The Weight Loss Support Thread - 2015

[tammat]

I had to share!!!!!!!!!!!!  I woke early (horrid stress right now) and was 159.8!!  I then overslept and weighed an hour later than usual - and was 159.1.  I'm keeping that 159.1 for when I average next Monday


Just wanted to let you all know I FINALLY saw a 159!

I knew you could do it!!!! Woo Hoo!! Take that 159.1.

 

[Winchester]

Yay, Pat!  

 

[AbbysMom]

All nuts are on my reward meal only list...but a lower carb nut will be chosen for me to try as snacks once I'm on maintenance and allowed to add more carbs to my daily diet.


Karen for lunch how about a small bit of homemade soup? Or meat rollups - use homecooked protein - chicken or beef (or tuna salad) with a bit of cheese or a fresh scallion cut in half, bit of tomato, bit of mustard, roll up in a romaine leaf.  Makes a crunchy, tasty, can be low cal "sandwich" for a lunch.


Or...make little quiche muffins - easy to compose and make ahead, don't need any flours (I make a lovely crust for a full size quiche using melted butter with shredded fresh parmesan atop, baked until crispy and tan, then bake with your quiche filling.


The sky is the limit!  The soups I am thinking of are a chicken broth based creamy roasted cauliflower (with or without roasted leeks) - use some garlic and thyme for a lovely flavor and get out that stick blender you don't use often enough .  Or a clear broth soup build with chicken broth,  bits of diced chicken, spinach, mushroom, bean sprouts - give it Asian flavors.


1 to 1.5 cups of a soup would be a filling but not heavy lunch.


There is always the simple salad.  Romaine, scallion, a cherry tomato, 1 hard boiled egg diced, small bit of added tuna or chicken, a homemade vinegrette (can't spell..sigh) or I like as a premade - Newman's Own Oilve Oil and Vinegar dressing.


 

Thanks for the ideas, Pat! Soup would definitely fit the bill this time of year. :nod:

I had to share!!!!!!!!!!!!  I woke early (horrid stress right now) and was 159.8!!  I then overslept and weighed an hour later than usual - and was 159.1.  I'm keeping that 159.1 for when I average next Monday


Just wanted to let you all know I FINALLY saw a 159!

Congratulations!

 

[tammat]

I'm going to buy myself a new nail polish today. It's my reward for eating well and training hard all week. I've managed to ignore the binge demons. They have not been as loud the last few days. I'm sure they will come back louder than ever but I'm ready and waiting don't mess with my quest for small firm thighs!!!

 

[maiaelizabeth]

I haven't weighed in so long because Foley exhausted the battery of my scale but I did gained a lot of weight in the past 6 months. I'm usually 120 but in June I broke a couple of toes and couldn't work or do anything so I gained about 15 pounds maybe more mostly thighs and butt. In January 2nd I started the 30 day shred from Jillian Michaels and I'm on day 15 because I'm not doing weekends I haven't weighed or anything but I can see the difference and on the 30 day I will weigh myself it is really hard though I'm on level 2 and its only 20 minutes every day but I always feel like I'm going to die I cannot begin to imagine how level 3 is going to be. I'm also trying to cut back on meat so I haven't had any meat all week yay

 

[tammat]

I haven't weighed in so long because Foley exhausted the battery of my scale but I did gained a lot of weight in the past 6 months. I'm usually 120 but in June I broke a couple of toes and couldn't work or do anything so I gained about 15 pounds maybe more mostly thighs and butt. In January 2nd I started the 30 day shred from Jillian Michaels and I'm on day 15 because I'm not doing weekends I haven't weighed or anything but I can see the difference and on the 30 day I will weigh myself it is really hard though I'm on level 2 and its only 20 minutes every day but I always feel like I'm going to die I cannot begin to imagine how level 3 is going to be. I'm also trying to cut back on meat so I haven't had any meat all week yay

Good for you. I've done the 30 day shred. I then went out and bought lots of JM DVDs. They are great workouts. You will be able to do level 3. Keep going
Take some measurements. This is also a good way to keep track. Especially your waist.

 

[maiaelizabeth]

Good for you. I've done the 30 day shred. I then went out and bought lots of JM DVDs. They are great workouts. You will be able to do level 3. Keep going
Take some measurements. This is also a good way to keep track. Especially your waist.

