You're right I'm having a rough time with the reactions to my weight loss,
but partly it's grieving that I didn't do this sooner. I didn't think
I could do it, which now turns out isn't true. Also I believed that if
I did lose weight, it wouldn't make a huge difference, and that isn't
true either.

Time changes people and I'm a bit nervous to see my old friends after
being away so long. Maybe in this case, weight loss is the least of it.

Lisa

First off, way to go, Tracy, for getting another pound off! It's happening ... you went on that stretch where you felt for sure that your program might not be working, WHAT TO DO! But here we are, you *suddenly* have a total of four pounds off, and it was working all along, right? But, man, it's hard to believe when you're on that danged plateau! for you, lady! Keep up the great work! I'm trying to think of good things for you to take for your BBQs ... I love chicken breast marinated in teriyaki sauce, very low cal, and so tasty. I like big healthy salads with Hidden Valley Ranch ranch dressing (low fat) or Naturally Fresh Lite blue cheese dressing; I love steamed shrimp with cocktail sauce (you'd have to gobble those fast before anyone else saw them! )

Lisa, don't spend too much time regretting the past. Just try to think of all the good things that happened back then, even though you weren't as thin as you might have been, and ENJOY TODAY! Every day that we spend regretting yesterday takes away from TODAY. What's past is past, and you are looking at a wonderful future where you're going to be in good shape and enjoying things to the max! Best of luck as you get closer to your trip in August. Where will you be visiting in the States?

Well, I'm still down a couple of pounds, and have not been pigging out. It was too chilly for the pool yesterday, so my last exercise session was Friday. I think I'm going to take a walk this morning, and I will DEFINITELY be back in the pool tomorrow.

Well, I must go get some bathrooms cleaned and some vacuuming done. We have company coming on Wednesday ... you girls have a good one!!!

Any new people who check our thread and would like to join ... we you with open arms, and I hope we see some of "our *previous* ladies from this thread" drop in again to say hello.

for us all!

Olivia

how are you all doing? Olivia! Sounds like you are doing great! Good for you, enjoy your company.
I had a really busy weekend and was away from home most of the time. I have been dieting now for over 3 months and this weekend was a huge departure for me. For instance Friday was a fast day for me-supposed to finish up with a light meal. Well, I had a cheese burger (from the grill)-I can't remember the last time I had one because I haven't wanted to eat those calories. On saturday I did well most of the day, but the family wanted to go out to dairy queen, instead of the small cone i had intended, medium blizzard popped out of my mouth. UGH! I did not eat the whole thing but...
for supper then, I had 2 pieces (of a 10" personal_) pizza. I can't remember the last time I ate so much! At the same time, it doesn't seem like all that much in spite of the calories. I don't feel like I over ate...sigh...just wondering what NORMAL should look like I guess and feeling frustrated. I did put on 1/2 a pound, bringing me back up to 174 this am. However, it is TOM for me, so I am trying not to fret too much about it. Back on track today!
Well, I must run. Hope all is well with you all! Check in ladies!
hugs
tracyg

Hello,

I'd like to reiterate the invitation for any lurkers to join us and post to
this thread.

Olivia, congratulations on pounds lost and exercise completed.
YAY. Your routine by the pool sounds so healthy
and enjoyable. I also really like your walking program while dd is
at gymnastics class. It has made me think about trying to
get my older daughter into some sort of class, where I would
have to drop her off at a place that's very conducive to exercising,
and not so near home that I'd be tempted to run back and try
to "accomplish something."

Tracy, Congratulations on not finishing the blizzard, not finishing the
personal pan pizza, and on all the things you've done over the long
months to reset your body's expectations and to make you wonder
what normal should be.
Eating 2 slices of a 10" pizza for dinner probably would have felt
like a very small and restrictive dinner, before you started your
program, do you think? Now you feel like you over-indulged? That's
a huge shift. But what really struck me was the ice cream situation,
because I have lived that so many times except for the ending.
I bow to you in awe for not finishing that ice cream.

I've been increasing my strength exercises and decreasing my cardio
exercises recently and I've gained more than a pound of muscle,
despite being pretty ruthless (in other words successful) with
keeping my calorie consumption very low. No regrets about that
particular increase on the scale. My body fat percentage
seems to be dropping (it's so hard to measure I'm not 100% sure)
and my tape measure does show a slight loss since last week, and
besides, my muscles have been *so* sore for so many days, that
I'm just sure I must be building muscle. Anyway, I'm not going to
increase my ticker because of an exercise victory so I'll just keep
the ticker at at this glorious 149 level until these new muscles
burn enough calories to force my scale down down down down.
(They'd better get going because I refuse to exercise again
for a few days.)

To answer a question, our big August trip to the USA will be flying into
NYC and flying out of Boston, with a car trip in between. It'll
be at least 2 weeks but less than 3.

