Motivation Pls! Weight-loss Journey

Originally Posted by Draco

I get great recipes from Sparkpeople, and I love their trackers. I use the blog frequently and I love the supporting comments I get

Winchester, I didn't know there's groups here on TCS! Great idea

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I didn't know it right away either, but there are quite a few.

I added some recipes to the Weight Loss group....they're all light recipes, but they're delicious!

Originally Posted by Winchester

I didn't know it right away either, but there are quite a few.

I added some recipes to the Weight Loss group....they're all light recipes, but they're delicious!

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Oh excellent! Thanks!

Lost almost 2 pounds between yesterday and today. Finally. Probably because I didn't do the bad snacking that sometimes occurs in the evening.

ETA: those recipes look AMAZING. I am SOOOO excited!

Hi guys, I joined the group, I'm definitely interested in losing about 20 pounds!

How do I manually find the groups page? I can't find the link to it?

Originally Posted by Draco

How do I manually find the groups page? I can't find the link to it?

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Try User CP, under Miscellaneous

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Try User CP, under Miscellaneous

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not there?

I see:

Miscellaneous
Event Reminders
Paid Subscriptions

not even under "Quick links". huh.

I think you can do a makeshift weight watchers on the cheap on your own.

Just go to the healthy frozen food section and buy tons and tons of frozen foods on sale, add up the calories to see how many you can eat per day (probably 4-5) and then just grab a thick black magic marker and write M-1 or T-3 for Monday 1st meal or Tuesday 3rd meal etc on the box. Voila, perfect calorie control on a balanced diet.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

I think you can do a makeshift weight watchers on the cheap on your own.

Just go to the healthy frozen food section and buy tons and tons of frozen foods on sale, add up the calories to see how many you can eat per day (probably 4-5) and then just grab a thick black magic marker and write M-1 or T-3 for Monday 1st meal or Tuesday 3rd meal etc on the box. Voila, perfect calorie control on a balanced diet.

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Not so simple - if you had done weight watchers in the past, you'd know it gets more complicated then that.
The points system takes in consideration the fiber contents and calories. If I am not mistaken, it does take in consideration fats too. The more fiber the food has, in proportion to the calorie contents, the less points it has. It is not only counting calories. There are empty calories, there are good calories - it is more about portion control and eating healthy foods.

Well, yeah, its not exactly the same but similar. Most of healthy choice, lean cuisine, smart ones, etc boxes are pretty healthy balanced meals if you get a variety of choices. But that's true you can subtract fiber from carb calories, since its not digested.

Just an idea for peeps on a budget.

I thought I'd throw in what weight loss method worked for me. I started gaining weight after I had our daughter because my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and hypothyroidism kicked in. I gained 40 lbs. in two years. My metabolism went down to almost nothing and my doctor was amazed that I hadn't gained much more, but I've always been pretty good about what I eat.

I've lost 47lbs. so far, it wasn't quick but I wasn't gaining any more, either! I also went through menopause (where most women gain weight) while still losing weight.

Here's what I do: I eat like people did 100 years ago while living on farms.

That's basically it. They didn't eat packaged and processed foods, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, highly refined sugars and flours and oils. I eat as much as I want of meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, butter, cheese, honey, maple syrup, and whole grains. I'd drink milk if I could find it raw.

Weight Watcher's core diet is very similar from what I've heard. Back-to-basics is good!

Pre-made packaged meals..(smart ones, etc) just makes me gag. I hate using my microwave for it isn't exactly safe to heat anything in plastic anyways. Plus.. the sodium count is usually rediculously high to preserve the food!! They may say it's "healthy" but not for a daily meal! I haven't had those since I stopped working at Macy's 8 years ago!

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

I thought I'd throw in what weight loss method worked for me. I started gaining weight after I had our daughter because my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and hypothyroidism kicked in. I gained 40 lbs. in two years. My metabolism went down to almost nothing and my doctor was amazed that I hadn't gained much more, but I've always been pretty good about what I eat.

I've lost 47lbs. so far, it wasn't quick but I wasn't gaining any more, either! I also went through menopause (where most women gain weight) while still losing weight.

Here's what I do: I eat like people did 100 years ago while living on farms.

That's basically it. They didn't eat packaged and processed foods, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, highly refined sugars and flours and oils. I eat as much as I want of meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, butter, cheese, honey, maple syrup, and whole grains. I'd drink milk if I could find it raw.

Weight Watcher's core diet is very similar from what I've heard. Back-to-basics is good!

