesn't seem to bother me and stays around so for breakfast I usually have some kind of soy product in place of the normal breakfast meats. I do tend to eat lots of protien but I do it to help keep my blood sugars in check because I am a diabetic in remission and if I don't get enough protein I just don't feel right and I am hungry.

Zoe ~ Can you share your chicken curry recipe please! DH and I had chicken curry on a buffet last year in Niagra Falls. It was so good and DH wants me to learn how to make it and I am leary of trying new recipes.

Well I better get going because my boss is going to be emailing me soon and I need to collect some information for him. Our graduate coordinator isn't doing his job so I get to do it for him. Another discussion we have to have because I am not paid enough to be graduate coordinator. HEHEHE!

Check back later.

Tinky ~ I sure wish I could get his pay. HEHEHE! He is a faculty member and makes well over $90,000 a year, me just over $30,000. That is the one irritating thing at this university because us secretaries are the work horses and keep the place going and we are the lowest paid group on campus. About 15 years ago the secretaries went on strike and boy did this place pay dearly, what a mess but now they made it so we can't strike. To me, they didn't really get anywhere doing the strike and we are still not paid comparable to other Universities.

Tinky I would feel mentally awfull. I discovered this weekend that I have to exercise every day. Doesn't have to be much, a 20 minute walk or something or I fell YUCKO! mentally.

Yep, just as I am getting back on track and doing great, TOM hits or is trying. This are really messed up now with perimenapause, hoping this is a sign of the end. HEHEHEHE! I think 2 years is long enough.

OK, I am just to funny. We have a faculty member who has an office that is full of paper. There are columns of paper stacked higher than myself. You can't see his desk and they are piled on both sides of the computer on another desk. There is path in the door, to his desk and to his computer the rest is columns of paper. So, I needed to get a very important note him for our Dean (supervises our department). So I took a note, punched a hole in it, found a piece of string and tied it to the note. Hooked a paper clip to the other end of the string and then stood on his computer table (knocked a partial pile over and had to restack it) and hung it from his ceiling so its dangling in one of the paths. I am just to funny. HAHAHAHA! He will definitely see it.

Well I better get going and sort the mail from yesterday and match receivers to orders to make sure everything came in right.

Tuesday Totals

Calories 1262
Fat 30g 23%
Carbs 179g 48%
Protein 83g 28%
Fiber 39g
Sodium 2195mg
water 64oz

Hello all! I have been away for a few days (really busy at work!). Here are my totals for yesterday and today:

8/7
Total: 1627
Fat: 55 491 31%
Sat: 11 103 6%
Poly: 9 82 5%
Mono: 27 242 15%
Carbs: 157 530 33%
Fiber: 24 0 0%
Protein: 83 334 21%
Alcohol: 33 233 15%

Today 8/8
grams cals %total
Total: 1488
Fat: 36 324 23%
Sat: 12 109 8%
Poly: 4 33 2%
Mono: 7 66 5%
Carbs: 132 476 34%
Fiber: 13 0 0%
Protein: 153 613 43%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Hi all,

Numbers for yesterday:
2034 calories
21% protein, 29% fat, 49% carb, 31g fiber, 1481 sodium

And for today, Monday, August 6th:
1444 calories
21% protein, 17% fat, 58% carb, 25g fiber, 1658 sodium
(I'm missing 4% somewhere - I'm not sure how fitday PC is calculating this, but I'm too tired to figure it out...)


Brightside, I do tend to get hungry before meals and snacks, and sometimes if I have a snack that's too little for what my body thinks it needs, I get really hungry until I've a fairly substantial snack or meal. That is, several little snacks don't do the trick. But it was unpredictable at first - a perfectly fine snack one day might not be enough the next. Over time things have settled down, though. Either I've gotten a better sense of how much I need to eat at different times of the day or my body has gotten more used to fewer calories, or both?

But when it happens now, I don't worry about it too much - I just eat what I need to for the hunger to be satisfied, even if that means that my caloriie total ends up higher for that day. I've also noticed the second phenomenon you mentioned - later in the day, if I've had several bouts of unsatisfied hunger earlier, I'm more likely to eat something for no reason, even though I'm not hungry at that moment. Something to do with feeling frustrated and a fear of recurrent hunger, I think. Again, over time, this has gotten less frequent.

It's interesting, I've read about intuitive eating, which often seems to include a strong philosophy against any calorie counting or measuring. But I like to do a bit of both - paying attention to and respecting what I want to eat, while also keeping track of how much and nutrition, without feeling that I have to rigidly keep to a set plan... It doesn't seem to me that the two have to be diametrically opposed to each other.

Two big bowls of veggies did the trick today. I'm actually eating oatmeal now to get my counts up! That's sure more encouraging than the last few days.

