Jill -- it's that long URL to the wedding clothiers' site that's making this thread so wide. If you edit your post and replace it with this snipurl (a shortened forwarder that will point to that page), it will fix that problem: http://snipurl.com/emaf

Kimberly - Thanks for figuring out the scroll thing it was driving me nuts! As for my "only 2 pound loss", I *know* that it's healthy to lose slowly but my eyes really want to lose fast! I like seeing the big drops on the scale. I really want to lose another 24 pounds before mid July when Sam and I go to Wisconsin Dells. Having to be in public in a swim suit for 5 days is gonna be pretty ugly if I don't get those pounds off!!! YIKES!

Jill - first, you suck! Diana TOTALLY beat you, and not by a small amount either! Hehe. Finally you go to the doctor! It's really hard to balance all the things we need to do to eat healthy, and work as much as you do. My only advice is to eat at least 5-7 servings of veggies a day, my mother always said that once I do that the weight loss will follow. Thats my motherly advice to you I love the dress!! I'm jealous! I wish I was a little more glamour-like, where I was wearing dresses, or had places to wear dresses. The dress of my "dreams" has a puffy bottom, almost like the princess thingy, but it would end at my knee's, with a tube top or maybe even a bustier (sp?) top. In like a bright pink colour. I really have nowhere to wear it though.. I should work on that.. lol. I also wanted to add something about how your weight loss is going, while it's not going fast, you are very steady. And you aren't giving up a whole lot to achieve it, I think you should keep going. You will get there. While I don't think people should give up foods to lose weight, everything in moderation right? For me and my mother that just doesn't work, I have so many things I just can't have in order to lose weight.. it's very possible that it's a medical problem. but most doctors are such pricks they just don't *get* it. Are you taking a multi vitamin?

Diana - you are still going strong on those workouts, thats so awesome The wedding plan sounds great, I want pictures, of course If I had money, I'd totally tag along with you and Marge wandering around New York.. heh.. if only eh?

Kimberley - this site is doing that for me too! It's annoying, I found a way to center it so I can read things without having to scroll side to side.. otherwise I'd go insane! I'm half way there now... but better to be a little crazy than completely normal!

Sara - 2 pounds is GOOD!! Thats so good, I'm happy for you I'm totally with you on that *only* part, I have to keep reminding myself that instant gratification is BAD!! 2 months and 30 inches is pretty good instant gratification though! I love the idea of doing walks, they are really expensive out here, min of 40 bucks a walk, so I don't do many. What else do you do for working out? I've been adding weights in, just because I notice a big difference in how my body feels, and how many inches I lose.. and my goal is to have 13-14 inch arms by July. I'm down half an inch already.. so I just gotta keep it up!

Marge - oh marge.. marge marge marge.. it's like talking to an American version of myself.. I did see that Oprah, I cried. The girl on that show Trina, was on this Canadian show called "Taking it Off". She lost just over 25 pounds, it was funny seeing her on Oprah, she was SO quiet, and held back so much. She's one of those people who is a lot of fun.. but definitely has to learn about tact. She wasn't my fav person on the show.. there was this guy, he was SO fricking sweet, like a big cuddly teddy bear. He ended up losing 103 pounds, I was so happy for him I actually cried. I shared every Saturday morning with these people for the last 6 months, the show was on from 11-12. It's endearing watching people lose weight, and share their insecurities, and their process with all of Canada. I just wanted to go hug them all by the end of it!!

Holy Cow, do I get an award for longest post in the whole entire world? I'm going to go take a little break.. I'll ttyl!

