Pixie5477

Almeeker and Weightlossboo...

Thank you so much for the encouragement. It's nice to know I'm not in this alone. It feel like so much effort going out and the good stuff isn't happening fast enough. lol

My absolute weakest point is getting enough protein, so I am sure that is a huge problem. I have a hard time fitting protein into my life. I do like peanut butter and cheese, (naturally the most fattening things). I hardly ever eat meat or eggs. oh gag!

Susan8Less

Hi Ladies,

I barely slept last night. I was up tossing and turning all night stressing about moving and other things. I got hungry at 2 am and so I crunched on a cup of baby carrots. It put something on my stomach so I didn't feel deprived and yet I didn't have to beat myself up for blowing it like I usually do.

1800 cals a day for 3 days in a row now! I'm looking forward to doing this for a lifetime, one day at a time.

changeisgood29

To Susan - hey, how else is a lifetime lived but one day at a time? Grats on meeting your goals for the last few days and keeping your spirits up.

Grats to everyone for keeping up the good work and for all the pounds lost I have yet to congratulate.

To Pixie - I have a heckuva time getting enough protein, too. I'm trying to take baby steps in the right direction, but I may have to replace my beloved cereal in the morning with something more high in protein to do it... Egad! Not my Cap'n Crunch! Not my Lucky Charms! Yes, I know those are rather terrible cereal choices; I just love them so, lol. Ah well, one thing at a time, eh?

Susan8Less

I actually really like protein. I find it fills me up and I feel satisfied afterwards for a fairly long periord of time. Hey, does anyone know if you can use tickers here? I notice no one has a ticker! I would like to start counting the days since committing to 1800 calories or less a day.

mstaff4564

I know a lot of people have had success with protein powders & mixing them in with skim milk or nonfat yogurt and fruit to make some yummy & filling shakes & smoothies. I'm actually going to try this myself to up my protein intake. As long as you watch the calories, this would probably make a great snack or even meal replacement depending on what you put in it.

Greek yogurt is another option that has decent protein. I'm not usually a yogurt person, but it's mostly because of the texture. I have issues with things that aren't quite solid but aren't liquid either, like yogurt or cottage cheese (shudder).

Do you like fish at all? If you don't like meat or eggs, you probably don't like fish, but that is also a good source of protein that's low calorie & low fat.

One of the things that's so different about this weight loss is that I've learned I'm insulin resistant (I have PCOS). So not only do I have to watch my calories and adjust my ratios, I have to be really careful about the carbs & sugars I take in. Past efforts to lose weight have failed because even though I kept within a calorie range & exercised, all my calories were carbs and my body couldn't handle them. So I still felt crummy & depressed, & the moment life got hard, the sugar monster was on my back and I indulged & gave up. Part of that was the carb addiction (which a lot of IR patients have), part of it was the inability to deal with my emotions & turning to food instead.

Once I got past about 2 weeks, the cravings for those sugary cereals I love so much really went down. I still have my moments, though. Hubby bought some Cocoa Pebbles, and they are taunting me. I'll be OK...it's not at a critical level, but it still sucks. I know if it's gets overwhelming, I can carefully plan a day so I can indulge & savor a serving of the cereal with some skim milk. Because not only am I learning how to eat better, but how to eat the other foods in careful moderation.

changeisgood29

Hey mstaff, thanks for sending some faith that the sugary cereal...mmm let's call it an 'affair'... can be cut off! And big props to you for doing so. I do like Greek yogurt a lot, way more than cottage cheese - I've tried to eat cottage cheese for breakfast, and we just end up throwing it out. Not my thing. I'll have to give the Greek yogurt a try. I'm curious about the protein powders, too, but ultimately we (husband and I) just can't afford to consistently add it to our diet - I mean financially, not calorically (I'd make it work at the cost of carbs or fat). If anyone has a suggestion for a good protein powder that's economically priced, I'm all ears. The ones I've seen around my area are really pretty expensive, and keep in mind it would be for my husband and I, so I do fear it would go pretty quick.

Here's something I've been struggling with, and I think it has a lot to do with my low protein intake. Here's my bad food habit (ok, other than cereals that are marketed to people much younger than I) - I don't eat during the day. It's not a starvation thing; I'm honestly just not hungry throughout the day. It's taken me years to NOT eat when I'm not hungry, so I'm not sure how to find a happy medium. I know you're all probably thinking that I gorge at dinnertime, but I really don't; calorically I'm right on plan, it's my nutrition that needs improvement (it's not a debacle by any means, but more protein would rock my socks). Any one else out there that can go from breakfast to dinner without hunger pangs? I know it's terrible for my metabolism and eating SOMETHING throughout the day would be a relatively easy way to get protein in, but honest to whomever, I am just not hungry. Maybe this is freakish, but it is true. Any tips, as ever, are appreciated.