Calories: 1403
Fat: 69 44.6%
Carbs: 42 12.1%
Fiber: 21
Protein: 151 43.3%

Calories burned: 811

Not bad but I ate way too much today. I have two weeks until the first day of school so I am going to make my calorie count a lot lower... :dizzy:

We went home this last weekend to see everyone before we move. I'm sure I ate a ton, although I was conscious of what I was eating. The stress has been getting to me and I haven't been focusing too much on keeping my calories low. Today I'm at 2007 calories thanks to two beers and ice cream. Oh, well... my weight seems to be staying steady. I knew I wasn't going to lose the last 5 this month anyway. Why must moving be so stressful??? It'll be over soon and then we'll have a new place to explore. It'll be fun once all the packing and such is over.

Wednesday:

Total: 1404
Fat: 31g, 21%
Carbs: 227g, 51%
Protein: 89g, 27%
Fiber: 61g

I'm going to bed in about five minutes, I promise ...
1216 cals
30%protein
47%carbs
23% fats

Sarah - thanks. Good to know I'm not completely crazy! Sometimes I'm afraid to listen to my body. Probably if I had had a piece of turkey or something relatively substantial I would've been ok. Counting calories is a whole new realm for me and I want so much to make this work!

I don't have a calorie count to report from yesterday but last night's fancy dinner was a definite triumph for me. I had a lovely small salad w/ mixed greens, walnuts, dried cranberries and a dab of goat cheese. For dinner I chose a pasta dish - I swear it's been YEARS since I've eaten pasta in a restaurant. When I ordered it, I made the decision that I would eat 1/2 cup of the pasta and that would be it, it was the rest of the dish I was interested in: mussels, clams, shrimp and scallops in a spicy tomato broth. The pasta was very, very fine spaghetti. It was satisfying & filling and I seriously only had two bites of the pasta. Dessert was a forkful of something we ordered for the table to share. I did not drink - more because I was worried that I had a long drive home rather than saving my calories. I am so proud of myself for making good choices!!

Brightside ~ :cp: You did an excellent job at the restaurant and did better than I could of. :cp: I saw a program on FitTV that the Diet Doctor did. She went to a restaurant and they actually measured out the pasta in the dishes they prepared. The child size pasta dish was 4 servings of pasta, WOW! I would hate to see what the adult size was.

Zenor ~ Your doing fab because what you are showing yourself is when the weight is all the way off you will be able to maintain that loss. Think of all the new adventures that you will have with living in a new area.

I agree with Sarah on the fact that there are days we are hungrier than others, I think its natural. For those who have small children and grandchildren, have you ever watched how some days they are hungery and other days they could careless about food? My grandson one day will eat like he has a hollow leg. The next day he may just pick at his food or snack all day. You never know from day to day how much he will eat. He doesn't eat out of bordom or just because he can. He only eats when he is hungry and stops when he is satisfied, he listens to his body. My daughter used to try and force him to eat and I told her to leave him alone because of the family history of obesity on both sides.

Stayed in my calorie range yesterday. Jogged/walk 1 mile and did Curves last night after work. Then I went home feed animals, put dinner in the oven and cleaned house while it cooked, then I crashed. I get so tired when TOM hits and my legs just felt like they weighed a 100 lbs each last night. I am up to jogging more than walking the mile. My dog doesn't like it because he can't investigate as much.

Well I better get going and get some work done.

Grammy you are so right that kids are more in tune with their hunger centers than adults. My triplets have such a different relationship with food than I did when I was growing up. I'm also from the don't-force-food-school. I was a fat baby and a fat toddler, who grew into a fat kid. I remember hiding food from my parents when I was only 7 years old and then denying that I had eaten something. With my kids I've taken a whole different approach - the food I offer is usually healthy, I keep lots of healthy snacks out in the open and we keep the unhealthy treats in the pantry in closed container. If they want one of those treats, they normally ask and if it's not just before a meal, I say yes. We still have candy leftover from Halloween! They know it's there but for the most part, they don't care!

I have to share one kid story...my kids love all kinds of food from good old American, to Indian, Mexican, Thai, whatever. One of their favorite places to go is a Chinese buffet. I look to them as the example of how I should be eating. They walk around, take a bit of this & bit of that, stir fried dishes, never anything fried (oh Mom, that stuff tastes gross, they tell me). If they take a bite of something and they don't like it, they don't eat it. After the first plate, they might go back for a bit more of a favorite, but they never fill their plate to overflowing like you see some adults do. After that, it's all about fresh fruit for dessert. Forget the ice cream, cookies, cakes, etc. And it's their choice! I wish I could go to a buffet and follow their example. They don't eat just because the food is there, they don't ever walk out saying "I'm stuffed", they eat until they're satisfied. I'm hoping they don't ever have my problems with food.

Brightside ~ Bravo for you kids and thanks for sharing your story.

I have started handling buffets differently. I now walk around the buffet, chose what looks good and just take a little and then go back and eat. If I don't like it, I leave it, I used to eat it anyway but why? Then if I go back, only allow two trips, I get just a little of what I liked. I indulge on 1 dessert but just one.

When I was a child I was like your kids. I ate when I was hungry and was busy playing (exercising) the rest of the time, food was not recreational it was something I had to have to keep going. I was always underweight to the point my Mom had a hard time finding cloths small enough in the waist and long enough. When I became a teenager is when all went wrong for me. I stopped playing all the time which meant I was much less active and started eating to fill the time, we lived in the country and we weren't allowed to do much. Food became recreation and it was always around. This only got worse with age until I got the shocking news I was diabetic. Now, I am in remission from the diabetes but I know it could come back if I am not carefull and I am putting in a real effort to turn things around but man is it hard but I know I am worth it.

Grammy/Brightside~ I grew up in an extended family that included lots of missionaries and farmers. It was a sin in our household to waste food. I can't tell you how many times I heard the "there are children starving in (insert country of choice)..." We definately had to finish our food or we were in trouble. It's been very difficult for me to break away from that kind of thinking. No one in my family was thin when I was growing up, so my sister and I have had to really change our relationship with food. I still try not to waste food, but I don't eat it all in one sitting either. I also try to cook less when I make dinner. Many times I halve recipes so it won't go bad in the fridge. If I do waste food, I try to look at it as better for my health and an occasional necessary evil. It's still a struggle for me though in resturants and buffets are especially hard.

Zenor ~ Same here, so I always took small amounts. Geez, I was to busy to slow down and eat to much because I need to go finish my adventures outside. I was almost over active as a child and was always off in the woods with the family dog or down to the neighbors after watching Seasame Street, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo, Puff N' Stuff if it was on. Half the time I didn't even watch those. I had a huge emagination when I was a child.

Numbers for today, Thursday, August 9th:
1605 calories
23% protein, 24% fat, 49% carb, 36g fiber, 1637 sodium

Sorry to hear that you're sick, Tinky - hope you feel better soon!

Moving is the worst, Zenor - good luck with it!

It's interesting to hear about everyone's childhood experiences. We didn't have any clean your plate rules, and I remember being pretty interested in candy from a young age. But there was a fair amount of moralism/virtue associated with food, which I rebelled against by eating sweet stuff.

1204 calories! And I'm not even hungry. I'm well into my second liter of water since I got home at 11:20 but not hungry.

Thursday:

We went out for dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday so not sure exactly what my stats are for today. That brings today's total somewhere in the 2000-2500 range and I'm not even going to think about what fat/carb/protein ratio that it all works out to. Oink! :lol: (I turn 39 tomorrow (Friday). :cool: )

Tinky ~ http://th186.photobucket.com/albums/..._well_soon.gif That sounds horrible what you came down with. No, its not a good thing you can't swallow because you need to eat some chicken soup so you can get better and get back on your feet!

Sarah ~ Oddly I didn't eat a lot of candy or sweets growing up. I developed that problem a couple of years ago and then I found out I was diabetic. I was told that it was normal when your diabetic to crave exactly what you shouldn't have. I try to avoid candy now because I can't stop eating it once I start. I have to buy everything in packs that is sweet because I will eat more than a serving. Its terrible.

Diane ~ http://th168.photobucket.com/albums/...y-Birthday.jpg I turned 39 in January. To me 39 feels like a strange age, I don't know why. I guess 40 has always been this big deal in life and I decided that when I hit the big 40 that I will be at my goal for weightloss and healthier than I have ever been in my life. Well that goal feels so far away and I have such a long ways to go that I don't know if I will make it. I pray that I will because I am tired of being overweight and unhealthy.

Brightside ~ Those are some wonderful goals and wish I would have stuck with them on my vacation. Oh well what is done is done. I think I need another vacation but who knows when that will come.

Yesterday I got my jog/walk in and took DD grocery shopping after work. She is so slow, it took her 3 hrs to do her grocery shopping. ARG! So I had dinner late and I was so tired so I decided to make something easy and south of the border, a quesadilla http://thmg.photobucket.com/albums/v...yofcactus1.gif. I had slivered turkey and used 2% cheese and my ww/flaxseed tortillas that they use olive oil for a binder. It was good.

Well I better head out and get some work done and talk at you all later.

