here i m ....finally,home ,sweet home:) .... the tuff days are finally over....we are back and hubby kept his job....he actually got a raise too....which is great,thank god....the last week before i came here was the worst....with all the stress and worries....

now i m sitting on my lovely coach ,drinking my coffee and writing in my journal....seems like ages since i last did that8-| ...i miss being here a lot and badly need your support to go back on track....i know i went back to many of my bad old eating habits,and i feel it so hard to start dieting again....but i plan to go shopping tomorrow for all the healthy foods i need to keep them handy whenever i m hungry.....i want to get rid of all those ugly extra lbs soon....

the sad thing is when i came home ,and according to my scale i m 245lbs....thats exactly 20 extralbs....i hate thatX-( X-( X-( ...all i can do now is just start all over again...hopefully for the last time....i m really depressed about the way i look and feel i spoiled many month's effort in dieting and exercising....bt its alo true that i m the fastest one in gaining the weight back....like my body stores everything i eat as fat....X-( ....

i ll be seeing a physiotherapist soon to put an exercise program for me thats safe for my case....i ve hyper mobility syndrome....thats what causes the pain i m suffering from and one of its side effects is that you can be easily injured if you are not cautious .....so i need supervision....i ll start with dieting on saturday....and probably little walking.....hope that ll help me some loss as a motivation....

anyway....thats time for a new start and i want that journal to be full of success news....I dont want dieting to be the most important thing in my life,it was becoming an obsession....and as i lose very slowly i used to be depressed most of the time....its very important for me to lose ll that extra weight ,but i want to enjoy all the good things i ve ....that ll be the main thing i ll try to achieve....
i need lots of motivation and support,which i m sure i ll get from all of you.....

Welcome home, :rose: !!!! :wave:

Yay! I'm so glad you're back! I'm planning to start focusing more on being happy and finding some balance and less on obsessing about the stupid scale as well, so maybe we can do this together. I'm glad you get to see the exercise guy and get some input on what type of exercise you should be doing.

I know it's hard to start over, and it feels like you are right back where you started, but you're not. You have more healthy lifestyle skills in your bag of tricks, you know what to do and how to do it, and you know where you need to go to get the support you need to keep doing it, so you are in a great spot!!

If you'd like to, you should come join the Scary Big Pants Challenge (or something like that) that Chum started and that might help get you back in the groove of things.

Chin up! Today is a whole new day, and you can make all the right decisions.

HAPPY to see you again egyptrose :hug:

yesterday,went shopping....you know after i came back there was literaly NOTHING to eat in the house....so since i came back i ve een paying money and it still looks empty8-| ,and i still need to buy lots of stuff....

i tried to get some diet foods to keep them handy,and ll get the rest tomorrow to be ready for a new start saturday....but even now i m tryying to get back to my good eating habits....its not easy to eat right again,but i know its a matter of time and probably in a week things ll be easier.


hi athletea:nice seeing you here ...:wave:

hi amanda:i wish we can both get over that obsession....it makes life harder....things will be much easier if we can just take it easy ,and do what we ve to do....i wish i can stay away from the scale for a while...weighing myself once a week is more than enough....but sometimes i even weighed myself more than once a day,and thats real obsession....i ll try to enjoy everything i ve and keep myself busy....and really hope we can do that togeher.

hi beth...so happy to see you here more often.

school started here today....my daughter is in first grade now....god,days go so fast .....as i was getting her dressed today and took her to school i remembered 2 years ago on her first day to kindergarden....she grew so fast....she looked so beautiful in her uniform ;a blue gown and white shirt,like a young lady...

today is a new start for me too....i bought everything i need and i m fully comitted to a new start.....i know it ll be hard to go back to healthy eating,but i know i can do it....wish me luck.

Awww...your little girl is growing up!

You can DO IT!! I'm so happy to "hear" the determination in your post. You have all the right foods stocked up now and you can get back on the plan, for sure. The first few days are always a little rocky for me, but then the weird cravings go away and things smooth out. More and more I think of my food relationship as an addiction...when I "fall off the wagon" I seem to fall WAY off and it's really hard to get back on, and the cravings are horrible.

