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<p>I was at CVS last week with my wife and daughter. My wife had a $5 off anything coupon but only $4.29 in charges so she asked me if I wanted anything. I went over and grabbed one of my favorite candies - a stick of Sweet Tarts. Looked at the calories - 50 for three of them and they are small. So the stick was probably 500 calories. So I passed. My daughter got some candy for herself (she’s very thin).</p>
<p>I hear ya. I’ve picked up many a bag of candy or peanuts or Pringles and looked at the calories. I know that, if I bought those Sweet Tarts, I would eat them until they were all gone. I couldn’t stop after 3 or 6 and, even if I could, I don’t even want them at that point. I mean… three Sweet Tarts? Who’s kidding who?</p>
<p>Now, the only time I’ll splurge on a snack like that is when I see the total calories and accept that in the context of my week. For example, I had a can of potato sticks this week. I knew I couldn’t buy the 900 calorie Pringles, but 250 calories on a splurge treat after a month with zero fat food snacking is something I feel like I can live with. Same thing with candy. My last candy splurge (I think it’s been a couple months ago) was not a bag of red licorice, but the small candy bar size package from the checkout line. Again, a total calorie hit that I felt I could live with in the context of a week.</p>
<p>Overall, I’m at the point now where seeing the scale inch downward or fitting into smaller pants is more satisfying that pigging out on junk food. That’s been a gradual change in mindset over the months.</p>
<p>There was some talk about making food manufacturers list more realistic serving sizes and calorie count on their products. One bottle of Snapple has two servings? I do not know of anyone who always splits their Snapple with a buddy :)</p>
<p>I checked the calorie counter and it has me reducing about 300 cal per day to lose weight. I like the idea of striving for small victories. Today I am going to a cookout (again!) so i had two eggs for breakfast with a piece of pumpernickel and marmalade. I’ll have a piece of fruit before I go so I’m not starving when i get there.</p>
<p>I hope to be checking in often. This is so helpful and hopeful. Hearing that scales are moving in the right direction without any feeling of extreme deprivation is good news. Congratulations to everyone!</p>
<p>This is a great thread.</p>
<p>I had the small fries at McDonald’s yesterday. I worked out today to burn more calories than I consumed eating those fries.</p>
<p>This thread gives me incentive to work out. </p>
<p>People were talking about moderating their food consumption, especially certain foods.</p>
<p>That didn’t really work for me.</p>
<p>I do a little moderation, but committing to not eating something, chocolate
in my case worked very well. I felt like I was a chocoholic. I had to give it up. I committed to not eating any for 52 weeks and it is 49 weeks now. </p>
<p>Weighing food works for me too. Not actually weighing the food, but knowing…I am limiting the weight of my food to 5 pounds a day…for some reason that works for me. This does cut down on the pastas. Pasta is heavy. Salads are light. </p>
<p>I have pretty much lost the weight I think I am going to lose. Now comes the hard part for me. Keeping the weight off.</p>
<p>This thread gives me a little push to keep the weight off.</p>
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<p>I can’t believe I’ve gone the whole summer without a Snapple. In fact, I haven’t had one since February. That was one thing I just had to cut out – sugar water. I bet the sweetness of a Coke or Pepsi would knock my head off at this point.</p>
<p>The closest I’ve come is my wife brought a half gallon container of sweet lemonade home from the store. I nursed it for a week by mixing it half and half with unsweatened ice tea.</p>
<p>EPTR- some things that worked for me. I guess I didn’t eliminate carbs totally. At the suggestion of a fitness trainer friend I start my day with one serving of old fashioned oatmeal. I am lucky I don’t have a sweet tooth and I am happy to eat it plain. It keeps me full till lunch. The other important thing I learned about myself is I can not let myself wait to long in the day to eat lunch. If it hits 2 pm and I haven’t eaten I am more likely to pick the wrong thing to eat.
Easy ideas for lunch that I have found work for me- when I bake chicken or grill I make extra breasts for lunch. I found eating the chicken dipped in a small container of hummus gave me the starch feeling that I felt full. Also snacking on fresh strawberries- once again I have always eaten my berries without sugar on them. Having hard boiled eggs on hand.
