<p>Weight isn’t my issue - sustaining a fitness routine for longer than a few months at a time is another matter. After a second tussle with a health issue last winter I started walking. And walking. And walking some more. Up hill, down hill, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. I’ve been tracking the mileage and details with the Nike chip that works with my iTouch. Maybe not the most accurate, but pretty good and the feedback has really kept me motivated and the tunes are pretty good too. (I don’t use Nike shoes - I use the little velcro pouch that attaches to whatever shoes I want to wear.)</p>
<p>Accountability has also been the new piece for me that is keeping this effort going. Seeing the log of what I’ve done has made all the difference. When I do my solo workouts I jog some of it and work towards particular time goals to get the heart rate up. It’s all recorded and I can see my progress! But I love the walks with friends, too, that serves a different area of stress relief. It just doesn’t burn as many calories.</p>
<p>I got mine at Best Buy. I think you can find various ones on Amazon, too. The first thing I did was also go to the high school track and calibrate the set up to my step for better accuracy.</p>
<p>Have been cutting back on the food this past week in preparation for today…my “official” start. Had my cereal, fat free milk and a banana for breakfast. Have had three 8 oz. glasses of water…I am still hungry! It seems when I start restricting calories that’s all I can think of! Now my stomach hurts so I just took a zantac. Wish this was easier but I’ll keep trying! Good Luck to everyone else! :)</p>
<p>^^^ Are you used to snacking between meals? It’s ok to still snack between meals, just need to make better choices! Of course it takes a bit for your body to get used to eating less (I say try real real hard to stick with a plan for a week), but IMO, you also have to adopt a plan that works NOT just for this week, but for daily life on a regular basis! </p>
<p>I eat breakfast about 7:30am - by 10am, I need a little snack. And at night, once I’m chilling in my chair and ottoman, I need/want a snack. Most times this evening snack is NOT nutritious - how can I have it? I just settle for a very small portion of something really yummy/sinful and then eat it really, really slow. Works for me. :)</p>
<p>About to eat the first lunch of the working year Yikes! The options are not good. There’s a decent salad bar that’s not terribly far, but then I’ll be starving by 3.</p>
<p>Your breakfast was carb-heavy and did not have much protein; carbs get digested relatively fast and leave you feeling hungry sooner. To feel full longer you need to include some protein in your breakfast, like cottage cheese, eggs or egg whites, lean meats, and/or cheese.</p>
<p>Maybe we should start a “side thread” where we can share what we are eating for lunch and/or dinner to give “do-able” ideas to each other. Oh yeah, the idea would be that they would be relatively “healthy-nutritious” but we’re not talking 2 cups of celery and 2 glasses of water - “real” food that is good, satisfying but decent for a healthy lifestyle.</p>
<p>NM, I wouldn’t make it an hour on that breakfast. What’s the old saying? Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper? I do think there’s some truth to that. Have you thought of eating small meals at 3-4 hour intervals? That might be another options to keep you from going into starvation mode. </p>
<p>When still in HS, D would often have soup for breakfast. Probably not what most think of eating for breakfast, but it worked for her.</p>
<p>MoWC, right, it’s amazing how sensitive we can be to pool temperatures. Over 82 degrees, and it’s like swimming in a bathtub. If it’s 78, as you say it’s quite nippy. Eighty degrees is the sweet spot.</p>
<p>But one can swim in colder water. I once swam the Golden Gate from San Francisco to Marin. The water was around 60 degrees.</p>
<p>My breakfast is typically a cup of low-fat yogurt with a cup or two of Cheerios mixed in for texture. I rarely get hungry in the AM, but if I do, I’ll have an apple.</p>
<p>Oatmeal is the sturdiest breakfast I know. If I have oatmeal at 6:45, I am not actually hungry until about 1:00. Regular cereal and fruit, and I am starving by 10. Throw some raisins while it cooks for a serving of fruit and a handful of walnuts (which have a small amount of protein, and are good for your heart). It cooks in 5 minutes, and tastes way better than the icky instant stuff.</p>
<p>Vulture–huh?? Can you explain for the technology impaired? Sounds great but what exactly does it do and what do you need?</p>
<p>I agree that 5 small meals is the way to go to prevent hunger. </p>
<p>Also want to point out for those trying to lose weight, while olive oil is certainly healthier than butter, it’s as high in calories. A little is great, but when we were helping DH lose weight I learned that you can get away with using much less than recipes call for.</p>
<p>Nuts and dried fruit are great too, but also not low cal. In the end, losing weight is all about calories.</p>
<p>I realize sugar is my #1 enemy. According to this study NorthMinnesota, your breakfast was way loaded with it. I’m getting this book from Amazon, but in the meantime have started trying it on my own. It’s called the belly fat cure & having tried both Atkins and WW over the years, it makes sense. We officially weighed in at work today for our biggest loser contest, if I start winning I’ll let you know!</p>
<p>Oatmeal by itself, with no nuts or anything, is not very high in protein though. I prefer a breakfast with a good zap of protein to start the day.</p>
<p>:) I know, it sounds & looks too good to be true. Still not sure how to measure the sugars to carbs, but I know in my case I really need to limit them. See you at the gym…ugh!</p>
<p>I got hopelessly behind on this thread and don’t think I can catch up. I apologize in advance if this has already been addressed.</p>
<p>I find that I am more likely to adhere to a proper diet if I record what I eat and see for myself where I am calorie-wise. However, doing this by hand and looking everything up just gets too time consuming and tedious. I’ve heard people rave about web sites where you can enter your intake and it will automatically calculate the calories. A daily food journal, so to speak, which doesn’t require a lot of time to utilize.</p>
<p>Does anyone have a link to a really good site which will help me log my meals with a minimum of effort? I prefer a free site if possible.</p>