NO more excuses!

[savepaws]

I was just on Facebook and saw that my SIL posted pics that we took last weekend of the whole family together. I am seriously sitting here at work with tears in my eyes after seeing how fat I look. I gained 8 pounds since my wedding on June 6, 2009 (4 of those lbs were just in the last 2 weeks - WTH?).

I started out at about 135 as my normal weight, then I quit smoking and went up to 140. I thought, oh well, when summer comes, I will be more active and just shed those pounds easily. Well that didn't happen and before I knew it I was up to 145. I started smoking again and surprise...the weight didn't magically disappear! So eventually I quit smoking again 5 months ago and I went up to 150 and its just snowballing. :(

I keep saying "I'd exercise more if....I had a treadmill...I had a tv in the exercise room...if I had a gym membership...etc" but I'm done with that! No more excuses! I have a treadmill and a exercise bike at home and workout videos and a big trampoline in the yard. Yesterday I rearranged the spare rooms, moving a shelf and tv into the exercise room so I could watch tv while exercising. If I do go in there to work out, I get bored by about 12 minutes. So I thought the TV would help. Even if it doesn't TOO FREAKING BAD. I'm going to walk at least 20 minutes on that thing no matter how boring it is. I'm hoping by posting this thread it will help keep me more accountable.

I think I need to put the fat picture as the background on my phone or something so that I HAVE to look at it and remind myself that I have to do something about it!

It just sucks because up until a couple years ago, I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain any weight. I think going on the depo shot had a lot to do with it but now I'm off of it so I can't use that as an excuse anymore either!!!

So the plan for today is 30 minutes on the treadmill or 40 minutes of workout video. I haven't decided yet.

As for eating better...I need to work on that. I'm already eating fruit for snacks instead of chips or cookies. As for our meals, I need to work on that also and figure out how to get more veggies into our diets and probably need less carbs. *sob*

[gwenshack]

You know I'm behind you! :pompom:

It's hard to admit these kinds of things - it was for me. So good for you for taking charge. You need support? You've got it. :)

[savepaws]

Thanks Gwen, I so need it!

The more I think about it, the more concerned I get about the eating healthy part. I've never counted calories. Sure, I'll look at a box of Dove Bar and see that its like 300 calories for one and I'll put the box back down...but when it comes to watching the calories I actually take in...I've never tried it.

And eating healthy...DH is so picky and neither of us like veggies. So I don't even know where to start with cooking food that is healthy, easy and tasty. Does such a thing exist? LOL

[gwenshack]

Yeah, it exists, but you've got to compromise on that whole disliking of vegetables phenomenon...LOL...:winktongue:

If I was you, I'd invest in one of those calorie counter books - you can get a paper back for pretty cheap, and it'll give you the caloric value for nearly every type of food. And, the other thing to do is really start paying attention to portion sizes. :)

[pinkbride]

hey :D im sure there are recipes out there to disguise veggies lol, or maybe make smoothies with fresh fruits?

I hope you acheive your goal, you can so do it!!! :D xxxx

[savepaws]

hey :D im sure there are recipes out there to disguise veggies lol, or maybe make smoothies with fresh fruits?

I hope you acheive your goal, you can so do it!!! :D xxxx

Yeah I heard about a recipe book that I think Jerry Seinfeld's wife wrote...its all about disguising veggies. I think its for kids but whatever! I'm still going to check it out!

[savepaws]

Well day 1 went well. I had a bowl of cereal for lunch yesterday (I so need to go grocery shopping!) And instead of just dumping my usual amount in the bowl, I measured how much they said a serving was. But that wasn't enough (3/4 cup!) so I added another serving of cereal. I had just one serving of milk and it was like 280 calories total. I probably should have stuck with 1 serving but it was so tiny and I was hungry! :laugh: I have to wonder if thats a childs serving!

Then awhile later I did 18 minutes of Turbo Jam's Ab Jam. That hurt. The first part is easy but the floor exercises were tough and I'm feeling it today! After that I got up on the treadmill and set the timer for 30 minutes. I only made it 22 minutes because my legs already hurt from moving furniture the other day. 22 min is better than I usually do. I hope to increase the time I'm on there a little every day.

