Is that really me
3 pounds? Congrats sweetie!!! WHoohooo!!!

Thanx to everyone who congratulated me. And you know something else? I can see my belly getting smaller and not sticking out so much! This always starts happening when I am good to get my calcium in. I try to have 1 ounce of cheddar cheese a day. Today I am going to allow for 1.5, enchiladas baby! But I do a cup of either yogurt or keifer with my fruit in my smoothie. Over the holidays I was bad, I threw some fruit in here and there but not the normal 3 a day like I should and neglected the yog and keifer more often than not. Okay, lets face it, I had a grilled cheese for breakfast more times than I care to admit!!!

Anyways, make sure you get your calcium gals! And for all you newbies, I will post the link again in case you have not heard about this!

Yogurt


Another study published in Obesity Research suggests that calcium's weight loss benefits extend to adults as well. If you're tyring to lose weight, especially around the midsection, eating more calcium-rich foods, especially low fat dairy foods such as cow's milk, yogurt and kefir, may really help.

In this study, 41 obese subjects, 32 of whom completed the study, were divided into three groups and put on diets designed to result in the loss of one pound per week for 24 weeks. All diets contained the same number of calories and were designed to provide subjects with a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day.

The first group received a low (430 mg/day) calcium diet. The second group got the same diet with enough supplemental calcium to bring their daily intake up to 1200 mg. And the third group ate a diet with enough dairy foods to provide about 1100 mg calcium each day. At the conclusion of the study, the low calcium group had lost almost 15 pounds, the high calcium group 19 pounds, and the high dairy foods group 24 pounds. Plus, fat lost from the midsection represented an average of 19% of total fat loss in those on the low calcium diet, 50% of the fat lost in those on the high calcium diet, and 66% of the fat lost in those getting their calcium from dairy foods.

Yogurt, Specifically, Significantly Increases Fat Loss

In just 3 months, 16 obese men and women on a reduced calorie diet that included three daily portions of yogurt lost 61% more fat and 81% more abdominal fat than 18 obese subjects assigned to a diet with the same number of calories but little or no dairy products and low amounts of calcium.

Not only did those in the yogurt group lose more fat, especially around their waistlines, but they also retained more lean, muscle tissue than subjects on the yoghurt-free diet.

marbleflys:

Welcome to our group! Yeah we are pretty lax with rules. The main rule is to do your best to eat healthy and exercise. Those are some pretty loose guidelines. I think I seen ennay say something a while back about chocolate. haha Yes if it is in your "plan" do it! There are some things in my "plan" that may not be in others. We have to do what works for us and I do know there are some great benefits even in the dark chocolate! Maybe when i lose more I will do some a swell.

By the way, where is ennay and huneb? Any other stragglers?

Well ladies I am going to venture into making my own enchilada sauce today! This is a recipe I found and it got good reviews.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon minced onion
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon dried parsley
* 1/4 cup salsa
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 1/2 cups water

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the onion, oregano, chili powder, basil, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, parsley, salsa and tomato sauce.
2. Mix together and then stir in the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.


Mmmmm....!! SOunds yummy! I have all that in my pantry.

thanks for the welcome Jasmine.....I removed the holiday chocolates from my grasp, they disappear quickly at work.

I see you are a mex. food lover......asian is my thing, I do my chinese salad with lite soy and rice vinegar dressing, cucumbers....we are big on sushi, sashimi, one of our favorite restaurants does an excellent chinese menu that is NOT heavy on oil (PF Chang's chain restaurant) serves great options including brown rice.........no I'm not that brave to search for the calorie content.

Well 5 o'clock can't get here fast enough. Though I would take a break from work and post a bit. I am playing the waiting game with my PIs until I have something else to do. I hate that, I just want to get it done, but I have to wait. If I don't get it today I might have to come in on Monday which is a holiday and I will not be happy about that...but we will see 4 1/2 more hours to go.

Jasmine, that recipe sounds great I might have to give it a try. I usually use the kind out of the can because I never have the time to make my own enchilada sauce. I usually mix on can of the red and one can of the green to balance out the heat.

Marbles, welcome to the group! This is a great bunch to chat with. Post any questions and all of us will chime right on in. Jasmine and Ennay are great about posting articles that are real informative.

stopeating, Great job on two slices of pizza! I always make myself a huge salad and then hit the pizza so 2 slices is enough for me then.

