Hi Everyone!
I've got about 30 pounds to lose right now- I'm counting calories and exercising (almost) daily. So far today I've had oatmeal/milk (250) & sandwich and veggies (325), reeses w/ carmel (190), pasta with veggies (350) (1115)

I want to go low on my calories, I was doing 1000, but my roommate (an exercise science major) said that 1200 was the lowest I could go w/o lowering my metabolism. Does anyone have any other info on this???

Anyways, drop by and say hi!:)

I heard this song while I was running yesterday and it completely inspired me:
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with eyes wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
-natasha bedingfield

I am no expert(at least scientifically) by no means but I have experience in dieting for years and years and I do know that I do much better when I get in more calories than when I go below 1000 in fact just recently I went 4 days with barely eating anything and not holding down what I did,I didn't purposely do this mind you I had surgery and was feeling bad as the reason why and after all that I was exactly the same weight.Not to mention I keep a regular food diary and on the days that I am eating better,3 normal portioned meals w/ 1-2 snacks every day I find its my best weeks for weight loss rather than the barely eating anything times.Our bodies need the food for fuel and if your depriving yourself then it hangs on to every last calorie that it can so I say eat get those 1200 calories in a day and watch the weight start dropping good luck to you on your journey and welcome to DT, good words of inspiration by the way the song you posted

They say you are not suppose to be below 1200 calories a day. Thats what I usually try to stick with, then one day I was figuring out my ww points to realize that when I eat the points I am suppose to, its 1000 calories a day. But I get more, so I do more. So yes, I dont recommend going below 1200 a day all the time, on occasion it isnt a big deal.

Thanks for the responses! Some days 1200 seems easy, and other's (like today) I just want to eat eat eat, so I guess I'll take it as it comes. If I don't eat anything else tonight I'm doing pretty good for the day~ I had a reeses earlier, but trust me that was better than the bakery stuff that I was eyeing at the grocery store!
I have been fluctuating around the mid 160s for about a month now and it's more than frusterating, so I need to just suck it up, exercise a lot, and do what it takes to see that 159 on the scale! On that note I'm off to the gym. Good luck everyone!

Sounds like a good plan,and try to keep the sweet fair away from the home believe me I know how that goes there have been plenty of days in my life that I have ate nothing but sweets for the whole entire day for days at a time actually living on junk,no lie just junk for days on end, geesh the things we put our bodies thru.When I go to the grocery store the best thing to do is never be hungry when you enter.I'm bad myself I go over by the bakery goodies and just look never buy,my mouth waters because of course thats the stuff I used to gobble up,so quick look and say NO to myself and move on,candy same thing that is something I walk by as fast as possible and try like heck avoiding that isle all together til I chk out that is and then I keep my back to it.You just have to keep believing in yourself and know that you can succeed and finally get the weight off,them sweets aren't going to go in your body by themselves you must bend the elbow to put them there so just continue to say no and you'll start to feel impowered over it and before you know it great habits will start replacing the bad.Its baby steps,one step at a time to the finish line you can do it.


One comes to believe whatever
one repeats to oneself often enough,
whether the statement be true or false,
it comes to be a dominating thought in
one's mind.
~unknown

great job. I agree, the reeses where probably better then if you would have grabbed a doughnut or two or three. I know if I have doughnuts i cant have just one, One food I stay away from. I know what you mean about some days its so easy to stay on track and others well, you know, last night was one of those, I did so good all day, then bamm, pizza at work, I did good I only had one piece.

Well I've had a pretty bad several days. I've really let myself down, and probably y'all too, by messing up so soon after I started this. My bible study leader told me last night that guilt doesn't come from God, remorse does, and that leads to change. and so i'm trying to focus on the positive and all the 'tomorrow is another day' stuff (i do love Gone with the Wind!) I'm having a hard time though. How to I focus, and do good, long enough to see a difference and be encouraged?
Sorry to be so down today~ not feeling so inspired. I just can't control myself it seems like, how did I let myself get like this? And how do I change?

I, too have been floating around the mid 160's for a few months now, and I've recognized a pattern in myself.

I -sabotage- my weightloss. I think it's a subconcious thing, but I do it time and time again. Even when I see that the scales are going down, I tell myself I can have that day full of pizza and cinnamon buns and it leads me downhill. Whether it's because, subconciously, I'm afraid to be thinner (what if I still don't like how I look??) or for some other reason.

I have learned to recognize this pattern in myself and head it off at the pass. That isn't to say that I don't have the occasional bad day still--I just recently had one. But for the first time, I didn't let myself feel guilty or let down, I just jumped right back on healthy living the next day.

