Hi all. gee you gals are doing great. i had a good day to. have a cold so not on exercise much. start coughing and oh myyyyyyy i hate that. so by next week will be with it. made up my mind not going to sit so much. i am going to get up and about and keepmoving. ha ha i got up this am and cooked a big pot of vegies liike a soup. so that helped me. then baked porkchops. going to go for no frying and all. and off the sugar is better. drinking lots of tea for the cold and so this is helping with no water retaining. hey have a good weekend to all of you. LaDean

LaDean - sorry to hear you have a cold. Get plenty of rest.

Ledom. thanks so much. i been trying to. just do not feel up to par. so waiting on exercise and hoping this week back to more of it. nothing has a taste it seems. it seems to be better this am. just got up though. ha ha Hope everyones Sunday is good one.. LaDean

Morning everyone - Monday morning! How is your cold LaDean?

I am experiencing water retention and the munchies. Pretty much keeping the goodie monster under control. Saturday was really hard and I had a free meal on Sat. evening that seems to have set me back some though I think it is mainly water. TOM upon me, but it is a strange time in my life. Periods becoming irregular - ....just part of being female I guess.

So anyway, yesterday I was back in gear and exercise is good. Today I finish up my 12 week plan. I think I'll just start it over again. It starts out light and works up but I think I am ready for that too. If it seems too light after I get back into it I'll modify it.

Heard for my Oregon friend yesterday. I guess I'll go out there about mid-July. There is no way I can lose all the weight I'd like to by then, but it is still my inpiration to stick with this. I guess I am just feeling a little frustrated after the weekend, but I am hanging on. I feel stuck but I know if I keep doing what I am doing I will have success.

Hang in there Ledom - I know what you mean - I had a disappointing weekend myself - my own fault, granted, but I just wish I could be better sooner than later. But, I am exercising, and I know that if I keep up with this, eventually the food will fall into place.

Nice that you have a bit of an event to work towards. I've decided to take the pressure off myself to be in great shape for my cruise which is 8 weeks away now. I'll do the best I can by then, with an ultimate goal of being in shape for Summer. Otherwise I may throw in the towel if I don't see the results I want this month. January was disappointing for me - the scale is just not moving - I'm not even sure if my signature is correct anymore as my weight is fluctuating so wildly as of late!

But, we will hang in here, and keep our eyes on the ultimate goal... I've worked out 4 work days in a row - hurray for me. My goal is to make it 5 out of 5 this week, and then I think I'll be home free and back in that habit.

LaDean - sorry you're under the weather - rest and get better soon.
Cindy

Morning everyone - I am up early and procrastinating/drinking coffee just a minute more before I start pulling slides for my class tonight. I teach studio classes mostly, but once every three semesters I teach history of photography on Tuesday nights. I never feel prepared no matter how long I spend getting ready for this class. I think it would be easier if I taught it more often. Anyway, it's a big challenge, a big class and I have to really be on my toes to avoid just being the biggest fool. It seems every spare moment I am reading for this class. I am not a lecturer at heart.

Anyway, yesterday was good in terms of diet and exercise. This a.m. I was back down to Friday's weight so that is encouraging, maybe I have the chance to lose this week. I am feeling in control again. I am pretty interested in making a big push forward. I have been trying to figure if there is anything food wise I can eliminate on a daily basis without feeling as though I am going to starve. I am toying with giving up my bedtime snack which is generally 250 cals. of EFL cheesecake. It is balanced and a treat at the end of the day, but you know, 250 cals. Some days I can get away w/ a cup of sf suisse mocha coffee and a diet coke (I know 2 beverages at once but they go together and have only about 30 cals.) I think I might be able to do that a few days a week anyway. I think I have pared things down enough that forgoing the cheesecake might actually set me up for some good losses. And the just overcoming the urge to have a free meal 2 or 3 times a week. I think all those things I am considering giving up are negotiable. Maybe not by giving them up completely but cutting them back is the way I need to bounce calorie count around from day to day.

Anyway, Cindy keep up your good exercise habits. Have you tried your new videos yet and if so do you like them? Your elliptical will be there soon and that will be fun. I agree that if you can get your exercise where you want to it to be that more than likely diet will fall into place.

Judi, LaDean and Alice. Hope all is well with you.

