Hi everyone. I am new to this board but love the way everybody sounds like friends.:^: . I have been on LAWL for about a week and a half. Last week I lost two pounds. I have a question though. I can't afford to go the center - (way too much money for a working mom with two young children who pays their babysitter most of her paycheck!) - but my girlfriend was on the plan several years ago and she gave it to me to try. (Desperate woman taking desperate measures). My question is this - I weight around 210 - don't know which plan to use - Red, Blue or Purple (those are the only ones she has). Plus, I'm buying the balance bars and the PowerBar Pria bars. Can anyone help me?

:D
_Angela

Hi Angela!

Help me out guys, but I think I can say the following about those plans

red: for people who work out at least 5 hours a week or who have more than 100 lbs to lose

blue: for people who have crazy work shifts (all nighters and such) or maybe for diabetics

Purple: the plane between red and gold. I'm thinking this would be the closest one for you -- what do you guys think? I'm not sure what your goal or height are, either.

As for the bars -- the ones I eat (chocolate crunch) have 180 calories, 3.5 grams of fat and maybe 7 grams of protein, so something to look for when you're buying bars. or, they have tons of them for sale on Ebay for pretty good prices.

I'm on red because I've started weight training, but I don't do 5 hours a week, so the way I modify my plan is, any day I don't think I can eat it all, I let the starches go first (very hard!) and keep all the veggies and protein.

There's my two cents -- I also post some of the recipes from the cookbook occasionally. Good luck Angela and welcome!

xYTx -- hope you didn't see my food journal yesterday. I went out to eat with my parents last night who I hadn't seen since Christmas. I was *pretty* good but not perfect. And how do you post stuff like "two bites of crab cake" on fitday? :lol:

Jibbelle -- your boyfriend will LOVE the chicken marsala. I am thinking of making it for my friend (don't know how to classify him -- we were engaged but I broke it off but I still love him and we talk every day and do something together about 2x a month, but no smooching :) ) -- he's a 6'4" 200 pounder, and I know he'd never be able to tell it was healthy, especially with a little angel hair on the side for him.

Angela-
I started on the red plan at 288 lbs. When I lost 50 they switched me to purple. I am guessing you should be on the purple as well. The gold is for when you get closer to your goal. I think they have me switching to it at like 180 or something. Welcome to our group!!!

Bunny-
I forgot the cooking wine when I was at the store!! I will have to go back Saturday morning. Matt is having fajitas for dinner tonight...I take the grilled chicken, pepper and onion and eat it on my plate with a salad for veggies on the side. It is pretty good. I have used both my starches for the day, so I wont get any spanish rice with mine.

I am home today with my children - and only being on the program for a week and a half, I've already cheated. Last night I had such an urge for an ice cream cone, (unfortunately they're in the freezer for my husband and my daughter), but I fought it off. It's like a drug for goodness sake. So, I had such a hard time shaking the urge today, I had two pieces of regular bread and a cookie, and it's only 11:15 a.m. HELP. I need some suggestions on what do to when I have these urges. Can anyone offer any? (Although what should make me happy was that I got on the
scale this morning and it looked like I had lost another two pounds). That should do it, but it didn't. Also, can anyone suggest a new way to eat vegetables instead of raw or boiling them?:?:

-Angela

Well, I'm a southerner, so I like to (of course) cook them till they're mushy as "all get out" and then mix them with low fat cheese. I make a mini broccoli or squash casserole by cooking them down in water and adding cheese, sometimes crushed melba toast, and a dollop of fat-free sour cream. I also like salads, and I put about three servings of mushrooms and a serving of green onions in that chicken marsala recipe. I don't do freuits, so I have 6 servings of veggies a day.

But today, I was awful. My parents are still in town, and we had lunch at Panera Bread. I had a veggie sandwich, ate the chips, and also had a shortbread cookie! :o But now they're gone, and I guess one and a half off program meals in a week is better than 21!

