mcfam5

Hey everyone,

Brooke, I think it's wonderful that you post so much, this is your thread that you started after all! I have to say that I think you get so many comments and suggestions because people really resonate with what you are saying. We've all had difficult days or days that we couldn't stop ourselves from eating too much of the wrong thing.

 

I think all of the reflection lately is great. It really shows that you are starting to examine your actions and how you can fix this food thing. We can give all the advice in the world, but until you are ready to tackle it, you won't be as successful as possible. So keep posting, keep trying to work out these issues. Maybe take 10 minutes at the end of the day or when you get home from work just to reflect on yourself and your day. Just taking a moment to step away from all distractions and think can be really helpful.

 

As for myself, I've tracked for two days now. It's so much easier when I'm not the only one doing it! I can openly log on and figure out how many calories a recipe was without trying to do it quick/on the sly. The website is telling me that I need 1440 calories a day in order to lose 2 pounds a week. That's before working out, though. So if I hit that goal, but workout and burn 400 calories one night, I can add say, a glass of 1% milk and a banana after working out and maybe some wine with dinner and still keep my deficit. (That's probably not the best way to use up the calories, but I do love my wine and need to budget for it!). When I was on sparkpeople, I think it was telling me a range of between 1300 and 1500 calories a day, so that seems about right. With loseit, you can see your weekly deficit too, so even if you go over one day, but are under on the others, you can see if you are averaging close to your goals. So far, I really like it!

 

Let's see, pcrum (what is your real name? Sorry!), I made mexican-style stuffed peppers last night and they were tasty! And the recipe tracker came out to about 200-something calories for one. Amazing. They had 3/4 pound of ground turkey breast cooked with chopped bell pepper, 2 jalepenos chopped, onion, tomato, and garlic, then I added a can of black beans and some sweet corn. And taco seasonings. I topped each with a bit of mexican blended cheese. I was going to add brown rice, but then I had so much filling that it wasn't going to fit in the peppers! I still had a bowl of extra filling to the side. We topped with avocado (DH and I split one small) for about 160 calories, and some tortilla chips (I counted out the portion) for about 140 calories. I even had a light beer w/a lime for around 100 calories... so all in all, a really tasty dinner, and I definitely didn't feel deprived at all. Especially with getting avocado and tortilla chips, which is a total treat! Dinner was about 600 something calories total, in case anyone's curious. My breakfasts are usually less than 300, and lunches and snacks tend to vary with the day. (Depending on if I go out for lunch or eat at home, etc.).

 

I think that for me, it's just being mindful about not having MULTIPLE beers, limiting the number of chips, etc. Just a few days ago I would have had multiple beers and then had the bag of tortilla chips in front of me, being mindless about it. But when I know I only have 25 calories left for the day, I'm not going to go get more chips. I told myself if I was really hungry later on, I could have 3-4 strawberries. But I wasn't, so I didn't.

 

Brooke, did you re-read your WW literature? Any revelations? Just curious. The program has changed a lot since I did it. Also wanted to say that before I got married, I was living at home and did WW and lost like 25 pounds. It was hard because I ate with my family and didn't have a lot of control, so I totally understand. I would basically eat a Special K granola bar for breakfast for like 100 calories, and keep lunch to around 300-400 if possible (like a subway sandwich w/out cheese, no sides, or a grilled chicken salad without cheese and dressing, etc.). It was hard, but I really wanted to lose weight for my wedding and that was the only way that I could allow room for dinner when I didn't know what it was going to be.

I am on Lose It too and I LOVE it! I also switched over from the sparkpeople. I had used SP for about six months last year and successfully lost my first 26 pounds. I have been using Lose It now for about seven months and have lost another 45 pounds. Having the app on my iPhone is the perfect "journal" for me. My email address is mcconnellfam96@yahoo.com ~ feel free to add me! :)

Today is over and done with...can't beat yourself up over it. Tomorrow is a new day!:)

Good advice pcrum! You are still making progress as long as you are not giving up! You CAN do this, Brooke!

Who are you on lose it? if you want to friend me, i'm ariawomanATgmail.com ;-) Always good to have more "friends" :-)

I just sent you a friend request on Lose It! :) My email address is mcconnellfam96@yahoo.com

:D

Have you tried sugar free jello as a snack? That is my "go to" dessert when I want something sweet. I always keep it at home. You can also whip heavy whipping cream and add splenda for a low carb topping.

