silversword, thanks for starting this. Today is my first day. As I posted on the last thread, I will try to emphasize veggies, fruits, and protein (as opposed to starches) to loose weight. Today's menu: oatmeal/milk/apple for breakfast; leafy green salad with two hardboiled eggs for lunch; stir fry veggies and chicken for dinner. I must have walked 5 miles yesterday and am sore! Perhaps 2-3 miles today.

Hi Marita!! I'm just following the fabulous lead of Harold :) I really should have called it Harold's weekly weigh-in! LOL.

Glad you're here! That's pretty much my food plan too. I worked out for 1.5 hours yesterday (1/2 hour cardio, 1 hour weights). I'm sore today. Going to walk today I think and let my DD go on a bike ride. She's at the point that her riding fast is about my lowest jog speed :)

Today's menu:
1 veggie burger with bun = 200 calories
1 carrot in sticks = 35 calories
1 cup jicama = 45 calories
1 cup veggie stir fry = 100 calories
1/2 cup grapes = 30 calories

Total Breakfast/Lunch = 410 calories.

I'm aiming for 1200 per day. I figure when I go home I'll have a protein shake with a banana (230 calories) and then veggies and chicken for dinner (350 calories).

And then I know I'll probably go for some chocolate or wine :)

Just in case any one is interested in books to help motivate better eating, I really recommend Dr. Michael Aziz, "The Perfect 10 Diet" and Jonny Bowden, "150 Healthiest Foods on Earth." They've really convinced me to overhaul parts of my diet, especially the on-going struggle to avoid sugar and simple carbs. Aziz's advice on also avoiding "low cal" stuff also makes absolute sense to me, with the exception of skim milk (after a life time of drinking it, I just can't stand the taste of whole).

Hi Marita,
Thanks for the tip! I avoid low-cal and fake sugar foods too, I just try to eat basic foods that are low in calories, if that makes sense. I look for low-cal bread (50 calories per slice with very few ingredients), eat brown rice if any rice at all...

I was looking at the Skinny Cow desserts the other day and really wanted to buy some (only 150 calories per ice cream bar!!!) but could not get past the ingredients. Ah, it's Hagaan Daaz or nothing... too bad I can only have 1/2 cup, which doesn't satisfy me!!

Skinny Cow Ingredients:

skim milk, wafer [bleached wheat flour, isomalt*, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, maltitol*, caramel color, sorbitol*, corn flour, cocoa, corn starch, salt, baking soda, natural flavor, soy lecithin], maltodextrin, polydextrose, sorbitol*, cream, stabilizer [mono and diglycerides, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, carrageenan], artificial flavor, sucralose (Splenda® Brand), vitamin A palmitate, acesulfame potassium

* Sensitive individuals may experience a laxative effect from excess consumption of this ingredient.

Ewwww!!!!

EWWW is right! You need a strong constitution to start to read labels. I still cringe to think about how when I finally read the label on the no fat mayo I had been using for years the first ingredient was partially hydrogenated oil, the second was sugar, and the third was artificial flavoring. I'm determined to go as simple and natural as possible. Am trying to buy more organic, but the cost is still prohibitive for some things.

I'll be checking in on Wednesday.

I'm glad to see that others are starting to join in.
ivamae

Hey. Wow, I just decided to check in for the heck of it and what do you know - the gang is back. It looks like everybody is doing really well.

I've been hanging in there pretty well, too. I've been right around 178 to 180 since about the middle of January. Since my old weigh-in day was Sunday, I'm going to weigh in at 180, though it was 179 this morning.

You all have inspired me to try and lose another 5 pounds, to make it an even 100 lost, and get rid of a bit of flab on my belly.
So, my stats for this week are
Weight-180, lost to date - 95, this week - gained 2, Average calories this week - 2419.

HAROLD!!!

Nice to see you :)

Weighed in last night at 140. So, maybe some change. I don't really know. I'm working out really hard so I'm hoping this is just transference of fat to heavier muscle.

Does anyone have any ideas/thoughts on doing cardio vs lifting weights? I try to do 1/2 hour on the elliptical and then an hour going through the weight machines 3x a week. The cardio burns more calories (I can do around 350 in 1/2 hour) but I've heard the weight lifting builds more muscle and in turn keeps burning calories longer.

Lesson learned from last year? Don't try to eat my way out of depression. Go for a walk instead. Do anything instead. I hit a slump last year and while I only gained 10 pounds back I feel awful physically and emotionally. I have so much more energy when I'm treating myself right!

Good morning fellow dieters and healthy eaters! I must admit that after only one day I am feeling much better already. A new attitude and beautiful spring weather! Part of my strategy is to try to plan ahead as much as possible. I live alone, and it is far too easy, coming home tired after work, to stop for fast food when I know there is no meal waiting for me in the fridge. So my dinner plan of attack for each week is: wild salmon fillet and veggies twice per week; bean based soup or meal three times per week; chicken or beef and veggies twice per week. In order to cut down on cooking, I plan to make a huge bean soup or bean dish every two weekends and freeze half, and each time I cook the chicken, fish, or beef I'll double it for the next meal. Anyway--I have it down on paper, now we'll see how it plays out! Am looking forward to making a luscious spicey black bean soup with cilantro this Saturday.

