Good Morning, Everyone!
Sorry I haven't calculated the new chart this morning, but I'm running late.

Kancice, if you want to do the honors of changing the chart, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'll come back later on to do it. :)

Have a great day, everyone!! And Keep on doing your best. :coffee:

Our group is totally hot!
(Hugs),
Dena :cool:

OK, I'm back. :)

Here's our success so far:

DewCan (Goal: 14 lbs.) 3 lbs. lost
KandaceA (Goal: 8 lbs.) 3 1/2 lost and 4.812 lbs. of body fat lost
Florafae (Goal: 20 lbs.) 4 lbs. lost
Dena (Goal: 10 lbs.) 2 1/2 lbs. lost
tobaccygirl (Goal: 8 lbs.) 1 lb. lost
Rollmdl (Goal: 15 lbs.) 2 lbs. lost
Skinny B (Goal: 10 lbs.)
Krista (Goal: (20 lbs.)
Miss Meliss (Goal: 25 lbs.)
Sharqueen (Goal: 25 lbs.)

I hope I didn't make any mistakes. :)

Good luck, everyone!
(Hugs),
Dena :cool:

Hello, everyone!
 

Thanks for the warm welcome! :flow2: I've been reading over the previous posts in an effort to get to know everyone but be patient w/me. It sounds like everyone is doing well and is very motivated to get healthy. Dena-thanks for starting this challenge. I think it's just what I needed to keep my focus.

Things here are good. Eating is going well, although I did split a dessert w/a coworker at lunch-time today. I don't get cravings that much but I was really wanting something sweet. As a matter of fact, I rather shocked my friend when I ask her to split a dessert w/me. She said, what-you never eat dessert! It was very good and 1/2 the calories! :D

I walked for 30 minutes this morning and that's probably all I'll get today. I'm pretty active at our church and Weds. are a busy evening for us. But, 30 minutes is better than nothing! I will definitely walk in the morning and hit the Y tomorrow.

FLorafee-do you feel "naked" w/o your glasses? I have worn glasses since kindergarten and I'm not sure I could funtion w/o them! :) I have considered lasik, though. Maybe in a couple of years; we'll see. Glad it has gone well for you.

Kandice-congrats on the smaller pants! I'm wearing a pantsuit right now that's two sizes smaller than what I was wearing last year. It does feel great doesn't it? Keep up the good work!

Bonnie-are you starting the ready to be fit program at the Y? That's what I'm doing right now and I love it! The folks who work at the Y are really good at making you feel comfortable, aren't they! you're doing excellent w/your challenge! Way to go.

Dean-you're are doing great as well. You ladies surely know how to motivate, don't you? The motto for this thread must be "lead by example!" Glad to be a part of it!

I will be going to my sister's house for Thanksgiving. We are preparing dinner together so I'm looking forward to that. We're fixing WW variations on traditional foods and tradition recipes as well. I'll just eat less of the traditional foods and leave them for others. On my WW plan, I get 26 points a day and 35 flexpoints a week. I have already planned out a 27 point menu so I won't have to use that many points, I'll get to eat what I want and enjoy my time w/my family. It's a win/win situation! :)

Well, ladies-gotta run! Have a great health day! Be kind to yourself!

I just realized I didn't post what I did today. So here goes~~

I just came back from the gym.... another hour on the treadmill :tread: Plus I managed to get in my 30 minute walk this morning, late and all. I plan on walking after dinner with my hubby.

Today:
Breakfast:egg, toast and butter - 4 pts.
Lunch: soup, crackers, yogurt = 8 pts.
Dinner: Frittata (vegetable, eggs, cheese, olive oil)-8 pts, green beans -0, sm banana-1 pt.
Total: 21 pts.

Skinny, congrats to you on splitting that dessert with your co-worker and managing to get in your 30 minute walk -- in spite of you having a busy day!! :bravo: We will get to our goals.