Good luck Rose! We'll be here cheering you on!

first day went well,and managed to say no to all temptations....today woke up and had breakfast...yet i m craving chocolates a lot today....actully i ate a small bite from my daughter :o ...and was really hard not to go and get one for myself....but i didnt anyway,and after drinking my coffee the cravings got a little better....

i m not coocking today,but told hubby i want grilled chicken for lunch....i really need to get used to my old eating habits again....i hate the way i look nw a lotX-(

Hello Rose...
My youngest just started 1st grade this year too....Where have my babies gone????
Don't be hard on yourself, you are back and you are going to get right on track!
You have already won the battle with the chocolate today! You took a bite, and had the POWER to let it go at that! GREAT JOB!!!!!! I have been satisfying sweet cravings with coffee too lately, I think I need to prepare some healthy alternatives....I will think about this and if I come up with something that sounds good I will share....
HAVE A GREAT WEEK
lynn:D

hi amanda...thank you for visiting....you are absolutely right ,the first days are the hardest till you break the habit of bad eating then hopefully things ll get better....till now i m doing good,second day ended without slipping....even today we didnt get the grilled chicken and went to a chinese restaurant, but i didnt eat the noodles ,only lean meat and a small cole slaw....and was so full ....starting from tomorrow i ll be coocking again and that helps me be in control of what i eat...

hi lynn....missed your visits a lot...till last year i always felt my daughter ws too young...but suddenly as she went to first grade i feel like we are starting a new phase in her life....she looks bigger and loves to act in a mature way and talk like adults...our relatives call her "young lady".....she is sweet....i love listening to her as she talks and tries to be serious...so funny:)

yesterday had a horrible hunger attack....morning went well till lunch....then as the evening comes i really wished to eat everything i see ,and if there was no food in sight ,i would emagine all the stuff i like and crave them8-| ....was horrible....tried to make good choices,but i ve to say i ate a lot more than i shouldX-( ....

everything else is fine....just too busy with my daughter...its really hard to teach young kids the principals of reading and writing ....mine goes to an english school so she needs ouble effort....all afternoon i m doing nothing but helping her study....

i m still doing my best to stick to healthy eating...i ll be starting walking soon....i just need to buy a pad for my walking shoe to help my foot be in the right posture as i walk and reduce the stress on my knee....i think i forgot to say i ve oseoarthritis in my knees too:( ....its also due to hypermobility.....but i ll still do my best to get that weight off me.

Hello Rose....
Oh, I hate when those nasty cravings start...This too shall pass..that is what I tell myself..:laugh: Just keep trying to come up with close HEALTHY substitutes for whatever it is that you are craving. I know, I know, sometimes that just doesn't cut it. All that is, is our inner-child screaming to be let out! "I WANT WHAT I WANT" 8-|
Sometimes my inner-child can be a first class BRAT :o
You know it is funny you mentioned the pad for your shoe, I have been noticing that I walk terribly on the outsides of my feet, at first I thought it was just because I was so HUGE, but I am seeing that there is really no improvement since I have lost weight.
So... I think you are very wise to take precautions and take care of things like this, don't cause damage that you won't be able to repair like what I think I must of done to myself.
You just take one day at a time, that is all that we can do.
HAVE A GREAT DAY ROSE!!!!:D
lynn

still doing good and the cravings are getting better slowly....what i do now is whenever i feel like eating something i make something to drink instead ....seems to be working....

was thinking to do the 3DD once again to jump start weight loss and motivation...ll try to get foods in the menu if i had the chance to go shopping today or tomorrow...



hi sweet lynn:thank you for the visit...actually i really need every word of motivation these days and you ve always been there for me...hpe you are having a great day.

Restricting at the beginning is the hardest part, for sure. There is no easy way to do it, Rose. Just plan your meals out in advance, making sure that you spread your calories evenly throughout the day, and that you don't go more than about 5 waking hours without something to eat. Try to keep your blood sugar level.

As for the chocolate cravings, I cure mine by putting pure and unsweetened cocoa powder (they use it for baking) in my coffee every morning, and in my protein supplement every night. Cocoa powder only has 15 calories per tablespoon, and that has as much pure "chocolate" as 2-3 candy bars. It makes me feel better, and gives me my chocolate fix.

Have a great week, and take care.
CFJ
My Journal (http://www.diettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55018)

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I hate food cravings. :(

I hope today is better.

Corinna

Egyptrose -- Sooo glad you're back! Dieting and loosing weight in general is sooo difficult, but it's the getting back up after you fall that counts. Food cravings are a pain in the butt -- but it will soon pass, your body will just not want them anymore. I hope to get to know you better -- and maybe you can learn to love yourself as you progress too. The confidence we gain by stepping on the scale and seeing a one-pound loss is just amazing. Good luck! :hug:

Hello Rose,
I got into the bad habit of drinking coffee when I had cravings for sweet things.It works, but I didn't like the idea of having caffine all the time. Now I do it on occassion, sometimes I will have that Diet Hot Chocolate instead, but I would assume that is probally high in caffine too, never really checked. A lot of people swear on good old pure ice water. Which I would love to train myself to do, I do not drink enough water. BAD...BAD....BAD...I go on spurts of where I force myself to do it, but then I slack off. X-(
NO WORRIES ROSE....you will get it down and find something to replace those cravings with!
You are stronger than you give yourself credit for!:)
Have a GREAT day :D
lynn

Hi Rose! Just checkin' in to see how you're doing with battling the cravings. Just think how happy you'll be when you get over this hard part and start to settle back into a healthy routine! I really like Fagan's idea of using the cocoa powder in coffee--I'm going to pick some of that up next time I'm at the store. I usually don't get sweet cravings--all mine are for salt and crunch--but occasionally I want some chocolate. I think we all have to find what works for us, and using some of these ideas I find around here has really helped me to do that.

