Hi Everyone. I'm breathless trying to keep up with all your posts!
Daniel, I remember Boot Camp Buddies. I used to read your posts all the time. You and your group helped me get to goal the first time. Unfortunately, I got tired of counting points and thinking about food all the time and gained some of it back. I liked your no excuses approach.
Nita, sorry you have to go through those tests. I know how stressful they can be. Just know that staying on Core and getting your exercise can only help your body cope with whatever happens.
Jamie, welcome to the group.
L J I love those grapes too.
I lost 2 lbs. last week. That makes 10 lbs. on Core and 20 lbs. total!
Time for bed. Talk to yall later.

Hi Daniel, and welcome!

Nita, I can tell you're a fighter. Good to see you back on board. Good luck in your tournament.

Vicki, oops I never thought of putting in the time and temp. I bake my stuffing in the bird (yes I know, they say not to but somehow my grandmother, mother, and assorted aunts and cousins have survived it). I guess you would bake at 350 for an hour, maybe two. You might want to put a bit of broth on it if you are going to do it separate from the bird. When I do stuffing out of the bird sometimes I find it dries out, but the potatoes keep this dressing moist.

Congrats on your loss Janette

I am still hanging in around 180, which is ok because I have not been doing well every day. I will be happy to stay at 180 til I come back from my business trip October 24. Then I am going to go full guns and work on the next 5 pounds. I'm not a quitter, I just realize the next couple of weeks will be very challenging and huge disruptions in routine. For me, not gaining in that kind of situation is a victory in itself!

Cheers to everyone!

JANETTE Weigh (WAY) to Go!!!! I too am doing well on Core, never thought I'd say that....but I am. Just got in from work and I have my RED GRAPES on the ride home.....geez they are so juicy!! Gotta go in and unwind for now.....Ciao for now
Talk to you all later..............Linda

Robin, think of it as practice for maintenance! Plus, when you do get back to Core it will be like starting over again so maybe you will get a big loss

I popped over to another web site and read some posts and several people on there were talking about how they got rid of their cravings and "hungry all the time feeling" since they started Core. Even those that were afraid they would overeat were saying they are eating less than they ever thought possible and still feel satisfied. I feel the same way. I just am not hungry after I eat dinner and don't think about wanting a snack before bedtime. There is something about the foods we eat on Core that does the trick. Or maybe it is the foods that we are NOT eating that does it. I for one am so glad I finally found something I think I can live with over an extended period of time.

Temps are predicted in the 40s tonight and 70s tomorrow. Fall is finally here! I took a nice long/brisk walk this evening. That's twice today I have exercised--hope it helps.

If you haven't gotten all your veggies, milk or fruit in for the day, and you're not hungry, do you eat them or forget about them? On Flex, I would eat them. On Core, I'm not sure how that fits in with the "eat until satisfied" scale.

The whole veggies, milk, fruit thing has always been a SUGGESTION, right? A "Guide for Healthy Living"? As such, I don't take them as seriously as staying within Points on Flex, or not eating a non-Core Food on Core. So personally, I'd forget it. Tomorrow, have milk and fruit with Breakfast! And a BIG salad for lunch!

Two things from today: a mashed-up banana is GREAT in oatmeal! BTW, isn't it fantastic that a BANANA is a Core food? I LOVE bananas, but at 2 Points each, I never ate them on the Flex plan.

The other thing is, one of my coworkers came into my cubicle and ate take-out PIZZA in front of me, and offered me some-- and I said "No, thanks!" Hooray!!

Doesn't it feel great when you can say no to bad food and not feel like you have been deprived! The week I started core we had Krispy Kremes in the office (about 4 dozen) and I just ate my yogurt and apple and watched my co-workers eat way too many. They all felt sick by the end of the day but I felt great.

Kathy

Good job Daniel. Isn't it wonderful to be in control, in contrast to food controlling you? I agree about the bananas, I avoided them on Points too, as well as milk. Now I can't get enough of milk!

Shelia, what did you eat that you didn't get in veggies, fruit or milk? Since that is the main focus of Core foods, I'm just curious what you did "fill" up on that was Core. Did you use WPAs?

For me, I get my milk, veggies and fruit FIRST before I think about anything else to eat. For instance, I have a glass of milk at every meal (unless I am eating cottage cheese for lunch). I have fruit and sometimes veggies for my morning snack. Lunch usually consists of either a large salad or tomato soup (with actual tomatoes in it) or fruit and cottage cheese. I load up on veggies with my small portion of meat for dinner - sometimes dinner consists entirely of veggies if we are having beans and cabbage. On the rare occasions that I am hungry before bedtime, I drink a small glass of milk. However, I don't actually "count" the servings, I just know that I am eating a lot of them. So maybe you are getting more than you think.

As Daniel said, don't worry about one day, just make sure you start with them the next day. I would be concerned, however, if you find that you don't get them in on a regular basis. This is about getting healthy as well as losing weight and IMHO there is no better way to do that then with veggies/fruits/milk on Core.

