Hey all. I did good with my eating . . . . until dinner that is. I was hungry after riding, and was actually craving fast food, junk food - anything quick, hot, and plentiful. I saved my budget, but did come home and make a mess of homemade mac and cheese. Got to stop this.

I am slowly plowing through nutrition stuff to revamp my menu. Found a fairly simple tracking site.

Raven, I usually walk Justin for 15 minutes before running with May. It helps. I usually feel more energized at the end of the run than at the beginning. It feels so good to be able to do this again, pain free.

Derry, I tried wheat pasta once, and hated it. I think it is like anything else though. I just have to make myself eat it until the other kind tastes wrong. I did that with skim milk. At first, I thought WATER. Now anything higher in fat tastes like cream. I am working on switching to healthier salad dressings. I will work on the pasta next.

Have a good evening all.

Back on the treadmill! No time right now, just wanted to post that yes, I'm STILL doing week 4, but hey! At least no backsliding! Did 2 miles, 33 minutes. Getting there!

Way to go, Raven. I think I am on week 4 of my program too. And doing 2 miles. I think my time is slower though. If you ever read "Runner's World" I am definitely a penguin.

Today is crazy. Have to get all my nightime stuff done during the day, as I am covering a second shift at one of my homes tonight. Did get to sleep in, though, which felt great. Off to shop, and ride.

Have a great day.

Happy Friday everyone!

I couldn't get on yesterday (computer problems) so I had some catching up to do. Sounds like everyone is doing great! I did pretty good yesterday. Got my 30 minute walk in at lunch and then 45 minutes at the gym after work. I'm not having problems with the exercise part. I did well on my eating yesterday until my family through me a curve. Got home and DD wanted me to color her hair, DH called and said he would be very late and not to fix him dinner. He would grab something. So DD made cheese breadsticks. They smelled so good! I just had to eat a few. That through me off a little.

Today should be alot better. I will get my walk in at lunch then off to get a mammogram, what fun! OUCH! Not sure I will get the rest of my workout done. We are suppose to have very bad storms today and they are already starting. Don't want to be stuck at the gym if that happens. I'll have to do something at home.

Have a great day!

Jolly - *lol* A penguin! I'd bet I'm one, too. The visual on that is enough to keep me giggling all afternoon.

Roxy - I know the failing of the food. I can stay within calories pretty well, but the nutritional quality of the food fails. I need to work on that badly now. I haven't even checked to see if we're going to get any of the fallout from the tropical storms up here. I sure hope not, I would really love to spend some time with my horses this weekend! Good for you on the exercise!!

Hello Everyone!
Can I join in? Well first I will tell you all a bit about myself. I'm 18, almost 19, and Ive always been a bit overweight my entire life, but I never paid much attention, in grade 6 im guessing I was around 130-140 and have slowly gained every year since then. I am now 215lbs! I never started paying attention to my weight until grade 7, and up until about a year ago I never had a grip on it and never tried to do anything about it b/c I was undereducated and didn't know I had to eat properly and exercise to lose weight. Now that I have taken the time to get serious about wanting to lose weight and have done ALOT of reading, and I've been trying to lose weight for about a year now with no luck! lol

I am so disgusted with myself, I always make up a plan (what Im going to do about my eating, exercise Im going to do etc) but I never ever do it! Summer is here and I so desperatly wish I could wear shorts and tank tops and bikinis but I can't Im hoping I can finally fulfill that dream of being hot for summer by next summer! lol

Well I was looking in the mirror the other day and I was just so disgusted with how bad Ive let myself get and I really need to do something about it, Im so scared though b/c I do fine in the beginning and I can say what Im going to do but never do it and I really want to do it this time, not just b/c I want to look better but I also want to do it for my health now, Ive been having troubles with my knee for the first time b/c of my weight and my doc told me I need to get my blood pressure down, I dont want to become diabetic or die b/c of my poor health and weight, and I want to be able to straighten myself out before I have kids so that I can set a good example for them and they never have to go through this! Even tho I dont plan on having kids for like 5 years! lol

Anyway I've come up with *yet another* plan lol This time I intend to try my damn hardest to follow it though, Im sick of this weight. My goal weight is 135, hopefully by next June I will be there. Im also taking it slower, Im not looking at it as I need to lose 80lbs by 8lbs 10 times (got that from someone else on here! lol) when I look at it as 8lbs 10 times it doesnt seem so hard, average weight loss is 1-2lbs/wk so at that rate it should take me 10-20 months to lose 80lbs.