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? I'm doing better. About our living arrangements:

My mama had found a house for them over in my BFF's neighborhood. BUT today they were going over to pay the deposit and while my mama was across the street at the store getting the money order, the man told my stepfather and me that they did not allow pets. We told him that my mama probably wouldn't fly with that because we have our dog Poohbear and our cat Blackfoot and we've had Poohbear since I was like 9 which is about 12 years, she is my mama's baby, and my mama would NEVER, EVER part with her! Sure enough, when mama came back, the guy told her and she looked at him like 'Are you out of your damn mind?!?!' So we left, my stepdad took the truck and went to work, and my mama got in the car with me and was looking in the newspapers for other houses. I was talking to my BFF Nikki about what had went down and she told me that her landlord had other houses in the area. So, we called him and he met us over at a house a few streets over from Nikki's house. He's a real nice man and he showed us the house and both me and mama loved it. It's smaller than our house, only three bedrooms and one bath, but it doesn't matter because they're just staying there until we get the house back in a year. The guy takes really good care of his property and it was at a good price so my mama gave him the deposit right then and there. Then he told her about a five bedroom he owned that was going to be available this weekend. So we went over there and looked at it and it was a HUGE house BUT I didn't like it. I think if we had viewed it AFTER the people had moved and the manager had a chance to clean and repair, it could be a good place but asis, it's AWFUL! Those people do not take care of that place. When we got in the car, my mama told me that she didn't like it either and she decided to stick with the 3 bedroom. So my stepfather is going to see it and the man is going to change the locks and give mama the keys so we can start moving in tomorrow. Now, as for my apartment, the people said I didn't make enough for the apartment and they said that they didn't allow co signers which pissed Mama off. She's going to cosign on my apartment and help pay my rent and so on until I get a fulltime position at the hospital. So I looked at the newspaper and we went to two apartment complexes and looked at about five apartments. The first place we went too, it was the wrong one and we didn't know it. We were going in all these empty apartments and when I called the folks, found out that not only were they not the ones we were supposed to be looking at but they were also already rented! So we were just walking around in other people's houses! LMAO So we found the right apartments but Mama did not like them at all so we went back to these apartments that we had looked at about a week ago. They are nice apartments, very well kept, and they are running a great special on the rent. So I went in and talked to the lady (who also happens to be Nikki's ex apartment manager; real nice lady) and she told me that my mama could co sign so me and mama are going back tomorrow morning after I get off work and filing out the paperwork so I should know if I got the apartment tomorrow! And I will let you all know! We're busy bees right now and it's just beginning. It's going to be **** for the next two weeks!

Good evening my friends, (sounds like Alfred Hitchcock).
IsThatReallyMe, down three pounds congrats, that is really exciting.
Marbleflys, Welcome.
JasonLea, Sorry about all the housing problems, glad they seem to be getting sorted out. I am sure you won't have a problem getting the apartment. You must be really excited, your own place, neat. Mom's really do Rock Aye.

I had another sick day, woke up with a sore throat and headache. When is this flue going to be over????? I did not get any exercise done today, just took it easy, again ordered by hubby. I did make up two dinners for my Dad, hubby took him to the doc's today, he was in so much pain, in his back and side, he is not a suck, even at 95, so you know its bad. He is okay, doc thinks its just muscle pain, gave him Tylenol 2 and told him to use the heating pad. Hubby went over and rubbed his back and side with ointment tonight before bed, he said he was feeling a little less pain. Thank Goodness, I was getting really worried.

I had a smoothie today, a frozen fruit one, had no yogart, so used frozen yogart ice cream and milk. It was a little sweet, but good. Hubby thinks he would like to try some, I see he has a bunch of berries thawing he will have to get some yogart to go in though.

For supper I had 2 pieces of pizza and garlic dip. More calories than I needed. But Hubby has been so good in looking after Dad with me sick too, he loves pizza, so we had a treat. I was down to 229.5 today, I am sure it is because I ate very little yesterday and will be up tomorrow. See I told you I can't stay off the scale!!!

Looks like the Kefir, you are talking about Jasmine, I can't get around here. I will be calling a couple Health Food Stores tomorrow, just to check. Read the articles, Thank-you.

Martiniforme, thanks for trying to help me, still have to work on it myself to follow your instructions. No sign. anywhere here. Well that is it for today.
Have a good tomorrow everyone.
Sharon

Okay, I can't do personals right now. But I will do them tonight when I get home or tomorrow morning.

