Hi ladies--I'd like to join your thread, if that's OK. I've been tracking calories for about a year and a half to lose weight. I was doing pretty well, but I've got some issues with my right leg due to an old car accident. I reinjured my knee last year, stopped exercising and dieting, and gained back about 10 pounds. I'm back on the wagon, but I can't exercise like I did and my weight hasn't moved in a while. I keep thinking I can eat what I ate before and still lose weight. I hope I can get a little inspiration from you folks.

I'd like to join here too, if that is okay? I've been a member of the boards since last month and it helped me decide to calorie count. I have a 3 year old girl and next month my son will be 1 year. After two weeks of strict calorie counting and staying at the 1200 range, I went up to 1400-1500. Now I am starting week#7 and I find myself zig-zagging and keeping my average at about 1450. I ride my stationary bike 35 minutes per day and alternate weights/pilates throughout the week. I am so into this lifestyle change and my Husband is trying his hardest to be right there with me.

:wel3fc: Becky and JC

Upswife I cant believe your trying to lose and quit smoking at the same time thats real tough. I smoke and I try and quit then gain weight so this time I decided lose the weight then the cigarettes. I know me though when I get to my last 5 lbs I will probably slow down so I dont have to quiit smoking haha I frickin love it so much. Its a love hate thing ya know. I suggest exercising alot it will get ya to sweat out the nicotine faster for less cravings.

I was looking in my food/exercise journal and figured out I average 500 calories deficit a day thats one pound a week, thats not great but I just cant even imagine trying to cut more calories and exercise more I would be burned out. So Im gonna stay happy with my one pound a week;) Hey thats way faster losing then I gained it! It took me 2 years to put on 30lbs. But I also do a detox type diet every 3rd week so I really lose 15lbs a month that is if I dont plateau oh I hate that word. Good luck this week everyone! :carrot:

Looker girl~ I actually quit smoking last year, but I have been having a ton of cravings, and have been bumming from my brother when he is here on Sundays. It has been an up and down thing, but I am trying to stay off them for DH.

Mon Night
 

ack you caught me - way past my bedtime.
Welcome newbies, lockergirl, jc, and jazzbird :welcome3: the more, the better.
I've been out walking last couple of days.

UPS ` althought smoking was easy to get over (let's think, was I on diet pills, yeah). Quit twice:frypan: well, BF was smoking , so I changed to a BF who didn't. Recently I see promos on tv asking do you want to wear a bikini or quit smoking. It's a hard one but I'm routing for ya. So bad for the health, you'll find our more as you get older.
E L Y S E

Amoses congrats to you wow thats really close to your goal keep it up.
Hello everyone Aphil congrats on this little one. You are one busy lady with dancing and raising a family thats for sure.
I am ready to start in again on being more serious with my wt. loss. I lost some wt this summer but put back on a few lbs. Now its time to get it off. I am setting up a spread sheet for myself to track food intake, water and exercise. Too many social events this summer I guess at least lately. I also had some trouble with my hips and its slowed me down a bit with exercise. I am going to the doctors today hopefully that will give me some direction with that issue. At any rate nice to see some people from the past and welcome to the newbies. This is a good site and always supportive. Have a great day I am not changing my ticker until next week. I am giving myself a little break to try and lose some lbs. first.

Hi! I'll guess I'll jump in here. I really need to try to post somewhere every day for motivation and support. I've been calorie counting for about 2 1/2 years. I lost 40 lbs and have since gone up 5 lbs. I really don't mind staying at this weight I just don't want to gain any more. I'm usually pretty motivated but sometimes.....:devil:

I'm 45 yrs old. I am married and I have 3 boys, 22 year old twins and a 16 yr old.

Hope to talk to you all more.

Bailey :)

HI all doing ok here, but sometimes it is so tempting. Because of car issues, I will not beable to get to the gym until Fri, then Sat I have to work, so Maybe Sun too. I think I will pack my gym bag on Sat and hope that I get off work early enough to drop in. Well, My sis is coming to pick me up tomorrow so I can go food shopping, then thing will be better on the eating front. I can't wait to get some more fruit in the house!

Later Chicas!