Having the tv in there helped a lot and I wasn't bored at all. Normally I quit walking after about 10 minutes because I'm bored and think of something else I'd rather be doing. So putting a tv in there was a GREAT idea!

I had a handful of grapes for a snack. I wonder what their nutritional value is...I need to look that up. I love grapes! Then we had T bone steak for dinner and potatoes that I pan fried. Probably not the healthiest meal ever and no clue how many calories I took in, but I didn't eat very many of the fried taters.


We had to go out of town last night and I have the habit of eating sunflower seeds while in the car on trips. I'm sure some seeds are fine but I'm trying to be careful with seeds because I used to go through about a bag a day! I basically replaced cigarettes with seeds and I think they probably caused some of my weight gain! I usually treat myself to seeds on Fridays if we go to the races and then sometimes during long car rides. So the food I ate yesterday wasn't the healthiest, but at least I'm trying to be more aware of what I put in my body and how much. It will hopefully lead me to make more health concious decisions.

Plan for today:

Research more (looking for healthier meals for me & DH and lunch ideas for me)
20 minute cardio workout video & 30 minutes on the treadmill
No more pop the whole day! I'm drinking one now and its 190 calories! Yikes.
Cook dinner at home tonite. We tend to eat fast food on Fridays.

[firespirit]

Good for you! I need to get back on track too! I've started by bringing lunches to work again instead o feating at the cafeteria.

The book is called Deceptively Delicious. I have it and I haven't even read it all yet, just a few things here and there. One thing in there is to mix cauliflower in with mashed potates, which works for me, but DH doesn't eat mashed potatoes...

So my DH doesn't eat vegetables either. He says they taste bitter to him, so I have a a hard time with that. But I've managed to find a few things he'll eat.

[savepaws]

Cool thanks! I will have to get that one.

[newlywedkt]

I just got married last August and have since gained about 17 pounds! :bbmad:

I've started a new (very strict regime) that seems to be working well, so I'm hoping to get the weight under control soon!

All the best in your journey...

Katie :bun:

[gwenshack]

I love the Turbo Jam DVDs! I have ALL of them...:boxing:

I hate cereal serving sizes - I never eat it as a meal because I don't think it's filling enough to last through to the next meal. I do love it dry as a snack though...:)

[savepaws]

I did not do well this weekend. I did eat healthy on Friday and got 1/2 of a work out in until I got interrupted and didn't have time to finish. The rest of the weekend I ate lots of goodies and ate out a lot. Ugh. The only day that I got any exercise in was on Sunday when DH and I went canoeing.

I did get back on track today and did 40 minutes of Turbo Jam cardio party mix 1. I might hop on the treadmill for a bit. I'm bored and just sitting here watching TV so I might as well walk and watch TV.

I love Turbo Jam too Gwen! I wish I had the other mixes, I get tired of doing the same routines all the time.

[gwenshack]

I was able to purchase some of the ones I didn't have used on Amazon. :) Much cheaper way to collect them all...

[savepaws]

I might have to do that. I got the dvds I have now off of ebay, I think.

I did ok yesterday until DH wanted to go get ice cream. I had a small cone and didn't really think twice about it until we got home. Oops. I just really need to get better at keeping track of what I'm taking in. I'll do ok for one meal and then totally screw up the next meal/snack.

Today: I think I'll do Turbo sculpt and walk on the treadmill. I only got about 7 minutes in on the treadmill yesterday because my mom came over.

[gwenshack]

I haven't done Turbo Sculpt in forever! Maybe I'll do that one today too. We can be workout twins for the day...LOL

[savepaws]

LOL Sounds good! It kicked my butt, but in a good way! :)

Now I'm gonna try and get on the treadmill before DH gets home. If I get interrupted, I usually don't go back and finish!!

[savepaws]

Oh man, I'm so sore from yesterday's sculpting. lol Not sure what I'll be able to do today. Treadmill should be ok but I never really feel like I'm getting that much of a work out on there so that's why I usually do something else along with it. I don't want to over do it, but I'll probably take Sat & Sun off so I want to do at least a little something today.

