Good Morning!
Lots of things on my mind today, but first .....
Reina_Mia - YEA!! on avoiding negative thoughts, and for calling our attention to the importance of attitude in succeeding. Thanks to you I'm doing better today.
Good luck on the root canal. You might try eating no fat yogert or soup.
Cjunk - Wow, you're doing great! You boght the yoga tape -and used it I presume?? 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.
Cyan - You cycled 50 minutes?? And you DIDN"T choose comfort food? Way to go girl!
You give lots of good incouragement in your posts and I really value your input.
A fun project: find something - canned food, bags of sugar, etc, that weighs the same as the pounds you have lost. If it's more than one item put them together and lift them all at once. You will be amazed at how much you have lost.
Ok, Here's the deal. I just haven't had the energy I want when I run, so it's been getting harder and harder to stay motivated. I was mulling this over on this morning's run and the obvious finally hit me over the head.
If I don't put the right fuel in my body, I can't expect to have the energy to exercise. Yes, I've been losing weight, but I haven't been eating healthy as I should. I think it's Cyan that has been encouraging us to use the food pyramid, well it finally sunk in. 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.
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.
Just posting a bit before dinner to help me stay on track. I found last night so challenging around dinner and am experiencing the same cravings tonight. Last night I pushed through it and tonight I hope to do the same.
So great to hear from everyone. I am with Cyan on the push to get back into the swing of things when we hit a rut. If we don't get out of it ourselves, then how will we stay on track?? This week has been one of the hardest for me so I figure that if I can keep myself in line for the week than surely I can inspire someone else to do the same??? I keep telling myself it is worth it and I am worth it to keep this healthy lifestyle up.
I realized that I have to come up with a once a month strategic plan because it seems that I really really crave bad for me things around this time!!!
I have stayed away from the cookies, homemade date squares and timbits brought into work by others over the last few days (can you believe it? And its only Tuesday!!). I am starting to get noticed for not eating them and people are jokingly harrassing me for being so healthy. I let them know how hard it is and how I appreciate their positive feedback because it keeps me going and so far the harassing has now turned into supporting! I guess it is all in the approach.
One of the girls asked me if I would be interested in doing the stairs on our break times, and it looks like that might work out with our schedules a few days a week.
Thanks to LadyRider for the web address. Truly until Annie was discussing it earlier I had never heard of the food pyramid, only the Canada Food Guide! It is helpful to have more details about it.
Annie, never worry about writing too much. I enjoy your postings and the way that you share your thoughts so openly-it helps to keep me motivated and I hope I can do the same for you.
Cyan, way to go girl!! I sometimes take what men say too much to heart and you certainly handled it with a positive mental attitude and a great response to exercise! What an inspiration!! I still can't get one guy's voice out of my head when he said to me years and years ago that I was a pretty girl but if only I lost some weight on that rather large butt of mine than I would be even more beautiful. Let's just say I dumped him because he didn't appreciate the inner me, but it took some time thereafter to realize it because I let his comments bother me. My assets are okay and as a matter of fact I kinda like them!!!
Miki, Reina-Mia and Precious One...we can all get back on track and inspire each other. Let's post what we are challenged with so that we can help each other get through this!! I have found that friends and family will stop cooking those treats or modify their treats if you let them know how good it feels to eat healthier or why you are motivated to eat better...is that something worth trying??
Not working until 11am this morning but for some reason I woke up early today. Feeling well rested after last night's aquafit and swim. Didn't get as much of a workout because another girl did the class and it was very mild movemements. Then in the swim I kept getting bumped into by other swimmers in the faster lane and kept catching up to all of the swimmers in the next slower lane over so eventually I gave up and went home. So I guess you could say that I did about a 45 minute workout of low to medium intensity.
I think I will try to do some exercise before going to work today-maybe my pilates tape. I noticed tomorrow that there is a 7:30-8:30am length swim and I work again at 11am so I may go out to that dependent on how my shoulder is doing.
I will spend some time planning out my food for the day because I seem to get stuck especially at night when I get home because I get into a pattern of just "pinching" at the easy foods in the fridge. So I think I will cut up some pinching veggies to access for tonight and plan a dinner which I can just pop into the microwave when I get home to help out that urge. I found a good water bottle that I have that I use for hiking that holds 32 ounces of water, so my goal is to have one of those during the day to get started on better water consumption.
Gotta get to planning and exercising!! My gosh, I am scaring myself even...yikes!
Hey Cjunk and dont eat it Awesome on holding steadfast and not breaking down and giving in to your cravings...this battle you won.