I will be 99% off program for the August trip. No restrictions on type
or calorie-level of food. My only restrictions will be
1) keeping portion sizes reasonable. Ask for small side plates whenever
I'm at a restaurant and divide oversize portions before I start eating.
If I order a very high-calorie food, be an unbiased scientist and
consider the portion size in terms of ounces or compared to the
size of my palm or something constant, not in terms of my hunger
or size of the plate or telling myself it doesn't feel very greasy.
2) if I eat foods with refined sugar, I have to commit NOT to eat any
additional refined sugar during the low-blood-sugar cravings that
I'll inevitably get when my blood sugar crashes. Actually I should try
to keep bananas with me for just such situations.
3) Another rule is to take time after finishing one thing before
helping myself to something else. Spread out the food over time.
When traveling it's a nuisance to obtain food for a separate
snack, and so I use it as an excuse to eat extra large meals when
I'm away from home, like I'm scared of not having enough later.
Well, on this trip my rule will be that I can travel with convenience
junk-foods or anything else that's necessary to reassure myself
I won't go hungry. And then given that I can't kid myself about
needing to "fill up when I have a chance", I'll try to be pretty strict
about making myself wait between servings and limit the portion
sizes. I've never done this style of food control. We'll see how
it goes. I think because I'll be coming straight off a really major low
fat high fiber diet, I won't have any trouble with the portions
(because I'll be in heaven all the time) but I might have trouble
with my digestion adjusting. Ha ha.

Allowing for vacation to be no-diet has been part of my program all
along. I'm expecting to put on a bit of fat during the trip and spend
the rest of August returning to my July weight. Even if I end the
month with a minor gain, it'll be educational for how I should set up my
maintenance program.

Lisa

Way to go Lisa You have a great plan to stay in control on your trip. Remind me to come to you when i go on a trip. I don't like to eat in the car though so the snacking in the car would be hard for me. I don't have anything planned though so nothing to worry about.

I haven't been doing to good. These last couple days it's been so hard to stay on track. I either do great on exercise and eat all the wrong foods or eat all the right food and don't exercise. I know right now the food part is what is keeping the weight coming off. I do hope to join that gym when the summer is over and my DD is back in school. I just have to keep myself from thinking well I will start MY DIET when i joing the gym because that will get me no where. I will have tons more weight to lose come August. There is healthy food in the house so there is no reason I can't be on plan. I seen a big gain on scale. I hope that some of that was the salt from last night. Oh Please OH Please say it was.
I had a reward for myself to get my hair done for my sisters wedding the 23rd if I got down to 237. It's not looking like I'm going to make that.....I'm gonna look awful for the wedding if I don't pull this off maybe I should make the goal~ stay on plan with no off plan foods until the wedding? I'm stressing myself out here

I'm still doing pretty well - No weight gain at least I helped my mother move the last four days and was sore after each day - So I'm sure I worked out muscles I haven't used in forever. I'm back down to my 218 - I'm afraid I'll be here for a while, however I have new motivation. I got invited to a beach trip late in July. I love the beach, but all of my friends are size 2 - size 6. I've skipped out going in the past - but I plan on going and having fun this year no matter how I look in the dreaded bathing suit.

Losing - I was in wedding in April - I had lost 10 pounds before it, but I hated the dreadful bridesmaid dress (I looked awful) - but I did get my hair done and it made me feel better about the day. This is time for you to celebrate yours sister and future brother-in-law. I'd suggest you get your hair done and maybe a pedicure as well and enjoy the day being with family.

Losing, Good luck with the wedding situation. Maybe it would
be less stressful to have a goal based on eating healthy and
exercise, and then not worry about whether you reach a certain
weight on a certain date. Weddings have a way of getting
stressful (even for thin people, which I sometimes forget, Ha ha)
so it's not at all cheating to switch to less rigid goals.

maeminglea, Congrats on 4 days of exercise plus 4 days of
helping a loved one. Hats off for your decision to go enjoy
the beach this year.

I had a ton of popcorn yesterday. Only 240 calories but I'm *so*
bloated with water.

I'm going to try the fat substitute Z-trim tomorrow in a cake and
I'll let you know how I like it.

Lisa

I'm still plugging along. I've been down to 172 ish for the past few days so I claimed it today lol! nice psychological boost. other than that, just plugging along I guess. Not too much going on here, other than my kids making me crazy lol! but that's nothing new. Procrastinating here, trying to talk myself into doing some much needed house work. oh well, i suppose I should go get to it.
hope everyone has a great day!
hugs
tracyg

Happy Wednesday, ladies!

This is a big day for me, granddaughter arriving for long visit, and it doesn't get any better than that. I still have a day of work to get everything *just so* before the plane arrives late tonight. Not good for one's diet, but good for one's SOUL!