Today: 20 minutes treadmill...and maybe 20 minute cardio.

[gwenshack]

Don't you sort of like the sore feeling a little bit though? When I don't have it I almost feel disappointed, like my body didn't think I worked as hard...haha :)

[savepaws]

Yeah I know what you mean. I don't mind the soreness in my butt and legs, but those muscles between my chest & armpits were so sore I couldn't hardly lift anything or open doors. I feel like such a weakling when I'm like that. LOL But I'm feeling lots better today.

I've been working hard, trying to eat better (though I still have a long ways to go in the food department). I got on the scale and I'm like 2 1/2 pounds heavier. It is SO hard for me to keep momentum with exercising when I don't see results. I need to measure to be sure, but I'm pretty sure I haven't lost anything, zip, nada. After only a week of working hard and eating a lot better than usual, I don't expect miracles, but I certainly didn't expect a 2 1/2 pound gain, especially since its put me at my heaviest I've ever been in my whole life.

Can you gain weight before your period comes? Like 2 1/2 pounds worth of weight?? LOL I'm really hoping AF shows up today or tomorrow (going by the calculations of my last spotting) and I'm praying she comes in full force so I can start ovulating soon!

Today: Cardio party and 30 minutes treadmill. (Man, I need some new exercise videos!)

Weekend: I will try and get some time in on the treadmill but we are supposed to be roofing the church parsonage so it'll depend on how much of a work out that is! I'm praying for rain so we don't have to do it this weekend. How terrible is that?

[gwenshack]

I hate those discouraging, anxiety creating, must be thrown out the window, obnoxious scales. They just cause problems. LOL. I just try to allow myself to feel healthier, feel my pants getting looser, feel that I'm more energetic, that I can go farther and longer in my workouts, and then I'm constantly encouraged to continue. Those stupid numbers make it so overwhelming.

You're doing great - don't let the numbers get you down. :boxing: Oh, and, yeah, with your period coming you're probably totally retaining water. Up to 5 pounds or so even.

Enjoy your Cardio Party!! :jphappy:

[Docsgirl]

Yep, it's completely normal for women to fluctuate anywhere between 2-10 pounds before their period. Such a doozy. lol

[savepaws]

Well dang! I hope thats what it is and that my period shows up! I was hoping it'd be here by now. With going off the depo, everything seems all over the place so who knows.

I'm just gonna ignore my scale for now. I'm convinced ours is defective. LOL
Friday I did about 10 minutes of cardio and then DH came home from work and I don't like working out in front of him. I just like to have my privacy when working out. So I switched it up and got on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Normally I just walk fast paced but that day I did a pretty intense workout...well for me anyway. I was pretty proud of myself! I can feel myself getting stronger and more in shape even if I don't look like it yet.

I really screwed up again with the food this weekend. I'm making this weeks grocery list so I'm hoping I can make up for it this week by eating healthy & working out hard.

Today: I can't decide between cardio party & turbo sculpt. I'll for sure do 20-30 minutes on the treadmill but the intensity will depend on which Turbo jam workout I do. I'll figure it out when I get home.

I tried bidding on more turbo jam dvd's that I don't have but unfortunately I was outbid. So I'm still on the hunt for good deals. Does anyone have any other workout videos that they like and would recommend?

[gwenshack]

I don't like working out in front of my DH either - he mocks me. :irked: Payback will be a b!t*$ if and when he decides to lose HIS beer gut...

Hmmm, DVDs...I sort of like the Biggest Loser ones. They're broken up into 10 minute segments so you can do a little of this, a little of that. I have 3 of them and sort of do 1 segment of each one. They're not easy though. They're kind of puke-inducing if you didn't wait long enough after a meal...;)

[savepaws]

Yeah DH would mock me too! He says he wouldn't but I know him.
I might have to check out the biggest loser vidoes. I do workout right after lunch time though.... LOL

So for lunch...I bought some Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones frozen meals. I heated one up and the smell itself almost made me want to barf. So I threw it out. It looked gross and smelled even worse. What a waste. :( So then I heated up a bratwurst leftover from last night and I ate about 3/4 of it (no bun) and just wasn't really in the mood for it so I gave the rest to the dogs. Then I was still hungry so I made a banana smoothie. The smoothie was yummy! But I was still hungry so after my workout, I had a nectarine. Tonight we are having grilled chicken drumsticks and potatoes.

