HHHHEEEEYYYYYY!!!! I wasn't DONE yet...I think they must have me on a word limit, and then it just shuts me off. HAHAHA!

Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted...my daughters school is just about 6 blocks away...I think I may drive over there and then walk on their track. That would be an easy way to tell how many miles I am walking since each lap is a quarter mile.

I know, I could WALK over to the track, but let's start small, shall we??

You girls keep on chugging along! This is a long term commitment and I am feeling monogamous lately, sooooo....I know I can DO it!! And I know all of you can do it too. We are STRONG, BEAUTIFUL, SEXY, NOT VERY HUNGRY, GODDESSES!!!

Do this tomorrow, it sounds lame, but it really makes you feel good. Get up, go to the bathroom and look in the mirror. Tell yourself how beautiful you are and what a great day you are going to have. REALLY heap on the praise...and you will be amazed at how great your day will be.

I also like to pretend that I am my own client. I am an expert on diet and exercise and nutrition and I hired myself to whip me into shape. If I were REALLY hired by someone to do that job, you could bet your boots I could be planning menus and implementing exercise programs and motivating them to no end~!!! So...I am my most important client and I won't let me down! (I don't offer a money back guarantee...so I HAVE to be successful!)

Feels good to be in charge. Grrrrrr...I am woman hear me roar!!

Hugs guys! Drink your water today!
Tiff

Hey that's not a bad idea there Tiff about being your own best client.. I like it I like it...
I just got off the exercise bike and I'm sweating all over myself here.. I still can't believe I am motivated to do this everyday. Today's motivation was a woman at work that said to me "Judy, you are looking pretty damn good there girl" Whoa!!
She never compliments anyone...

Last weeks motivation went like this.. I was standing in a parking lot of a restaurant talking to my friend that I had just had lunch with when this truck comes roaring up and stops dead in front of me.. I thought the guy was going to run over my feet until I looked into the window and saw the biggest, handsomest smile I've seen in a long time... It was a guy that I haven't seen in about a year and he saw me from a block away. He said he had to come and tell me how wonderful I looked.. whoa again! Now that 6'8" cowboy can put his boots under my bed anytime if ya know what I mean.. giggle Anyway, he's just a friend and has a GF but it sure was nice of him to come and scare the bejesus out of me and make my day!!!
Every week someone else at work or in a store or something comments on how I look and to be honest it's a little eerie feeling as I sometimes wonder if they are talking to me..
Life is good! And my friend, turned romantic partner told me today I am the most fantastic woman he's ever met. Well my goodness someone hold me down here ok??? I've never had this many compliments in my whole life and I don't know how to act! Graciously and with a smile but shaking inside..
I'm feeling good and these kinds of things are incentive enough to keep me going. That was my point of my ever long winded message AGAIN!!!
Peace to everyone
*J

wow, just cuz, that was an awesome posts, and you deserve some reward for all your hard work, and getting compliments is the best reward i can think of and a great motivator to keep going. i cant wait till i get there.

tiffany you are doing so great, and your posts make me laugh. you go girl. i cant do that mirror thing yet, i really just started gettting serious on monday about this no diet approach of mine, so maybe by next monday i may be able to do that, cause i know the pounds are gonna start coming off.

just me the pizza does sound wonder ful, i am taking notes i am going food shopping tomorrow.

huntress and jen and tiger lily hope you all are doing well. forgive me if i dont mention everyones posts i cant remember that well all the names and sometimes i dont want to write along post.

but just know that i really enjoy reading everyones posts and progress, we are really gonna do this, cant wait till we all reach goal. lets keep up the postive attitudes and encouraging posts.

and congrats to those who lost weight this week, you are an inspiration to me.

oh, i did stay in control today, i could have had more veggies and i need to start eating my fruit, but there was no overeating and no binges. yea me and everyone else too. there are some good choices being made, so we will succeed.

Judy...Congrats on all the compliments! Feels GREAT I bet!!!

I can't wait until I get my first compliment. I need to stand in front of the mirror and practice looking modest. "I look like I lost weight???" "REALLY???" LOL

My favorite "almost" compliment came the last time I lost weight...and I stopped along side a highway to pick some gorgeous flowers from beside the road and as I bent over, a trucker slowed down and honked at me. I turned around and he was waving his arms around and whistling at me. I couldn't believe ANYONE would ever honk at my butt. (of course, he was probably SKAGGY and would have honked at anything with a crack in it, but still!)

Will!! You CAN do the mirror thing, because you are ALREADY beautiful, you know? Your beauty shines from within and soon the outside will simply reflect the inside...I can tell you are special from your posts. (Not short-bus special, but truly special!)

