I lost my taste for diet drinks a while back too. I do drink coffee with sweetner and cream, I refuse to leave the cream go, but only 2/day and sometimes a decaf in the evening...

Coffee? I drink mine with a heaping spoonful of Benefiber!! Gotta laugh at that!

I go back and forth on the diet soda. Its the only place I allow artificial sweeteners. Right now I am kind of on. I do better with weight loss when I dont.

Coffee I do with light vanilla soymilk...just sweet and creamy enough and low in cals enough to have as much of it as I feel like (decaf). It's a decent source of calcium for me too.

work really seems to derail the best laid plans. what do you guys usually do for good snacking options through out the day?
i was having a cup of grapes as a snack for a while, but i ate them all and haven't had a chance to run to the store.

For snacks, I'll have organic baby carrots and hummus (100 cals), a couple of wasa crackers with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese (110 cals), or an apple. If I need something sweet, there are 110 cal chocolate Pria bars I get from Whole Foods. All very satisfying.

I drink my coffee with skim and I use sugar fee vanilla syrup from target. It tastes great!

For snacks, I like to eat broccoli and carrots w a 100 cal dip pack. I also LOVE and I mean LOVE almonds. If I need a sugar snack ill eat fruit or a sugar free pudding

I weighed myself today, although I only do it on sundays, and I lost another lb since. I feel like I must be doing something right....

Hey all,
First post to a chat thread.
Yesterday I put in 30 minutes on the elliptical for the second day this week (I did yoga on tuesday instead, though I might start doing both). I'm hoping to get some in this evening, too. Last week I did two days, so at the bare minimum I want to do three days, but I'm shooting for 4. My goal is to do five days a week religiously.

Do you think going from nil to 5 days a week so quickly is a bad idea? (this week is the second week of working out, so it'll be 3 weeks) Or is this really not that fast?

For snacks I've eaten carrots with dressing (indulgence, I know, too many calories - and I can't stand artificial sweeteners) and apples with all natural peanut butter. I think I might get some applesauce cups.

I have a mini-fridge in my office at work, but I have a big problem with leaving things in there too long. I've left apples in my fridge for multiple weeks until I discovered them and had to throw them away. What a waste!

I'd say to just watch for any warning signs--extreme fatigue, extra sore muscles, etc. If you see any of that, lay off for a day. I went from nothing to 3 days a week with little or no trouble and have recently gone from 3 days a week to 6 days and still no trouble. I think I'd probably have killed myself if I went from nil to 6 days, though!

So anyway, my 6 days a week is paying off!! According to the readout on my treadmill, I'm burning about 400 calories each morning (45 minutes and a pretty fast pace of 4.2 mph on hill climbs or 4.0-4.5 cross train circuit) and I'm keeping my calories at about 1200 (with a goal of 1200-1400). So far this month? 3 pounds lost. I sure have a long way to go, though.

I've been thinking about getting a couple of small handweights to use while I'm on the elliptical just to get back a little upper boady strength to go hand in hand with my cardio. Tired of getting tired so easily...

Me, too! Although I want wrist weights because sometimes the incline on the treadmill is so steep that I have to hold on! But when it's more level, I'd love to be able to do some bicep and triceps work.

Allison - Way to go on the big loss!!

Lekhika - Welcome back! How was India??

Hiker - You are doing great losing even with getting laid off. I'm so sorry to hear that and hope you will be ok financially. I teach high school English, and frankly, there are times when I feel that one of the best perks of teaching is the job security. I could not imagine feeling like I could lose my job at any time.

Welcome, Domino! Sounds like you are doing really well. Keep it up!

Hi to everyone else

I don't think any of you should worry too much about your diet soda habit. I don't drink much soda, but my diabetic husband grew up on Fresca and still loves it. I buy him 2-3 two liters a week, and I do have the occasional glass in the evening. It's the least of my worries, though I have had yet another incredibly busy week. I am just not designed to be incredibly busy. I do too much, work too hard, try to juggle too much. Then, of course, it's inevitable that I get exhausted, which only leads to poor food/exercise choices. A vicious cycle, for sure. Despite that, I am trying really hard to be disciplined. As I wrote earlier, I had gotten into a big rut last fall where I threw all caution to the wind. I was eating too much and barely exercising, and I now have a significant gain to deal with. I have no choice but to get a grip on the choices I've been making.

So, it's been a good week, and I do feel like I am back on track - at least for the most part. My two downfalls have been one day of overeating and not exercising enough (the whole week). The overeating was Tuesday when I judged a forensics tournament that went until about 8pm. The sponsor always supplies food for the judges, and I didn't do a very good job of avoiding any of it! Of course, none of it is very healthy. I didn't even bother counting calories that day. Otherwise, my food has been good - around 1400 calories a day of whole foods.

I'll be posting tomorrow after my Biggest Loser weigh in. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Off to make dinner...

It sounds like everyone is doing pretty well this week. Aside from some bloat from pre-TOM and some work stress, I already feel better physically than I have in a long time.
I did a half hour on the treadmill today, first time since sunday (though i did a dancing tape on monday, and work probably counted as cardio). I'm starting to throw in some jogging intervals, jogging as long as i can, then walking slower until I catch my breath, and starting again. I hope this will increase my stamina some. How long did it take everyone to notice they could breath easier?
I made an awesome dinner. I thawed some shrimp, cooked them in about a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil and garlic, threw in some broccoli, asparagus, and snow peas, and topped it with about a tablespoon of honey. DELICOUS. it made about 2.5 servings, so I also have lunch tomorrow. I recomend it to any one at a loss for dinner. It's super low in calories.

Hello, I've been away for a few weeks, eating. Taking this tiny step of posting today, in the hope of getting back on track.

Joan, welcome back and good luck!

I'm sorta in the same boat. Can't get back on track yet due to DH's severe headcold (he's sleeping in the "gym" due to huge snoring) but am working on pulling things together again. The dog sit has ended and I'm hopping for an end to the severe cold weather this weekend so I can stop feeling ravenous/exhausted after work.

Dagmar