Hi Diana! Thanks for checking in here as another success story...

Annie. I hear ya. Alot depends on whether you are doing lots of moving asanas or more balance poses - but then again lots of the balance poses are pretty dang tough. I love the way I "feel" after yoga. I feel taller and calmer.

Hi Jayne - long time no see. Dontcha love it when you type a whole line without looking only to find that you're on the wrong keys? It looked like Hi Jaune = ;pmg to,e mp drr/ Scott and I are doing this together as well, and I think it has made a difference..

Deanna, if you are quitting smoking, you should definitely try some yoga. It will help keep you centered and focused on your goal of creating a more healthful YOU!

Plus there are several variations of yoga - that allow you to find the one you can work with at the beginning and won't be too tough... Some kinds of yoga - ashtanga - and even just certain instructors, move through things very quickly and expect people to be in peak physical form before they even begin.

I would suggest a beginners hatha yoga dvd or class - but I think it should be maybe 45min or so long otherwise it's barely skimming all the great stretches and twists and postures.

As we age, I think we need stretching, twisting and "centering" just as much as we need cardio (maybe even more!) and weights.
sorry i was going to type more but gotta go!

Annie, your butt is most shapely. I got nothin' on you.

LOL, Diana, here we got this mutual butt admiration going on!

Still, I worked hard to lose it, so now I've got to keep it off, regardless of the shape of my rear. Ashley tells me I have a flat butt, LOL, but she says it like it's a bad thing.....

Annie

Well, the first week of Feb and no loss. In fact, DH stayed the same and I gained 1 lb.! :-( But I know exactly what we did wrong: Superbowl Weekend, plus a week of very late nights (taking classes) where I didn't get home till 10 p.m. and ate not so healthy. Oh, and DH and I shared a bottle of wine too. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up.

But, I know weight loss is not this perfect, straight downward graph. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes down, but as long as it is down over the long term (kinda like the stock market these days...boo-hiss).

Went to a yoga class yesterday and boy did I need it! You don't realize how tight and stressed out your muscles are until you take a class! I need to do this at least once a week.

Back on track this week!

Alice I got on bicycles and rode 8 miles. I was going to go by myself but she insisted she could ride, broken collarbone and all. I had a new seat put on, ergonomically girl shaped. I'm calling it the cruel seat. My bottom bones are SO sore. She was whining about sore quads all the way home. I was fine except for being saddle sore.

I haven't had the courage to get on the scale. Just being careful what I eat and that I get regular exercise, at least a 45 minute walk each day.

My colleague has lost 15 lbs. on the carpy boyfriend diet, and so far I have lost 3. This diet is a miracle. You just think of them and you completely loose your appetite! The downside is you don't feel much like sexercising. I was at a weekend retreat where I ran my butt off. I used to work at a camp and never had to implement an exercise routine, I just ran around all day! I hope I can keep up the momentum and loose those two more pounds and keep them off. Then I will avoid the danger of having to buy all new clothes. For me, it's still all about the exercise. I cannot eat like a bird consistently. I need real, regular food, which is fine as long as you get a good amount of exercise each day. I'm a happier camper too--I sleep better and feel better health wise when I'm out in the fresh air every day.

I don't know if I lost anything this week, but I've been walking to work, coming home and doing pilates and I've got some green beans cooking right now.

Lots and lots of vegetables, I can eat all of them I want...

LOL on the boyfriend diet, L, I should be able to lose a LOT with that one!

Annie

I personally love the sexercise diet...I see that I won't be living that one down for a while :-).

I'm down one pound this week. I'm doing some really cool facial treatments that seem to help me stay focused on the sexercise!

We did stray from the diet with a couple glasses of wine...and I'm not a big drinker. So your right Kathy, a little goes a long way when it comes to alcohol.

I went to my diet doctor yesterday. What a money making machine he has going there. I was supposed to start today but honestly I have so much stress at the moment I can't throw in another thing.

The whole experience really was kind of hilarious except the part about stepping on the scale. At least the person before me on the scale outweighed me by 75 pounds, so I was not the fattest one there.

I'll post more about it later when I have more time.

"so I was not the fattest one there." LOL! Sometimes that's the only reassurance I can get but lately that doesn't seem to be the case! I have some health issues I'm trying to work on and part of that is eating healthier and getting rid of preservatives in my diet - it's taking some work and had to give up my Diet Coke addiction, but I am motivated. Next step will be focusing on the weight loss, which I hope will come along with these changes -- I'm getting to the point I feel embarrassed to go out! Yuck! Time for a change!

