Welcome to a new week of exercise, all! Special greetings to all the new "non-lurkers"!

Starting the Monday roll-call!

-copperblu
160/157/130

Hi Copperblu! Thanks for starting the new thread ~ and excellent to date it by the week! Great idea!

Welcome to all new "non-lurkers"! It's great to see you and glad to have you around for extra support. I hope that I can be helpful to you too!

Now, as to my "weak-end"... I blew all three of my goals! I won't dwell on it, but it wasn't that pretty. Not nearly as bad as it could be, but still..

Anyway, I am all ready to start fresh again today. I have made me bean & veggie soup to have for my lunches, and have semi-planned my exercise. Here's what it looks like...

Mon - Curves, Marching video
Tues - Curves, bowling
Wed - Curves, swimming
Thur - Curves, aerobic video (I haven't picked which one!)
Fri - Curves, swimming

So that's my plan. I also want to eat within my cals, get all my water in, and make my minimum fiber every day. (Gees that sounds like a lot to aim for, doesn't it?)

Anyway, if I can do well all week, then I won't feel as bad when I "blow" it on the weekend, right? 5 out of 7 ain't bad!

Have a great day everyone!
Marvin

MarvinTM: Try not to beat yourself up for the weekend -- I always reserve the weekend for my "down" time, when I give myself the option of choosing less-healthy foods or not exercising religiously. Without those days to slack off, I think I'd go mad!! Of course I don't just /assume/ I won't be eating healthy or taking a walk, but I give myself the /option/ of having pizza if I want. I think it's natural, and denying yourself only makes the cravings worse + makes you feel deprived + unhappy. So don't be too hard on yourself! Consider it part of your plan!
And congrats on making the soup for lunch! That sounds really healthy + yummy, and it's a lot easier to avoid unhealthy choices when you've got a plan.

My plan this week is:
M: Firm Basics: Fatburning
T: Firm Basics: Sculpting w/Weights
W: Firm Basics: Fatburning
Th: dinner out w/friend (no workout time -- maybe I'll try to fit in some walking)
F: planned rest day

Will try to add 20 mins Latin Rhythm workout each day if I have time -- hopefully by the end of the week I'll be back where I was + ready to move on to my next rotation! I can't believe how much I missed exercising while I was sick!
Like you, I also want to meet my new calorie goals (approx 1500-1600) + fiber + protein (30g and 40g respectively), and of course get my water. The water's pretty much automatic now, so that's not so hard, but I'll have to pay attention to the food goals. Maybe I'll start a food journal this week -- I tend not to do well with those, since I forget + I don't like the feeling I get of "obsessing" when I write every little thing down -- but maybe a general log will help me keep better track of my fiber/protein count.

What excellent advise regarding the weekend outlook. I was at a youth retreat this weekend. Ate cafeteria style, but tried to make the best choices i could.

My goal this week is to walk on the treadmill or ride my bike every day for 45 minutes or a combination of both. My other goal is to do my ab workout tape 5 times this week.

Food goals are to journal as much as possible and try to put some fat back into my diet. I eat things that are fat free (but count the points), but don't seem to lose weight when i don't have fat in my diet. Does any one else have this problem?

I didn't get off to a good start with exercise this morning. Both my kids are off from college for spring break and my routine was off this morning. Will exercise this evening while they are both at work. I did make good choices about food for the day. Stopped and got some frozen food to microwave for lunch at work.

Island Mama - way to go on your meeting with the scale. That is great news. Also thanks for the info on BodyforLife. I am gonna ckeck out the website you gave us.

Have a great day.

Sally

Hi again, thank goodness the weekend is over, I exercised great but ate & drank too much, didn't make my water either - but am not going to dwell on it either.

Just done the Tae Bo Basic work out - people tell me it gets easier but that's the 9th time I've done it (not that I'm counting) and I still struggle at bits. Keep telling myself that if it was too easy we would get bored.