I am back on track today, did an awesome job and just finished my third week of doing my own thing. Feels good. Still too soon to notice a big change, but my jeans don't feel as tight when I put them on fresh from the dryer. Small victories!

Nighty Night friends!
Tiff

This is the most awsome site! You guys (sorry girls) are so motivated and upbeat just sitting here reading in the early morning starts my day off in a happy mood.

will, I agree with you, it is difficult at first for me to keep up with everyone even though I often read the posts more than once. So hello and good morning everyone! Most of the time I only get online in the early morning while I am drinking my coffee and have a few minutes of quiet time.

just, it sounds like you are being complimented left and right and that is so great, what more motivation could a woman want. I am single and can't wait until I start getting attention like that. You go girl!

tiff, you sound like a bundle of energy always so upbeat, could you send some of that my way....I could use some.

Well, so far the scale hasn't moved anymore since the 1st 15 that I dropped and I can live with that. I also have difficulty with the slow and steady even though I realize that it didn't get on over night and isn't going to come off overnight either. I always said that patience is not a virtue that I possess and I have it in my head that I would like to be back to 150 by the end of the year but I know that wherever I am on Jan 1, 2003 it will be better than 225. I haven't begun exercising yet even though I have a really nice treadmill in my room that my mom gave me. I am going to make a commitment to myself to get on it in the next few days, and once I do I know I'll continue. For me taking that first step is all it takes.

I hope you all have a great day!

LJ

morning all, are we ready for another day of staying in control??

no i didnt do the mirror thing. not yet. loved the story about the trucker tif. i agree with huntress, you sound like a bundle of energy with that great attitude, i wish i could be like that, i am just so irritable alot of the times because i am so uncomfortable with these extra 50 lbs on. and mad at myself for not accomplishing the goals i set for myself in january, i could have been at or near goal by now. but i am working on it. wow , three weeks of getting your act together, no wonder you feel good.

huntress you are doing good, just remember what you did to lose the first 15 and remember how good it feels when the scales move in the right direction, you will get there.

ok, today i got a baby sitting job, the kids are eating breakfast and i will have him till 4 or 4:30 today. then i have to go food shopping, any suggestions on what you keep in your house to stay in control? so i dont think i will get my excercise in and i didnt do it yesterday, but my goal is 4 times a week and i did it on monday , so i still have time left to get it in before the week is up. water hasnt been so hard for me, because i dont drink soda, unless it is diet 7up mixed with flavored vodka. LOL . or milk. i really dont like to waste my daily food choices on juices or any other drinks. so i just drink water all day.

i am looking forward to having a great day, hope you all do too.

I'm up for a day of staying in control! I haven't been over eating, but haven't been making the best choices either.
Justcuz, what great motivation. I dread running into someone I haven't seen in awhile because most of my weight gain has been in the last 2 years. I hide if I see someone I know at a store. Look the other way and pretend I didn't see them. Hopefully this fall I wont be doing that anymore.
I want to reach goal by the end of October. It's my favorite time of year. All the fall colors, Indian Summer. It's also my bday, so figure that is a good goal. I have to loose almost 2lbs a week to hit goal by then. I will do it!!!
With the kids out of school, I'm a little off my routine. I was doing my workout videos in the morning after DH left for work and before the kids had to get up. I've been bad, going back to bed after DH leaves. I'm thinking maybe I just needed a couple days of vacation myself. Tomorrow, my vacation is over. No more sleeping in!
Willbe, I'm babysitting today too. I have my two, plus 2. Looking forward to their nap time!
Hope everyone has a wonderful day in control!!

Good MORNING. Wow, I think I am ALWAYS here!

To address a couple of things, I am NOT always upbeat. Or at least I wasn't. Even just a couple of months ago, I didn't want to get out of bed, I would sleep all the time, wouldn't go out unless I had to, just a general all around awful person to be around.

I guess I feel good right now, because of all the positive changes. I know they will pay off and I know there is an outgoing, fun person inside of me. She is just getting impatient and starting to poke her nose out a little!

But I think we HAVE to stay positive. Even with no, or slow progress. ANYTHING is SOMETHING!!! When the scale won't move, I will sing HALLELUAH!!! Cause I didn't gain. And if I gain a pound, I will sing HALLELUAH!!! Cause I didn't gain TWO pounds! And when I lose....WATCH OUT!!!!

Wow, I can't remember how to spell Halleluah, but you get the idea!!

