Healthy Weight Loss

[Hack]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Nothing I love more than salsa and chips. I have been trying to do the "healthier" blue corn chips. Well, the ones I have tried up until now have left much to be desired, including being almost stale tasting.

Until the recent one my gf brought home. It is simply called "Blue Corn", which is actually a multigrain recipe made with, organic blue corn, quinoa, flax, sunflower, sesame seed, and brown rice. All good stuff. It creates a light and crispy chip. Speaking of people being extra hungry yesterday...I ate almost the entire bag last night along with almost the entire jar of salsa! I hadn't even noticed they were so good!

Anyway, it is made by "Food Should Taste Good". Check it out.

I recently had some Tostitos Multigrain Scoops at a friends' house. They were pretty tasty, I have to say.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Hack

I recently had some Tostitos Multigrain Scoops at a friends' house. They were pretty tasty, I have to say.

Ahhhh...I will have to check those b/c I can eat multigrain (and they are no doubt cheaper than the ones I mentioned). Thanks for the tip!

[PinkieLee]

Originally Posted by Hack

I recently had some Tostitos Multigrain Scoops at a friends' house. They were pretty tasty, I have to say.

Another good option is the BAKED Tostitos Scoops. YUMMY... and they pretty much taste just like the regular Tostitos!

[Thinker]

I'm starting to ween myself off of the Weight Watchers online tracking. Tracking and figuring points everyday for the last 4+ months have given me the information I need to carry on without it; I am *very* clear what "overeating" is for me. I do a significant amount of cardio every morning and work my core 3-4 times per week. With all of that, I have faith these last 5 pounds will eventually come off.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Thinker

I'm starting to ween myself off of the Weight Watchers online tracking. Tracking and figuring points everyday for the last 4+ months have given me the information I need to carry on without it; I am *very* clear what "overeating" is for me. I do a significant amount of cardio every morning and work my core 3-4 times per week. With all of that, I have faith these last 5 pounds will eventually come off.

Only 5 left? That is awesome!

[DapperButch]

Gosh, all of you guys work really hard. You are an inspiration!

Ok, getting on that eliptical now...4 days out of 4!

[JustJo]

Good morning everyone

I've been struggling (and occasionally giving in a tiny bit) with some emotional eating this past week, but am still following my eating plan as faithfully as I can and finding that, overall, it's pretty easy to stick to.

I also jump on the scale each morning, knowing that there will be some normal ups and downs depending on hormones, water intake, etc. I find that daily check in helps keep me on track. I only have an "official" weigh in once a week on Saturday morning.

I was getting worried that my few little fails on the emotional eating may have thrown me off course, but the scale says I'm still on track. I jumped on this morning and it's down another pound...and it's only mid-week.

Plan for the day includes making a giant pot of homemade vegetable soup.....yummy, healthy, and filling.

[*Anya*]

T4Texas, I bring my lunch to work almost everybody. I will pack each item separately and put it in a cooler bag with blue ice. I will put lettuce in one plastic container, tomatoes, veggies, and sliced, skinned chicken breast or plain tuna, even salmon in another. Those individual packs of tuna/salmon in foil are awesome and u don't need to drain them. I will put low-fat/low sodium dressing in a separate little container, too.

I always bring a big bowl and dump it together when ready to eat. If I am running late in the morning or did not put my lunch items together @ night, which I always try to do; I have gone to a cafe around my job just before 11am, when they no longer make breakfast. I say: eggwhite omelet please, no butter or salt, fresh spinach and mushrooms. No hash browns and no toast. It is delicious and very filling. Those days I just eat lunch earlier.

I also pack two fruits & one yogurt in my cooler. That way, I am set for the day and have healthy food if I am hungry. I just think out my food for each day ahead of time.

I have other ideas but if you do not have access to a microwave, it does take a bit more planning but not impossible. Best of luck

[Thinker]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Only 5 left? That is awesome!

Yeah, but it's been 4 or 5 pounds for at least a month now.......maybe 5 weeks. I'm truly STUCK.

That's why I had to finally just surrender the weight part of it for now and make sure I'm focusing on the good things I'm doing with caloric intake and cardio. If I'm true to myself with those two things, then the rest will eventually take care of itself.

*shrug*

[JustJo]

So, just in the spirit of sharing....here's what's simmering on the stove right now...

• 1 large onion, chopped
• couple stalks of celery, including the leaves, chopped
• couple cloves of garlic, chopped
• simmering in a dollop of EVOO
• about 1 lb. of sirloin, cubed

That all got left to simmer and think until the veggies were translucent and the meat was browned....then I added:

• 3-1/2 carrots, chopped....would have been 4 but I'm crunching on half of one
• one big can of diced tomatoes, with the juice
• one can full of water
• big handful of parsley, crushed
• a little salt and pepper....will adjust that later
• big handful of fresh green beans, cut into lengths....all that was left in the bag but wish I had a bit more...guess I shouldn't have eaten so many of them last night
• 2 small cans of canellini beans

A bit later, closer to eating time, I'll add...

• a big pour of frozen corn (the mixed yellow and white that I love)
• a big pour of frozen peas
• broccoli, chopped
• cauliflower, chopped
• another can of tomatoes and water, if it's needed (and probably will be)

I don't add the broccoli and cauliflower early because long simmering makes their flavors completely take over the soup....and the frozen stuff seems to retain shape and flavor better added later on too.