Anyway my plan for this week,

Mon - Tae Bo basic (done)
Tues - Lorraine Kelly / Jenni Rivett - Figuring it out video
Wed - Lorraine Kelly / Jenni Rivett - Figure Happy
Thurs - Tae Bo Basic
Fri - Swim 40 lengths
Sat - 10 miles on exercise bike
Sun - LK / JR - Figure Happy

Besides all this I'll walk for 30 mins every lunch hour.

I know this makes me look good but if you saw what I ate then you would understand why I also need to do it.

Like yourselves I am going to drink all my water this week - seem to do better at that when I am at work. And I am going to food journal - I know I can lose weight if I do that but for some reason I don't do it - can't understand my own logic.

OH MY! OH MY! OH MY!!!
You all are going to have to come and slap me, to wake me up from this dream! I really hope this doesn't sound like gloating, I am really just soooo excited and want to share my progress...
I am down an inch and half on my waist from March 2nd! I feel like my fat is just falling off of me! Keep in mind, that this is all during my menstral cycle (bloat city).
I am just so flabergasted... it is a wonderful feeling.
Sorry, I'll go now! Thanks so much for all of the support I get here on this board!

(I just wanted to see what this little guy looked like)

Hi all!

Big Sal: When I was doing Tae-Bo, I did it for several months and never moved on from the Basic! With only that and a sculpting video, I still lost 20lbs though. Tae-Bo is really tough! I think you should be proud of yourself for just getting through the Basic!
When you're comfortable with your exercise routine, you can start to work on your eating -- and then the pounds will just fly off!

I understand about the food journal -- I'm not very good at keeping one either, even though I hear such good things about it. I think I just don't like the restricted feeling I get -- I try to keep track of things, but such extensive monitoring takes all the fun out of it for me. Like food is all about calories + fat, and not about enjoyment.


IslandMama: congrats on the inch and a half lost!!! That's GREAT news! And even during TOM! You must be SO PSYCHED!

In my news, I'm back on the workout wagon! I did my Fatburning workout last night, even after drifting off on the train (which always makes me tired + not want to workout when I get home), and then added on 20 minutes of Kathy Smith Latin Rhythm! I am not NEARLY coordinated enough for that dance workout, but I'm hoping I'll get better with practice. At the very least, it's fun + distracting!

I THINK I might have good news on the weightloss front, but as MinyMony + MarvinTM know from my earlier disasters, I think it's better to wait to confirm with my "official" weigh-in at the end of the week.

Eating's going well, and yesterday I must have had enough water to choke a horse! Eating extra fiber really makes you thirsty!
Bad news is that I mistakenly bought regular cheese instead of the lowfat cheese I usually use in my Enchilada Pie. Grr. All that unnecessary extra fat! But I did add 2 cans of black beans this time + extra veggies, so maybe the good + the bad balance each other out.

Can't wait to hear how everyone else is doing! Happy Tuesday!

Hi all! Not very good news for yesterday! DH sabotaged me! I had to go to the grocery store on the way home last night, and I called him to make supper. I love him dearly, but steak and tater tots is not exactly diet fare! Usually I save steak for the weekends, and the tater tots are for him, not me, but I was so hungry and tired when I got home, I just ate it.

Then, I skipped my planned workout (the marching video) and instead tidied up the kitchen and "visited" with dh. I'm happy about that, because we usually spend the evening watching tv and not talking too much, but I wish I had done my tape!

I agree with you guys about the weekend "relaxing" of the "diet". I need to not stress so much when I don't do well on the weekend, as long as I do well during the week, and not go completely overboard on the weekend, I'll be ok. I have started using Fitday to log my food and exercise, and you can get a report on calories burned vs. calories taken in, and I do consistently burn more than I eat... but then shouldn't I be losing more quickly? Ah!!!!!

Islandmama 1 1/2 inches is fabulous! I am so proud of you! Congratulations! And keep up the great work!

Big Sal Keep up the good work on Tae-Bo! The first time I tried it, I think I nearly killed myself! And I thought that I WAS coordinated! Hee, hee!

