Healthy Weight Loss

[girl_dee]

today is my weigh in day so i didn't want to stray from that while i have momentum.

down 1.5 after two weeks of plateau!!!


total is....13.5 !!!!!!!!

i only have a few more to go for goal!!!

i must pat myself on the back, i baked lots of goodies and didn't have any!

(i can't have just one is my problem)

enjoy your day everyone!!!

[*Anya*]

Fell off the wagon in a major way this week!

After 9-10 months with no sweets, my daughter had a party last Saturday and someone brought a whipped cream and chocolate cake confection. I said: "can I have one bite?" to my daughter. Like I can ever eat one bite of a sweet anything.

I then ate a whole one myself. Not a whole cake! I must clarify that.

It was in a cupcake kind of wrapper but I wouldn't put it past me to eat a whole cake, if given half a chance.

Have obsessed about it all week and gained three pounds on top of it all.

(I followed up the cake-thing with three pieces of Sees candy as a chaser).

Back on the wagon I go.

I figure I will stop thinking about it in two weeks if my past record holds true.

[Gemme]

I think holding ourselves accountable is much different than beating up on ourselves for a slip up. The holidays are rough enough, so be gentle with yourselves.

[alexri]

I am enjoying myself today, and then heading back to the gym tomorrow.

Tomorrow commences Operation LGN: Look Good Naked.

It's not a diet; it's a butt and gutt reduction plan.

[girl_dee]

Hello everyone!

how many are starting off the New Year with a plan?

i'm still working the old plan myself.

down a pound at weigh in this morning.

Total 14.5 so far.

Today's menu includes lots of carb (what i am avoiding) so wish me luck!

Happy New Year Healthies!

[Sun]

Happy New Year everyone.

Dee that is great progress. Congrats.

Well I still was able to maintain my weight loss for 2012 with only carbing out a little after Thanksgiving and then putting 10lbs back on, losing 5 now I am back to goal. Yikes this is hard stuff. So that goal was level one now I am on to level 2 which is to lose another 20 lbs and use my gym app to track my workout progress, VirtuaGym for anyone who is interested. This is a good app for tracking progress and following workout routines that you can do at home or at the gym. If you have some free weights there are some workout suggestions that are helpful and also many workouts that require no equipment.

Avoiding lousy carbs becomes easier once I put weight on as a result of them. Its not worth it. If I crave a low quality carb, like a bagel, my weakness, or baguette, I have it in the morning then I have all day to burn it off.

[sis]

Really, I need the support of this thread. I don't make resolutions about going on a diet, setting a weight loss goal, etc. If I'm not successful it really does a number on my psyche. My focus is on eating healthy and exercising more. I haven't had anything with refined sugar in it since Sunday. This is big for me. Last month I made a conscious choice to not bring any packaged sweets into the apt. I find that if its not there .... I do without. The holidays provided many opportunities to indulge, and, I did! Now, I'm climbing back on the wagon. Thank you all for being here!

[ruffryder]

My plan for the new year is health. . I will be doing doctor visits for health, dental, and vision. I actually did a vision one last year but I need contacts and I have benefits again at work so I'll take advantage of that. The other two, it's been some good years for checks so I'll get a full doctor check and dental cleaning and check. I'll continue to make wise eating choices without limiting myself and hell maybe another 10 lbs lost is not so bad a goal.

*cheers* to 2013 everybody!

I enjoyed a bowl of oatmeal this morning - apple and cinnamon and some toast with real butter and black coffee.

[Cowboi]

Good morning BFP and 2013!!! I made it to the gym, had a great chest and back workout.
Tomorrow I start the diet....

[Kelt]

Okay, so this is more like the anti-healthy weight loss article.

History's weirdest fad diets

While it is both humorous and not for the faint of heart, it is a good reminder that while consistent behaviors with a focus on healthy habits may be boring to some, the alternative is never a good idea.

Happy Healthy New Year to all the Healthy peeps!

[Thinker]

A few weeks ago I committed to cutting out sweets and breads, and for the new year I am committing to stretching EVERY day. It only takes 15 minutes, and I've found that full-body stretching very often is a gateway (for me) to start moving more.

Happy New Year to everyone!!!! I hope 2013 is a significant year for you!

[Kelt]

Hey Healthies

This is an article I ran across today and thought was pretty good common sense stuff to bear in mind.
The thing that I do differently is on the whole grains, I find the easiest way to determine if it is 'whole' is to only eat it that way, e.g. not ground up into a flour. I also just plain stay away from most grains for my own plan, but everybody is different.

Diet Smarter in 2013 – By Consensus
JANUARY 3, 2013 BY MARK BOSMA

If you are like one of nearly 45 million other Americans, you plan to go on a diet sometime this year. Some statistics show that up to 50% of American women and 25% of American men consider themselves to be “on a diet” at any given time. The struggle to loose weight is continual for many as they bounce from one diet plan to the next.

With so many diet strategies available, how do you know which one is right? Aren’t they all different? Don’t they conflict?

To avoid these questions and diet smarter in 2013, stop comparing differences in diet strategies and start comparing similarities.

