Oh! I hate the thought of you eating fish and chips as part of your maintenance week. Please don’t undo the good you have done. Speaking for myself - If I had a dose of fish and chip now that would be the end of me. The same with every non diet food I am temped to taste. It has happened a thousand times before – a taste here and there – then a piece – then … so on. I beleive we chould be trying to change our whole way of eating. Psychologically I want to see certain foods as poison to my body – a bit extreme may be – but I want to have that mind set – that certain foods are not on whether on or off a diet. I just don’t want to go back to that fat place again – not ever.
Sorry if I have spoilt your fun but I would hate to see you coming off your maintenance week 1kgs heavier – you have come so far.

Bev

i think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. The "all or nothing" mentality I have had in the past has not worked for me. I am good for ages, lash out and put all the weight on that I've lost. All the reading and research I have done shows that the ability to fit in "unhealthy" foods into a balanced diet is the key to long-term health. My personal trainer (who is a nutritionist) is supervising this, and I am confident that we are doing the right thing for MY body, which may be the wrong thing for yours

On my maintenance week I will continue my three sessions of swimming, and three sessions of cardio and weight training I am very unlikely to gain the weight i have lost. And I will still be eating basically healthy meals, with the odd treat.

I think it's really important to find what works for you, and on this site we are all on very different programs. I may not agree with Atkins, Optifast, South beach, whatever but I think it's really important not to judge other peoples weight programs, and to support one another in our journeys.

Sorry Kykaree - I really didn’t mean to tick you off. I was under the misunderstanding that we were here to help and support each other through our own knowledge and experiences with the purpose of keeping every one on track with there weight loss and certainly didn’t mean to upset you in any way. I promise to bite my tongue in the future however please feel very free to kick my butt as hard as you like if I ever look like straying.
Bev

Hey big losers LOL that doesn't sound like a compliment some how hey successful weight shifters... better? A bit geeky, G'day shiela's LOL congratulations to you Aussie gal for another kilo down!!! That is excellent ! can't wait to see what the scales say for me after my period and the water retent goes away it is STILL there!!! oh well, today was hard it was raining and I was hungry and pre menstrual and my baby girl had her shots so we had a quiet home day watching nemo together, but gee don't the rainy days make you hungry? anyone? how does everyone cope with pms and lack of chocolate? any hints tips please. I am starting my walking again on monday my route is an hour and I love it so this should set things in faster motion. Have a great week end girls love prudy

Finding Nemo would have to be one of my favourite movies – my youngest is 13 and he is like – “Oh Mum, do we have to watch it again?”
I hate weighing in at TOM but I suppose you just have to remember it is a temporary condition and it all balances out in the long run.
Rainy days do make me hungry and though it is not raining in Perth the sky is black and there is the sound of thunder in the distance – I think it does something to your mood and energy levels also – so I have ween guzzling water all day – no doubt I will spend a good part of the night on the loo.
Easter is coming and I don’t have a plan of attack yet – and I’m lucky I don’t have a big sweet tooth and though I like chocolate I never crave it. My husband and kids have been very supportive and I think they are planning something else instead. I just hope I stay in control.
Boy- that water goes right through you – gota go..
Bev

kykaree-

I don't use an all or nothing mentality either. I eat and exercise very strictly and am a calorie counter, but I do indulge in a bit of chocolate or a slice of pizza now and then. The keys to making it work for me are:

~limiting my portion size of a treat food-like instead of eating a 230 calorie candy bar, I will have 2 Hershey Kisses for 50 calories and suck on them

~Making it a "treat" and not a regular occurance-I don't eat low fat ice cream or unhealthy foods every day-but I know a lot of dieters who do-and think that they are fine eating whatever they want as long as their calories are in the correct range. Most of the time my diet is pretty strict-so it is only a small indulgence once every couple weeks

~Making the indulgence a little healthier if possible-if I have a slice of pizza-making it veggie instead of meat, thin crust instead of pan, etc. so that the caloric value is lower, and the nutritional value is higher while still satisfying the craving

I also think that for some all or nothing mentalities-that the problem lies in the "Well, I just ate a piece of cake, so the day is ruined. I may as well eat what I want to the rest of the day and forget my workout" type of thinking.