I also LOVE sugar free jellos ~ they are one of the few processed foods I will allow myself. My trick is slicing up a few strawberries and stirring them in and then topping with lite whipped topping ~ a yummy dessert for less than 50 calories!

Please don't be embarrassed, Brooke. Like other have said, we've ALL been there. 2 mini ice cream sandwiches in the long run, is not terrible (I've binged on a whole bag of goldfish before, dipped in cream cheese followed by a very large slice of chocolate birthday cake...I'm sure we've all had our binge moments!). Just pick yourself up the next day and see if you can have just one day of "clean" eating. Then you can choose to do it the next day, etc.

 

Best of luck. I'm off to Publix today to try to find some new way of doing protein, lol. I'm getting a bit tired of hamburger patties, chicken fajitas, and meatloaf! I'm thinking a roast in the crock pot...either pork roast with jerk sauce (we can buy the Grace sauce from Jamaica here) or a roast beef. Might depend on what's on sale, lol!:)

 

To those who have used the Lose It application, does it track carbs or only calories? I don't count calories, but might use it for carbs, but I tend to eat the same things every day, so would only need to use it for new recipes. I think I'm in a bit of a rut with my food. I need to go out to the specialty groceries and look for those miracle noodles!

pcrum ~ loseit does track carbs (as long as that information is provided). The program is designed more for calorie counting so the charts and things are all caloric based, but you could use it for carb counting as well. I LOVE it! :)

Hi ladies,

Haven't had many insightful things to contribute lately but I have been keeping up with you by reading your posts.

pcrum - love the information from the magazine....very interesting. About four months ago I "reordered" my caloric distribution throughout the day making breakfast my biggest meal of the day. I eat a total of about 1200 to 1250 calories per day, in a breakdown that typically looks like this:

BREAKFAST ~ 400 calories

LUNCH ~ 300 calories

SNACK ~ 200 calories

DINNER ~ 300 calories

A bulkier breakfast for me really does help keep me satiated throughout the day!

In regards to your cruising dilemma (man are we blessed for these to be our dilemmas, lol!) ~ I would go for the Liberty! We are sailing the Liberty next month and are so looking forward to testing out those 2.0 upgrades. Also, we have visited Roatan a few times and it certainly ranks as one of our top three favorite tropical locales. Have fun planning!!!

Brooke ~ congrats on your scale success!!!! Yay!!!! :D

Hi everyone!

I have been checking in the last week or so but not doing much posting. Busy, busy with school just ending and transitioning my kids to their summer schedule and changing up my work schedule a bit.

Been struggling the last three or four days. I am up 1.1 pounds from my low last week. :( I always get frustrated when I feel like I am continuing to really stick with it and see no results or negative results on the scale. Trying to hold it together ~ hoping I will see a drop over the next few days.

Glad everyone is still plugging along! FYI ~ I LOVE kale chips, so yummy! I spread them on a large baking sheet, spray them with Pam spray, sprinkle liberally with garlic powder and very lightly with salt, bake at 350 degrees for about 11 minutes. Perfect evening snack to replace regular chips when I am watching TV at night!

Hi Everyone!

Brooke ~ you did a great job planning out all your meals. It is so much easier to be successful when we have a plan! I agree with pcrum, you should totally get a family discount on the house.....hope it all comes together smoothly for you. :) You are still on track to weigh in once per month, right? When is your first monthly weigh-in? Hoping for a good number for you!

pcrum ~ Sounds like you have quite a memorable trip in store with your daughter.....enjoy every minute of it! What is your recipe for mashed cauliflower?? I have made it before but it hasn't turned out the greatest. Sometimes I have a craving for some potatoes so I would love to find a good replacement recipe. :)

The week is off to a good start, although I already wish it were Friday! It's horrible how I have become about work lately. :o Weighed in this morning and FINALLY hit my first big goal I had set last year (5/24/11). As of this morning I was down 60.7 pounds (the goal was 60)! I was so happy! That put me under 200 pounds for the first time in about 15 or 16 years. I almost can't believe it. I started out at 260 pounds and making it to "one-derland" seemed so far off. It has definitely been a lot of work but I am finally feeling like maybe I can do this! My next goal is to be down 75 pounds by our summer cruise on 8/18/12. The pounds are coming off slower, so it will be a challenge - but I am ready for it!! :D Initially ~ I set out to ultimately lose 100 pounds. I haven't weighed 160 since I was in junior high. Hopefully, in 39.3 pounds I will know how it feels again.