Hope this post didn't sound "preachy" cause I don't mean it to be. I just get very passionate about whatever I am doing.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Hello everyone -
Its great to read though the posts and see how much interaction and support there is here. It's been a while since I checked in and wanted to offer congratulations to all losers lately - seems like you have all found success with Core and are doing great! Janette - I am so happy that things are working themselves out for your family.

I also wanted to comment on what Daniel said about the Guidelines being a "suggestion". I used to look at it that way (and still don't stress over them too much) but I do find that if I look at them as a requirement - I do much better. I really do believe in the "new reports" that indicate getting enough dairy helps in weight loss. I'm not convinced that the dairy industry isn't behind them but willing to go with whatever works for me. I also firmly believe in the 2 teaspoons of oil for overall health and well being. Admittedly - that's not a hard one for me to follow but I do make sure to get in. Fruits and veggies aren't quite as easy for me and I have to work at that a little harder now that V-8 is out of my CORE repertoire. I do love the prewashed packages of green beans at Trader Joes. They are a great snack for work or TV watching. Heat them up in the micro and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Another great idea for them is to stir fry with hot chille sauce or reconstituted dry peppers for sort of a thai/african type dish. Delicious. I have also found that I can eat a boatload of Edamame. Again I just cook them up, sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy them thoroughly. The ones in the shell are best for me - guess I'm easily entertained by the process. Shelled Edamame is also very good as a replacement for peas in salads.

I have gone back to Flex for a week and think this is a good thing. I was getting a bit low on ideas for lunch and have a big weekend coming up so I thought I'd mix it up a bit. Along the same lines - do you think that it is the Core program itself or the shake up in what and how you eat that jump started your weight loss? It's probably a combination but if you think that the shake up had anything to do with it - it makes sense to switch back and forth between the two programs once in a while. For me its a good idea to do this just for a points reality check. It amazes me how I let serving sizes creep up if I don't take time to measure and verify. Seriously - I could be eating double my WPA's within a month of not measuring.

Anyways - better stop the rambling and get to work. It is a beautiful day here in the Northwest and if I get after it - I may just get time to enjoy the sunshine this afternoon.

Susie, I find that I eat differently on Flex than Core. I'm liking Core because it is helping me to eat healthier. I think it's great that we have the option to switch back and forth, especially for those of you who travel and can't control what is available to you. I have certainly been in that position. It's even hard to be on Flex in those situations.

I've decided to stick to Core no matter what. I'm afraid if I have a regular taste of bread and sugar again, it will be too hard to go back! On Flex, I choose poorly and am always hungry so my portions started to grow. We all know how that story ends. I'm not hungry on Core. The weight loss is slow for me but there are other factors.

At first I was very unhappy about my forced early retirement at 48. Now, however, I'm seeing it for the plus that it is. For the first time in my life, I have the time to focus on myself and my health; and I'm taking it!

Hello everyone!!! Don't have a lot of time today, but wanted to check in. Weighed in yesterday due to a conflict today and I am happy to report that I am down 2.2 lbs! That brings me down a total of 6.4 since my start date. Very pleased and so happy to be out of the 200s, now it's time to focus out of the 190s!!!!

I hope all is well with everyone and I will try to read and post more later.

Good job txlachic!

Well, I'm back from my weekly date with the scale and I'm down 2.4 for a total of 8.4 for five weeks. As long as my average stays at or above 1 pounds per week, I'll be a happy woman!

Can't wait to update my "chick" to 10 pounds lost. Hope it happens next Thursday.

Torrey, what great success you are having. Congratulations!

Janette, you are so close to your goal. You must be getting excited! Having been on both plans, do you think you'll continue on Core until you reach your goal? What do you eat in a typical day? Do you eat starch at each meal? Just curious. I like to see if I can model after those who are really successful. Sometimes I think I'm consuming too much starch even though I'm staying with the program. It is really outstanding to lose 2 pounds in one week when you are so close to your goal weight.

Janette and Vickie, thank you so much for your words!!!! Congratulations to both of you on your CORE success. Janetter, like Vickie, I would be curious to know how you "positioning" your food. I'm trying to be more conscious on the time I have my starches, which is a throwback to when I was more supervised in my workouts and eating. I typically only had starch during the day and my last snack of the day consisted of my last starch. The rule was that you cut off starches 8 hours prior to your bedtime, the thought is that you give your body a full 8 hours to burn off those resulting sugars, etc. This has been etched in my mind for years and I tend to try to stick to that during the week, although I have not been as much later.

For better or for worse, everyone says something different and it just depends on what works best for you. I have a friend who has completely transformed her body in the last year and she can not do w/o her starches at dinner and she's had great success. It all depends on you. I would be curious to know what other tips others could offer.

Y'all have a great weekend!