Dinner was usually whatever the rest of the family was having minus the starch. Stir fry on top of quinoa or used on top of salad instead of rice. Taco meat with shredded cheese and avocado over a bed of lettuce with some added black beans. It makes you feel full and you don’t feel like your just eating vegetables. Chicken sandwich minus bun, same when I made hamburgers, I also like the Aidells chicken sausage with mango. I is delicious without any bun. I don’t use salt in my cooking so I feel my sodium is not so high that I can’t sometimes have something like sausage or bacon.
When I wanted something in the afternoon I would grab a few squares of a dark chocolate bar. I buy the big bar and slowly eat it. Also sometimes a nonfat latte from Starbucks hit the spot. Once again I don’t add sugar to my coffee.
I also this time around did not resort to diet foods or diet sodas. Ice tea (unsweetened) or water works.
If I am out during lunch time I will sometimes buy a small container of chicken salad or egg salad at Whole Foods. I buy a small amount and figure the mayo is work the calories since it helps me feel full.
I also have found over the years that my body is very carb/starch craving and I lose weight when I eliminate them from my diet.
My one splurge early on when I felt I had to have something salty and sweet was the Special K 100 calorie preztzel/chocolate bars. The problem is eating just one.
Also this time I weigh myself more. Like interestedDad I find the daily weighing to be a great incentive to not pick up the chips or cookies. Because I find that with chips I can not just eat a few.
What I miss most is sourdough toast.</p>
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<p>Well, Kate Moss said – and was criticized for it – “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” </p>
<p>I completely agree with both of you.</p>
<p>If there were no consequence to eating ice cream night after night, I’d be doing it. But saving it for a (very) special occasion makes it very special.</p>
<p>Got a little one hour hike in before the thunderstorms – which never came, but only sprinkled on me for the walk home. I’m turning into a hillclimbing machine. I don’t even slow down, I just sweat more. I guess that’s what happens when you walk hills for four months. It’s fun to think back to the early days when I was practically bent over trying to catch my breath on these hills. I really should throttle it back on the half-mile hill, but I figure it’s a challenge.</p>
<p>Bargain of the day. My wife sent me to TJ MAXX because she saw a pair of pants in my next size that she thought I might like. As I was getting those, I scoped out the clearance rack. Super nice plain Ralph Lauren Chaps t-shirts, with iPod pocket. Even a little nicer than the LLBean t-shirts. Five dollars. I bought a couple in my new smaller size. I wonder if I will sweat less on the hills in a designer t-shirt? Naaaah. Probably not.</p>
<p>I’m going for the full monte on the iPod workouts tomorrow – three sets and intervals at iPod pace. Could be a rough day, but it’s time. Gotta work on those abs of steel.</p>
<p>i-dad, you should get a Gucci t-shirt. I guarantee that you will qualify for the Boston Marthon as soon as you put it on :D</p>
<p>Per my doctor’s advice, I’m slowly increasing my mileage - I ran 2.5 miles today. 85 degrees made my run a bit of a challenge. My back felt just fine during the run and afterwards. No yardwork for me this weekend - I just do not do well in this kind of heat (however, compared to last year’s 109 degrees, today was not that bad). :)</p>
<p>Played 90 minutes of tennis yesterday. One hour of hitting singles and thirty minutes for a set of doubles. Felt ravenous later in the day and quite tired. I wound up eating more calories than normal for the day. Tennis uses up more calories for me than any other activity and I can feel weak and tired for quite some time if I don’t get enough calories after tennis. If I haven’t played for a while, tennis can wipe me out for two days. My guess is that the body has to rebuild muscles and repair any joint damage.</p>
<p>Back to running today. We’re taking a short trip later this week so I’ll only have four days for running this week and need to make the most of it.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the support getting started. Yesterday felt good. I was able to enjoy the cookout while being aware of eliminating about 300 calories from what i would normally eat. Today I’m off to the gym and will make a healthy dinner.</p>
<p>EPTR:</p>
<p>Good for you. </p>