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Another rule of thumb that helps with that, is...buy stuff from the "outside" of the store...stuff around the "edges" is usually the fruits, meats, seafood, grains. Stay away from the icky inside aisles. LOL

Also, if you go out to eat, cut your meal in half right away, and only eat half. They always give you soooo much. Take the other half for lunch tomorrow.

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Another rule of thumb that helps with that, is...buy stuff from the "outside" of the store...stuff around the "edges" is usually the fruits, meats, seafood, grains. Stay away from the icky inside aisles. LOL

Also, if you go out to eat, cut your meal in half right away, and only eat half. They always give you soooo much. Take the other half for lunch tomorrow.

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I never thought of it that way, but that is so right. Since DH and I started eating healthy, we have hardly ventured anywhere but the "edges".
One thing that we do while grocery shopping is read labels and see if there are ingredients that we cannot pronounce or do not understand - we avoid them. It does not take much extra time for us since we know a lot of things that's "safe" already from earlier trips to the store but we have to do it for new things that we may want to try.

The sodium content of pre-packaged frozen food is just ridiculous. I'd rather avoid that. Though sometimes, just to change things up, and to avoid eating out, we bring home some frozen food from trader joe's but that's not often.

I really like sparkpeople since I can track my daily intake of most nutrients, including sodium and fiber.

One good thing about the "Edges" of the supermarkets.. it's a good walking exercise to walk all the way around! LOL

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

I thought I'd throw in what weight loss method worked for me. I started gaining weight after I had our daughter because my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and hypothyroidism kicked in. I gained 40 lbs. in two years. My metabolism went down to almost nothing and my doctor was amazed that I hadn't gained much more, but I've always been pretty good about what I eat.

I've lost 47lbs. so far, it wasn't quick but I wasn't gaining any more, either! I also went through menopause (where most women gain weight) while still losing weight.

Here's what I do: I eat like people did 100 years ago while living on farms.

That's basically it. They didn't eat packaged and processed foods, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, highly refined sugars and flours and oils. I eat as much as I want of meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, butter, cheese, honey, maple syrup, and whole grains. I'd drink milk if I could find it raw.

Weight Watcher's core diet is very similar from what I've heard. Back-to-basics is good!

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This is close to Core, although Core is not all you can eat. It is all you can eat in the "core list" - greens, for example. You don't count points, but it is certainly not all you can eat. Starchy vegetables are limited to one meal a day, and so are whole grains. Butter is a no - milk and yoghurt are fat free, so is the cheese. Meats are limited to lean cuts.... Oils are vegetable, olive, for example, and limited to 2 tbsp a day. Besides that all fat free dressings and margarine, mayo, etc.
Definitely easier if you stay within the "core list", but still have to watch quite a bit

Our grocery store (Giant, for the PA people here) offers pork tenderloin at Buy 1, Get 1 sometimes. When they do that, I buy one package and get the second one free. Tenderloins come two to a pack. I'll open the packages and freeze each tenderloin separately. That's four meals. Actually, most of the time, it's eight meals....DH and I are trying to have mostly vegetables on our plate with only a little meat, so a lot of times I'll even half the one tenderloin and save the other half for later in the week. So if I can get eight meals from something like that, it's well worth the price. We eat a lot of pork tenderloin.

Same with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Most of the breasts you buy today are huge....well over 10-12 ounces. Since a meat portion is about 4 ounces or so, we've been buying a pack of the breasts and freezing each one separately. We wrap each breast separately, then put the wrapped breasts in a freezer bag. When I use chicken breast, one breast is fine for both of us. With a package of six breasts, I can often get twelve meals. One breast, split in half, is enough for DH and me. Sometimes, when they're Buy 1, Get 1, we'll take advantage of that, too. It works when you have the freezer space to do this.

Sirloin steaks....I'll buy them, cut them, and freeze them in 5 or 6-oz portions. Most of the time when we use sirloin, it's sliced into strips for a quick stir-fry with lots of fresh broccoli, carrots, pineapple chunks, mushrooms, etc. Again, most of it is veggies. Sometimes I'll serve it over brown rice or some kind of rice or grains from Trader Joe's.

We have Meatless Mondays (and sometimes meatless other nights of the week, too). We tend to eat a lot of beans and lentils. Brown rice or wild rice only...we gave up white rice a long time ago. Sometimes I'll cook a bag of dried beans and freeze them in one or two-cup portions. Then all I have to do is get what I need for a recipe from the freezer....the long cooking part of already done, so I can even make bean soups and such on a weeknight.