Let's all keep up the great work!
(Hugs),
Dena :cool:

Morning everyone!
didn't exercise yesterday- had some work to get done through my lunch break and then I worked till 6 and I was way too tired. but I did stay on the my meal plan and according to my scale- which is probably more tempermental than dena's, I lost another 2 lbs. I don't want to quit but I think it's coming off too "easy". I mean, I workout 4-5x a week for 30 minutes and the rest is just cutting back the carbs. I don't know if I should start increasing my food (I eat 40-60 carbs a day) to slow it down. I want to do it the right way and for it to stay off. 15 lbs in 5 weeks though- that's averaging 3 lbs a week.... I don't know- any suggestions?

yes- congrats skinnybutt on sharing the dessert. You really will be a skinnybutt! :)I "shared" icecream with FI last night- he had a big bowl full and I resisted and resisted and then he had 1 bite left and I asked him for it. so I only had 1 tsp of icecream- but it was worth it!

Happy Thursday!

Good Morning, Everyone!

Well here I sit with my morning coffee :coffee: and the first thing I read is that Kandice is thinking of quitting. What?!

Kandice, here is my opinion and personal experience~~ When you first start losing weight, it tends to come off rather quickly. It's average to lose 1-2 lbs. a week, if you're doing it right. I've been on a few different diets, (Atkins, where I regained the weight just as fast when I started eating normally again), counted cals and lately WW. I need variety. :lol: I lost 45 lbs a couple of years ago. The first 26 came off quickly, then things started slowing down. I even exercised quite a bit more than now. Weight training, too. I got a lot of compliments and also felt jealousy from my friends. Then life got in the way, and somehow I regained 10 lbs. This time it is not coming off as easily. I'm determined to look good again. It's funny.... when you are losing you feel great. When it comes back on, it's not such a good feeling. And those cute clothes in the closet just hanging there make you feel worse. So I say get to your goal no matter what. Just keep going, because once you stop it's harder to get your momentum going.
If you feel you should raise your carbs do so, but get to your goal. Nothing is carved in stone that you need to follow one plan. Good luck, Kandice! Remember, you want to look great in your wedding dress. :)

Bonnie, congrats to you for eating only 1400 cals. I do agree with you that TV dinners do have lots of preservatives. I never used to worry about that until I started reading about nutrition, and how there are so many preservatives and additives in frozen dinners, fast foods and most processed foods. I've read that fast food places add something in their foods that makes you hungrier. That's why people are getting heavier.

Bonnie, I am totally impressed with your weight training, water aerobics and walking routine! Speaking of which, I better get out there and start my exercise for the day.

Have a great day, everyone!
(Hugs),
Dena :cool:

Hello everyone,

SkinnyB. Yes, I feel VERY naked without my glasses. I am constantly reaching up to adjust them, only they aren’t there any more. People keep giving me the strangest looks, because I appear to be saluting them. I guess it’s a variation of the phantom limb phenomenon. I don’t know how long it will take for me to get used to my glasses-less face in the mirror. I look very different. And that, I suppose, is the only downside I’ve discovered so far to my Lasik surgery. Now, I can see all my wrinkles!

Kandice. Whatever weight-loss pace you decide is most comfortable for you, the important thing is to stick to a healthy diet plan and keep aiming for you goal. For what it’s worth, my experience is very similar to Dena’s. I lost a lot of weight about two years ago, and the first couple of months the pounds came off quickly and easily (about 23 pounds). Then I hit the proverbial plateau and things slowed down considerably.

Bonnie. Good for you for keeping your calorie count to 1400 calories. I find that I have to keep a running tally of everything I eat and write it down in a little notebook. Calories seem to add up so quickly, and if I wait until the end of the day to do the math, I’m often over my target.

The best to all of you!
Florafae

Thanks to everyone for including me in the group.

