Busy Bee

Tweet I've had a very productive week. I'm launching a second shop on Etsy, while building a brand people recognize no matter where they see it. It's fun and pretty exciting. I am not getting enough sleep and I'm not eating much. I'm just so busy and distracted. The scale proves it. My diet seems to be successful.

Except for one thing. I'm not really dieting. I'm just busy. And happy. And I have things to look forward to. A real weight loss - a real shift in my eating habits has to be permanent and not just a bi-product of my environment. Otherwise it's just another version of the yo-yo dieting that has plagued so many of us our entire lives.

The good part is that I'm paying attention. I've caught myself. I went to the store today and stocked up on healthy snacks I love. I'm watching the clock and trying to eat regularly even if I'm not thinking about food.  So I'm less likely to binge at the end of the day. And I'm blogging about all of this - keeping me accountable to myself and my buddies here. All of these actions together will hopefully lead to a more permanent relationship with food.

Do you have time you are less likely and more likely to eat? What do you do to try to balance it all?

I am confident that losing will start to pick up with more discipline

Tweet What an exhausting 2 weeks! I had a visit with my nutritionist last week. There I set obtainable goals like, stop drinking regular soda, eating more fruits and vegtables, less sugar and fat and more excercise. So far so good. I have officially started drinking diet Mt. Dew and have not strayed off that once (yay). The other goals are coming along VERY slowly, but surely. I think that when I have in my head that I'm on a diet I struggle more so, I am telling myself that I am NOT dieting.....I'm eating better. I found that the road that circles my neighborhood is exactly 1 mile and have been walking that a couple times a week. Eventually I would like to walk 1 mile a day. As far as weight loss goes I could most definatly be doing much better. I have only lost 1 more pound since the last time I weighed in, but I am confident that losing will start to pick up with more discipline. I hope that everyone is feeling more healthy and happy. =) -Rachel

Losing Weight and Missing my Support Group

Tweet After an upsetting gain last week... I now have a loss this week! 1.2 pounds! Yay! I really worked for it this week - putting in time at the gym on 6 out of 7 days. Whew... I could definitely make a few more dietary changes though, as I know I keep inching back towards my normal eating habits. So, after a bit of a yo-yo effect - I have now accumulated a 3 pound lost since we began. I think that averages out to be about a pound a week. I know there is still a long way to go! I hope you all will report soon - I've been missing hearing about how everyone is doing and I could definitely use the support. Cheerio, Blondie :)

A bit hope and willpower , we will make it work!

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Hi Everyone,

I have been very sick in the past couple of weeks and did not get to post anything. I started my diet and work out plan yesterday. I did not take in more than 1000 calories and I got on the treadmill and walked (fast paced) for 45 minutes and 2 1/2 miles. Lost around 400 calories. (I know it's not much , but its a start =) )

I miss the days that I was able to go to a store and purchase whatever I like that did not look like a 80 year old would wear. I am really determined to get this plan going. I do not like to go anywhere because I always have the issue that I will not find anything to wear. I hate running out of breath going up and down the stairs.

I usually have very low blood sugar so maybe this goal will help with that also. I was going through blogs, websites etc and I found a useful site that is called the Spark People.

www.sparkpeople.com

You can keep track of your milestones, daily work outs, calories burned, get diet menus and etc. I found it very useful and I hope it will help the rest of you. I am so glad that I have all the ladies that are determined just like myself and will change our lives not only by looking great but also by getting healthier.

My plan is to go to the gym at least 5 times this week. Not to eat any deserts and have only 1 can of soda (caffeine intake is a must due to migraines, and I can not stand diet soda)

After having my first child, I lost 80 lbs in about 4 months by going to the gym and eating healthy food without starving. I kept the weight off until I got pregnant for the second time. I would like to be a size 8 again.

I hope everyone is having a great week! Good luck with all of your goals! Let's make this happen ladies!

