I am the Biggest Loser...Kinda.

[christie]

Originally Posted by Gemme

What? Who? Meeeee? Lil ole me?



Okay, so I MIGHT have snickered....just a little bit!

Have you had the opportunity to try the electric(al) cigarette thingy? That way, you can choose when to use your 'helps the drugs flow' sticks versus the 'need something in your mouth' thing.

We tried the electric ciggy. ICK. Ugh. Not that, Not never.

It releases a vapor in your mouth. Not only does it taste horrible, it leaves a horrific aftertaste kinda coating on your tongue.

I realize that to non smokers this may sound like an improvement, but it really isnt.

[Isadora]

I quit smoking (again) 29 days ago. I have smoked on and off since I was 13 or 14. I did the patch for four days but broke out in a rash, so after 4 days I went cold turkey. It was time. I did it for me, but it was also a gift to someone I love who wanted me to stop. Love and devotion is a great motivator for me.

The quitting smoking and the exercising are the best things for me. Dealing with smoking people around me is horrid. The third day I quit I went to a party where everyone was smoking in every room...hard to get away from it. LOL Sometimes that is no different than trying to get away from sugar!

My personal trainer is a body builder gay boy. I love him. I hate him. I love him. I hate the mean dirty bastard. I love the mean dirty bastard. I posted a pic of him in my gallery. He is also glad I have stopped smoking and loves and kisses me into doing what I need to do for myself. Somehow I find it easier to follow through with someone who also LIVES what they demand of me. LOL

I am not good at journals. In fact I don't really do them at all. Talullah Bankhead once said, "Only the good girls keep dairies, the bad ones don't have the time." I have tried, I do better at writing poetry and prose to express my feelings! But that is just me!

[canmarielan]

Originally Posted by Arwen

So I'm a huge Alton Brown fan. I just watched his latest (I think) Good Eats show. He shares some of his weight loss techniques. He shared a smoothie recipe that he says he has every morning (or a variation of). I think I am going to try that as part of my routine.

Part of what he said is something I've heard before...that people who eat breakfast lose weight faster.

He shared the smoothie recipe, a totally disgusting sardines on toast recipe as well as a yummy toasted almonds recipe. Of the almonds he said one ounce twice a day was his limit.

Not sure I can stick to his plan but I know I love smoothies so I am going to incorporate those into my eating plan.

Sorry I don't remember the episode title. I know it had "diet" in the title though. The most interesting thing to me was that he lost 50 lbs in 9 months and claims to have never eaten anything with the word "diet" in the title.

I Love you Arwen, and I know you can do this It's always tough to get started...but sticking with it is easy b/c you have ME here to support you. We can do this

Originally Posted by Rainbowchick07

Hey Candace and everyone! I'm totally in as well! I'm almost done with my two week vacation and so next week I'm going to be getting on a new routine and stuff. I haven't weighed myself lately, but I know I'm hovering around 250 and would like to be about 100lbs less. I am worried about my health definitely. On monday I am going to start school and a new exercise routine to go with it. Then next friday I'm going to do the Master Cleanse to clean my body out, and after that's done, I am going to finally start my eating plan. I purchased the Food Lovers Fat Loss System last year and have yet to use it. Its amazing though and I love the guy who developed it. http://foodloversfatloss.com

Good luck to everyone!

YAY.....good luck sweet cakes

Originally Posted by Isadora

I have lost a lot. I am not good about weighing myself since I grew up being placed on scales every day. So I take pictures and only weigh myself when I go to the doctor.

I call it my progress picture. To me this is how I "see" the changes I have made. It has taken me two years to do this the right way.

I eat a diabetic program, several small meals a day (and I mean small). I had to lose a certain amount to be able to exercise more fully. Now I am working with a personal trainer. Who would a thunk?

Originally Posted by Isadora

I quit smoking (again) 29 days ago. I have smoked on and off since I was 13 or 14. I did the patch for four days but broke out in a rash, so after 4 days I went cold turkey. It was time. I did it for me, but it was also a gift to someone I love who wanted me to stop. Love and devotion is a great motivator for me.