Try to evaluate your own emotions and motivations for doing things that slow your down or make you backtrack and see if you can't find a place where you can make changes.

Hope that helped?

--Azure

Thanks AzureN1ght, I've definitely got something going on here, I'll do good for half a week, or a week, and get excited because I can start to tell a difference, and then I'll binge and cancel it all out. I don't know if it's fear based or whats going on, that's something that I have to really think about. I'm so dissapointed in myself right now, but I have a choice, I can make the rest of the weekend bad and just give up, or I can start new today and make some progress. I'm taking your advice and getting right back on it! I really do want this more than anything!

Oh, and I picked a turtle for my ticker-thing last night on purpose. I may be slow but I will get there!

Today's Calories:
B: slept in=) i love having days off!
L: Broccoli w/ cheese (120), sandwich (160), carrot sticks and dressing (50)
total: 320
Plan for the rest of the day: work out w/ weights and cardio, eat a light dinner and study a lot! I've got 2 big tests to get ready for next week.
45 min cardio
D: boca burger (70) mixed peppers, onion, mushrooms (?)

I feel much more in control at this point, I'm looking forward to tomorrow and eventually seeing a difference!

Does anyone have any tips for very low cal meal ideas? So far I've come up with sandwiches on light bread (40 cals a slice) and boca burgers. I would LOVE to hear anyone's tips and ideas for decreasing calories! Thanks!

Hey everyone, today has been pretty good so far!
B: weight control oatmeal (160) skim milk (90)
L/D: grapes (50) Mexican: 1 chicken quesadilla, ~20 chips, salsa (I went out for lunch, but took half my meal home for dinner. No idea how many calories, but at least I made it stretch for 2 meals!)

I'll be weighing in tomorrow. After thursday night's binge, all I really expect is to maintain weight, but I still hope to have lost a pound or two!

I worked out for an hour on the elliptical, and I'm going to try to run 2 miles later.

One of my goals is to run a half marathon by my 23rd birthday, next September. Now you have to understand that I am not a running person!! It's the hardest form of exercise for me, I always feel like I'm dying! But I started running 1 mile in august, 2 in september, and I'm going to keep increasing my mileage by 1 mile/month. This should put me at 13 miles by next september. It would be the biggest accomplishment imaginable for me to make this goal. I'd love it if anyone wants to join in!

Well I pretty much maintained my weight, i guess that's ok, given my slipup this week. I really want to keep losing weight though, sometimes my goal seems so far away. I'm really impressed by all y'all who have succeeded in losing so much weight, give me your secret!:D .

b: weight control oatmeal (160) milk (90)
I love this stuff, it keeps me full for forever!

l: 6" turkey sub (280) w/ provolone cheese (40), veggies and light mayo (50).
total so far: 620.

Hey, Blank :) I'm glad it looks like your not going to let a slightly dissapointing weigh-in get you down. It's really important to stay positive! Looks like you and I have -about- the same amount of weight to lose. :) I'll be keeping an eye on you, girlie.

--Azure

Thanks AzureN1ght, I'll have to check in on your journal!

To finish up todays post:
Mocha w/ skim milk at books a million (? probably around 200-300)
Another subway sandwich (veggie this time) for dinner (~320)
So i ended up around my goal for the day, and I got my butt kicked in tennis tonight. That was a MAJOR workout, but really fun!

I really am thinking about the subway diet, after I use up the groceries I just got. I don't think I could EVER get sick of subway, and it wouldn't be so so expensive if I wasn't buying groceries, ya know? Has anyone tried that? what do you think?

Hi blank,I have had a sub every now and then and it won't hurt as long as you don't go over your calorie allowance,I eat anything and everything I want in reason that is,because I am one that could never succeed if I were to deny myself of my favorites but now I just eat them alot smarter than before is all and I'm doing just fine with this way.Diet has to be thought of as not just another diet but a lifestyle change for it to absolutely work in fact its the only way it will work to keep the weight off,so my best suggestion could only be to you to figure out something that you can absolutely live with.I by the way have been on a fast food diet before lost very good I can't afford to do that now or I would lol its all in moderation.of course vegetables,fruits,and lean meats are better for you,but for me that wouldn't work for a lifetime,so I will continue to do what works for me.I also wanted to suggest to you that if your having a hard time making it thru a whole week pick out just 1 day in the week which mine is WI day or 1 day later,this is my take it a little easier day,no I don't go off plan and eat everything I can get my hands on (like I would like to sometimes)but I on Sunday make a nice lunch/dinner I combine the 2 and I don't feel guilty I eat a little of everything I make within reason,but more than I would usually take, which is meat 3 sides usually but when I do this I also take an extra long walk that day.Now this is working very well for me,and I see anywhere from 1-4 lb loss a week.Good luck to you I hope this helps you out.