I am asking this question to everybody who reads and posts here: Lets call it a mental challenge on this quest of ours to a healthier us.....So what clicked in your brain this time? Why is it this time, you are sticking with this health journey? Did you have an experience or something that finally made you want to be healthier?
I was just curious...for me, its the getting older part...there is diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and alzheimers in my family history...and these are all chronic lifestyle illnesses that develop from poor life choices and poor diet. I am 32 and in very good health but I have been neglectful of my diet and exercise. Yes I am not considered fat my most people...I look to be about 140 pounds although I weigh 169...I have lots of muscle and carry my weight very well...my clothes are anywhere from a size 9 to a size 12. So, yes, I do have about a good 30 pounds to loose but its not the number that concerns me the most. I am on this health journey because I want to live for a long time and be disease free. I want to be those centenarians you hear about that are sharp minded and move without aid. I can do this...so I am doing this....and I want you girls to know that you all have been such a source of inspiration...thank you for sharing your trials and tribulations. I know its hard...and I know that there will be days where you overeat or dont exercise or both...but I pray and hope those days are far and few inbetween and very short lived.
So last night, I did 7km on the bike...and didnt binge...so since last friday, I have not binged after my last meal which is approximately at 6pm. So I am very proud of myself for this because it is so easy for me to stuff food into my mouth to deal with my life pressures. You see, I took mom to see her family doctor and she wants my mom to do a complete GI a gastrointestinal exam...both through the mouth and a colonoscopy...to check for cancers...she wants to rule this out because my mom has lost too much weight. Anyway, needless to say, I felt miserable and I could have broken down...and used this horrible situation as an excuse to eat eat eat...but thankfully, I didnt...I remembered all of your good advice given here and used it. I got on the exercise bike instead and worked off my anxieties instead...I took a hot bath...I spoke with friends on the phone...and the cravings and urge to overeat stoppep. Well, must get back to work
Alright ladies, I did it, I went into McDonalds yesterday with my son, and I did not munch on any fries or order my own.
Hey, That is one big accomplishment for myself.
Well, the root canal went better than expected. I am really in no pain and ready to exercise. Ok, I lie, I have more severe menstral cramps than I do tooth pain...
I challenge myself to drinking all my water today, and not munching on junk today.
LadyRider Cjunk, and Cyan, thank you for all your motivation and support. I don't think I could do this without all this continued support. I am feeling better today, inspite of the issues that are going on in my house. But I refuse to let that get me down.
I won't be working out today, but I will be back on track tomorrow.
I LOVE THIS GROUP.....
Have a Blessed day everyone.
Good moring,
Thanks for the encouragement guys! Yesterday was great except for the water(some but not enough). I did my 8 minutes and then rode the bikealmost 2mi(very good considering the little ones were underfoot). I'm kind of in a funk this moring don't feel like doing anything but going to make myself go for that mile walk.
Cyan my wake up call was when my uniform pants which were a size too big started getting tight not to mention my jeans were already too tight. I was like this not going to happen plus the fact my daughter eats way too much. I don't want her to be picked on because of her weight when she starts school. Especially since I know I can just cut out all the junk food she eats.
Keep up the good work everyone and remember one day at a time.
Good Morning! Cjunk - You're right, having those veggies ready will really help. Earlier this week I had celery cut up in an open container of ice water and the family ate it up in one day!
You were smart to be up front with your co-workers and let them know how important this life style is to you. It not only made them supportive, it reinforced your own determination.
Cyan! I am very impressed! You faced a very difficult situation and instead of eating comfort foods you used helathy resources - friends, hot bath and exercise! Keep up the good work!
What clicked for me this time? A combination of things. I will turn 58 in Feb. My husband wants to go out west and hike down one of the canyons to see the ruins and I knew I could never make it. Then my close friend spent a weekend clearing part of the Appalachian trail and I knew I could never have done that either. Finally, I was getting out of breath just climbing the stairs. If I am in this poor shape in my 50's what will I be like in my 60's or 70's? I didn't want to be limited in what I could do because I was over weight and physically out of shape. I dreaded starting another diet that I wouldn't stick to and looked around for another answer. That's when I realized I had never cut calories and exercised at the same time - always one with out the other and that never worked. My son runs, so he inspired me to try it too. When I saw a 3lb loss the first week, it made me realize this could really work. Whenever I get discouraged or lazy, my son and husband are both there to keep me going.
Would you girls be willing to share favorite low cal recipies?
Mikki, reina_mia, precious - How are you? You are missed!