<p>It’s amazing how easy it is to “eat less” when you start paying just a little attention. For example, I would have the hamburger at the cookout (because I can’t sustain a lifestyle that doesn’t include being able to eat a hamburger at a cookout!). I would lay off the potato salad. I might skip the cheese on the burger. And, I would definitely not stand by the bowl of potato chips and chow down like I was trying to fatten up for winter. It’s incredible the calories you can wolf down noshing at the chip and dip or appetizers.</p>
<p>Yes. I had brought a leftover bean dip to the cookout that I had made for my D’s grad party. I knew what the ingredients were that went into it so I stayed clear and only had a taste. Chose a small piece of barbecued pork over the burgers and sausage and had salad with half the dressing i would usually use. A good start! Thanks for the encouragement!</p>
<p>Also went to a cookout yesterday. Unfortunately it was planned by men. We had sausage, tri tip, pork kabobs and ribs, roasted potatoes and garlic bread. The women who came managed to add some greenery. Garden fresh salad with a light olive oil/vinegar dressing, asparagus and I made a fruit salad. I avoided the bread and cheese and crackers but did have the meats. I will not weigh myself this morning. I awoke with the dreaded puffy eyes and swollen fingers. I am extremely salt sensitive. Back to my unsweetended oatmeal this morning.
I did get asked my 2 of the women if I had lost weight. This is a group that my H is friendly with that likes to do sunday summer bbq’s. I only see some of the women in the summer. This was the first somewhat sunny Sunday of our summer.
I am going on vacation soon. How can I avoid the salty water retention?</p>
<p>I’m going on vacation soon, too and, like your cookout, the meals are planned by the husbands (in particular my BIL). I love that he takes charge and the woman don’t have to think about dinner but the meals usually include a lot of steak tips, sausage, potato salad, etc.</p>
<p>This year I’m going to get involved and make sure that there is plenty of salad and fruit. I will also avoid the daily dose of bacon at breakfast.</p>
<p>Fortunately, we are staying on a lake so there is lots of opportunity for swimming, kayaking an hiking.</p>
<p>Mom60, are you going to a hotel or someplace that you can do your own meal prep?</p>
<p>Bacon gets a bum rap. Two slices of medium bacon is 90 calories or so, about the same as a slice of American cheese. </p>
<p>Get some Canadian bacon. That stuff is very low in calories. Leave off the cheese and a canadian bacon, egg, and english muffin breakfast sandwich is not bad, maybe 250 calories.</p>
<p>Ran five miles and it felt easy. Shaved about 40 seconds off my Friday time. Don’t know if it was the extra calories, weight lifting or extra sleep over the weekend but it felt easier than last week. I was tempted to go a little further but experience tells me not to try to up mileage while improving time at the same time. I may be getting more efficient or the lost weight is making it easier. The thing about running is that getting better at it means that you have to run faster or more miles to keep using the same number of calories. You can’t do this too fast, though, as you risk joint injury from the additional stress. Your bones, muscles and joints have to get stronger over time to take the added stress.</p>
<p>It’s the humidity. Or rather, the lack thereof here in New England today. 29% relative humidity and a high in the low 80s makes everything easier!</p>
<p>I climbed my iPod nazi mountain today, doing a phase II workout, all three sets (for the first time), at iPod speed with no extra pauses. Then, I finished up with five intervals on the Airdyne: 20 seconds fast/40 seconds easy. I did all the intervals at Cardinal Fang pace (70 rpms) and then threw in an extra bonus interval at the end at 75 rpms. Saw a 96% heart rate on that one.</p>
<p>Now, I’m chowing down on fish tacos (hold the taco) – fresh halibut seared and poached in homemade fresh salsa. Not a bad calorie conscious dinner.</p>
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<p>That will be an interesting transition. The only other time I lost significant weight (20 pounds or so), I wasn’t exercising at all so I had no prayer of stopping the steady spread of age when I turned 40.</p>
<p>I am hoping that by the time I reach the end game this time, I will have successfully changed the way I look at junk food and exercise. I think I have, but I still have a powerful motivation of weight coming off every week. I think getting on the scale every morning and catching any drift upwards will be key for me.</p>