I keep a good variety of breads, rolls, and muffins in the freezer. If you like to bake, take a Sunday and bake a bunch of muffins and such and freeze them. When you need a couple muffins to go with your soup, take them out of the freezer, wrap them in a paper towel, and nuke them in the microwave for about 20 seconds or so. Or wrap them in foil and reheat them in your oven. Why? Because you're only taking out what you need. One muffin for yourself. Just one. And because you made them, you know what's in them.

Same with soups and such. There are always containers of soup in the freezer. There are always casseroles in the freezer. I'll make a casserole, but split it in half, sometimes in thirds and freeze each dish. Our son says we could eat just from our freezer for about six months or so. Other than milk and water.

We also have a pantry in the basement now (that's where our pickles are!). I have cans of beans, tuna in water, tomatoes, extra condiments (Worcestershire, mustard, vinegars, etc.) and the like. I buy when they're on sale and I have coupons. If you've never tried fire-roasted tomatoes, you need to! Delicious!

I saute veggies and meats sometimes with broth or wine instead of butter or oil. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray and add a bit of your broth. It may take longer sometimes, but it's worth it.

A lot of times, I make my own salad dressings. They're low-fat and I think they taste better than the stuff you buy in stores.

I'm just not a big fan of the Lean Cuisine meals and stuff. Like somebody else said, the sodium content for a lot of those type of meals is unbelievable. If that's the only way you can do it, that's fine. But sooner or later, you're going to go back to other food and then you have to be really careful.

Why? Because you haven't trained yourself to really eat wisely. It's the same thing with Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, etc. Once you've lost the weight and you go off of those systems, you still have to eat. But you haven't learned how to prepare food, you haven't learned how to cook without using oils and butter. So once you're off those diets, a lot of times, the weight will come back.

Somebody told me one time, if you're an alcoholic, you can stay out of bars and you can stay away when your friends are drinking. If you're trying to quit smoking, you can stay away from your friends when they smoke. But darn it, even if you're trying to lose weight, you have to eat! And losing weight can be the most difficult thing for a lot of people. Food just tastes too good!

Now, I know that a lot of you are thinking...."Remind me never to go to your place for dinner. I'd starve to death!" For the most part, yes, we do tend to cook like this for ourselves. But you won't starve. Honest.

And not only are you losing weight, but you're also saving some money, too.

Winchester, I loved that post! Gave me some great ideas! I also bought some of the things to make the recipes in the weight loss group...I already have chicken, shrimp, and both kinds of sun dried tomatoes, so I bought feta, broccoli, and bow tie pasta and have 3 meals planned just like THAT. Yay. That is the hardest thing for me...thinking up what to make. Oh, and I have a neat recipe for fire roasted corn that has jalapeno and cilantro. I might add black beans and have that for a side! Yum!

Oh thank goodness! I was afraid you'd think I was just spouting off or lecturing. I'm not. I'm just really excited about doing things like this.

One of the easiest meals to make is to simply saute some chopped onions, chopped peppers, some sliced mushrooms, chopped broccoli, maybe some fresh chopped spinach, sliced zucchini, etc. all together in a pan. You can use some olive oil (we always have a lot of olive oil on hand now) or even some chicken broth. While you're sauting the veggies, cook a bit of whole wheat small pasta shells or maybe some penne. Have some sliced cherry tomatoes or halved grape tomatoes on your cutting board. Right before the veggies and the pasta are done, add the tomatoes to the veggies in the pan and stir until they're nice and warm. Drain and add the pasta to the pan. Sprinkle with dried herbs of your choice; we like oregano, basil, marjoram, crushed red pepper, whatever. Add just a wee bit of grated Parmesan, just a little. And you've got dinner. In what, about 30 minutes or so? If you want, add some sliced chicken or even some cooked shrimp to the mix. No recipe, just a little of this and a little of that. I always have an assortment of pastas in the cupboard.

Another thing I like to do for a bit of sauce for chicken or pork is to pour a bit of balsamic vinegar into the pan that I've sauteed the meat in. Simmer and let the vinegar reduce just a little bit, so that it's not real thin. Pour over the chicken. Balsamic vinegar is wonderful for all kinds of things. I love the Monari Federzoni Balsamic Vinegar of Modena....found in our grocery stores. And you don't have to keep it in your fridge...it's fine on a cupboard shelf. And there are very few calories in vinegars.

