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Originally posted by SheriaVa:
My weight does vary a lot day to day, but at least this week I've been at or below the 35-pound mark most of the week. Huzzah!

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Wonderful news! That's great and I bet it feels wonderful. Way to stick to it!

Peg

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Originally posted by p7eggyc:
Well, I've hit a bit of a milestone...15 lbs. lost.

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CONGRATS! Doncha love milestones?

I hit one of mine this week too...35 pounds. I had been dancing around (gain/lose syndrome) in the 3-pound range JUST above the 35-pounds-lost mark for WEEKS and it was driving me a little mad! My weight does vary a lot day to day, but at least this week I've been at or below the 35-pound mark most of the week. Huzzah!

Well, I've hit a bit of a milestone...15 lbs. lost. I had sort of plateaued for a couple of weeks so I'm happy to report I didn't freak out. I was a little down about it but didn't get too wacked out and actually was shocked to see the 2 lb loss this week. Don't really feel like I had but obviously did. May have been some water around my cycle that made it look like I wasn't budging. So, the current plan is to try and lose 5 more lbs by my cousin's wedding in mid-Sept and then look at maintaining that through the end of the year. I'll get back on the losing path after the first of the year. We'll see how it goes.

Peg

Charlotte--it sounds like you are baby-stepping your way to success. Congrats and keep up the good work!

Yeah Charlotte! It looks like everything went really well. My granola didn't turn out very clumpy either so I will also try again and make sure the syrup is thicker. Thanks for sharing. It tastes good but not really the clumps I was hoping for. Glad the Mahi turned out well and I love your new goal of adding the activity in. That will serve you really well. Congratulations!

Peg

Week 2 is completed! I met my goals: eat healthy, drink 64 oz water daily (yesterday waaas a little short), try something new (mahi), and try a new recipe (kd's crunchy granola).

I grilled the mahi and was very pleased with how it tasted; I ate half for dinner and the other half for lunch the next day. I thought I had some tomato salsa in the fridge (I didn't) so I didn't make the fruit salsa. Will try that next time.

My granola was a recipe oops! It was dry and not clumpy at all. I e-mailed kd in the middle of making it. She promptly and kindly responded (thanks kd) that the syrup needed to be caramel popcorn thick (mine wasn't). I'll try again. Even though my granola is more like toasted oats, it makes a GREAT cold cereal.

This week I'll add a new goal to the mix: walking 30 minutes daily. I made myself (and I mean, made) get out of bed to walk 10 min. on the treadmill before I went to work.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part: I lost a few more pounds.

Charlotte

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Originally posted by p7eggyc:
Have you tried the turkey smoked sausage? I keep looking at it but haven't picked it up yet. I love smoked sausage....actually all sausage.

Peg

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Our market makes an awesome turkey sausage that we eat on a regular basis. I also really like the Han's all natural chicken sausages.

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Originally posted by ChefDebG:
I am realizing that it takes a concerted effort to drink that much. I realized at 11:30am that I had only drank one glass of OJ this morning and no water yet.

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Sounds like a great day so far! Yeah! One thing that I try to do is drink a bottle of water on my commute. I have 24 oz. bottles that I grab and take with me and drink it down during the drive. Sometimes it is in tandem with my tea but usually that is all I'm drinking. I wait til I get to the office for my caffeine hit. Another trick up my sleeve is to set a task on my Outlook with a reminder at 10am and another at 2pm to drink water. If I'm being really good, I'll refill that 24oz. bottle for the trip home too.

Oh and one other 'criteria' for water consumption is to shoot for 1/2 your body weight in ounces. For example if you weigh 150, you should shoot for 75 oz. per day.

Have you tried the turkey smoked sausage? I keep looking at it but haven't picked it up yet. I love smoked sausage....actually all sausage.

Peg

Yea! my math is not totally wrong! I thought a gallon wasn't way off, thanks Bee.
I am realizing that it takes a concerted effort to drink that much. I realized at 11:30am that I had only drank one glass of OJ this morning and no water yet. I am doing great so far in the food department I had two pc. of ww toast with a little cheese on them. Then for lunch I had a huge salad with tuna, cuc., tomato, peppers, beets, chickpeas and 2Tbs feta cheese It was awesome! I used to hate salad, now I crave it. I have dinner planned already, it is almost meatless, we are having red beans and brown rice. I love to add chipotle Tabasco to it. I added two smoked sausage links to the beans while they cook. It gives lots of flavor with not much meat. I can skim off the grease too. I go to work out at 6:30 and am looking forward to it. Have a great evening. By the way I will list my meatless recipes under the recipe section since I have so many. Deborah

I drink about a gallon of water a day too and have been for almost 2 years with no ill effects.

