Does anyone else think WOW those children really really look like they belong to Mary Very cute!

I've got good news and bad news ... the good news is my wine glass is smaller than I thought. The bad news is jelly gummy candies are deadly!

Yea! Was 191 at Curves this morning. I have lost 6 pounds (since I started with them, actually 9 pounds from my highest of 200), 5.31 pounds of body fat and 4.5 inches. Woohoo! I lost 2.25 inches on my abdomen (just below my bellybutton) where my stomach is biggest.

Going shad fishing today with the family! Gotta run......hope everyone has a great day and accomplished whatever goals they have for this day.

Well, I moved the ticker down. It's only one lb, but hopefully it's the end of my plateau.

Susan~ I use a specific wine glass on purpose because I know that 1/2 full it is only 4oz. I pour way too much into bigger glasses!

Petra & cjc~ I weight in every morning too. It helps keep me motivated. I try not to sweat the smal fluctuations (unless they stick.)

Stayed on track yesterday...DID FANTASTIC!! (thought I would have trouble since I took almost a week off) Closed the day at 1300 calories(ish) Made tacos for the first time using turkey...normally I'll make the kids tacos with ground beef, and NOT eat any of it...Last night I tried making it with Turkey...The kids LOVED it even my skinny little picky eater...he had 2 soft tacos!! I ate just a salad and taco meat on top...no cheese, no nothing else...(ummmm I kinda am just as picky as my little one...I know where he got it from)

Talking about daily weight changes...I LOST 2.5 lbs OVERNIGHT!!!! YEAH!!!!! I know it really isn't true but it does mean I didn't gain really anything even though I ate so poorly last week...AND TOM is just about here (any day now) and I typically gain a couple lbs right before....Anyways, more or less...I will weight myself every morning...BUT I wont count the weight in my journal until monday...wont really even worry until TOM is over...

Susan: Thank you. Everyone is always saying how they look like me and not there father, lol. But I would rather have act like me instead of there father, which they do, lol.
And Jelly candies....I have heard bad things about them!! LOL

Justme & Zenor & Carrie Good job on the losses!!! That is always a great thing to see!!!

My calories for today was good. Hopefully I will see the scale move again tomorrow morning. I am going to work out here shortly. I think that Deadliest Catch is on at 8 and 9 so I am going to jump on the gazelle while I watch that at 8. That keeps me going the whole hour. If I don't have something good on the tv then I don't want to watch anything.
Well American Gladitors is on right now!! LOL I have loved this show since I was little!! Chat with you all tomorrow!!! Or later tonight!!
Mary

I had another big weight loss at my TOPS meeting, and the support does get me pumped to keep going the rest of the week.

I've been eating more eggs, since my chickens lay 3-5 eggs every day and was wondering about the egg sizing on Fitday, and how to determine what size mine are. Then this morning I get this freakishly huge egg....LOL! WHat do you think this one is? mega jumbo?

zenor - That IS so funny about the baby blanket. Those colors are going to look lovely together, though. And delicious....

And way to bust (or is that burst?) through that plateau!!

When I found out that I was having twins, my midwife recommended that I visit an OB (a specific one, the only homebirth friendly one in northern VA) in the rare event that my twins would need medical assistance (twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, for example). When he asked me about my diet, I proceeded to tell him all about the fish oil, EPO, nettles, skullcap, protein supplements, etc. I was doing and he was so impressed! Maybe your doctor will agree that you're doing well for yourself, even though they're not conventional medicines. He can't disagree with the fish oil, at least! I wish that more doctors were like my midwife (and the OB I saw briefly) - partners in your healthcare, and someone to give you information so you can make informed decisions. Unforunately, many docs I've seen seem to be threatened by my wealth of knowledge (about certain things, not everything!). sigh

petra and zenor - I am starting an excel sheet for weighing myself each morning. My diet and calorie needs vary so much (babies could be nursing less and need about 600 calories, could be nursing more and need 1000, toddler could want to nurse and I could need closer to 1200) that I don't think I can afford to wait a week if I'm losing too quickly (more than 1.5-2 lbs). I think if I do it at the same time each morning, before eating or drinking, after peeing and in the nude, I will get the most accurate records. And then if I've dropped 4 pounds in a couple days (which is entirely possible with my caloric requirements, I think) I can boost my intake. I haven't been weighing like this, but I think that I have dropped more than I should in the last week or so.

petra - American Gladiators!?! Too funny...I didn't even know it was still on TV. I can see how that could make you have a good workout (or a good bruise when you fall off the treadmill from laughing)

justme - glad you're staying on plan! I know I feel particularly good about things when I had an on-plan day.

coolmom - WOW!!! That is quite an egg!!! I would say that it is probably 2 large eggs, or even two jumbos. You could probably sell that picture to an ad agency. Something like "Guess which chicken is an overachiever". "Get that hen a sitz bath". I'm a huge fan of natural childbirth (obviously if I had planned a homebirth!) - this could be very inspirational to first time chicken moms. It could keep them from asking you to take them to the vet for an epidural.

And way to go on the weight loss!!

Today's numbers for me - very low, I won't post yet. My husband is coming back from the store with a healthy dessert to get my calories up. Didn't catch a shad today but had a great time. Got some sun on my shoulders from standing in the river. Lela had a great time, was soaking wet and loved using her pole. Some nice old men who were fishing (and catching) let her see their fish when they caught some.

We're going hiking tomorrow in the Shenandoah NP - hiking up to a falls, having a picnic. Taking the fly rods with us because you know we're hiking beside a nice trout stream. Weather here has been perfect for those cold mountain fish, and the nice cool air in the park is so refreshing. It will be the first major hike for the new babies!! Today was their first fishing trip, too.