Hugs

Dream

Weight Gain and Serious Frustrations

Tweet Well... this week did not go exactly as I had planned or hoped. This morning, I weighed and the results were a 1.6 pound gain... I'm a little more than discouraged.

At my last weigh-in, I had lost nearly 2 pounds. I think that this was due mostly to elminating carbs from my diet (except for naturally occurring carbs such as those in fruits)during that week. I quickly learned that totally elminating carbs is not healthy and it is unrealistic to assume that I would be able to maintain that type of diet for any length of time. As I previously mentioned, I felt bad most of that week (low energy, headaches).
This past week, I tried to eat healthy but added back some carbs (potatoes, healthy cereals, etc.). I cooked a lot of my meals at home, drank 0 calorie beverages, ate more salads than I can count - and still gained the weight back. I also put my time in at the gym 4 days in the past week with a combination of strength training and cardio.
This is my 6th week working out at the gym and my 2nd week making dietary changes and I feel like I have very little to show for it. I want to know what I am doing wrong and what I can do better?!?!

Also, my husband asked me to not weigh for awhile. He says that I am obsessing and not giving my body enough time to adjust. I feel like 6 weeks is enough time and that I should be seeing something. I may or may not heed his advice.

Sorry for the Debby Downer post...

Blondie

Spring is here!

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Marielliott

Officially Spring doesn't start until tomorrow. But oh my - the weather says Spring - the birds are chirping Spring - it's Spring to me! And with Spring comes rebirth, a rejuvenated energy. My life is in transition right now. I am losing some stability and comfort but gaining freedom and joy. I've taken huge risks in my life before, but never with three kids and a mortgage.
So. Here I go. I weighed today and lost 1.2 pounds. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with my healthy choices but more to do with stress and uncertainty. Still - it's a start! haha The good news is - I got the Wii Fit out and I'll definitely have more time to use it!
Sammi

Week One over and feeling great!

Tweet So, it's been a week and I am so fired up! I love that the inner skinny girl is just kicking this fat girls butt.
I had my official weigh in today and I was absolutely floored. I seriously couldn't believe it.  263 pounds.

That's a 12 pound loss!!!

Now, I know that a lot of that is water weight. I know that I will not lose that much next week. Heck, I probably won't lose at all as my body adjusts. But HOT DOG! 12 pounds sure feels good! I feel more energetic. More alive. I know that losing the 12 pounds didnt do that but losing something sure boosted my confidence and that's half of this battle. I hope you all are feeling this "I can do anything" energy also. It makes this fight a little more enjoyable.

How about a little challenge for the upcoming week? Pick one small thing to accomplish. Maybe work out 3 times this week. Maybe give up your favorite soda. I kicked my Pepsi habit but Im struggling on drinking enough water. That will be my challenge for the week. Drink 8 glasses every day. Let me know what yours is!

~Candie

Week 1 Update

Tweet Week 1 is over! Yay!

Today is my official weigh-in day. I lost 1.8 pounds! I have now lost 3.4 pounds overall since I began exercising 5 weeks ago. This week I began "dieting" and/or making a concious effort to eat better and that is what made all the difference.

Here is my recap of what I accomplished this past week:

*5 workouts at the gym
*1 trip to the grocery store
*Only 4 meals from restaurants (only 1 fast food)
*Cooked more meals
*Ate nothing processed or from a can
*Dramatically reduced unhealthy carbs (a few handfuls of sunchips, one flour tortilla and one serving of whole wheat pasta is all that I consumed)
*Lots of lean meats, eggs, veggies, fruit and yogurt
*Took body measurements and calculated body fat and waist-to-hip ratio
*Switched to light salad dressing
*Started mixing juice half and half with water

Negative Experiences:

*Feeling hungry often between meals
*Frequent headaches
*Low energy
*Cravings

Goal for this week:

*Drink more water
*Eat better breakfasts

Would love to hear about your ups and downs.
Do you have a new goal for the week?

