Hey again!

Monique - thanks for the welcome! Not thinking about food when you`re dieting is extremely difficult, I know! But I´ve found out that when you`re busy with other things going on in your life, you automatically do not think so much about food, ´cause there simply isn`t time for that. Right now I´m fortunate enough (?!) to be very busy with my studies and food is just something I have to remember to eat every once in a while. Of course, I don´t like to be busy all the time, because I get very stressed very easily, but being busy is something that helps my dieting nonetheless. You can imagine what happens when I have a day off or I`m on a vacation!! For about 99% of my time I think about food; what I will eat in the evening, the next day and so on.. It´s horrible! A vacation or a day off should be about relaxation etc., but I just stress myself with a thing that should be one of the most easiest and natural things in the world. Oh, my.. I`m kind of angry at myself for letting food have so much control over my life. I hope someday things will be easier.. If food could be just one thing in my life - or anyone else´s who has the same kind of problems - then I think dieting would be a lot easier. I mean, even if you were on a diet, you wouldn´t think about food all the time, because food is NOT your life.. Food is just something that you need in order to LIVE your life. Of course, it is allowed to enjoy eating, but you get the picture, right..?

Dani - I`m on the WW points plan and so far it has worked pretty fell! I´ve lost so much weight that some (many) of my clothes just "hang" on me.. I´ve these pants that I can`t wear without a belt because they FALL off me when I start to walk around! I call them my fat-pants now, and I`m not getting rid of them, because they´re a good reminder of a "condition" that I wish not to go back to.. (i.e being fat) But I`m not satisfied yet however, no sirry! I`m thinking about getting rid of, say, 9 or ten kilos by the time of my 21st birthday. We´ll see if I can do it!!
OK, now I`m just boring you..
Ireland is a gorgeous place, yes! The people are super nice, and it´s beautiful out there! And, hey there´s plenty of that smooth, dark liquid stuff that some like to call Guinness.. Oh, it is good indeed! Not from a bottle, but straight from the tap. Oh the memories of Belfast and a silky-smooth Guinness pint..
And congratulations on your weigt loss Dani! Outstanding! I do hope that the people around you notice it, `cause it feels SO good to here the complements and you get even more motivated, right!
OK, gotta go now and do some school stuffy-stuffs.. Later everybody!

Jenni from the ice-block

Hello all!

Mountains of snow in Ottawa today! It is actually quite pretty, and believe it or not, has warmed the temperature considerably (from -40C to -10C)! I walk into work though....I'm not certain that the drivers of Ottawa are terribly pleased with the snowy roads.

Seems like a fairly common thread that we all spend a great deal of time thinking about food! If we could just come up with a solution we could probably solve all of the world's problems with our newfound free "thinking" time! The way I look at it though, is that I spent this much time thinking about food before I started loosing weight. The difference being that I went and ate whatever I was thinking about!

Like Monique, my fellow Canadian, I do not have a passport. Haven't ever travelled overseas (although I am dying to!) and have never needed one for travelling in the US.

I was attending Weight Watcher's meetings for my weight loss. I actually went for quite some time and found it to be quite a good program....I have lost nearly 70#s so far. I have just (very recently) stopped going, although I am still following their program - which in essence is the same as counting calories, except that it takes fibre into account in their calculations. About 6 months ago I started to add exercise (aquafit) and have now started going to the gym. This is my 4th week, so far. I am liking it more than I expected to...

Is everybody else following some sort of exercise regimine? Anyone got some form of exercise that they really love?

FM glad to hear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel with your work!

Dani - please be sure to soak up some Australian sunshine for those of us who are winter and snow bound!

Monique - hope that the snow is as pretty in Montreal, as it is in Ottawa!

Take care everyone!

PS...has anybody else tried the new baked Doritos? Chips are the snack that I have missed the most. While they are still something that I wouldn't have everyday, they are a good substitute when I need to give into a chip urge!

Kris
261-192-155

Monqiue - Thanks for pointing out my typo. Yes I meant a week!

Dani - I've tried various things from low fat to Atkins. I find that lowering my carb intake helped me lose a lot of weight. I think its mostly from not drinking coke anymore. Right now I am more low-fat/lower carb. I workout too.. so I think that helps. I lift weights too.. which has really built up my muscle and helped with the metabolism.

FM- GREAT to see you!! Happy birthday! I hope things begin to slow down a bit so you can take some time for yourself

Kris - I am impressed.. 70 pounds! Thats great! I never noticed that before (and you have been posting for awhile). Congrats!

