Thanksgiving countdown

L

Lourdy

Active Member
I need to lose 10 pounds before Thanksgiving, and I need support from my friends here on Cathe's forum. I know we are all dedicated, true believers in working out and try hard. Some of us maybe need more help than others, but what I love about this forum is that we all help each other out. I know 1-2 lbs/wk is the safest, so 4 1/2 weeks to go isn't that bad, even if I only get to 8 lbs, I'll be happy. Working out is not my problem, but my eating is. Can anyone help? Any suggestions? Can we all do a countdown together?

Thank you all!

Lourdy
 
I'm going to repeat some of the stuff we've touched on very recently that may help you.

Work on increasing your fiber intake! You'd be suprised how painless this little trick can be, and you are helping yourself get healthier in the process.

Get some of the good books we've mentioned, like "Thin for Life," because you need to make permanent lifestyle changes so you don't gain the weight back.

Could we explore what your eating "problem" is? Thank would help in order to come up with further suggestions. What do YOU think needs fixed, your snack choices perhaps? Please be more specific.
 
I get several email newsletters with fit tips. Just this morning, I got one that discussed Meal Replacement bars. The general idea of it was that since everything is pre-measured, women especially lose more weight if they incorporate some type into their well-balance diet.

This is my pitfall. I tend to WAY overdue portion size. So, I happen to use a lot of Healthy Choice entrees, and an occasional Metabolife canned drink. This is the easiest way for me, because I don't have to think so much.

But I never, EVER, use them as a sole source of nutrition. But if they keep me from eating a Big Mac, they're worth it.
 
Hi HoneyBunch, well, I have been away for a while, so I haven't seen the posts you are talking about, but thanks for the information. I still recall you and many of your posts, so I'm glad you responded . I'll start by saying that my portions are my biggest problem, I tend to eat huge amounts of food, and after a couple of days of very good eating I tend to look for something either salty as in chips & fries, or sweets like cookies, icecream or pie. Those are my bad foods, I don't eat any other kind of junk food. I pretty much stay away from these foods on an every day basis, but I will have them at least once, sometimes twice a week, so I don't feel deprived. An example of my eating yesterday is:
Breakfast - 4 eggwhites with spinach, asparagus, feta cheese with one pita. 2 cups of coffee with ff cream.
Snack - 4 pieces of Cantaloupe, 1 cup of green tea
Lunch - Big plate of Green, Red peppers, 2 chicken drums and rice with black beans.
Snack - 2 pieces of pineapple
Dinner - 1 Salmon Filet, Eggplant & Zucchini, 1 potato with light margarine
Snack - 1 cup of Chamomile tea.
Workouts are 3-4 wt. training/wk and 3-4 Cardios/wk,
I try my best as you see, to have a piece of fruit or vegetable at every meal.
Why have I gained weight besides turning 36?
Thank you :)
 
I forgot to ask you, is the book "Thin for life", like "Body for Life", because I do have that book, and went through the body transformation. It worked, but I just can't make that a long time life change. The thought of another shake or protein bar would make me sick, so here I am again, with the same dilema, those 10 lbs that some may think of nothing, and I certainly think of a lot. The 10 lbs go straight to my thighs and butt :-(
 
I have read in several respectable sources that a diet that alternates higher calorie days (say 1700) with lower calorie days (say 1300) is better--causes you to ultimately burn more calories--than one which maintains a medium calorie (say 1500) count every day. I've never tried it myself. I don't have that kind of discipline. Jeanne
 
Hi Lourdy - good to see you back! Another poster, Bobbi, told me about www.fitdday.com. It's a pretty cool website - you enter all the food you eat in a day and all the activities you do. It gives you a break down of total calories, nutrional info, % of carbs, protein and fat etc. Then you can compare calories consumed with calories burned. It also tells you where you're vitamin deficiencies are and the difference in calories between varying portion sizes. As I suspected, for myself, my diet is about 65% carbs and not enough protein so I need to concentrate on adding more protein. Also I have got to stay away from bread and butter :-( I have been doing pretty well on cutting back on my sweets but I'm sure the next round of PMS will push me right off that wagon!

Good luck!