The quitting smoking and the exercising are the best things for me. Dealing with smoking people around me is horrid. The third day I quit I went to a party where everyone was smoking in every room...hard to get away from it. LOL Sometimes that is no different than trying to get away from sugar!

My personal trainer is a body builder gay boy. I love him. I hate him. I love him. I hate the mean dirty bastard. I love the mean dirty bastard. I posted a pic of him in my gallery. He is also glad I have stopped smoking and loves and kisses me into doing what I need to do for myself. Somehow I find it easier to follow through with someone who also LIVES what they demand of me. LOL

I am not good at journals. In fact I don't really do them at all. Talullah Bankhead once said, "Only the good girls keep dairies, the bad ones don't have the time." I have tried, I do better at writing poetry and prose to express my feelings! But that is just me!

Isa, It is so exciting to see you here. I sure wish I lived in your area b/c a gay personal trainer....well that just sounds like fun!!! I have decided that I need to work out alone for a while before trying to get a trainer or join an actual gym I'd be so embarassed to huff and puff and passout at a normal gym with people all around

Blessings to you my dear, we are gonna have a grreeaatttt year

Originally Posted by amiyesiam

I set up a live journal account
we will see how this goes
perhaps I need to take some risks

Congrats, darling. I am so happy you're taking the steps needed to be brave and face this crap head on

[canmarielan]

Sooooo........

The trip to washington was so exciting I actually fuggin HIKED!!!!!

It was sooooooo liberating. I kept thinking what the hell are you trying to prove candace you can't do this......you're terrified of the outdoors and you're too out of shape. But I blocked out those thoughts and just did it. IT was so exciting to know that I could complete a trail. 2 of them in 1 day in fact. Wow....

Hikes are so much fun, in case some of you haven't ever tried it. It's really awesome to be out with nature.

We hike a moss trail in the rainforest. Which, was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

I did almost perfect with eating. At the very end of the last day I was STARVING we had hiked and I had been eating low cal all weekend. So, I fuggin binged at wendy's. I had their grilled chicken club sandwich with no mayo and small fries and chicken nuggets with honey mustard sauce. All together over 1000 calories.

*sigh*

It's not a huge decline. At least I didn't eat a greasy burger or taco bell. Wendy's has the lowest caloric food....and fresh ingredients.

*sigh again*

Anyway, it's back to home cooking again, which I feel MUCH safer with.

*nod*

Love you all....

[Arwen]

Well I went shopping today and bought stuff to make smoothies. I pre-made tomorrow's ... or at least it is in the fridge so the frozen fruit can soften up. I am determined to do a smoothie for breakfast EVERY day this week.

I also bought a scale...did I say this already? It's a huge thing for me because I detest weighing myself. But this one is in the kitchen so I can just hop on it once a week or so.

I am going to put this out there. I weigh 245 lbs as of today.

Now to wait the thirty minutes so I can't erase that. That is not a healthy weight for me due to my back problems. I love my body as it is but the extra weight's gotta go bye bye.

Rock on on the hiking, Candace. There's a guy who talks about his diet method. He is fierce on himself 6 out of 7 days. The 7th day he doesn't worry about it at all. So I think you should forgive yourself the Wendy's.

[Arwen]

I made and drank my smoothie this morning. Bananas, strawberries, soy milk and pomegranate smoothie stuff. LOL I THOUGHT I bought blueberry and pomegranate juices. NOoooo. I bought smoothie stuff on both. I'm going to work with it though and when that's gone I'll get the juice.

The smoothie was actually TOO filling. I'm sitting here stuffed right now. Oh, I've also been taking an additional herbal supplement since Friday. I take a daily vitamin anyway but now I'm doing 2 Cinna-chromes in the morning and 2 in the evening. Supposed to up your metabolism so you burn fat faster.

We shall see. Or, if anyone here has any knowledge of it, I'd love to hear from you.

[The Oopster]

Originally Posted by canmarielan

*sigh*

It's not a huge decline. At least I didn't eat a greasy burger or taco bell. Wendy's has the lowest caloric food....and fresh ingredients.

*sigh again*

Anyway, it's back to home cooking again, which I feel MUCH safer with.

*nod*

Love you all....

