Hey ya'll! I'm brand new to these boards, but I've always been a lurker (in disguise, of course. ;P..)! Well, today I've decided I need to make a change in my lifestyle. Not to fit into those cute Abercrombi and Fitch jeans I've been eyeing, but just so I wont die of a heartattack or any other disease. The problem is..I don't know where to start. Here's an example of what I did today; (critique is VEERRRYY welcome, and I will give you a hug of apprication if you point out anything I did wrong. =))

Morning;
-A few moments after I woke up, I did Sweatin' to the Oldies via Richard Simmons. After that, I usually will always have a peice of fruit (I'm not huge on Breakfast. u.u;..), which ranges from an Orange to an Apple or a pear. These are usually either sliced and fresh, or canned and in their juices (I don't drink the juices-- yuck!). Today, I had four slices of canned pear.

Afternoon;

Then I cleaned. This included doing the dishes, fixing up my bed, and fixing up the couch. Then, I sat down and had a cup of Sugar-Free Kool aid (it says it's only five calories per cup. All you do is add water! And, it tastes exactly like normal Kool aid except healthier. The reason I gained so much weight was because I guzzled down fruit juices like water, but now I usually either have Sugar-Free Kool Aid every meal, or water.) along with four small peices of Italian Bread and tuna (drained, chunky, and usually soaked in water.). I put a teaspoon of Maynoaise in for taste.

Dinner;
I'm in love with dancing, so I plan on dancing for about 30 minuets BEFORE dinner (I heard it burns more calories if you eat after exercising), then I will have a porkchop (plain) and salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and shreaded carrots). I will have water with this meal.


^^; I hope that sounds okay. I really want to get in shape for my Graduation, and get Healthy again! So, all comments are welcome.

Hiya! Let me be the first to welcome you! I've been a member for a long time, but I only recently started posting (like 5 days ago LOL).
Your plan sounds WONDERFUL! Well, the breakfast part seems a bit small, though. This morning I had a nectarine for breakfast, and at noon, I fell down a flight of stairs because I was too dizzy. I read somewhere that if you have a big breakfast that's got lots of fibre, you'll eat fewer calories for the day. It's quite an investment, I think.
Anyway, good luck and never give up!!!

Thank you! ^__^ I'm glad I'm not doing a ton of things wrong in my quest to get fit. That's a major plus! In the morning I'm to lazy to actually cook anything, that's why I opt for something that I can just pour from a can. But if it'll benefit me more from eating fiber in the morning, then give me some Special K! ;P Lol. Thank you for your words of encouragment, and I wish you the best of luck on your quest for weight loss too! ^__^

P.S. I absoluetly love your icon-thingamajiggy. <3 It's sooo cute!!

It sounds like you've got a good plan for what kind of foods you should be eating. When in doubt, cut out foods that have complicated ingredients lists. Vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and starches are the easiest to count. You're exactly right that liquid calories are a weight-loss killer--people who drink a lot of juice or soda can wind up drinking 1000 calories per day, or more. Great job on finding one of the major culprits and working on eliminating it.

I agree that you could add more breakfast, though--in fact, add more calories overall. You should be eating more.

If you don't eat enough, your body can't do what it has to do. In fact, it can't even burn off calories efficiently when it's undernourished. You can afford to eat about 2000 calories a day and still lose 2-3 pounds a week.

To add more healthy calories, try the new Kellogs All-Bran bars, which are sweet and delicious but pack 5 grams of fiber each. A cup of Special K is a good choice, too (I'm partial to the Red Berries variety ). Have snacks, too, like string cheese and yogurt, and keep eating fruit. And at night you can treat yourself to light ice cream or a fudgsicle.

You're on the right track. Keep us posed on your progress, and remember, you body needs calories even to burn calories. Good luck!

Here is my Fitday log for today;

Totals 2584 (calories) (fat)117 (carb) 239 (protien)150

Total Calories Burned 747


So that means I only ate 1837 calories today.

Woah, that was a major wakeup call. I have fat free jello, do you think that would be okay to eat as a snack now and then so I can bring up my calorie intake? I don't want to have to little calories to work with.

Yes, I had 2584 calories because as I went to prepare the porkchop, to my suprise, my oven was broken! Ughhh. So, instead I had to go to wegmans and have them prepare me one of their famous subs. Which was actually good, because it made up for the calories I lost via breakfast..

Hey! You sound very positive and committed! Good for you!

