Hello to All, after reading some of the replies it sounds like some of you are feeling alittle down. I get like that when the weather is dreary looking. I think sometimes if we all stopped to think about all of this being a lifestyle change instead of a "diet" it will bring a new focus into your life. When I first started out all I thought about was "dieting". I would have a lot of depressing days because of that. Seemed like the weight wasn't coming off fast enough, I didn't seem to look any better, etc. So I gathered up all my thoughts and all my plans, I looked at it as a long term accomplishment. Step by step, instead of banging my head against the wall trying to "make" things happen. We can only do our best, try each day to do alittle better than the day before. I feel more at ease with the big picture now. My second week of a new lifestyle change opened my eyes. I realized that my accomplishments weren't going to happen over night. I started trying to change the way my lifestyle was on Sept. 15th of this year. The second week of that time period was the most important time during all of this. It's when I sat down and decided how and what I was going to change. Gradually I changed my eating habits. Next I took on an exercise decision. The hardest part was getting everything to work together to feel like I was doing things normally instead of a forced situation. I learned to cook all over again, except this time the healthy way. I chose my food carefully, learning which foods were good for me and which ones weren't. My old diet consisted mostly of "high fat" and "high calorie" foods. None of them were giving me proper nutrition. I felt sluggish, hardly no energy. I can say now that I feel like I am in my 20's again. My husband and I used to hike every weekend with a group. About 5 years ago I stopped going. Felt I really didn't care to do that anymore. But the real reason was that I didn't have the energy or the desire to go hiking. I would rather stay home, eat junk food and watch a movie or something. This past weekend I rejoined the group. Not exactly the hiker I used to be but atleast I have the desire and energy to want to be the old me again. I didn't get to join the regular group of hikers that I used to hike with, I had to join in with the newbies. I couldn't keep up with the regular group. As we all started off I watched as my orginal group left us newbies behind. I saw at that moment the whole picture of what I had done to myself and how I really had let years slip away from my life. It will take some time to be able to regroup with my original hikers. My husband glanced over his shoulder back at me while they left us behind. I was in hopes that he would fall back and hike with my group but he didn't. So it's one of my goals to be able to hike with my husband and the original group again some day. It felt great hiking again. But the group I was in had to stop every so often for a break. At some points I really didn't know if I was going to make it. But I did, and I felt great afterwards. The original group was waiting for us, they all applauded when we reached them. So it's a challenge, one that I am determined to reach my goal.
Yesterday was weigh in day, I didn't post yesterday so I will post my weigh in today. I lost another 3 pounds and also 2 1/2 inches off my waist. Alittle less than 2 1/2 but close enough to the half mark to count.
If I could say anything to all of you with alittle advice or tips, getting your eating habits under control is so important. It may be tedious at first and seem to be something that you don't want to do, but planning out what you're going to eat for a whole day is well worth the effort. Always make sure you have something convenient on hand that is healthy in case you don't feel like cooking. I know from experience how I would grab something filled with high calories and loaded with fat when I was tired. It's all about eating habits and setting up good ones. Once you conquer this it's easy as 1, 2, 3. I have converted all my recipes over to healthy ones. So I still get to enjoy eating what I love. Except now the high calories and fat are gone from them.
Miki, you mentioned that you love Italian food, that is also one of my favorites. The things you mentioned you can still enjoy just by converting the recipes to healthier ones. Rice, pasta, etc. aren't fattening, it's what we put on them that is. Rice and pasta are healthy additions to our daily diet. I have a recipe for Fettucine Alfredo that taste just as good as the orginal one. Original dish comes in at around 930 calories for a serving, I think the Olive Garden dish is around 543, maybe alittle higher with around 19 grams of fat. The one I fix comes in at around 220, maybe 240.