Best of luck--I'll check in on ya soon.

:ghug: i was so happy to come here and find all those responses....i ve to say they saved me....this morning i stepped on the scale after 6 days of hard trials to stay on track nd found i m still the same 244lbs....the real problem was not that though....i ve been noticing a change in the way my body looks lately...my waist was getting smaller and seemed lie my hips are getting bigger8-| ...actually i thought i was only emagining but i took my measurements....and it was so odd to find i lost 2.5 inches from my waist and gained an inch in my hips?????....can anyone tell me how did that happen and why?????X-( X-( X-....actually i was so disappointed as i always hated my hips and felt they were too big....i had the feeling that i ll always look odd no matter what i do....but then i read your responses and felt better and decided to keep going...at least i m not gaining:( ....

anyway i got the pads for my shoes and ll be starting walking soon....hope that would help....tomorrow i ll start the 3DD....everything is here just need to get the ice cream...ll do my best to stick to it....

thank you so much cfj...i liked your idea alot and already bought the unsweatened cocao powder today and ll be adding it to my coffee or just drink a cup with skimmed milk whenever the chocolate cravings are here....

hi cori: yes they were a bit better today....well,till evening...i wonder why all cravings are always in the evening?

hi FSUgirl....nice seeing you here....i m sure as soon as i see a loss i ll be much more motivated...once you start losing you want to lose more....thats why i ll be starting the 3 dd to see any drop on the scale....i too would really love to get to know you more....thank you for visiting.

hi lynn:till now coffe and all herbal teas are the only trick i ve to overcome the cravings....i ll add hot cocoa to the list,though as you said it has caffiene too,but i think less than cofee...as soon as the cravings are better i ll try to limit them to 1 or 2 cups a day as i used to before.

hi amanda:you know i too love salty foods...but chocolate and everything that ve chocolate in them are my weak point...i can easily resist other sweets like cackes and pies....but i know i ll get over that too.


thank you all for the support.

first day of the 3 DD went well...and second day just started, had breakfast and my coffe:o ...actually thats something i cant give up....the diet allows coffee without milk or reamer and sugar....and i cant drink it without little milk and at least 1/2 spoon sugar,thats what i m doing now....i dont think it would cause much harm,right?:)

just had lunch one hour ago,and now i m hungry again:( .....the only thing i could do is having a big glass of water and a small cup of coffee again....its not easy to follow that diet as the hoices are really imited ,yet,it always helped me to get back on track...i ve to call it decepline diet:) ....

Hi Rose! I don't think the milk and sugar in your coffee will ruin the 3DD. If anything, it's probably good to up the calories a little since they are so low. Keep truckin'--you just have to get through the first couple of weeks of cravings and it sucks, but once you "retrain" your body things will get easier.

Have you tried Splenda or another sugar substitute in your cofee? I swear by Sweet n' Low, which some people say is horrible for you, but if I have real sugar it makes my cravings worse because my blood sugar fluctuates too much. Just a thought...

Enjoy day 2 and I'll check in on ya tomorrow!

Hi Rose,

It's very hard when you are struggling with cravings. My only salvation is that I don't have them in the house, and it's too far driving to buy them because I live in a very rural area. In many ways, it is a life safer for me having to travel so far for everything. It costs too much for the gas, and I am too lazy as well, to make the trip to shop and satisfy what I am craving for. Would you like to come and stay with me for a while? :laugh:

I wish you the very best. Take it one day at a time. We can all stay true for just one day. So don't look ahead at all, and just concentrate on this day only.

Take care. :wave:

Hang in there Rose!
One step at a time, You know you can do this! :) :) :)
I know it is not much help right now, but you know once you get over this little hump, it just gets easier. I too hate to have my coffee without milk and sweetner. I really don't think it will do too much harm to have one cup the way you like it! As I recall you can't have artificial sweetner, right? How about some lowfat Cool Whip? Just add a spoonful to your coffee? I don't know if you know what Cool Whip is, It is like an artificial whipped cream. They also make it low fat. Or how about a spoonful of lowfat icecream? mmmmm, that sounds good as long as you are careful. They both have a little sweetness to them, so you might not have to add the sugar.
Experiment My Dear...what ever works for you! :)
Have a wonderful day Rose!
lynn:D

my 3DD ended well...and yesterday also i ate so well...one other good thing in the 3DD is that it makes you really miss all other healthy foods thats you were allowed to eat before....emagine i was raving zucchini and lettuce:laugh:....so yesterday for lunch i made a wonderful coocked zucchini with chicken in the oven....and big bowl of salad....was yummy!