Love,
Blondie

Soda and my addiction to the internet

Tweet Week 1 over and 2lbs lost. Soda and my addiction to the internet are killing me! I need to excercise more for sure. My food choices were not excellent but better than normal. I cant wait for the weather to warm up so I can walk more at night (I always feel like people are looking at me when I walk during the day).

You Could Be Obese And Not Even Know It!

Tweet Think if you are at a healthy weight then you are in the clear? If so, then think again...

Many people calculate their BMI or Body Mass Index. In fact, our individual weight loss tickers are calculating our BMI for us as we monitor the pounds we lose. You can find BMI calculators all over the internet and there is probably one hanging in your doctor’s office. Body Mass Index is simply an individual’s body weight divided by the square of his or her height. BMI does not measure your percentage of body fat. According to my BMI, I am just barely at a “healthy” weight. Calculate your BMI!

In addition to eating more healthfully, I am exercising regularly as well. Yesterday, I decided to take my body measurements because I know that sometimes your body is actually changing even though your scale may not be budging. If you are exercising, you can lose inches before you start to lose pounds because fat is being replaced with muscle. So, I took my baseline measurements for my entire body. I will repeat them in a month. Learn how to take your body measurements.

After taking my measurements, I decided to calculate my body fat percentage. You only need to measure your body in 4 places (waist, wrist, forearm and hips) in order to calculate your body fat percentage. I plugged my numbers in and was quite shocked at the outcome. More than a third of my body is FAT. According to the Body Fat Percentage Chart, that percentage places me in the “obese” category.
Calculate your Body Fat!

If you want to go one step further, you can use your waist and hip measurements to calculate your Waist to Hip Ratio. Once again, my calculations put me in the most unhealthy category and indicated that I am at High Risk for diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and high blood pressure. All of these diseases run in my family. I also have an apple body shape because I gain weight in my abdomen. Calculate your Waist to Hip Ratio and check out the Ratio Chart!

So, I started thinking about all of this information that I had just learned and I asked myself... "How can I be at a healthy weight and also obese and high risk for scary diseases?" What I found was that I have what is now being called "Normal Weight Obesity." Sounds like an oxymoron, right?!?! Well, it is real and it is serious. I now know that even though my weight may be "normal" on the charts, I am still at risk for many of the same diseases as someone who is actually obese. I have a large body fat percentage and though I may not be able to change my apple body shape and where I carry that excess FAT (thanks genetics!) - I can do something to reduce it. Now one of my goals is to work to reduce FAT and not just weight!
Learn more about Normal Weight Obesity!

Sorry for the lengthy post (I'm a writer). I hope you find this information informative and helpful. I am so grateful to be a part of this project. I am learning so much about my body and finally taking ownership of the body that I own!

Cheers ~ Blondie! :)

Stress -n- Sugar

Tweet Lately I have been able to recognize my two main sources of frustration linked to food issues. Today I am going to set two goals for myself for this week. 7 days. Then I will report back my trials and triumphs.

The first is stress. Life has peaks and valleys. My brain knows this. But for some reason it can feel like I am not going to ever get out of this valley. Logically I know I will - but it's just that feeling of being completely overwhelmed and not trusting my judgment. It seems the more stressed or worried I am, the hungrier I get.

I'm not exactly sure how to battle this. I have meditated before for short-term calmness is high pressure situations. I have read many people talking about it as a life-saver. Ok meditation. I will set a 3 minutes a day goal.

My second huge problem is my addiction to sugar. Chocolate, bread, chocolate, pasta. I'm a vegetarian and it seems that I am substituting protein with starchs about 70% of the time. The fact that I am hypoglycemic and my blood sugar is dangerously low does not help. So my sugar goal is to take my medication everyday.