Lady, I'm all for the suggestion of sharing recipes. I know I've come across some new ones that sounded really good but when I tried them they weren't that great. It's always good to try something that someone else has had success with. What was that old commercial, something like "give it to Mikey, Mikey will eat anything or try anything". Or something like that.
That's a great idea Lady.
Cjunk, I admire your confidence and motivation. You do inspire me to do alittle better each day. You strive forward even with an injury, makes me realize that sometimes we make excuses not to exercise and then to read your replies that you keep trying to do better even when you have an injury speaks volumes.
reina_mia, big applause to you from me. Will power and determination brings great rewards. Keep up the great work, you're on the right track. Much success to you.
Lady, great going on the weight loss. You go Girl! A big applause to your husband and son for their support. I know what you mean about the hiking.
Precious One, congrats on the 2 mile bike ride. You have the right focus to make this work. Go easy on yourself about the water consumption. If you're like me, I never was fond of drinking water. Take it day by day, before you realize it you will be drinking more water. It's hard to force something on yourself that you don't really like. But if you limit yourself from other beverages you will soon find yourself grabbing for that water. When I started out I would rotate my liquid intakes. One meal I would have water, one meal I would have lightly sweetened ice tea. Soon I was leaving the sugar out of my tea and then I definitely prefered the water. Especially when you have just worked out, water is the final touches on making you feel good about yourself.
Cyan, a big applause and pat on the back for your will power and determination not to binge. For me late night snacking was a problem also. You are so right about finding other outlets instead of reaching for food. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this.
In my post yesterday I think I pretty much covered my reasons for trying to become healthier. It was more like an essay than an answer though. So I won't get into all that again, but since you asked the question I just wanted to let you know I had already gave my answer to this.
reina-mia, I agree. This group is one tough group. Best there is for support and help. We're all going to make our goals a reality. Hang in there.
Stay Confident, Stay Motivated.
Cyan,
Thanks for your comments...My tooth is doing much better. I am not in as much pain as I thought.
As long as it curbs my appetite, I could go to the dentist once a week...
And kudos to you for not binging. I know how hard that can be, and it really is a tug of war game.
Keep up the good work...
I am challenging myself to working out to get rid of all this stress....
Hi all!!! I've been going crazy here. For the past 2 days, I tried to get to the posts between 9 and 10 pm and wasnt able to. I could get to the homepage and read the articles but couldnt get into any message boards or anything. I hated knowing you all were probably here and I was missing out!! I miss all of you when I'm not able to be here. You're all a great help to me.
I was disappointed yesterday because my calories were much higher than I was hoping when I logged everything in at the end of the day in Fitday.com. ( I love that site, by the way) I had done really well Sunday and Monday and felt like I blew it yesterday. Got back on track today tho and got my calories back down. Still drinking water..still not liking it. haha
As for my reason to really being determined this time, it's because I will be 40 in March and I"ve heard people say all my life that weight is so much harder to lose after 40. So about 3 weeks ago, I started to panic. I dont want to be a big fat lazy person when my kids grow up and move out and my husband and I have the chance to go out and do things together more. ( dont get me wrong..I am not looking forward to the kids moving out at all...I actually dread the day lol)
Anyway, I think coming to this site is the BEST thing by far that I have done. The eating right and drinking water and exercising are all good things and necessary but I honestly dont think without ya'll I would stick with it. THANKS!!!! for all the input and support.
Missing 2 nites made me wayyy behind. I just spent 45 minutes just catching up on reading everyone's posts. Now I dont have time to address every one individually. There was tons of good information and inspiration in them all. Even the ones when some of you are depressed or "funked out" (haha), they inspire me because I know you're just like me. Together, we can do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LadyRider, you are an incredible role model--such support to everyone and also leading the way with great successes!! Congratulations on your weight loss and keep up the great work.
Cyan, as always, your queries give everyone great thought and propel us forwards because it confirms why we are all here. Mine is basically the desire to heal my shoulder and at the same time get back into shape after a 6 month hiatus from exercise. Also I too have seen miy parents suffer from conditions related to lack of a healthy diet and exercise.
Reina-mia, I cannot believe the strength!! Not eating french fries at McDonalds would be for me a Fear Factor challenge!!! Congrats! I don't know if I would have had the strength...excellent work!
Annie, so glad to hear from you. Your name Determined Annie says it all...keep it up and we will all reach our goals together. Thanks for the positives. It has been challenging with my shoulder injury but like you I am determined to find alternatives so that I can reach my goal in whatever way I can.