Diet by consensus
For this approach, examine the diet plans that you are considering. Base your meals around the foods generally agreed upon as “Safe” and avoid the foods generally agreed upon as “Bad.” This alone will determine about 80% of your food choices. The remaining details then become much simpler to sort out.
As an example, I compared 14 popular diet plans & diet strategies (see below), resulting in the following lists.

Safe:

Fruits
Vegetables
Lean meats (except vegan/vegetarian)
“Healthy” plant oils: olive, coconut and others high in monounsaturated fats
Whole grains

Avoid:

White refined sugar (table sugar)
High fructose corn syrup
Processed grains (white flour, white rice, etc)
Processed grain products (white breads, pastas, etc)
Processed food (cheese spreads from a can, snack cakes, etc)
Processed meats (pre-packaged lunch meats, pepperoni and the like)
Saturated fats
Trans Fats
Additional sodium (table salt)

You may be asking “That’s it? Where is the earth-shaking insight?” There are not any – not in the sense of surprise items, that is.
Instead of surprise, the insight is that many commonly touted “health foods” are the basis for many popular diet strategies and diet plans. These “diets” may differ in calorie counts and food proportions, but their shopping lists are largely based on the above.

Where to go from here
Using this information, you can begin to answer much simpler questions. Instead of asking “Which diet plan is best?”, you can ask more specific questions like “Should I limit my dairy intake?” or “Should I include eggs?”
These simple questions will be easier to research and – more importantly – easier to “trial-and-erorr” on your own.

Advice by Consensus:
While putting together the list of foods for these 14 “diets”, a list of general tips also arose.

Track Your Nutrients: When starting out, track your basic nutrients and calorie intake. This will help ensure you are on track for both nutrition and weight loss. As your eating habits change, you will be a better judge of proper intake and can track your food less often.

Use organic when possible: When possible, look for organic foods. This can help avoid the risk of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals in your food.

The less processed, the better: When in doubt, go with the foods that seem to be less processed. Processed foods often contain less nutritional value than their “whole food” counterparts. Processed foods also tend to contain more of the undesirable ingredients listed above.

“Whole” grain varies: When in doubt, go with a visual – can you see grains or pieces of grain? If so, good. Some “whole wheat” breads, on the contrary, are essentially just white breads with a little brown flour thrown in.
Look up the Glycemic Index: Research the glycemic index to gain understanding about what it is and how common foods rate on its scale. This will help explain why high-sugar fruits, sugar, and processed flours should be limited or avoided in your new diet.

Conclusion
People diet for many reasons, including weight loss, medical concerns and a desire to have more energy. Some people require a support structure and others happily go it alone. Regardless of your particular needs, the strategy of “diet by consensus” should alleviate the uncertainty you feel about diet choices.
The food lists and advice given here are a start for many of us, but please consider your personal needs and adjust as necessary. Keep in mind that I am neither your doctor nor dietitian: this is advice, not a prescription!

Link to article with referenced diets

*The only bone I have to pick with this is the reference to coconut oil as 'high in monounsaturated fats'. Umm, not so much. The pluses and minuses of this particular oil are hotly debated, so, I'm not going there other than to say I do cook with it in small amounts myself. YMMV.

[Cowboi]

Hit the gym this morning. Had a killer shoulder and calve workout.
Got to go grocery shopping later. Gonna be eatin clean and mean!! LoL

[sylvie]

Originally Posted by Kelt

Okay, so this is more like the anti-healthy weight loss article.

History's weirdest fad diets

While it is both humorous and not for the faint of heart, it is a good reminder that while consistent behaviors with a focus on healthy habits may be boring to some, the alternative is never a good idea.

Happy Healthy New Year to all the Healthy peeps!

Loved reading this article Kelt.
It's amazing what people will do to their bodies in hopes to lose weight.
i know i have put my body through hell over the years myself with purging, binges and fad diets in desperation to lose weight.

i laugh when i tell people that i even tried something called the hot dog diet years & years ago. i kid you not. Aside from the fact hot dogs gross me out and aren't considered food for me - i heard that someone lost weight merely eating ONLY hot dogs for every meal & that's all i needed to hear, my brain was convincing me that hot dogs were exactly what was going to bring me weight loss.

i was desperate enough to try it for 2 weeks straight.. One hot dog for breakfast, lunch & dinner. There was never success with any of my many, many fad diets & desperate weight loss attempts over the years. But the very fact i even convinced myself that if i forced myself to eat a hot dog a day it would bring me amazing weight loss.

ick.
ps, damn thankful no one suggested tapeworm to me back then, or any of these.
::shivers::

[Chancie]

Because I want to post on this thread

I am pretending that it is the Just Listening thread.

I have been using an app on my iPhone and

I am keeping track of everything I eat.

I entered my weight and my height and my weight loss goals, and

The app produced a certain number of calories.

I've never been a fan of calorie counting and

I am sure that diets are unhealthy, but

Planning and counting appeals to me.

I will say this, poor Pete has never eaten more vegetables.