I think if you have a bad incident, leave it at one incident and don't let it spread into the entire day, or week, or month. Just go on like it didn't happen.

Hey girls, bee jay, aphil, that is some good advice right there. LOL B did you have fun on the loo all night he he. I did end up buying the slim for life womens weekly cookbook, most of the mains recipes are around the 400-500 calorire mark and they serve 4 so I thought if I divide the portions into 5 and see how that goes what do you think? I agree with you aphil, if you add treats into your every day meal plan it isn't a treat anymore and just as long as we all recognize our treats as what they are which let's face it when you have one you damn well know what it is straight away LOL then it is a good thing, I know some people who allow them selves a "cheat" night once a week and while that may work for them if I let myself have one once a week then it would turn into the weekend and so on and so on, I think that is how I got into this mess in the first place I just ate treats every day!!! I stopped recognizing them as treats. We were brought up on very healthy whole foods, and this is how I'm bringing up my daughter, but if she wants a cookie or a peice of cake at a party then she can have it, she will recognize that kind of food as a treat. OK I have to go tend to my dh who now has my cold and thinks he is dieing LOL xx

Of course - to maintain a healthy lifestyle requires balance, moderation and exercise. It is also about control and changing the way we look at food. Changing your mind set is saying – “I’m hanging out for fish and chips – how do I deal with this? - I will buy a nice piece of snapper from the markets and grill it with black pepper and lemon and serve it with home made chips baked in the oven with a spray of olive oil and a sprinkle of chippy salt”.

Farewell Chickies! with your weigh loss.

Bev

Hi guys

Interesting debate! Would love to join, but this is just a quick post to say g'day and goodbye, as I'm off to NZ on Tuesday and won't have a chance to get in before I go.

I hope you all have a great couple of weeks, and I'll see you all lighter!

Bye for now!

Have a great time Lynne sooooooooooooo jealous!!! LOL I started my walking again this am and I feel GREAT!!!!!!!!!! I even jogged for a bit and I didn't get puffed, 6 kilos is a BIG difference!! We went to the park and after exercising I had so much more energy to run after Poppy, also I have joined an 8 week fitness programme at my local park called fit mum's you can bring your babes and the instructor gives you "home work" I'm feeling great today!!!

Greetings all!

Yes I'm back. And a couple of kilos heavier! I didn't get the big walks in like I'd hoped - was feeling too depressed to do anything much! But I went for a big walk on Sunday and yesterday, and feel back into the routine of eating good stuff! I had promised myself that no matter what happened over the holiday, I'd commit to the rest of this year being a proper chance to lose weight. I will NOT go through another summer in a size bloody 22!!!!!

Anyhoo, looks like it's been quiet in here - how's everyone else doing?

Glad to be back!

PS NEMO is great!

Hey girl welcome back we missed you, it has been slow around here, where is every one?

one more kilo down wo hooooooooooooooo where are all the girls?

Well done on your loss!!
Keep it up!
It has been so quiet of late................not sure whats going on!!!
I tried to get a group up and running but that didnt happened(for us aussies).
Now I am lurking about in cyber space!!

Let's just keep meeting up here in our group and we can catch up, I have joined fit mums and it is once a week at my local park yesterday was my first day and OMG my legs are in agony!!! once a week we also buddy up and do it again with the girls from the group that live in our area, and the personal trainer gives us homework to do also so far it is wonderful, I have also been walking about 60mins every day, I really want to get a pedometer and do the 10000 step challenge daily I think that would be a great motivater oh and I have just realised that the scales are not always very reliable......I weighed 77.2kg yesterday morning before my workout this am I weigh 79.2 that is a gain of 2kg over night the only difference is that my legs are killing me!!!! I think that when you work a muscle for the first time, when the muscle is building it stores fluid to help the process, thati s why all these women are reporting little or no weight loss and they are working their little patooties to the ground, just thought it would be encouraging for those frustrating periods.