Tracy, you are doing wonderfully, and I am so proud of you. Way to go, and keep up the good work. Kids will always drive you nuts ... so that's a given! What did you take to your Sunday BBQ this past weekend?

Lisa, I think your plan for eating while on your trip is a very good one. I think you will arrive back home in good shape, and if you have a couple of pounds to take *back off,* you will do it, and be right back on track again. BUT if you're running around a lot on your trip, even if you eat a bit more than you have been, you may not gain at all. That's what happens to me sometimes. If I stay in hotels and don't have my kitchen there at my fingertips (to munch and cheat), what I manage to eat *out* doesn't seem to bother me. It's when I stay in homes/condos and have full access to wonderful food there that I don't seem to be able to control it lately. How did your baking with Z-Trim come out? Is that the same as Splenda or Splenda Blend?

Maeminglea, so good to see you, lady! Maybe the beach trip plans will help you to stay out of the fridge ... sometimes I will post a not-so-flattering photo of myself in my bathing suit, and it helps me not to eat at night. But whatever your weight when you go (BTW, the BEST bathing suit for control and good looks, IMO, is Carol Wior ... her tummy control is so good!), just forget about diets and have a great time!

Losing, I was afraid you had vanished ... but there you are! So good to see you, and I agree with Lisa. Go ahead and have your hair done, look and feel your best for the wedding, whatever your weight is. We don't go to that many special celebrations, at least I don't.

Well, ladies, have wonderful Summer days, and I am going to do the best I can for the next month or so. If you don't see me here for days at a time, don't think I'm gone for good. I WILL be back now and then!


Olivia

Olivia,
Have a GREAT time with your granddaughter!

This morning we celebrated my daughter's 2nd birthday. She
was really excited but she kept thinking it was somebody
else's birthday.

Z-trim is a fat-substitute rather than a sugar substitute,
so you use it instead of oil.
I replaced all of the butter/oil in my lemon cake mix recipe
and it turned out like a decent lowfat cake, like Entenmanns.
So it wasn't luscious like a full-fat cake, but it's good
enough, and I suspect I wouldn't be able to make a decent
lowfat cake unless I whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks or
unless I bought a special "lowfat" cake mix with emulsifiers
and stabilizers and xanthum gum or whatever.
My kids didn't notice it wasn't full-fat but they're
oblivious to everything except sugar. I definitely noticed
the absence of fat, but the recipe survived.

What is Splenda Blend? Half sugar half splenda?
Is it heat-stable for baking?

Z-trim is made from corn fiber and water, and the consistency
is like pureed banana, except without any banana or corn flavor.
You know how some recipes replace oil with applesauce
or mashed bananas? This is a bit like that, so it gives
moisture and body. It's safe for children and some school
districts use it a lot in their school cafeteria recipes.

Some people use it with ultra lean beef so their hamburger
patties won't crumble apart.
It's apparently really great in muffins and cookies when
you replace some of the usual fat but not all the usual fat.

There are very few situations where I can use applesauce or
mashed bananas instead of fat, so I'm pretty happy to use
Z-trim. I'll probably start using it half-and-half with
cooking oil for stir-fry, sauces, and stuff like that.
I'll keep you updated if I have any trouble with it. Supposedly
it can be used for high heat cooking except not for deep frying.

Some people on the 3FC forum (like the homepage cluck section)
are raving about Penny's muffins and cookies. I've never
tried them, but I'd bet you anything that they're made
with Z-trim!

Lisa

P.S. Another product I'm really pleased with is fat free
cream cheese. Some time, try mixing a bit of lemon juice
and chive in, then spread it on smoked salmon. Wow!
I think the fat from the salmon ("good fat") must compensate
for anything you're not getting in the cream cheese,
because it knocked my socks off.

I feel like every Monday or so - I wine and out about "falling off the wagon" on the weekends - So today after work I plan on going to the grocery and getting yummy fruits and veggies to eat. I haven't had watermelon since last summer and I love it with Splenda - The rest of my family always ate watermelon with salt - I thought they were crazy. I still have to have to go over to my mothers and help her unpack. Mom's house is still kinda of a binge zone for me - So I plan on taking a fruit salad over there with me. I guess all the moving around helped me drop a couple of pounds this week. I think it was Tracy that encouraged me to shake it off and move on - Thanks for the tough love - I guess I did and now I'm looking forward to dropping below 210 which will be even closer to being back in the one hundreds. Olivia I hope you have a great time with your granddaughter. Lisa thanks for the great tips.