I did take measuremests. But I said to myself that I won't do it again until the 30 th day

 

[tammat]

It's monday here. I had a terrific week. I was a perfect eating Angel and then yesterday I was very bad :anon:
I know what I did wrong and why it started. This is a new week. I am strong and I will do great. My waist is 1/2 cm smaller.
Good luck everyone.

 

[Winchester]

I gained 1-1/2 pounds, too much dough this past weekend between the homemade pizza and then the homemade stromboli yesterday. (Actually, I'm surprised it wasn't more of a gain because I didn't walk either.)

Kudos, Tammat! 

 

[pat]

It's monday here. I had a terrific week. I was a perfect eating Angel and then yesterday I was very bad

I know what I did wrong and why it started. This is a new week. I am strong and I will do great. My waist is 1/2 cm smaller.
Good luck everyone.

Congrats for the progress you did have..it all counts!

 

[pat]

I had a decent week until I got sick..then I swear, having a single dose of Nyquil and feeling feverish, I was hungry when I knew I wasn't.  I didn't go off plan, still charted my food and calories but I hate that feeling, it means my body is not working as it can..when it does, all is calm re any cravings.

Then husband came home on Saturday (high stress all week as he was away pursuing a career opportunity) and we went out to eat.  You'd think I'd finally get it.  It is rare that I can have potatoes and not see an issue with my weight.  In this case, a dinner of a side salad, 4 pieces of fried cod, a single serving of French fries w/tartar sauce and my weight shot up the next two days (inc. this mornings awful 164+).  Thankfully, most of last week was under 160.4, so I only gained .41 of  a pound.

I am carefully planning all my meals right now, and pulling back on having too many carbs at my RM.  I know I'm testing to see what I can have, maybe I should wait until these last 20 pounds are off!

Tonight I had breakfast for dinner - large salad (can't skip that), 2 eggs scrambled with some zucchini, mushroom and mini-orange bell pepper, 2 oz. of taylor pork roll, and 1 ancient grain bar that looked interesting when I was shopping, with 1/2 tsp. of butter.

Tomorrow's rm I am having salad, fresh asparagus, wild pacific cod baked with a portion of a lemon-dill sauce from Ikea (so has some starches in it).  Carb (besides what is in the sauce) will be 1/2 of a fresh pear with 1/2 of a Brown Cow Lemon Twist yogurt.

I say POO to having French fries in the future..just wasn't good enough to justify the aftermath!

 

[tammat]

We are still in this people. Let's make next week a really great one::grphug:

 

[parsleysage]

I lost 1.5 pounds this week. It's a good number, but I need to lose 1.75 more pounds to get rid of the 4-lb gain from 2 weeks ago. Once I get past that hump and I'm not losing "catch-up" weight anymore, I'll be quite happy. I'd like to lose 2 lbs this week so I can knock that gain out and be at a new "low" weight! Let's all have a great week! 

 

[pat]

We are still in this people. Let's make next week a really great one:

Hear, hear!  Wish I knew why I popped up so high on Monday...and why I only came down to 163.9 this am (from a 164.2) but I'll take it. Now to see a 162 or lower tomorrow

 

[pat]

 
I lost 1.5 pounds this week. It's a good number, but I need to lose 1.75 more pounds to get rid of the 4-lb gain from 2 weeks ago. Once I get past that hump and I'm not losing "catch-up" weight anymore, I'll be quite happy. I'd like to lose 2 lbs this week so I can knock that gain out and be at a new "low" weight! Let's all have a great week! 

Congrats on knocking off a chunk, wishing you a great week.

 

[sivyaleah]

Happy Tuesday!  I'm off from work today due to the blizzard that turned out not to be so much of a blizzard at least in NJ. I didn't weigh myself this morning.  Slept in a bit and once I put clothing on and start eating for the day I know it's going to be up from when I first wake up.

Anyway, can't say I did so good the past couple of weeks.  I fluctuated between being careful about my choices, and not. My biggest problem was I had a terrible headache a couple of days here and there, and when I have a migraine, I've found high protein/high fat foods tend to help.  Also got stuck a couple of times at work later than I expected.  By the time I got home I was in no mood to start cooking since we would have wound up eating at like 8:30 or so.  Plus, exhaustion lol.  I hate eating late on principal,  One night, we did just have some left over soup I had in the freezer but other days, I broke down and got fast food which we haven't had in ages. Didn't go nuts with those meals, laid off the fries for instance, but still not good overall.