I did turbo sculpt and 20 minutes on the treadmill. I had to kind of cheat a little on turbo sculpt because I think something is out of whack in my back. When I lifted my arms certain ways, bones in my shoulder would like pop or rub or something and it was uncomfortable. So I avoided doing anything that would bother me. Then I got on the treadmill and I wasn't sure if I felt like continuing but I pushed on and it ended up feeling much better than the turbo sculpt. I hope my back/shoulders/whatever it is feel better tomorrow. :(

[gwenshack]

So I gotta know which frozen meal smelled and looked so bad you wanted to barf! I eat frozen meals a lot and I know there are a bunch of them to avoid. If it's one I haven't had before, you gotta tell me so I can put it on my X list. LOL :rofl:
I usually buy the same ones over and over, but once in a while I branch out. It really is hit or miss with those - some of them are pretty good but some of them just straight up do not look at ALL like they look on the box! You open those up and you're like "Whaa?" :irked:

[savepaws]

Umm...it was....chicken carbonara from Smart Ones. It looked good until I smelled it. LOL

[gwenshack]

Umm...it was....chicken carbonara from Smart Ones. It looked good until I smelled it. LOL

Officially on the do not :eat: list!

[savepaws]

So I stayed home from work yesterday. I was feeling lazy and not really into the whole work thing. I feel like that usually during the winter...but its hitting me earlier this year. Normally I don't give in and I just suck it up but I decided I deserved a day off and I enjoyed it very much! I didn't take a day off from exercising though, but I probably should have. I did cardio party 1 and my shoulders/back are still all screwed up and I think I made it worse. Last night I couldn't sleep well, my back hurt so bad. So I guess no turbo jam for me for awhile. :(

I want to keep adding different workout videos to my routine because I like variety and get bored doing the same thing over and over. So I was thinking, I should get a ballet exercise video. Growing up, I took dance lessons and ballet was my favorite and I miss it. I love barre exercises and think it would be nice to add some variety into my workout routines.

Interesting...just found something called Cardio Barre. Might have to check into that as well.

As for food, I think I did alright yesterday. I had cereal for breakfast. Lean Cuisine for lunch. And grilled chicken & potatoes for dinner. I had a nectarine & a few grapes in the afternoon and a nectarine in the evening. I even passed on ice cream DH made himself an ice cream cone and offered to fix me one too. That is progress! I drank water all day but I did have a mountain dew and Fun Dip (what am I, 8? lol) in the evening. But the fun dip was less than 50 calories. It was pretty sour for my taste buds.

The scale says I'm down 4 pounds but I swear that thing is wacky and when I go home today it'll probably tell me I'm back up again.

Today: Treadmill 30 minutes, as long as I feel up to it because of my back.

And Yay...the Biggest Loser is back on! This is the first season that I'm watching where I'm actually trying to lose weight as well.

[gwenshack]

Sometimes we need those lazy days...and sometimes we need the fun dip. :winktongue:

Sorry your back and shoulders feel messed up - I find that I can't do TJ too many days in a row or I feel like that too, including today. But I also feel core soreness, and THAT is a good feeling (to me) - it gives me the idea that my waist is whittling away. LOL :rofl:

I think it's good to follow exercise in a direction that's of interest - if ballet will hold your attention and give you the push to keep going, go for it! :pompom:

You're doing awesome! Congrats on the four pounds!!!! :star: :star: :star: :star: (You get a star for each of them...)

[firespirit]

So when I'm keeping track I weigh myself only in the morning when I wake up. Everyone naturally changes weight throughout the day already, so by weighing at the same time everyday, you take out a variable.


