Sorry you're sad Dagmar
 

Dagmar,

Sorry you're sad. It's sad to hear of a loss of a vibrant happy person from this world. In the last 2 years I went through a period of losing 4 people from my life that added so much to it.

Well-I have been here for 5 days now and have been utilizing fit day to calculate my calories and exercise. I've been at around 1500 a day and exercising (walking) about 40 minutes a day. The scale says I've gained 3 pounds and I feel it. I will be - starting today - keeping to around 1200 calories and trying to increase my walking by jogging and walking in spurts and doing that for about 45 minutes total per day. Maybe I can lose the 3 pounds by next week this way.

Can anyone recommend a heart rate monitor. I have a really hard time finding my pulse and I'd like to know how effective my cardio is.

Also, I checked out the links to MollyGee's q&A sessions. Awesome info. How does everyone here feel about her recommendations with regards to calories per day 1200-1600, and the breakdown of the calories "A balanced deficient diet of at least 1200-1800 calories is a good place to start. The healthy range for proteins (10-35%), carbohydrates (45-65%) and fats (20-35%) have been established by the Institute of Medicine." What works for you?

Does anyone here use any kind of meal replacement bar in a pinch?

Thanks for all your help...
Feeling Fat,
Melissa:(

Hi everyone - I don't have time to respond to everyone right now but wanted to say good morning. I was up at 3 with insomnia... today is going to be a long day, but I have a good lunch packed already.

Have a great day, all!

Morning! I woke up absolutely ravenous this morning. That is sooo unusual for me. So I've had my orange jiuce and psyllium already.


Ah Melissa ... it is a wonderful read yes?
I had to blink a few times abou this statement balanced deficient diet of at least 1200-1800 calories ... but I think what she meant was you can't lose weight on 1800 calories if that's what you've been eating all along. It has to be a deficit diet ... eating less.

I personally don't understand why more folks don't just start at 1500 or 1800 cals. Almost every piece of exercise equipment has a basic outline, it's enough food to get lots of nutrients. And there's lots of wiggle room.

The healthy range for proteins (10-35%), carbohydrates (45-65%) and fats (20-35%) have been established by the Institute of Medicine ... to me, this is for everyone in general and is fine. Some folks have different goals in mind and therefore would customize it. Body for LIfe which tends more toward shapely fitness recommends 40p/40c/20f

But I think I understand from Ms Gee's writing that she too can only generalise. Your plan will change as you grow and develope and your goals grow and develope.

IN a pinch, yes. If I'm out shopping all day, it's much safer for me to grab a bar and water, than to sit alone in a restaurant. But if I have them in the house, I eat'em like candy.

Thank you!
 

SusanB,

Thank you for your insight on the questions I had. It really shed some light on the statements that she made. Also, I know everyone is different when it comes to weight loss, what works for some doesn't always work for everyone. I just feel like what worked for me doesn't anymore. So finding this board and the support that is here (especially with people like you) is really inspiring me to keep going.

It can be so hard sometimes. Does the psyllium help with keeping you full? I used to take capsules on a regular basis because I always seem to have a problem with regularity. Where can I get the ground kind?

Thank you again, and I wish everyone a great Tuesday!

Melissa

I bought the WalMart brand of metamucil because I had a medication change that's giving my trouble ;) I believe Ilene uses it in cranberry juice which is something from Fat Flush.

Chances are, Melissa, that you only need to make a couple of very small tweaks. Really eyeball your journals and things. Then come back here and run your thoughts past us. We'll see what we come up with.

Yep, as we get older we change and what worked then may not work now....YES it sucks but it makes like interesting :yes:

You really have to play with your intake (food/calories) and your outtake (exercise) We're just all so different... I agree with Susan that 1500 or 1800 is a good start and work from there, it all depends on how much weight you have to lose, how often you've yo-yo dieted in the past , your metabolism just changes with time and with those 2 factors....

I use ground flax seed instead of metamucil, I've read that metamucil can constipate if you don't drink lots and lots of water... I drink it in my cranberry water in the morning first think and at night last thing...

