Kellie - yes, Carson's fever is down; she's not been too bad today - A little crankier than normal, but nothing serious. Thanks for asking! And you're welcome for the invitation to join us here! I really do hope it helps us all!

Tricia - yes, the CarbTracker pizza was pretty satisfying. It really did help me to not overeat, too! Yay!

Pam - have a great weekend! Don't overdo it, just b/c you know you're starting on Monday! Get your healthy stuff into the house!

Oh, ya'll are gonna be so proud of me! I've been tracking everything in FitWatch, and had 2079 calories today (if I finish this small bag of sunflower seeds, which I fully intend to do). A little high, but not unreasonable. My MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT was that we had spaghetti for dinner, but I had spaghetti squash with mine instead of pasta! yay! saved me TONS of calories, I'm sure! and it wasn't bad! (this was my first time trying it!) OK, just had to come check in! Gnight ladies!

That is great Shawn! And I think whether or not 2079 is a little high is relative. I know, for me, my pre-weight loss totals had to have been ASTRONOMICAL. I mean if I could lose 2 lbs a week on 1800 calories a day, and 3500 calories make a pound - well, let's just say I don't even want to THINK about how many calories I must have been eating to work my way up to 214! And I rarely did a thing to burn a single one of them!

I am proud of myself too. We ordered pizza last night. We don't order out often but when we do I usually have a lean cuisine or something. Not because I think a couple of pieces of pizza are too bad but because I know I won't stop at a couple of pieces. You know, it is the third, fourth, and sometimes fifth piece that will do ya in! Anyway, I decided to go to the gym just after we ordered. It turned out to be a pretty good trick - I was hungry but exercise will usually curb my appetite for maybe half an hour or so thanks to the water I drink during my work out. So, once I got home, I didn't have that famished feeling and the pizza was still warm but wasn't in the ooey, gooey, just delivered state so I didn't feel the need to dive in and enjoy piece after piece while it was still hot. I took a que from Shawn and made a small salad and looked online for the nutritional information before I fixed my plate. I was able to have 4 pieces of the vegetable one and one piece of the pepperoni/sausage (these were dominos thin crust and are cut into small squares) and still ended my day with just over 1500 calories. It was a real feat for me because it has been so long since I had eaten ordered pizza. I wasn't 100% confident that I'd be able to control myself. But, I did, so YAY for me.

Shawn, I meant to ask you if you eat the sunflower seeds that are already shelled? I know you said they were one of your regular munchies. There was a girl that I used to work with who loved them and ate them all of the time. She switched to the kind that she had to shell and eat. She said it slowed her down and she didn't eat as many at a time. Plus she said she was less likely to snack on the mindlessly since she had to put a little more effort into eating them.

Something I've been doing for about two weeks is using Benefiber a few times a day. I stir it into my morning coffe and juice and then maybe once more at some point during the day. I started using it because I knew I wasn't getting nearly enough fiber in my diet. It may just be mind over matter but I swear I feel fuller, longer since I've been using it. Plus, I feel a lot lighter in the gut - if that makes sense. I never felt bloated before but I must have been because I can really tell a difference. I've noticed it isn't nearly as hard to suck my stomach in - which I have to do often! Anyway, it isn't gritty at all and it doesn't make the drinks I put it in thick or anything. It might be worth a try if anyone is having a problem with not feeling full with fewer calories.

I hope you all have great day. Let's all keep up the good work!

Tricia

Good morning Tricia - great job on the pizza & working out! You're right, my cal intake was REALLYNOTBAD compared to what I HAVE been doing pre-dieting. If you look at it in that context, it was GREAT!

Yes, I eat the sunflower seeds WITH shell -- I like them so much b/c it's a way to keep my mouth busy without eating a whole lot - it does take alot of time, but that's why I like them. Slows me down! haha But my tongue has salt-burn on it right now from eating them so often! hehe I like getting the lower sodium ones, but they don't come in indiv packages, so that just won't work for me.

You guys have a great day!

Another good day here - ending the day with 2091 calories, even with a martini and soft tacos for dinner! yay!

Shawn

You are doing great! Are you a mexican food junkie? That is one of my downfalls. I love the stuff - anything spicy or cheesy. And Italian food. I could never do one of the low carb plans because I couldn't survive without pasta.