i also decided to make my weigh in wednesday again instead of saturday... so this week ll be days....now the good news is i lost 2 lbs....now 243....:jn :dn :jn.....now i m really exited to keep losing.....i also managed to walk on the treadmill for 40 mins yesterday....slower than i used to,but i was happy to start again...


dear amanda....i too dont think my coffee totally ruined the 3dd...well it might hinder the results,but i wasnt aiming for a big loss ....and actually the coffee is made it doable for me....regarding artificial sweetners they make me sick,so i try to keep away from them as much as i can...only one diet coke as atreat every now and then...

hi sandie....nice seeing you here...i missed you:hug: ...i too wish i could take ll bad foods and through them out of the house.....yet its hard when u ve kids...i try to make them snack on healthy foods most of the tme....but still you can never be a diet friendly house when u ve kids8-|

hi lynn....i used to feel bad about my coffee...but you know what,some doctors say its bad....others say its good for you ....if you drink not more than 2 or 3 cups a day....and now as i only use 1 small tespoon sugar with very little skimmed milk, its pretty much diet friendly....and it does really help me with cravings...i love cool whip an dused tons of it when i was on atkins years ago in the U.S.A.....i can find it here but its too good for me to make ontrol of portions....so i m trying to put it on the no list for a while....thank you for the tip dear.

Hi Rose! Way to go with the 3DD! I'm so happy to hear you sounding motivated and excited, and you even got on the treadmill yesterday. You are back on track, I think!

I think there is NO problem with the coffee. Hundreds of studies have been done and none of them can definitively say that moderate amounts of coffee are bad for you. The newest studies suggest that a couple of cups a day may actually be GOOD for women and heart health. I have mine every morning, that's for sure.

Keep on chuggin' and those pounds will keep coming off! Zucchini and chicken sound yummy...hhmmm...what are your favorite foods? Do you eat korma in Egypt? I love those spices, but they're hard to find around here. I'm sure I'm just not looking in the right places.

Check ya later--

hi everyone ...well,i ve a surprise for all of you....actually it was a surprise for me too...guess what?? ...i got a job!!!

this is how it happened....just after i got from my vacation i was talking with hubby about how boring life here is in that small city...he suggested that i try working...actually withy my back and leg situation it didnt look like a good idea to work full or even part time....but then i told him there is an institute for teaching english and computer just few blocks away and there i can just teach one course....it sounded like a good idea!....i called them and went for interview.....it went good ,but the manager there told me that all courses already began and there might be a chance after ramadan...which meant i ve to wait extra 2 month for a possible chance....so i forgot all about it ....but today i got a call from her saying they had extra student and want to start a new class from sunday and asked if i m still available....well,of course i m !!i went to her;she is a very decent lady,we talked about the system there...and she gave me the books....and i ve to be there sunday...

atually this is my first experience in teaching.....well,when i was in the U.S.A i used to teach arabic for American muslims.....but it was voluntary work....and i enjoyed it too much...

i m too exited....cant wait to start and see how things ll go in the first day....please wish me luck.

hi amanda:you are absolutely right,i m so exited and motivated....i really want to get rid of that extra weight as soon as possible....i managed to walk today again....about my favorite foods,let me think8-|...atually i love almost all foods if they are cooked well .....thats why i love coocking....i m so in love with all traditional egyptian foods....some of them are not diet friendly like FALAFEL ,and others i managed to make a friendly version out of them:) .....i love cheese a lot,specially the ones with green hot peppers....i dont knoe exactly whats KORMA?....is it a kind of meat?....i ll write here the zucchini recipe in case you are interested....and believe me its yummy!

ZUCCHINI CHICKEN RECIPE:

2 lbs green zucchini cut in thin circles (1/3")

2 chopped onions

1 chicken ,cut in 4 pieces

3 tblsp tomato paste

salt and pepper.

put the zucchini in the pan,add some chopped onions,tomato paste,salt and pepper and mix together....put the chicken pieces on top of the zucchini....add salt and pepper to the remaining chopped onion and put it on top of the chicken pieces...cover with alumiium foil and put in the oven for almost 1 hour or till fully coocked, enjoy!

Yay for the new job!!! That is great! I know you will be good at that--you seem like a very patient soul, and teachers always have so much more patience than the average human.

Thanks for the chicken recipe! I will definitely try that out, providing my car ever gets fixed and I can get to the grocery store. It sounds delicious!

Korma is a type of spice mix--I usually use it with chicken dishes and it's really spicy. I started using it when a friend of mine was dating a guy from Pakistan, and he cooked with it all the time. My best friend from Tunisia cooks with it also, so I thought maybe you would have it in Egypt. Falafel is so yummy--I wish it was better for us!

