<p>Congrats, toneranger! That’s excellent.
My daughter swears by sparkpeople. My assistant tried the site but the amount of emails got to be too much for her.</p>
toneranger–I woke up this morning and decided I needed to kickstart weightloss, too. So I"m going back to my version of SB level one. Is that what you did?
<p>garland…I remember reading a SB book years ago - and yes, it was similar I think. Good carbs were allowed though in small portions. Most fruits also (although not bananas or other starchy types). Beans, low fat cheeses, eggs, lo fat chicken and fish for protein. Lots of veggies and salad. High fiber cereal (which thankfully I found an organic version of that I like). Lots of water. Low sugar. Eating at least 5 times per day. Not really difficult to follow, IMO, but I had to break the no alcohol (and other rules) on the weekend!</p>
<p>That’s pretty much what I’m doing. The no-alcohol rule is going to be the tough one. usually when I dial up the level, I make that my exception, but I need to get serious this time.</p>
<p>I am in the kick start mode as well. I don’t have much to lose, but it is driving me crazy that I can’t shake those last few pounds. When I think of all the food I consumed into my 30’s compared to what I eat now - yikes! </p>
<p>TR - I am not as tall as you, but I have those long limbs that make it easy to deceive myself until I see my chubby face in a picture. </p>
<p>So - I am trying to keep Dr. Gott’s no flour no sugar rules in play until I lose those last pesky pounds!</p>
<p>Hmmm, is there a sugarless wine??? No, I take that back. I don’t want to ruin a good thing. I will save my wine for the weekend, which in my mind starts on thursday nights :)</p>
<p>Weekends definitely start on Thursday. Ask any college kid!</p>
<p>I got in a nice 40 minute walk this afternoon. Beautiful day. Had to take my car in for service, so I just dropped it off and walked home.</p>
<p>I wish the remnants of my cold would clear up. I feel fine, but I’m still congested and coughing a bit. Exercising with a stuffy nose really isn’t my cup of tea.</p>
<p>My patented grilled chicken ceasar salad for dinner. By the time I load on the olive oil, the fresh-grated Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese, and the garlic croutons, it’s not a real lo-cal meal, but not bad for a whole dinner. Sure is good.</p>
<p>I love using red quinoa especially for summer salads. I just make a batch (1 cup quinoa/2 cups water) and add roasted veggies that have been marinated in one of my dressings. I like a combination of a little apple juice, a little soy, some fresh grated ginger, a little agave syrup and just a tiny bit of oil. Tonight I roasted a combination of veggies (carrots, vidalia onions, zucchini, apples) and chopped them up, combined them with the quinoa and stuffed grilled portabella mushrooms with the mixture. It was pretty yummy.</p>
<p>NMinn, you and your workout buddy should not exactly lower your expectations, but you should lengthen your time horizon. If you keep doing what your doing – and if you change it up, and bump it up every now and then – things will happen, but not overnight. For me, I saw improvements after six months, but I saw dramatic changes after two years. (I’ve been serious about the gym for almost five years now.) I know you’ve got a wedding on the horizon as your motivator, but I’m sure you’re not going to stop once the wedding has passed, right?</p>
<p>NMinn: what are you eating? You are likely to get better results if you forget about eating more than a very small amount of grains, even whole grains. Forget cereal, even high fiber cereal. You are better off eating an omelet made with one egg, some egg whites, and sauteed vegetables. Lots of protein and fiber there. Forget almost all bread, including whole wheat. Forget anything starchy, such as potatoes and bananas. Keep even brown rice and the like to a minimum. Eat a lot of non-starchy vegetables instead with a modicum of selected fruits: lots of nutrients, lots of fiber, filling, low glycemic load.</p>
<p>MANY overweight people are insulin resistant. While people without IR can metabolize whole grains well, those with IR–even those not officially classified as “diabetic”–do not. There is ample evidence now that people who have fasting BG above 100 but still too low to be “officially” classified as “diabetic” are in fact killing off beta cells that produce insulin at a significant rate. If they received the advice to do what you are doing–lose weight and increase lean muscle mass–AND reduce carb consumption many, if not most, could turn it around. But instead the dieticians keep pushing carbs. And we keep getting fatter.</p>
<p>I know we can’t post youtube links, but there is a both entertaining and fascinating lecture by a Stanford professor on diet, weight loss, and the whole carb/fat/protein issue that people might find illuminating. It’s on academicearth.org and entitled battle-of-the-diets. You have to listen to the whole thing, including the part at the end where he discusses nutritional recommendations over the years and what he thinks ought to be considered, given the research. And it ain’t the Food Pyramid. :)</p>
<p>^^^No the knee was my first motivator then along came the wedding. The biking just makes walking easier! Seriously, when I miss a day of biking my knee is a mess. Today I did 25 miles in 60 minutes and then did the weight machines for back, chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps. Took me about 1.5 hrs total. I have been working out for 5-6 days a week for 11 weeks and am averaging 1 lb of weight loss per week. Slow but steady. I do have my wine on the weekend! 
Only one of my friends has noticed a difference and she said my face looked less puffy…gee, thanks. I’d love to lose 40 more pounds. Believe it or not I used to play competitive tennis so I know and like the gym. I quit exercising after having a cerebral hemorhage while playing tennis…ish! It took a while to get back in the saddle again! ;)</p>
<p>Edit: Crosspost with Consolation: You are probably right! I was a carb addict…still am, just recovering! I HATE sweets but LOVE bread. I have dropped bread from my diet except for an occaisional multigrain light English Muffin and I do have shredded wheat cereal. Thanks for the link! Typical day for me:
Breakfast:
1 cup shredded wheat with 1/2 c of fat free skim milk, piece of fruit
Lunch:
Salad with edamame, cucumber, low fat mozzarella string cheese, red pepper with low fat or low sugar dressing.
