Well I went from around 3000 calories a day to 1500. I didnt realize all the junk I was putting into my body. I eat healthy choice meals during the week for lunch. Im eating alot of fat free cottage cheese,wheat thins,green peppers and pretzels for snacks. I use Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com to look up nutrition info.
I go to the gym 4-5 times a week for cardio. I do weight training at home(because I dont want people watching me lol) and I do my abs. I know they have to be somewhere under all my chub. I LOVE ExerciseTV - Online and Video on Demand for fitness, sport training and motivation.
I do the 10 10 10 Fat Burning video everyday. I use heavier weights than they say though.I love this article.
The 29 Healthiest Foods on the Planet
The 29 Healthiest Foods on the Planet

Hope that helps : )

Aw, thanks!!! Cooking is a hobby of mine. Now I just have to re-learn a lot so that I can be healthy about it! I saw that video that you posted of the chicken parmesan and it looks like such a healthier way to do it. When I would make it I would dip the chicken in egg and breadcumbs and fry it. The no-frying and the croutons are such a good idea. I think I'll make that soon. I might go one step further and get the low fat mozzarella and eat it without pasta this time and just bake some fresh asparagus. mmm. Glad you posted that recipe!

Hi Lea,
Thanks for the websites I added them to my favorites so I can use them often. Sounds like you are doing some pretty hefty exercise. I better get moving so I can catch up! I have my ol' faithful Cindy Crawford workout that I've been working out to since I was in the 6th grade! I want to join a gym but I'm embarassed to even walk in there. I keep telling myself that once I am down to 200 then I will join. Silly, I know.

I have been working out alot to get healthy but its also me time. When I go to the gym its just me and I can relax(well sweat and work hard) but I feel relaxed after the fact.I felt the same way about the gym, but I joined anyway. You could always join a curves. I go to club fitness and I LOVE it. There are all types of people at mine. 100 lbs 140 lbs 200lbs 300 lbs and even larger. Everyone is so nice and I dont feel like the fat girl. They give a free training session. They show you how to use the machines and what workouts to do for your body type. They talk about nutrition and they go over and tweak your diets. I'd for sure check out club fitness. Free classes free, baby sitting, and I pay 20 bucks a month for me and my hubby. We will be in swimsuits in no time lol

Today was good! I weighed in 2 pounds less than yesterday. Always a nice motivator. I'm back at 225. I can't wait to be 219, and 200, and 180, and 150, and maybe 130 again one day. This is so much fun. Seriously. I feel so motivated and challenged. I am getting my health back. And my life.

-Today I did 10 minutes of lunges, stretches, squats, and jumping...I don't have a rope yet so I know I must have looked the fool.

-I did 100 crunches total. I did a couple different kinds:

-Legs crossed (Indian style)- these work the lower stomach muscles.


-One leg crossed(Bend the left knee with foot on the floor. Cross your right leg over the left leg where the right ankle is touching the left knee. Then you put the opposite arm behind your head and the other arm at your side or on your stomach and crunch toward the knee. Hope that's not too confusing.)

-Then switched the leg and arm from above and did the same thing.

-Did about 30 regular crunches

5 full sit ups. Not much, but I was shocked that I could still do this at all. It took all I had to just do those 5!

I did 5 "girl" push ups and 5 with my hands turned in. (surprised I could still do a few of those too) I'm going to work my way up to more as time goes on.

Hand weights for about 10 min. (8 pounds each)

I'd like to do a bit of walking on the treadmill tonight. That would top off my day.




Food journaling:

I was not hungry at all this morning. I know it's bad to skip breakfast but I just couldn't force myself. I'm putting the times of when I ate today, since it was sort of all over the place.

11:45- sm. bowl of leftover homemade veggie beef soup(2 sm. pieces of beef, half a c. of veggies) . A couple of bites of frozen Kashi Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Saved the rest in the fridge 'cause I was full. (I think I'm getting the hang of this) Drink: ice water with a lemon

12:30-Ate the rest of my Kashi Sweet and Sour chicken (19 grams of protein!) and a few crumbles of feta cheese. I was still hungry, so I at half of a peanut butter banana sandwich(1 tbl. of pb and half a nana)<--(more protein) Drink: 1 and a half c. of 1% milk.

3:45-Felt famished after working out, so I ate dinner way early. 2 pieces of cranberry bread with 1 tbs.peanut butter, fresh blueberries, and half of a banana. A c. and a half of "Basic 4" cereal with blueberries with a c. of milk.

I'm full! I hope I didn't overdo it today. Very satisfied though and don't think I'll be hungry later.