Because I am GOING OUT, baby! Me. Going out to a lesbian bar/dance club - okay, it's not strictly lesbian, but it's the main les hangout for this town - BY MYSELF. Not with plans to meet a friend there or anything. I am going in alone, and maybe (I'm hoping) I'll meet someone. And I am scared out of my wits. I've never done this before. I have mild social anxiety and this is one of the WORST triggers for me, along with language classes (long story). But I am going to do it. I'm going out. I'm going to a bar. Singly. Wish me luck!

And I'm very proud of myself - I have attended EVERY single class, EVERY discussion section, and turned in EVERY assignment for a whole week! That's huge, for me. Usually my attendance is horrid and I miss assignments right and left, which is why I'm on probation and exactly one more bad quarter away from getting kicked out. But I've done it for a whole week. And guess what else I'm proud of? My housemate and I do dinners together, and she cooks more than I do because she likes it and I'm not very good at it. She was gone tonight during dinnertime, so I had a choice. Did I want to allow myself a box of Pastaroni for dinner (that used to be my staple for both dinner and lunch; there's a reason I'm 50 lbs overweight)? Or did I want to stay on-plan, and do something healthy?

I debated, pondered, argued myself back and forth, but in the end - despite a friend urging me to "just do the bad stuff, you deserve it once in a while!" - I made myself brown rice and chicken with a shoyu-ginger-garlic marinade for dinner. REAL food. HEALTHY food. And it was good, and I enjoyed it, and I am SO PROUD OF MYSELF.

Okay, I'm going to stop tooting my horn here. But I'm seriously proud of myself, and I'm trying to stall cause I'm nervous as heck for tonight.

Wish me luck!

Jasmine: I tried with the soy, I really did. But I wasn't liking what I was reading, and it was getting to be a real pain to have to do separate grocery lists and stuff. And besides, 1% milk is working good for me as it stands. I will read up on kefir and see what the jazz is all about . Also, with the calories, I try to supplement with peanut butter (reduced fat), but it wears thin haha. And congrats on the weightloss!!! And thank you for sharing that article! I get about 100g of yogurt in every morning as my morning snack, but I think I might start increasing my yogurt intake to include my after dinner snack as well! We'll see how that goes

Ivy: I hope your son recovers soon! I know how much he seems to love wrestling, and the activity is good for him. It's just too bad that he hurt himself . Will he still be able to get in a couple matches toward the middle or end of te season?

Jo: Congrats on the loss of the 3 pounds!

Marbleflys: When you're experiencing stress I believe that working out is a great way to clear your head. Now to listen to my own advice!

Mimi: I think it will differ for every body. But commonly the weight loss will show more prominently in your face, then onwards. A lot of women have said that the last place they see the weight change is in their mid sections. I am going to try Jasmine's suggestion after posting the article about obesity and yogurt, and I am going to increase my daily yogurt intake by 2x the amount (200g a day). I eat Yoplait 39% reduced fat yogurt. It's a perfect snack size, and it has real fruit in it. Unless you want to buy plain yogurt and add your own fruit, maybe have that in place of a smoothie, or together!

Shari: We're the same way. We won't take a place if it doesn't allow pets. Sometimes we've just kept our pets out of sight of the landlord and kept them there anyway. But a dog is a lot harder to hide than a cat. We could never give them up, they're like our kids! I'm glad that things worked out in the end My fingers are crossed for your mama to have the house paid off by the end of the year.

Sharon: It's strange, all these sickness waves going over everyone. No one seems to just get sick and then get better, but have wave after wave of sickness. I hope you feel better soon! And although you did not eat very much yesterday, congratulations on the loss anyway! And don't worry about the trackers. We'll figure it out!

Nikaia: Way to go on the healthy choice! That chicken marinade sounds delicious! And as for going out, good for you. I understand the whole social anxiety. I get all weird, like what are people thinking, and they must be saying bad things about me, especially because I'm overweight, but just remember: This is only a temporary thing, and you are steadily and surely trimming down to a healthy size! I hope you meet someone and have a fabulous time! You are gorgeous and unique and anyone would be lucky to snag you!!

*** *** ***

Okay, so here goes. I am ALMOST back to where I was weight-wise before Christmas. I have been straddling this one weight point (give or take a pound) for the last few weeks, and it's breaking (mostly because DF kicked my *** in to gear). My lowest maintaining was 167, and I'm currently at 168.2. SO. That means I'm not far.