Keep up the good work and those pounds will be gone in no time!

Oh Rose!
I am so glad I came over to your journal before I leave to do our route.....
YOU HAVE A JOB!!!!!!! How exciting! I wish you ALL THE LUCK, but you will not need luck...This will be wonderful!
Also Thank-you for sharing your Chicken Recipe...I always like the things that you post...And I just happen to have some Chicken pieces in the freezer...I will just pick up the other items and I will be ready to try this.
Have a Great Day Rose...:D
lynn

quick venting here before i run.....i m nervious:help: tomorrow ll be my first day....everything is ready,i prepared my first lesson....a chose a simple part to make the first day fun....and i know its really easy....but still,i m nervous.

now the big problem is: i need some stylish cloths.....yesterday i went shopping and there was completely nothing that i liked in my size....actually it has been big sales season and its hard to find something good anywhere....but i need something special for the first day....i bought lots of new stuff before ,but they were all very casual wear that i cant wear there....please wish me luck....i ll do another try now....

hi amanda:i hope your car is fixed by now....we just got ours few days ago...we ve a mercedes and it took a fortune before it ws fixed....hope you are having a good sunday.

hi lynn:i surely hope you ll like the recipe,its yummy and healthy....hope you are having great weekend with kids.

Hi there Rose!

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you, finding a job, and teaching yet! How wonderful is that? I am so bad about public speaking, I would never be able to do such work myself. Which is why I have such admiration for those who can!! haha

But really, I am so happy for you, and so proud of you going and asking too. That alone can be a very intimidating thing. But I also think that if you have more diversions, it will be easier to forget about food long enough to actually make the diet work much easier for you.

I wish you the very best my friend. I can't wait to see how it goes. I think this is going to be very good for you in many ways. You go girl!!!

:wave:

How did it go??? I'm so excited to hear about your first day!!

My car is working for now--not sure how long that will last but I'm enjoying it now and that's all I'm going to worry about. My brother just had to put a new engine in his Mercedes and it cost him a small fortune as well. Ack.

How easy is it to get delivery of clothes in Egypt if you shop online? I am a huge fan of online shopping since I hate malls. I shop kind of like a man anyway--in and out with a goal in mind. It might be worth it to order some things online as long as you make sure the return shipping is free if it doesn't fit.

i missed beng here so much....it has been 2 weeks since i last came here...actually since i started working my life changed a lot....i spend the whole day either running and trying to finish something....or running not to be late for something....

a quick update....my work is going well...the system is not as i expected from a well known international institute....but it is still good....i ve a good relationship with the girls and i think they are enjoying he course....i finally managed to get some appropraiate clothes, in affordable price....so evrything looks fine.

also Ramadan started here one week ago...you know ramadan is the month when we muslims fast from sunrise to sunset...and we ve some food rituals in that month....first we start our meal with soup"a must"...then eat a regular meal consisting of veggies ,rice and meat,then comes "khoshaf" this is dates in milk....you put it in warm milk almost 1 hour before you eat it and let the milk get the dates' flavour....then 3 hours after 1st meal,comes snack time,where people eat special ramadan desserts that are really delicious but very high in calories....:)

but i m not making khoshaf anymore....and managed to avoid desserts almost completely,just a small bite if i really crave something....and things are going fine till now....

regarding my weight,i lost another lb last week....242lbs now....hopefully while fasting and following my diet i ll be able to lose more next week...


dear sandie and amanda thank you so much for visiting....i ll be visiting your journals and ll send replies for everyone soon...i just ve to start doing my daughter's homework,we are already late....thank you for visiting

Hello Rose..
I am so very happy for you! I have heard of Ramadan, I saw a documentary about it. Such interesting foods you have in your country. I am always interested in different cultures and traditions. The "khoshaf" sounds really good. And you are down another lb. YES! :D
I wish you much happiness with your new job....
lynn:)

Hi Rose! I'm glad to hear work is going so well for you. Some of my friends here are celebrating Ramadan as well, and it is such an interesting custom to me. I need to enlist one of them to teach me how to cook some of these yummy dishes! I am going to try your chicken recipe this week--I haven't made it to the grocery store yet. 8-|

YAY on losing another pound! You seem to be back on track, and busier than ever. Keep up the good work!

All of the foods for Ramadan sound very nutritious to me. The evening meal is large, but you only have one per day. You lost a pound too. That is the biggest test. You did great in not eating too much.

I'm glad that the new job and the children's school is working out so well too. Is it nice to get new professional clothes and get dressed up for work? I work at an American University, where we don't dress up at work unless someone special is coming to the office (American casual too, where all of the men and women wear shorts, loose-fitting t-shirts, and sandals all summer). Sometimes getting dressed up is nice, and it looks more professional.