Well, I went to the Junior High and parked my car about 9:30 and put on those headphones and walked like Toby Keith was 2 feet in front of me, puckering up those lips! I only walked a mile, 4 times around the track, but tonight I will do 5 times around.

Back in the day....(few years ago) I was walking 5 miles a night with a friend. HOLY MOLY...and some of the time, we would jog a little. Heck, that 1 mile last night felt like 200, but I will survive and conquer!!!

Ok, on to what to keep in the house to stay in control.
We can all pitch in here and tell you what we personally like.

I like:

1. Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. WOO HOO!!! They are big and come in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla (at least where I live) and I usually get a mixed pack of choc and van. They are GOOD. They have 130 calories and 2 grams of fat. And when you need a little something...there they are.

2. I like the sugar free jello too. I will make a whole box and eat the whole dang thing if I want quantity. There is almost NOTHING calorie wise in it.

3. Orville Redinbacher (oh, you know who I mean) Smart Pop...98% fat free and tastes like butter. The whole bag is BEYOND filling and will satisfy you for a long time.

4. Baked Lays. I love the Cheddar and Sour Cream. Salty and satisfy that salt craving I get occasionally.

5. EGG BEATERS. I will use a cup of it, with fat free cheese and there is some ham out there that has virtually no fat in it and only 60 calories for 6 slices (I'll check on that brand for you) and I slice that up in my omelet and add onion, peppers, mushrooms...any veggies and that is the equivalent of a 4 egg omelet. And man, if I eat that about 10:30...I can't eat lunch. So I will have a snack in the afternoon and then just have dinner. Good idea for days when you know you may have more for dinner than you normally would.

6. Frozen Juice Bars. In the summer, those hit the spot. 60 calories, 0 fat.

7. Regular Orange jello cups with mandarin oranges in them. Good size serving and tastes kind of sweet. Good snack. 70 calories and 0 fat.

8. Smores Granola Bars. Tastes like candy to me. 110 calories and 2 grams of fat.

9. Salsa and Baked Tostitos. What more can I say. I like salty things.

10. Hard Candy. I like the Creme Savers. When I cook or something, it's nice to have something in my mouth to keep me from taste-testing everything. 3 of the Raspberry are 60 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. But they satisfy that candy craving.

Ok, that is 10 for today, I will check my cupboards and do more later.

Ok, I am out of here. (soon, anyway) I found NO PUDGE brownies in my supermarket. FINALLY!!! They have NO fat in them, cause they are made with no fat plain yogurt. I think each brownie has 100 calories in them, but hey, when you need your chocolate, how many things are completely fat free and tastes like a fudgy brownie.

If anyone of you are not able to get them where you live, let me know and I will pick up some for you and send them to you. They come in Mint, Raspberry, Mocha and Original.

Brownies for my girls!
Let's have another great day! We are DOING it!
Tiff

OH MY FREAKING LORD.

I just found out that you can make 1 brownie at a time with the No Pudge. There is a recipe on the side for single servings.

*dancing in circles, waving my arms around*


Holy Bat Droppings, Batman.

getting a break, my daughter and the other girl i am watching are in the pool and oh, what a coincidence i can see them right out the window in my computer chair. it is great. the little boy i am baby sittting is already taking a nap. so i jumped on here rather than eat out of boredom in my spare time. tiger lily when was your break, i am glad i will get some extra money this week, i love to babysit but not everyday, so the little jobs are just fine right now, and i can help someone out without any notice, like i just got the one girl, this morning , the mother needed to do some running around and some of her realtives are sick, so she ask me last minute, it is nice to be able to help out a friend. and get extra money too.

tif , you crack me up you are to much girl. and now i see how you have been staying in control, you have lots of good foods to have ready when you need a snack. thanks for sharing.
i am not really a sweet eater, but every once in a while when i give my daughter dessert i feel like having something, those ideas are great.

hope everyone is having a great day.

Tiffany--great idea to tell what keeps us "on track".
I agree--the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches are what I can look forward to having at night after a day of making good choices. Here's my list:
1. diet rye bread--my store brand is the best. 100 cals for 2 slices and it's just like real bread.
2. mustard--a good mustard makes eating fat free cheese possible!
3. apples--a nice tart granny smith apple with my lunch gives me a crunchy, healthy treat
4. frozen dinner in the freezer--for "those' nights when you just don't have the energy to do it for yourself.
5. crystal lite lemonade--I love it.
6. Cafe twists--my grocery store sells these pastry twists that have only 40 calories. They're yummy!
7. carrots--for when dinner isn't quite ready yet. sometimes dipped in a little bit of hummus.
8. kashi cereal (kashi to good friends) lots of fiber, good once I got used to the taste, I really enjoy it for breakfast.

