Healthy Weight Loss

[Medusa]

Let's put this down on the list of crappy ideas:

It's 116 here today with a heat index in the bazillions. I thought it would be a stellar idea to get a big floppy hat and iPod and go walk the hills so I could sweat a bunch and lose a million pounds.

Well, BULL. SHIT.

I lasted all of 15 minutes before I realized it was an insane idea and that I was probably going to get heat stroke. (ya think?!!!)

I'm waiting a bit and gonna hit the exercise bike instead!

[little_ms_sunshyne]

Medusa you just cracked me up! Lol I sat in the sauna for a while and thought sitting outside would do the same!

Sweetfemme- hope you are having a better day today! We are here for you!

PinkieLee we have to promise not to limit ourselves anymore! We can do this!

Workout today was great! 3 miles felt good! Also went for a late night workout last night! Feeling very energized! This weeks find is Fuze drink, slenderize. Only 15-20 calories in a bottle. Try it I have to tell u it helps cause I hate water! Thats a bad thing to admit!

[Sparkle]

I wonder if anyone has any tips or tricks or good techniques for developing effective breathing while exercising?

I've re-started the couch to 5k program www.c25k.com ... again. It may kill me. Running is hard and I don't like it. I never did.

I can walk, swim, kayak or nordic ski for miles; but running just seems painful and impossible to me.

However, I am doing c25k because:
a) I need to step up my aerobic exercise from power walking so I don't plateau
b) I need to have a more time economical exercise routine, sometimes an 60-90minutes of walking isn't always practical in my daily life
c) I am ridiculously stubborn and the fact that I have continually failed to get past week 3 of this program means I feel compelled to prove to myself that I can.

But a week and a half in to it I'm realizing I need some advice and tips on proper breathing techniques.

I understand diaphragmatic breathing and can do it when I'm standing still but I can't seem to get it to work when I'm moving, especially when I'm running. I don't know if its a rhythm issue or a coordination issue or a thinking/doing issue --- but I've always had the same trouble when I've taken pilates or yoga classes and I've never been able to meditate (but that may be a different issue).

Does anyone have any back-to-basics learning to breathe advice? podcasts? exercises?

[little_ms_sunshyne]

I havent mastered this myself Sparkle. I just do alot of deep breathing from the diaphram. I try not to think about it. I used to just focus on my breathing and it would throw me off. I would be interested in some tips myself...

[Sparkle]

Originally Posted by little_ms_sunshyne

I havent mastered this myself Sparkle. I just do alot of deep breathing from the diaphram. I try not to think about it. I used to just focus on my breathing and it would throw me off. I would be interested in some tips myself...

Yeah, if I think about it I'm likely to fall over from the effort and my inability to coordinate both my powers of reasoning and powers of running.

[Tcountry]

for sure not a professional opinion...
but when I was in college training for volleyball...we would run miles & miles.
it helped me to breath in for so many steps & breath out for same amt of steps...(think it was 4 or 6...too many yrs ago)
helped keep my mind off my burning muscles too...lol
*tip hat*

[Zimmeh]

Good Evening Everyone,

I have been reading my Prevention magazine this week and I've found some yummy recipes! I'm thinking of making a veggie pizza soon! I also have drinking the Izze sodas. I drink so much water, soymilk and orange juice, that I want something different. It has 120 calories for the whole bottle and is very good. My favorite flavor is the pink grapefruit one.

Have a good night! I am going to be waking up early and hitting the pavement before it gets to hot in the morning!

Night,

Zimmy

[Scorp]

Well Rosie...I must confess... As planned I DID NOT eat dinner. However, I settled for a large soft serve vanilla ice cream cone with chocolate jimmies (sprinkles).... So you see, I'm bad...very bad

Originally Posted by PinkieLee

Don't feel guilty Jackie... you kept it in moderation. A personal size mushroom pizza is not gonna kill you. See, you already had a game plan for the rest of the day, so you were good. I'm glad that you enjoyed the pizza date with friends!

[sylvie]

good morning everyone!

i didn't get to go for my weigh in this week yet, because the lady i see at work who does it was off tuesday and i am off today and yesterday, so hoping to do it tomorrow or monday ..

going for a walk at the Nature Park with a friend i havent seen since i was 11 years old today, excited to see her after so long - and of course for the walk because i never get to go to the Nature Park its pretty far from home..