Tuesday afternoon
 

Hi everyone!

Ledom, that is nice that you will be going to Oregon. Eugene?? What a nice thing to look forward to.

How are you feeling LeDean?

I am trying not to be discouraged...I have been in the calorie range for a week except yesterday I was only SEVEN calories over once and exercised most days and I not only did not make my goal at the end of the month...what the *&*%^$:?: and went up 2 pounds. My DH says just to think of it as a new lifestyle and it will sort itself out down the road. He is probably right I just can't give up.

You are probably doing better than you think teaching that art class Ledom.

I am feeling so much better. In the last week I have had 2 low carb no sugar candy bars when I was craving something sweet. Ledom, how do you make you your EFL cheesecake? What plan are you doing? The diet coke and suisse mocha sound like a good idea...almost like a dessert. I would like that I think, what brand do you get for the suisse mocha?

I just received "You, the Owners Manual" bu Michael F. Roizen MD and Mehmet C. Oz MD. It looks good.

I am halfway finished "Why French Women" etc. So far what I have got out of it...they eat ONLY what is important to them, eat at a table no grazing, shop as they need not mega shop and make leek soup (basically just boiled leeks) and drink the water from it plus eat yougurt (sugarless). Still have to plow thru the rest of it.

My biggest temptation is to snack and read or watch tv....I wish I could give up meals and just do that. I have only snacked once and it was last night, 4 cups of lf popcorn and 4 prunes (?) (Well, they were inthe pantry...)

Hiya Alice and Cindy!!

judi - DH is right, be patient, keep doing the right thing, and the scale will respond. Never as quickly as you would wish, but that is only one part of the equation. Feeling better is excellent progress.

The coffee is General Foods International Coffees.

Eating For Life Strawberry Cheesecake
(8 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 T vanilla
3 T Splenda
12 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened at room temp.
1 cup egg substitute (I measure out a cup of egg whites and one yolk)
1 ready-crust reduced-fat graham cracker crust
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
2 tsp sugar substitute
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Spoon cottage cheese into blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add vanilla extract and Splenda; blend for about 15 more seconds.
3. Add softened cream cheese and blend for about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of blender as needed. While blending, gradually add the eggs and continue to blend until smooth, about 45 sec.
4. Pour Cheese filling into Ready Crust and bake until set, about 35 minutes. (This is where I differ, I bake for 45 minutes, make sure the middle doesn't wobble at all when you take it out of the oven, to me this makes a big difference in the cheesecake flavor)
5.Remove from oven and cool for about 15 minutes, Then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
6. Prior to serving, in a small mixing bowl, combine sour cream and sugar substitute.
7. Slice cheesecake into 8 portions, top with sliced strawberries and sour cream.

I really never have gotten tired of this and have been making it for over a year. I no longer add the sourcream topping, just a few berries sprinkled w/ splenda.

So, yesterday was a long day but "the class" did get off to a great start. I was really happy with how it went. One down, about 15 more to go.

Good morning gals!

I'm proud to report day #6 in a row of week-day workouts - hurray for me! I'm exhausted due to the extra exertion and lack of sleep - kitten Smokey has been waking me up at 4:30! But, I'm doing it!

Having said that, I'm still very disappointed in my lack of progress. I've been eating pretty well for the past month, and did exercise at least 1 or 2x each of the four weeks, if not more. But the scale is not moving, and my clothes are just as tight as ever! :-(
Quite discouraging....

Yes, I haven't gained, but I should have dropped at least 5 or more this month...

I'm afraid that I really need to cut back my eating, and I'm afraid that it won't give me enough fuel to have energy for my workouts. I've tried working out and doing low carb before, with bad results.

In the meantime, I'm still reading Jillian's book. Skipped to the work out section for now, and am trying to figure out her approach. I'm not too keen on the hour of cardio on her Saturday schedule, but maybe if I got a movie or something to watch I could do it.... Ledom - do you think it would work if I did the Saturday workout on Wednesday, and use the weekend for rest? I just don't want to give myself an excuse to get out of my weekday habit with a Wednesday rest.

Have to ask - do you put the coffee mix INTO your diet coke????
Cindy

LOL - no it's two seperate beverages. But hey, it might be good mixed together?