There is no one giant step that
does it,it's a lot of little steps.
~Peter A. Lohen~

"Diet has to be thought of as not just another diet but a lifestyle change for it to absolutely work"
That is SO TRUE Minnieme! I DO NOT want to go through all of this work and accomplish my goal, only to gain the weight back in a couple years. I fully intend to maintain my weight after this for a looong time, so I have to be able to live with this! Thanks for checking in and the words of wisdom:)

I weighed in again today (today is the day my roommate and I weigh in together) and I was 162.5!! yay, it is so good to see progress and get below 164, finally.
So far today:
B: oatmeal (160), milk (135)
L: Sandwich (220), grapes (50), rice cakes (60)
S: popcorn (100)
total so far: 725- 475 left

Hey, great job Blank! Isn't it awesome when you step on the scale and you're 2lbs less than you were the last time you were on it?? It's so gratifying :)

Keep up the awesome work!!

--Azure

Hey Everyone! I messed up again today. I have a HUGE test tomorrow which I am not prepared for at all. Neuroanatomy is not my thing. So, being me, and being a stress eater, i thought the solution to the situation was to watch tv in bed and eat a mini-cheesecake before studying.X-( which i regretted immediately afterwards. It's like I tune out all conscious thought while I eat, and reason and saneness and MODERATION can't get back in. Have any of you experienced this? What do you do? How do you keep your head in this situation?
I hope this doesn't kill me for the week! Now, of course, I'm completely inspired to do great and lose weight. I hate this cycle! It makes me absolutely long to be thin again.


I'm looking forward to...
*Feeling SEXY!;)
*Being able to buy cute stylish clothes without having to 'dress defensively'
*Going out with friends and having guys pay attn to ME
*Being able to be proud in front of my family
*Going underwear shopping!
*Not being controlled by my eating
*Looking in the mirror and twirling and loving it!
*Increased confidence
I'll continue as I think of it.

I'm looking forward to...
*Feeling SEXY!;)
*Being able to buy cute stylish clothes without having to 'dress defensively'
*Going out with friends and having guys pay attn to ME
*Being able to be proud in front of my family
*Going underwear shopping!
*Not being controlled by my eating
*Looking in the mirror and twirling and loving it!
*Increased confidence
I'll continue as I think of it

Just look up do you see all these goals that you have for yourself,thats the start,now you have to put in the action and make your dreams a reality.You need to tell yourself each and every day that your worth it,you can do this,take the I can't out of your vocabulary,it no longer exsists.I can tell you this is the strongest I have ever been in my entire life when it comes to weigh loss struggles,I know with out 1 doubt in me that I will achieve my goals and you can too,it starts with believing that you can,really truly believing you can.Its all in the power of our minds,if it wasn't for your mind telling you to go ahead and eat that cheesecake you wouldn't have right?So you must switch it up and say "Do I really want this cheese cake now or do I want my ideal weight now?" If you choose the cake you must not want your ideal weight,meaning if you don't prefer your ideal weight to cheese cake today then when will you?But if you choose your ideal weight over cheese cake than your on the right track.Now as far as you going ahead and eating it oh well brush yourself off,don't beat yourself up ,and just move forward right now,don't say tomorrow you just have to do it now.Me, I have to do alot of talking to myself I have to talk myself right out of what it is I want,because yes Iwant the goal list much more.Believe me I do understand where your coming from,I once upon a time would be the one who would hit 3 fast food joints at once and go home and eat it all,that mentality is now gone,don't get me wrong I so rem.that person well I just don't choose to be her anymore.

The only one who can stop me
is me....and I can take her.
~unknown~

Hey Everyone! It's been awhile, I went on a retreat this past weekend. Unfortunately retreats = camp food = very few healthy choices. However retreats also = white water rafting and all kinds of fun active stuff like that! I'm not weighing in till next week, but I think I'm about the same as I was last week now. I'm on the second day of the 'subway diet' and it's going good so far, I've been playing a lot of sports, and I'm gonna run later (hopefully 3 miles since it's october now!)

I'm doing the workbook, Lose it for life, has anyone here heard of it? It's really exploring the deeper issues behind weight loss and how to make healthy changes, both physical and spiritual, that will last a lifetime. While I don't think that my weight has deep emotional significance, I'm realizing that gluttony is a sin, and my lack of self-control is not what God wants for me. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!" (Philippians 4:13)
In case you can't tell I'm in a very optimistic mood. Anyways I hope everyone is having a fantastic day!