Sunshyne, i sooo know how you mean about confidence and stopping doing things because of your weight.. i've lived that for many years and currently said i , too, am tired of not doing things because of my weight.. i like my slow building confidence and find i am doing things more now than i ever have, small accomplishments i'm very proud of, but SO far to go yet - my self esteem is higher than its ever been that i can remember... Even though far to go, its a nice feeling to have some and do little things i never would have considered before.. We can do this!

[Zimmeh]

Here are some recipes that I found in my Prevention Magazine and wanted to share them:

Chopped Chicken Salad;
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Serves 4
-3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
-2 tsp. Dijon mustard
-8 cups of spring mix with herbs<about 8oz>
-4 Lg hard boiled eggs; peeled and quartered
-1 sm cucumber, sliced
-1 1/2 chopped rotisserie chicken<about 8oz>
-1/3 c chopped red onion

*Whisk together vinegar, oil, mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper in serving bowl
*Add remaining ingredients and gently toss to combine
*Serve in salad bowls

*Nutrition Facts<per serving> 276 calories; 24g of protein; 6g of carbs; 2g of fiber; 16.5g of fat; 3.5g of saturated fat; 333mg of sodium



Southwestern Pizza
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 2 pizzas <10”>
Serves: 4

*Prepare grill for medium-high heat
*Grill 2 small ears fresh corn and 1 small fresh Poblano Chile until charred
*Cut kernels from cobs and peel, seed, and chop Poblano
*Unwrap the whole wheat pizza crusts and lightly coat 1 side of each with olive oil spray
*Put crusts oil side down on grill and heat until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes
*Flip crusts and sprinkle evenly with:
-1 ¼ c coarsely grated pepper Jack<about 5oz>
-Corn kernels
-Chopped Poblano
-3 Tbsp. roughly chopped red onion<about ½ small>
*Grill until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes longer
*Remove
*Sprinkle pizzas evenly with:
-3 Tbsp. cilantro leaves
-Freshly ground black pepper
*Cut each pizza into 4 slices

Nutrition facts <per 2 slice serving>: 297 calories; 13g of protein; 33g of carbs; 4g of fiber; 13.5g of fat; 6.5g of saturated fat; 463mg of sodium


Enjoy!

Zimmy

[*Anya*]

I was a chubby kid at least my dad used to tell me so. He would walk by and say: "hold in your stomach muscles" (he is a retired Marine) and I was under 10 years old when he did this. By the time I was a teen, I severely restricted my eating and stayed around 110-I am just under 5'4. Hard though. Did ok through 2 babies, went to WW 2 lose baby weight-but gained weight during my relationship.

I have always, always felt that I was never thin enough, even when thin! Fucked up body image!! I did however get fat, honest-to-god fat during my relationship. She liked it because when I was not thin and cute I had no self-confidence. I always avoided sweets before her because they are a big trigger for me-so she would bring me sweets-sabotage much?

So sorry for this but I am working to get my head on straight again. 2.5 years ago, I got a grip. Stopped eating any sweets at all and staying around 1500 cals/day, lost 50 lbs. Bear in mind- it took me two years to lose those 50 pounds and I still needed to losed another 10-15 but my goal was so close, I could almost reach out and touch it.

Then, 6-8 months ago, I started having painful arthritis in my knees, couldn't climb the 7-flights up and down @ work that helped me lose weight. Broke down and bought those little Skinny Cows ice cream cups "one won't hurt you" & that was all it took.

Stopped weighing myself each morning (helps me to not use denial) & ate lots of Skinny Cow ice cream. Finally weighed myself last week & boom-gained 15 pounds! So there I am, instead of closer to my goal-farther away.

My new mantra whenever I get discouraged: you did it before, you will do it again, you have control! No more sweets in my house. It takes me 5-6 days off of anything with sugar to stop craving it and it doesn't matter to me if it is a psychological craving or physical-I crave sweets when I eat them, non-the-less. No more sourdough bread or butter either in the house. I have to stick with protein-that works for me. Keeps me full and not hungry.