Susan8Less

Mstaff, I love your blog!! I haven't read it all yet but it looks like such a great idea to help you commit to your plan and to track your progress. Funny, I also have a similar amount of weight to lose and fitday tells me I'll reach my goal in Sept 2011 if I eat 1800 calories a day. The difference is that it will be my 46 birthday! I wish I had lost the weight when I was your age. So many years wasted! Anyway, I'm glad that we're both here now and I hope to go through this journey with you and all the other lovely ladies here.

myoutwardbeauty710

You all aren't alone. I too am having a hard time filling my protein section of the pie chart. It is always the smallest part. I am working on it daily. Haven't heard of Greek Yogurt but I will have to look into it soon. Thanks for the tips! I also only drank 24oz of water today. I am having a hard time lately with plain water, when I normally guzzle it down. Is it still considered water if I put a packet of crystal light in it or something? I have got to drink more water!!!

almeeker

Getting enough protein is really difficult. I've been using a chocolate protein powder from the local health food store for about 3 months now. It's pricey, like $37 for a 2lb can, but it lasts 4 weeks. I use it every morning and my DD likes it 2x/week after swim practice. DH uses Powerbars pretty much everyday for an afternoon snack. Last night my DH said that he saw protein powder at Sam's Club that was $5/lb. The next time he goes to Sam's he's going to call with the brand name so I can look it up on-line and see if I want to try it. My usual brand is all natural and a combination of seaweed, whey and soy proteins. The reason I like that particular one is that it's got 15 grams of protein and only 96 calories, plus it's loaded with nutrients that I need. Some of the protein powders have all kinds of wacky additives appealing to the bodybuilder crowd. Okay yes I would like some nice muscle tone, but I'm not too interested in growing chest or facial hair... I also like the occasional protein bar. I use them specifically when what I really want is a candy bar. But you have to be careful with those, because many of them have hundreds of calories and tons of fat.

Outwardbeauty, yes your water still counts if you add in a packet of color/flavor. I sometimes make mine into tea, green, black, raspberry whatever.

susan8less, I'm 41, it's nice to see someone else close to my age here. It seems like a lot of the posters are trying to hit their goal weight by their 30th birthday. I was dieting at 29 too, but only because I got married 6 weeks before my 30th birthday.

changeisgood and pixie, I eat cottage cheese all the time for breakfast. I usually put it on toast with a little pepper and then warm the whole thing up in the microwave. But it's also good with a little low-cal jam or fresh fruit mixed in, or tossed into an omelet with onions and spinach. I also like to blend it with low-cal, fat free dressing and use it for veggy dip, but I don't eat it that way for breakfast. Another really high protein breakfast dish I eat is the good old tuna melt, tuna, mustard, maybe a tiny squeeze of low fat mayo spread on 35 cal/slice toast, then covered with a little bit of reduced fat cheese and popped in the micro or under the broiler for a minute or so. Yummmm.

Well I gotta get to gittin', it's almost 7 and I haven't started that old workout yet. YIKES!

mstaff4564

Happy Friday ladies! Took yesterday off (just did a walk at work & shot some hoops during break) and I feel better today. I did 30 mins on the treadmill this morning & I feel good. Looking forward to swimming tomorrow & spending the day canning with my mom (dill pickles, YAY!).

My husband was laid off from his job in January, so I totally understand the struggle. His unemployment runs out the end of July, so I'm not really sure what's going to happen. I hope he can file for an extension that lasts until college starts at the end of August. Because we're so broke, I have to be really careful what I buy too. I second the request for a protein powder that is good but reasonably priced.

Fortunately, my parents have a garden full of fresh veggies, so I'm set there. I mainly try to buy fruits that are cheap and will go a long time. Bananas are cheap, and one seedless watermelon can give me 7 days worth of a snack. Once the season is up for watermelon, I'll switch to something else.

I'm sure there is a metabolic reason why this is a bad idea, but it sounds like this works for you. Do you feel sluggish at all in the middle of the day or have a severe drop in energy? That would be a reason to at least try to squeeze in a small snack or two during that time, like a banana with PB, or the cottage cheese/protein shakes if you want to up your protein. Are you successfully losing weight at a good pace while doing this? If so, and you feel great through the day, then your body is reacting well to what you're fueling it with.

Thanks! I tend to be kind of wordy (can't you tell ), so I figured the blog would be a good place for my wordiness. I've also been in a year of therapy, and the one thing I learned is that writing stuff down is, for me, a great way to relieve anxiety & deal with my feelings rather than feeling depressed & anxious and reaching for a cupcake. It doesn't work for everybody, but writing is a big help for me.

I set Sept. 2011 for my goal weight based on Fitday's assessment. I think if I lose 1.5lbs a week, I can reach that goal. Obviously, I'd love to be 150lbs for my 30th birthday next May, but I know that's not very realistic & I would burn out quick trying to lose all that weight in that amount of time.

It doesn't matter if your 16 or 46, it's always a good day to start being healthy. I keep going knowing that I don't want my 30s to be like my 20s: I want them to be better - less depressed, happier, more fulfilling.

I can come up with protein for breakfast, but just eggs gets really boring after a while. This sounds like something I need to try. Thanks for the idea!