Jenni - Food is the enemy for many people. I find that when I am really upset i turn to food.. I wonder what in our lives has taught us to do this?

Well just watned to say hi. No updates on working out (tonight I will.. and did Monday). I do not weigh myself til Saturday.. so I hope its positive!

March Challenge:

1) Stay within my WW point range (20-25) 6 days, with one day max of 30 pts.

2) Run 4 miles 4 days/wk and 2 days/wk do long (6-7 miles) runs. (min. of 50-60 minutes per work out)

3) Do NOT feel like I have to make all the new low-point recipes I find all at once!! (had a real problem with that one a couple of weeks ago)

4) Attend WW meeting once per week this month and weigh in at all of them from now on

5) Try Yoga class at least one time this month

6) Meet my 10% goal by mid-April (18 pounds)

7) Pick a wedding date and select location

Good evening all,

I'm glad to see the growing number of posts and new people since I've last read the boards. Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Dani - Welcome! I live in southern California and love it. I've been living here all of my life pretty much, except for moving to northern California for college. I have to admit that we are pretty spoiled here when it comes to the weather. I have several friends that make fun of me when I'm shivering and it is 60 degrees outside. Yes I have no idea what cold is!

I do have a passport but only recently have used it when I went to China in December. Let me tell you - China was COLD!!!!! I love to travel but find it difficult to find the time, and of course, the money.

I am not on any specific diet plan like WW or Atkins. Mostly I calorie-count and try to exercise as much as possible. I am very good with exercising - to the point of being obsessive - but HORRIBLE with food intake.

I am constantly thinking about food all the time just like the rest of you. What I can't eat, what I can, what I will eat, what I will eat tomorrow... it's awful. I am obsessed, but I guess that is a dieter's plight. I think you are right Kris in that if we weren't dieting we probably wouldn't be thinking about food so much. I know I didn't nearly obsess as much a year ago. I wonder if it ever gets any better and if maintenance is just as hard...?

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was nice and relaxing but I can't say I did so well with my eating habits. I was very good during the week and even able to squeeze in a couple of extra workouts but come the weekend... it was a totally different story. I went snowboarding all day on Friday (good) but then succumbed in In-n-Out afterward (bad). I worked out at the gym on Saturday, usually my day off (good), but ate way too much food and wine at dinner (bad). I made myself get up and run today (good) but again, overdid it with the dessert again tonight (bad). ARGH!!

I don't really know how to get control over my eating. It's almost like I KNOW I am going to regret it later but everything tastes so good and I can't seem to stop, even though I know I am full. I really need to learn how to push my plate away and just STOP.

Well, tomorrow is my weigh-in day so hopefully I won't cringe when I see the number...

Good morning everyone! Ok so its 11am.. but I still feel sleepy

This weekend was a busy one for me. I spent too much time goofing off. But, I did get exercise in on Friday and Saturday! Which is good.. considering I was sick Wed/Thurs when i said I would exercise.

Eating has been so-so. I weighed myself out of habit this morning.. oops. Oh well. I will wait until next Monday to weigh again.

So this week is going to be **** with midterms and all.

Lacia - Welcome! I'd love to visit China! Got any pictures online?

Emily - You will have to tell me how Yoga is. I have always wanted to try it. Good luck on your goals!

hello all

the past couple of days has been such a struggle!! i am hungry/tired all the time! my body is simply exhausted today - don't really know why...i worked out a lot this weekend, maybe my body is retaliating

Lacia - i know exactly what you mean about controlling the food - if i could find out the secret to that, i'd be set. I have never had a problem exercising - I run 45-60 minutes almost every day, it's just the food aspect...

I always feel guilty after I eat something I'm not supposed to. I just like to eat - that's my problem - it doesn't matter what it is, i always have to have something in my mouth at all times, it seems.

i think about food all the time. the only time i didn't think about food while on a diet, was when i took metabolife - but i will never take a supplement again - too risky...i just wish there were some way to keep myself in check when i get like this

All - any suggestions for this problem??

on the good front though - i have lost another 1/2 inch in my hips and waist even though I didn't weight in on Sat. at my WW meeting...I am determined for this week to be better

Happy Monday!

Hello all,

Just thought that I would wish everyone a good weekend!

I was thinking that things on the 20s page were slow this week and then I realized that I haven't posted since March 5th!

Don't have much news...just want to keep in touch...

I am still going to the gym. Must confess that I am finding it really tough to go, but I love it once I am there! I think that I have actually lost a pant size in the last month, although my weight has not changed much. Going to the gym seems to have helped focus my eating plan. Don't want to waste any of my work from my gym visits!

