Sandisuze, thanks for mentioning that dinner to dinner idea. i forgot about that but am going to start it tomorrow. I'm going to go figure what my calories from dinner were and continue tomorrow. I think that will really help me. Like you, it is easier for me to go without in the afternoon than evening. I am fighting off ice cream cravings tonight :mad: but I'm just gonna go to bed, get up and exercise and tomorrow is a new day. Thanks for reminding me there is another way to do this!

Theresa

Well I'm glad to hear I inspire. ;)Well Curves was great, workign up a GOOD sweat, cause I know sweatin is workin. LOL I also went for my walk. On my walk I stopped by the dollar store and bought a cute note pad ( well actually 2, one for home a big one and a little one for my purse so I can start tracking my food habbits, times, what, how much kinda thing) and some cool colored mechanical pencils. I hear you all say write it down to keep track so I'm gonna. I also heard on a scale of 1 -10 how you feel before exercise and how you feel after. Do this for 2 weeks and you won't give up the exercise, so I'm doing that 2. Today I ate bowl of chicken rice soup made from scratch, 2 slices pep pizza, 5 cups water and 3 cupd pepsi, a bowl of regualer ripple chips. I figure I'm over but don't know how to figure cals, or if i should just watch carbs either way I think today was bad, but the exercise was good. I need to go check out cal counters on the web, any body recomend a good one, I hear alot about fitday, is it free?? Well I'm off to bed gotta work tommorow so gonna try to Curves done in morn before work. I booked all my Mondays and Fridays all summer so I only work part time and I love it, but its almost over :(
One quick thing how do I get smilies in my post??

Never mind I got it but were are all the other smilies, is it in the advanced thing at bottom, hold on gonna check :cp: :dizzy:
:grouphug:
I've always just use quick post, not no more ;) LOL

Yes Ice fitday is free to use and congrats on all that excersize!
Melissa

Ice, I just look at the labels on packages to count my calories. This is easier for me because I usually can't get to the computer everytime I eat to see my new total and keep myself under the goal, so just looking at the package and measuring it out is easier for me. It depends on your lifestyle...I've heard great things about fitday! I allow fresh fruit and veggies that don't come in a package to be free foods for me that I don't count. That helps because I use the veggies for a filling snack and the fruit when I have a sweet craving. So far that is working for me.

I am trying a new schedule out and getting up at 5AM, and this is day two and it's not any easier yet. I got myself used to 7, not it's time to go all the way to 5. My daughter will be in preK from 8-12, and I want to use that time to spend one-on-one time with my son and dedicate at least2-3 hours to my writing. I have to start getting more done on that end. So, getting up at 5 will allow me to exercise before I get the kids up and start the day. It is important for me to keep that up first thing because it sets the tone for my day and helps me feel healthier. It will just take some getting used to, being up before the sun! I'm allowing myself not to exercise today, just to stay awake and get used to it.

That's my long way of saying depending on how tired I am today, I may be around more or less today. If tired, I might just not clean house and spend the entire day being lazy. ;)

Theresa

I did just okay on calories yesterday. Right up to my limit of 1600. I didn't get all of my cardio minutes in, so I'll have to make those up sometime this week. My legs are sore from the strength training though! (oy! lunges! so hard!)

Good job on keeping on track everyone. Iceprincess, I haven't used fitday, but I've heard good things about it. I sometimes use www.nutritiondata.com you can get a full nutritional analysis of the food and it gives you a list of "better" choices for fullness or fiber or whatever. After awhile though, you just sort of know how many calories you're consuming. The only time I really check is when I'm eating something already prepared, like canned soup or the pizza I indulged in on Sunday.

Does anyone know of a good calculator for calories needed for weight loss which also includes exercise? Last night I was still hungry after dinner and it occurred to me that maybe I'm just not getting enough calories? I want to be careful about making that statement though because I don't want to enable myself to eat more just because I want to...but if my 1300-1600 range isn't enough, then it may explain why I've had a hard time these last few days.