Im doing weight watchers at home, I cant afford meetings. Im trying to eat healthier (less junk/take out, sugar, salt etc.) more veggies & fruits (really have to work on this one) and Im trying to stick to the recommended servings for each food group, Im thinking 6-8 servings of grain (whole wheat of course), 5-7 of veggies and fruits, 2 of meat/alternatives and 2 of dairy (fat free or low fat!) As for exercise Im starting slow with that too. Im aiming for a minimum of 30 minutes 3x/wk of cardio (mostly walking) but I'd really like to do it 5-6x/wk 30-60 minutes. Strength training (full body) 2x/wk with hand weights and I'll always do cardio first to warm up for a minimum of 10 min and Im going to try and do "cardio bursts" in between each set for like 30-60 seconds to burn extra calories, and I will always stretch afterwards. I also want to do crunches every night before bed cuz I wanna have a nice "britney spears" stomach lol I dont want a six pack but I want the nice small flat tummy she has with the little bubble around her belly button, I think it looks sexy.

so yeah there is my plan, lets hope I can stick to it this time!! How is everyone else doing this month?

Hi Trixie, hope we can help you with your goals!
Uggh, I'm to old to even imagine looking like Brittney. Don't want to think about it. But I'll be doing sit ups along with you. Right now I try to do 3 sets of 15. Not much, but a start.
I have been on an eating binge lately. I hope I can knock it off. Derry, your idea to post what we eat is good, but I'd be embarressed lately....yesterday I went out for lunch to celebrate the last day of school and I had a milk shake, a tuna melt and fries. Good diet eh?
I have been walking, but I'm sure the calories burned are trivial to what I have been eating. It makes me feel better though. I really really miss being able to go out and run. A nice sweaty 4 miler makes the milk shake guilt go away. Darn knees. I'm going to do my leg lifts right NOW!!!
PS...Waddle on!!!

Hey all. Real late night for me. Iam on call for my main job, AND I worked a shift at one of the group homes tonight. I much prefer 3rd to 2nd, but what can you do? I do have a NSV to report. I was really craving ice cream and junk food. We, of course, have a 24 hour grocery store just down the street, but I did not go. I told myself I would only have myself to blame if I either didn't have enough money to show,, or couldn't fit into my show clothes. So, I may snarf down a couple sugar free fudgsicles, but its better than a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

Welcome Trixie. OF course you can join our journey.

Have a good one all.

Welcome Trixie from me as well!
I'm really into this new CORE (no counting) WW plan this week and it's giving me a new level of interest and excitement in my weight loss efforts, something I've needed to regain. I lost about 18 pounds and have regained 11 of them in the last few months. I was feeling very disgusted with myself. I would try to stay on track and resolve every single morning to do so and then lose my way. Exactly like Apple reported the tuna melt and French fries, that was me up until the middle of this week. All the good I had done seemed to be erased and for whatever reason, I have reached out and decided it's time to start fresh.
I'm "ditching" my current ww meeting and going to start going to another meeting, I think this will help me out. I was doing well at a Tuesday morning meeting and then my leader left and the new leader doesn't seem to inspire me. It seems like at about the same time she started, I lost control. I'm not blaming her personally, but I think it might have contributed to some of my issues. I have some family illnesses (dad with cancer, etc.) right now that are very hard for me, but that is no reason to pig out.
The WW CORE plan is giving me a much needed fresh outlook. I've grown tired of the journalling that was required on the other plan and this CORE list of foods has inspired me to make a new effort. Whatever works!
Essentially, the core plan has no processed foods, no sugar and is just basic "core" foods. Soups are ok if they are a clear broth soup and breads are not ok, unless you use some of your 35 flex points a week to have them. Last night we ate out and I was kind of proud of myself. I used 8 of my 35 flex points, but I still was in control. I have used 11 flex points so far this week and I hope to stay in control!
Yesterday's menu:
Breakfast:
3 egg white omlet with diced tomato and FF feta cheese, 1/2 grapefruit
Lunch:
vegetable soup, slice of ham, string beans
Snack:
Banana
Dinner: (ate out!)
Minestrone soup, grilled chicken salad with ff dressing, roll, olive oil. The salad had shredded parmesan and croutons, I had to count the 8 points for this meal, but it was a good and fairly healthy meal in comparison with the heavy pasta dishes I would have ordered or the personal pizzas the rest of my family had.
Dessert:
FF, SF, vanilla pudding with sm. amount of lite cool whip and sprinkle of nutmeg
(for whatever reason the nutmeg on top makes it seem special to me)
I never wrote down and figured out points on the entire day as I've done in the past with my WW plan, all I had to tally up in my head was the non-core foods! It was a "freeing" experience.
Linda

Hey Derry, how do you make an egg white omelet, and how many calories do you save? Omelets are about the only way I eat eggs. Love 'em!

I need to give myself a pat on the back. I did weights again today, and increased to two sets! Feels good to be doing it, and also feels good to be doing the running. A positive choice. I am hemming and hawing right now over how to spend some money. Do I want to get a bicycle? Put the money towards a personal trainer session so I can focus my workouts better? Or put it towards my horse show stuff? I just don't know.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Hey all. Just me again. Well, I have a bike. An early birthday present from my father. I can't wait to christen it.