Silversword,
You should actually be doing a bit of both, cardio and weightlifting. The cardio will burn some calories and keep your heart healthy. The weight lifting will keep you from losing muscle along with the fat. Unfortunately, we can't build much muscle while dieting. That requires a calorie surplus.

Here is a link that might be useful: Adding muscle while losing fat

Hi Marita! That soup sounds lovely. I've found that buying one of those deli chickens (pre-cooked) once a week helps me out a lot. Get it home, de-bone it, stick the carcass in for stock, and I have a nice soup base for the week as well as ready protein if I need some quickly with little/no preparation. I also sometimes cook an extra steak, cube it, and eat small portions with my breakfasts during the week.

Also, I chop a bunch of carrots/celery/jicama and keep them in the fridge for easy disbursement/snacking. If I don't have to chop them when I'm hungry I'm more apt to reach for them than something high in calories.

Thanks Harold. What you wrote makes sense, but some guy at the guy was telling me weights are better for women. I dunno. I just try to keep doing different machines so I don't get bored/muscles don't get overworked.

Ok, here's another one :)

Are lots of reps at low weight better or fewer reps at high weight? I've heard it both ways. Low weight, more reps build lean muscle... and I've heard high weight, fewer reps get the muscles into the "burn zone".

Can you tell I've never really done this before?

Hi, Silver.

I'm not much of an expert on weight lifting - don't do much myself, but I have done some reading about it. In order to gain any strength you have to put some stress on your muscles. That means lifting relatively heavy weights. If you can do more than about 10 or 12 reps, it's too light. It's the same idea as cardio exercise where if you want to get a conditioning effect, you have to push yourself and get a little bit out of breath.

Some women are afraid if they lift heavy weights they'll get all bulked up like a man. That doesn't happen - you don't have the hormones for that unless you are on steroids or something.

Although you can't build muscle mass to any extent while dieting, you can get a bit stronger due to neural adaptation.

Glad to see you back Harold. I've missed you.

I weighed this morning but seem to be on a plateau. Still at 155 but that is a lot better than the 192 I was at, thanks to prednisone, partly.

Even though the cardiologist says I don't need to lose more, I would like to lose at least 5 pounds and preferably 10.

I think I need to go out and really binge for a day and confuse my metabolism. Maybe it would start to burn more then. I don't think I'll do that though. I've lost a lot of my cravings for sweets and that might just triggr them again. Trying to count the Vitamin K units while also counting calories complicates things but is well worth the effort.

Thank you Harold! My DH is afraid I'll "bulk up". Yesterday I did fewer reps with heavier weight and it felt better. I was doing three sets of twenty reps, yesterday I did three of ten.

My pants feel looser. 140 again this morning, but 141.5 at the gym yesterday afternoon (post cardio/pre weights).

I'm wondering what I should be doing different. Maybe I should increase my calories too Iva. Yesterday I only had about 950 calories (I aim for 1200) but I was trying to shrink my belly a bit (the inside, not the outside :) I felt great though, and drank a lot of water.

I read an article that says when fat leaves the fat cells are filled with water, then "whoosh" out later and more noticeable weight loss is achieved.

Planning another afternoon at the gym if I can today. Otherwise just going running with DD. Have a great day everyone!!

Ivamae, 155 sounds good to me!

I'm glad this thread started back up. Just found out from a fellow Weight Watcher member that our meetings are in jeopardy. Apparently, too many members have reached lifetime and don't have to pay, and they are requiring that 20 members be paying members. Unfortunately, I'm still not at goal, so they are getting my money. I called the corporate office to ask that they keep the meetings going, that it seems against WW principles to punish people for meeting their goal.

I've been doing WW for a little over a year, and weighed 158.8 this a.m. on my home scales, a far cry from the 221.8 I weighed in January, 2009. To make it work, I have to have help in being accountable, and that is where WW helped me so. Now, it may be you guys that I lean on!

Sorry to hear that Wodka. I find accountability helped me a lot last year ~ I owe my successes to hard work (HW) and HWW (Harold's Weekly Weigh-in). I thought, if this brave man can come on a predominantly female site and post his stats... what's stopping me?

silversword, maybe that is part of my problem. I used to drink a lot of water and I know that I haven't been consuming nearly as much. I'll try to increase it. I, too, try for 1200 calories a day and find that is plenty if it includes some snacks. I tried Harold's idea of having some walnuts. I find that is great, too and not too many calories, either. I can't eat many raw veggies because of the Viamin K count but the walnuts are O.K. for that as well.

I do think that consuming too few calories is not a good idea because, I do feel that the metablism does slow down, accordingly.

All the best to everyone.

ivamae

I'm so happy that this posting has started up again. I for one need to report to someone and even after I reach my goal, I know that if I don't report that it will gradually creep back again. I know that from previous experience.