Hmmmm, am I a thread killer??:^: Anyway, I thought I'd check in again. I managed to get some walking done today on my break at work which I was happy about.

I weigh in on Friday mornings (just at home) so I'm always a little apprehensive about what the outcome will be. Since I lost the orig weight I seem to either maintain or play around with the same 1-2 lbs gain/lose, gain/lose. It's frustrating sometimes but I am glad to hopefully maintain FOREVER! :carrot:

Hope everyone had a great day. Bailey

Hello everyone. Nice to see so many new people. Always a big welcome! I have been tracking a little closer this week trying to get back on track. I did the scale the other day and then again today as its happy friday! The little white square was nice enough to say I was down .5 not much but this girl is taking it and running any movement down is a go! I made a good choice last night to pre count my cals before dinner. Then I knew exactly what I had left to utilize without going over. I am going to continue to try and do that as it will make a difference hopefully. Sometimes extra cals just get est. and end up making me really go over the edge. WELL have a great weekend everyone and keep moving. Apple season is here and the fiber keeps me full so they are one of my favorite snacks. Check out different types its a good healthy fulling snack and with fiber to boot.

Good morning all!! I don't know what the scale says, but right now I am so happy that I have my car back!!! I can go places, and get things done! Will make it to the gym early this afternoon, then off to a friends house to see theri new baby and visit. The kids are really excited and have been looking forward to this visit. Hoping that there is downward movement when I get on the scale.:crossed:

Hi all,
I'm keeping up with the walking, and I was happier with the scale today. I had started eating deserts - like, a lot, and then its a binge, without adding up the calories, and a recent news item shocked me out of it. There was a to-do in New York City over outlawing use of hydrogenated oils in restaurants, and I heard that these raise the LDL (mine is high). I am horrified that with all my efforts to eat right, this devil was slipping in - and in a big way. So this is my 2nd or 3rd day with no sugar and I aim to keep it up. I have had a bit of honey, but maybe that will go too.

Ellen~ Yep, our car has been in the shop for nearly a month. Fortunately DH gets home 1:45.

Carol ~ keep posting, and hurray for fruit! I can't do too many apples - I think baked is ok for those like me.

Bailey ~ no killing allowed here. Wow 22 yo twins.

Other newbies ~ are you lurking out there?

How is everyone?
 

I am having a decent week after a bad monday. I forgot my dinner at home so I was forced to either eat at work or wait unt 11pm to eat. So I ate a veggie burger at work, It wasnt too bad but not what I wanted. I am having my little sister spend the night with me tonight and taking her to her soccer game in the morning. I am calorie cycling (did it unintentionally before, so when I put it all on a spreadsheet I realized what I was doing.) I am trying to stay at a 1450 average! I am feeling so energized this week, thank goodness for multivitamins!!! (I forgot to take them when I was at Disneyland and the week after)

Good morning everyone!

It was a very busy weekend-we had to go out of town to visit with my father and stepmother, and to go visit my SIL in the hospital-she had her baby on Friday morning. (Our due dates were 4 weeks apart...and we were pregnant bridesmaids this summer in my younger SIL's wedding.) We ended up having our babies 7 1/2 weeks apart though, because I had Saber early.
Other than being boys, our babies are complete opposites. Hers was 7 lbs. 11oz. and tiny...mine was 9+ pounds and BIG...hers blue eyed and almost bald (wisps of light blonde hair) and mine with brown eyes and a full head of black hair. We took pic of them together-and it is like yin/yang. :lol:
I am hoping to get some dancing and strength training done today. :)

tonight
 

Tonight I took my kids to the movies, and boy what a mistake that was. My boy (he'll be 1 in two weeks) I have realized is afraid of the dark. He would not stop crying once the lights went down. (maybe that is why he only sleeps for 2 hours at a time) So I took him to the lobby and eventually left the theatre all together to wait for my hubby and daughter. So I bought us a blizzard to share, (Tommy has a tooth coming in and I knew that the ice cream would feel good on his mouth). I new it was going to be a high high calorie treat, but not even in my wildest dreams did I think that it would be over 700 calories!!!! It's done and over, I just have to use today as my high calorie day for the week. (Luckily I hadn't had dinner yet so I made sure that my dinner was Very low cal so my cals for the day 1748). I also only got in 20 minute pilates and 15 minutes on my stationary bike. I cant believe my mind set. 2 months ago I wouldn't have blinked at eating 1000 calorie meals with no exercise, but now I freak.....I am glad I feel this way because I know my life will change because of it: healthier, skinnier; but I am afraid I am becoming obsessive with my diet and exercise. ;)
I think I am going to call it a day though, I could hop on my bike again but my boy is sleeping and I think I may join him. :carrot:

Went out for pizza last night with friends...I did really well (I think) I had 1 chees stick, three mushrooms, and three small pieces of pizza. one glass of beer then two glasses of water.

Unoficially I am down a pound, but TOM came today, so I am not sure if it will show tomorrow at weigh in. But, I know I have been eating better and staying with smaller portion sizes, and I have been feeling great. Kids are off tomorrow, so I am planning a quick clean up at home, then off to the gym, then to mom's so the kids can all play. THey have not gotten together in a little while because mom just got a FT job, and my brothers and sister were put into school. Mom used to homeschool, so we could have a play date just about whenever we wanted. The kiddies are really looking forward to it.

Have a great Monday!!!

Starting Over
 

Hi Everyone,

It's been quite a while since I last posted. I've had a few bad weeks and I've found it really difficult to get back on track. I seem to have pushed a self-destruct button and I've ended up eating anything and everything in sight ... the consequence being that I'm now back up to my original starting weight:mad: I feel so annoyed with myself and realise that I simply can't go on like this. I feel so uncomfortable, and when I look in the mirror I feel ashamed at what I've become ... It's not me ... It's as though the reflection is someone else's.

Well, I've given myself a long talking to and I'm very pleased to say that I'm finally back on track ... which is where I intend to stay ... however long it takes!:)

Nichola~I am just getting back on track too. We CAN do this together!!

Upswife ... I'm with you!:) I am so determined to do this! I'm not going to make any more excuses:nono: ... Just better choices:yes:

I'm so sick and tired of being 'The Fat One' when I go out with my friends ... it's come to the point now where I'll actually try to make excuses for why I can't go out. I've lost all self confidence in myself, and when I'm out with my husband I just feel sad that I now look old and frumpy instead of the slim attractive woman I used to be. I often wonder what he really thinks of the way I look, deep down ... I mean, I know he loves me, and it's not very often that he mentions my weight (he knows how I'll react!), but occasionally he has voiced his concerns about health problems and he does try to encourage me to lose weight ... but I wonder what he REALLY thinks about the way I look ... I know what I would think of me if I were him! What the **** happened to me?!

I know I can't turn the clock back and look like I did when I was in my 20's ... after having kids it would take a miracle! But I do know that if I put the effort in I can make the best of what I've got, and start to feel good about myself again ... That's what I intend to do!:)

Nichola~I know what you mean. I was never small, but I wonder sometimes what DH thinks of my post pregnancy belly. To me it is just horrible, but he never says anything bad about my body and I am very grateful. He supports my weight loss in a very positive way.

I have been doing well for the last 5 days. I really dropped a few pounds suddenly, but I think they were coming off, but with TOM I was getting bloated, now the bloat is gone, and so is the extra weight. My goal for this week is to make it to the gym at least 3 times-hoping that I can make it a 4th day too-and keep monitoring the portion sizes. I have to run and get ready for work. I have to get the girls ready they are coming with me and DH is going to pick them up from there. Have a great Tuesday!!

Upswife - Exercise and portion control are two areas that I need to focus on right now ... Exercise, because I basically don't do any at the moment:o ... and portion size, because my meals have been getting bigger and bigger:o The silly thing is that I know exactly what I'm supposed to eat, and how much I'm supposed to eat ... but my diet scales have been totally redundant for quite some some time now. I decided to dust them off a few days ago and I've been very good about weighing my food and writing everything down, keeping track of my daily calories ... I know it's the right thing to do, I just need to keep myself motivated to do it, and I know the weight will steadily come off.