Eat lots of veggies too if you're feeling hungry... Actually I'm hungry at the moment and I know it's because I've had no veggies or much water yet today... So off I go :wave:

Meal replacement bars
 

I've tried various bars and find they all set me off on a sugar binge :(. I mean, one popular brand (begins with S and ends with Fast) is covered in "chocolate" :devil: ferchrissakes.

I bought a lock'n'lock tupperware thingy (keeps the dogs out of my snacks) that has two removeable trays with little compartments in each. I can keep a boiled egg, almonds, carrots, and apple slices separated in this thing for snacks all day long. It fits into my backpack (along with about 50 lbs of other stuff :p) and off I go.

I have one for my lunch sandwich too, without the compartments. That one has already passed the "lab chewing" torture test. It now has teeth marks in it but I won the sandwich :smug: that day!

Dagmar (another day, another snowstorm)

Yeah, those bars are very bad! I can't eat just one, so what is the point? My worst favorites are the Fiber One bars. Oh, so yummy. I don't buy them any more because they were just too dangerous.

I'm feeling a bit down that I let February slide and didn't lose anything. I did well in January and I really thought my goal of 1 to 1.5 pound loss per week would happen. It didn't and I won't make my goal by my birthday. I've been snacking on things that I shouldn't have brought into the house. Sometimes I wish I could just move away for a couple of weeks so I didn't have to buy food to make others in my household happy. Just a couple of weeks of TOTAL on plan eating and I think that would be enough. Like that will happen. Not.

I'm thinking about spending a weekend in Boston, and telling my New York friends that I'm here, and my Boston friends that I went back to the city. That way I could just work out, relax, eat healthy, and not have demands on me from other people to do stuff. I'm going to try this weekend to just go home as usual and see if I can avoid the distractions, but if it doesn't work, I may try that plan next weekend.

Getting away to get OP
 

I find that I'm more OP on vacation when I go to NYC. I'm alone (DH is not very fond of cities) and I'm travelling independently (no tour group to stay with) so I can eat what I want when I want it :). And I'm out and about every evening and not dead tired from work so no snacking in front of the TV.

I actually maintained my weight loss last October when I went to NYC. And I hope to do the same this year. After I lose some weight :p.

Dagmar (winter BLEEAAGHHH)

Any bar is a red light food for me... I eat one, I eat the box of 6, in a sitting... So I haven't bought any for quite a while, even when DH buys them they have to be very very well hidden...

Another snow day ... and lots, and lots, of it....

It's so sad one of the young teachers at school, her dad was killed in a skidoo accident last night, they found him on the trail this morning... So sad...She's only 23 or so and he was only 52...

Ilene, sorry to hear about your friend's dad... what a tragedy.

Dagmar, I find it easy to be healthy in NYC, but only because my kitchen is there and I can cook for myself! Boston is tough for me lately because we've been having more and more team dinners at nice restaurants where it's hard for me to say no to things. They are all WAY out of my normal price range, so it's hard for me not to think of them as treats, because I could never go to these restaurants if work wasn't paying for them. So much temptation!

Ilene Sorry about your colleague's dad - it seems so much harder when a younger person dies. We expect people in their 80's to go but it sounds like this was an energetic man with a lot of living left to do.

Dagmar

Birthday recommitment
 

That title could be taken two ways ;). I almost feel like I would like to be commited (preferably into a luxury spa ;))for a week just to escape the winter.

What I really meant was a recommitment to my health. I'm 51 years old today. I'm reasonably healthy (with room for improvement :p) and want to stay that way. Time to take the next steps to proceed with that goal.

All will be revealed in my next blog entry (I'm hoping this evening).

Dagmar :lucky: (happy camper)

:D Happy Birthday, girl!!! Sounds like a great goal to recommit to healthy living - you go! When are you posting pics, by the way? You've been at/close to the goal for a while now... would love to see a b-day pic. I hope you have a wonderful day and that this will be your best year yet!

Everyone else - have a happy and healthy Thursday!