I hope to see you around DT more often as you get used to your new schedule. Take care.

CFJ
My Journal (http://www.diettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50403)

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I want to congratulate you Rose, for doing so well sticking to your diet plan during this time. And it payed off for you by giving you one less pound to be carrying about.

I'm also very happy to hear that the new job is going so well. Being so busy will also help you a great deal with your diet, I am sure.

Keep up the good work lady, and you will go far. You are doing very well indeed! :wave:

:ghug: i missed you all so much....i think of you all every single day...and always plan to ve a 30 mins free at night to come here....but i can hardly find time,and at the end of the day i m so exhausted that opening my pc would seem like a big effort:) ....its strange how my life changed the last 2 weeks...after having so much spare time,now i keep running all day....but the truth is,i like this job a lot....and feel very happy when my students seem to be understanding and satisfied with the course and the way of teaching....i m really enjoying it...

diet wise ,i m still doing good...even if i ate a small piece of dessert ,i m never over my calorie limit....and ve to say that working makes diet so much easier....i m thinking of food all of the time ,and it gives me a big motivaton to lose the weight to ....the only bad thing is that,the way looks so long....and i want to lose the weight just nowwwX-( !!!....but i kow its not that easy....and its my fault,to let myself gain it back anyway.

also i didnt exercise at all last week....actually i am really suffering from my legs ,back and the right side of my waist too :( ....and exercising is almost impossible with all the pain....i ll be having ramadan vacation on october 10....and hopefully i ll be able to add little exercises if i feel better.

hi lynn:i missed you dear ,hope you are doing great with your weight loss....you are right,food here is very delicious in ramadan ,but very high in calories too,so if you are not so cautious,you ll esily gain 10lbs without knowing why:) ....i m trying o hang in there....and till now,no damage done.

hi amanda:yes i remember you said you ve a tunisian friend,right?....fod there is a little different,but delicious too...my advice is,dont let them show you how to make them ,or you ll be suffering from cravings like i do now!

hi cfj:actually in ramadan we eat two meals...first one at sunset;which is the main meal....and second one late at night anytime before sunrise....usually around 1 am for me....but you can eat anytime before 4 am....and usually between the 2 meals i take a light snack....

at work some teachers wear casual too....its good too....i just think a teacher should be dressed a little more formal than her students...just a personal opinion...actually its an institute for girls only....so i dont ve to wear my viel"head cover",or a long gown there....just a blouse and a skirt...so this is way more casual than i used to wear when i go out:)

hi sandie:i missed you alot....you are absolutely right....working makes diet much easier....i just hope i would once go to sleep and wake up to find those 40 lbs gone forever8-| ....i need to wear small sizes and look slim....but what can we do we ve to be patient....

thank you all for visiting....i love sharing everything with you...hope you all ve a great day.:rose:

weigh in today:241.5....only 0.5 lb loss....which means the same:( ....anyway at least i m not gaining,right?

i talked to my students and we decided to ve classes only 4 days a week to help them study better...the course is heavy and they need that day to help them follow up....so thats a good thing for me,thats extra day at home will help me manage my time better....and ll give me the chance to do some hose work, everything is a mess here and that makes me nervous...so today is my extra free day....i ll make a good meal,and do some cleaning around.

i plan to make stuffed Quails...i ll stuff it with "freek: which is kind of green wheat,they make it dry by smoking it....we cook it by frying a chopped onion in a little butter the add the freek and keep stirring it to gether till it gets very dry and the onion turns light brown....then add soup and little milk and let it simmer till its fully coocked....then use some of it to stuff the quails and put chredded onions with salt and pepper under its skin then put them in the oven....after the quails are fully coocked we put them on top of the freek and ,BON APETITE!

IT LL TAKE SOMETIMES TO PREPARE IT AS YOU MUST BE CAUTIOUS WHILE YOU WASH THE QUAILS,IN ORDER NOT TO TEAR THE SKIN AS WE WANT TO PUT THE ONIONS UNDERNEATH.....BUT GOD,I LIKE IT....

EVERYTHING ELSE IS FINE....AND I LL BE UPDATING YOU ALL SOON ON HOW THE THE MEAL WENT:D

today i was invited for breakfast"main meal in ramadan"....and unfortunatly there wasnt many healthy choices....and i was really hungry....so ,you can guess what happened:( .....but i managed to eat small portions....and a small dessert later:( ...so now,my decesion is:no more invitations till end of ramadanX-( X-( ...

i m still doing very good eating wise....never exceeded my daily calorie limit....yet i dont feel there is any real change in my weight or in he way i look....i ve to say thats very depressing....i feel so bad about myself....i try to egnore that feeling....but insede me i know i let that way come back....and here i m now suffering to lose each 1lb....X-(

i know it takes time....and i really dont want to get depressed....and i really thank god i started working or i know i would ve been in a state of depression by now....sometimes i feel like i want to eat everything i see as it doesnt matter....i m fat anyway,and ll always be .....few times i ate things i wasnt supposed to, but still i would eat less the next meal to stray within my calorie limits....

i think i need to eercise...dieting has never been enough alone for me....its hard to find time now,working and fasting....but we ll start feast holidays next tuesday...and i inend to follow my old exercise plan once again wednesday.exercising makes me feel better .....and i inted to stick to it....hoping that ll help me see better results.