PreciousOne, glad to hear that you are bike riding. I really gotta use some of that biking inspiration of yours and get up on my dusty bike (which happens to be sitting in my kitchen !! (in the corner of course so there is not too much guilt when I eat and stare at it!). I too have been taking the water challenge and a girl at work shared a secret to her water success. She brings a 32 ounce bottle to work with her and tells herself that she will drink one of those in the morning and then another in the afternoon. She said that most of it is done by the time she drives to work because she drinks it without even thinking. I tried it and it seems to work for me! I still don't like drinking it much but now it has been becoming part of my routine. I was drinking smaller glasses before and felt like it was neverending!
A couple of positives:
My diet has been pretty good over the past few days.
I did do my pilates tape yesterday.
I did make it to the swim this morning and drank a 32 ounce bottle of water this am. I did not have an intense swim but it was relaxing and destressing. I was amazed at how full the pool was--so many people!! I really have no excuse now!!!
My shoulder started to feel a bit tender during the swim so I did a leg workout with a bunch of flutterboard lengths and then plunked into the warming pool against the jets to massage my shoulder. Talk about modified workout!! Oh well, I will eventually get there.
Starting to de-bloat as well, so I guess you can say that I am feeling a bit more motivated naturally so I don't have to push myself as much over the last few days. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement!
LadyRider, I am a big fan of pizza and I find it hard not to order it so I invented my own, so here is the recipe:
I use one large wholewheat pita
A bit of tomatoe sauce
I grill a whole lotta veggies on my Foreman Grill
I use some garlic, basil, oregano
I am lactose intolerant so I sprinkle a bit of Romano and put some Goat Cheese on it
Then I bake it in the toaster oven for about 10 mins.
Last night was pretty much the usual....Yay...I exercised...30 minutes on the bike for a distance of 8.3km...and burned over 300 cals. You are right Mikki...Fitday rocks...when I first started using it...I was surprised to find out how many calories I was ingesting on a daily basis...It was a real eye opener. Do you use the cusomized food section of the program? Anyway, I was at 1500 concumption for the day. So, slowly, I am eating the right amount of cals per day and exercising...we will see what happens interms of weight loss.
Annie and LadyRider....I really enjoy exotic foods and Indian food is one of my favorites...so I thought I would share with you an indian curry chicken dish that offers a lot of flavor and is low in fat and calories. PS...I dont have a dutch oven...I just use a big pot ...works just as good. And you can cut the spices down to suit your taste. Let me know if you liked it. And of course anyone is welcome to try it
INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY
2 Teaspoons Curry Powder
2 Teaspoons Chili Powder
2 Teaspoons Red Ground Pepper
1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Margarine 1 Cup Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Pound Skinned & Boneless
Chicken Breast, cut into pieces
1 8 OZ Plain Fat Free Yogurt
1 6 OZ Can Tomato Paste
5 Cups Potatoes, cubed
4 Cups Water
2/3 Cup Tomato, chopped
Combine the first 7 ingredients. Melt the butter in a dutch oven. Sauté onion and garlicfor 3 minutes. Stir in spice mixture and sauté for 3 more minutes. Add chicken and sauté for 10 minutes. Stir often. Combine the yogurt and tomato paste; stir with a whisk. Add yogurt mixture and potatoes to the water in the pan. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Serve over rice.
Hi Reina-Mia, ...how is your tooth today? PreciousOne,... How did you do on your exercising and food intake?
Cjunk...did you go swimming and how is your shoulder healing up?
Last night, when I was fixing my lunch for today...work argh! Anyway, I was preparing a tuna sandwhich...my favorite!...It smelled so good...and as you know, it was the magical hour of night time...my binging time usually...but I was strong....I made the sandwhich and put it away in the fridge when every ounce of my body was screaming for me to throw it down my neck as fast as possible....I was having vivid images of myself...eating that sandwhich...I swear...sometimes...food to me is like drugs to a drum addict...I just love everything about it....I love the way food smells, the way it looks and oh my...the way it tastes...I love preparing it, I love shopping for it...But, in the end, I won this battle and didnt eat or try a bit of the sandwhich...not even lick the knife! I think everytime I win a food battle...I get stronger and more determined.
So, does anybody have a challenge for the rest of the week! It looks like everybody here is doing so well and fighting valiant battles. I am sooooooooo proud of everyone...and I know no one is perfect and that on ocaision their are flubs...but overall, each and everyone of you is kicking ***! Continue to be strong and perservere...Each and every last one of you inspire me to keep battling my urges to binge and to get on that bike and exercise...for this I thank you from the bottom of my heart...truly
So come and post today and let me know how you are doing...every last details...the good and the bad...with plan of action of how to banish the bad days
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: 
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.
Keep up the good work!
reina-mia rocks