I did have a nice relaxing day, since it is a stat holiday here in Canada. So I managed to get out and go for a hike. It was a little bit chilly out, but I bundled up and faced the cold temps :)

Still debating on whether or not I have the patience to listen to Mari Windsor this evening...only time will tell.

-Krista

Sign me up!! I hope to be at my goal weight by Christmas. I'm thinking of getting my Thyroid levels checked - it seems I have some of the symptoms of problems. Wish me luck!

Thanks everyone- when I said I was thinking of quitting- it wasn’t quitting quitting- just upping my carbs to slow the weight loss down. I have never dieted before so I didn’t know if the rapid weight loss was normal or not. It seems to be coming off too easy. I know people who have tried and tried to lose weight and they say it’s so hard… but I don’t know the details either- maybe they were eating sensible meals but then binging at night in front of the TV. I guess the weight came on easy too- so it makes sense to come off easy. I can think back to all the Krispy Kremes, sweet tea, biscuits and gravy, that I’ve come to LOVE since moving to the south. Everyone wants to feed you too!

I’ve heard about plateaus, and sounds so stupid, but I want to know what one is – experience it for myself. Almost all the women in my diet class have reached a plateau now, so the instructor is kinda teaching them what’s to be expected and all and I don’t have anything to compare it to.

BUT I’M NOT DONE! I gained 30 lbs from 3/03- 9/04 and I want to get back down to that AT LEAST before anything happens. 50 lbs is my goal though- so I can be at my “healthy” weight (and wear smaller, in style clothes) oh yeah, and look good in the wedding dress and more importantly on our honeymoon in the Bahamas.

So thank you- I’m sticking to it- I actually had a hamburger bun last night for the first time in 5 weeks (it was within my carbs still- I ended the night with 54) with my turkey burger and bacon and cheese. And you know what- I ate about ½ of the burger and I felt honestly full. I can definitely tell when I eat too much carbs (or a lot of them at the same time)

Worked out yesterday afternoon too….

So I have another question since you lost a lot of lbs before, did anyone notice that their stretch marks started “raising up” again? Did I ask this already? Like you know when I was fat, the skin was stretched and I didn’t really see the stretch marks even though I knew they were there…. But now, since I started losing inches my skin is shrinking back and the marks have kinda been coming together. It’s really gross. Anything to get rid of them?

Thanks to everyone again and congrats to everyone for their continued success- I wrote enough already…

Happy Friday, Everyone!!
 

Yes, we made it to the end of the week! Woo Hoo! Now for the weekend~~Hubby and I may go out for Chinese again this weekend, so I have to plan around those calories.

This is how I did Yesterday:
Breakfast: oatmeal,v-8 juice=3 pts.
Snack: Cheese=2 pts.
Lunch: Yogurt, crackers=5 pts
Dinner: Frittata, mixed veggies & butter, low-fat cookie=13 pts.
Total: 23 pts.
Water: 10 glasses
Exercise: 30 minute brisk walk after breakfast, 48 minutes on the treadmill, 20 minute walk after dinner.

Florafae, you said you raised your activity level. What kinds of exercises do you do? I need more inspiration in that deprartment. By the way, I'm so happy for you that the Lasik surgery went well!

Bonnie, what exactly do you do at water aerobics? Sounds like fun. How is your weight training going?

Krista, glad you could join our Merry Christmas Challenge. What holiday was that yesterday in Canada? And good for you for getting out there and hiking in the cold!!

Shelby, welcome to our awesome little group! You'll get to that goal. What nutritional plan and exercises are you doing to get to your goal? And good luck at the doctor's office.

Kandice, so glad to hear you are not quitting, but eating a few more carbs. What diet class are you going to? What kinds of things are they teaching you. I could always learn better behaviors.

Well, everyone, I'm trying my best, but I took a sneak preview of how I did on the scale--and it only showed 1/2 lb. this week. What a disappointment. Kandice, this is what a plateau looks like. You work hard, and nothing! Believe me, you don't want to get there.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
(Hugs),
Dena :cool: