I'm new here and would love to chat with some folks.

Blessings,
Jenn

Do you have a diet and exercise plan?I see we are the same height, I also am a native of Minnesota and have spent a lot of time in St. Paul. In a few days my cousin from St. Paul is meeting me in LasVegas for a few days and then a couple of days in LA to visit her sister.Hoping I can stay on plan!!

Oh, that's funny -- I'm originally from California (last place I lived before I moved was Morgan Hill, just south of San Jose), and now I live in MN. I see you did just the opposite. Small world! LOL

Diet plan... South Beach. I've tried everything and that seems to work the best for me.

Exercise? Um, well... Working on that. It's been very hard for me to do on a regular basis. Today we're going to an orchard, so should be lots of walking.

How about you? I hope you have fun on your trip. I'd love to go back to Vegas, but since a good friend just moved to Reno, that will most likely be where we go next.

Blessings,
Jenn

I used to live in Morgan Hill!Having moved from Gilroy. I spent many years in South County. I now live in Saratoga. I was born near Bemidji in Northern Minnesota and raised in Southern Minnesota (Rochester)I spent every winter and summer vacation in St.Paul.My cousin lives in North Oaks and I have other cousins all over the Twin Cities. I loved growing up in Minnesota but now prefer the California weather.I am counting calories and it is working well for me. Good luck on your weigh loss .

It's been so quiet in here lately, assume that everyone has been busy! I've only been on here more recently again, one crazy and busy summer for me.

Hi, I haven't posted on 3FC in years but I was looking around and saw that there is a paganchick forum (YAY!!) and thought I would join in. I am starting WW, on my own again. I at my heaviest ever and not very happy about that. In 02 I lost 40lbs with WW and have been prompted by my impending class reunion to try and do it again.

I would love to hear what plan everyone else has for losing weight and getting healthy!

Merry meet and Blessed be!

Well, I live in a dorm room and refuse to get a meal plan, so I shop every 3 days for produce and once a month for non-perishables (usually when my parents are in town with a car, lol). There's a free nutritionist on campus who I've seen twice so far, and I've lost a little over 8 lbs by following her advice and the super awesome book Dorm Room Diet. My only issue is making time to get to the gym with the auditions I have to go to, my vocal teacher I see on Mondays, and restarting our campus Pagan Student Association and keeping it running. So, starting Monday, I'll be walking to every single class (easily a mile or more, and UPHILL).

Anyways, the nutritionist says 4-8 servings of grains, at least half whole grains, 6-9 ounces of protein a day, at least 3 cups of veggies, no more than 2 cups of fruit, 2-3 servings of dairy, and 3-5 servings of fats (I take 3 flaxseed oil pills a day, so I don't use a ton of oil on anything). I've been here now for 4 weeks and lost 8 lbs, which rocks! If I keep this up, I'll get to my 10% goal before I get out for winter break!

Oh, and I give myself a free day like once every 2 weeks. I don't pig out on portion sizes, but I don't let myself worry too much about calories and just have moderate fun (this is also usually when I'm with my family, like last night. See vegetarian food log).

What do I miss right now? Double churned light chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Yes, I haven't had the stuff in almost 2 months, if you can believe it. Somewhere around here on campus serves fat free frozen yogurt; I should hit that!!!!!

Wow, sounds like you are doing well! I did the food plan in college and put on 40 lbs. the first year. Ugh! I should've shopped for myself. That's smart!

I'm still not motivated here. My "baby" will be 2 this week, and darned if I don't weigh more now than when I delivered her. Sigh.

Actually, its not that hard. All I have in here is whole grains, light dairy, canned protein, snack foods like baked chips and Quakes and soy crisps. I surrounded myself with good options, and I use bowls. Its so easy! Exercising, not so much. But I would recommend going through your pantry and fridge and throwing out anything that isn't healthy or has the potential to be so (i.e. nuts and nut butters, cheese in moderation, etc). Then hit the grocery store or a health food store (better!) and find replacements for it (i.e. instead of mayo on your sandwich, try hummus. The have it in flavors everywhere!).

Wow, I sound like all these weight-loss articles running around, lol. But tell me how it works out. You'll be amazed how healthy you'll be when you have nothing but healthy food around you. I never ate fruit, and now I have 2 bags of apples and oranges in my storage containers!

My problem isn't so much at home. I have two kids, almost 4, and 2, but the stuff I have on hand for them isn't anything I'm tempted by... I keep the healthy choices for them too. My oldest would rather have an apple than a cookie!

Work is another story. Ugh. Between the vending machine, the free micronuke popcorn, and the cafeteria, I have serious issues there. It's a daily struggle for me.

Plus, I have to remember to plan ahead and have breakfast/lunch/snacks ready to go in the morning, or I'll be sunk right there.

Empty out a drawer if you can. Dried fruit, Fiber 1 bars (taste like a candy bar with only 140 cal, 4 grams of fat, and 8 grams of fiber), bottled water, etc.

I did that at work - I have granola bars, microwave popcorn in 100 cal packs, applesauce etc. So much better then hitting the vending machine (although I can't lie sometimes a granola bar is NOT a substitute for a Twix bar and I get one anyway).

So nice to see this area of 3FC isn't completely dead. I was starting to worry!

So, I'm just curious, does anybody plan anything with their families or friends for the Equinox? I used to enjoy making a sort of harvest dinner w/ my family but nobody seems to appreciate it so I don't do it anymore.

I have been considering going to this pagan group meeting in town, but I'm honestly a little nervous. New people aren't exactly my thing & Eugene pagans aren't exactly the most erm.. balanced of all the pagans out there. Anybody go to any open group meetings? any thoughts?

Well, I'm restarting the Pagan Student Association here, so if I get enough interest, we'l probably do like a harvest picnic on the campus green or make corn dollies or something. Then again, the meeting is on THAT day, so I don't think I'll be able to pull something off that fast, lol.

I always baked bread on Mabon, and saved my harvest food for Thanksgiving, secular though it is. While my mom made all the processed stuff, I made whole grain rolls, a root veggie bake, etc. I tried to make the big harvest meal, but like you, it wasn't appreciated.

isn't it disappointing when you want to do something nice & nobody cares? i pretty much stopped doing anything pagan at all once i got married because my hubby doesn't really get it.

I'm at a point where i don't care anymore & am ready to start putting myself first.

I'm not sure what we're doing. The Pagan path is new to me in practice, although I've been one in my heart my whole life. My local CUUPS group meets every Sunday night, but it's a tough time for me to go because my kids (almost 4 and 2) have storytime and then bedtime during that time.