-Aimee

I just wanted to jump on and say hi really quick. I hope you are all doing wonderful(as I know you are). I have finals this week and next, so Im trying to study hard. I had a 2 pound loss during TOM, so Im happy. You guys are all doing so great! I'm really proud of all of you, and you are my inspiration to keep going when I don't feel like it much. Oh, and I had cheese today....well, I guess you can count Velveeta as cheese...lol...not as much as I normally do, and not as much as I would have liked, but enough to kill the cravings. and its been soooo long since Ive had cheese..lol.
Di, you are the best, and I love ya and can't wait until I get to see you. I think we should all go to Marge's house for Christmas..lol. I used to live in NJ, and have been to NYC a few times for the holidays, and it was fun. Now we usually just stay in town...and you can all visit me sometime..lol. I think I can fit you all....ummmm...well, i'll find the room.
well, im off to study. Hope you all have a Marvelous Monday, and I'll jump on when I can. Huge hugs to all of you.

whew u all wore me out lol...Everyone to Marge's for the Holidays, lol, maybe we can book a cheap hotel or something and buddy up...lol sounds good to me.We should plan for that some year...And when we renew in 4 years, ya all come, hehe nothing like upstate Ny for the Fall foiliage..Our first wedding was in an old Stone church in the heart of the adirondacks. i want the next to be more special though, because I will be THIN.hehe...and SEXXXXXIE! ya know today, I actually got honked at while walking the dog...nice to get an ego boost like that from time to time...Okay, now, am off to sleepy land..Love ya all, Have a great one! And yes My Heather LOVES cheese more than any person I have EVER known.lol...I don't think Velveeta is considered real cheese though, they call it Cheese food, whatever the H that means..ROFL...

I think they have to clarify that it really is food, LOL! I like it in recipes, though, have to admit that. For salads and sandwiches, though, give me shredded sharp cheddar, mozerella, etc. We eat cheese every day almost, just count one ounce as a serving of dairy and count the calories and fat.

That's what I love about what Howie and I are doing -- we don't give up anything, really. We chose to give up fast food cheeseburgers because those were specifically trigger foods for each of us. But as long as we keep to 5 servings of fruit & veggies, 5-6 whole grains, 3 dairy and 1-2 servings of lean protein every day, we're good. I find I eat a lot more when eating well, just because many of my choices are lower in calories and fat, and they're almost "freebies".

My new jeans shipped today from Lane Bryant. Whoopie! Last night when we went to Meijer, Howie waited while I tried on several outfits I had no intention of buying. I just wanted to see what size I could wear at this point and see what styles/cuts were most flattering. Howie and I are going to be dangerous when we're at goal, I tell ya. We're like kids in a candy shop now...We'll be monsters by the time we're finished! It's such a joy anticipating being able to shop anywhere.

Me being silly yesterday, courtesy my DH...

Kimberley - nice picture Clothing is addicting, fortunately for me, and my wallet, I'm a deal shopper. I just can't pay full price for most things anymore, I have to LOVE it. I do sometimes worry what will happen when I shrink enough to wear clothes at my FAV clothing store.. I'm an 18 now, and have to get to a 12 .. so I have a few days I am SO SO SO jealous of people like you, not having to give up anything in order to lose weight. I'd kill to be able to watch my calories and exercise in order to lose weight. Don't worry though.. I know that killing people fix my frigged up body.. so you are safe!! .... for now You are posting late.. are you trying to beat me for a late post.. teehee.

Diana - it's been a busy busy day in here, eh? Phew, I almost couldn't keep up myself. So, have you decided on the style of dress you are going to wear? you could have already said.. but I'm so sleepy I forget to look up and see.. heh.

Alrighty, I was a bad girl today.. again. Junk food in my house is evil I tell yah! I did my weight program though, I'm going to try and be consistant with exercise. I tend to get bored easily, really easily.. I have exercise and diet A.D.D. I am off to bed, nite nite! (hey Jill, shouldn't you be getting up soon?).

-Aimee

I'm up, I'm up! I'm already at work, too! And I have NOTHING to do here! And so begins another intensely-exciting day at CSC Anyway...

I fixed the link so the page isn't so wide anymore. Quick fix--I just popped in some line breaks. The link still works (as far as I can tell). Sorry, guys!