Haven't gained anything back at least, so this is good.  Just maintaining. But that isn't good since my goal is still so far away.  I'm finding it more difficult during the winter to eat well.  I am a stickler for fresh fruits and veggies and this time of year, everything I love is abysmal quality.  

BTW, I could really use some suggestions for quick and easy dinners.  If any meal has the potential to be unhealthy this is the most likely culprit.  I tend to do very well for lunches eating small portions, lighter food and a better variety to keep my energy up.  Neither of us are particularly keen on leftovers so unless I remember to take something out of the freezer the night before to defrost in the fridge, we usually wind up eating something less than healthy.  I do keep portions to a minimum but it's still just not as good for us as if I cooked from scratch.  Neither of us is big on salads, Tom especially since he has dental issues which makes them difficult to eat. I tend to do easy preps of basic things like roasted chicken breasts, baked fish, turkey burgers.  But, again, if they are all frozen (which, they are, nothing will keep in the fridge for days on end) it does me no good.  

Anyway, welcome to new joiners and great job for all of you who had a great couple of weeks!  

 

[Winchester]

Kudos to the losers this week! 

Pat, I'm telling you those 160s do not give in easily! That was my hardest plateau, I think....getting down below that. I started to think that maybe that's where my body wanted to be. But keep it up and you'll get down below that and stay down below that. 

Sivyaleah, I keep a lot of soups and stews on hand in the freezer. They are best things for quick meals and, especially when you're really cold, soup is warming (and heartwarming, too). Combine a good bowl of soup with a low-cal or low-fat muffin or even a 100-calorie English muffin and you've a nice little supper. I know it can be a hassle to spend a Sunday afternoon making a big pot or two of soup for the freezer, but honestly, it pays off throughout the next few weeks. When I have meetings or when Rick is bowling early, dinner has to be fast. We eat a lot of soups, stews, and chowders during the colder months. Pasta sauce is something that can be cooked on a Sunday afternoon and then frozen in containers. The sauce will heat quickly in the microwave.

As for foods in the freezer, get your chicken breasts or burgers out of the freezer the night before you plan to cook them. Put them in the microwave (where they're safe from cats!) for a couple of hours, then place them in the fridge. By the next night, they'll be thawed and you can cook them then.

Have a crock pot? Get your foods in your crock pot before you leave for work; til you get home at night, dinner is pretty much waiting for you. Or, if you're leery of keeping a crock pot plugged in during the day when you're not home, prepare your dinner the night before in the crock pot. After dinner is ready, put it in bowls or containers and cool them down a bit. Throw them in the fridge. The next day, you get home from work and throw them in the microwave or gently warm on top of the stove. And dinner is served. 

Have a pressure cooker? You can prepare and serve a wonderful pot roast in about an hour.

Buy salmon and other fish when it's on sale at the grocery (if you like fish, that is). Salmon cooks in about 10 minutes, depending on the size. I usually buy two 6-oz. pieces when it's on sale. Serve it with freshly steamed broccoli or some sugar snap peas. The whole meal takes 15 minutes......tops. And it's a good meal for a weeknight.

Make up a casserole or two on the weekend and put it in a container, just big enough for 2-3 servings. Throw it in the freezer. On Wed night, get it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge. When you get home from work on Thursday, throw it in the oven. Takes about 30 minutes or so.

Go to allrecipes.com for some ideas on easy recipes for dinner, using those foods that you and your DH enjoy eating.

 

[parsleysage]

@Winchester Pam 

 You are just so awesome when it comes to kitchen advice. I know that was meant for Laurie but it was helpful for me too.

 

Since the last time you and I talked I've gotten so much better about groceries and eating at home. It saves a ton of money. (Though I'm currently working on time management for the cooking... I'd like to be done eating by 6:30 each night but lately it's 7-7:30 because either I get started late or it takes much longer than expected!) Also, I built off of your "What's in the pantry?" list idea that you sent me by making a dry erase board on our fridge with what leftovers we have in there so we know what we can eat or take for lunch. Anyway, sorry to hijack the thread. Just wanted you to know that I appreciate you!