Do you happen to have Comcast or some form of On Demand? They have a pretty good variety of excersize progams available On Demand. That's what hubby and I use.

[savepaws]

I wish I had on demand stuff like that!! I just have a few basic channels though.

I ordered a Ballet work out DVD, can't wait to try it out. It had really good reviews so I'm hoping I like it!

I ended up not working out yesterday. DH came home from work early and we ended up watching a movie. It's probably better that I skipped a day after how sore my back and shoulders have been lately. They probably needed the rest. They are still sore today so no TJ for me again.

I joined a calorie counting website and am going to try and count calories with that website's help. They even grade some of the foods on there so I listed my grade next to the calories.

Yesterday I had:
Breakfast?
A couple handfuls of goldfish at work...goldfish crackers that is. :fish: - 140 calories (C-)

Lunch
Lean cuisine meal - 260 calories (C+ what? its lean cuisine! Its supposed to be healthy!)

Snacks
1 cup of grapes - 62 calories (A)
Orange ice cream cone - counter says 164 (B-)
1 nectarine - 69 calories (A)

Supper
pot roast - 394 calories (C)
potatoes - says 86 calories (B+) but I think they were more than that! They seemed greasy from the meat juice.
Mac & cheese - 203 calories. Yikes. I hope it was really less than that, I had a really small portion!

Drank water only all day long!! Yay! - NO calories!

Grand total - 1,397(give or take since I don't know the exact portions I ate!)

I find it funny that they think my ice cream cone was a better grade than the Lean Cuisine!

Today: Treadmill 30 minutes. Eat more ice cream. :yesnod: LOL J/K.

[gwenshack]

The calorie counting website looks like it'll be a great help, but I don't want to be graded! LOL! :giggle:

I think the Lean Cuisine gets a lower grade because a lot of them are high in sodium, which is why a lot of people suggest people don't eat them. I think it's all a matter of moderation. I eat them, but not for like every meal every day, so I don't think twice about it. :)

Hope you like your ballet DVD!

[savepaws]

Ohhh that makes sense. Well the Lean Cuisine was the only meal that contained anything that resembled a veggie, so in my book its healthy. :D Plus the calories are low! I'm sure the dash of soy sauce I added didn't help the sodium situation, since just 1 serving of soy sauce is like 35% of the daily value of sodium.

[savepaws]

Grrr.... :realmad:

I got on the treadmill and all was well until I increased the speed after 8 minutes. I don't know what I did...I guess I walked funny and all the sudden my hip started hurting. So I had to quit walking. Ugh. I can't do turbo jam cuz of my shoulders/back and now I can't even walk on the treadmill because of my stupid hip. I did do 20 minutes of Ab jam and just was really careful on the standing up exercises so it didn't affect my shoulders. My hip was fine. So I guess I got 28 minutes in. I wanted more cardio today but I guess that wasn't meant to be!

I was really bad at lunch time also. I had waffles (180) with butter (50) and syrup (210). Ugh. So bad! I skimped on the syrup and didn't use a full serving of butter, so it wasn't the full 440 calories but I'm sure it was close. I really shoulda stuck with my ice cream idea!

[gwenshack]

Oh no! Hope your hip feels better! :flower4u:

[savepaws]

OMG I am so embarassed to post my food log from yesterday! :sorry: I was going to make pork burgers on the grill last night but when I took the meat out of the fridge, it was bad, and so since it was getting so late, we decided to run into town and get something to eat. I then consumed over 1005 calories in one meal. Ugh. :doh:


Breakfast
Goldfish - 140 calories (C-)

Lunch
2 waffles - 180 calories
syrup - 210 calories
butter - 50 calories (B)

Dinner
Sancho - 419
Taco - 202
Nachos - 284
Dr. Pepper - 100

Snacks
Orange - 87
Orange - 87

Grand total 1759 (F) <--- I graded myself. lol

Today: is a new day and I'm going to try harder with the food thing since I can't do too much exercising with my injuries! Will try to do 20-30 minutes on the treadmill if my hip will let me. God, I sound like I'm 80. LOL

[gwenshack]

There's this book that I bought one time that I :heart: the title of.

