This week I a going to focus on five steps to take before I start my food plan
1. Start drinking 8 glasses of water a day. 64 oz. Actually I will drink tea, black and green along with the water. I will start cutting down on diet colas. More for cost savings than any thing else.
I live in Florida, and it is getting hot. The water consumption should not be too hard.

How much water each day do you drink? Do you record your water intake? I am worried a bit about fluid retention and water bloat. Any thoughts?

Hey Coralee,
I usually only post on the Golden Girls, but I always read the other new posts at Age 50+. I don’t know why you’re not getting more responses, because I’m sure most everyone here has done the rebound thing. I know I have, over & over & over! Hopefully, I’m NOT going to do that again, but can we ever be really sure of that?!

I’m originally from FL, but have been living in NC for about 25 yrs. I occasionally get homesick (but not in the summer!), so I really like chatting with people who live there now. Are you originally from there?

On to your question about water consumption: when I started THIS weight loss journey, almost 2 years ago, I didn’t drink water much at all. However, I did drink lots of tea (sweetened with saccharin). Since finding the 3FatChicks forums last August, I started increasing my water intake, first to 64 oz. a day, but now I’m up to over 120 oz. most days, sometimes more. I don’t actually record how much I drink, but I measured how much the glass I drink out of holds - 24 oz., & I drink 2 glasses in the morning, at least 2 in the afternoon, & 1 or more at night. As far as water retention, I’m pretty sure I’ve read in these forums, that drinking lots of water actually keeps you from retaining water. And, I haven’t had any problems. I’ve also read that, sometimes, when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually thirsty, so I’ve learned to grab a glass of water first, before reaching for food. I really think drinking all this water helps, though I did lose over 60 lbs. before I started doing it. And, it’s now a habit, even though I never liked drinking water before.

So, what are your other 4 steps?
NCNancy

Hi Nancy
Thanks for the comment. No, I am not from Florida, I was born in the opposite corner of the US, Washington State. I am from Seattle, but have lived in Florida since 1981. So, I come by the 'y'all' comments honestly.

Congratulations on your successful weight loss. I hope others like you will join this thread and serve as mentors for me, and hopefully others.

Today I am going to do some more internet research on water gain and post in here. I will be mentioning the next four steps as I begin to practice them.
This time I don't want to rush the behavior change. I want to incorporate the wisdom and make the changes permanent.

I knew I could find some information! Here is the article from our very own web page: www.3fatchicks.com/how-to-lose-water-weight-stop-bloating/
This is from 2009, I will see if there is anything else published recently. I found some good information on the Mayo Clinic site. They mentioned some medicines especially drugs that open blood vessels (vasodilators), calcium channel blockers (calcium antagonists), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), estrogens, and certain diabetes medications called thiazolidinediones can have a side effect of causing water retention. I should have remembered that. Oh dear, I have diabetes type 2, I wonder if one of my pills is the jaw breaker one that starts with thiazo.... (how do pharmacists ever pronounce those medications??). Well something to consider. Anyone else wish to share if their medication is a factor in fluid retention?

Good morning everyone:
Today's feature is a simple recipe for home made diet lemonade. One oz lemon juice 2 - 3 packets of diet sweetener (to taste) and water. I figure the cost is under 15 cents. Makes me feel frugal when I compare this to the cost of bottled diet lemonade.

I am trying something new. As a retired person I don't keep to a schedule. I am now scheduling fluid breaks every one to two hours. I get so involved in the mundane activities, I have been forgetting to drink liquids. I hope this helps.

Anyone else have tips on keeping hydrated? I appreciated Nancy's comments.