Peg, thanks for your input, maybe I was a little off. I have just heard from different healthcare professionals that alot of common ailments are a result of dehydration. Also,that the usually prescribed eight a day is not near enough. However, I could not remember off the top of my head how many oz. a gallon was. But if a 1/2 gallon is only eight 8oz. glasses, I figured a gallon would be better. We'll see what I can manage, but even if I only hit half my goal on that one, I'm doing better than before. I will be sure and list some of my meatless meals. Have a good week. Deborah

Deborah,
Looks good...be sure to share your meatless meals if they are a hit. Always looking for more of those. Also, a gallon of water a day?? That sounds like a lot...is there some reason you think you need so much? I've heard some recommendations of up to 96 oz. a day but 128 is a heck of a lot. There is such a thing as 'too much' water but I don't know if a gallon would be considered that. If you are concerned about dehydration, one thing to look at is the color of your urine. If it is clear (besides first in the morning), you are thoroughly hydrated. Of course, if you take a B vitamin, this is harder to tell since it is then florescent yellow! There is also some way to pinch your skin but I've never figured that one out.

Good luck....have a great week and enjoy your hard-earned workouts!

Peg

Boy do I need accountability. This site is a God send.
Since I have stocked up on lots of fresh fruits and veggies, I am prepared for the week ahead. I have to get my mind on the right track so I don't just eat mindlessly.
For this week I want to exercise at least 5 days for 30 min.
I want to go one week with no soda
I want to drink 1 gallon of water a day
and Eat two meatless meals this week.
I should be able to handle that. I have aerobics class two nights a week so that only gives me three days to work on my own. I actually enjoy exercise, it is just working it in, that I struggle with. I need to schedule it like my aerobics classes are. Deborah

Great work, ske and Charlotte! Ske, I know how frustrating plateaus can be and you should be elated that you're on the other side of it. However, if you're anything like me, you're trying not to celebrate TOO much for fear that you'll find the change was only temporary! hehe

I have been battling with the same 2 pounds for about a month now. SOOOO frustrating. It gives me some insight to what maintenance is going to be like. Cuz if I'm trying this hard and can't even keep cycling these 2 pounds around and around, what chance do I have to be able to back off a bit on calories or exercise when I hit my goal? Argh.

But I keep goin' no matter what! That's the important thing, I think. Just keep troopin'!

Yeah Charlotte! Great news : )

I have just completed my first official week of eating healthy. And I did it! kd was right--when your stomach is full of the right stuff it is happy and doesn't miss the junk. The bonus is that I lost some lbs. I was so busy cooking and shopping and eating fruit that I didn't miss, or crave, the junk either. But that is just this week. That can change any day. I also met my other goals: try something new (kalamata olives) and try a new recipe (kd's eggplant with pasta). I didn't like the olives (too salty) and the eggplant was good (I like eggplant). Next time I'm going to use portobello mushrooms instead. Goals for week #2: eat healthy, drink 64 oz water daily, try something new, try a new recipe. Charlotte

Skedwards
Sounds like more than just a teenie weenie bit of progress to me! Breaking through a plateau and keeping away the PMS cravings is fantastic! Good for you!

Teenie, Weenie bit of progress to report.... mentally & emotionally for me though a great big progress. I reached a new low this morning when I weighed. .8 lb past my low plateau weight. That is 14.4 lbs total gone, 11.60 to go (or 1 more clothing size down which ever comes first). I believe (hope) that I have finally broken though the plateau. I think what helped me so much this month, was the article I read about why cravings become so bad for some women during PMS time. I had a strategy and it worked (this month anyway). I ate a serving or two more a day of healthy carbs (whole grain, high fiber cereals and breads) that week to help keep my blood sugar level from dropping so low. I didn't become a "CRAZED" cookie monster!! It also helped to keep my energy level up during that week too. Therefore, after PMS week (didn't loose, but more importantly didn't gain that week), I was able to pick up where I had left off the week before. I may or may not reach my mini-goal of a 2 pound loss for the month, but I think I have finally broken through that 2 month plateau!!
Have a great day everyone!!

Linda
Good for you! Sounds like you did amazing!

I'm back from the wedding in Phillie and proud to announce that I walked around central Phillie and watched what I ate. I had packed my breakfast before leaving, ate salads for lunch and then ate wisely at the dinners for the wedding.

Just before I left, the scale "showed" what I had eaten the day before (pizza for dinner and panini for lunch ). Today I was back to my low weight.

I am exhausted, though. Don't like doing that drive in one day.

Linda