Just count it as a vegetable and move on.

Basically, when you have some tacos and nachos, there no reason to beat yourself up. Just go back to the routine and forget about it. :jphappy:

[savepaws]

LOL I like that plan!

We are going to look at a house at 1 (to possibly flip, not to live in), which is normally when I get off work. But our realtor is so gabby that I know that we won't be done looking at the house until after 2. I'll be starving by then! So I'm taking off from work early today so DH and I can go grab lunch somewhere. I am going to get a salad! Normally I just get my usual and regret it afterwards but I'm making a concious effort this time. Yay!

[savepaws]

I'm not even going to try and count the calories that I consumed over the weekend. This weekend was just plain crazy. I did count calories on Friday and I think it ended up totalling under 1000...which is just because I was so busy I didn't have time to snack and I only had 2 meals.

I didn't get to workout at all this weekend, but I hardly sat down. I think I burned plenty of calories between all the shopping, cleaning and cooking I did for our housewarming party on Saturday. I know I did not choose to eat the healthiest foods, but I honestly didn't eat much. I didn't have much of an appetite, I was more worried about everything being just right. The worst thing I did was drink pop, but I'm guessing I burned way more calories than I took in over the last 3 days.

The good news is that I learned that my scale is wrong! Almost everyone at the party who went to the bathroom weighed themselves and came out of the bathroom saying "I think your scale is off!" I'm glad to know I don't really weigh as much as it says, but I do know that doesn't let me off the hook because I can tell by looking in the mirror and the way my clothes don't really fit that I'm overweight and have a ways to go before I'm where I want to be. But I'm glad that my suspicions about that evil scale were confirmed!

Today: Get back on track with diet, calorie counting & exercise! 30 minutes on the Treadmill.

[gwenshack]

Down with the evil scale! :bbtwisted:

Do people really test out the scales in other people's houses? :rofl: I avoid my OWN, nonetheless other people's! You've got some brave guests - Huh, I'm at a party, nothing says PAR-TAY like weighing myself! :confetti: J/K...;)

Glad you had a fun time this weekend! Enjoy the treadmill today. :jphappy:

[savepaws]

:realmad:<rant>I'm starting to get frustrated. Its been 3 weeks and I feel like all my hard work is not getting me anywhere. My scale is a pile so I don't know what I weigh. I do know that my clothes don't fit any better and I don't see any difference when I look in the mirror. I know it doesn't happen overnight but I figured I would notice something by now. I guess it'd help if I had an accurate scale that I could use to measure my weight loss. Even if its a half a pound I would like to know that I've lost some weight. But this down 4 pounds, up 4 pounds, down 1 pound, up 2 pounds cr@P is really bugging me!! (is cr@p even a cuss word? lol)

I know I don't eat 100% healthy still but I've made a lot of good changes. I've cut pop out of my diet big time. I have been snacking on fruit & veggies instead of chips. I've been making health conscious decisions much more often than I did before. I work out on almost a daily basis. I know I tend to take weekends off from my workouts but we are usually busy on the weekends and I just don't have the time, so its not like we lay around pigging out all weekend. And there were a few days where I was injured but as soon as I felt better, I was back to working out again.

I think this is the point where I usually give up everytime I get on a health kick, but I'm not giving up this time! I'm hoping that one of these days I'll see results and get even more motivation to continue on.</rant>

On a happier note, I was looking around for more options for my workouts and found www.exercisetv.tv (http://www.exercisetv.tv/). They have workouts on their website so I might try some of them and see how it goes. I like variety!

Yesterday I worked out on the treadmill for a half hour. I did ok with food until later in the evening. I made cookies for DH and ate 2 without even thinking that they would be all that bad for me. I mean, come on, they're just little cookies. Turns out those 2 cookies = 380 calories. YIKES! :boggle: I also had 1/2 of a milkshake DH made for me. Probably not a good plan but I was feeling pretty down & frustrated at that point (see rant). So I'm just counting it as a vegetable and moving on. Today my body is finally feeling pretty darn good, so that should make for a good workout! I'm looking forward to doing something besides walking/running on the treadmill!