Hey Coralee,
Your lemonade sounds good, but have you tried the Hawaiian Punch, & Wyler’s, Singles to Go drink mixes? They’re sugar-free, & I get them for a dollar, for a pack of 8, at Dollar General. There are a lot of different flavors, & I like them a lot. Until I got used to drinking just water, I drank them all the time.
NCNancy

Weekly weigh in day!
I didn't change anything except added the 64 fluid oz. I am happy to report a modest success. (see ticker)

Nancy ~ My partner, Beth, loves the diet singles that you mentioned. I find them to be too strongly flavored for me. Of course, now that I think of it, I could 'water' them down. I guess my old hippie ways balk at the artificial colors too. I visualize my insides being dyed.. and not in a tie-dyed way..

I will be going out of town for a few days, will continue the dialogue when I get back

Keep posting!
Coralee

Coralee, I honestly do not track my water intake. I like water and I think I tend to drink quite a lot MOST days but there are days I don't so much too. I used to make myself drink more but I was uncomfortable and had trouble making it to the bathroom and also I have read so many different opinions by the so-called experts on whether drinking a lot was really necessary for weight loss. And what's a LOT, PLENTY or ENOUGH? Most say at least 8 cups...well, I get that most days. My doctor says just make sure you drink when you feel thirsty. So that's what I do plus when I take my meds/supplements I try to drink a whole cup each time. I'm not the best at losing weight but I doubt very much it is because I don't drink enough water. With me, it is because I am not consistently limiting my calories. For those who tend to not drink much water, who get busy and ignore their thirst, who have signs of dehydration, they definitely should make sure they get more. Realize this is just my opinion but when I have pushed more water on myself I could not tell any difference in my diet success.

This is why I quit drinking Crystal Light...I read the label. I still drink a diet coke when I go to a restaurant sometimes...hard to break off completely, but at home I stick with water or herbal tea or milk (non-fat cows milk or soy).

I just saw an ad for Crystal Light Pure - supposed to have no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or preservatives, 15 cal. per 8 oz. serving. Probably expensive, though. And, I'm not sure what they consider "artificial". I read the ingredients, & I don't know what some of those things are.

I personally, have never paid much attention to ingredients, or nutritional values, always just focused on counting calories (& I've been remarkably healthy). However, since I'm getting older (55), I'm thinking I might need to start.

NCNancy

Hi Everyone - I'm a "rebounder" too and have been for most of my life. I couldn't seem to get it in my head that when you reach your goal, you [B]CANNOT go back to your former eating habits. Finally I think I'm learning! Duh! Anyway gotta' go...........have a great weekend!

The Pure might be better, Nancy. I don't know. We had some but I didn't read the label just know we didn't like it has much as the regular. Of course! So we have just stopped it all. I will buy it if dh ever insists but he hasn't yet...he doesn't read labels.

BTW, I didn't used to read them either...when I think of some ot the things I let my kids eat !! Well, they all survived and are all healthy as far as one can tell, and I did serve them healthy food too. Three out of four are mostly healthy eaters...two very much so, but one has terrible eating habits. If I were raising children now I'd certainly do things differently.

Hi everyone:
So nice to come back from a weekend trip and see some new faces.

Here is the 411 (information in computer geek) on Crystal lite pure.
This information is from the New Food Product site.
the product contains no artificial flavors or preservatives, has 15 cal per 8 oz serving (combination of stevia and cane sugar) currently it will come in three flavors. (Grape, Strawberry Kiwi and Lemon Lime.) sounds good so far.

The downside for me is the suggested retail price. ($3.29 for seven packets)
that's a little pricey for me/ Tea, and my home made diet lemonade are still more economical options.

tomorrow I will begin step 2 using a food log.
Thanks for reading
Coralee

Journaling (I wish spell check would recognize this word, it is important ).
When I am on the beam with my food plan, I record what I eat. This is usually the first thing that I stop doing when I begin to creep towards the edge of the wagon. .heading for my fall.

Why? First thing that comes up is it takes time. It's boring. Okay those are my blocks to success.

This week I am recording what I am eating without trying to modify my diet. I want to look at how I eat and what is eating me?

What do you folks think about food journals?