I always keep a good selection of vinegars on hand: balsamic, white balsamic, maple, apple cider, regular white, champagne, sherry, white wine, red wine, etc. It's amazing the things you can do with vinegar to add some flavor to a dish. I had a raspberry and fig vinegar that was outstanding just mixed with a little bit of olive oil for a salad dressing over greens. Used the bottle and I can't find anymore anywhere. I've looked.

Dijon mustard....you can use it for salmon, for chicken, for pork, for beef, and even for some veggies. I'm a big mustard hound; I just love the stuff.

Every single time I have a roasted chicken or turkey, I will make broth from the carcass and freeze it. The first time our son and DIL had the families together for Thanksgiving dinner, I was appalled that they didn't use the carcass for broth, for soup, for something. He threw it out! He came back inside the house, saw the look on my face and he knew. He just knew. The next year? He was out in the garage (that's where they do their turkey...in an electric roaster in the garage) and when he came inside, he had the carcass in a large white trash bag for me to take home to make broth. And I did. I got several quarts of good turkey broth for the freezer.

My MIL's cousin has a farm and they butcher cows in the fall. She always gives my MIL a huge trash bag of beef bones, which she graciously shares with me. I make broth from the bones by roasting the bones in the oven with quartered onions and other veggies. Cool it down, drain it all, and then cook it for broth for the freezer. I always end up buying canned broth, too, though, because we tend to use a lot of broth and I always run out. I will not use boullion cubes because of the salt. When a recipe calls for cubes and a liquid, I'll substitute broth for the amount of liquid in the recipe. That usually works.

One thing....I am not a cook. And I'll be the first one to admit that. I love to cook, though, and that helps. There are all kinds of things you can do to add flavor to foods without resulting to butter, cream, etc. And you have to eat; you can't get around that. Some things I read about and thought I'd try them. Others, I just tried them....just because I thought about it and wondered how it would work.

Originally Posted by Winchester

Now, I know that a lot of you are thinking...."Remind me never to go to your place for dinner. I'd starve to death!"

For the most part, yes, we do tend to cook like this for ourselves. But you won't starve. Honest.

And not only are you losing weight, but you're also saving some money, too.

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I'd be glad to come to your house. It sounds good!

The average restaurant meal has twice the calories it should. People are always shocked to learn that many cruise-ship meals are actually pretty healthy. The cruise companies are experts at portion control.

I learned very young that $5 buys very little steak, but a LOT of beans, and the beans are much healthier for you. And most Americans boil the life out of vegetables, too.

SO a little bit about my situation: I gained about 10-20 pounds while being unemployed in 3 months. I had so many job interviews, every single staffing agency out there wanted to interview me but many of them never even got me interviews with any companies, just kept me on file...Anyway all these interviews really drained the life out of me, it felt really stressful to have to try to perform at my very best each and every time while no results came out of it for a really long time...
I also eat whenever I'm stressed so that put me in a really bad position. I kept craving foods and after each interview I'd go and buy the foods I crave the most and eat them to calm down my nerves.

I knew I was gaining, but I didn't know what to do to stop myself, I was panicking. So, I got all these books to read like Overcoming Overeating and When Women stop hating their bodies- the Overcoming Overeating book made things worse for me!! Their whole idea was to "legalize" all foods and stock up on all the foods you love and start eating as much as you want, and eventually your body would recognize real hunger vs. mouth hunger....Well it's all a load of BS because I did all that and I'm pretty sure I owe the majority of my weight gain to that little experiment I did. I'm glad to say at least I've been maintaining my weight for the past month, so I got things under control but I just can't get myself to start losing!!

So, that's where I am right now. I'm happy I was even strong enough to write it all down, because up until this point I kept telling myself that I would lose 10 pounds quickly and forget this weight gain ever happened, so I was in denial about the fact that I'd have to live with myself, the way I am right now for at least a few months. I'd have to get up, go to work, and go about my day just as I am and I have to come to terms with it. It's really difficult because none of my old clothes fit, and finding new clothes is not as easy being 2 sizes bigger...

And, I bought a bridesmaids dress for my best friend's wedding in September, which will not fit me unless I lose 15 pounds, which just puts pressure on me, and I don't know what to do about that.

So this thread has been extremely helpful for me so far. I am going to try out some of these recipes, but the most important thing for me is portion control...I definitely need to work on that. I've lost 60 pounds three years ago, and I know I can lose 15 now...I just need to calm down and approach this the right way...