Hi Rose! Hang in there sister--it always sucks to backslide and have to "relose" pounds, but it can be motivating as well. I know you can get back down if you stay with it! I bet it's hard to stay on track during Ramadan with the eating schedule so different than normal, but you're managing to do it. You can keep it up, and just think how good it will feel this time next year to be lighter and healthier!!

Have a great week at work!

Hi Rose,

Boy do I hear you loud and clear. This plateau I've been dealing with really gets me down some days. There are times when it is a good thing I am stuck in this house where I don't have very much to ruin my diet with, but if you turned me lose in the grocery I would definitely run amok through the goodie isles..........cookies, cakes, candy.....you name it!! I get such cravings for something sweet that it makes me angry because there is nothing here in the house for me to pig out on...........but that is the whole idea of not buying it!! haha

Hang in there lady. It is very frustrating, and I know it's not easy, but if you can stay committed and motivated, you will be stronger than your urges and that's how we win this struggle.

:wave:

weigh in wednesday:243X-( X-( X-( ....can you emagine that???!!! 1.5lbs gain....where did that come from?....i ve been eating so well,ranging between 1500/1700cals a day....in fact i cant say that i gained the weight back as i ve been ranging between 240and 243 for over 2 weeks now....its really strange why the weight is so stubborn....

Actually i seem to always ve trouble with number 3....i always plateau there....same with 263,253,and so on....no i dont know what to do to lose that weight....i know i wasnt exercising,but i ve been defenitlymoving around a lot more than i used to before since i started working....

after my last weigh in ,i was really depressed....feeling so down....kept telling myself,why should i bother myself ? i ll always be a fat lady no matter what i do....just eat what you want ,you are not losing anyway....and to be honest,i ate things i wasnt to supposed to eat the last couple days....but today is a new day....i m back on track and ll try to start exercising again....just hope the pain wont get so bad....

i know i lose much better while exercising....but my body wasnt helping me lately....last week i took a very strong pain killer that i always refused to ve before....it has really horrible bad effects....but the pain in my legs and back was so bad and even 4 advils did nothing....after taking that pill ,the pain got better ,but i felt sick and vomitted whenever i ate anything the whle day...i ll try to avoid taking it again,i hate medecines....but sometimes when the pain is so bad,you ll do anything to feel better.

we are having feast holidays now....so i mnot working....and that ll give me more time to exercise....hopefully that would help.

hi amanda....yes you ae right its very depressing to relose the lbs....yo yo dieting makes your body so stubborn too...but what can i do, i ve to keep going.

hi sandie:you missed my friend....i ve all bad foods surownding me in the house....usually i could say no....but when nothing seems to be working....and you see no loss no matter what you do,this is when the cravings really get so bad,and the urge to eat is irrisistable:( ....but i ll try to get over that again.

Oh Rose...
I know exactly what you are talking about! There is nothing more agravating than being so careful of what you put in your mouth and then having that darn scale be so MEAN X-(
TRY...TRY....TRY...really hard not to get too discouraged. I know when I have those weeks that I have to really talk myself out of just saying "THE HECK WITH THIS" This weight loss thing is truly a BATTLE that we have to FIGHT really hard to win. Take pride in being STRONG....which you are! It is really hard to remain strong when you have other battles to fight as well (your pain) You are strong Rose! Even when it gets really hard, you are still aware of what you are doing, just think, if you were not the strong woman that you are you could very easily turn off all thoughts of what is good for you and what is not.
You are in my thoughts!
{{{{HUGS}}}}
lynn:)

Egyptrose,

Hi, I have never been here before but thought I would pop in.

I am so sorry about the pain you have when exercising, that must be very hard. Are these the exercises your physiotherapist suggested? I find physio to be very helpful but I don't have the struggles you have either.