Copperblu Great job getting both of your videos done yesterday! Welcome back!

Sally I wish I had that problem! Not enough fat! I have a problem cutting mine down. But seriously, I have heard that you have to have a minimum of good fat in your diet, just like every other nutrient, etc...

So, for today: water(!), fiber, and watch those cals! Then, Curves after work, and tonight is bowling night.

Have a great day, ladies!
Marvin

Hi gang,

Here's my proposed schedule for the rest of the week.

TUE- p.m. Donna Richardson Hips, Thighs, Buns

WED - a.m. Firm Basics Scuplting w/ Weights
p.m. abs, P.M. Yoga

THUR - a.m. Crunch workout
p.m. Donna Richardson Upper body/abs

FRI - a.m. water aerobics
p.m. - Rachel McLish lower body

SAT - a.m. walk
p.m. abs, Karen Voight Pure Simple Stretch

SUN - a.m. REST
p.m. abs, A.M. Yoga

Sally - when I am OP I occassionally have the same problem getting enough fat in my diet. Especially now that I am trying to eat HI-fiber. My weight loss is also slow and I have been watching to make sure I get enough fat. I've also heard that it's good to eat a little fat when you have vegetables because many veggies contain vitamins that are fat-soluble. Any one else hear of this?

My goal for this week are simple

• exercise each day
• drink 3L of water each day
• eat breakfast each day
• journal each day - I usually use www.dietwatch.com but I constantly hear such great things about www.fitday.com that I may have to give it a try.

Hi everyone!

MarvinTM: I'm sorry to hear about DH sabotaging you! Tatertots are hard to resist!! My DH sabotages me so often that we've both taken to calling him "Saboteur"! It's hard, but try to remember -- it's a process of hundreds or thousands of little steps each day, and one bad day is just one mistep among thousands of good ones...we just have to pick ourselves up and start over each time.

MinyMony: Good to see you again! I'm also going to try Fitday -- after a long time w/Dietwatch, I've also heard really good things about Fitday (on the FirmForum boards!). I like the long text-entry journal option, which Dietwatch doesn't have. I've been entering my Firm Basics workouts as "Health Club Exercise, general", since i figure that's the closest. I've heard that some Firmies enter it as Calisthenics, but that doesn't seem quite right, and I can't be bothered to figure out the separate minutes of aerobics + toning. We should petition them to add "light Firm workout" + "heavy Firm workout" to the activities list!

Well, I have to take my own advice to Marvin, because I had a bad day yesterday. DH came home early, since he seems to have caught the cold/flu I had -- so I didn't have time to workout yesterday. If he doesn't come home early today as well, I'll get to workout today, but that's it!! Because of my schedule, I'll only get 2 workouts in this week!! I was so excited about getting back on track too! I guess I'll just have to watch my food intake more carefully + try to fit in any extra activity that I can, and just start over next week.

In good news, I seem to have lost the crucial pounds that make my pants fit better, so now I don't feel like I've stuffed myself into them. They just fit. That feels good.
In food news: the Enchilada Pie (w/black beans added this time) turned out even better than usual!! I think I'm always going to add beans + extra veggies now! Unfortunately, DH doesn't like it as much as the original version, which had only tortillas, chicken, cheese, + salsa, but I like the new version so much I think he's just going to have to get used to it. Plus it's SO much better for us!!
In more food news: I've been eating "mini-meals" throughout the day instead of a big lunch, etc., and I must report I've been much more satisfied. I don't feel hungry throughout the day like I was, which is also a result of upping my calorie count to a healthy level. Highly recommend both changes.

Okay, longest post in the world! Signing off now!

Hey Copperblu,
I would love to have your enchilada pie recipe (with the beans!) if you wouldn't mind posting it! It sounds just like something I'd love to eat, as I love Mexican food. Pretty please, with "sugar substitute" on top?

