Glad to see you got to join Curves...now you better actually go!!! Everytime I join a gym of any sort I end up never going...but we are holding you accountable! I know it will help you.

Good for you Ice Princess! My sister belongs to Curves and loves it! I'm like Purple though...everytime I join a gym or something along those lines I don't go enough to make the price worth it. I seem to do better exercising on my own.

Does anyone have any ideas for easy low calorie lunches? I'm getting tired of salads and yogurt! :lol:

what really great emails today.. I am on lunch now and taking 10 to read them and check in ;)
Purple, You are so doing the right thing by counting calories - all diets come and go and some are good and some are bad, but the only thing that is steady about weight loss is calories taken in VS. calories burned = weight loss. I have the SB book and thought about it but it seemed too expensive with a family not eating the same way so I have made a couple recipes , modified them a bit-but don't follow it! Everyone I know who has successfully taken off weight and kept it off have watched calories and fat, exercised and never followed a "diet" well, I can say that except WW- one friend lost 145 lbs and kept if off for 6 years while doing WW
I do know I was told not to eat more than 30-35 grams of fat per day -But that's my dr.'s orders for me - everyone is different
Yay on joining the gym Ice Princess- I have heard good things about curves

gee SuzyMc :lol: I was thinking if anyone had any good dinner ideas?? I am so tired of thinking what to make for dinner, shopping and then cooking and then cleaning up. I do lean cuisines, or healthy choice meals with a salad or green beans and a fruit for dessert -how about tuna or chicken in a wrap with veggies, a garden burger is another fav of mine.. I also do leftovers in one of those gladwear divided containers as they are easy for the right size portions . and my real fav is green beans with italian dressing (Lofat) and a baked sweet potato along with an apple for dessert. Lots of fiber ;)
Everyone have a good day..
I have to go grocery shopping :( Must resist candy at end of aisles and at check out counters, must resist little ladies with samples who want you to try EVERYTHING.
Thanks again for support!
Sandi

A good place to look for meal ideas in on this site. They have a whole bunch and I have gotten some tasty ones. I survived the grocery store with all the kids and must have unloaded alot of calories! I loaded up on fresh fruit and the kids went nuts-Joshua even requested pears! I almost fell over. We went by the mac and cheese and he said, "none of that. we don't eat it." Praise the Lord, I think he is finally getting it. He did try watermelon, didn't like it but Odessa sure did. Cracks me up, my cupboard for canned is practically empty, freezer is too but I have the fridge crammed so full I can't find anything. I am pooped out so I don't think I will get the walk in today. The kids trashed the house again so I will get some more excersize in that way today. I was so thrilled to see all the emails today and the successes and sticktoitness we are all having. Keep up the great work!
Melissa

i haven't been counting fat because high fat foods are naturally high in calories too, so with a calorie limit i can't eat too much of those things. but if i eat foods with fat, i find i stay fuller longer. i would rather eat a little fat and be full than munch on too many empty fat-free carbs. but if you want to try tracking them, my trainer told me that a good breakdown is 20% fat, 60% carbs, and 20% protein.

kayelle, that is too funny about the pants. well i guess it would be awesome if they were too baggy by then. but then again they were $60, so i hope i get to wear them again at least once. lol. if i get this job i think i will get some new pants like those. they are hot.

i like to have a sandwich made with light bread. almost any kind of sandwich fits into my calorie target if i cut off those 120-160 extra calories from using regular bread. it's kind of expensive though. another good low calorie lunch i like is watermelon and soynuts. those soynuts keep me full and have a lot of protein.

I did check out a few recipes on here and may try one or two..I have to be sneaky with my family sometimes and NOT tell them it's good for them.. When I made Lofat/lo calorie fettucinni alfredo with whole wheat pasta they devoured it and then I made the mistake of telling them it was healthier for them and you'd have thought I'd poisoned them..

I just heard from the insurance company and since I am ..."Morbific Obesity..
( which mean I have disease causing FAT) Ok that is the first time anyone said those words to me.. My dr. wrote in BIG letters across my paperwork - reason for prescription: Morbid Obesity. ARRGHGHGHGH I wanted to eat everything in sight and even stuff that wan't in sight.But I was good and had 2 SF/FF jellos cause I was pouting. When they say it like that is sounds so ....icky ...maybe it is true but ...geee .. ( sorry for the whining) But anyway because of my being so obsese I qualify for their healthy education program .. and they will pay for WW -I have a 10% co pay..which isn't bad. I am joining online cause 1. it's cheaper and 2. I do not like the meetings. They rent rooms from us on Saturdays and I have been at work listening to their meetings and I don't care for their leader.. she is very pushy on buying only WW products.. SO I am gonna learn all about points..
I guess being fat does have some benefits ;) feeling better now
But I am stressing over weighing again.. I mean what if I wait till Aug. 24 and I haven't lost any weight??? ARRGHGHGH Just venting again ..sorry...I guess I need to stop whining and complaining and be thankful that I can do WW to help me.
Just needed to spout off to some friends - thanks all!

p.s. I passed up candy and even avoided the sample ladies at the grocery store and stuck to my list
Melissa -I have no idea how you can take kids to the store AND keep sane Come on.. Share your secrets LOL

Well I am doing WW too so let me know if there is any recipes I can send you via email. It is the only way I cook now and I put the recipes on index cards and in my card file so it all looks kosher to anyone who is watching me cook. Sneaky but you gotta do what you gotta do or just rip the page out of the WW magazine and do it that way. I am also classified as Morbidly Obese and the first time I saw that, I wanted to cry so I know how hard it is. It is so good that your insurance will pay-about time they started investing in prevention for people. Here for you and let me know if you need some recipes.
melissa

Okay, I did it and I am so happy with myself tonight :D I stayed under 1800 calories, 1765 to be exact. I think this a bit too many calories for me though. I starved on 1500, but I already felt full when I sat down to dinner tonight, and it looked like so much food but I sat there and ate it all so I could get my calories in. Then I kind of kicked myself and said I don't HAVE to eat them all lol I think the difference is how much exercise I do, which varies from day to day according to what is going on with the kids and such. When I did 1500 I was doing like 8 miles a day, sometimes more, so I needed more food. Today I only did 2 miles in the evening, so I didn't need as much. I could have made it on 1500 and been comfortable.