I am 2# this week, mostly because I'm paying more attention to those sneaky little carby bites I was "not counting".
Trying to UP the whole grains so I'm not hungry and craving carbs. So far, it's working.
We'll see what the scale says on Thursday!!

Deanna

Uh, that should have been DOWN 2#!

Back up 2..........I'm starting to feel like a Yo yo...sigh.

deanna, that's how I am...I think so much - if you weigh yourself too much - depends on the time of day and the time of month... My body feels good and strong and more toned so I'm goin with that!

Sunday night I had my last cigarette.

Monday morning I started eating LOW Carb. I know that's two big things at one time but I do not want to gain back all that weight I lost before. And when you quit smoking, you gain weight.

So far - so good! I'm cutting out all breads, rice, pasta and desserts.

Now I need to throw in some sexercise! hahaha!

Shaun, congratulations on giving up the cigarettes!!!!!!!!! Way to go!

I managed not to gain any weight while we were traveling last week which was pretty amazing.

Grace

Good for you, Shaun, you can do it.

Grace, we'll see how I do on vacation in a week, I guess.

Annie

Shaun,

Congratulations on quitting smoking. I quit 22+ years ago after 3 tries. It's hard, really hard. At the time one was still allowed to smoke at one's desk and my co-workers were chimneys. They were also not supportive. I quit just before it became really difficult to smoke anywhere (people huddled in doorways in the rain to smoke a cigarette).

I walked/jogged a lot and enjoyed the feeling of breathing deeply. In that way I substituted one stress relieving activity for another. Smoking is very soothing. I heartily suggest finding some other calming habit (other than eating!). Walking, yoga, kissing, knitting, sex.

Stay away from things that reinforce the psychological urge to light up: for me that was talking to my mother on the phone, drinking in bars, playing cards with friends, and I don't recall what else anymore. Now the list would also include any conversations with ex. ;)

Buy a lot of crunchy friut/veggies to cut up and keep handy: carrots, celery, jicama, red bell pepper, apples. Crunchy foods are also stress reducing.

Lastly, think of yourself as a NON-smoker. And remember that it only takes 3 days to get over the physical addiction to the cigarettes. They will be 3 L-O-N-G days but after that it's all habit and not addiction. My experience. I smoked for 13 years.

I found a great iphone app for any of you with iphones. It's called "Lose It"
Run don't walk to the iphone app store and download it.... It's a free on and is beautifully done. Has weight tracker and a calorie counter that is absolutely amazing in the ease of use and look.

I've only been using it for a couple of days, but I've been surprised at how many calories I'm actually eating. It has been years since I've counted actual calories and I'm a little surprised. I've been feeling like I am barely eating, but now I think that I'm realizing that so many years of snacking and our American portion size that has gotten out of control has affected my view of what is "normal" to eat in a day.

I can't wait to see my little weight graph start to head down!!

Grace

Shaun, I think that's wonderful. Congrats :o) You've just done the best possible thing in the world for your health!

Well... I'm stagnant at 212, but at least I'm not gaining, though that's an awful mentality. I bought some rainbow sherbert the other day because I hadn't had anything in the ice cream family in a long time. But... I'm measuring it out, and only having one serving at a time. One half cup is NOT much when it comes to rainbow sherbert! Though it sure is a lot of vegetables!

I did use my gazelle through an entire episode of 7th Heaven the other day so that's good, no?

I cleaned the freezer and accidentally left the steak I was going to have for dinner tomorrow on top of it overnight so I saved some calories there! It was brown just like I had cooked it, but I knew better than to even post an "is it safe" thread. I just smacked myself in the head and threw it in the garbage.

I wonder if I could get an app similar to the one for the Iphone for a T-mobile Wing?!

I need a wine lovers diet...

Barnmom... I am SOOOO with you sista! There are times that I would rather forgo food than a good glass of wine.

I had the BEST day on Friday, and well, yesterday was Valentines, so I didn't want to ruin the weekend mojo by getting on the scale and not see that number go down...or worse go up.

It gets me so mad sometimes that a stupid number on the scale can set the tone for my whole day or even weekend. Sucks.

I've done well food wise this past week, even with all the Valentines goodies brought into work, but DH and I had about 2 bottles of wine during the week, sooooooo we'll see. I'll face the music towards the middle of the week.

Shuan, you GO girl! Keep up the great work!

Shaun, good for you!! I was 'supposed' to quit smoking on Valentine's day. I wimped out. Every time I pick a date, another kid moves back in. Sheesh! If I smoke forever, will they stay out on their own, ya think? Jus' kiddin' (pun intended).