The exercise is the issue for me. It is harder to lose without bring able to walk far or to do stairs. I have to figure that part out.

I just needed to say outloud (in cyberspace), I am Anya and I have gotten a grip once again.

Again, I hope it is ok I posted this here.

[sylvie]

Originally Posted by Anya/Georgia

My new mantra whenever I get discouraged: you did it before, you will do it again, you have control! No more sweets in my house. It takes me 5-6 days off of anything with sugar to stop craving it and it doesn't matter to me if it is a psychological craving or physical-I crave sweets when I eat them, non-the-less. No more sourdough bread or butter either in the house. I have to stick with protein-that works for me. Keeps me full and not hungry.

This has been something rather difficult for me these days.. i am doing really well with eating healthy etc and not buying foods and bringing them in this house that i cant eat, and ive talked to my children about this.. But, often i come home and find them eating junkfood from the store, or takeout or buying something sweet and yummy that i suddenly start craving and its SO hard.. i know that home should be the safe zone, its hard to make my children understand this though..(they're teenagers and supportive of my weight loss journey).. i'm begging them to understand even, i get so close to breaking down and devouring the chips and sodapop or whatever theyre eating - at the same time i really want to get used to seeing people eat things and my having the strength to tell myself no... They are healthy food eaters themselves, who crave junkfood from time to time, i hate to deny them that, i just need them to understand that me seeing it is difficult.. So eat it when im not home and dispose of the garbage, or eat it elsewhere or go eat out someplace rather than bringing it home or sneak it passed me and eat in your bedroom with the door shut so i dont have to see it.. ANYthing, just to help me a lil...

So even if im not bringing the no no foods in the house, it sometimes still finds it's way in.. it's a struggle, a very hard struggle even.. it's simple, i see food, i crave food, i want the darn food... then i get all emotional and it's crazy how emotionally attached to my food i am, it's been my peace of mind for years...it's hard retraining my whole thought process.. So far i've been successful, but hell everyday is a struggle of some sort.. i hope it gets easier !

[JustJo]

Originally Posted by Anya/Georgia

I was a chubby kid at least my dad used to tell me so. He would walk by and say: "hold in your stomach muscles" (he is a retired Marine) and I was under 10 years old when he did this. By the time I was a teen, I severely restricted my eating and stayed around 110-I am just under 5'4. Hard though. Did ok through 2 babies, went to WW 2 lose baby weight-but gained weight during my relationship.

I have always, always felt that I was never thin enough, even when thin! Fucked up body image!! I did however get fat, honest-to-god fat during my relationship. She liked it because when I was not thin and cute I had no self-confidence. I always avoided sweets before her because they are a big trigger for me-so she would bring me sweets-sabotage much?

So sorry for this but I am working to get my head on straight again. 2.5 years ago, I got a grip. Stopped eating any sweets at all and staying around 1500 cals/day, lost 50 lbs. Bear in mind- it took me two years to lose those 50 pounds and I still needed to losed another 10-15 but my goal was so close, I could almost reach out and touch it.

Then, 6-8 months ago, I started having painful arthritis in my knees, couldn't climb the 7-flights up and down @ work that helped me lose weight. Broke down and bought those little Skinny Cows ice cream cups "one won't hurt you" & that was all it took.

Stopped weighing myself each morning (helps me to not use denial) & ate lots of Skinny Cow ice cream. Finally weighed myself last week & boom-gained 15 pounds! So there I am, instead of closer to my goal-farther away.

My new mantra whenever I get discouraged: you did it before, you will do it again, you have control! No more sweets in my house. It takes me 5-6 days off of anything with sugar to stop craving it and it doesn't matter to me if it is a psychological craving or physical-I crave sweets when I eat them, non-the-less. No more sourdough bread or butter either in the house. I have to stick with protein-that works for me. Keeps me full and not hungry.

The exercise is the issue for me. It is harder to lose without bring able to walk far or to do stairs. I have to figure that part out.

I just needed to say outloud (in cyberspace), I am Anya and I have gotten a grip once again.

Again, I hope it is ok I posted this here.

