Hey Guys

[Angelica]

Been battling with weight for awhile. I used to be great about working out and eating healthy. I fell off the wagon and dragged it down the hill with me. Stepped on the scale and weighed in at 180. I'd like to go down to 150(ish).

Gotta say, love the name of the group and I def. love the picture!!!

[mary elizabeth]

Hi Petunia, Welcome! Its a new year, and a great time to start fresh.

[Amanda]

Petunia, hello!!! So glad you joined! :) And I'm laughing my ass off at the idea of you dragging the wagon down the hill with you. Hilarious!

[Angelica]

Yeah, it hurt a bit, but I recovered!! LOL!! Thanks for the Sparkpeople link. That's the coolest ever!!

[Amanda]

Yeah, baby. I like Sparkpeople a lot. I wish it was a bit more user friendly. :( It's a major downside! But, they diet plans they recommend are super healthy, which I love. No fads.

[Angelica]

That's where I'm at. I'm done with the fads. And I just can't bring myself to even glance at Nutrasystem. There's a lot of different stuff in there, but it's cool. I'm trying one of the recipes tomorrow. (Keep in mind that when I'm cooking, I can tell it's done by the smoke alarm going off. Yes, I'm challenged in the kitchen).

[Debbie]

I'm not sure how to become "part of the group" I signed up and have read some of the postings. I really need help. I joined Weight Watchers over the summer and have lost my 10% but with the holidays I have not payed much attention to doing a healthy eating stuff. I went to the grocery store today and bought lots of fruit and veggies. I have never been an activity type person so the word "exercise" is not in my vocabulary. I really want to make changes and have decided I need to make a better effort here. I'm starting to have health problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. When do we post our weight losses and where, I won't tell you at this point how much I weight but I can tell you how much I have lossed or gained. The holidays have been bad as far as snacking went. HELP!!!

[Amanda]

You ARE part of the group, Debbie! It's official! :)

Check out Message 1 in this thread for a very VERY basic "how to" for what goes on around here:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

We use the weekly "weigh-in" threads as a sort of self checker. Nobody here is gonna pressure you one way or another. Just bounce ideas off each other, celebrate all kinds of victories, maybe share a little whine with our 2% cheese... Just be by each others' sides no matter what. Browse around! Have some fun!

I'm gonna go get myself a glass of crystal light (even though I want a mimosa)!

[Trudy]

Welcome Petunia and Debbie... And Happy New Year to us all!!!

Petunia... you are cracking me up!!! Smoke alarm... too funny...
Debbie - no worries on not posting the actual number. We all understand!

I am a WW junkie as well - If it helps, I have lost over 30lbs since August (took a break the last few weeks or it would have been more) and didn't "exercise" much at all. And the exercise I did would be a walk around the mall, my work parking lot or the town green... could probably count the actual "efforts" I made on both hands and maybe one foot... So, now worries - WW works... you just have to work it.

Good Luck!

[Angelica]

Hang in there Debbie! I know the holidays can be a frustrating time.

Trudy, as far as the smoke alarm, completely true! I can't cook well at all.

[Debbie]

Okay, day 1 I had a Quaker (sp?) Oatmeal To Go for breakfast, and way too busy at work to worry about snacking between breakfast and lunch. Lunch was a weight watcher frozen meal (I have to make myself eat them) it was good... and a salad with low fat italian dressing 1 tablespoon of cheese. THEN for dinner, I feel like I cheated, I made hamburgers (95% beef), no cheese, just a bun, was delicious!!!!

[Amanda]

Sounds like you're probably close within an acceptable calorie range. Sparkpeople told me I should be getting between 1500 and 1800 calories per day.


Plus, you got your veggies!!!! Awesome!!!!!!! Woot woot!

[Debbie]

Amanda wrote: "Sounds like you're probably close within an acceptable calorie range. Sparkpeople told me I should be getting between 1500 and 1800 calories per day.


Plus, you got your veggies!!!! Awesome!!!..."

Amanda wrote: "Sounds like you're probably close within an acceptable calorie range. Sparkpeople told me I should be getting between 1500 and 1800 calories per day.


Plus, you got your veggies!!!! Awesome!!!..."

I have a tough time with salad, I've eaten so much of it. But once I start eating them I'm fine. The same with those frozen dinners. Thanks. this helps

[Amanda]

I'm with you on frozen dinners. Can't stand 'em. Won't eat 'em.

And I understand the love/hate relationship with salad. They really do seem boring not yummy and cold (who wants to eat cold food in the winter???). There's a grocery store next to my gym, and my buddy and I have taken to hitting the grocery store salad bar after our workout. I've gotten to the point where I don't even eat lettuce anymore. Blah. I just pile on the veggies instead.

[Angelica]

I too know the salad dilemma! When I'm shopping I get a variety of different ones so I'm not eating the same stinking thing! I also load it up with veggies. I try new dressings too.

I detest frozen meals! They have some decent crock pot/slow cooker recipes on Sparkpeople!!! I love me a slow cooker! No smoke alarms going off or anything!! It's awesome. Dump stuff in there, cook all day and you come home to a tasty meal w/ lunch for the next day!!