I think the difference between lifestyle change and diet is I allow a bit a fluidity when making a change. I have things to strive for but it isn't strict I have to do this or else like a diet. Sounds like you made smart choices with your eating out. That is what you need to focus on.

Originally Posted by canmarielan

That's where I'm doing it as well. I didn't know personal trainers would come to your own gym like that I'll have to check that out when I'm ready.

I assume a lot of the prefer not to. Not sure if personal trainers are like some of the other things where they are independent contractors that rent space or not. So if they can go elsewhere they are happy.

Originally Posted by Gemme

Candace, you have REALLY got to let go of the whole "I'm screwed/bad/etc because I slipped" thing. Everyone needs a break once in a while and it will only cause to frustrate you further by continuing to pinpoint what you do that is "wrong".

Like Arwen said, a "cheat" day (my term) is not a bad thing and I think it can be used as a balance for yourself. There has to be balance. No one has ever been ALL bad or ALL good. We're a blend and the best, most healthy people (inside and out) seem to embrace that.

I'll take myself as an example. I have an issue with sugar. I've knowingly consumed extreme amounts for many, many years. Sugar is my comfort food, whether it comes in the form of cake, ice cream, ketchup on my fries, or candy. I've made what I think is a rather valiant effort to cut the amount of sugar I consume down significantly.

Now that I've started logging my food into thedailyplate.com and seeing how the exercise I do affects my caloric intake and how freakin FAST each item adds up to my total, I'm come to the conclusion that I cannot be perfect. Not every time, not every other time, not every tenth time. My sugar will always be higher than I wish it would be, however, I AM taking steps to decrease it.

The first day I recorded my food intake, I came out to almost 1000% OVER the 100% amount of sugar allotted to me. Holy SMOKES!

The past couple of days, I've been less than 200% over my sugar allotment. Is that ideal? No, but it's one HELL of a difference, yes?

Be easy on yourself, girl. The world is hard enough on you as it is. Promise?

again for health reasons i need to lay off as much sugar as possible, but i have resideded to the fact that i just can't do it 100% so right now my main focus is I just don't buy the stuff. That is hard enough. There are places I go that it is and I don't fight it as much there. Although the funny thing is most of the time I'm eating that cookie or too i'm not really enjoying it I'm just eating it cause it's there.

also with this or eating out sometimes it's just making the best choice. If i do crave something sweet at home, maybe it's some fruit with a dab of chocolate or a baked apple with a dab of honey and cinnamon.

Originally Posted by canmarielan

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGGGGG!!!!


I'm SOOOOO excited right now...

I just joined the biggest loser club online.

It was 29.95 for 3 months plus you get 3 books!!!

Wow...anyway...

It is so exciting b/c it makes your meal plans and your exercise plan and also gives you your grocery list for the week. SOOOOO awesome. If you don't like the meals they pick you can swap them for something else.

Just another tool to help me along my way.

If you're interested or need more information let me know

Hey sweetness woo woo hoo hoo

Originally Posted by Mr. Moon

Candace, sweetness,

You've actually motivated me a little. I've known I was gaining too much weight for a while now. I was ready to start an exercise plan when my arm and my knee sort of "went out" (dont' want to go into that in detail, just know I can't do much at this moment but I am getting it fixed).

I will start with changing what I can, until I can exercise correctly. I am cutting out ginger ale (yes, I started drinking soda again, wtf was I thinking???) and cutting back on my portions. I'm going to check out the biggest loser things you've mentioned so I can make healthier food.

I'm cheering you on, Candace.
-Mr. Moon

soda is bad bad bad in so many ways. Even without the sugar it is really acidic.

Originally Posted by Diavolo

I just stumbled upon this thread this morning. All I can say is y'all are awesome.

Getting healthy is one thing, staying healthy is another much tougher process.

Taking back your own life, loving yourself to making positive changes to yourself is such a rarity in our society. Right now we're all about "this is the way I am and fuck you". I don't buy in to that. I want to be a better person every moment of my life than I was the last one. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I need to do a better job.

W00t to all who are working to be better, love themselves more, respect themselves, taking back their bodies and becoming healthier!

I loved your post. sometimes i wish i had the weight to lose so I had something tangible to look at.

I really believe diet contributes to a lot of health problems. Eating well may not eliminate them but definitely can help them a lot. Thus why I am here.