Well, there's my list. I think this is a great idea to give others some new thoughts.

Keep up the good work!

Well, there are some really great and motivational posts on here today, and I can really use it. Yesterday was the first weak day I had in three weeks. I managed to scarf down a total of 2200 calories, while that's not really a scale breaker, it still makes me feel a little self conscious today. After my little binge I marched right to the book store and picked up a copy of "Fit for Life" I started reading it and there really are alot of good ideas in the book. He talks about doing a cleansing of you system periodically and I think I just may try it. Maybe one day a week. I have to complete the reading though, only half through the book.
I've decided NOT to beat myself up about yesterday, it really wasn't too bad of a day. And I'm only human, I actually think it did me some good to have a mini day off. Today, I am back on track and still feeling good, thanks to all the wonderful information you have all shared with me. Thanks Ladies!

Hello. Quiet time here. My two boys are watching a movie. They are 5 & 10. Past naps. The two I'm watching today are napping, they are 2yr & 4 months. I can't imagine having 4 kids all the time. I know people do it, but ek, it's hard. I think this may be my last week babysitting. My boys start swim lessons next week and it's just getting too hard with the extra little ones. I quit work to make life easier for the family....it's not easier w/4 kids. It was just the one extra, then she had the baby. Babies are a lot of work. Not like I didn't know that after having 2 of my own.

Lots of good food ideas girls! You all listed most of the things I try to have around. I'm ready for the summer time farmers market stands to open. Fresh fruits and veggies taste so much better from them. Do any of you do a garden? I usually plant tomatoes and cucumbers, but haven't this year.
Great walking Tiffany! I plan to get out for some good outdoor walks next week when I'm not babysitting.
Talk to u all later!

A garden??? BwaHaHaHa!!!

Me and veggies don't get along. I am a dieter's nightmare. I hate ALL cold veggies. All of them. No carrots, no broccoli, no cauliflower, every single bean known to man. Hate them all.

Now, I DO eat spinach, canned of course to lose all their nutrients, and corn and an occasional baked potato. I do like fruits though. But the garden would be a joke, I can't even keep my cactus alive. *sigh*

Hey another thing to add to my list, someone PM'd me to ask about it...I TOTALLY forgot about it, thanks Gardenia! The syrup for my pancakes. It is by Maple Grove Farms, called Cozy Cottage and it is sugar free and no fat. TEN calories for a 1/4 cup. Holy Mackeral, you could drink from the bottle! Great with those fat free waffles and/oatmeal!

I agree about the Kashi cereal. I think 90% of the girls on this board eat it. And it was all the rage while I was in WW. I eat the "Go Lean" it is really good. Kind of like Sugar Smacks.

Grapes are my "keep em close" snack. When I travel, and I have a few trips coming up this summer, I take them in a bowl in the ice chest, and if I get stressed going through Atlanta to see my Dad, I will start eating them like M&Ms.

I also love the frozen dinners too. Summer is an awful time to be cooking.

Just me, good to see you chilling out about the 2200 calories. I found information in a book on fat and calories that says...to find out how many calories you need, you take your weight, (to maintain) or your desired weight (to lose) and take that times 13 if you are sendentary and get no exercise, 15 if you are moderately active, 17 if you are very active and 20 if you are a big fat liar and say that you are EXTREMELY active.

Soooo.....my goal weight is 150 and I am MODERATELY active so 150 x 15 = 2250. So, I can eat 2250 a day and still lose. I don't some days, some days I have only had 1200 and other days 2400, but I average out.

They say that people often UNDERestimate the calories they need to lose weight and then we all go into that dreaded starvation mode where our stubborn bods hold onto all that fat and we lose muscle instead.

Oh, and an interesting side note. Not that I am watching my cholesterol, but some people do. If a package says Cholesterol Free, that simply means the product itself doesn't have any cholesterol in it, but look on the package for Saturated Fat. If it is Cholesterol free but has Saturated fat in it, your body turns Saturated fats into cholesterol, so you are technically still getting cholesterol in it. It can be misleading. Hope that made sense!

Ok, off to hunt some recipes.
Tiff

justme, who is the authur of 'fit for life'? are u like'n it? i find reading a health/diet book helps me keep on track even if i don't end up following that particular program. i even tried listening to andrew weil's 'eating well for optimum health' on tape in my car! trying to brainwash myself! maybe i should try a headset when i'm sleeping....