[mary elizabeth]

I have a hard time with salad when I just stick to romane and iceburg. Lately I've been trying to buy more arugula type greens, and have been enjoying lose more. They have more flavor just by themselves, so I end up using less dressing.
So, a question for all, salad before entree or after entree? I've always eaten it before my main course, but my boyfriend its in after. I think that if you eat it before it fills you up and you eat less main course. But have also found that if I am thinking that I still have salad to eat I take a smaller portion of main course, and am satisfied with that after I eat salad. Any thoughts?

[Amanda]

I agree with you, Beth. Salad before main. Well, as long as the salad is actually healthy, right?!? Not all cheese and ranch dressing...

Hmmm... Now I'm thinking about going to salad bar for lunch tomorrow. :)

[Trudy]

Salad is all about finding the right dressing for me. And I simply use balsamic vinegar, olive oil (need 2 TBS every day anyway) with salt, pepper and equal. If I have that, then I will eat it all day long... For some reason though - I find it a pain to make it...LOL...

My salads are lettuce (iceburg) and cukes... an occasional tomato when they are good... I don't get too fancy - basically because, again, I have to make it and its a pain!

Salads before dinner - always... unless they ARE dinner

[Trudy]

As far as frozen meals go - I actually have a few of the Smart Ones meals that I REALLY like. The 3 Cheese Ziti Marinara (or something like that) is really good and I eat it with a salad and the mix of the dressing and everything is like heaven for me - lol.

The Broccoli fettucini alfredo, and the one with chicken are both very good. Stromboli pockets, yummy... The trick is, again, finding the ones you like. Sometimes you have to kiss alot of frogs...

Also, if you do the WW program, the Lean Cuisine meals have the points listed on them too. The points are smaller and sometimes take a bit to find, but they are there.

[Amanda]

I have to be honest with you guys--these processed, frozen foods scare the crap out of me! Not that I don't eat my fair share of processed foods--but every time I do, I hear this voice telling me I'm eating chemicals and not real food and it gives me the willies. I've said this a thousand times before, I know, but WHY CAN'T NATURAL/ORGANIC FOODS BE CHEAPER??? Kashi makes frozen meals, but I really think they're more expensive than Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine. :(

[Angelica]

OMG!!! I know what you mean! I checked the Campbell's Light Harvest soup can for the Southwestern Veg and I didn't see any msg listed on it. Amanda please check the can before you buy. I could pronounce the ingredients.

Besides there's always leek soup right? :) For more uh, less processed recipes you may want to check out books by Gillian McKeith- You Are What You Eat and Slim for Life. She cooks with some interesting veggies but she is completely against preservatives of any kind.

[Debbie]

A physician friend of mine swears the frozen dinners are not good for you. SO I try to just stick to one or two a week and make a lunch to take. I am trying to change my attitude about salads, I see people with "salads" that are piled high with stuff and wonder if that's good for you too. I guess it depends on what is piled on there. Well folks I weighed in tonight, for this first time since before the holidays! I only gained 1/4 of a pound!! I will take that! Now it's down to work! I bought all kinds of fresh veggies and fruit tonight, also healthy snacks, but no processed stuff. You are right I need to get away from those processed foods. My youngest just bought a book by GIllian McKeith "You Are What You Eat" so now she is on the quest to "cure" me! LOL

[Trudy]

You know the other weird thing about frozen meals - the plastic trays. I don't know that I am a believer in this, but the email rumor mill also puts these trays in the same "cancer causing" category as water bottles left in the car. I have heard that the best thing to do is to take the meal out of the container and microwave on a real plate based on this rumor.

Again, I am not overly convinced.... and honestly, my biggest issue with the meals is the sodium levels... Most of them are sky high as it is a natural preservative.

I wish we could "live off the land" as they did generations ago... That lifestyle was much healthier overall in terms of what they ate and how active they were naturally... but it is not overly realistic/feasible with the hustle and bustle we live in today... it is sad that we have to schedule exercise instead of getting it naturally... and cost/convenience rules in terms of food... cheap and fast are our first priorities... sigh...

[Amanda]

I've started going to the grocery store pretty much every day now. Well 3 or 4 times a week. Plus the farmers' market every Saturday. Seems like kind of a hassle, but as it turns out, I'm eating much HAPPIER. I get what I'm in the mood for. The produce I eat is always fresh. I make enough to eat for lunch/breakfast the next day. Works great.

But, here are 2 reasons why it's easy for me to grocery shop pretty much every day:
1. My gym is next door to a grocery store.
2. I don't have a job, so I can shop when there are very few people at the store. (Though since I just get a few things, I never have to wait long even if the store is crowded.)


Living off the land would be a dream. An absolute dream.

[Sherry]

The one thing I've come to appreciate about having a gluten intolerance is that when you begin to rid your diet of the foods that contain it(it comes in a lot of hidden additives)you pretty much are getting rid of a high percentage of processed foods. Avoiding high sodium foods due to the high blood pressure pretty much gets rid of the rest. I have to pretty much eat fresh or I don't have much to eat(a favorite past time of mine!)

It's appalling to learn some of the ingredients in some of the foods I used to eat(embalming fluid in mayonnaise for one!) It's more appalling though, when knowing doesn't deter me. I try to stick to the criteria that I can at least pronounce the ingredients in my food and that I have a good idea what the ingredient is.

[Trudy]

actively ignoring the comment about mayo now - thanks... the land of denial is beautiful... lol

[Sherry]

Yeah,I could have done better not knowing myself...