So, I am setting my calories at 1500-1700, and will aim to just be in there somewhere, depending on how much exercise I do. This way I can adjust it according to how much I am exerting. I do feel full right now, not overly stuffed just full enough to know I could have cut out some. Okay, live and learn and tomorrow is a new day. It was lunch that really filled me up: brown rice, beans, diced tomatoes, all mixed together with a dash of seasoned salt. It was yummy, but didn't leave any room for dinner! I will remember this and have it for dinner next time instead. Even the kids ate this and I was so happy, because it is one of my favorite fall backs from when I was a vegetarian, i used to eat it like every day.

My fat calories were 35 for the day, so I don't think that's too bad...and I wasn't even trying to watch that, just counted out of curiousity.

Glad to see everyone has survived another day...morbid obesity labels and grocery stores and all :p You all rock!

Theresa

My name is Jeanne and I am addicted to sweets. I have had a really bad week eating wise. Everytime I turn around, something is going on that puts me in an eating out situation and I have not been making great choices. And then, I am also my worst enemy. I was feeling bad for DH (why, I don't know - he is one of those naturally thin people that deserve hatred - LOL) because I hadn't bought snacks in weeks. Well, I broke down and bought some. Guess who ate them? Yep, me! I also have been really lazy with my exercise. Tonight I did talk DH into taking a walk with the kids and me. We went for a nice 30 - 40 minute walk, but with the 3 year old leading the way, we weren't traveling at any breakneck pace that put me in fat burning mode. Oh well, it was 40 min. that I wasn't stuffing my face.

Tonight I am going to bed with the resolve that this behavior is not going to continue. I WILL get up early and exercise before I concoct some excuse why I can't. I WILL have a healthy breakfast (the fruit is already cut up). I WILL have a sensible lunch and dinner. I WON'T eat or drink empty calories.

sandisuzie - keep your chin up. the medicine profession has a way of making overweight people feel inferior and just plain wrong. What sucks is that the make you (or at least me) feel that way when we're trying to work on our weight. I'm sorry you had to deal with the feelings that came up today but that's great that they'll pay for WW.

Jeanne - I hear you with the sweets. I heard somewhere that sometimes it's helpful to write a list before you go to bed of all the reasons you want to stick to your eating plan or exercise plan the following day. The everytime you're faced with a choice you have the list ou made the night before to remind you why you may want to make a healthy choice. I dunno, I have never tried it. But sounds like it may help.

jeanne -- eating out and having sweets around is always hard. you sound really determined though and that's great. it's ok to have a bad week sometimes. i think it can even be good. i think sometimes people can get diet fatigue, and it pays to have some indulgence every now and then. sometimes i feel if i don't eat a burrito i might hurt someone :bomb: . just keep a postive view of things and don't beat yourself up.
of course i take this too far.. tonight i had two desserts. probably did not need that ice cream cone even if it was reduced fat.
why can't i stop eating ice cream!?!

I found this at www.recipezaar.com in the "lighter fare" section, and it sounds very good. I thought our WW people might especially be interested since they say the entire pie is only 6 WW points! On another posting of the same thing there, someone else said it is only 58 calories per serving, 8 servings in a pie.

Fresh Crustless Strawberry Pie #108452
Delicious way to share the fresh strawberries of the season! Or don't! The entire "pie" is 6 WWers points.
4 cups strawberries
1 (1 1/3 ounce) box sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
1 (5/8 ounce) box sugar-free strawberry gelatin
2 cups water

6 servings

1. Use a small pudding mix and a large jello. The pudding mix and jello should be dry.
2. Use strawberry jello, sugar free.
3. Mix pudding mix and water together.
4. Bring to boil.
5. Remove from heat and mix in jello crystals.
6. Place strawberries in a pie pan.
7. Pour the mixture over the strawberries and chill for at least an hour.

It sounds really yummy and healthy, and very easy. My kids will just eat this up and it would be a great snack for me as well.

Theresa

Cadwell reminded me of something I heard not too long ago...there is a diet strategy where one day a week you can eat absolutely anything you want. It can also be once a month, but the idea is that when you eat a lot of bad things then start eating healthy it gives your body a shock, which is why many people will lose a lot of weight right when they first start, then it levels off. I know that can also be water coming out at first, but it is also a shock to the system so they said (there was a website, but I don't have a clue now what it was). Anyway, people were saying they lose and keep it off that way and if they are having cravings they just hold off until their free day, so it helps them stay OP the rest of the time.

I don't think this would work for me because I would go way overboard on my free day and it would leave me feeling miserable. I just don't want to do that to myself ever, ever again. I'm going to all the fast food websites today and making a list of some things I might eat when I wind up there, along with how many calories and fat grams in each. I'll put it in my purse so I am prepared to make an informed decision. I don't the stress of not knowing what to get.

Theresa