It's quite shocking how easy it is to kid ourselves into thinking that we are not overeating ... Last night I had homemade Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner (all calorie counted of course) ... Firstly, I weighed out a portion of dry spaghetti, the amount that I would have chosen to eat if I wasn't trying to lose weight ... I was so shocked when I calculated how many calories it would have been ... around 700cals!! ... And that was without the bolognaise sauce!!:eek: I estimated that the total amount of calories would have easily been in excess of 1000cals ... just for one meal!! It's no wonder I've ended up the way I am. Anyway, as I'm deterimined to lose this weight, I reduced the portion to a reasonable 3oz of pasta (dry weight), which is around 300cals, and my bolognaise portion was around 250 cals ... so only half the amount of calories that I would have chosen to eat normally:)

My diet scales are now placed on top of my kitchen work surface where they will remain to be used for every meal! I CAN do this!:carrot:

Nichola and Ellen, I am glad to see you both are getting back on track! I wish weight loss was as easy as weight gain!! :)

Yesterday I bought a chicken caesar salad but I put it into fitday before I ate it. If I would have eaten all of the dressing that came with the salad the total for my salad would have been about 800 calories. For a salad.

I don't worry about what my SO thinks of my weight gain because I know he see's me as his wife, mother to his children, and life partner. He doesn't see me as Fat, overweight,. . . . so on. He is very supportive of my weight loss and has stopped offering me candy bars and the such. He brags to the men he works with about my accomplishments on a daily basis. More than liking the "boy honey you are looking good" I like it when he says that the guys at work are teasing him that I am losing weight so I can find someone better, because I know that he is talking about me at work.


(He doesn' know it but on Valentines day I am planning a romantic weekend without the kids as a celebration of my weight loss, whether I hit my 50 pound goal or not) :)

Morning ladies! :coffee:

I have been 100% on plan the past two days-not a single slip, and I got my exercise in both days-which is a major thing with the new baby. He is willingly starting to take a midmorning nap at around 10am, so I am designating that my workout time-and when I am finished I hurry and clean up and make my 5 year old son lunch before I take him to kindergarten. (He is in the half day afternoon class.)
Right now my workouts have to be 30-45 minutes-but considering a few weeks ago he wasn't allowing me to do ANYTHING-I'll take it. :lol:

I did a quick 2 mile treadmill walk Tuesday, and I did 35 minutes of strength training yesterday. Today is cardio again. I am still definitely not up to where I was pre-pregnancy, but I am doing considerably well. I believe 100% that keeping up with dancing and exercise all the way up until a week before delivery was a MAJOR factor. :)

I am aiming for 1800-200 calories a day right now (there is approximately a 400-650 calories burned each day through breastfeeding) so that leaves "me" with around 1300-1600 a day approximately-give or take. I am not even weighing in right now...I would rather weigh in once every two weeks or so and get a "surprise" rather then jump on every day waiting for something to happen. ;)

I took my measurements about 2 weeks ago, so I am going to start tracking those as well again to see non-scale progress. :)

Jason (DH) has been doing a majority of the cooking dinner-since the baby usually has me busy-so I am looking up some EASY healthier recipes for him-stuff that has less than 4-5 ingredients-that sort of thing. He has done well though, even though his meals are very simple. ;) I am proud of him for that. :D

Hello all,

I havent posted in months either, bad bad me:( I jumped off the wagon to and crashed bad, up 15 lbs since this past spring and am NOT happy at all about it but I have no-one to blame but lil ol me right!!!!! So I am trying SO hard to crawl back up on that dang wagon and my god that sucker is way up there, LOL, but I am trying and that is the main thing I guess!! Well I got married (again, lol) back in August, everything went really nice, beautiful day for it (outside wedding)! It was great having Amie (who posts on here, Amoses, who is my cousin) come up with her daughter, they was my matron of honor and flower girl and it just made my whole day having them here and both looked beautiful!!! The marriage is going great, so far, lol....

Amy ~ a HUGE congrats on the newest member of your family, he is adorable (saw the pics you posted) and what a good boy to start to get into a good routine so you can get your excersise in, good boy Sabor!!!

Nice to see so many new people in here, boy alot of us went MIA didnt we, glad to see alot of us coming back though!

Lisi ~ good to see your still here and doing good!

Amie ~ Have no fears I know you and I know you will get right back on your wagon and you will be at your goal weight in no time! Miss you already!!:hug:

Hong Kong ~ I have so many of the same feelings you do and go through so many of the same hurdles! The feelings of you wondering how your husband truly feels? I feel the same way and you know you will never truly find out or I wont anyways because he is to much of a gentleman to tell me, lol, I of course may not want to know, lol, I know he loves me but the wondering will always be there I think!

Lets keep each other on the right track and be here for each other, I knwo I need it right now!! :^:

Heres some :dust: for all of us!!

Lori

Hi everyone! I made it through the weekend but it was a bad exercise week all around. My eating wasn't great Sat, Sun, or Mon. But I am back on track today!

My weight is back up to 171 but I will get back down. I got a treadmill on Thursday and I am going to work out on it and my stationary bike for 20 minutes each then do 20 min pilates. I hope to do this all week!

I am also getting back on the water wagon. I normally would drink 80-100 oz per day but slipped last week because of a hectic schedule. and I barely got 40-64 oz each day. Yesterday I was back to my 80 oz and today I am going to get in 100oz.

I hope everyone has a great week!

HI all! I am not doing so great with the exercise either. I have to get it in in the mornings, otherwise too much other stuff is going on and I get busy. I have had to wait for the gutter people for two days...I guess no one in their office can pick up a phone and call. Because of the weather they have been stuck on the job before mine. They are supposed to be here today, and if can't make it today, and don't call I think I may switch to a different company.

I am taking DS roller skating tonight for a school function, I just hope I have regained more of my ballance from last year :D

Happpy Wednesday!

I love rollerskating! I haven't been in years, but I want to take my daughter I think she would love it!

Hee...I can't rollerskate/rollerblade to save my life. I get too tense because I'm afraid of falling, and that throws off my balance. :lol:

I love to skate too! There are not too many places to go these days, so I look forward to the school outings more than the kiddies do!

Hi Girls,

I'm struggling at the moment, and I really could use some encouragement, I was losing 2 pounds a week consistantly until I went on holiday around a month ago, and since I came back I haven't managed to fully motivate myself, and I haven't lost a pound. I'm eating around 1400-1500 cals a day and I am exercising around 300-500 off on a good day, I was doing fine like this before but now I just seem unmotivated, and I'm not losing. I used to say no to things but like today at work I had a donut just because its there, and I have really cut my water intake down. Just feeling down and fed up really. Not looking for advice here just a listening ear and maybe a push to get me moving. I'm not going to give up, but how can I make this more interesting and to hold my attention for more than a couple of months?

One of the ways to keep exercise interesting at least-is to learn something new. Take a dance class, a karate class-go play a round of golf-anything that gets your body MOVING. It doesn't have to be jogging or aerobics. All activity is wonderful-and if you are havign a good time and learning something-it is easy to forget that you are burning calories. :D

Hello ladies! THings are going well here, Went a little overboard yesterday at lunch, But I felt it for the rest of the day. I didn't even eat dinner that's how full I was. But so far exercise has been good. Have to make it tomorrow before my flight, but things are looking good for that. I am visiting my Aunt and cousin in TX for 4 days with my mom. Eating should be good there, mom is trying to lose weight too, so we will police each other.

The Christmas stress at DH's job seems to be starting already, so who know what it will be like in Dec. He is on vacation this next week, so hopefully he can destress at the gym. Just went grocery shopping and filled the house with good food. We are trying to cut our take-out budget, so I am really going to try not to be so lazy an get dinner made on time.

In case I don't get back in Have a great weekend!!!

Hi everybody.
 

Hi everyone,

I have been on this board as a lurker for a long time and I was posting while attempting South Beach. About 3 years ago I had a wonderful success on Atkins. I lost 60 pounds. I gained it all back and then some. It was so darn easy to slip back into my bad binge habits. Atkins and whole/fresh eating is so darn pricey!

Anyways, we are all here for the same reasons. I'm just trying to get healthier. My blood pressure is really high for a girl my age. Well, I finally gave up on dieting and such and went to my Doctor. He perscribed me Phentermine and told me to eat responsibly or I was doomed. So, because of the drug, I have to visit him alot now. He told me to keep a food diary and I am. I have to show it to him to. My Doctor also told me a calorie is a calorie no matter what "plan" one follows...so, I'm counting my calories now... I know that pills are not going to solve my problems and I don't expect it to. I can say that it has helped me in the past week with sugar/binge cravings. I am a sugar junkie. I am also addicted to convienient foods. Why slave over the stove when I can drive through Taco Bell? Oy! In my belly dance class, one of the girls brought in made-from-scratch cup cakes with fudge frosting. Normally I would have eaten two, but I was easily able to decline.

On that note, my excersise "routine" is belly dance. I have always wanted to do it since I was a little girl but I had a very bad freak accident at 11 and wound up having a hip replacement when I was 22. (I am the youngest in my state. :D ) At 27, I am still recovering from a majority of my time being disabled. Excersise does not come easy, so belly dancing is a big motivation for me and I'm usually able to devote an hour or so 5 days a week. Plus, it is really helping with shaping my body and strengthening my hip/thigh muscles. (Dance posture, Aphil ;) It's brutal for me right now. Burns! )

Since I have been eating sensibly with a way of eating that is comparable to South Beach's later phases, I have lost 6 pounds. A majority of that is water. I had to give up sodium-drenched diet soda because I can't have caffine so I'm peeing a lot with beverages consisting of water and decaf tea. :o

Other than that, I should not be sitting here and posting! I have to go finish up my invitations for my upcoming nuptials with my fiance.

Have a good day, every one!

-Ally

Hi everyone! I just thought I would check in and say HI! I have done reasonably well over the last couple of weeks, but I did have a night out with the girls But I was prepared for it, I checked out the calories and cut my entree in half so I didn't over eat. I did have a few drinks but all is still good. I have been working out like crazy!

I increased my weekly average from 1450 to 1550 calories and I am still losing 1.5 pounds per week so that is good! I don't feel like I am eating much more but 100 calories is 100 calories.

Hi Ally-you will definitely gain strength in your thighs and back from the dance POSTURE alone!!!! A lot of people really have no idea that we dance in a posture like that-since the costumes cover it up! :D You will definitely get stronger!!!! Who are you taking lessons with, and in what area are the classes?

Well-it has been a pretty brutal week and a half. Last week on my birthday (30th) my 5 year old was admitted very early in the am for double ear infections, and double pneumonia. The day after he gets released, the baby has vaccinations-and those with kids know the fever/crankiness/not feeling well that they cause-so I literally had two sick boys. Now my husband is on a business trip for the week-and I am taking care of everything and everyone ALONE. :stress: I haven't had a chance to get my exercise in much for the past week and a half because of it. Hopefully when Jason returns Friday night I can get back on track in that area.

I am still counting calories, and making up my new class schedule as well-so classes can resume here in a week or two. (coming back from maternity leave from teaching dance.)

I have a performance in December, and in January...so that is my motivation right now!!!

aphil: Poor you and your babies! I hope this week goes by fast for you!

"Hi Ally-you will definitely gain strength in your thighs and back from the dance POSTURE alone!!!! A lot of people really have no idea that we dance in a posture like that-since the costumes cover it up! You will definitely get stronger!!!! Who are you taking lessons with, and in what area are the classes? "

My teacher's name is Asyia. She does beginner level classes only and does them Thursday nights for an hour. Her and a few others started a MeetUp group in our area, so when I'm ready to advance, there is another teacher. Plus, we live about an 1 and a half away from Miami and there is always a ton of workshops going on in Miami!

Rachel Brice is coming to Miami in April! :carrot:

Sorry to hear that your kiddos are sick and I hope they are feeling better. :hug:

Hello Everyone,

My name is Missie and I'm a married mother of three beautiful girls, ages 14, 11 and 8. I was always small and didn't begin gaining weight until I got married and had children. Ever since then, it seems as though I gain weight simply by looking at food.

I succesfully lost weight 13 years ago, after the birth of my first daughter, by counting calories and grams of fat. I regained the weight when I got pregnant for my second child and have maintained the weight ever since (with the exception of three of four failed attempts at low carb). I have decided to try calorie counting again because I was so successful with it in the past. So far I have lost 8 pounds and am looking to lose 45 more.
http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar-pi...135/180.8/.png

Hi Missie! *waves*