Hang in there, good work on keeping within your calorie limits!!! It will happen, you can do it.

finally i started exercising again...yesterday i walked 30 mins,1.5 miles....and did 15 mins aerobics....its sad to feel so exhausted from the very begining....it has almost been 4 months since i stopped,and they did ve a very bad effect on my body....

to be honest i m very discouraged and dont feel like exercising at all....but i keep pushing myself....but i know also i cant stop....so hopefully it ll become a habit soon....

hi lynn:i m rying hard lynn.....but i m just not motivated enough, hopefully i ll get some results to help me keep going.

hi nancy:nice seeing you here....you know physio helped me a lot before too....but now after being dignosed with hypermobility syndrome i must find a therapist who is familiar with that case,and i didnt find one till now....i m living in a small city and probably i ll ve to go to cairo to see my physiotherapist.....but its too costly for me right now....anyway,i m doing the exercises my extherapist gave me till i could find another good one....thank you for visiting.

well i dont know what to say....when i started that journal ,my intention was start a bright phase....but thiings are not going the way i wanted .....

i ve been trying to ignore the pain....forget about my joint troubles and and keep doing what i used to do....the result is:pain in even new parts of my body that i never had troubles with....now i ve pain in my shoulders and my shoulder blades....my arms ,even my fingers....

i called my doctor in cairo.....he told me to stop exercising completely till i see a physotherapist....i told him i cant find one here....so he gave me a name and number of a good doctor here.....he is an orthopedic in a city near here and he should tell me what to do and where to go ....he said i can walk as long as it doesnt hurt,and to stop if i feel any pain....

i called the hospital and knew the doctor wont come till after feast vacation,that is almost 2 weeks from now....

i ve been reading a lot lately about tht hypermobility syndrome....and the more i read the more depressed i get....i found a forum and read a lot about people's experiences....which were not so good....and actualy i think i did hurt myself and i caused my situation to get worse by the exercises i was doing last year.... pain was always getting worse and i never thought it was because of exercises....i never thought that normal exercises that everyone does can be very bad for my weak joints and even cause more discs in my back.....as my joints don't move the same as others to perform the same movement....

i read how people got hurt from even physiotherapists who didnt know enough about the case and caused it to get much worse....as many doctors know nothing aboout it....

so ,now that is how things are going for me....i ve to say i m more depressed than i ever been.....and diet wise i m not doing so good....i feel it doesnt matter....i ve been doing so good for 1 month with almost no results....and i knew i only lose when exercising and i cant exercise for now.....

i know i can easily gain all the weight back and be easily 280 again in few months....and i surely dont want that to happen.....i ll try to eat well ,and forget about losing the weight.....but its something i didnt achieve till now....as long as i m not losing i m depressed....and the more i m depressed the more i want to eat....sometimes i just want to eat even if i m not hungry or craving anything.....i just want to eat....

i ll try to get over that too till these tuff 14 days pass and i get to see my doctor

Oh Rose...I'm feeling so very sad for you right now. I hate that you are having to struggle with all of this and you have been working so very hard. Please don't give up--hang in there until you can see this new doctor and take some information about hypermobility syndrome with you when you do. Make sure he/she has the contact information of your previous doctor who is familiar with your case and ask a lot of questions. The new doc can educate himself about this issue through medical journals and other docs if he's not familiar with it already, and then you can both make decisions that will help you rather than hurt.

For now just hang in there--try to concentrate on maintaining through this rough spot and then you won't have to "relose" when you are feeling better.

I'll be thinking of you!

Rose! Keep your head up. Things will work out for you. Live each day at a time and don't hurt yourself. Results with weight loss are very tricky. Most times it takes a while for a noticable change. Perhaps you lost inches rather then weight? Do you feel more healthy when you eat well and have small amounts of activity? Each person's body is totally different and that is why weight loss is so difficult... there's not just one answer. For myself, I know that I need to stay away from soda, fast food (greasy food), and heavy pasta. I urge you to take a step back and look at your habits and think about where you think your trouble spots are and why you think they got that way. I will be checking in on you.

I'm thinking of you. :hug:

Oh Rose ! My heart & prayers go out to you :hug:

As amanda said try to stay to plan so you don't have more to lose when you are able to get back to exercise.......

I will be thinking and praying for you ! Hang tough ! :mus:

OH ROSE!
I was so sad when I read your journal. I wish I had the words to help you, I am so sorry that you are suffering so. Not only with the pain in your joints, but the pain in your heart. I think the depression is much worse than any pain that you have to endure. I wish it was as easy as someone finding the right words to say to help you, but unfortunatly you are only able to help yourself with this. Just know that many care for you here. You have been here for me since the very 1st day I started my journal. I have grown to care for you very much in this past 10 months. I wish that we did not have such a long distance between us, It would be so nice to be able to sit down with you and talk. You are in my heart and prayers Rose.
lynn

How's it going sister? I see that you've been visiting journals, so I'll take that as a sign that you are feeling okay about things right now. Hang in there, and just PM me if you ever need to chat.

Thank You So Much Amanda,rebekah,beth And Lynn....your Support Means A Lot To Me.....and Helped Me Through The Past Tough Days.....i Started A New Journal....please Visit Me There.