Congratulations on the 2.2 pounds loss and the 2 centimeter waist reduction. Brilliant achievements which are well worth celebrating!

It is great to see that you are keeping up with your exercise levels. Activity has certainly made the biggest of differences for me and I know that it will be doing so for you.

It is great that you are adopting (or trying to adopt) as many nutritional aims from challenges etc. Our bodies certainly do appreciate it if we can take our calories from a healthy balanced diet.

Absolutely! Thanks for the kind words Margaret!

It's so cool, I've found ways to make my food super tasty and still stay within my calories.... Mmmmm had 2 cups of yogurt (greek style) for a treat... yumm!

I love my life right now! All thanks to all your support and my own commitment!!!

Ciao for now!

It is great when you discover really healthy food that helps you lose weight and tastes brilliant too. I remember when I had the first pear in literally years and I thought "this tastes so yummy and sweet, counts as part of my 5 a day, and contains all that fibre - why havent I been eating these all the time". I absolutely adore sugar free jelly - yummy, sweet, low calorie and actually contains a small amount of protein.

Greek yoghurt is brilliant. Great with fruit - or if you want to spend the calories - do as they do in Greece and have some honey in it.

Ooo, honey... I usually factor in 4 tsps of sugar a day if I want it, I think I'll do the honey thing, hmmmm!

Well, I think my week has been fairly successful... Here's a brewakdown of each area:

Calories:

Only went over my calorie range (1400 - 1700) on 1 day this week. I reached the top on two days and the other days were all nicely moderate.

Exercise:

Will have all 3 of my runs by tonight, and stepped up the pace yesterday! Got in 2 full body weight sessions.

Fibre, Water, etc:

Got in an average of enough fiber (too little on 2 days). Did really well with water and veggies and fruit!

Gotta go now, see y'all next week!

You're doing great, and I'm glad to hear youre happy!

I agree - you are doing great.

Pears are wonderful. They count as part of your 5 a day. They are really good for fibre too.

Keep up the fantastic work, Anke! That's quite an overhaul you've done and I'm glad you are making your new decisions solid habits.

Thanks for all your messages!

I am going to a wholesale butcher which is right next to a wholesale fruit and veg place which is right next to a seafood place as well... that's where I'm gonna try get most of my food from for the month... going shopping at those places later this week... really excited (I'm pretty broke, so any excuse to shop, even for groceries, makes me giggle with glee )

Yes, I'm so glad I discovered pears... nice change from apples... plus the fiber, whoohoo!

Tonight I want to go to this dance fitness class at the gym... looked fun last week, and I figure it can only help with the belly dancing!

Dance fitness sounds like fun. I forgot to ask the other day, what is Greek Yogurt? Is it plain yogurt?

Have fun today, sounds like you have a great day planned

Oh well, ended up not going to gym last night. My boyfriend is home alone this week (his parents are away) and he gave me those puppy eyes (over the phone! how does he do it??)

...so I stayed at his place last night. Buuut, I went to swim at the gym this morning before work... also sat in the sauna for a while, but I think it was set too hot because I came out with red, blotchy areas on my arms and legs!!?? (I did go complain!)

After work I'll go for my weigh in with my weight loss club (every tuesday!), then I'm going for a run and some resistance training at the gym, then it's belly dancing class... then off to my puppy-eyed boyfriend's place again.

Purpleshirt! Greek yogurt is plain yogurt, but it seems to be really rich, thick, smooth and creamy... luxurious really! As far as I can tell it's not double cream or anything... it's nutritional info is generally the same as yogurt made with whole milk. So ye, love having it now and then!

It sounds like your doing really good. You have great food choices and exercise routine!

I've wanted to attempt belly dancing for such a long time. I've been looking over videos I could order on Ebay. I just do not have the time or money for lessons. And dancing while other people can watch me is very intimidating. I feel so clumsy. My friends pulled me out to do the damn Macarena (among others) during a wedding I went to in the middle of June, and someone snapped a picture of me-- the expression on my face is priceless: I look like I am about to kill someone. I'm just too self-conscious to dance.

Hey Anke, I just wanted to say hi. You're food diaries read like a fancy menu, lol. I had to stop drooling a few times as I was reading. I visited your pics thread today and you are so pretty, gratz on the pounds you've lost so far and good job sticking with it.

Thanks! I've really been trying to consciously change my habits every day... slowly but surely it's sinking in!

Hey! The belly dancing is amazingly fun... and you should be pretty well co-ordinated with all the hectic exercise... shouldn't be too hard to get into... Just read belly dancers' reviews on DVDs to get though, there's a LOT of bad stuff out there... Oh, and any "real" belly dancer will tell you if you want to really learn the dance you WILL need classes... DVDs don't do!

On the other hand, I'm all for making use of free information, so find some stuff on youtube (WARNING: NOT ALL GOOD!) and get a few DVDs... if you like it, consider getting classes. You can go to Belly Dancing -- Art Of Middle Eastern Dance -- Bellydancing in Iowa City for general info and reviews... it links to many other good sites too. Have fun!!!

Hehe, I'm always drooling through everyone elses food descriptions on here... stay AWAY from the recipe section unless you are really looking for a recipe!!!

Thanks for the compliment! I have really been riding the waves as I go along... whenever I felt I wasn't sticking with it I'd just get right back on the wagon at the next meal. Consistency, aaaargh, such a bitch, but so worth it!

Well guys.... I went to my weekly weigh in yesterday... Even after finishing an entire lemon meringue pie to myself on Sunday, I lost 3.5 pounds! I am into the 180's! Hooorraaayyyy!

I really believe it's the exercise saving my ass this week... it seems with a bit of momentum and consistency, you can ride out a few treats with no ill effects!!!! I am over the moon!

Also reviewed my measurements after about 11 weeks last night, and I've lost 4 inches around my butt, 4 around my hips and 1-3 around my waist, thighs and breasts. Woohoo!!!!