Y'all have a great weekend.

maeminlea! good for you, sounds like a plan. It's good when you can move on. sometimes I want to kick myself for all the times I started and gave up. had I just kept on, I would be a lot further along than I am now. sigh....I too find the weekends so hard!!! I need to get some fruit, when it starts to get hot like this, that is what a crave, cool and sweet...ok, close second to ice cream any way!
still hanging in there Lisa? I don't know if that ztrim is available here yet? course I live in the boonies and we are the last to get anything lol!
Olivia, hope you are having fun with your grandaughter, how old is she? is she running you ragged? that could be a good thing in the old exercise department lol!
I saw a new low on the old scale today, yippee for me! 171.8, hopefully it will still be there monday so I can claim it lol! I just want to get down to the 160's lol! then I will feel like I have accomplished something. It is just coming off so slow and I am still in that in betweeny stage where all my 18's are hanging off and I just look sloppy....but not quite comfortable in 16's yet....
plus I just can't afford new clothes right now. UGH!
well, must run. Hope you all have a good weekend.
hugs
tracyg

Happy Saturday, ladies!

Just a quick check-in to let you know life with DGD is great; she is nine and a ball of energy. We spend a lot of time at the pool, we watch movies, cook & bake, go girl-shopping! We will take her to the beach for a few days, and we do zoo, museums, all that good stuff. Retired grandparents have plenty of time ... so lucky as so we can do it all! Thank you for your good wishes, all of you ...

Tracy, so happy for your new low! Way to go, girl ... you are really doing well!

Maeminglea, glad you were getting your healthy foods in the house for the weekend. It does make it easier if you can plan ahead, and have what you need! Best of luck!

Lisa, I'm not familiar with Z-trim, but when I get truly serious about my plan again, I might try it or something like it. I've never tried the fat-free cream cheese; sounds awful to me, though I do use the low-fat at times, but I probably should give it a go. Yes, Splenda-blend is half sugar/half Splenda. I use it in ice tea, for one thing.

Losing, hope all is going well for you. We CAN do this ...

Well, girlies, have a great rest of the weekend. I think I've actually dropped a pound since DGD got here because I'm so busy!

Cheers!
Olivia

having a good week overall. I think i have gotten a little sloppy with both my eating and exercise, so this week my goal is to get it back on track, nip it in the bud! I am up a little bit today (172) but not too concerned about it, it will come back off, today I will exercise and watch better what I eat!

Olivia! Glad you are having fun with dgd! She sounds too cute! Just about my dd's age (megan is 8), so I know she is keeping you hopping. Too cool that the extra running while being fun is helping you out with your exercise and losing! Yippee!!!!!

Maeminglea???? OH LISA???? LoSiNg????????? Where are you all? Having a busy but on plan weekend????? Sure hope so! Check in with us!!!
Well, I must run and get everyone up and around for church! My dh is working overtime today, bless the man, I mentioned that retreat that I wasn't going to be able to go to with my friends? when dh found out, he offered to work overtime so I could go! It's in October and I hope to be well on my way with my weight loss efforts by then-Goal would be awesome lol!
I'll tell you more about that later~ !Well, I must run! Have a great weekend.
tracyg

Maeminlea, How was your weekend? I hope it went really well.
If weekends are extra hard, maybe you could try one of those
programs where you burn fat on weekdays and relax on weekends
and only try to avoid putting on weight.
Tracy, So wonderful to hear a happy family story like your husband
working OT so you can go on that retreat. A special guy.
Olivia, Running around with a kid is such fun exercise. I hope you
have lots of time together.
I bought my Z-trim from the manufacturer by mail order. I think most
of their business is with wholesalers and cafeterias. I'm now using it
routinely (half and half) with cooking oil.

My monday morning weigh-in was 147.6 --YAY! Also, for the
first time, my hip measurement is less than 40 inches.
So I'm half-way to my goal and I'm feeling pretty good about that.

I'm not feeling good about my memory, my thinking, or my
energy level or other things in the quality-of-life department.
I kept telling myself I was just being lazy by choice, or I
was just sleep-deprived, but but after telling myself this
for a few months, I'm pretty sure the "low-everything" diet
is to blame.

I'm going to give the low-carb approach one more try, with a
higher-calorie version. I hope this works, because cutting out
carbs really does seem to deaden my hunger and help me lose.

One study showed that people on low-carb diets have impaired
performance on math tests and analytical thinking tests.
I think that's what's happening to me, and my job is pretty
much all math and analytical thinking. Being fuzzy-brained
at work is by far the biggest reason I'm ending my strict diet.
The reason I gained so much weight recently was the same thing
--I was eating a lot of sugar on the job so I could get more
work done. Obviously I don't want to go back to doing that.
Eventually I'll have to find a reasonable medium. So much
harder than it sounds!

If I have to resume eating carbs while trying to lose weight,
that will be a very, very big challenge for me. I've got my
fingers crossed that the low-carb thing can carry me a bit
farther before I have to give it up.

Determined,
Lisa