You also mentioned your nursing. Be kind to yourself. Make sure you eat enough calories. You need 500 more calories a day if you are nursing. So you might feel like you are starving if you don't eat enough because of the nursing.

Not ME...I am not nursing...but I think someone earlier in the thread mentioned nursing. PLEASE DON'T ADD AN INFANT INTO MY ALREADY CRAZY SCHEDULE. (ha! ha!) Seriously, no offense to those of you with tiny ones, I love my 11 year old...but I do not want to have anymore!! My boyfriend has a 4 yearold...I babysat most of the weeknd...and it was enough to remind me what the toddler years were all about!! And he has a good little boy...just very busy...I can not imagine what it would be like if he were not good. Now that my son is 11, I am used to him doing certain things on his own (making his own lunch, wiping his self, blowing his nose on his own, going outside alone)!! Maybe having an 11 year old made me FAT...I just got lazy, I guess!!

Sorry...got off the subject a bit, there!!!

LOL...I think this is the problem:

I believe you were "nursing" your cup of tea, right?

Kate - you should be a MOD...that Yay Protein post gave us all somethin to chew on..

BTW your pooch is adorable

Thanks chick . She IS adorable, isn't she?? I love her to bits...

And LOL...It would be nice to be a Mod cuz then I wouldn't feel so guilty about stealing that fat vs. muscle pic from another thread...I'm still worried someone's gonna get mad at me for doing that!!!

I'm on SUCH a crusade for protein + weight training...I think I get a bit carried away with it sometimes .

Ah...that was it!! Yes...I was nursing the tea...not a baby !! SHEW...I was beginning to think you guys knew something I didn't !!

Well...today SEEMED much more successfull!! No huge hunger pains, no real desire to "cheat". So...I need your feedback...

Breakfast...Minibagel with peanut butter
Snack...A hard boiled egg & 2 cubes of cheddar cheese
Lunch...Chicken wrap (Sundried tomato wrap, low fat cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, Chicken, shredded cheese) and glass of sweetened tea
Snack...a hard boiled egg & 2 cubes of cheddar cheese
Dinner...Grilled chicken, mixed veggies (Zuchini, yellow sqash, onions, carrots, red-green-yellow peppers sauteed in teriyaki (not sure if that spelling is correct))

Well...any feedback!!

Oh yeah....and I walked a mile!

I don't normally critique menus, but I'm starting to feel attached to this thread (and the people on it ), so here goes:

Breakfast...Minibagel with peanut butter<---- try almond or cashew butter instead -- "better" fats and higher protein (and very, very yummy).
Snack...A hard boiled egg & 2 cubes of cheddar cheese<---- I think this is excellent! You can get lower-fat mozerrella (sp.?) cheese sticks and use those if you wanted to. I still eat cheddar cheese, though. Just in moderation, of course! (I used to eat it by the POUND, I swear!)
Lunch...Chicken wrap (Sundried tomato wrap, low fat cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, Chicken, shredded cheese) and glass of sweetened tea<---- excellent! What was the tea sweetened with? And what kind of cheese?
Snack...a hard boiled egg & 2 cubes of cheddar cheese<---- excellent!
Dinner...Grilled chicken, mixed veggies (Zuchini, yellow sqash, onions, carrots, red-green-yellow peppers sauteed in teriyaki<---- excellent!

LKING GOOD, jump!!! Lotsa protein in there!!!!

Okay, so the reason I don't like to critique menus is because I feel bad if I have a "criticism." But it's HELPFUL, right? Okay, here goes: the only 2 things I would be somewhat careful about are (1) overdoing the cheese -- but like I already mentioned you can replace it with low-fat string cheese, and (2) teriyaki has a lot of sodium -- but there is a low-sodium version you could try.

And YAY for walking a mile!!! Exercise will help to suppress your appetite a bit, too. Well done!!

I was so surprised how much better I felt with all the protein!! I also did not feel deprived. The tea was sweetened with Sugar ...but it was the only glass I had all day (a huge cut back for me........remember I was drinking 3-4 a day (not sure if I mentioned that before))!! I am not going to beat myself up for that, YET !! By the way...did I mention that I drank a ton of water too!!

You guys are all so insiring!! Thank you so much for keeping me motivated !!

As long as the cubes of cheese aren't really big (1 inch square?)...I haven't found a low fat cheese I really like yet.

Way to go on the walking a mile and it's great to have a day that feels successful, huh?

When you get to feeling down, come back and read your post above...keep up the good work! looks like it ain't broke so why fix it?

I'm sorry jumpd. I misunderstood. This did give me a good laugh this morning. Guess that's why I don't post much. Sorry again.