But seriously. Let's talk pants. I have a favorite pair of pants. Washed out black jeans. They're my favorite pants. I wear them all the time. And I feel that I've always been there for them, and what did they go and do? They got holes on the inner thigh, and basically told me I could never wear them again. I AM SO MAD AT YOU, PANTS!

So what did I do? What any heartbroken lover of pants would do. I went out trying to replace my beloved pants. And I found a pair that fits great! My new favorite pants. Take that old pants. I love you no longer! Go find someone else to fit in to you!'

And what did I discover? I am down a size! I usually fit in to a 23-24. I AM IN A 22! YAY! My shirt size also went down from a 3x to a loose fitting 2x. YESSSS! I imagine 12 or so pounds won't equal a size or anything, I think I was JUST a tiny bit away from a 22. But oh well! Hoorah for NSV's!

DF just suggested I give my old pants to our fish (tetra) Sammy. Of course I think he's saying I'm as fat as Sammy (keeping in mind Sammy is fat for a little tetra. He resembles a submarine with an extended belly hehe). DF thinks that if we could hear Sammy, he would swim around making the sound *mmmmmboop*...*mmmmboop* like a submarine haha.

Our newest kitty, Cabouche, is getting declawed on Monday. I hate to do it, but he's killing DF! I'm afraid that one night DF will pass out from blood loss. I'm not sure why they don't get along, DF tries that's for sure. But Cabouche apparently is a biter and mostly a scratcher. So I either have to get him declawed, or find a new home for DF. I don't think DF would like that.

And I've rattled on quite a bit. I'm just so happy today about my NSV's!

Have a great day everyone!

-Mande

P.S. I think it's time to set a new goal with a time limit to keep myself motivated. I'll let you guys know what I come up with! Maybe someone would like to match my goal? A little high stakes here?

K, I figured it out!
I want to lose 10lbs by my 5 year anniversary with DF, which is on February 18th!

And I made a new H&HCC image for my signature so it's not so big, but still a little flashy .

The thread was pretty quiet yesterday, we must have all been exercising so hard we didn't have time to post!

Anyway, I ran a ton of errands yesterday and more of the same today. I really need to find time to clean my house too. I completed another flight of steps challenge - 97 flights yesterday! Yeah!!! The next challenge is 190 flights by next Saturday!

My step-daughters b-day is coming up and we are having a party next Saturday. I bought party favors for a luau - she will be 8 and she loves Hawaii! She listed a ton of bratz stuff on her list so off to the toy store I will go.

I haven't weighed myself in 8 days. I'm not doing bad or great so I'm afraid I will be discouraged if I put on a pound. I could have exercised more. I didn't ride my bike all week. Just felt really tired. I already ate breakfast so won't weigh myself today! My dh says he will walk the mall with me today so I hope to get back on track.

Martiniforme - I love your signature! Nice!!

Nikiai - I hope the club went well for you. I don't think I could go by myself so a big congrats to you for conquering your fears!

Sharon - I really hope you start feeling better.

Jasonslea - I'm so glad you found a home.

sdgal - I love the days that I don't feel hungry. I always notice a bigger difference in my body when I lose 10 pounds. Tight clothes fit, regular clothes are baggy and for me I always lose weight in my waist first. I have an hour glass figure. My biggest problem has always been my thighes. If I can get a pair of jeans over those monsters, I know it will fit. My waist is a 25 and goes down to a 23 when I'm being really good. I am definitely not happy with my stomach either, but I saw a doc and the only that will fix it is surgery and I don't have the money. I really hope to though one day!

marbleflys - I LOVE chinese food. Of course I really like sweet and sour chicken. I try not eat anything all day if I'm going to have it and I try to put half in the fridge for later but sometimes later is an hour.

hi everyone yesterday was the big saints vs eagles football game and its a big thing for Louisianna, we had businesses closing early, people tailgating everywhere and having a Saints party.I dont know much about football but i did catch the end when the saints won and everyone on the block started going crazy since im not from here i never seen people get so excited about a game, it was on all the local news the after party which was on bourbon st. and canal st. was suppose to be exciting, My hubby went but i did not want to go sometimes im in my mood where i do not want to be around alot of people. It was interesting though to see all of the JErseys and flags flying people hugging each other.

anyway are we starting a new thread? i really need to get back in track before i gain the 3lbs i lost i think i may have to weigh every 2 weeks because once i see i start losing i fall of the wagon.

how is everyone else doing?

Mia's right!
New thread:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102074