I am afraid of the weight gain too. That's what happened last time I quit (for 4 months), I gained 25 lbs. That's why I joined Weight Watcher's is to lose that then try to quit again without the gain! Maybe being scared is keeping me from quitting...I know they're all just excuses, but DARN this is hard!

Deanna

Thanks for the support on my quitting smoking. So far, not gaining weight. Not losing like I'd like to but not gaining.

The last time I quit (2000) I didnt smoke for 7 yrs. What a huge mistake putting that one cigarette to my lips.

Anyway still low carbing it, but not working out yet. How I hate exercise.

By the way for those of you who want a sugar free no carb wine my friend found some! Don't know how good it is but here's a link... I almost ordered a red and a white but the shipping was $18 (more than the wine itself) so I didnt order any. Maybe this place is near someone here on the forum and you can try it out for us.

Good luck everyone, keep up the good work!

Here is a link that might be useful: slender wine

I've lost 3lbs this week and 2 last week. We're sticking to the no/low carb diet pretty well. We made some awesome pulled pork and added a tiny bit of bbq sauce and then loaded it up with shredded cheese, green onions, and a bit of sour cream. I've been making up some cheesecake pudding to satisfy my hubby's sweet tooth. I need to mix up another crustless quiche for lunches next week. I'm supposed to be using my Wii Fit but I've lost my interest in it already--I've just been using it to check my weight.

Good luck everyone.

Wondering if we can share some low carb snacks, recipes, what our menus are for the day? Anyone interested? We can start a new thread.

I know there is a diet club on this site but I've been there...... not saying anything else; just, I've been there.

Anyone interested?

sure Shaun. sounds great! accountability.

so far I had about 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, a dish of Puffins cereal with almond milk and a cup of coffee. going to grab some water and start my workout.

I picked up a new magazine the other day called Clean Eating. I like it. Last night we had pearled barley risotto with scallions, peas and asparagus - very good. And shrimp.

I don't see the recipe on line so I can type it up for anyone later if you're interested.

Our workouts are going well. Seeing great results in muscle tone and how my clothes fit. It's hard work though!

Stacy

Stacy! I'm happy you want to do this! I'll start a new thread......

Hi all. I finally am getting on board the diet wagon. I am cheating by using appetite supressants and they do help although my head spins a little bit from them. I only take half a pill because in my heart of hearts I think they are a lousy idea.

Anyway, I lost two pounds. Unfortunately I had my usual Sunday dinner with Mom and overate. It's hard not to since she still cooks like it's 1955 and her feelings are hurt if you don't eat.

So far, other than Mom's dinner, I've been eating a cup of Cheerios with half a banana and black coffee for breakfast. Lunch has been a turkey burger, no roll, and a salad with minimal dressing and no croutons or seeds or anything but veggies.

Over the weekend I had a can of water pack tuna mixed with a teensy (like 1 tsp) of mayo and some cranberry mustard. for lunch. Kind of weird taste but it did the trick.

Dinner is a chicken breast or a burger (no roll)with a vegetable.

So I am starving right now and counting the minutes to lunch. I better have tea or something before I go to the cafeteria so I don't lose my will power.

I am glad that Daylight Savings time starts soon so I can go for a walk after work. It's still cold here but as long as the wind isn't blowing, I'll be fine.

I am very impressed by your progress. I'm thrilled if I can lose two pounds a week and keep it off. Sometimes I lose the same two pounds over and over again.

I am so happy that some of you are quitting smoking. I work in a hospital and hear "lectures" about health all the time. Smoking affects every damn part of your body. It seems like it's on the list of causes of every disease. Keep up the good work. If it's as hard as losing weight it must be awfully tough to quit.

Aaargh. There are a dozen cupcakes in my office. They smell so good! Maybe I'll have a cupcake for lunch and skip the other stuff. There is always food everywhere.

Give me strength!!

you can do it Pam! Avoid those cupcakes - you'll be so proud of yourself. Or take one, and immediately throw half away. mushed up in the garbage - so you're not tempted to fish it back out - lol.

And don't starve yourself! That's not good. Get some of those little 100 calorie packs of almonds. They taste great and are good for you. The time it takes to eat a pack and the little bit it gives you - help to chase away hunger.

Stacy

Step away from the cupcakes!!

Thought I'd go out to lunch with a friend today and I ordered the steak salad. Well dontcha know it came wiht the most beautiful crispy fried onion rings on top? I couldn't waste them!