Lorrie
 
Hi Lorrie, thanks for the advise, I am going to try that site, because I think I'm just consuming a lot more calories than I think. Just today in between meals I had a pita with hummus made out of chickpeas, and babaganush which is made out of eggplant, and then after lunch I had a skim caramel machiato, which is probably another 200 calories and at night I like to have a big glass of skim milk before my tea, just to make sure I get my calcium for the day, so if I keep adding all this plus my huge meals, I'm probably not burning enough calories in regards to the consumed ones. Yes, I am determined, so I will start monitoring this. Thanks sweetie.
Oh, do you know about this Thin for life book, is it like the Body for life?
 
Hi again.

I've never read either of these books but a lot of the ladies around here post highly of them.

You may be surprised at how many calories some foods have when you enter them on fitday. But also be careful to make sure you enter the correct quantity. I about had a stroke when I entered Italian salad dressing and it totaled at over 1000 calories :-wow then I realized that amount was for a cup and I only used 2 tbsps which dropped it to 140 - whew!

From what you've posted, you seem to be making healthy food choices which is a big step in the right direction. Although I don't have a clue what eggplant babaganush is! Is it good? The best thing I have ever eaten was while I was in Jamaica. It was called a "cho-cho" (phonetic spelling) and it tasted kind of like a cross between a squash and a green pepper and it was hollowed out and stuffed with various veggies and topped with of a very light red sauce. Mmmmmm!!! Wish I had a clue how to make it. That and Jamaican Jerk. Dang it, now I'm hungry again!

Lorrie
 
Thin for Life is a study by a Registered Dietian who collected the stories of folks who lost weight and kept it off. It's very worthwhile reading.

You DO indeed have to watch portions.....a serving of peanut butter is 2 tablespoons. That's not a lot!

One hint that I will give you is that you could allow yourself one sweet treat EVERYDAY, one that is not real high in fat or calories. My favorites are fat-free, sugar free Jello pudding and fat free Cool Whip. I mix some sugar free pancake syrup in the Cool Whip and eat it like ice cream. Hey, it works for me! Then once a week I have a free day (like they do in Body for Life) and eat anything and everything.

There is no magic bullet, just a smarter way of doing things that doesn't necessarily have to make you feel deprived.
 
Hi, Lourdy! You too, Lorrie!

I love the site! http://www.fitday.com I have always tried to keep a food journal but I've never stuck with it. The site allows me to input the things I eat regularly so the info is stored there and it takes some of the tedium out of the process. I also realized that, even on my for the most part healthy and clean diet, I am getting more calories than I realized so it helped me to adjust accordingly.

I occasionally measure my food until I get a "feel" for what a serving should be.

As you pointed out, the holidays are coming. The average American gains 8 pounds from November to January! So, eat that fiber and be ready! I allow myslef one day per week to indulge. I am sticking with that philosophy during the holidays. In the third week of November, instead of being a Saturday, that day'll be a Thursday!

During the holidays, I also sometimes eat a sweet INSTEAD of a healthy meal. As long as it's infrequent, it's a way to have one's cake and eat it without packing on unwanted pounds. And sometimes, say when it's pumpkin pie, it's not a bad trade off. I love having pumkin pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

Finally, adding ten minutes here and 15 minutes there to your exercise during those months can help too. I have been running 5 miles three times a week, during the holidays, I'll be running 6 miles three times a week just to counterbalance the ever present temptations!

Good luck! You'll do great!
B http://www.plaudersmilies.de/natur/petals.gif obbi
 
You ladies are great, thanks so much for the support. I have noticed how out of control my portion sizes are, so that's where I'm starting. The way I see it, I have a month to lose this weight, so I'm starting today. I'll keep you all posted on how I do. Lorrie, the eggplant dish is mediterranian, which has lots of garlic, tahini and olive oil, real good stuff. My favorite stuff in Jamaica was the banana chips, yummy. I remember going back to this one bar where they served them every day.
Thanks again.
 
Lourdy,

I know one of the tricks is to slow down. I eat very quickly and it's easy to wolf down large amounts of food before your brain can signal your stomach that you're full. Or is it your stomach signaling your brain? Anyway, that's what I am working on, slowing down. In the meantime, I put only the amount I know I should eat on my plate, and when it's gone, that's it. If I do eat too quickly, I wait for my stomach to catch up with my brain and I leave the table. It is really hard to change a habit but I know I'll do it!
 
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