 

[pat]

I can't add much to Winchester's awesome post except to say I also heavily utilize my microwave's defrost function!  I would add that I do cook ahead and then package and label with portion size and calories on the package.  I also keep on hand salmon burgers (from Costco) and turkey burgers, chile lime chicken burgers (from trader joes) and various sugar-free sausages  - some also avail. at Trader Joes (like Spinach, Fontina Chicken sausages).
I always know I can do a breakfast for dinner meal in a pinch.

I bake goodies that I then freeze in single serve or two person servings- so if I have a dinner but need a goodie, I can reach for something delicious that will still be on my plan (such as my banana nut bread recipe I made up as small muffins, an apple-rhubarb cake recipe I did the same thing to).

Soups can be so quick and add to a last minute meal - ie. just boil up some cauliflower, season with a bit of onion and thyme, drain a bit of the liquid first though, then stick blender...yummy soup! (if you've frozen homemade chicken broth or stock, use that as your cooking liquid to have more depth of flavor).

 

 

[Winchester]

Awww, thanks guys! 

 I really hate the thought of eating out or grabbing fast food all the time. It's not good for waistlines or for the cash flow. And there are so many things you can do to make dinners. They don't have to cost a small fortune and they don't have to take hours and hours to prepare. 

@Pat, I was watching America's Test Kitchen last night and they made a Creamy Cauliflower Soup that looked absolutely delicious and used no cream at all. They sauteed little bits of cauliflower til nice and brown and used that to top the soup. Man, it looked good!  Oh, and I've started to put portion sizes and calories on my freezer labels now, too, when I'm making things. 

I love my What's in the Freezer? list. And as long as I keep track with it, there are no issues about finding a year-old chicken in the freezer or figuring out what's in that unlabeled container. We used to have fun with those containers, trying to figure out what they were....

Oh, and something else for a Sunday afternoon. Roast a chicken. Let it cool, then debone. Pack it up into 2-4 cup containers, throw it in the freezer, and you've got great already-cooked chicken to make a casserole or some kind of soup on a weeknight. I roast chickens often, for Sunday dinner. Then debone and freeze the leftovers. Don't forget to make a nice gravy and make enough gravy so have leftover to make a chicken pie for another meal (and I admit that that chicken pie probably isn't very low-fat or low-cal). I have a great recipe for a Rotisserie-Style roast chicken that makes a really good dinner and leftovers for something else. And it's easy!

I refuse to make a turkey or a whole chicken and then not make broth. Honestly, your own broth tastes so much better than any broth you're going to buy. And you can freeze your broth; it will keep for about six weeks or so in the freezer. (Rick's mom's cousin has a farm. When they do butchering in January or February, they give her tons of great beef bones, which she gives to me. I roast them for the best flavor, then add my onions, celery, carrots, etc to the mix. Then I share my beef broth with her.) A pressure cooker also makes great chicken broth in a lot less time. When I make my broths and such, I always throw the containers into the fridge overnight. The next day, all the fat has risen to the surface and I skim it off. So my broths are low in fat and don't have salt because I don't use salt when making them. And then I put the containers into the freezer. (I need to add, too, that my broths and stock are gelatinous; that's a good thing! I know somebody who trashed all her stock because it gelled and she thought it was disgusting. She thought she did something wrong.)

Go here:  http://www.thecatsite.com/groups/show/151/the-recipe-exchange. We have categories for all kinds of foods. You can find Crockpot recipes, Pressure Cooker recipes, Soup and Stews, Light and Tasty recipes, etc. There's a wealth of recipes there from many members. 

If you make a crock pot full of Pulled Pork, you have sandwiches later on in the week. Same with Shredded BBQ Beef. Make it on a weekend and then freeze it in sandwich-size containers.

Buy pork tenderloins when they're on sale. Open the package, cut the tenderloins into what you and DH are going to eat and freeze them that way. 

An 8-ounce piece of round steak for two people? Well, Rick wouldn't like that very much. But I can slice it thinly and throw it into a nice stir-fry and serve the whole thing over brown rice. Or marinade it a bit, slice it thinly, add some pickled onions and put it into wraps to serve as dinner with a salad. So I buy a pound of round steak, cut it in half, and freeze each half. Or fajitas with lots of onions and peppers and seasonings. There are some really tasty tortillas at the market that don't have tons of calories and fat.

Even if you don't have a large freezer, you can use one of these ideas every weekend and it would help. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can still make something on a weekend and freeze it for later.