Starting weight: 218.6

My starting weight is 199.

Many thanks to sunshine, kailpea and Madame Souza for posting your wieghts.

I'm at 256.

Congratulations to those who have lost weight since teams were formed!

good advice from your boss kailpea. There is no subsitute that will taste exactly like the meat or cheese laden dish.

OK got to share one more - I love this stuff. I need to make some, it's been a long time. It's a spread on good on potatoes.
Gee Whiz Spread

from The Uncheese Cookbook © J. Stepaniak, 1997

1 15 1⁄2-oz can Great Northern beans
(about 1 1⁄2 C), rinsed well and drained
1⁄2 C pimiento pieces, drained
6 T nutritional yeast flakes
3 T fresh lemon juice
2–3 T tahini
1⁄2 tsp onion granules
1⁄2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
1⁄2 tsp salt
Process all the ingredients in a blender until completely smooth. Transfer to a storage container and chill thoroughly before serving.

Starting weight: 180.5

Starting weight 223. I had gone down but bounced back up, oh well. Good luck guys!

startting weight 218.

Thanks to all for posting your start weights?

ferretser1- should I use the weight that you provided to establish teams as your Friday official start weight?

Hello people,
I joined the 1000 mile challenge in the exercise threads. What are some of the things you do to help with weight loss?

Isabella, I do Leslie Sansone's walk away the lbs. It is one thing I can schedule into my day, rain or shine. It is also predictable in time so I know how much time I have to put in.
I am working on upping my protein and fiber. Can anyone tell me how much protein they eat and some fun examples?

I eat at least a cup of beans a day in salads or in soup. I don't measure calories, protein or fiber. I just eat a nutrient dense plant based diet. I'm working in more exercise like hiking and walking and some hand weights.

I haven't been on 3FC for a couple of days. I just woke up from a long winter's "nap." One of my dogs went missing and I was out all night searching for her. Luckily, our local SPCA called yesterday morning to say they had her. Relief is mine.

I wasn't thinking about weight loss at the time, but I hope the nearly 4 hours I spent tromping around the snow in the park she went missing in pays off. I had to come home to change three times because my hat and sweater got so wet with perspiration! I swear my calves look thinner than they have in years!

I am now totally hooked on My Fitness Pal, and not just the food logger. I find that I can't let a day go by without logging exercise, and that alone has been a motivator for me to formalize my exercise plans. New 3FC friends who also use MFP are really supportive.

I also joined the 10,000 swings in 30 days Kettlebell challenge. I don't know if I will be able to get them all in in 30 days, but I love working with kettlebells, and to get to the target, I have to get out of my seat every hour to do a set or two of swings. Along with the 30-day shred, I have really felt my core strengthening from the swings. And of course, there are daily dog walks. The length of time we walk depends on how cold it is. Right now it's about -20 celsius which I thinks is below 0 F, so it's just quick walks around the block. When it is milder, we walk for 30-45 minutes. I am a block up from a river with bike paths and parkland, so it's a really great place to walk and enjoy the sound of the river.

I took my measurements on Monday, and although my weight hasn't been dropping I was surprised and pleased to see that I lost a total of 8 inches in only two weeks. So, I am going to stick with what I am doing, because it is working better than the scale would suggest!

Hope everyone is having a good week. I am waiting to weigh myself on Friday. Can't wait to see how we have all done!

Wow twish, that sounds intense! My fitness pal is awesome, and I got my mom to join last night. Hopefully it is as useful to hear as it has been for me.

I have been trying to get to the gym at least three times a week. I usually do some cardio on the elliptical. They have this mountain climber workout that I was finally able to get thought the full hour of today. I was really proud of myself. I have also been trying to increase my strenghth but I feel like a weirdo at the gym with all the body builder types over near the weights. I have been trying to work myself in to doing a pushup. I have never been able to do one properly.

My dad bought a sailboat last summer and I really want to be able to enjoy it and that means getting into shape!

Going to lunch with my mother and my sister today. Hopefully, I can control myself. I may try to convince them to go to this new vegan friendly restaurant that opened up. Somehow I think I am going to lose that one. Oh well!

OK, here's what I had for dinner. It's a really good meal and very easy to make on top of the stove or in a slow cooker. I actually started it on the stove but had to go out so I dumped it in the slow cooker and it was perfect by dinner time. I had cooked rice in the freezer so I just had to thaw and heat that to go along with the lentils and vegetable toppings. This is very basic and you can add more herbs and spices if you like, but this is how I make it. DH always has Thousand Island dressing on his because he puts that stuff on anything green.

Mazidra
8 ounces dried brown/green lentils
4 cups water
1 McCormick’s Chicken or Beef flavoured bouillon or any vegetarian bouillon
1 or 2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Bay leaf
Salt to taste
3 large onions, sliced thinly
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 or 4 cups hot cooked whole grain rice

Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Sliced green onions
Sliced black olives
Diced cucumber
Guacamole/diced avocado
Salsa
Etc...

In large saucepan, combine dried lentils, water, bouillon cube, garlic, bay leaf and salt. Bring to a boil and turn temperature down; cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Keep warm. In large skillet, sauté onions rings in olive oil until tender; mix with lentils. (I don't mix in the onions as I like them layered on top of the lentils.)

To serve, place a serving of hot rice on plate, top with a serving of hot lentils. Add lettuce and vegetables. Add guacamole and salsa if desired.

Sunshine, DH loves beans so we have them quite often. I should put them in salads more often, though. That's a great way to get in an extra bit of protein.

Madam Sousa, this has lots of protein. It's a great change from chili.

Katherine, I'm sure you look more "buff" than you think.

twish, DH and I were in Ottawa in October. We just loved it there. There are so many walking paths and interesting places to walk.

Trish, So glad your dog was found. What a horrible experience.

Sunshine, I was thinking beans were good because they packed both protein and fiber. I do like them.

Isabella, I haven't had much luck with cooking lentils. I like getting them in restaurants but find that I can't get the seasoning right, they are always too bland. I will have to try your recipe.