to everyone!

We just got back from a nice long trip to California. It was nice to visit with family. I'm glad to be back though, it is hard to find healthy food when you are on the road a lot!!!

I'm looking forward to just focusing on eating healthy this month. I ate way to much sugary stuff in December and not enough veggies.

Uh oh... I may be staffed on a project in California starting in February, so I was counting on the stereotype that Cali is full of healthy food to get me through all the business lunches/eating out/airport meals/etc. Not so?

It can be, but it's not necessarily so. You just have to be careful and if you know where you will be eating plan ahead. Our main problem was that we had to rely on what was off of the freeway most of the time. When we were in the towns we were staying we were fine.

Traveling is hard wherever you are...let us know what town you are headed for - I might be able to make suggestions if it's a place I'm familiar with. We are still the land of fruits and nuts. This refers to the people and the food.

Hey!

I'm havin' a tough time lately, and I'm having to set day-by-day goals! I made it through yesterday. Here it is "wild card weekend" in football, and I wonder whether I'll make it today. Having breakfast out this morning, which can be a challenge. I need a plan! Off to FitDay....

Jay

If I go, I'll be in San Francisco. Lots of hills to (attempt to) run! I should know in a week or two what I'm doing, but I believe it's a six month project.

Can I join?

I'm getting back into the swing of calorie counting. It's always the system that worked best for me. I'm trying to stay between 1200-1500 calories/day.

So far this week, I've eaten pretty well & I'm actually having trouble hitting 1200 (which I know, isn't good). But, I'm also getting way too much sodium! UGH!

Have a great rest of the weekend! I'm off to do more laundry.

Laura, you should be fine in SF. There are lots of wonderful restaurants with healthy fare. I love ethnic restaurants for staying OP. There are also many whole food, vegan, and raw food restaurants in SF. It is my favorite city for eating healthy while eating out. Depending on your living situation (kitchen facilities?), you will be able to find lots of local produce and organic foods as well. We just finished a 10 day vacation in the SF bay area and I actually lost weight while dining out regularly

I'll be in a hotel, so no cooking I plan to at least bring healthy snacks from home every week though. But YAY for healthy restaurants! And I know the manager is fairly health-conscious, so that definitely makes life easier, as it's the senior practitioners who usually choose where we go out to eat.

Hey everyone!

I lived in San Diego for years (loved it, hope to move back) and the healthy stereotype thing was true! But hey cali is still in the United States so.... you know how that goes.

Jenjen~

Looking at your starting weight I'm concerned about you eating 1200-1500 calories. The more you weigh, the more calories your body needs, so you can lose on more calories. I know you said it was hard for you to hit 1200, but you should be eating a lot more. Depending on your age and activity level you could possibly lose at around 2000 calories. 1200 should be reserved for when you are almost at goal, you really don't want to go too low too quick. When I started (at 212 lbs) I was eating 1700-1800 calories per day and I lost approx 2 lbs per week (not always but usually.) I did drop my cals later, but I never went under 1400. I know you didn't ask for this advice, but hey, why not eat more if you can? As far as sodium is concerned, eating less processed food and cooking more (if you like to) will help a lot! Drinking lots of water will help if the sodium makes you bloated.

Scenestealer~ You'll have an easier time in SF then any other place in California! They have a lot of great ethnic and vegetarian restaurants. It's great that your boss is health conscious too! I swear that is half the battle. I had to deal with people pushing junk food on me at my last job. They just didn't get it.

ekstatikia~ Sounds like you have some good goals! And you gotten practice with the hard part, Maintaining!

JayEll~ You can do it! You come so far already! I think the last bit of weight truly is the hardest part.

I'm one of probably hundreds to do the New Years resolution, and I'm frustrated that I'm back up to 160 pounds after being 135 about 2 years ago.

I'm good about counting calories, but exercise is always what keeps me from truly being at my healthiest. My days are always so sporadic... I'm one of those people who doesn't have a set schedule, outside of work hours. If I have a goal to exercise after work or in the mornings, I begin to feel trapped into doing it, and it becomes a complete drudgery, and a source of guilt when I start slacking.

I'm also bad at focusing on how good I'll feel after I exercise... instead I focus on how much I hate sweating and straining and how I'll have to take a shower afterwards and do my hair again, and how it'll be so much easier to just NOT go.

Blah, too much negative thinking... I can't figure out how to convince myself to exercise every day and keep it up for longer than a month.

shleenie~ I had the same problem. That's why I walk for exercise. I can do it when I have time. Plus, I like the added bonus of not paying for a gym membership.

Also, if you can fit 10 minute increments in here and there of exercises you can do at home (or on a lunch break) that counts too. You still get benefit from it even if it isn't a "full" session.

Zenor, thanks for the welcome. I'm going by my nutrition books for my calories. And, my BMR is low enough that 12-1500 cals is enough for me at this phase. When I have more muscle, I will be able to increase the cals because muscle raises the BMR. Also, I love to cook & haven't been eating many processed foods. I'm not concerned about bloating---I'm fat, I never notice. I'm concerned w/my blood pressure.