Of course it's okay you posted....welcome

I am so with you on the sweets thing....it seems like the more I eat, the more I crave, and I'm better off if I just stay away from them completely.

Having stuff in the house is tough...if it's here, I'll eat it. One of the big challenges for me was actually moving in with Scoote and the Prince, because they are huge snack food eaters. All of the stuff I love and never kept around...chips, ice cream bars, soda, oreos, chocolate, candy....it's here. I generally had Dove bars and tiny Dove chocolates around for my son....so it's not like there was nothing tempting in my old house....but I found it easier to think of those as "Rooster's treats" and there was so little that I could ignore it better. When I weakened, I'd savor one of those tiny Dove chocolate squares (I think 1 oz.) and that would generally do it.

I'm doing better....last night I actually stood up, headed for the cupboard to get the Doritos...hesitated in the middle of the kitchen, turned around and went back to the couch. I didn't really want them....it was habit. And breaking that "if it's here, I eat it" habit is tough.

Scoote has offered several times to not have the stuff in the house, but I truly would rather break my addiction to it, and not have the kids go without, than have her do that. So far, I'm doing alright...

[PinkieLee]

WELCOME Anya... you've definitely found the right place!

Like you, many of us have been on the constant yo-yo of weight gain/loss. I can't even begin to tell you how many fad diets I've tried (the cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, B12/HCG shots, not to mention starvation). Yep, I lost the weight quick... but it never failed that I would gain the weight back, plus another 15 pounds every. single. time!

So many daily life situations are centered around food. Oh I've had a bad day, let's go out to eat. Oh I've had a great day, let's go out to eat. I can't tell you how many times I'ld be eating lunch with friends and someone say, "what do y'all wanna do for dinner tonight?" OH MY GOD... my food hasn't even settled yet and we are already talking about what we are gonna eat next.

This time I wanted to try something else. I wanted to change my entire way of thinking & relating to food. Every inch of my body was hurting... so I knew that I had to change my entire lifestyle. Smartier, healthier choices & focusing on ME... that's what I knew had to do!

We've found amazing motivation (and accountablity) here by encouraging one another along on this journey! So welcome.... and good luck to you!

[PinkieLee]

Oh I totally here y'all about temptations in the house! D has done really well about helping me keep focus while we are at home. I try to keep healthy snacks at all times (WW ice cream, fruit, string cheese, fat free pudding, & popcorn). If we are watching tv... I wanna snack. At least with popcorn, I can eat a big ol' bowl and not have to feel guilty about it.

BUT, when we are both at work, is when D eats all the crappy stuff that I love. I swear that woman will eat mexican food 5 times a week! Maybe she does it then, so I don't lose focus... and I love her for that. I own my shit... but looking back, it was so easy for me to let her food choices influence mine.

But I know that she didn't do this to me... I DID! Perhaps every relationship I've ever had, I dated enablers. But now I'm taking control back over my own life! I have to lose weight... I have no other option!

[PinkieLee]

Oh I almost forgot... today was my weekly weigh in. 2 more pounds gone forever!!! I've officially lost 17 pounds! I don't know what it is, but the more weight I lose, the more confident I am that I can do this!! A friend reminded this morning, "Tonya, that's called MOTIVATION!"

[little_ms_sunshyne]

Welcome Anya! I too have gone up and down soo many times! Each time it feels a little harder. I have however discovered that a good support system makes a world of difference! You found the right place! Happy u r here!

[little_ms_sunshyne]

PINKIELEE YOU ARE AMAZING! That is an amazing loss! I am very proud of you! Keep it up pretty lady! You've got this for sure!

[Sparkle]

Originally Posted by PinkieLee

Oh I almost forgot... today was my weekly weigh in. 2 more pounds gone forever!!! I've officially lost 17 pounds! I don't know what it is, but the more weight I lose, the more confident I am that I can do this!! A friend reminded this morning, "Tonya, that's called MOTIVATION!"

You are a STAR!!! Well Done You!

[Medusa]

Congrats Tonyaboo!

That is a GREAT loss for a week and really speaks to doing it right with "slow and steady"! You are making amazing progress and I am celebrating with you over 17 pounds! That's a LOT! Pick up 3 5-lb sacks of potatoes the next time you go to the grocery store!!