Loveandlaughalways - I just googled my town, state, and the words belly dancing. I was lucky enough to pull up a site that listed belly dance teachers in Florida. From there I was able to find local teachers. Good luck!

Alleycatisfat - Honey, 2400 calories is not that bad! You fell off the wagon one day, but you'll be okay. I remember reading that although we count daily calories, it is the weekly calories that matter. I am sure for the week your calorie consumpton levels out nicely. But be on your guard if sweet homemade foods are your weakness!!! We are coming into that time of year where there is always someone bringing in to work some tasty treat. Will-power is going to be needed. LOL.

Loveandlaugh - Webweevil is correct. Just google. That is how I found my teacher. You can also go to www.shira.net, an awesome site for belly dancing. When you find one in your area, send her an email or call her if she has her personal contact information on hand. All teachers usually have a beginners level, an intermediate level, and an advanced level. Truthfully, I'm surprised that Webweevil found such a teacher with a wide array. Truth is, your class will probably have plus size girls already. I'll admit that I was a little self consious the first class going into it because of my weight. But, I'm not the only one...My class is a beginner class and we have all walks of life in there. Seniors to little kids. Fat, skinny. You name it. No one judges and we all have a great time.

So far I'm doing good ladies in so far as calories go. It's 11:19 and I'm just now eating breakfast! I woke up at 9:12! G'ah..I hate remembering to eat breakfast. I'm having a light and fit yogurt and a piece of whole grain toast with natural peanut butter for a total of 170 calories.

It took me so long because I was getting my lentils ready for lentil soup. I've never made soup before and I haven't had lentils in forever. (I used to eat them all the time when I was a vegatarian..10 years ago?) I hope it turns out good because..I spent a lot of money on repleanishing my crisper drawer and 1/2 of it went into the pot with my lentils.

~Ally

I know that 2,400 isn't a huge amount..considering I was eating probably over 2600 prior to my doctor visit (fast food every day), but my Doctor wants me to do 1,400..

And man, am I ever despairing over Thanks Giving and the Holiday goodies that follow. Thanks Giving dinner is not a problem for me...I can fill up on Turkey and be fine with out the 'fixin's' like mashed potatoes and stuffing. I'll probably make a side dish to bring like roasted vestables with olive oil and rosemary or something. Just...Pumpkin pie is my favorite thing in the world.

Last year I made a parfait typle thing using a fancy glass dish. Take ginger bread, cool whip or whipped cream, and pumpkin mix. Bake your cake in advance, like a day before, so it's not as moist. Then make layers of the cake, the pumpkin, and the whipped cream in the fancy glass bowl. Top with crushed gingersnaps and dust with nutmeg or something. I'll do the same thing this year..but make my cake with Splenda and sweeten my pumpkin with splenda.

Thanks! I couldn't believe I found two belly dancing classes in my area. I will call them today and see if they have a beginners class.

I ate 3 oz beef and light yogurt this morning with water after 40 minutes treadmill, 5 minutes weights, and 10 minutes pilates. I know that doesn't sound very appetizing, but strangely enough this morning, I was craving the beef. I was satisfied when finished.

Yay! Glad you found someone. And..I like beef in the morning sometimes, to. It's filling.

I am the queen of unorthodox breakfast food. If it tastes good, is healthy and gets you going in the morning, why not?


K, for tonight...

Calories, 1263. Exercise: some dancing, and much walking in the mall. T'was a good day.

Hi everybody! I haven't been hanging around much because I've been a poor poor calorie counter lately but I felt the ned to see whate everyone was up to. You're a cheery crowd and I'm glad I came to have a look.
I've had a couple or three decent days in a row ... which is a good thing compared to the couple or three before that. Whew, bad!

Hi Susan it's okay to get "off kilter" as long as you get back to where ya wanna be...As you've seen, I struggle in other areas too.

Allycatisfat and callystia i'm so glad i'm not the only one who likes dinner at breakfast. Why waste the calories on cereal when you can have a more filling breakfast like beef. LOL

I like breakfast too...but if dinner was really good...Hmmm...might want that instead as long as it is within the calorie count and doesn't make me feel sluggish for the day...

Sometimes if I eat breakfast (potatoes, bacon, eggs, Milk), it makes me feel sleepy. Anyone with the same effect?

Just wanted to jump in here! Today I've had 971 calories and burned 61

Hi lookingforhope how are you doing? Glad you could join us!!