I have an NSV to report. Sort of. It is really hot here, and I was not feeling like cooking the pork chop I had planned for tonight. So, I was deciding between ordering out for a pizza, getting a bunch of Chinese, etc. I was also fantasizing about ice cream, again. Instead, I made sure I did not go near any tempting food places, and made dinner at home. Not a good dinner (that is the "sort of" part), but still less calories than I would have spent on going out, and all the money saved.

I also had another good moment. I tried on my dressage breeches and boots. Both fit. Whoa! All I can say is thank goodness for weight training. I now regret the bad dinner I ate.


Have a good one all.

Hope everything is going well with everyone. Still can't stop eating but the exercise is going well. I've been walking and I've started to do leg lifts for my knees. Hope to start some jogging next week. I think I'll try that 10 weeks till 10K program. Have a great week-end!!

Hey, Apple. Let me know how the program goes. Which one are you using?

I did run today (hurray). I only did a mile and a half today. But, getting out at all on Sundays has been an issue lately. So, I figured doing some was better than doing none.. Plus, depending on the weather, I am either going swimming or christening my bike before I go out to the barn today, and hope to stretch out to my yoga tape this evening. The yoga tape is a relaxation one - all stretching and flexibility, no cardio.

I do feel like I had a setback last night. I am on call, and got a late page from someone calling in. She ended up finding coverage, but I was stressed and couldn't get right to sleep, so I sat up and finished some low fat pringles I had. I know low fat chips is better than what I could have gotten, but it is the principle of the thing - that I couldn't destress without food. What else could I have tried? Hmmmm. Points to ponder for next time.

Have a great day all.

Hey folks

Sounds like some major positives going on! That's a good thing.

Jolly - Congrats on the new bike! That's awesome! And even bigger congrats on the breeches and boots fitting!! :five: I know when I get serious about upping the protein without the calories, I'll scramble 3 egg whites with one yolk ( I just separate them out ) and viola. Very filling, and a huge protein increase.

Apple - Good for you on the exercise! Sometimes we just need to keep doing what we CAN do till the other stuff starts to fall into place.

Linda - I know how hard it is to focus on eating right and exercising and all that stuff when you have a lot of emotional and/or financial issues smacking you around. I admire you for keeping at it. I know eating junk doesn't help, but it's the first thing I turn to more often than not to avoid thinking about the hard things. I'm getting better, but .. obviously not good enough. One day at a time, huh?

Trixie - Welcome!! Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what you are trying to accomplish. The only thing I have to say is lose the self loathing. I know that kind of feeling only made it harder for me to do what I needed to do. Self respect and self worth are huge in the weight loss arena. The more you care about yourself, the more you try to take care of yourself. At least that has been my experience.

Ok .. well .. ow. My low, low back is spasming. I trimmed my three horses yesterday, and of course two of them are cake, right? But Shadow... the evil monster horsie from ****. Ok, not really. She has issues and I'm inexperienced. Hence, my back is boogered up six ways from Sunday today. Better than it was last night, though. The kinda funny thing is that at least with my back being in as much pain as it is, I only hear little echos of how sore the rest of me is. I know my arms are sore, my butt is sore, my thighs are sore... but that doesn't hold a candle to the back spasms. I'm stretching it as I can, and that helps. I'll be fine, and next time I do Shadow, I'll have learned a few more things. And hopefully she will have, too.

Weight is still on a plateau. I'm still stuck at 193. I'm not sweating it too much, because I've looked at my upper body in the mirror and the muscles are getting very defined. Water is good, food is ok (still need to upthe protein ratio), exercise is ... every day pretty much of one sort or another. I wonder what I could do today that wouldn't kill me off completely. I might try pilates, but I'm not sure my back can handle it. We shall see. Maybe just walking?

Jolly, congrats on your NSV!
Egg whites can make a great omlet. I cheat and buy the egg whites that are in individual containers, just like egg beaters. I can buy them in a small container that equals 3 egg whites and there are three containers to a pack. Use them the same as regular eggs. You can have 3/4 cup of egg whites for only one WW point. An egg is two points and 1/2 cup of egg substitute is one point, I think. You save many calories by just eating the whites. I am just loving the combination of the FF feta cheese, the egg whites and canned diced tomatoes, this morning I had that same thing again, but added about a tablespoon of salsa to the tomatoes for a bit of zing! Yummy!
You guys are doing so great on your exercise. I did get on my treadmill this morning for a walk and stayed on 40 minutes, but it was nothing really wild. I am pretty tired, the heat wave we have had with this muggy air has been just nasty.
I am about ready to make lunch in a few minutes. I am taking large portabella mushrooms (0 points!) and filling them with tomato paste, diced tomatoes and topping with FF mozarella! Will have polenta on the side, maybe?
Linda