You know Shaun, I misssed lunch today and I know you're not supposed to do that! But after I took Will to school, I ate (took my thyroid meds late this AM and had to wait a bit to eat) and then ran to the store while my breakfast digested. Then when I got home, and got myself around - it was lunch time but if I ate then, I'd have to wait again to work out!

So,I worked out and then it was time to pick Will up, so I grabbed an orange to eat in the pick up line. (I ordered some Fla oranges from this place Sun Harvest citrus - boy are they good! Are you familiar with them? It's nice to get good oranges - I know you don't understand what a treat it is - lol)

Now it's 3:14 and I have to start getting supper ready. I should grab a little snack - maybe a string cheese and some almonds.

Tonight is our 19th anniversary and Scott has customers in - I don't think he has to take them out to eat tonight, but I'm not sure what time he'll be home. I am making Marilyn's mustard and bacon crusted scallops - haven't had them in a couple years, I think! And bok choy salad. I am making these frozen berry squares for dessert. a granola crust and a mixture of fruit, nonfat yogurt and agave nectar for the top. They look good in the pic in the magazine. I'll let you know.

Stacy

whoops - forgot to say I'm using turkey bacon.

And wanted to ask Pam if she had the cupcakes or not!

Happy Anniversary Stacy!

Nope I dont ever have to want for an orange. Glad you got some.

I should go in there and get on that treadmill right now.

Hey Thursday is our 15th anniversary!

Yeah, I caved and ate a cupcake. Bad me. I had to walk right past them every time I went in and out of my office. By the way, it was deelish.

So I had one cup of raisin bran for breakfast, an apple for a morning snack, a cup of beef barley soup and a CUPCAKE for lunch, a burger (plain -- no cheese or roll)and baby spinach with a tsp of dressing for dinner. Oh yeah and some air popped popcorn. Was that so bad?

Exercise is really the missing ingredient here.

Happy Anniversary, Stacy!

thanks for the anniversary wishes. Last night we had those scallops - boy are they yummy! And the salad tasted great too. The yogurt fruit frozen squares? not so much. But Will liked them.

This morning I had a veggie burger on whole grain bun with organic ketchup. I know, weird, but it sounded good.

Pam, no, not bad at all! Sounds pretty good actually.

Were they chocolate cupcakes? sorry, I'm just "imagining"...mmmmmmmm.

Well, last week I got on the scale and lost the 1 lb. I gained from the previous week, but the weekend....ohhh was I bad! I went to a BBQ and let's just say it wasn't pretty!

So, back on track for the rest of the weekend and week. Don't know what this month's final weight loss total will be, but as long as I don't gain, I'm alright with that.

Been using more WW recipes these past two weeks, so that's a good change too.

Keep up the good work everyone!

Stacy I am one of those weirdos who is not a chocoholic. The cupcake was yellow with white icing and blue sprinkles. It wasn't yucky cheap bakery icing. It was pretty good.

So far I am down. 2.5 pounds. I go back to my diet doctor in a week, so i want to show more progress by then. Honestly, you would think I could do this to please myself but nooooo -- I have to pay a doctor to tell me "yay, way to go".

I have a couple pairs of slacks that got a bit too snug recently so I hope I can get back into them by the end of next week. There is nothing worse than sitting at your desk being squashed by too-tight pants.

So keep it up folks and we can all get together in our bikinis and speedos this summer.

So far today I've had a fat pumpkin whole wheat pancake folded in half like a taco stuffed with scrambled egg and ham and 2 tiny mandarin oranges. And plenty of coffee and crystal light. It's 9:41am here.

Pam, I hate too tight jeans too.....especially at my desk!
On the other hand, anything too loose that feels like it's sliding down isn't good either! I went through a couple of wardrobe size adjustments in the last year!! LOL

I don't care how much more I lose.........this body won't be seen in a bikini in THIS lifetime! Or the next!!

Deanna

Tight jeans put me in a bad mood. I dont realize it until I'm mad as a hornet. Then I realize it's not really my husband Im hating, it's my jeans.

Well! I'm back to 216. I was 217 when I started the original thread, and had gotten all the way down to 211. But, I've been very busy at work and stressed and eating all the wrong stuff at work and I even bought brownie chocolate ice cream at the market the other day! I knew better! I've been too exhausted to cook real food lately, but that is going to change. Rice cake and yogurt for breakfast every morning and I'm liking it!

The BIG news is that I joined a gym today. I've been making excuses why I didn't want to do it for so long, but finally, I did! It's only 34 dollars a month, always open, and right in my apartment complex. I did it immediately after flouncing on the scale (and hearing it creak in response!) today out of frustration and disgust. But, I'm happy!