Originally Posted by hippieflowergirl

this is so smart! cutting out soda is a great idea. i went from pepsi to diet pepsi fairly easily BUT i ended up craving the diet stuff like crazy! i dont know if something in the recipe is addicting but i couldnt resist it for the longest time. i was drinking 6 to 10 of them a day by the time i decided to cut them from my diet. only thing was, after i gave it up i was always seriously jonesing for carbonation!

i probably drink my weight in club soda now! dont know why it holds such an appeal or me.

again soda is bad bad bad

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by Arwen

I made and drank my smoothie this morning. Bananas, strawberries, soy milk and pomegranate smoothie stuff. LOL I THOUGHT I bought blueberry and pomegranate juices. NOoooo. I bought smoothie stuff on both. I'm going to work with it though and when that's gone I'll get the juice.

The smoothie was actually TOO filling. I'm sitting here stuffed right now. Oh, I've also been taking an additional herbal supplement since Friday. I take a daily vitamin anyway but now I'm doing 2 Cinna-chromes in the morning and 2 in the evening. Supposed to up your metabolism so you burn fat faster.

We shall see. Or, if anyone here has any knowledge of it, I'd love to hear from you.

This was actually mentioned in another thread but you should try adding a bit of hulled hemp seed to your smoothies. This protein and that in soy milk will really be a great balance and you'll feel more full.

I do veggies in the morning and fruit later in the afternoon. For some reason when I do fruit early it throws me off balance. If I drink fruit smoothies later in the afternoon I don't get as hungry and I actually smoked less. It was odd.

I stopped smoking and started again. I'm just over it. I don't smoke a whole lot but its enough to smell, feel and disgust myself with it.

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by Arwen

I made and drank my smoothie this morning. Bananas, strawberries, soy milk and pomegranate smoothie stuff. LOL I THOUGHT I bought blueberry and pomegranate juices. NOoooo. I bought smoothie stuff on both. I'm going to work with it though and when that's gone I'll get the juice.

The smoothie was actually TOO filling. I'm sitting here stuffed right now. Oh, I've also been taking an additional herbal supplement since Friday. I take a daily vitamin anyway but now I'm doing 2 Cinna-chromes in the morning and 2 in the evening. Supposed to up your metabolism so you burn fat faster.

We shall see. Or, if anyone here has any knowledge of it, I'd love to hear from you.

Arewn
I've been using cinna chromes for 2 months and love it, my sugar levels have gone down and metabolism went up.

[Isadora]

Originally Posted by canmarielan

Isa, It is so exciting to see you here. I sure wish I lived in your area b/c a gay personal trainer....well that just sounds like fun!!! I have decided that I need to work out alone for a while before trying to get a trainer or join an actual gym I'd be so embarassed to huff and puff and passout at a normal gym with people all around

Blessings to you my dear, we are gonna have a grreeaatttt year

Oh, hell honey, I would not be caught dead in a gym. Just ew. I have a workout room in my complex.

[canmarielan]

Originally Posted by Arwen

Well I went shopping today and bought stuff to make smoothies. I pre-made tomorrow's ... or at least it is in the fridge so the frozen fruit can soften up. I am determined to do a smoothie for breakfast EVERY day this week.

I also bought a scale...did I say this already? It's a huge thing for me because I detest weighing myself. But this one is in the kitchen so I can just hop on it once a week or so.

I am going to put this out there. I weigh 245 lbs as of today.

Now to wait the thirty minutes so I can't erase that. That is not a healthy weight for me due to my back problems. I love my body as it is but the extra weight's gotta go bye bye.

Rock on on the hiking, Candace. There's a guy who talks about his diet method. He is fierce on himself 6 out of 7 days. The 7th day he doesn't worry about it at all. So I think you should forgive yourself the Wendy's.

*smiles* thanks Arwen And great job on the honesty. It helps me stay motivated knowing that I am accountable to you guys

Originally Posted by Isadora

Oh, hell honey, I would not be caught dead in a gym. Just ew. I have a workout room in my complex.

That's where I'm doing it as well. I didn't know personal trainers would come to your own gym like that I'll have to check that out when I'm ready.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by christie0918

We tried the electric ciggy. ICK. Ugh. Not that, Not never.

