What's a "Larabar"? Do you mean Luna Bar?

Mmmmh, Stir-Fry! 1500 CALORIES IS REALLY LOW, (whoops CAPLOCK) I think you shall see 184 sooner than you think--don't give up at all, girlfriend, stay strong!!! Please keep doing what you're doing and the weight will melt off!! Stick with us!!!

I agree with Valerie, not only does that stir-fry sound amazing, but you're doing a great job. You must stick it out, I started exactly where you are right now. You are going to lose the fat if you keep doing what you are doing Don't worry!

Yay, thanks! I got on the scale this morning and it said 185. I'm glad to see that number again.

Yesterday I neglected to go to the gym. I don't think it was out of laziness. I think it was because it was just so hot and muggy yesterday. I know it probably didn't get over 93 or 94 here but no one has AC unless you go to a mall or something of that sort.
So instead of going to the gym, I went and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Dangerous, huh? Well it turns out they started a new line of salads which are all under 590 calories. So I got one and it was super delicious! I was amazed. It also turns out that they started selling their salad dressings by the jar, so I was able to get my favorite vinegarette. Yum!

I think I'll start with another bowl of cheerios and some more blueberries this morning. Thats been fairly satisfying.

Valerie, there are some yummy bars out there by a company named Larabar. They aren't wildly low in calories but they taste pretty good. I think you can probably find them at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or Organic Food Depot (my favorite store).

Larabar Website

Thanks again, Valerie and lukewarm. I really appreciate the support.

Why does weight loss have to be so hard?

Because we are superior, efficient beings. Our bodies are made to store energy for famine, and provides mechanisms for when we consume too little, to hold on to that energy (fat)

Unfortunately our lifestyles don't require it, and popular aesthetics dictates a body that would not have lasted though any sort of food shortage!

^ That's a great reply!

I think this might be the most difficult thing I've ever had to do, not because I'm so lazy that exercising and eating right is practically impossible, but because this entire process demands extreme dedication and determination. We're really becoming better people who have the opportunity to be in control of their lives. I love that idea. It's hard but it's worth it. I like that we all remind each other why we're doing all this work.

I guess efficiency is good... but its rather inconvenient when I love food and I don't want to eat only the calories I need. Oh well..

185 this morning. I'm glad I didn't lose it. Last week I did and it took me a whole week to see that number again. I know its not about the number, but until my clothes start fitting better, its all I've got to see progress with.

I've been good about going to the gym and keeping it up to at least three times a week. Last week I went through a horrible few days of just feeling completely low energy. I was going to bed at night and waking up in the morning, feeling like I hadn't gone to sleep yet. At least I got some solid shut-eye this week.

I know I haven't been posting my food as much. I've been terribly busy. I need to start doing that again.

Breakfast:
Today I started with starbucks. Ooops... I know thats not healthy but I forgot to eat breakfast and I have to have my coffee or my brain just won't work! I got the usual non-fat iced drink (super light on all the sugary stuff) and waited to eat until lunch.

Lunch:
Salad! Sweet yellow pepper, garbanzo beans, red onion, a little grilled chicken, a little couscous, and chopped zucchini over a bed of yummy mix baby greens. I topped it with a tablespoon of vinaigrette dressing. Delicious!

This salad is absolutely delightful and I can give anyone the ingredient amounts for a good low-cal salad if they want it.

Breakfast & Lunch Totals
490 calories, 10 grams fat, 65 carbs, 35 grams protein


A little low for now being 4:31pm... Does it matter if I make up the 1000 calories I still need to eat in one meal?

You'll be all right!

I realized I never really introduced myself like I was supposed to in the forums.. So I guess anyone who reads my diary will know who I am.

My name is Sunny. I'll be 25 this year and I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not. I'm still having trouble believing I'm in my 20s. About five years ago, I started gaining weight (while I was in college). I was eating what ever was around at the time, including late night runs to fast food, and not being nearly as active as I should have been. What can I say?! I studied a lot and I don't study well while running I guess.