So, about my BP...I tracked my sodium for the day when I was reading labels to count my calories anyway--WHOA I'm not sure how many mg of sodium you're supposed to have in a day, but I'm still pretty sure that mine is way high. I guess that's what happens when every meal you eat is already prepared food (cereal for breakfast, Lean Pocket for lunch, mac n' cheese for dinner...). I'll talk to the nurse practitioner when I go in for blood work on Thursday and let them know that I'll adjust my diet a bit and come back in, I dunno, a month or so to have it checked again. Hopefully that's all that's contributing to the BP problem. I guess I'm going to have to do a lot more planning ahead since I don't have time to cook at all during the week. The more weekends I spend at Jeff's house, the harder this becomes. This coming weekend, I will be home (and no car shopping to take up all my time!), so I should be able to make some chicken and stuff for the week, but then the following weekend, I'm at Jeff's again, so we'll see. Can I cook chicken and then freeze it and heat it in the microwave? Or maybe I can actually make stir-fry (veggies included!) and put it in single-serving size containers and freeze it and microwave it, kinda like having a frozen dinner?


Oh, Aimee, you make me laugh. ME, eat 5 servings of veggies a day?! At this point, I'm lucky if I get 1 serving a day! I do eat fruit every day (though only one piece today since I have yet to go grocery shopping for this week), but veggies are a problem. The problem really is--I don't like them! I don't like celery or carrots or tomatoes or cauliflower or peppers or [insert name of almost any vegetable here]. I don't mind cucumbers, but to eat them, I need to add salt (and my BP says NO to salt!) or lots of dressing or dip. Same goes with broccoli--I only really like it when it's either swimming in dip or cooked to the point where it gets mushy instead of crisp (which usually means most of the nutrients have been cooked right out of it!). I also love potatoes and corn, which happen to be the starchiest veggies possible (I think), which loads 'em up with calories (I think). God, I wish my tastebuds would just fall off so I could eat healthy food all the time and not worry about what I do and don't like! I also know that if I try to force myself to eat foods I don't like (as I have tried to do in the past), that'll just push me to the drive-thru (2 cheeseburger Happy Meals, please!).

So, I snuck up on my scale this morning (I know, I'm not supposed to weigh-in till Thursday!). I just wanted to peek and see if I had done any major damage from the weekend. I hopped on fully expecting to see about 301.5 or so (since I was at 300 on Thursday, then gorged myself all weekend long), but to my surprise, it read 299.5. I would just like to point out that THAT IS BELOW 300! I have not been below 300 pounds since probably before Thanksgiving. Hopefully, that .5-pound loss will carry over to Thursday so I can be excited on my actual weigh-in day

Kimberley--can I just say how THIN and fun you look in that picture? It's awesome! I can't wait till I reach a point where I don't pretty much hate every picture of myself. I've got plenty of "before" pictures--hope to have some "afters" real soon

Velveeta = Cheese Food Can definitely say that's a new one to me!

I would be exstatic to lose "only" 2 pounds a week! A slow, it'll benefit you in the long0run cuz you'll also be able to keep it off better than if you lose too quickly (I know, we've all heard it all before, and it sucks to know that slow is best, but it is!). Remind me of these things I say when I get all pissy about how far I have to goal still

No way, Aimee, I totally get the longest post awards--ALL of them! I think I should also get the award for the MOST long posts ever! Jeez, I just start typing and can't stop--if only the same were true for exercise

Skinny? Compared to where I came from, yes -- but 51 more pounds to go, and I need to work for that. I know Plateau City looms, and I have to keep telling myself that it's normal and I can get past it.

Still, I'm feeling pretty good! Right now the hardest thing is keeping off the Sudafed (generic) until I get another BP reading; that drug raises blood pressure.

Oh -- the recommended daily allowance of sodium is 2400mg/day, from all sources. That said, less is better. The recommended amount differs in the US and the UK, for instance. Check out this site for more info.

All right, the Quest for Veggies: One thing you can do to sneak veggies into your diet is puree green beans or spinach in your food processor or blender, then mix them into your spaghetti sauce. I kid you not. You'll not notice them, and you get all the benefit.