It releases a vapor in your mouth. Not only does it taste horrible, it leaves a horrific aftertaste kinda coating on your tongue.

I realize that to non smokers this may sound like an improvement, but it really isnt.

That's unfortunate. I was hoping it would be a reasonable option for my smoker friends.

Candace, you have REALLY got to let go of the whole "I'm screwed/bad/etc because I slipped" thing. Everyone needs a break once in a while and it will only cause to frustrate you further by continuing to pinpoint what you do that is "wrong".

Like Arwen said, a "cheat" day (my term) is not a bad thing and I think it can be used as a balance for yourself. There has to be balance. No one has ever been ALL bad or ALL good. We're a blend and the best, most healthy people (inside and out) seem to embrace that.

I'll take myself as an example. I have an issue with sugar. I've knowingly consumed extreme amounts for many, many years. Sugar is my comfort food, whether it comes in the form of cake, ice cream, ketchup on my fries, or candy. I've made what I think is a rather valiant effort to cut the amount of sugar I consume down significantly.

Now that I've started logging my food into thedailyplate.com and seeing how the exercise I do affects my caloric intake and how freakin FAST each item adds up to my total, I'm come to the conclusion that I cannot be perfect. Not every time, not every other time, not every tenth time. My sugar will always be higher than I wish it would be, however, I AM taking steps to decrease it.

The first day I recorded my food intake, I came out to almost 1000% OVER the 100% amount of sugar allotted to me. Holy SMOKES!

The past couple of days, I've been less than 200% over my sugar allotment. Is that ideal? No, but it's one HELL of a difference, yes?

Be easy on yourself, girl. The world is hard enough on you as it is. Promise?

[hippieflowergirl]

SNIP==>>

Originally Posted by Isadora

My personal trainer is a body builder gay boy. I love him. I hate him. I love him. I hate the mean dirty bastard. I love the mean dirty bastard. I posted a pic of him in my gallery. He is also glad I have stopped smoking and loves and kisses me into doing what I need to do for myself. Somehow I find it easier to follow through with someone who also LIVES what they demand of me. LOL [/B]

i wants one! ! !

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by hippieflowergirl

this is so smart! cutting out soda is a great idea. i went from pepsi to diet pepsi fairly easily BUT i ended up craving the diet stuff like crazy! i dont know if something in the recipe is addicting but i couldnt resist it for the longest time. i was drinking 6 to 10 of them a day by the time i decided to cut them from my diet. only thing was, after i gave it up i was always seriously jonesing for carbonation!

i probably drink my weight in club soda now! dont know why it holds such an appeal or me.

Me too. When I go without soda (I usually have no problem adjusting to diet soda, as long as it's clear or light colored. The darker sodas don't hold much appeal to me, except Dr.P), it's the BUBBLES I miss most. When I'm reeeeaaaalllllly thirsty and I gulp down half a can really quickly, it's that bubbly burn that I enjoy just as much as the taste.

Maybe we're bubble addicts.

Originally Posted by The Oopster

again for health reasons i need to lay off as much sugar as possible, but i have resideded to the fact that i just can't do it 100% so right now my main focus is I just don't buy the stuff. That is hard enough. There are places I go that it is and I don't fight it as much there. Although the funny thing is most of the time I'm eating that cookie or too i'm not really enjoying it I'm just eating it cause it's there.

also with this or eating out sometimes it's just making the best choice. If i do crave something sweet at home, maybe it's some fruit with a dab of chocolate or a baked apple with a dab of honey and cinnamon.

Here's the thing (since you quoted my post about logging my sugar intake and all that jazz), the sugar didn't come from cookies or cake or anything obvious. I had NONE of that those days. You know where the more than 200% over my rda for sugar came from? Canned spaghetti sauce and granola cereal. Granted, I had a double serving of cereal with skim milk but we often forget just how much CRAP companies put in their jarred and canned products. A lot of sauces for marinating and grilling have high sugar too as well as ketchup. Ketchup can be baaaad about that.

I used to be a really good label reader but I've slacked off the past few years. I guess it's time to brush up on those skills.

