The days not over Lil... go for a walk to burn some calories and eat very light the rest of the day.

I'd rather sulk and eat ice cream :D

LOL at Lil ... unfortunately I know that mood VERY well! :) But, sometimes you just gotta take a day off and enjoy yourself.

Thanks Maddy ... I've loaded up on my acceptable type treats for the next week now and should be doing great through the weekend ... greatfully I'm fully past the physical cravings for sugar, though I suspect the rest of my life I'll have the psychological ones.

IAKG ... Woo Hoo on your ongoing success with the battle of the scale ... great job!! .... and thanks for the encouragement .... actually I've tried calorie counting in the past and found it impossible, this time is actually easy .. almost everything I eat comes in a package that tells me what the number of calories are, so I just have to keep track of it ... which is turning out to be a VERY good thing for me .... accountability for what and how much I'm eating .... something I haven't done for a long long time, so it's good to know each day how I've done. Also, because I have a huge amount of weight to lose, I work within about daily calorie range that is 500 calories difference between the top and the bottom, that allows for the days when I really need to have some extra treats for myself.

And I forgot to report yesterday, I tasted a tangerine for the first time in my life ... just ate a section of one, but I didn't mind it ... not sure that I'll ever crave it, but now I know that I can go with that if the need hits.

And finally, my boss told me how she does Salmon, something I don't mind eating, but have never had a clue about how to fix/cook it. She said to cut it up in individual serving sizes and then freeze, when you want it, just pull out a portion, put in a plastic bag with some lemon juice and any seasonings you want and put in the microwave for 3-4 minutes until flaky ... don't even have to thaw it before cooking. So, next shopping trip, I'm going to get some salmon and try it that way.

thanks everyone for your participation in this thread, I am finding it very helpful in this process!!!!

I didn't eat the ice cream :D

Way to resist Lil!!! :)

I just didn't eat today ... it was not at all the way I planned things... so at 2 am I am inhaling a pork chop because I am so incredibly hungry.

Just checking in for the weekend... I'm sticking with the plan for eating this weekend...which includes making some sort of casserole today to eat throughout the week for dinner. That will happen later this afternoon, but everything is in the house and just waiting for me to cook it up.

My goal for tomorrow's weigh in is to be down 2.5 lbs so I can switch to the next level of lower points. I've really been struggling this week to get all my points in and have found myself eating cookies (healthy ones!) to get there. I don't think that's the way it's supposed to work, but alas... it's what happened this week.

Being on the online program, I haven't checked to see when I get to "go down" on the point levels. I also didn't really eat up all of my points last week, which, as I know, too, is not the way you're supposed to do things, but sometimes I just wasn't hungry. Plus, I'm trying NOT to eat up the "extra" weekly points, just because I have a feeling my portion size vs. WW's portion size may not always be the same.

With the kids sick this weekend, I didn't get to go to the gym as I wanted to. I'm hoping to make it Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, minimum. I'm also thinking as much box-moving I'm doing up and down the stairs, to and from the parking lot, I should be burning up some points as well. :)

Good luck, maddy. What a wonderful planner you are, making the casserole in advance. I wish I could do that! :)

It's all a matter of calories eaten vs calories burned. I fined this site helpfull.
calorie-count.com Good luck to every one trying lose weight.

I never felt like I was very good at planning, and have realized that it's part of my problem. If I don't plan... when I get home from a 12 hour day the last thing I want to do is spend anything more than 5 minutes making my dinner. This led me into the fast-food trap. I would know I didn't have anything to heat up at home so I'd stop at Wendy's, Burger King, McD's, Taco Bell - they are all within 2-3 minutes from my house.

I've learned that I'm good at planning when I take the time to do it. Its also a bit of a psychological thing for me. I feel much more satisfied and at ease when I know what to expect. For example, I don't crave a greasy cheeseburger and fries because I know that it's not one of the options to eat - I know whats in the refrigerator to eat and I don't even let my mind wonder to other options. I was faced with the opportunity of eating out this week. I looked at the menu online during lunch and decided what I wanted. That's what I thought about the rest of the day and then I wasn't tempted by the big greasy cheeseburger when the menu was actually presented to me for dinner. I had a salad and actually really enjoyed it.