Yep, gotta get some more calories in there, but it's also important to eat healthy foods and variety.

An egg on the side, say, soft boiled, would be good with the pears for breakfast. Or add some lowfat cottage cheese or lowfat cream cheese. Yogurt is good, too.

For me, it's better to eat some protein with every meal or snack. If I just eat carbohydrates my energy goes up and down. My plan calls for five meals a day (3 main ones and 2 "snack" meals), basically a meal every 2-4 hours. SUGAR-free jello is also OK on the plan I follow. Try to avoid foods with lots of refined sugar.

Lowfat string cheese is something I like for snacks along with 23 almonds (which believe it or not equals one ounce). I also drink lots of water, 8-10 glasses per day goal. Also Health Valley makes a granola bar that has protein, reasonable carbohydrates, and low fats.

Good luck!

Jay
SW: 196 5/24/04
CW: 178 8/4/04
GW: 145

Congratulations, UnrequitedxLove, it looks like you are on the right track with this whole healthy living thing. I'm pretty close to your size now and also just starting to work on my diet, well, actually I’m trying not to call it a diet, more like a "plan". I've tried many things over the years and found that you can make any plan work for you as long as you have the right attitude towards it.
I've also noticed that the liquid calories tend to be a huge deal. Unfortunately not many people take them in to consideration, looks like you are a few steps ahead already.
Question, I personally find it hard to exercise at this point, it's too hard on my knees, how about you?

^^ Thank you, NinaV and JayEll! I think I'm going on the right track too (for example, for an extra boost of calories, I had a packet of sugar-free jello. ^-^).

NinaV-- I think that a "plan" is one of the best words over diet. Diets usually don't last longer then a couple of weeks, but plans can span over the course of years. And yes, liquid calories are e-v-i-l. I used to have ten (tall) glasses of apple juice, or soda (not sugar free), or any other type of drink over the span of a few hours! It was insane. That's why I'm so glad there is sugar-free koolaid for people like me. ^^; Five calories is something I can SO live with! Haha.

Anyways, to answer your question.. I really don't have any problems with my joints. For the last two days, certian parts of me will "feel the burn" (Like today for example, after pilates. My "powerhouse" as they call it felt a definante burn. But it was more pleasent, as in, "You accomplished something! You CAN kick your legs up into the air and do the "bicycle", and so forth.). Maybe, if you still have problems after losing a little weight, you could try modifing the movements to suit your needs? ^__^ I hope that helps! I've only been exercising seriously for the last couple of days, so I don't really know that much about exercising. ^^;

How do you like Pilates? Do you find it hard?

It's okay. It was sort-of hard for me, but even with modified steps (like instead of completely streaching out your legs, you can keep them bent) I felt a sense of pride and a slight burn (it feels as though the muscles are all forming, it's a great feeling. ;P Lol..Despite the minor pain.). I didn't really find myslef sweating, because it isn't as active movements as cardio or aerobics, but it is hard keeping your breath going "in, then slowlllyy ouuttt" as the tape says to. xD I was like, "pantpantpant!". It was a scary sight.

Well, it sounds like you are on the right track. Keep up the good work and keep posting your progress, it is very motivating for someone like me to see you succeed. Maybe I will finally get out of my slump too, who knows, stranger things have happened.

^__^ Thank you! I'm going to be checking my weight at the end of this week, just to see progress (I don't want to be losing weight to fast. ^-^). Soo..Hopefully I'll have lost a little weight, most likely 1 pound at the most.

Your last post gives me an opportunity to include one of my favorite quotes from: <http://www.poshside.com/inspiration.htm>


Only One Pound

Hello! Do you know me?
If you don't, you should. I'm a pound of fat.
And I am the happiest pound of fat that you would ever want to meet.
Want to know why?
It's because no one ever wants to lose me;
I'm ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound!
Everyone wants to lose three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds, but never only one.
So I just stick around and happily keep you fat.
Then I add to myself, ever so slyly, so that you never seem to notice it.
That is until I've grown to ten, twenty, thirty or even more pounds in weight.
Yes, it's fun being ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT, left to do as I please.
So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, "Oh, I only lost one pound."
(As if that were such a terrible thing)
For you see, if you do this, you'll encourage others to keep me around because they'll think I'm not worth losing.
And, I love being around you - your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you.
Happy Days!!!
After all, I'm ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT!!!

-Author Unknown

Hope this gives you some inspiration.