I'm suprised no body has mentioned caffeine withdrawal (sp). (Unless I missed it-sorry if I did) How much sweetened tea did you usually drink? Our bodies get used to the caffeine and if you do a drastic cut back all of a sudden you can get really bad headaches.

Looks like your second day was much better then the first post. More food, better choices. I know those bars are much easier to keep handy, they taste good and easy to keep tract of calories but they really aren't very satisfying, plus they tend to have a ton of sugar.

I'm also one who has to keep an eye on cheese intake, I can easily go through 1/2 a pound a day or more.

edited to add:
Good Earth Original tea is really tastey with a sweet taste without sugar. It comes in regular and caffeine free. Ingredients: A blend of Tea, Rose Hips, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Lemon Grass, Peppermint, Papaya, Anise, Orange Peel, Ginger, Artificial and Natural Flavors. Contains no sugar, artificial colors or preservatives. 3 Calories. I've seen it at Trader Joes, and I think Whole Foods Market.


Happy planning,
Sarah

Eating pretty much the same stuff today as I did yesterday...still feeling full & happy. I think preperation is going to be key.

My usual tea consumption was about 4 a day. I have cut back to one. Eventually I am going to decrease the amount of tea & the amount of sugar. Last night....after my son was in bed...really wanted the tea. But I went to bed intead...other than that no cravings.

Actually, my cheese really are not the cubes that you buy in the store. I took a block of cheese & made a thin (1/4") slices on the short side of the cheese. Just enought to get a little taste....because I only use Extra Sharp Cheddar a little goes a long way for taste.

Any other food ideas...I'm open to anything!

Hiya jump ,

You've hit the nail right on the head when you wrote that preparation is key! I seriously couldn't even be DOING this if I didn't do a heck of a lot of planning. For most of my life, I didn't do ANY food planning and usually just reached for something quick and easy -- like a box of macaroni & cheese, a bag of Doritos, or a block of cheese . Now, I am always conscious of what's in the house. The key for me is to always have LOTS of food in the house -- healthy food that I like. That way I never end up with empty cupboards which could lead to me being ravenously hungry and having the urge to "pop out" for a bag of chips or ordering a large pizza and eat the whole thing myself (both of which I used to do A LOT). I never let myself run out of food, because I know I'm just setting myself up for a food disaster if I do that. I also tend to buy 2 of things that I know I'll go through quickly, like 2 boxes of Special K, 2 cartons of non-fat milk, etc. so I know I'll always have those things around.

Someone already mentioned the idea of boiling 6 eggs on Sunday night and keeping them in the fridge -- I do that, too! That way if hunger hits you, you have something quick and easy to grab. It's also nice because if you have a really busy day, you can bring it in the car with you and don't find yourself pulling up to the drivethrough . I always keep little snack-size baggies of baby carrots in my fridge, too.

As for the tea, I agree with Sarah. I think it's likely your headaches have more to do with caffeine withdrawl than anything else. By the way, I STILL drink 3 - 4 (sometimes 5 ) cups of regular tea a day. That's something I could never bring myself to give up -- the only changes I made were Splenda instead of sugar and non-fat milk instead of 2%.

I'm so glad things are going so well for you! Every day of success is a little victory, and it will only get easier!

Ok LoveBassetts...How long has it taken you? I was looking at where you started & where you want to be. (I know you are not there yet...but you are getting close) We are pretty much the same. I was just wondering a time frame. I want to set goals...but I need them to be realistic.

By the way rdhdgrl1, when I reread the whole nursing comment...I see why you took it that way!! I had to laugh myself....no baby nursing here!!

Have I mentioned to you all that I am invited to a wedding at the end of October (I know not to expect major changes)...but I do want to go dress shopping for the wedding with a better state of mind than I have been in lately!! Plus it is with the new boyfriend (7 years younger than me...what the was I thinking when I started dating him...oh yeah he's hot & has the sex drive of a 28 year old! HeHe ...sorry!!). But...anyway with his age, I am so intimidated that all of his friends from college are going to be dating these young girls who have never had kids & are going to all be size 3. I don't want to feel FAT & Ackward around them...so, I hope just knowing that I have dropped a few lbs will help with that. Any suggestions?

At least being on this site has helped me to know that I am not the only one....and I feel like I have made so many new friends. You guys are the best!!

About the pizza night. Why don't you try to make the pizza with your children instead of ordering? It is more fun for the kids, and you can customize the pizza to be really healthy. You can put oats in the dough, and you can use fat free cheese. Also, make your kids side with whatever they like, and customize your side w/ veggies and not so much cheese. If you don't have time, try making the dough in advance and freeze it. Good luck! Don't give up, I'm getting weight on Saturday so we'll see how I'm doing, I hope you will loose some weight by then, too.