BTW Jibbelle -- the fajita chicken dish sounds yummy! I've got some mexican peppers in the fridge; think I'll have to put them to good use!

I forgot -- Angela, if you have a craving for ice cream, keep some fat free sugar free ice cream on hand. I think you can have one treat a week. You can also get it at TCBY or Baskin Robbins. If you're tempted to go off program, you can come on here and talk to us. The LA bars are good for that, too -- they're so sweet you orget your'e not being treated.

And, I just wanted to take a sec and thank everyone for their support. Y'all are awesome!

Angela-
I wish I could offer a suggestion for those urges but I cant. I have the same problem. I agree with Bunny about the fat free sugar free ice cream and yogurt. I have tried several that are really yummy. I dont usually eat a whole serving, but sometimes I just open it up and get about a tablespoon of it. Eat it really slow....and it satisfies the craving! Other than that I use my bars as treats. I know it isnt on plan, but I have bought sugar free hard candies....butterscotch, root beer barrels, fruit disks. They dont have many calories and they last a while. Sometimes they help when I want something sweet.

I just finished mowing the yard...tough work! WHEW! Much better now than in the middle of July though!!!

I am going to weigh in tomorrow AM so I will post then.

Have a happy mothers day weekend all you mommies!

Ok ladies...I am down 0.4 lbs for the week. I will take it!! It is raining today, so no yard work. I guess I am going to get started cleaning the house! Mom will be here Sunday. :)

Everyone must be busy...the boards have been quiet for a couple days.

Is everyone having an 'on plan' week??

:)
 

I'm pretty much "on plan" this week. I managed to have a good weigh-in last time, but I'm dreading next time. It's getting to be "that time of month," and I always gain weight from water retention around this time. It's very discouraging to weigh in on those days. Anyone else notice this?

I have the same problem. But the good thing is...the week after...I usually have a big loss! 2 weeks worth I guess :)

I always weigh up at that T.O.M., but the worst is that I usually continue to weigh more for about 5 days afterwards. But good news! I think I may have started up the ole engine (ha ha). I've weighed 155 at home for the past two days -- my scale weighs me about 2 lbs less than the center, so I hope for a big fat (low-fat?) loss this week.

I've planned a trip to Jacksonville for July 4th, am thinking of buying incentive bikini to keep me on for 2 lbs. per week.

This week, I have the world's largest presentation for Thursday, and I've had a week and a half already to prepare. what have I gotten done? *Nothing.* Woohoo. Boards, strategies, handouts, books, here I come! (Or maybe tomorrow)

How is everyone else doing. By the way, at xYTx's encouragement (Thank you xYTx!) I put my fit day journal online. If you ever want to see it:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...ner=bunnyblues

It will probably make you feel much better about how you're doing. :dizzy:

fitday
 

I'll follow suit:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...tml?Owner=xYTx

Bunny- I almost bought a bikini yesterday, too. I haven't tried on (or owned!) a swimsuit in YEARS. It felt weird to try it on, but satisfying. I keep thinking it'll give me something to work toward. I can't wait until I get to hit the beach and be satisfied with what I'm seeing!

It's the end of the semester here, so my online time is kinda spotty. School's out, grades are in so I know I'm graduating, and it's time to move out. I've been entertaining my brother, who's down for a visit, so it's tough to find stuff that fits with my plan AND satisfies a 19-year-old guy. He eats EVERYTHING :) My workouts have suffered, but I figure between the moving boxes up and down flights of stairs, dancing with my brother (he's into this dance video game at the arcade that's like a mini-aerobic workout), and walking all over town, I've got it at least somewhat covered.

That's what I like about LA so much. All of my other diets made me feel really guilty if I skipped a workout. It's nice knowing that if I follow the plan, I'll lose weight regardless of my activity. Such a relief!!

xYTx! Are you from Alabama? Me too!

AL
 

I sure am :) I was born and raised outside of Mobile.