Couchtripper

Well done!

First day back at the gym after being gone for a month....Aleve here I come!

Hope you're not too sore!

Fingers crossed for you Spurs. I know how that goes!

In an effort to make all the exercise mean something, I stepped back on the scale after 3 months of not weighing in or weighing food. It was a tense moment and I even thought about taking out my earrings...anything to make me weigh less. The result? I gained only 1lb!! Man, I guess I was paying better attention than I thought! Back to writing down everything I eat and weighing stuff. It is the only way.

Is anyone else doing Weight Watchers? I was just wondering the reaction to the new program...

I heard from a friend who just started it, that it's pretty good - fairly similar to a diabetic diet in that they are now considering carbohydrates when they are calculating their points. Plus you get an electronic calculator so you can calculate the points of anything that has a nutritional label. She lost four pounds her first week and she can't really do any exercise, so not too bad.

Ok, I have entered the vicious circle of working out and eating -- I work out to lose weight and I end up eating more because I am working out!!!! AAARRRRGGGHHH!!

This any help for your diet?

Hunger buster
Take a whiff of vanilla extract right before digging into any delectable meal, and you might just eat less of it. That's because smelling a satisfyingly rich scent (like, you guessed it, vanilla) can trick your brain into thinking you've eaten more than you actually have, says Alan Hirsch, MD, founder of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation.

"If you smell a delicious aroma before you take a bite of something indulgent, you'll lose the sensory excitement earlier," he explains. "This cues your body to feel content sooner, so you'll eat less."

https://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/4-fresh-uses-for-vanilla-2466223.html

PS. perhaps the Health.com:Bananas:The ultimate hunger buster will help too.

Ok, so here it is January again and I am looking forward to the new year (although, I have already been sick, the lamp in my tv blew and the compressor on my AC needs to be replaced, but hey, it comes in threes, right??). With some new found focus, I am starting the weight thing again. I rejoined Weight Watchers, told my trainer to get the measuring tape out and have been forcing down water like a dehydrated sponge (well Chrystal Light's Mojito mix - that counts as water, thank goodness!!).

Two restaurants in two nights (last night Cheesecake Factory - I didn't have one bite of cheesecake and no pre meal bread - yay me!) Tonight is a local fish house where everything is either fried or broiled in butter. I looked up the menu online, found boiled shrimp on the appetizers menu and with a salad, that will be fine. This is the first time I have started out so involved, so that is a good sign.

On the trek again...

Good Luck with the weightwatching SpursFan! hope this 'Chrystal Light's Mojito mix' is aspartame and acesulame potassium free as I reckon those are not good for you, and I constructively suggest cutting down on the number of restuarants.

SpursFan1902 wrote:Cheesecake Factory - I didn't have one bite of cheesecake

thats some going - especially if other people were eating it! i'd never be able to do that, i love cheesecake. all the best with it spurs

i'm going to try and get a bit fitter and healthier this year, do bit more walking ( the only exercise i really do ) and cut out some of the bad things

Yeah, I don't normally eat out two nights in row. I actually used a WW recipe for Cottage Pie tonight. Pretty good and it will be easy to change around to make different tastes. I will have to look at the label on the Chrystal Light....

Thanks, Luke! I love cheesecake too, but one has to start somewhere!! Luckily everyone took their cheesecake to go, so I wasn't sitting there while they ate it. Whew!

SpursFan1902 wrote:Ok, I have entered the vicious circle of working out and eating -- I work out to lose weight and I end up eating more because I am working out!!!! AAARRRRGGGHHH!!

This is so true. I started working out with a trainer in November...and partly because I was so ravenous because of working out 5 times a week and partly because it was Christmas, I ate far more than I should have done and gained weight, not much but enough to make me feel down! Now, I am writing a daily food and exercise journal, so I can keep track of what I eat (and drink!) and the related calories. It's working - I am slowly losing weight.

I'm also using a free app on my phone called MyFitnessPal, which is helping me track the calories. Never thought I would be a claorie counter, but hey when you get older and your metabolism slows down you've got to do something to stay in shape.

Hope your challenge is going well, Spurs! I'll let you know how I get on - 40 lbs to go!!

Well here is the recap - 2 weeks in and a total of 4.4lbs down. Slowly but surely. I didn't have that big weight loss that you normally have during the first week, but I think it was because, 1) Strangely enough, even with all of the beer and such, I eat healthier in Germany and I had just gotten back and 2) My problem has never really been WHAT I eat, but HOW MUCH I eat, so WW is great for portion control. I don't think there was the big shock to my system that normally happens. Still motivated, still working out twice a week and walking a couple of times a week. Also, a new one for me, I am taking the stairs, so that is helping. Not eating dinner at hockey games also helps. I am trying to eat something sensible before...still working on that one as I have ended up with no dinner both home games! I have to work on the timing...

even 6 months working like that should make a big difference, keep it up!