[Andrea]

In spite of the fact I have been dealing with an abundance of stress and travel, limiting access to the gym (at least that is my excuse and I am sticking to it), I have been able to maintain my previous weight loss. My fit bit indicates I am also maintaining my normal, if not enough, daily steps.

I have set a new goal of a five pound weight loss before my next scheduled out of state travel at the end of the month.

Gym bag packed..... check
Veggie snacks......check
Fit bit on.......check
Healthy thoughts.....check
Attitude of gratitude....check

I think I am ready for today.

[Kelt]

Interesting tip:

Look for a 10-to-1 Carb-to-Fiber Ratio to Find Actually Healthy Whole-Grain Foods
Melanie Pinola





It seems like almost everything is labeled with the healthy eating buzzphrase "whole grain" these days. But those whole-grain claims can be misleading when we're looking for healthy food. Harvard researchers offer this rule of thumb for choosing good whole-grain foods: look for a 10:1 ratio of carbohydrates to fiber.
When you look at the nutrition panel on a product, make sure that for every 10 grams of total carbohydrates there's at least one gram of fiber. As the Harvard Health blog points out, this is about the ratio of carbohydrates and fiber that's in unprocessed wheat, a genuine whole grain.

The recommendation comes from a study done by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health. They evaluated 545 grain products and tallied up their nutritional components. Foods that met the 10:1 ratio "tended to have less sugar, sodium, and trans fats than those that didn't."

This is an easier method than reading a long ingredient list looking for the word "whole" before every grain (a recommendation from the USDA). It might also be more reliable than looking at the order of ingredients or seeing a Whole Grain stamp on packaging, since foods labeled "whole grain" are often unhealthy (Fruit Loops, anyone?).

Link to original source article: Harvard Medical School

[girl_dee]

Weekly weigh in

up half a pound.

i had a bug hit me and got off track getting over it. i'm shocked i only gained half a pound! So i am getting back on track but facing 10 days away and in Atlanta and then New Orleans. i will do my best to stay on track but also enjoy meals with my family.. and all that cuisine!

HELP ME ! lol

my total weight loss is 14 pounds and i am only 5 pounds from my goal.

OOOOoooOOOOh so close!

[dixie]

After my lil week-long stay in the hospital at the beginning of the month, I've had to change a lot of things. I've tried doing this just for weight loss in the past, but I always get frustrated and annoyed. (Frustrated or annoyed for me meant, "oh well, let's just eat half this bag of hershey hugs")

I now have "actual" reasons to do this. I'm supposed to be eating a low fat/low sodium/low carb/diabetic/some gluten-free/lactose free diet. It's hard as hell for a girl who wants nothing more than cheeseburgers, chocolate, and Pepsi.

So far though, I have been successful. Three+ weeks of no junk food, no soda, healthy choices, tons of water, and organic foods. Oh, and my last cigarette was over three weeks ago! (I can breathe!!!! lol)

Exercise each day: Today's workout included 72 minutes of alternating walking and jogging on the treadmill, 25 minutes of weight training (focus on arms), and 60 minutes of bellydancing.


Three+ weeks and so far I am down 24lbs. Woot woot!


I still crave, I still want to go back to old habits.....it's hard....especially at only three weeks in. BUT I have motivation that I did not have before. Insulin injections, stress tests, oxygen, arms covered in IV marks, a few scars from being allergic to heart monitor sticky nodes, and then a heart catheterization were DEFINITELY enough motivation for me to NEVER want those things again...especially at age 33.

Soooo.....let's do this.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by dixie

After my lil week-long stay in the hospital at the beginning of the month, I've had to change a lot of things. I've tried doing this just for weight loss in the past, but I always get frustrated and annoyed. (Frustrated or annoyed for me meant, "oh well, let's just eat half this bag of hershey hugs")

I now have "actual" reasons to do this. I'm supposed to be eating a low fat/low sodium/low carb/diabetic/some gluten-free/lactose free diet. It's hard as hell for a girl who wants nothing more than cheeseburgers, chocolate, and Pepsi.

So far though, I have been successful. Three+ weeks of no junk food, no soda, healthy choices, tons of water, and organic foods. Oh, and my last cigarette was over three weeks ago! (I can breathe!!!! lol)

Exercise each day: Today's workout included 72 minutes of alternating walking and jogging on the treadmill, 25 minutes of weight training (focus on arms), and 60 minutes of bellydancing.


Three+ weeks and so far I am down 24lbs. Woot woot!


I still crave, I still want to go back to old habits.....it's hard....especially at only three weeks in. BUT I have motivation that I did not have before. Insulin injections, stress tests, oxygen, arms covered in IV marks, a few scars from being allergic to heart monitor sticky nodes, and then a heart catheterization were DEFINITELY enough motivation for me to NEVER want those things again...especially at age 33.

Soooo.....let's do this.

You are doing all the right stuff. Congratulations on the weight loss and especially the smokes. I always told myself that since I had quite smoking I could officially quit/do anything. Everything else is easier than that.

You have the ultimate motivation, that's for sure. It's good to see you take this head on. Kudos to you!