I'd add some fresh spinach if I had any, but I'm out!

[Thinker]

Acting "as if"...

I was just reading an article about weight loss plateaus and saw a recommendation to try some primal challenge......I forget the wording on it but it had "primal" somewhere in there.

The recommendation is to go 30 days living and acting "as if" you are one of those full-on, hard-core health nuts. You eat perfectly, act "as if" you don't crave sweets or any of the bad stuff, work out every chance you get, etc...

I'm not willing to try it for 30 days, but I'm gonna give it a shot for one week starting this Friday.

I'm going to miss my sweet potato chips.

[lipstixgal]

Originally Posted by JustJo

So, just in the spirit of sharing....here's what's simmering on the stove right now...

• 1 large onion, chopped
• couple stalks of celery, including the leaves, chopped
• couple cloves of garlic, chopped
• simmering in a dollop of EVOO
• about 1 lb. of sirloin, cubed

That all got left to simmer and think until the veggies were translucent and the meat was browned....then I added:

• 3-1/2 carrots, chopped....would have been 4 but I'm crunching on half of one
• one big can of diced tomatoes, with the juice
• one can full of water
• big handful of parsley, crushed
• a little salt and pepper....will adjust that later
• big handful of fresh green beans, cut into lengths....all that was left in the bag but wish I had a bit more...guess I shouldn't have eaten so many of them last night
• 2 small cans of canellini beans

A bit later, closer to eating time, I'll add...

• a big pour of frozen corn (the mixed yellow and white that I love)
• a big pour of frozen peas
• broccoli, chopped
• cauliflower, chopped
• another can of tomatoes and water, if it's needed (and probably will be)

I don't add the broccoli and cauliflower early because long simmering makes their flavors completely take over the soup....and the frozen stuff seems to retain shape and flavor better added later on too.

I'd add some fresh spinach if I had any, but I'm out!

Oh sounds yummy I am going to the store to get the ingredients for the soup for tonight's dinner!!
Thanks Jo for your recipes...

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Thinker

Yeah, but it's been 4 or 5 pounds for at least a month now.......maybe 5 weeks. I'm truly STUCK.

That's why I had to finally just surrender the weight part of it for now and make sure I'm focusing on the good things I'm doing with caloric intake and cardio. If I'm true to myself with those two things, then the rest will eventually take care of itself.

*shrug*

Yes, that is a while to be on a plateau. I hear that when we hit plateaus that we should change up our type of exercise. If you walked, swim. If you swam, cycle. I know that you are jogging now. Did you walk before or were you doing something totally different?

[Thinker]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Yes, that is a while to be on a plateau. I hear that when we hit plateaus that we should change up our type of exercise. If you walked, swim. If you swam, cycle. I know that you are jogging now. Did you walk before or were you doing something totally different?

I started the jogging as a way to shake things up. Before jogging, I was walking and doing stairs. I was also lifting every other day and stopped doing that when I started jogging.

I'm going to stick with the jogging. For the first time in my life, I feel I am actually capable of doing it! It doesn't hurt my knees, and it's wonderful for my heart. I'm actually looking forward to going for my next round of lab work.

I'm slowly making some real positive changes with my diet. I think I'm getting to a place where I'm going to feel really good about how I'm taking care of my body, and I feel better about that than anything else. I will continue trying this and trying that in an effort to drop a little more weight and a couple more inches around my belly, but I had to let go of the obsession with that particular number; it was driving me friggin' nuts!!!

[PinkieLee]

I am loving the crockpot receipes y'all! I'm always looking for new receipes. As we speak, I've got a small, very lean roast in the crockpot with low sodium mushroom gravy for dinner tonight. By the time I get home 8 hours later today, that sucker is gonna be falling apart... that's my favorite way! I take a fork & shred it ~ and let all the yummy juices soak in. I'm making brown rice for me, and wheat egg noodles for D. I'm either gonna steam some green beans or make a garden salad.

D's only complaint... is that we aren't having croissants or Grands biscuits to soak up the gravy with.

We are hitting the gym tonight. Things have been really stressful at work for quite awhile... luckily working out helps me burn off some of that frustration! Booty shakin' music has been downloaded... bring it on!

Breakfast today:
Raisin bran cereal with fat free milk
a banana
and 1 cup of coffee with a splash of sweet cream creamer

Lunch:
tuna salad on honey wheat sandwich thin
a handful of baby carrots for the crunch factor
strawberries & green grapes

[*Anya*]

I really appreciate the honesty and openness so many offer in this thread.

Many of us have or had the same struggles with eating and food.

For me, I simply can't look at it as deprivation. I already know what everything tastes like because I have eaten it all! In a moment of eating, almost to me as though it were a drug but after it is gone, the self-loathing is/was tremendous. I have great empathy for those that deal with their own demons of alcohol and drugs because in some way, my relationship with food has been a similar struggle. We just can't stop eating altogether which makes our struggle a little different.

I just can't go there again. I am dealing with so much in my life that I can't afford one more thing to feel badly about myself. Control over my eating is about the only power I feel I have right now. I feel if I give that up-I am lost.

It is not deprivation for me. It is working to give myself the gift of health