" I for one need to report to someone and even after I reach my goal, I know that if I don't report that it will gradually creep back again. I know that from previous experience."

Me too Iva. I learned that the hard way. DH: "oh you can have just one". Yeah... LOL.

I like nuts. But I can't eat just a few!!!

I'm a little bit overwhelmed by all the praise. I don't think I deserve it, but it makes me feel good. I agree with everybody that said this group is a big help. Thanks to everybody that kept me honest last year. Silver, you are doing a great job as our leader. We can call it the Silversword Weekly Weigh-in (SWW).

You deserve every bit of praise you get Harold, and so does silversword.

Just checking in on Thursday. I've done well over the last couple days and am feeling good. Trying to eat salmon for dinner two times a week, and I came across a good bargain at Target this week for wild caught salmon filets so stocked up. What do you all eat for breakfast? I really like old fashioned oatmeal with fruit. I think I'll try Irish oatmeal next time I need to shop for it. By the way, where are you all located? I'm in Minnesota. We are enjoying the most beautiful and long spring ever!

Marita, I'm having a good week, too. I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I love fish, and try to eat it at least once a week. For breakfast I eat the original Fiber One cereal with fresh blueberries, and sometimes switch to oatmeal.

Our spring is gorgeous here, too. I'm hoping it lasts a while longer, because summers get so hot and humid here. For the longest time I blamed part of my weight gain on Katrina - we lost our home and everything in it. Along the way I lost my dad, then my sister, to cancer; it was a horrible time and I ate my way through it. Until one day I decided I could either continue my non-existent, unhealthy, numbing lifestyle, and die an early death or I could start living the best life I can. Last night when I was thinking about our WW chapter closing, I realized that I am strong and can continue this healthy journey, and no one can do it for me. It will be nice to check in here and keep accountable (and not pay $40 a month to do so. ha.)

Have a great weekend, everyone.

@ Harold: You do deserve it. Your conviction and dedication to your health was tangible and contagious and your willingness to help the rest of us and have a consistently good attitude was inspiring :)

@Marita: I'm in S. California. I try to eat meat in the morning. Leftover steak or chicken and my carbs for the day. Lately I've been eating a veggie burger for breakfast. It's easy, quick and delicious. Oatmeal and cereal don't stick with me long enough. I like my egg breakfast too:

Four egg whites: 64 calories
1 C Spinach: 7 cal
1/2 C chicken (or steak/pork/whatever leftover meat I have from dinner the night before!!): 116 cal
1/4 C tomato: 8 cal
1/8 C feta cheese: 50 cal
1/8 C onion: 8 cal

Total: 253 calories

I saute the onion in some spray olive oil (0 cal!!), then put in the spinach and chicken until warm and just barely wilted, add the tomato and egg whites, and fold until cooked. Then put the feta on top (I use Spike seasoning) and let sit for a few minutes until the feta kind of melts.

That leaves plenty for a slice of toast, some fruit slices, etc. And it's a LOT of food for so few calories.

But meat chunks, cheese chunks, bread chunks in the morning are good too. It gives me good energy and fills me up, and I can kind of much for a few hours on that. I don't eat at home, I can't eat in the early morning, so I pack my breakfast and eat at work.

This morning it's two scoops of chocolate protein powder 260 cal with one frozen banana 80 cal and 1/4 cup plain yogurt 38 cal. Total 378. Kind of a lot, but it's in two containers so I can ration it out for a meal/snack.

I love fish too. Costco has great frozen fish (mahi, salmon) and I can just defrost one piece at a time. They also have good salmon patties- quick protein, low calories.

Wodka, I can't imagine losing my home, community, way of life let alone dad and sister. I'm so sorry for your loss. I have empathy... I gained 10 lbs from July 09-March 10 after losing 28lbs from Feb 09 - June 09 with HWW :). I blamed it on the heat, losing my grandpa, family issues, etc...

So, I've taken pro-active measures. I joined a gym (combating the heat issue) and am focusing more on strength than weight loss this time. Strong body, strong mind. I'm glad you joined us!! Use that $40 for a gym membership (and still have $$ left over!) or join some club that makes you feel good about yourself. It's easy for me to care about me and take care of me if I'm feeling good emotionally :)

Have a great day everyone!!!

Marita, for breakfast I usually have rolled oats. I have to cut a whole banana into it to make it taste any good. I never see the steel cut oats in the stores around here. If I would I might try it.

Sometimes I'll have a microwaved egg on whole wheat toast, maybe with a piece of ham or bacon. Eggs are very nutritious, and don't really raise your cholesterol as they used to think.

I live in the Pittsburgh area. We got hit with the big Snowmageddon storm in February, but we weren't in the direct path and "only" got 2 feet. I got quite a bit of snow shoveling exercise, then later got some more exercise putting up some gutters that the ice pulled down. Can't complain about the weather now, though.

Wodka, glad to see you made it through all that misery and are taking control of your diet. Don't worry about the Weight Watchers, we'll keep an eye on you.

Thanks, Harold and silversword - I'm glad to be here!