I'm back in town for the week and I'm not sure if I was disappointed when I got on the scale and saw that I had gained a pound after my vacation to San Francisco and VA or relieved that I had only gained one and not more!!

Good for you Vac for joining a gym!

We have a pool, but lets just say that I can appreciate my age and no matter what my weight is, I'm past the bikini stage!!! Sure do wish that I had appreciated it more when I was younger though!

Grace

Up 2 lb. and wanting to eat everything in site.....and I feel stuffed!

Help! I hate days like this. They happen to me when I fail to plan. I'm not particularly stressed or anything, just lazy. I feel like eating junk instead of healthy stuff. Sort of an "I don't care" attitude.

What do you do to shake the feeling???

Deanna

I just clicked into this thread for the first time (don't come to conversations much) and look forward to having a bit more time to read everyone's stories. As for me, I was at my all-time highest weight and at the beginning of this month and when the scale hit a new milestone I said "enough". So I just started eating a bit healthier.

Coincidentally, two weeks ago I went for a routine physical and my doctor set up a rush appointment at the cardiologist. I'm going through many tests and am not yet sure what's up, but in the meantime I'm following the doctor's advice by eating all the typical healthy heart kind of stuff, cutting down on fats and eating tons of fruit and vegetables.

26 days and I'm down a solid 10 pounds. I know that this rate won't keep up. My goal is another 25-30 pounds. The charts say I should be another 20 below that, but several years ago I got down under my current goal (on Atkins) and friends literally begged me to stop dieting. They said I looked terrible, and I agreed.

Right now I'm waiting for clearance to start an exercise routine. Hopefully next week.

Deanna, I know that feeling. There are days I just want to sit and stuff myself. I have tried so hard not to let that happen lately. When I get that urge I just think of the hard work of dieting for the past 10 days and I clench my fists and think "Nooooo!" Sometimes it's just a matter of reaching for the air-popped popcorn instead of the bag of cookies.

Welcome, FOAS. Ten pounds! Good for you. Let us know what the cardiologist says. This is Women's Heart Health month and I have been bombarded with healthy messages. Exercise! Lose weight! Yeah, yeah. I'm trying.

I am down 4.5 pounds. It's not noticeable but it sure makes me feel better about myself. I have lost and regained so much weight that I am scared of reaching my goal weight and then putting it all back on. I know I can't go on eating the way I have been forever. I feel like I'm living on birdseed.

Good luck everyone -- and strength!!

I'm so impressed with everyone's progress! I still haven't had the courage to get on the scale... I did ride 32 miles on my bike last Friday-Sunday. I've been working in Napa and with the commute I haven't had much time for anything but that. Today I am home and going to take a long ride.

Well, I just had my first session at the gym. Didn't go too well. First, my Ipod had a dead battery. Then, I couldn't figure out how to make the fans on the treadmill come on. Too many buttons! Was I supposed to exercise and sweat too?

Lol Bobby! Keep trying darlin!

Eileen, 32 miles is impressive. I wish we had some of your weather right now...

Good job Pam! 4.5 pounds that was fast! I think I am only down 6 pounds since the beginning of the year. But I am way healthier and my measurements are showing it. I've lost 2 inches off my waist. My pics from the beginning sickened me, but now my tummy is so much flatter!

Great job FOAS (thanks Pam!) keep us informed - hope you get the exercise clearance - what a difference it makes in how you feel.

Deanna, how did you survive that day? Sometimes, I think you just have to go with it and do your best. And not beat yourself up over stuff. I read recently that you should eat "clean" 80% of the time at first and the other 20% let yourself eat waht you are craving - so you don't feel deprived. There are so many darn theories out there, it confuses me.

"Eat more! If you don't your metabolism slows down in starvation mode..."

"The only way to lose weight is with a calorie deficit - you're eating too many calories and not working out enough!"

"You're working out TOO hard - you need to lighten up a bit and let your body repair!"

"All you need to do is WALK - just move."

"You have to have variety in your activities - otherwise your body adapts and plateaus..."

"Get all the junk food out of your house - no more junk!"

"Allow yourself cheats or you will binge"

sheesh. No wonder nobody can lose weight.

Who was it that posted the food journal on the Daily Plate? I started using it and am curious to see if I had been eating too many calories ...or if my proportions were off (protein-carbs-fats). It is a cool site and I am enjoying entering things in and keeping track. At least it makes me more aware. I can't eat a handful of almonds 6 times a day - even if they are good for me - lol.

Stacy

interesting article.

oh and I keep meaning to say that you shouldn't go really low carb for too long...

Here is a link that might be useful: article