Once a month cooking is a great thing, just the ticket for anyone with a hectic schedule. Get it all done at once, eat for a month! Google's results about it. This link is a good one, especially: Real Food For Real People

I find that things like spaghetti sauce, rice, soups, casseroles, chicken (yes!) and beef freeze very well. When you re-heat these things, add a teaspoon of water before you reheat them (that will keep them moister). Be mindful not to overcook them when reheating. You'll get the hang of it.

Cooking up a batch of whole grain brown rice at the beginning of the week is great, too, because you then have a low-fat , healthy grain you can use in various quick dishes all week long.

LOL, that would be great! the holidays at Marge's. There's supposed to be a cheap hotel in Queens, a Comfort Inn. A friend of Rob's stayed there, I'll give you the scoop when I get more info. We'll get you here, Aimee! Jill, you can take Amtrak too. It's a 3 hour ride from the main station in Washington, DC.

and Jill, congrats on getting under 300!! You're doing it.

I lost only 2 pounds this week, but I went over my measurements from beginning of Feb to yesterday I lost just under 30 inches!! WOW! --Sara

I personally never use the word "only" with any loss You are rocking, Sara! And 30 inches, man! I know what you mean about always wanting it to be faster, especially after the differences really start to show.

there was this guy, he was SO fricking sweet, like a big cuddly teddy bear. He ended up losing 103 pounds, I was so happy for him I actually cried. I shared every Saturday morning with these people for the last 6 months, the show was on from 11-12. It's endearing watching people lose weight, and share their insecurities, and their process with all of Canada. I just wanted to go hug them all by the end of it!! --Aimee

Yes, Aimee, my Canadian twin, heh, I love those types of shows. And as for the woman on Oprah, the husband wasn't that fantastic looking, and if my husband appeared on national tv flirting with another woman, well, there'd be some real talking going on

I was just thinking the other day that I'd love to know what happened to the other weight loss contestants on Dr. Phil, you know, the show where he had about 10 people competing. It's like hearing half a story -- except for about the top 3 who lost all the weight.

Take it easy, gang.

Yeah, I looked up the sodium amounts online today, too. I found in a few places that a good rule of thumb is 1000mg of sodium per 1000 calories, so basically, your sodium should not exceed your caloric intake (2400mg of sodium is for a 2000-calorie diet, but the actual wording is "less than 2400mg of sodium"). So, that in mind, today I had just over 1400 calories. My sodium was probably at nearly 2700mg. HOW BAD IS THAT?! Huge issues on the sodium front...The worst for me sodium-wise is the mac n' cheese dinner thing I have for dinner. I can't help it--it tastes good, I can eat it cold, there's no preparation involved, it doesn't need to be refrigerated, and it only has 190 calories. Now I have to find another perfect dinner food

Kimberely--you had mentioned that tip about the veggies in the pasta sauce before. I thought it was a great idea then, and I still do, except that I don't eat pasta, nor do I have a blender or food processor I still have a few $$ left on a Target gift card, and I made a few bucks last night (I don't ever want to hostess again--I made $54 serving last night, but I know if I were hostess, I would have been there a half hour longer and only made about $35!), so maybe I'll check food processors there after I leave here in an hour. I have a very difficult time finding whole-grain pasta where I shop, and I can't afford the stuff at the specialty stores Maybe I'll hit up a different grocery store this weekend--I think the Giant has a whole health food section. Hope pasta isn't too high in sodium! Ialso bought some brown rice a few weeks ago, but I haven't had the chance to cook it yet. Hopefully, I will actually be able to accomplish everything I want to do this weekend without having to worry about things like new cars and exploding passenger windows

Marge--there just so happens to be an Amtrak station about, oh, 2 miles from my apartment--I hear the train whistles as they go by ALL the time. I think the planets are aligning...

Goodmorning!! I have 6 minutes left to my morning.. yay! I almost wish I was still in bed, but I was getting a headache from being horizontal. I did do weights yesterday, I'd love to say I'm really enjoying doing them, I think I enjoy the music more, and the feeling like I've accomplished something. I just have to get to walking..