Here's to successful, on-program weeks for all of us!!! :D

Hi Everyone,

Have been quickly checking in reading how everyone is doing, but haven't posted since the end of last week! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.....I sure did, it is always nice to be able to enjoy some time at home. That is such a precious commodity!

Sounds like everyone is doing well!

Brooke - I love the floor plans you are looking at. Look like very livable homes! Good luck. :)

On the note of eating late at night ~ that has ALWAYS been my biggest downfall as well. Before I made all the changes a year ago - I would eat relatively healthy all day long but at night I would totally eat and eat and eat. Definitely in a binge eating manner. Some night I would go to bed SO STUFFED! Most nights I would eat the equivalent of a second full dinner plus one or two dessert items within an hour or two of going to bed. (And I wondered how I got so heavy?!? LOL) As I have been reading Bob Harper's "The Skinny Rules" I have discovered that one of his twenty rules is GO TO BED HUNGRY ~ do not eat for at LEAST 3 hours before going to bed. Obviously, this is a tough one for me but it has given me new motivation. He explains that while we sleep we burn about 70 calories per hour (that's 560 calories a night for an eight hour night's sleep!). So our bodies can either burn through 560 calories of the food we have recently stuffed in our bellies, or we can go to bed hungry and our bodies will have to burn our stored energy. Now, each night if I feel tempted to eat late (after 8:00 p.m. for me because I go to bed between 11:30 and 12:00) I think of that. Do I want to cheat myself our of the opportunity to burn some stored fat??? The way I figure it ~ by not eating at night and allow my body to work it's nightly fat-burning magic I am using up over a pound of stored fat every week!

brooklynfc ~ I get so frustrated for you when I see your numbers being stubborn!!! :mad: Stick with it ~ you are doing amazing work!!

Hope everyone is plugging along this week! I came across this quote over the weekend that I am loving....

"You've got to divorce yourself from the past and find a different way of living. And you can never go back. Once you accept that, and realize there is no finish line, then you've got a better chance at succeeding."

Has anyone read Bob Harper's "The Skinny Rules" that came out last week? I downloaded it to my iPad and started reading it over the weekend. I LOVE it! Now I will start out by saying - I am a huge believer in his diet and fitness methods and have somewhat modeled my "program" with his philosophies in mind. The book gives his support information about why he does this things he does. It is definitely worth the read!! Two thumbs up from me!

Tomorrow is my one year "lifestyle change" anniversary. My goal was to be down 60 pounds in one year. As of this morning, I am down 57.6 pounds - so obviously I will be just shy of my goal. BUT, I am going to celebrate my accomplishments instead of getting down on myself (my historical M.O.) and move on to my next goal! (Which is to be down 75 lbs. by the time we leave for our summer cruise on August 17th.)

brooklynfc ~ Although the pace is sometimes frustrating, your numbers on the scale are going down. Be encouraged.....you are doing great and showing big changes by sticking with this process! You definitely must have needed that nap on Saturday. I often do that myself. Usually on a Friday night (about once per month) I fall asleep for the night around 9:00 pm. Since my normal bedtime is 12:00 to 12:30 am, this is VERY EARLY to me!

Hope every is have a great start to their week!! :D

brooklynfc & gathina ~ thank you for your encouragement and suggestions on my "binge" the other night. I needed them!

hulalovestocruise - glad you are enjoying those almonds. I love them! Just bought some more at the grocery store this evening. So yummy and the chocolate ones are such a good satisfier for the sweet craving.

Today was a good day ~ but goodness was it BUSY! So thankful it is the weekend. I stayed under my calories tonight although, due to poor planning, I ate the last 300 of my calories WAY TOO LATE tonight. I got my workout in, late as well ~ it was 8:30 before I ever arrived at the gym. Tomorrow morning I am going to a Salsa Jam class, looking forward to it!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day and finds healthy ways to celebrate with their families. We are barbequing and I purchased healthy food options tonight at the store.

:)

Hello All!

Hope everyone is having a successful week. I am SOOOO glad tomorrow is Friday! I need a few days off! LOL

Things have been going really well for me and I have been seeing some good weightloss numbers on the scale, but last night I was derailed. UGH.

We had a busy evening with the kids after work - figure skating practice, baseball practice and a hockey game. After the game, the family wanted to go have an ice cream at Dairy Queen. I was fine with that as I usually don't have a problem sitting and watching them eat theirs! LOL Plus, I had alotted enough calories to swing by and grab a vanilla cone from McDonald's. So that is what I did.....I ran and got a vanilla cone and then headed home. Well ~ I ate the cone, THEN ate the leftover half of my "pizza quesidilla" creation from dinner, THEN ate a serving of baked tostitos scoops and THEN topped it off with FOUR chunky chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. I felt SOOO sick afterwards.