This weeks goals: 3 minutes a day meditation and 1 blood sugar balancer pill everyday. :-)

What about you? Post in the comments your goal for this week so we can support each other thru this!
~Sammi

They make me feel not so alone

Tweet Yesterday I made the decision to really buckle down and get this diet thing going thanks to an invite from Dream! I feel really inspired reading the posts from the ladies involved in this project. They make me feel not so alone. I have decided to weigh myself only on Mondays since I weighed in yesterday. I ate relatively healthy today but could have done better and I definatly need to incorporate some excercise into my daily activites. Tomorrow my goal is to find a good diet and go food shopping.

<3,

Rachel

A new Journey

Tweet I've been an emotional eater for a very long time.  I'm obsessed with food. Even when I'm not hungry I'll think about what I'll eat next. When researching vacations you'll find me salivating over food pictures, not destinations. I have a very hard time of grasping the concept of eat to live and not live to eat.

I made it through day one of my new lifestyle (remember diet is a bad word!) and I'm feeling ok. I'm not hungry but I'm not exactly satisfied either. I think it will be an exciting challenge to find new foods that will appeal to me, my preschooler and my picky hubby! 

I have the largest goal here by a long shot- by double actually. Its embarrassing and daunting. It's hard to even imagine  that kind of life changing commitment. I'm so thankful I have a bunch of new friends to support me in the process!

~Candie

I Am Eating to Cleanse!

Tweet Here goes my first post...

A month ago, I started working out at the gym. I try to mix cardio with strength training and I am slowly learning how to exercise more effectively. However, after 4 weeks of workouts at 4+ times per week - I had no weight loss. This is very discouraging because I do not enjoy going to the gym in the first place. Since I have kicked my activity level into high gear and not lost any weight, I now know that my diet is paying a larger role in the equation.

This past weekend I visited my family. My mom has recently started a new diet plan that she heard about through a coworker. It works in cycles with the first being basically a cleansing cycle. On the first cycle you CAN eat: unlimited poultry and fish (no shellfish), unlimited "cleansing" vegetables, 2 fruits a day from a select list, 2 probiotics a day (yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir, etc...), 2 eggs a day, 1-2 tbsp of healthy oils and condiments from a select list. The beverage list includes: water, green tea, coffee and diet soda. My mom lost about 4 pounds in her first week! So, I watched what she was eating over the weekend and decided to give it a go myself. Yesterday was my first day and I feel pretty good about it. I went grocery shopping this morning and I have to say that I really enjoyed filling my basket with bright and colorful fruits and vegetables. Today I have enjoyed: fruit and yogurt for breakfast and a taco salad (ground turkey - no chips) for lunch and I feel pretty satisfied!

Tuesday is my weigh-in day and I now weigh: 155.4 (1.6 pounds lost since last Tuesday!!!)

Smiles,
BLONDIE

I'll go first!

Tweet There are five of us posting on this blog. That means we will have 5 stories, at least 5 lessons to learn and 5 goals to achieve. Hopefully in our triumphs and trials you will see something you can relate to. I will start by telling a little bit of my story and how I got to where I am today.

I'm a big girl. But from what I've seen, not the typical big girl. I'm not a yo-yo dieter. I don't shy from the camera and you will hardly ever hear me say a word about my weight or my calorie intake. I'm sure part of this is denial. But most of the time I have other things on my mind. It's just not something I think about. 

I'm very close to 40. And I am starting to notice a few signs of aging ;) I'm not a paragon of health. I am medicated for high blood pressure and sometimes when my eyesight it blurry I get nervous. I have horrible heartburn that I have denied for years had anything to do with what I ate. I am finally coming to the realization that just because I don't talk about it, or stress about it - doesn't mean there isn't a problem. 

So thanks to Dream for suggesting we diet cross-country together. And thanks to my pathological desire to blog we have this online journal. Join us in our journey. Comment. Ask questions. Start your own blog (we'll link to you!) and let's lose this weight before we lose our minds! :-)