[The Oopster]

Originally Posted by Gemme

[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="YellowGreen"]



Here's the thing (since you quoted my post about logging my sugar intake and all that jazz), the sugar didn't come from cookies or cake or anything obvious. I had NONE of that those days. You know where the more than 200% over my rda for sugar came from? Canned spaghetti sauce and granola cereal. Granted, I had a double serving of cereal with skim milk but we often forget just how much CRAP companies put in their jarred and canned products. A lot of sauces for marinating and grilling have high sugar too as well as ketchup. Ketchup can be baaaad about that.

I used to be a really good label reader but I've slacked off the past few years. I guess it's time to brush up on those skills.

Wasn't talking about you eating cookies and i wasn't quoting it as far as the sugar intakin I was quoting it about trying to do the best one could do and not being hard on oneself if they weren't perfect at it.

I was talking about me eating cookies just because they are there.

[Diavolo]

By the by, I'm a big fan of the LiveStrong MyPlate application. I pretty much live and die by that app. Nearly anything you think you would like to put in your mouth is on that site once you learn how to get the searches to come up right.

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

It has certainly changed some of my behavior.

[hippieflowergirl]

Originally Posted by christie0918

We tried the electric ciggy. ICK. Ugh. Not that, Not never.

It releases a vapor in your mouth. Not only does it taste horrible, it leaves a horrific aftertaste kinda coating on your tongue.

I realize that to non smokers this may sound like an improvement, but it really isnt.

funny. i'm glad i didnt dig deeper then. i smoke ciggies that dont leave the blechy taste in my mouth (thank the stars for imports since they're illegal to sell in the US now). i dont want to give them up for the "healthier" version if it's twice as yucky tasting.

i'm making myself put one out halfway through. it's sort of working. so rather than smoking 15 a day i'm smoking about 10 so far. hoping to get back down to 5 a day in 2 weeks or less.

[canmarielan]

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGGGGG!!!!


I'm SOOOOO excited right now...

I just joined the biggest loser club online.

It was 29.95 for 3 months plus you get 3 books!!!

Wow...anyway...

It is so exciting b/c it makes your meal plans and your exercise plan and also gives you your grocery list for the week. SOOOOO awesome. If you don't like the meals they pick you can swap them for something else.

Just another tool to help me along my way.

If you're interested or need more information let me know

[Mr. Moon]

Candace, sweetness,

You've actually motivated me a little. I've known I was gaining too much weight for a while now. I was ready to start an exercise plan when my arm and my knee sort of "went out" (dont' want to go into that in detail, just know I can't do much at this moment but I am getting it fixed).

I will start with changing what I can, until I can exercise correctly. I am cutting out ginger ale (yes, I started drinking soda again, wtf was I thinking???) and cutting back on my portions. I'm going to check out the biggest loser things you've mentioned so I can make healthier food.

I'm cheering you on, Candace.
-Mr. Moon

[Diavolo]

I just stumbled upon this thread this morning. All I can say is y'all are awesome.

I'm working on getting off some weight this year. It's been my annual goal for the last 10 years and it's time to quit screwing around and just do it. I had to examine what made me do the things that I do and what I could do to change it. I found that this really does get down to the core of who you are. I'm a little different in that I work out at least once every single day. Last year I rode four bicycle events over 50 miles. One was 100 miles. And I was 50 pounds overweight. Talk about hard work hauling that up 6500 feet of climbing!

I applaud candace and everyone else who has joined in on this journey. Getting healthy is one thing, staying healthy is another much tougher process. I wholeheartedly believe that a lot of our problem in this country has to do with marketers and what they tell us we should want. Whether it is wanting to look like, I don't know who the current "It" girl is but you know where I'm going with that, or whether it's things we should want or things we should want to eat. We're inundated with it. Couple that with the food based culture, (I just think of the Tongan guys they've had on BL, but it applies to almost every culture) and it's a recipe for disaster.

Taking back your own life, loving yourself to making positive changes to yourself is such a rarity in our society. Right now we're all about "this is the way I am and fuck you". I don't buy in to that. I want to be a better person every moment of my life than I was the last one. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I need to do a better job.

W00t to all who are working to be better, love themselves more, respect themselves, taking back their bodies and becoming healthier!