I'm hoping that while I'm taking the time to be very disciplined right now, that it will pay off when the opportunity presents itself that I haven't planned for - that I will still make good healthy choices.

I also will say that I am certain it is easier for me to plan because my choices don't involve anyone else - I don't have to try to satisfy anyone elses wants at my dinner table.

Keep it simple, buy foods that are quick and easy, fish, chicken, and meat. Grilling and broiling are quick and need little fat. Season well and you can steam veggies quickly as a side dish. A 4oz class of wine is less than 100 calories and has no fat. Stay a way from casseroles, you will eat more than you want because it's there and it probably contains too much fat.

maddy...the kids and I ate lunch at Applebee's today, and I was totally thrilled with the fact they have a whole menu section devoted to WW items, complete with points listings. It made it very, very easy for me to look only at that section of the menu, even though I knew there were lots and lots of other, good-to-eat items available.

I've eaten out several times since starting WW on 12-30, and if, as you said, you go in determined to stay within your point range, while other things might be tempting to a degree, it's not enough to sway you.

Thanks for the input Lion. But after I make the weekly casserole I put it into individual serving containers immediately so as to avoid having too large of a helping. And believe it or not many casseroles can be made with reduced fat if you try.

Yea for both of Maddy and IAKG .... great job, great choices, I'm so happy for you! I also stayed within my goals on Saturday, although, I pushed my caloric intake to the very maximum ... (it's the first time I've done that) ... but didn't exceed my range. Today should be easier for me, as I've said every weekend I think :) Saturdays are my most difficult day to get through.

I'm noticing that some things are changing for the better for me, movement is getting easier and less painful now that there's not as much stress on my arthritic knees, and my clothes are starting to drape a bit better on me... both of those things make me VERY happy!

Go fzzy! Those small signs aren't that small -- they're big quality of life improvers!

As for me...I fell off the bandwagon over the past two weeks, but I am back on it today. I went to the gym, have been eating OK, and I'm taking my vitamins again. I hope I feel better later this week when I (finally) start my period and I can get rid of some of this water weight....at least I HOPE that's what it is. :p

Thanks osuche, I'm very pleased with the changes, just also recognize that it's just a drop in the bucket toward where I'd like to be .... but every step forward is a positive thing as far as I'm concerned .... and for you, you're moving forward again, great to hear!!!!

I finished up today having made it through it ok again, I love weekends, but doing the healthy eating thing during a weekend, is a lot more challenging for me then doing it during the week, so I'm glad to be going back to my work day schedule again for the next 5 days, I really want to keep moving forward for as long as I possibly can without pausing, I've spent too much of my life eating unhealthy, so I'm doing this each day and trying not to look too far forward, but also trying to make the necessary preparations so I can keep going forward with each day. As I've said before, this thread is really helpful to me, a place to share, a place to commisserate and a place to report!!

After what seemed to be a week that looked like it was going downhill, I did drop 1.5 pounds. It's not stunning but I'll take it. I have to work harder to find ways to cope with stress and frustration. They send me scurrying for food. I need to get some gum maybe.

The scale left me slightly disappointed this morning - I had thought I was having a good week even though the scale was doing a topsy turvy mess all week long, it turned out to be a 1.5 pound loss. At least it's still a loss and that keeps me motivated.

Great job Lilith and fzzy!

A loss is a loss, maddy--and 1.5 lbs. is in that "safe" range of 2 lbs. a week or less, right? Congrats to maddy and Lil for the losses, and congrats to fzzy for maintaining that positive attitude!

Yeah Lilith and maddy ... great job ... I think when it comes to the scales ... women have a more difficult time because many of us have water fluctuations with our cycle, so it's hard to get a truly accurate reading ... but as mentioned, a loss is a LOSS and it's definately NOT a gain!!!! So, great job!!! And as IAKG said, you're losses are falling in the safety zone for weight loss ... the actual way that is determined, is that unless you are doing a extra-ordinary amount of exercise that builds muscle, you should not lose more than 1% of your current body weight per week, which means that for some of us, we can safely lose more per week ... there has to be an up side to being on the extra extra large size, right?!?!? LOL

You know... Fish isn't as fattening as other foods. Maybe you could just change what you put into your mouth at first? :)
Then work on making the change to not using your mouth to ease your stress.