[gwenshack]

Yup. :irked: I know exactly what you mean. 3 and a half weeks have gone by and my pants feel the same and I still just feel like a pound of blubber when I look in the mirror. :boggle:

But, my energy level is a lot higher, I'm sleeping better, my endurance level for exercise has blown through the roof, I've stopped really craving bad food (well, not completely, I'm still human! :bbeek:), and I feel like I'm heading in the right direction...:jphappy:

So, like you, I'm not going to quit at this point - just keep pushing through. :boxing: One day you're going to look in the mirror and you're gonna say "Where did that muscle come from?" and "Woah, my hips look a lot smaller" and then you're gonna put on your jeans and realize you need a smaller size. :eureka: Just hang in there. I think 8 to 9 weeks is when people really start seeing change. But it gives you something to look forward to, right?!?

[savepaws]

Sorry you are feeling that way too but it sure does help to know I'm not alone! I do have to agree, I do feel like my energy level is up.

[gwenshack]

Apparently I have to spread rep before I give it to you again, but here's what I was going to write.

gwenshack agrees: There you go! :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

[savepaws]

I'm so hungry right now! I have nothing to snack on at work and 3 more hours to go. I sure hope the time goes by fast. I don't eat breakfast because it usually upsets my stomach to eat right away in the morning and I never think to bring anything with me to work.

I'm not sure what my calorie count was yesterday. We had leftover pasta for dinner and I have no idea how much a serving is, let alone how much calories are in a serving. I think I ate more biscuits than I did pasta. I think I had 3 at dinner. Oops. Oh well. I didn't even eat lunch because of the whole smokey house fiasco. The plan was to work out and then eat lunch but I didn't think about eating lunch until about 4pm and since it was almost dinner time, I decided to wait.

I tried 2 different workouts on that www.exercisetv.tv (http://www.exercisetv.tv/). One was a ballet type workout and it was 20 minutes long. I really liked that one. I definitely felt the burn during that one and it just felt really good. The second one was called Dance Party or something and it was super cheesey and it was supposed to be cardio, but it really didn't get my heart rate going. I didn't quite finish it because of the smoke but the first one was such a good workout that I'm feeling it today, in a good way.

[gwenshack]

I'll have to check out that site! ;)

[savepaws]

Yesterday I did a dancing workout on that website. It was ok. I thought the lady was kind of hard to follow and the way she broke up the dance was kind of awkward. I was in dance my whole childhood and have had plenty of practice learning choreography quickly, but even I found it hard to kind of catch on to what she was demonstrating and once it was all put together, it just didn't seem to flow right (at least to me). It got my heart rate going but that's about it...but that is ok because my legs were still sore from the ballet-type workout from Tuesday so I'm glad I didn't end up making them worse.

I have to say Turbo Jam is a lot more organized and fun compared to the workouts on this website, but its nice to have a change. With Turbo Jam I really don't feel much in my legs because they are already pretty strong, so I will probably use the ballet-type workout on occasion when I feel the need to strengthen my legs & butt.

For food yesterday I did pretty good. I had Lean Cuisine for lunch and the description was Chicken Tenderloins with cornbread stuffing and whipped potatoes. I had to laugh when I read that description...it reminded me of Gwen and the commercials she mentioned the other day. This lean cuisine meal was actually as good as it sounded! I don't find that true for all of them. I wish they would have added a little more chicken though! It was only 240 calories. Then for dinner we had tacos. I did have 1 cookie and grapes for snacks, oh and special k cereal. My total calories for yesterday totaled 1120. I honestly am not sure what number I should be aiming for. My calorie count website says 1500 calories but if I can take in a lower amount and still feel full and satisfied after meals, I figure it can't hurt!

I can't wait until I can post on here and say I've LOST ___ pounds! Or "I can fit into my jeans better!". LOL I think I've figured out what I weigh now so I'll be able to know fore sure if I've lost anything. My mom's scale works so much better than mine, I think I'm going to steal it from her!