:carrot: HAPPY BIRTHDAY OH2007!!! :carrot:

Brightside- Have a great vacation! I actually went to Europe with a plan similar to yours and I came home a few pounds lighter! I missed out on gelato but I sure felt great about the number on the scale!

Grammy- I loooove quesadillas! I have not had one in ages- I even have an old quesadilla machine somewhere in a closet. Heres a question, where did you get flaxseed tortillas? Sounds tasty!

Tinky- :hug: Get well SOON!!

So yesterday I bought kiwis, cantelope, grapes and plums. I am going to start eating fruit again (its about time!) I am basically writing out a diet plan in book form for myself. I am going to eat what I ate while I was in europe: fresh fruit twice a day, veggies, olive oil, lean cuts of protein, 2 cups of dairy. I had no cheese, sugar, hydrogenated oils, and I only had wheat twice a week. It was a really healthy plan and I enjoyed all the food- So now I get to recreate what I ate there! I wrote down every day in a food journal so I am going to look through it and create a weekly menu. I am also going to STAY OFF THE SCALE

I hate the scale :mad: 147 this morning and I really wanted to be 142 by August 24th but I don't see that happening

Well off to go run.. I am exhausted but this is the only time of day I can run.

RocknRoll ~ Thanks for the correct spelling, I am horrible with spelling and really need to improve. The flaxseed tortillas I get are from a small town grocery store. I will look on the package, if I remember, and see if they have a web address. My DH is mexican and I make homemade tortillas and he will even eat these, that tells you how good they are.

I agree, if we American's ate more like the Europeans we would be much better off. I watch students come here from other countries, healthy and thin. By the time they graduate with their MS (usually two years) they have gained weight. I have seen some gain as much as 50 to 60 lbs.

Did any one watch Shaq's Big Challenge when it was on. It was really good and I so wish all school systems would change their lunch programs and put physical education back on the requirements lists. We are headed for big problems if we don't with the health of America.

Your are doing fab and don't let it get you down. As much as you workout, you are probably putting on muscle and losing fat. That is good because you are burning more calories.

I have feel the need to share that I have lost .6 lbs this week even though TOM is here. Thanks for all the encouagement and sharing ladies, couldn't do it without you.

Well I better get going and get some work done.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANE

well I finally got passed my 2 week plateau I lost a pound this week and I its TOM so thats pretty exciting! My in laws came for dinner last night and my father in law bought everyone DQ for dessert....and I PASSED IT UP!!! that was a big BIG step for me considering Icecream is my weakness and because I passed my mother in law said hey I should probably pass to and she only had a couple bites of my father in laws. my husband offered me a cite or 2 of his because I had 166 cals left but I refused knowing its a trigger food and I wouldn't be satisfied with a bite or 2. my husband also asked me if I would like to start doing activities with him a couple times a week like catch on mondays, basketball tuesdays, frisbee wed and maybe tennis or something antoehr day. I think thats AWESOME!! it gets us both out exercising in this beautiful weather I think we are going to get tennis rackets tonight :)

OH2007~ :bday2you:

Irishfairy~ Great job with the DQ! I also think it's great that your DH is getting involved too. It's so much easier when you have someone to help motivate you.

Grammy~ :lol3: I think I've seen that before and it's still funny!

Tinky~ Get Well Soon!!!

RocknRoll~ Don't let the scale get you down! Sometimes they have minds of their own.

Brightside~ Have a great vacation!

sarah44~ My mom was a total candy/sugar addict! She wasn't allowed any growing up (Grandma was hardcore strict) so she went crazy with it the rest of her life. We used to joke that if you gave her a bag of sugar and a spoon she'd be in heaven. Personally I go back and forth between having sweet cravings and salty/sour cravings. In fact, a pickle put me over my salt limit yesterday. Lol.

Well, I'm off to get dressed and go take a walk with the puppy. I need to burn some calories off before tonight. We are going out to a German pub/restaurant. We were invited by our VW mechanic. So it'll be a night filled with sausage, kraut, beer, and polka music. DH and I are going to split an entree, but it'll probably still be really heavy on the cals. I'm very uncoordinated, but I may dance a bit just to burn off the beer.

Have a good trip, Brightside! Happy Birthday, Diane! Have fun playing tennis, Irishfairy! Enjoy your fruit, RockNRoll!, I’m envious, Zenor – I love German food!

Today's numbers:
1673 calories
24% protein, 21% fat, 53% carb, 37g fiber, sodium 1540

Calories- 1,019
Fat- 26 22.6%
Carbs- 97 37.4%
Fiber- 26
Protein- 103 39.9%

Calories burned- 823

I am very happy with how today went! I ate no cheese which was super hard for me and I had my two servings of fruit :) I ate 7 cups of veggies and fruits! My calorie goal was 1100 so I am pretty happy