Here comes my food......mmmmmm

Okay, here are my numbers:

Total: 1631
Fat: 59 34%
Carbs: 156 35%
Fiber: 20
Protein: 124 32%

BREAKFAST - egg, 1 oz. turkey sausage, 1/4 oz. Parmesan cheese, whole wheat tortilla
SNACK - whoops!
LUNCH - 6" Turkey sub, fat free potato chips (olestra, but I hate the Baked Lays kind), diet Coke
SNACK - whoops again!
DINNER - Chilis "Guiltless Grill" salmon, black beans, veggies, DELISH!
At this point my cals were 1250....
SNACK - whole wheat tortilla with turkey, provolone and lettuce
DESSERT - walnut brownie (270 calories, 15 g. fat!!!!)

It's funny, because a month ago I would have not batted an eye at eating 3 brownies. 540 calories, 30 g. fat and only blind because I ignored the label. Now I only have a treat like that if I have enough calories at the end of the day, and I don't plan my meals so that I can have dessert. If I have it at the end of the day, I may or may not eat dessert - it doesn't hold the power it used to over me. I ate one and it is sitting heavy on my stomach, and I'm so thirsty now - is that the sugar? The insulin dump?

I'm glad I have all you to chat caloric crunching - my husband would be bored at what he perceives to be another one of my science lessons.

Have a great night!

Zoe ... I think fitday allows you to use 'cups of eggs'. So if you used that one in a measured amount of scramble eggs .... Or some egg marketing board probably has a website that describes the weight differences between large, extra large and jumbo eggs.

Gotta post fast! My computer is giving me headaches! Arg! We need to buy a new one I think...

Cals for today~ 1437
Fiber~ 59 grams Yea! Lentils!

Coolmom~ Store egg sizes are actually based on weight not size of the shell. You might want to google and see what the weights are and then weight that baby! I'd love to know what it weighs. I'm not sure if this is true of all home grown eggs, but the huge ones I get from a local farmer are mostly egg white. The yolks are the same size in all his eggs, but the big ones have more white.

Cjc~ Sounds like you had awesome care while pregnant! One reason why I'm in no hurry to have kids right now is I'd like to move first to a more natural birth friendly area. Or, at least, get more "friendly" insurance. Well, and I'd like to be at my goal weight for awhile.

It looks like the size of the egg can be measured by how many uncooked eggs it takes to fill a cup. Next time I'm making scrambled eggs for the whole family, I'll have to see how they measure.

That gigantic egg was a double yolker, so I measured it as two eggs. The cholesterol is, of course, high. I'm not sure f I should eat them every day.

I've been doing really well since I started counting and filling in the numbers at FitDay, but these past few days I have been sick and haven't been counting anything. I'm really discouraged and feels like I have to start all over again and muster up all this energy towards the motivation. I don't snack anymore, which was a major step in the right direction, and I'm very conscious of how much veg I'm eating as opposed to carbs. I found this really dense, dark bread which is extremly good for you and low in carbs, so I'm eating that instead of the presliced stuff I normally buy (even though it was wholegrain). I'm trying to keep hydrated, but I'm still swelling in the evenings. I've lost some weight because I can measure it with a tape measure, but the lbs have been bouncing back and forth on the scale for three days now. I don't know if it's the fluid in my body or if I'm actually gaining fat. It's really discouraging. grr.

I'm going to try to make it here more often to keep myself inspired. You are all fantastic inspiration.

Take care,
-Miette

Miette -

Glad that you're back! Even though you had a couple days off, you shouldn't feel like you need to start over - just join us right where you left off.

I would encourage you to incorporate snacks into your day - it boosts your metabolism and keeps you from getting so hungry that you binge. Plus, if you've been sick your body needs constant nourishment to heal.

If I'm aiming for 1800 calories, I will try to have:
BREAKFAST - 400
SNACK - 200
LUNCH - 400
SNACK - 200
DINNER - 400
SNACK - 200
OR
BREAKFAST - 400
SNACK - 300
LUNCH - 400
SNACK - 300
DINNER - 400

Doesn't always work out like this, though!

As for the HOH retention, could be TOM or hidden Na in your diet, or just your body balancing out its fluid stores.

If you're finding the natural weight fluctuations discouraging, then just weigh once a week, or even less, but continue to measure as you like since losing inches (or centimeters! I wish that the US used metric, I love it) is motivating.

Keep it up!!! You can do it!!!

Wow, you are so on track with your counting. I'm very impressed. I haven't quite got the hang of how many calories are in what yet. Usually I just guess and then go to FitDay to find out what it's made of. I am confused about snacking. I have diabetes, so I was told to eat six small meals a day instead of three normal ones. The problem is that I feel like I'm eating all the time, even when i'm not particularly hungry. I have never asked my doctor to refer me to a dietician, but I'm seriously considering it. I have an appointment in May. Hopefully, they will give me more constructive information. My doc diagnosed me, told me to lose weight and handed me a prescription for a blood glucose measuring kit. That's it. I need more help, I think.

Great tips on how to structure your calories around the day. Thank you!!

My waist has gone down five inches in five weeks. I hope that means more than the scale bobbing up and down. grr.

-Miette

That is wonderful! I wish I could lose in my waist so easily! I think that the scale should eventually catch up to your measurements (although I'd take good measurements over low weight any day.) Is it possible that your body is still adjusting after the surgery you just had? Maybe that has something to do with the fluctuating?

I would definately see if you can get a referal to see a dietician. The diabetics I know (the ones controlling thier blood sugar well) have to plan much more than most people. Hopefully a dietician could help you set up a plan that works within your lifestyle.