I have totally made the switch to fitday from dietwatch now. I am finding that fitday is just easier to use than dietwatch was. I am still using dietwatch to calculate the cals, fat, etc... for my recipes, because fitday doesn't do this feature (I really wish they did! So much easier than typing in all the ingredients separately!) All in all though, I am finding fitday to be a lot more comprehensive.

On the homefront, I had a great day yesterday ~ got my exercise in, drank my water, had lots of fibre and stayed well within my calorie range! Yay!

Then this am, I got up early and went for a 25-30 minute walk with my Kathy Smith WalkFit tape. Other than her being a little annoying, it kept me up to a pace, and got my heart going. My feet are a bit sore now though.... oh well, I feel pretty good otherwise.

So, it's Curves tonight, and that's it. I was going to swim this morning in my original plan, but tryed the walking instead, so, off to my next great day!

(Wow, can I go on!)
Marvin

BTW ~ Is there still a "smilies guide" on this new board? I can never remember the codes, and miss being able to look them up quickly ! Thanks!

I'm SO FRUSTRATED!! I had the whole recipe typed out, then my browser freaked out + I lost it!! Give me a little while to recover + I'll try to post it again.

I just hate it when that happens!!!!

I'm trying to remind myself whenever I write a long post to periodically save the post while I'm writing it. Every once and a while I just highlight as much as I've written and hit "CTRL" and "C" together. Then if I somehow lose the post I have a chance of retrieving it by starting a new reply and hitting "CTRL" and "V" together. A little cut and paste trick.

Anyway, I missed my morning workout today so I really need to get in tonights. I feel like I'm so off track exercise wise I need to start all over from the beginning. So my first stop is to shoot for a 3 day exercise streak.

I just wanted to jump in and say Hi! I'm still here. I missed working out on Sunday (due to lack of sleep from the night before) but I've been keeping up daily. I haven't done yoga in two weeks though, but I still am doing my weights and my Tae Bo. I just finished an entire Advanced workout for the first time and I"m thrilled at that progress. I'll probaby be sore tomorrow though!

Ingredients:
10 oz reduced-fat cheddar (I use Cracker Barrel 2% milk cheese)
10 10" flour tortillas, lowfat if possible (I'd use whole wheat if I could find it -- don't use corn, the texture gets all weird)
2 15-16oz cans black beans
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
approx. 1/3 cup sliced black olives
1 small can tomato sauce (approx. 5 oz?)
1 cup salsa, your heat preference

1. Cook the chicken however you prefer. If I have time, I like to boil it for 15-20 minutes w/some oregano, majoram, garlic + habanero powder for flavor -- but microwaving is just fine. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, chop the peppers + shred the cheese.
3. Shred the chicken or cut into 1/2" cubes.
4. Tear tortillas into sixths.
5. Spray a 9x13" casserole dish with cooking spray, + cover bottom of w/torn pieces of tortilla, should take about 3 tortillas.
6. Spread 1/2 the tomato sauce over the tortilla layer.
7. Sprinkle w/about 1/4 of the cheese.
8. Spread one can of black beans over this, then sprinkle w/ one-half the chicken, 1/2 the peppers and 1/3 the olives.
9. Sprinkle w/one-fourth the cheese.
10. Cover this with another layer of torn tortilla and repeat steps 7-9.
11. Dollop salsa evenly over casserole layer + cover with final layer of tortilla.
12. Spread remaining tomato sauce over top layer of tortilla + sprinkle w/remaining olives.

Bake for 20-25 minutes in 350-400 degree oven until cheese is melted + everything has cohered. Let sit for 5 minutes + cut. Makes 8 servings. Can top w/a dollop of nonfat sour cream if desired, or put salsa in first layer of casserole if you want. I reduced the amount of salsa when it turned out hotter than expected a few times. I generally serve this with a small salad w/lowfat or nonfat dressing.

Approximate nutritional info per serving: appox.400-430 cal, 15g fat, 7g fiber, 17g protein. The fat is a little high, but perfectly acceptable if you generally have a lowfat diet. You can also reduce the amount of cheese used. Enjoy!

Check-in post to follow tomorrow...