Hey pastel, I went and checked out your albums. GO you, I hadn't even figured out how to do that yet, lol. You are so pretty at any weight Did you see the before, during & after section yet? Lots of encouraging success stories and alot of people start pics their before they hit their goal. Anyway thanks so much for coming by and checking on me on my journal page. I may be MIA after this weekend though for a week or so while moving and waiting for them to reconnect the cable. Apparently they're booked up until mid July ;/ Guess I'll have to go exercise instead of sittin my bum at the computer, lol

Yeah, I think they just added the options for albums, because I didn't see them when I first joined. I could have just overlooked them though....Thank you for the compliment I saw the "before,during and after" and am sooo amazed and inspired by it all. I will get the courage to post pics up there soon.
So, are you moving out of state or just moving to a diff. house? That's exciting!

We're moving from our apartment in a very busy area and moving into our first home on a peaceful dead end street It's still in the same town and not far away but the difference I'm sure is going to be amazing...and yay I can do gardening again

Congrats on your new home!!!!!!! YAY!! I LOVE to garden too! When I have some time(and when I'm at my home computer) I'll make an album of my yard What do you like to plant? I love planting herbs in pots and I now have a lemon tree, and two peach trees..amongst other things like ginger, hibiscus, jasmine, lavender.... Gardening is such a great activity and to go out there to weed is an exercise in itself!

Another pound down! yippeee! 224 lbs. this morning.

Happy 4th of July! I hope I don't ruin everything today with all the food everywhere. So far so good though.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs (1 egg and 1 egg white, half a piece of reduced fat american cheese) 2 pieces of double fiber wheat bread-Nature's Own. 2 tbls. of spreadable land of lakes butter. Handful of fresh blueberries. 1 and a half c. of 1% milk.

Snack: wheat crackers and homemade avacado dip. (Avacados, fresh lemon juice, red onion, cherry tomatoes, tabasco sauce, garlic, and salt. YUM!)

Dinner:Half of a bbq hamburger patty with half cheddar cheese slice. lettuce and tomatoes. No bun. 1 bbq hot dog with chilli, mustard,mayo, and ketchup and a bun. brown rice with peas,cherry tomatoes,olives and red onion, Drink: Ice water and a lemon. few sips of strawberry abita beer and a sip of a zombie.

I skipped out on all of the snacks and coke, cookies and chips and ice cream and alcohol, and all the other junk. I still had an amazing time and didn't feel deprived at ALL. Not even a little.

OH! And to celebrate my 10 pound loss, I went clothes shopping and got a new pair of jeans, some work-out shorts, and three pair of shoes! I went down a size in jeans! wooohoo!

I lost another pound...the day after the 4th of July ....am I in the Twilight Zone or what?! (Anybody watch the Twilight Zone marathon (Sci-fi channel) on the Fourth and on New Years? It's become a family tradition for us )

Down to 223 pounds. That's 5 pounds lost in 8 days. Is this too fast or is this normal?

My activity level has sky rocketed and so has my energy. I feel so much better about myself even though I can't tell a huge difference in any weight loss. It's nice to let my muscles play a valuable role in my body again! I am so sore from all the lunges and situps but it sure beats feeling lazy.

Hey Lea, I must have overlooked your post, because I just read it. I'm going to see if we have a club fitness in our area...sounds like an awesome place to be. We do have a curves in the next town and there is a fitness place (Cajun Fitness) 5 min. down the road from my house, so I really don't have any excuses!

So I decided to take some pictures of my flab. I wasn't planning on posting them but I talked myself into it. I don't want to post them in the "before during and after" thread until I have a few "during, and after" shots. Oh, and I can't even blame the stretch marks on having a baby because I got them before I was even pregnant. boooo!

Here are some links:

http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/k...th4life012.jpg

http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/k...th4life013.jpg

These were taken today (July 5th, 2008) at 223 pounds and size 20 jeans (I can fit in a size 18 Flirt jeans (Stretch) from Old Navy. I haven't found the perfect jeans yet. My legs are skinny compared to my tummy. I'm like a tomato with toothpicks. Well, maybe not toothpicks...that's being a bit nice!

Hey Kristi ~

You are doing great. I haven't reached the point yet where I can share my pictures with the world. I can hardly stand to look at them myself! Girl, you're braver than I am.

I look forward to sharing ideas with you. Being from Louisiana you know the food issues we have to deal with down here, everything thing starts with a fatty roux!

your pal,
GRITS

Thanks for the encouragement, Grits! I almost didn't post them. I knew that if I did I would really be signing on the dotted line and committing to this. I guess I was afraid to do that. I almost feel better now that I did!


Exactly!!! I cooked gumbo the other night and I've only had a measured out CUP of it! Tonight, while my family was eating the leftovers, I was having a sandwich on fiber bread! But I'm not going to complain. No way! I am happy that I've seen some results and I am going to stick to this! Thanks again for encouraging me and I hope I can do the same for you. *hug!*