Jill - you were 1st! You go girl So I peaked at my scale too, but I wrote my weight down, AND changed my ticker.. lol.. it's an addiction!! You must have crossed your skinny fingers for me, because my scale is still saying 257! Thats down 3 pounds, I just have to hold onto that until Thursday! What you need to do for veggies is soak them in a low fat dressing (with low salt!) and force yourself to eat them! Come here, I'll get you on South Beach with me for 2 weeks, you will be crying for some fruit, or even juice, or ANYTHING not veggies! Find something you like, make a soup with all veggies, you gotta get 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies!!

Marge - the good thing that "Taking it Off" does is they did another show where they checked up on all the people who did it in season 2. The unfortunate thing is none of them succeeded at keeping the weight off, and one of the guys was even going to go get the weight loss surgery. I wonder what it actually takes to lose weight, I don't feel like I necessarily have it, but I push thru because what other choice do I have. I think once I start to believe in myself, I'll get it off consistantly. If my boyfriend was flirting on national tv? I'd cut off his balls. Maybe not, I'm dramatic. But if he were to flirt with anyone when I'm around, I'd be very very angry. We discussed cheating very early on in our relationship, every boyfriend i've had has cheated on me.. and he got his heart broken by his first gf (I am his 2nd, the 1st one was when he was 16, so he didn't seriously date anyone from 16 until 20). If either of us cheats, thats it, no second chances. Period. Normally I'm all for second chances, but thats just one thing I can't tolerate, I'm lucky to find such a good man.

So New York, heaven, shopping heaven. New York is such a huge city, and there has to be tons of flights going there.. which makes them cheaper.. not only that, I can even fly from the USA (brother lives in Seattle), so I could get there. Can you imagine? Oh New York.. I'd have to go to a club, just to say I went. I secretly want to live there...maybe if I become a famous plus size model I will! Alrighty, time to get my head out of the clouds and get some grocery shopping done! Have a good on gals! I shall be back later!

-Aimee

Try the frozen chopped spinach, Jill. Make sure you squeeze it really dry in a towel before adding it to your sauce. Spaghetti sauce is really good on brown rice, actually. Add a little fresh-grated parmesan-romano cheese for flavor (takes less, less fat, nice flavor). Yum!

Aimee, good for you (even if ya did peek, LOL!).

I've been scrubbing the shower today, oh joy. It was really nasty! Have any of you tried Greased Lightning? Works pretty well, but it stinks -- glad there is a window in our bathroom along with the exhaust fan. My plan is to do one room a day during the week, just maintenance of dusting and vacuuming. We only have five rooms total, including our bathroom. Like Howie said, we've changed our eating habits until they're natural, so I ought to be able to make a routine of this.

Why is cleaning soooo different?

Kimberley - cleaning sucks.. thats why! I also believe in cleaning one room a day, it just makes things easier in the long run. I hate cleaning the bathroom, especially the shower stall... ours is enclosed, like it's just a shower with glass doors. Anywho, so I once used "scrub free with bleach", it gave me a nasty headache! We don't have a window in our bathroom.. I cannot wait until we move into a bigger house. You know, with a diningroom, normal sized livingroom..

So I realized that I'm in "virgin weight", I have such a short time of being in this time... The last time I tried to lose weight I was 245, and then once before I was 232 when I tried to lose weight.. the only time I haven't lost weight was from 257 (now) until 245. Lets hope I get there fast.. hehe... I love you instant gratification!

-Aimee

Instant gratification is definitely an upper! After all my wheezing in that nasty cleaner smell, I still had a cruddy shower floor (it's textured and hard to clean). Finally I dug out a bottle of orange-scented scrubbing bubbles and they not only smelled good, but did the job. Just have the bathroom floor to do tomorrow and I'm done. Next...The not-so-bad bedroom. Oh, Lord, my life is really exciting lately....

Tomorrow's YMCA day. Time to make my belly muscles hurt!