Why do I do that to myself??! All the while I am "binging", I tell myself that its okay because it doesn't happen very often and I have been so good and I deserve it and yadda yadda ya. And then the moment I swallow the last bite -- I am LIVID at myself! Plays out the exact same way every time and has my whole life. I am still a bit mad at myself today. It's not that I am mad at myself for the food (it really only put me about 500 calories over my range for the day and I know its not the end of the world). I get mad at myself for the behavior and lack of self control.

Oh well, back on track today. Still working towards my 60 pound goal that I was hoping to hit by 5/24/12 (my one year "new life" anniversary). I was up .7 pounds on the scale this morning (thank you binge!) so I am 6.5 pounds from my goal. 6.5 pounds is a lot to lose in two weeks, but I am trying! Once I hit the big 6-0 I will set a new goal! Happy Thursday everyone!

:D

Fri. 318.6

Sat. 316.2

Sun. 315.4

Mon. 315

Good job on those numbers!!! Going down even in the midst of a challenging work day on Friday and a day out on the weekend. You made the right choice by skipping the McDonald's, which at our house is called McGarbage. You would be amazed how less appealing something seems when you refer to it as trash. :D

Have a great week!

pcrum ~ sounds like you had a nice evening with your husband last night. Good for you! I think we all need to be able to do that from time to time - indulge a bit and then have the strength to get right back on our programs.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful and successful weekend. Not looking forward to Monday, but it is inevitable I suppose! :p

I'm exhausted.

 

I've gone from 8am to now........full blast.......for our event in 88 degree weather. We are getting a small 30 min. break and then we have to set up for tonights event and then do the event..........will be here until 10ish.

 

I don't feel so bad about skipping exercise last night for nephew time again b/c I have def. burned some calories today, if not merely in sweat. I'm here typing on our break just so I don't fall into the that "I'm exhausted and I stopped moving phase."

 

I have to change into something nicer and get cleaned up and pray it is not about to pour rain on us.

 

I had a Glucerna shake this morning b/c it is supposed to keep your blood sugar up (which we all know I have issues with) and I didn't know how late or when I would get lunch, so I thought that was a good idea (10 grams of protein too). So, I did grab lunch around 12:15 and grabbed a hotdog with a bun (no way to eat it otherwise) and a small ice cream cone (real, straight from the cow kinda ice cream) and a bottle of water.

 

Everyone really didn't grab food (It took me 10 mins to woof it down and get back to work, probably not a great idea......), so they drove to DQ during a quiet period during the event and got food and they got me a large sweet tea, which has gotten me through so far. I will need food soon if I'm gonna stay awake.

 

Had another 32 oz water in me and I think I'm okay for now. Might as well get used to this b/c this is how the beach and the cruise will feel, lol.........Just more fun. We will see how dinner goes, I suppose they all aren't too hungry since they ate so late.

 

Good think I brought stuff to pull my hair back with.........heat, humidity and sweat does not fair with my hair well.

 

I will try and make up the missed exercise this weekend.

 

Good Choices.

Thank you for the encouragement, I needed it. :o I am happy to report that I am feeling a bit more optimistic tonight!

You really do have the marathon work day going on today, don't you??!! For goodness sakes......sounds exhausting! LOL Hope you find a way to have a healthy dinner tonight - I'll be thinking about ya! :)

Alright, I am very discouraged today. I totally derailed with my eating last night and then made the mistake of getting on the scale this morning to assess the damage. I was up 1.5 since yesterday morning. Now, I know that is not actually what I gained ~ considering I only ate 1900 calories yesteday, but my goal is 1200. But, it still frustrates the HECK out of me!!! The last week, I have worked very hard and showed very little progree. That always messes with my head. :mad:

Okay, venting over!

We have never decorated our door.

One thing I have noticed.....by the end of the week, several of doors we notice that are decorated end up getting "vandlized" (LOL). Things get torn down, stolen, written on, etc. I wouldn't put anything out with too much value (sentimental or otherwise).

Good morning, all! Just had a motivational moment I had to share with all of you.....

Got into the office this morning and was standing at the coffee pot grabbing my morning cup and one of my co-workers walks by and says "Jen, it looks like you are wasting away to nothing, girl!" :D Now, trust me, I know at 209 pounds I can not possibly look like I am literally wasting away to nothing ~ but, DANG! It was great to hear!