I did okay yesterday too. I ended with just over 1600 calories. But, I had the munchies all yesterday afternoon. I don't know what brought them on because I wasn't really hungry. I just had the urge to shovel snacks in my mouth. Luckily, I hadn't been to the grocery store in a week so I couldn't do too much damage. I did make it to the gym so I think I managed to burn the extra calories anyway.

We've got beautiful weather so we are going to spend the day outside and enjoy it. Tomorrow is my official weigh in day for the week so I'm going to do my darndest to stay out of the kitchen! I hope everyone has a great day!

Well, I majorly UNDERATE today...... I only had 1082 calories...... I had lite cinnamon rolls for breakfast (3), and didn't have time to put them in fitwatch, so I figured the calories were sky-high. So the rest of the day, I didn't eat much. Skipped lunch (had fruit), and had a lite dinner. Then I put things in fitwatch tonight at 9pm, and realized what I'd done, but didn't want to eat that late at night.........

Plus, I got out & walked today from my house to my mom's house, and then with my sister & nephew to the park and back ...... so it was about 40 mins of walking altogether.

How are you girls doing? We haven't heard from several of you over the weekend! Hope to hear from you soon!

Shawn, I did almost the exact same thing today! Our weather was beautiful. The kids and I spent almost all day outside so I barely nibbled at all. Plus, DH let me sleep in this morning and that on top of the time change messed up my hunger schedule. I was right at 1000 calories too. I didn't notice until I went to the grocery store after we put the kids to bed. All of a sudden I realized that I was really, really hungry. I assumed it was just because I was surrounded by food. But, what do you know, I got home and went to fitday to put in my walk and noticed I was under 1000 calories. I ate 1/2 a cup of raisin bran with a 1/4 cup of milk because I didn't want to go to bed starving.

But, hey, I'll take it - much better than realizing I OVERATE!

Are any of you from the Ohio area? My in-laws live there and woke up to 8 inches of snow this morning. They emailed us pictures this morning and I almost felt guilty frolicing aroung in 75 degree weather!

Hi Ladies! It was a beautiful weekend. I never turned on the computer. We played outside both days and tried to get some things done around the house. They came and poured our concrete, so that was great. Maybe we can use our garage sometime soon!

I did pretty well over the weekend. About 1500 calories each day. That included steak on Saturday and an ice cream bar. Last night I had a little ice cream too. I love that I can figure out my recipes for calories and things. I am counting everything these days. Even the couple mini marshmallows I had when the girls had snack the other day!

Sounds like everyone else is doing well. Shawn ~ Did you mention that we were going to try to weigh on Wednesdays? I guess that was when I started, so maybe that is when I should do it every week.

Tricia ~ What part of Ohio? I have a friend that is originally from there. I did not realize they got snow. It was beautiful...in the 70s here over the weekend. Not typical for April in IL. Oh well, we will take it when we can get it!

Well, I think I am going to head off to town. I need to get things to paint this afternoon.

Kellie Sue

Kellie, my in-laws live in Cortland. I don't know where that is in relation to the bigger cities, though. We go through Cinncinati and Columbus when we drive there but I can't remember how far out they were after that.

You are doing great! I also like keeping up with every bite. If nothing else, I am always surprised by just how much I can eat for only 1500-1800 calories when I put a little thought and effort into it. Even treats, like you mentioned.

I think where I failed in the past was having an all or nothing attitude. If it wasn't "diet" food I wouldn't eat it and that would cause me to give up pretty quickly. And, if I didn't exercise vigorously every day I ended up feeling like it was all a lost cause. Of couse, if I did work that hard every day I burned out after only a week or so. Thank goodness, I've finally gotten the knack of something that works for me. The only regret I have is that I didn't figure all of this out sooner - it would have been great to be closer to my goal weight by the time summer rolled around. Oh, well, there is always next year.

I am wondering, how do you other mommies feel about your tummies after carrying twins? I have lost a good number of inches there but it is still sooooo stretchy and jello-like. I know being fat never helped, but I am afraid after carrying twins I either have to learn to live with it or resign to the idea of having surgery one day. I'm not really sure it bothers me THAT much. Although, I might feel differently once I'm am happier with my overall appearence. Mine were delivered via C-section (my other deliveries weren't) so I know I'm probably always going to have a little pooch from that. I don't know, I guess I don't know how bad it will all seem to me once I am at a comfortable weight. I mean, after being obese, even that stretchy skin will seem like an improvement. Has anyone else thought ahead to how you will feel about your tummy once you've lost the weight?