Cindy - On the workouts? Yeah, I think it is okay to modify. I actually do my cardio out of sequence too because I like to hike for cardio and find it much easier to do that on the weekend. I tried one time to do an hour on the treadmill and I thought I would die of the boredom, I also got very stiff from it. So I had to find another way to get that in.

I hesitate to say too much about lo-carb dieting because I know you have done that and LaDean does it and everything. But for me, myself, and I - it is a plan for DISASTER!. I never understood how it could work for so many people. Jillians chapter on food and the concept of slow, fast, and normal oxidizers finally explained it for me. If I cut out carbs I feel like I have lost something vital. I am a normal oxidizer and I eat very BFL style. I got a little lazy when trying to figure out her formula (not a numbers person), but I got enough out of it to realize it was very much like BFL. I think what I would do as I got started back with exercise is figure that out, how many carbs you need first of all (slow, fast, normal). I'd follow the plan but be just a touch liberal with the amount of food. Get your body regulated in terms of nutrients without worrying about having super low calories. Maybe try for the 1400-1800 range. Then as things start falling into place see where you might cut back if you need to. This is my unscientific advice. I know what you are talking about not having enough food. I felt that for so very long, I'd say for 2 years while doing BFL that was a concern. I finally got it into my head that by skipping one of the 6 meals I could eliminate 250 cals. a day and that made all the difference. But it took me a long while to get there. Hope this all makes sense and do please take it for what it's worth, my opinion only.

Also, it took me a while to start losing when I started her exercise program because at the beginning you do retain some water and build some heavier muscle so that might explain the slow start.

Ledom,
I think what might work for me is to still eat 6 meals, but to try to remove those same calories from my "snack" meals. Like, instead of having a bar or shake or whatever for meal #4, I could just do celery and a Laughing Cow LF wedge - something like 35 calories total! Because after 3 years of eating 6x a day, I don't know that I can get out of that habit - my body is just hungry when it gets to that time...

Thanks for sharing that your loss started out slowly - that helps. I've not yet read her food part, but really need to. I'm thinking that I may try to cut carbs on my lunch meal - more veggies, but dinners with Pete will always have pasta, rice, potato..., so I'll allow it there for myself. I think that's what you'd told me you were doing - salads for lunch.

Anyway, trying to hang in here - trying to talk my MI friends into a challenge of some sort for February to help with my motivation - a mini-goal of some sort.

Ok, enough procrastinating - back to work for me!
Cindy

Thursday evening
 

Hi! Thanks for that cheese cake recipe Ledom. It looks very good.

Will write more the next time, just quickly popped in to see how everyone was doing.

Hi guys - gonna have a good weigh-in tomorrow, I just know it. I went to L.R. today for shopping. I bought a pair of size 16 pants - a little snug but a great cut. I like having things to shrink into. Yesterday one of my co-workers didn't recongize me. First she commented on my hair, then my weight. I like to think it was more the weight than shorter hair. Another co-worker said something as well, a man who has also been losing weight. I love that people are noticing.

Yep: edited to say I lost 3 lbs. this week. If only they could ALL be 3 lbs. weeks.:carrot:

Happy Friday gals! I'm feeling pretty good today - although my food has not been the cleanest this week - pizza and cake/icecream yesterday, I did get workouts in 4 mornings, and for a PMS week it's been pretty mild in terms of eating and emotions.

I'm really starting to feel pretty good after my workouts - I do get tired later in the morning, but it's definitely progress since when I started back last week. I wish I could bottle this feeling to keep me remembering how much better it is when I work out than when I don't!

Good job Ledom - I would LOVE to have a 3# week! And congrats on the compliments!
Cindy

Oh Cindy - you are not going to have any problem remembering because you are on it now. It's only going to get better! Pat on the back for all your good work this week.

Well - you all are just going to have to let me go on about how all of a sudden people are not recognizing me. I didn't realize how much of a recluse I had been, I saw a bunch of people tonight that I haven't seen in a long time at the local gallery walk. I haven't been to it in years and well, I just kept running into people. I can just see it on their faces as they try to make out who I am, they get it pretty soon but it's there. I LOVE IT! And little do they know that in 6 months I am going to be unrecognizable AGAIN!

OK, I'll calm down now. But I have just been at this so long with so little pay off and all of a sudden it is pay off big time.