Ok I am doing the happy dance here! Got rid of the 007 weight so I am back to where I was at the last official weigh in with the group. I plan on doing some extra movement today so maybe I can move that ticker down one tomorrow morning but even if I break even still, I am happy. I read an interesting thing in the last WW magazine I got that said thin people stand on average 150 more minutes per day than a heavy person and you burn more calories while standing than you do sitting.
Melissa

Melra, I'm not sure if this has what you need but I know www.self.com
has some cool calculators like calorie needs and how much did you burn- those are free. Hubby as a surprise got me a subscription for self - only 12.00 a year and although it's geared for younger women, I still like the recipes and tips and online you can see the new reach your goal free video and weight tips etc..pretty cool info although too low on calories for me at 1200-
Also Kraftfoods.com has an awesome site for menu planners it's under healthy living..

way to go melissa !! that is so awesome!!

Up at 5 a.m. :faint: best of luck to you.. although I was up at 5:30 today as we are down to 1 car right now-had to take dh to work- hubby is slowly fixing up car #2 but with gas prices so high...

I did exercise last night warmed up on the bike and attempted to do at least some of the "easy beginners" :rofl: video I just got ... I am soo out of shape.. but at least I did do some of the exercises and attempted to try to do some more.. But then got back on the bike and rode some more.. and I did sweat.. DH laughed at me.. and I said Hmmm what you gonna do when someone says, "Hey your wife looks good!! You'll be all walking around all big and bad and then they'll ask when are you gonna lose 20 pounds." I agree with earlier posts...most men are so ridiculous...mine isn't too bad but he's a man and can't help himself :lol:

WI tomorrow.. nervous and everyone is prolly tired of hearing it so i'll :sssh:
Have a great day all!

I have been fiddling with this since day one of this group. I started at 1500 and didn't have near enough energy to get through exercise on days that I did a lot (2-3 hours throughout day), but it is fine on lower exercise days (30-45 minutes say). If I do strength training I definitely need more than 1500. I am now aiming for 1500-1800, depending on how much exercise I do.

I found my range by paying attention to how hungry I felt on different days and different calories. Also, how many calories you burn during exercise depends what exercise you're doing. This morning I did 4 miles on the gazelle and burned just over 500 calories, then this afternoon I did my Kathy Smith Lift Weight to Lose Weight dvd and know I burned a lot there. I'm planning at least 4 more miles on gazelle this evening while watching Big Brother...so it's a 700-1800 calorie day for me. But, I know that when I go to the track and walk I go slower pushing the stroller and it doesn't burn as much as the gazelle, I'm sure.

My suggestion: if you're feeling a lack of energy when it comes to exercise, try upping the calories by 100 and see how you feel. If you up it too much and still find no energy, you might be eating the wrong foods.

Theresa

I have done pretty good today, better than I expected. Soon as I got the kids up, I felt more energetic and alive. I did 4 miles, then got my strength in while they napped....then went down for a nap myself and felt much better after that. I haven't counted my calories, but we spent most of the day at the park so I haven't really eaten much. I'm going to start with dinner calories and try doing it that way. Though, right now I'm so full from lunch I'm not sure I will want dinner!

The scale was down 1 lb. this morning, so hopefully it hangs in there until AM.

Theresa

well, i'm leaving to go to my interview in about 30 minutes. i am going to try the pants one last time make sure i don't look all stuffed into them.
i'm sure they would have been fine if i hadn't blown it yesterday and had two gigantic margaritas at happy hour. damn.
oh well, maybe they will fit anyway.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Melissa

Theresa, How do you like that Kathy smith DVD?? friend of mine says she has one to sell but I don't want to spend any cash on 1 if it's really advanced or it's just so-so??
YAY! Mel that's awesome..
and it's prolly too late to say good luck cadwell But good luck anyway..
will be waiting to see what happened..
I think I am doing better on starting counting at the evening meal- still have a few points/calories until dinner- I am willing to try it this week .. and enjoy some smart pop tonight as a treat :)