Hi all, don't mind if I weasel in ?
I'm guilty of eating a sugar coated donut today, along with two cheese crackers for lunch . Still thinking about it, it was a very big donut ...

Aside from that, how are you all? I'm particularly new to this board and thought it would be fine to drop in

Day 75 of calorie counting completed with 1485 calories eaten today.

I contacted a local belly dance instructor. Intro classes start this Monday and run for 6 weeks, 1 day a week. As of Friday, there were still a few spaces open for the class. I registered online and I am waiting to hear back if I got in. This instructor sells scarfs and things at her studio. I don't know if I should buy one there or come ready with my own. I found a local store "Gypsy Palace" that sells the coin scarfs. Any suggestions?

Lookingforhope16 - Do you have a doctor watching you closely? I think most people will agree that eating under 1200 calories a day is not the norm, even when dieting. You don't want to slow your metabolism down so low that your body holds on to everything you eat and refuses to lose weight. If that happens, when you start eating normal again, you'll gain even more weight. I understand the desire to lose weight fast, but just be careful. I worry!
Edit: Sorry LFH16, I see that this is being addressed in one of the other threads. I'll keep my mouth shut. LOL

I'm posting for yesterday's daily consumption because I was out so late at a dum circle.

Yesterday I only made it to 950 calories and I worked out do my belly dance for fitness DVD for a 1/2 an hour and then some shimmy drills and travel steps for a total of 1 hour. I felt terrible yesterday and I was hungry all evening and I was so tired....and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why until I tallied up my calories for the day! Yikes! My batch of Lentil, vegtable soup only totaled out to be 1,153 calories for the whole darn batch! I had maybe two cups of it for lunch. It's really low calorie (but it was tasty). I'll post the recipe in the recipe section.


"I contacted a local belly dance instructor. Intro classes start this Monday and run for 6 weeks, 1 day a week. As of Friday, there were still a few spaces open for the class. I registered online and I am waiting to hear back if I got in. This instructor sells scarfs and things at her studio. I don't know if I should buy one there or come ready with my own. I found a local store "Gypsy Palace" that sells the coin scarfs. Any suggestions?"

If you don't hear back from her today, then I would take down what ever number she has listed and call her Monday morning to see. If your teacher sells hip scarves for a reasonable amount of money, then go ahead and get one from her. However, mine sells hers for like 35-45 dollars (they are gorgeous, to) and I simply can't afford to purchase one with the upcoming wedding. So..I bought mine on eBay. Some go for .99 cents and up to 14.99. Just be sure that shipping is reasonable. It's always a good idea to have more than one, so maybe puchase one from your teacher or the store and then get your others from ebay. In truth, you don't really need it..but it's a very helpful tool more than it is an accessory. It helps with the visualisation of isolations, plus it helps you keep the beat.

Also, it is very helpful to have a mirror in your space where you practice. I bought three door mirrors at Target for 5 dollars a piece and I bet Wal-Mart is even cheaper.

"Sometimes if I eat breakfast (potatoes, bacon, eggs, Milk), it makes me feel sleepy. Anyone with the same effect?"

Omit the potatoes. If I eat anything that's high on the glycemic index in the morning, I'm screwed. Eating a simple, highly absorbable carbohydrate in the morning with the fat disables the bodies means of processing that fat. The fat is stored and the sugar gets used. If you choose to eat a starch with breakfast, make it complex and healthy like a 1/2 cup of quaker oat bran or old fashioned oatmeal, a gronala bar (that's not loaded with sugar), beans, or maybe a slice of whole grain toast (package must say whole grain. Look at the ingrediants and make sure that there is no "enriched" anything in it.)

Today, for breakfast, I ate a serving of cheese and some scambled eggs.

Hi, Passionfruit.

Later, Ladies.

-Ally

So far, I've done well at calorie counting this month. Using Fitday has really opened my eyes -- I had NO idea how many calories I really needed to survive. The best part has been finding out how many calories I can burn doing housework - my house has been immaculate for the past 3 days!!!!
Cal eaten/cal burned
11/1 - 1575/??
11/2 - 1400/??
11/3 - 1424/3282
11/4 - 1361/3609



I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Reports section -- especially calories burned vs calories eaten!

I had a better day today. I made it up to 1,558 calories today and worked out with my fitness DVDs for a total of 1 hour.

No sugar today!

~Ally