Where the weight loss began....

One day... I woke up and discovered I hated who I was. I didn't like who I had been dating for about a year. And I realized I was fat (5'8" and 217lbs). So I cried. Thats what any sensible woman would do, right? The end of the relationship was the first step in losing weight. I stopped going out to eat all the time and started eating less. I also discovered I was less stressed. Ever date someone that totally stressed you out?! I'm sure I was depressed after the break-up, but not in a way that made me eat food. I just wasn't enjoying food like I did before. Eventually I got over it.

Now, my reason for losing weight is completely vein and not health based at all. I just want to look good! I guess maybe that contributes to mental health..

I don't remember what else I was supposed to mention in the original introduction. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!

- Sunny

Hi Sunny! Sounds like a good reason to me.....Who in the heck says "well, I could look better...but, naw, I don't wanna"????

Hey Sunny - love the name When my relationship ended for the last time - heh hehe heh - it was my trigger to start focusing on myself and loosing weight...I have a pretty stressful life as it is but it is less stressful with out the x in it...I also wanna loose my weight to stick it to my x and that is actually in my gym membership - ha ha ha - i mean Im loosing it for me and the girls but I want to show him what he left behind as well - heh heh heh...

Anyway thanx for introducing yourself

Cym and Cinderelly,

Thanks for stopping in. I really appreciate it!

Ending a relationship was the golden ticket to starting weight loss. Losing some "emotional baggage" really helped me shed some "physical baggage". Amazing how that worked...

• Cinderelly, is that your little girl I see in your pic? She's cute!
  
• Cym, how do you eat so many veggies and not want to scream?

I need to go figure out my food status for the day and come back with a post. I've been slipping on that pretty badly.

-Sunny

(184 today. I can't believe it. I thought my scale was broken for sure).

So here's the food for today

Breakfast:

• 3 blueberry pancakes (no butter, no syrup)
• 1 protein shake (made with ice and water)
• 1/2 cup 2% Milk

Snack:

• 1 Starbucks Grande Iced Non-fat 1pump vanilla caramel machiatto
• 2 pieces beef jerky

Lunch/Early Dinner:
1 Salad, Containing:

• 4 cups mixed baby greens
• 3/4 cup couscous
• 1/4 cup garbanzo beans
• 1/2 yellow pepper
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 75 grams chicken breast
• 2Tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
  

After Dinner Snack:

• 1/2 low fat beef hotdog
• 1/2 plain pancake

Totals today come to about:
1388 calories, 45 grams fat, 163 carbs, 79 protein

I'll probably have a small snack here in a little bit to bring me up to about 1500 calories.

Today's Exercise:
Gardening! Remember my excursion with the gardening last time and the 3 hours it took to dig a few holes? Well, I did it again. This time I got a pretty good tool to help me break up the soil. While I was digging around, I came across a large rock that was completely in the way. So I excavated what turned out to be a 15-20lb rock out of my front lawn. Just for fun, I decided to give the small boulder a toss and it bounced. My dirt is so hard that the damn rock bounced! No wonder the grass struggles.... I'm trying to remember this place is just a rental.
Fitday seems to think I burned about 454 calories in the whole event. I don't know how acurate that is, but it did take almost 2 hours to dig a few holes, excavate some boulders, and plant some lavender.

- Sunny

(Sunny has a sunburn.... )

Oh my gosh. Blueberry pancakes. Oh my. You have it right Sunny, no butter no syrup, but still have a treat and fit it into the calories. Good for you! Also that salad sounds fantastic. Please quit making me hungry. Great job on the gardening...I really wish I had a yard...even a little one would be nice! Hope you're having a nice night

lukewarm, at some point I really need to post some good salad recipes on here. Some of my friends say they never know what to put in a salad and they seem to think I'm just full of new ideas on the matter. I'll start posting my yummy salads in their full recipe form, I think.