I thought that this thread that I found elsewhere might be of interest to everybody...it seems that all of us have mentioned binge eating & maintaining weight loss. This thread is some thoughts and tips from people who have lost over 100#s and maintained that loss.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...5&pagenumber=1

Have a good weekend all!

Kris
261-191-155

Hi Everyone,

Not much to report - just checking in. I have been very unmotivated to stay within my designated calorie limits this week. I've been tempted too much with goodies around work (esp. Girl Scout cookies - eek!!!). I know I should refuse them, but I end up having this "I don't care" attitude and then feeling horribly guilty about it afterward. I know I must sound like a broken record since this seems to be a recurring theme for me. I think I really need to stop stressing out about food and try to break away from this seeminly unhealthy relationship I have with it.

On the plus side, all this guilt has been making me exercise a lot more. I have been keeping up with my swimming program, although I may need to take some time off as my shoulder has started to ache and I don't want to get injured. One of my goals this month was to start running again and I found a wonderful beginner runner program:

http://www.coolrunning.com/major/97/...g/5k/glen0.htm

I'm nearing the end of week 2 and am feeling pretty good about it. I hope I will be able to stick with it.

How are you all doing? I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding last night. I thought it was all right, but maybe I was just expecting more since everyone had already told me how great it was. Anyone else see it?

Well, hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

Monique - You are echoing exactly what I feel like right now! I have been having a really hard time with food for the past month now. I had a good day yesterday but really blew it today and binged like crazy. I think about food all the time to the point of being obsessive. I keep thinking about desserts I could bake out or food I could make from what ingredients I have in the fridge. Even though most of what I buy and make is healthy, I end up eating too much of it. Too many muffins, too much low-fat cake, etc. Argh. I found that I was extremely bored on Sunday and just ate and ate. I should have gotten out of the house and kept busy in some other way! Anyway I wish I could stop being so stressed and obsessive.

Hi all! A lot of the posts sound very familiar.....it gets tough mid month to keep the motivation up.

I just returned from spring break, I visited my grandmother in Northern California. Since she eats very healthy, but substantial meals, and there's such a wide variety of fruits and veggies there, I fell into the same pattern seh did which was great....and I've kept it up since. Eating when I'm not hungry was my biggest challenge,a nd since then I'm not snacking at all, no interest.


Hopefully this isn't just a phase!

Hope everyone is having a nice week.

Hi everyone. I've been sorta distant lately. Mostly because I had midterms and projects due. Now its all coming to an end as spring break starts tomorrow. Unfortunately its not really a break for me.. since I have to work but oh well.

I havent had time to exercise the past 2 weeks. Its a bit depressing, but I think I need a break from focusing on my weight. It has not really gone up much and seems pretty stable. So for now I am going to work on getting better (I got sick last night.. ) and then getting back into exercising. But I am not going to worry if I dont lose weight. I'll re-evaluate when April comes. I might need to do low-carb or something.. we'll see.

I'd be intersted in a separate thread.. of course I do not know if it will make me post more.. things have been just so crazy.

Good morning all,

I very much like the idea of the separate thread to post meals and excercise.

I do think that I would use it! It would make me accountable everyday!

Since quitting the Weight Watcher's I have mostly stopped weighing myself. I think that I was becoming a bit too crazy about the number. I have noticed that my progress seems to be moving forward much better now that I am focusing on healthy eating & exercise, rather than the number.

However, since I no longer have the scale number to keep me accountable, it would be beneficial to have this daily reporting system to keep me in line...

Additionally, it might give me some new menu ideas. I find that I get caught in a rut of eating the same dinners over & over again, because I know that they are healthy. I am certain that others have found some wonderfully creative meal ideas.

Thanks for the great idea Monique!

Have a good weekend all,
Holly.

Monique - I've had the same thought on occasion (having a thread on what we eat and/or exercise). I wonder if it might be helpful to have weigh-ins also (perhaps on a weekly basis?) or would that be too much?

What if we just had the one thread that had eating & exercise information and left the option for people to post weekly weigh-ins if they would like? I probably would only be posting my weight change (hopefully losses!) every month or so, as I am trying to focus more on eating & exercise. That being said, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to posting my weight information! Might be helpful, so that others can see whether my eating/exercise habits are resulting in overall weight loss.

I should point out that I have PCOS which is an endocrine disorder that results in VERY slow weight loss, so my results might appear a bit skewed. However, my weight will move in the right direction, depending on how I eat and the amount of exercise I put in.

Good luck to everybody! I'm off to post in Monique's new thread...