I hope everyone has another successful day!

Tricia

Hey girls,
You guys are off to a great start.
I have been on vacation and have not done well at all, plus I hurt my back so all this great weather is doing me no good. I can't get out and walk

I promise to still weigh in on Wed. IS that what we are planning to do?
I still have to develope a plan for weight loss. I have figured out what to do yet. I'm just trying to make better choices and excercise more.

Yes, ladies, I think Weds will be our official weigh in days...... I have to tell ya, I'm excited about this! I've done so good this week, and I'm hoping to see it on the scale... but I tell ya, when/if I don't see it on the scale, I get SO FRUSTRATED and give up so easy! So if Weds don't look good for me, I'll REALLY need encouragement from ya'll.

Jane, if you can find some time, take a few mins to check out Fitwatch - I really think that's a big part of what's keeping me on track.... because I can always see where I'm at calorie-wise, (and even by % of carbs, fat, protein, etc) and make adjustments for the rest of the day. I'm so glad you ladies told me about that! It's awesome!

About the "twin skin" -- I'm hoping it looks a bit better when I get the fat from underneath it...... (wishful thinking?) Plus, I need my stretchmarks to fade some. My stomache looks crazy right now! Like a road map!!

Have a great night!

For those of us with a sweet tooth, I just tried an awesome product. They are Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches. They are pretty big, 130 calories and 2 grams of fat. They come 6 to a pack, half with chocolate ice cream, the other half vanilla. I can't beleive how good these things are. I had the chocolate and, I swear, it tasted like I was cheating!

I made it to the gym and did 50 minutes of cardio (bike and elliptical) plus about 35 minutes on the weights. I am worn out, but in a good way.
I've ended the day at about 1300 calories - half a bagel with light cream cheese, veggie sausage, 1/2 cup of OJ for breakfast, veggie burritos made with black beans, corn, onion, and guacamole for lunch, and dinner was steak, pasta salad, and a green salad. I had Munchies Ultimate cheddar snack mix between lunch and dinner, and the skinny cow ice cream sandwich just now.
Anytime I can come in under 1500 calories and feel like I've eaten plenty plus not sacrificed anything good I claim a good day. So, I declare today a good day!

There is another group that I post with and we have weekly (or bi-weekly) "challenges". I think they help keep me accountable to the group - whether I actually lose any weight or not. If anyone is interested, maybe we could start one here with Wednesday's weigh in? Maybe something like 2 lbs in 2 weeks? It might be fun to see how much we can lose together. Anybody up for one?

Tricia

Good job working out today! My little one is worse (sick) and I had to take her to the doc today - she has a viral infection - poor baby! She got such a runny nose & a nasty cough! :frown: So I didn't even consider working out today - I spent alot of time babying her. But I DID eat well. 2047 calories (that sounds like so much, compared to you Tricia! but I guess that's okay? it will be less when I lose some?)

re: the skinny cows, what's it sweetened with? real sugar? I've had them before, but I don't remember. I don't use artificial sweeteners, so if they have real sugar, I am going to get some - I just hope I can stay away from eating the whole container at once!!! (j/k - I'm doing good! I'm not gonna blow it!)

re: the challenge, I don't typically participate in those, but sure - what the hay! Let's do it! I'm game! But this will be my first, so I'm not leading it! haha

Shawn ~ Sorry to hear that Carson is not feeling better. Did the dr. give her anything or do you have to ride it out? Sounds like you are doing well with eating though! Congrats!

My day has gone well. I thought I was going off track. I have had the munchies....but it has not been too bad. Even with the munchies, mostly fruit and a couple vanilla wafers, and 2 chicken soft tacos for lunch, I still came in at only 1120 calories. That does not seem possible. But of course when I put things in and see it, then I think....Well, I must be hungry if that is all I ate today! Stupid mind playing tricks! I guess I never realized how much that one little handful or one extra piece of something adds up over the course of the day.

I think Wed. will be a great day to weigh. I hope to see some progress. I know much of it will be water weight. And Shawn, I hear you about getting discouraged and giving up easily. That is my biggest downfall. If I did not see any progress, I would always think well it is not working so why bother. I will be your cheerleader to keep you going!!

Kellie