[gwenshack]

You crack me up sometimes....:rofl:

Yes, a lot of the Lean Cuisines don't quite come off as described, but, you are right, that chicken one is pretty good. If you like that one, you might also enjoy the turkey dinner one that has 290 calories and has turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans mixed with cranberries, and some stuffing as well. On the box it says "30% more food" because it's a bigger box. The more food thing is always good (LOL...), but the taste of that meal is pretty A-OK.

But I'll tell you my all-time favorite meal in a box. It's a Smart Ones - 320 calories - Three Cheese Ziti Marinara. Delicious. :hungry:

I completely agree that TJ doesn't do everything it should for legs, so I think it's good you're compensating with other stuff. I think the more diverse you are with your workouts, anyway, the more fit you become (and less bored...)!

As for calories, here's a general rule of thumb - eat 10 calories for every pound you WANT to weigh. So you if you want to weigh 120 pounds, eat 1200 calories, and so on. But nobody should eat less than a 1000 calories, and who would want to?!? LOL :rofl:

[fireprincess2009]

There is a wonderful book that I have: Choose to Lose Weight-Loss Plan for Men : A Take-Control Program for Men With Guts to Lose

It says it's for men but there are charts for women too. It teaches you about the right way to eat etc. I can't remember all of what it covers - it's been a long time since I've read it. But it also helps you figure out how many calories you should be consuming each day based on your current & goal weight, frame size and activity level. It also has a calorie guide in the back that lists nutritional values for individual foods and restaurant items.

In general, I don't think you should get much less than 1500 calories a day. If you don't eat enough, you'll slow down your metabolism.

I'm over on Gwen's Mission a lot :winktongue: and just read your thread for the first time. I'm also frustrated about the scale. I've been working hard - not perfect by any means but would have hoped by now I'd see less pounds or better fitting clothes. So far, I'm only starting to see some arm muscles. Figures, that's the spot that needs the least help! Hang in there!!!! There are a lot of us in the same boat...

[fireprincess2009]

Hey, this is pretty cool to figure out how many calories you need...
http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/calneed

[fireprincess2009]

For whatever it's worth....I also looked at several "calculators" online to see what they would say I needed to lose weight (generally saying a pound a week) and got different results everywhere I looked - 1300, 1500, 1700. I figure 1500 is about right.

[gwenshack]

For whatever it's worth....I also looked at several "calculators" online to see what they would say I needed to lose weight (generally saying a pound a week) and got different results everywhere I looked - 1300, 1500, 1700. I figure 1500 is about right.

LOL :rofl: Don't you hate that? There's no consistency whatsoever. I feel really bad for people who are trying to lose weight for the first time (granted I feel bad for me since I have to do it AGAIN :irked: LOL) - all the different information out there is so overwhelming!

[savepaws]

I'm so confused! The link told me this:

You'll need at least 2,110 calories to maintain your current weight and activity level.

• Of this, 1,405 calories are required to meet your body's basic energy needs. That amount (your resting energy expenditure) is what you'd use up if you did nothing but lie in bed all day.

• To lose about one pound per week, you'll need to cut back to 1,610 calories per day.

Hmmm...it says I need to "cut back to 1610 calories per day". First of all, to get 1600 calories, I wouldn't be cutting back. I would actually have to work at eating that many calories! I mean if I eat out and eat junk food its not too hard to reach 1600 calories, but since I've started watching what I eat, I'm closer to around 1200 a day. I'd love to snack on chips and have more snacks and candy but I know thats not the type of calories I need. Ugh.

I guess I have a lot to learn still. Ugh...who knew it'd be so technical! I just thought I could exercise, eat Lean Cuisines and watch the pounds just fall off. I guess the main thing that confuses me is that even though I never counted calories, I'm pretty sure I didn't consume over 2110 on a regular basis...and thats what they say I need just to maintain my weight. Since my wedding (and going off the shot - wonder if thats a coincidence?) I have packed on probably close to 10 pounds.

Goal for today: Eat a lot of calories! LOL I'm gonna aim for 1500. And probably will go on the treadmill unless DH is gone, if he is, I'll probably do a turbo jam.