The brocolli, rice casserole that you like can be converted also. As far as speghetti, there are tons of ways to fix that health wise. I don't restrict myself from any foods that I loved in the past. I decrease my portions and have also learned to convert the recipes so I can have a healthy serving. The only foods that I have stopped eating are sweets, high fat foods such as chips and snack foods. I would rather eat something healthier and feel full afterwards than to sit and eat hundreds of calories in junk food and still be hungry. I've learned to adapt, for my own health. I'm not deprieving myself, to some I guess maybe they think I am. But as for me, I don't think I need to have a donut or any other junk food. It's not part of my life anymore and I feel good about that. I didn't enter into this as just a feeling that I needed to lose weight. I knew I wasn't healthy, that was the important part. I didn't want to fall over dead with a heart attack or have to go have my arteries cleaned out because of all the fat I have poured into them. I also had a fear of having diabetes, my Mom and my grandmother has it. I was warned by a doctor a few years ago about being borderline diabetic. It finially hit home that I needed to do something with my health. I didn't listen to the doctor, but hearing my husband call me fat and that I didn't care about my health really sunk in. I guess some people would take what he said as harsh and not so kind to me. But that is his way, he comes across very stern and to the point. He told me like it is. Having a lot of weight around the mid section points to all sorts of health issues. In fact, that area has the most issues of any other area that carries too much weight. It's great to have motivation stemming towards getting back into favorite clothes, looking better, etc. But the one thing that will set you in motion is to think about the risks you are taking by being overweight. Is eating junk food, fast food loaded with fat and high calories,etc. worth your life? My life is worth more than that to me. I would love to be around to see my grandchildren when they are born. I want to be around to share the rest of my life with my husband. There are so many joys in life, in the past the only joy I had was consuming food. Seeing a big piece of dessert coming brought a smile to my face. How crazy all that seems to me now. Now I wake up full of energy, my thoughts are not of food, but what the day holds in store. I feel like a better person, I have more motivation for the important things in my life. My life doesn't center around food anymore. Food is something that nourishes my body, it's not for giving me a reason to feel happy. I'm not home free yet, I still have struggles on a day to day basis. I still have thoughts that I'm not going to make it, or that I will go on a binge and eat everything that I see. That's part of the bad habit that I am still trying to break. But each day I am getting closer to achieving something that has been so hard to do. It does take work, committment, determination and loads of will power. But to me the most important factor has been my reason for motivation. My health.
Exercising is another area that I constantly work on. Sometimes I dread to even think about climbing on that bike. But after I'm on there I get the best feeling. I know I am working for better health. I'm one of those people that need balance in what I do. I can't slack on my eating habits or slack on my exercising. I want both of them to become a part of my life. And right now they are. It's like setting an alarm clock, after a while it becomes habit. So I've thrown away the old habits and developed new ones. A new lifestyle, a healthier one. One that I can live with for a very long time.
Cyan, I haven't really got into weight lifting. Mainly I am using 5 pound dumbbells to exercise with. Doing side bends, etc. Also dancing around some. Started doing a few new exercises this weekend. Ouch,
they hurt! Went back to riding the bike for 30 minute sessions yesterday. I think 30 minutes 3 times a day is more to my liking. I wish I knew how to swim, Cjunk you are doing one of the best exercises there is. Sorry you have been feeling alittle down lately. I remember back about how that time of the month was. I went through the change pretty early, a lot of hormone deals associated with that. Seems like that's when I started putting on a lot of weight. I got that middle age spread thing going on.
Lady, glad you are still motivated and keeping up the good work. Stay motivated, you have the right outlook.
To everyone else. Glad you have joined us. Please don't give up, we all have bad days with this. Don't be bashful, if you need any help all of us will be glad to help. Venting is a good thing. Don't keep things inside. It leads to frustrations which in turn leads to overeating, speaking from experience on this one.
And most of all, everyone please think about your health. Stay motivated, stay confident.
Have a great day. Talk with you ladies later. Keep up the good work. Sorry this was so long again.
on avoiding negative thoughts, and for calling our attention to the importance of attitude in succeeding. Thanks to you I'm doing better today.
heheh, and you restocked the veggies. Plus you have a great attitude and your sense of humor is a boost to all of us. This bloating thing only lasts a few days, and just think, someday you won't have to worry about it at all; trust me, I know. 
And you DIDN"T choose comfort food? Way to go girl! 
I found this link to the mayo clinic that gives a clear explanation of the pyramid and portions. Here is the link: http://www.mayo.edu/comm/mcr/news_1393.html. I'm all psyched! It's off to the store to buy lots of fruits, veggie and complex carbs. 
Keep up the good work!