Congrats on the loss too!

I was thinking that even if I start off with Fish in my mouth I bet somehow it all ends up on my ass:D

OMG ^^^ LMAO @ you two :D

Here I am reporting in for the night, made it through another day sticking to my eating and movement plan. Good to be back to my weekday routines. On a side note, I'm finding I have a bit more energy ... not loads more at this point, but enough to be planning little chores and tasks for myself and accomplishing 1 of 2 each evening....things I haven't had the energy to do for a long time, so that is feeling nice and it's always good to get some things accomplished now and then. :)

I wore a pedometer today just for a giggle. I'm trying to decide how much I usually move around at work.

Lil, I've been wearing a pedometer for about a week and a half now, just to keep track of how active I am. It frustrates me when I walk less than other days, which helps motivate me to be more active the next day. Great idea!

Speaking of walking and movement - I've been contemplating a treadmill for a few weeks now and have concluded that I truly do believe I will use one, so long as I put it in the "right" location (near a tv). I calculated my tax return last night and now I don't have to dip into my savings to do so! Anyone have good recommendations of where to look? I've been looking at sears.com but am open to other suggestions.

I checked out Dick's Sporting Goods for treadmills (who's website, ironically enough is NOT dicks.com :eek: bookmark this one for later :D ) and they have a pretty good variety starting at $99 for manual ones and working their way up to way too much to pay for anything! If nothing else, it may be a resource for comparison.

btw it's here

maddy, I recommend you look at the models you can fold up and put under a bed, or against a wall. Even i fyou use it a lot, there will inevitably be times you want to put it away.

Do you have "Play It Again Sports" in your area? It's a consignmnet store for sports gear, including treadmills, that often has good prices. Might also want to check on Craigslist........the technology doesn't change much from year to year and there's usually a lot of lightly used exercise equipment for good pricing available.

Definitely check Craigslist and the classifieds in the local paper. Lots of people get treadmills, especially at the beginning of the year, and then don't use them. My wife bought a treadmill a couple years ago... a pretty nice one. It's been used about 20 times. :rolleyes: But it still does get used on occassion so we keep it. :D

One of our local teens just appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show to show off their award winning "Treadmill Powered TV"! Unfortunately, you have to run 10mph or the tv won't work! lmfao

maddy, the other thing you might consider would be an elyptical machine, if you have any problems with the jarring movement that walking can have on your knees, hips, etc., they say an elyptical cuts down on that even more than a treadmill does. Just a thought.

Ddo they make that in a vibrator??????I'd be sooooo skinny :D

thanks for the tips...dick's sporting goods has some incredible pricing... and silver service delivery!

Another day completed successfully!

Well, I'm back on the workout bandwagon since Saturday, and today was the first day I didn't feel *worse* after working out...I think I finally passed the you-haven't-worked-out-much-for-2-whole-weeks barrier. :)

I trimmed my average calories by 200 today, and I want to try and replicate this for the entire week. Also, I can now walk to work...and my goal for the next three days is actually to DO IT (walk to work), barring rain of course. I *will* resist taking the bus. :D

Congrats on getting back in your desired mode .... and hope you have fair weather for your walks to work!

I've been hungry all day ... only it's more of the psychological variety .... I've managed to stick in my calorie range, but it's been tough!! ... wanted so much to stop tonight for a big juicy cheeseburger .... I did stop and get a salad and chicken breast, so I felt like I got a treat mid-week. I'm just starting to feel the positive effects of keeping with this, I don't want to self-sabotage now ... just keep reminding myself of the good things that I'm getting out of this and that I want even more of them!!!

fzzy

What I did when I gave up smoking and did the food thing was to take some dry spaghetti in matchstick sizes.

When you feel really hungry, nibble, shape with your teeth and generally play with the stuff.

It meets the psychological need without being bad.

You may however develop a several stick of spaghetti habit you will need to deal with later.

fzzy, I was like that yesterday too. Took my caloric intake to the max but I did a McD's salad for dinner and it was enough to get me through.