My morning mental gym battle has begun. Monday and Tuesday I had killer workouts at the gym, so last night I decided I would take today as a rest day. BUT ~ whenever I decide that, all day long I stress about not getting a work out in and most often end up going anyway. So, not sure how that will end up today.

brooklynfc ~ Sounds like you got your workout in helping your brother with those kiddos!

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE! :)

Hmm, the almonds I got kinda have a good taste to them. Almost chip tasting. Don't know if its the brand I got or that they are roasted.

I always buy the Diamond Brand 100 calorie packs of Cocoa Almonds. Oh my goodness, they are AMAZING. Taste like your eating chocolate candy ~ but with out the guilt! :D

Just the fact that you are still making the effort everyday is an accomplishment! I know for me I went YEARS at times where I never thought twice about what I was stuffing in my mouth! Here is a quote for you:

"Just because you don't see results, don't give up! You may not see changes, but every smart choice you make is affecting you in ways you'd never imagine."

Sat. 315.6

Sun. 317

Mon. 316

 

I think the Dr. will be disappointed, but I guess I will just have to deal with it and move on.

 

BK: Oatmeal

 

S: Fruit

 

L: Grilled chicken sandwich

 

D: Turkey cutlet and green beans.

 

W: 40 mins on the bike

 

Going to the Dr. for my check in apt. after my initial 2 months ago. No progress in my weight at all. I guess I have to decided, with the Dr., if low carb is helping or not. If I did it right, probably would, but what is my willingness to do it right? Idk.

 

Good Choices.

Good Morning, Ladies!

Is it okay for me to jump in on your long-standing thread? I hope so - I have gone back and read parts of your thread and you seem like a fun group!

I will tell you "my story" so as to introduce myself. :) My issues with weight have been around for quite some time, beginning when I was in my late elementary school years. From that age (of about 10) until I was about 21 - I stayed, what I would catagorize as, chunky. At 21 years old (weighing around 175ish), I married my husband (of nearly 16 years) and got pregnant with our first child. So began the downward spiral of my weight struggle. After 15 years and two kids later ~ I had packed on somewhere in the neighborhood of EIGHTY FIVE POUNDS! I still can't believe it! Over the years I made a few half-hearted attempts to lose weight and a few decent attempts. Nothing ever lasted more than 3 months and I would wind up right back where I had started or 10 pounds heavier.

Last spring we went on our eighth family cruise with two of our close friend families. When we got back from that wonderful trip and were looking at photos.......I was DEVASTATED. I think I had always been one of those people who don't FEEL as heavy as they LOOK or ARE. But, the photos from this trip were undeniable! My weight was OUT OF CONTROL.

I made the decision that it was time for me to change my life. I knew I had a long road ahead of me and promised myself that I would stick with it. So ~ on 5/24/11, I began my new life....weighing in at 260 pounds. Ugh. (I try to avoid calling it "my journey" because "journey" indicates to me something with a specific beginning and end. This change is FOREVER.)

Over the last eleven months, I have.....

- Totally changed the way I eat. I used to eat a lot of processed foods and now I eat 90% clean.

- Joined two gyms and actively use both memberships. One is for my regular workouts and one for fitness classes. I typically workout for one hour a day, five to six days per week.

- Convinced myself that I am worth the time and effort I am pouring in to myself.

As of today (after 11 months), I am down 50.1 pounds ~ weighing in at 209.9 pounds! Although I still have a long way to my long term goal - I am thrilled with my progress. The last year has been tough at times, but when I think about my improved health and well being it is totally worth it. I set small goals for myself along the weigh and sometimes try to really challenge myself with those goals. My current short-term goal is to be down in the 100's by my one year new life anniversary, which is 5/24/12. That means I want to be down to 199.9 pounds by then, which will require a loss of exactly 10 pounds in just shy of 4 weeks. I know that is a lofty goal when I am eleven months in to my weight loss ~ but, I know what I can accomplish when I put my mind to it.

SOOOO........here I am, looking for accountability and encouragement and willing to offer the same. I look forward to sharing with all of you. This is always easier with good company! :)

I enjoyed my birthday on the Glory two years ago.......we had a cake after dinner, my friends ordered a bottle of champagne and our fantastic waiters put on funky hats and sang happy birthday. Great memories, lots of fun!

I was on our last cruise when you originally posted this in October, so I am reading it for the first time today.

I just want to say I am so sorry for your loss. I was so blessed by reading this story!

God bless you and your daughter!:)