May add turkey breast or some niuts if I have it.
Fruit salad
Dinner:
Grilled chicken, fish or turkey burgers/brats
Roasted or grilled veggies…no potatoes…last night I roasted broccoli, asparagas and portabella mushrooms…Yum!</p>
<p>I drink at least 10 glasses of water a day and NEVER eat after dinner. My only cheat is the wine. I am a creature of habit so I know I miss things that are good for you but it makes it easier for me if I don’t have to think about variety.</p>
<p>Consolation, I just don’t understand how a person can eat only veggies and a small amount of protein and ever feel full.</p>
<p>NorthMinnesota, I predict that in you’re going to be an absolute beast. In 15 years you’ll take the grandkids on vacation and they won’t be able to keep up with you.</p>
<p>oh you guys are so healthy!</p>
<p>I felt virtuous after rehearsal for Glee flashmob last night( I was the oldest by far)- and right next door was Molly Moon’s handmade ice cream.
I had never had it before- and there was a line out the door which piqued my interest.
I had balsamic strawberry- one scoop which I ate while browsing in the relocated Elliot Bay bookstore. But then I couldn’t find where I parked the car and had to walk by Pike St fish fry for the best fried oysters /lemon aioli , I’ve had in Seattle.</p>
<p>I did finally find it though- good thing I still had the box on top from moving D out of her dorm. :o</p>
<p>A pound a week for eleven weeks is fantastic. It’s even more fantastic when you consider that you are adding lean muscle mass from all the workouts at the same time. If I were you, I would just set a goal of losing two or three pounds and then take a real feeling of accomplishment when you get there. Then, set the goal of the next 2 or 3 pounds. I think settling into a stready, consistent weight loss, at any sustainable rate, is the ideal goal.</p>
<p>I have a graph of my daily weight going back to early February. It is incredibly motivating. That little bit of weight loss each week really starts to add up. What seemed to be an impossible goal back in February is now real.</p>
<p>last night I roasted broccoli, asparagas and portabella mushrooms…Yum!</p>
<p>that reminds me I love to roast garlic and squeeze it on bread.
Have to take advantage of all the veggies in the stores- yesterday I even saw morel mushrooms.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Who said anything about a “small” amount of protein? Also, don’t forget the fats. 
In my experience, it is important to use spices and other things with strong flavors.</p>
<p>This is what I ate yesterday:</p>
<p>Breakfast: 1 1/2 free range eggs (higher in Omega 3) w/extra whites scrambled with a heaping tablespoon of artichoke pesto (artichoke hearts, walnuts, fresh basil, romano, garlic, EVOO). Sprayed the pan with PAM but there was olive oil in the pesto.</p>
<p>Lunch: 2 cans light tuna in water (drained, mixed with several tablespoons–didn’t measure–of Hellman’s canola oil mayo, Penzey’s Northwood spices and two stalks of celery diced) stuffed into a low carb (4gms) whole wheat/flax pita with diced tomato and organic mesclun.</p>
<p>Dinner: Bowl of organic mesclun with sliced cucumber, 1/2 red pepper sliced, about 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, and about 6 oz boneless chicken breast shredded (previously marinated in no-fat Greek yogurt, Penzey’s Rogan Josh blend and lemon juice, then grilled). 2 Tablespoons of homemade balsamic vinaigrette (dijon mustard, S&P, balsamic vinegar, EVOO, garlic cloves. I make up a jar and just spoon it out as needed.)</p>
<p>I was full after all meals. Oh, and I had a gin & tonic (diet tonic water )</p>
<p>Consolation…watched the lecture. Wouldn’t you love to have him as a prof! Really enjoyed him. Very interesting ideas. I am due for some lab work so will need to check out the insulin resistance thing. Ha…sleep deprived! I woke up three times last night alone. Being post-menapausal has really changed sleep patterns! My father, mother, one sister and all four grandparents were diabetic…not a good omen! I have never really looked in to the Atkins diet since I haven’t had red meat since I was very young, just never agreed with me. So many ideas and possibilities! Thought he was pretty funny when he said this study made him think about his years as a vegetarian! Also liked the nod to an hour a day of exercise to keep the weight off. Thanks again for sharing this info!</p>
<p>Consolation, if you served me what you ate yesterday I’d be way thin…can’t stand to put an egg of any kind in my mouth (but I’ll use them in recipes); hate tuna; allergic to nuts; chicken breast is almost too boring to bother with. It would be pretty easy for me to be a vegetarian.</p>
<p>NM, the South Beach Diet was designed by a cardiologist for his cardiology patients, many of whom are diabetic. It espouses similar tenets to what Consolation described, i.e., going pretty easy on the grains, even though they might be whole grain. Very heavy on the non starchy veggies, lean proteins, with attention given to healthy fats and moderate consumption of fruits. In my opinion, it is a livable plan and allows for plenty of lean meats without requiring or advocating fatty meats life certain cuts of beef or pork.</p>
<p>NMinn- Do you use a heartrate monitor while you bike? I am wondering if you are getting your heart rate up high enough. I don’t believe I could do 25 miles in an hour on a stationary bike and have my HR high enough (I would just be spinning the pedals), but I’m not the greatest biker.</p>