<p>And an extra absolve for mstee for trying something new!</p>
<p>Hello all. I’m strugglling to lose weight. I’m hitting the gym, but not as much as I want. I will keep upping the number of days/hours as my muscles adjust–I’m currently sore pretty much all the time 
which is a good thing, it means my muscles are improving.</p>
<p>I am with the rest of you who know that I need to watch what I eat. I thought I was doing that, but the scale wasn’t moving. So I need to track every calorie.</p>
<p>What apps do you like for counting calories. Ideally it’s easy to use and easy to look up foods (like salads and such) when eating out. I’m currently using sparkspeople and tracking everything. Last couple of days I’ve been good and kept under 1500 calories. I need to keep doing that as well as working out. </p>
<p>Thanks for any suggestions on apps!</p>
<p>Someone here or on another thread recommended MyFitnessPal. It’s great. It has the calories/carbs/etc of many common restaurant meals. You can also enter your exercise and it gives you calorie credit.</p>
<p>I also like that it tells me if I’ve met my daily nutritional requirements of calcium etc at the end of each day.</p>
<p>VAMom, if you find it easy to skip the gym (I do), you might want to invest in some gym stuff for home. I really find even 10 or 15 minutes at home to be really helpful in maintaining fitness so I’m not sore when I do get to the gym and just to keep my heart rate up so that my metabolism doesn’t go into sloth mode. I have a couple of kettleballs, some dumbbells, a stability ball and off brand TRX types straps that you can hang off a door. When the weather is nice I try to get a walk in - even if it’s only a mile it still makes me feel better.</p>
<p>I’m going to do that Mathmom. I have some 8 pound weights and a stability ball somewhere. We have a finished attic that i can use for space. There are just some days I don’t want to get in the car but if I have the stuff here, I’ll use it. Thanks for the reminder.</p>
<p>Mathmom–thanks for the ideas. I do have weights, and elliptical trainer, and a stability ball for home. I’m really ramping up my work especially with weights because I had gotten out of shape. I expect to be sore for at least a month as I remind my muscles what they are used for! :D</p>
<p>Mrscollege–Thanks! I’m going to load that app. I’ve been really counting everything I eat, and I’ve seen a little movement on the scale finally. I just need to keep motivated!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>Yeah, VaMom!! Don’t you love that movement on the scale?!! Congrats!</p>
<p>I went to the gym tonight and saw movement on the scale too, a couple of pounds drop from yesterday. I have been eating more <em>frugally</em> for the last five days, but I didn’t expect to see the overnight drop, LOL. I’ve still been eating my little <em>treats</em> too. Discovered some chocolate covered caramels made locally that are to die for. But have only eaten two so far. They’re the kind with the sea salt sprinkled on top . . .Went to the zumba class tonight, which I hadn’t been to for a month or so. Forgot how hard it was. Went through two water bottles in 50 min. Still can’t do lots of the movements, but fun to try, and the time went by very quickly.</p>
<p>I went to the gym tonight and saw movement on the scale too, a couple of pounds drop from yesterday. I have been eating more <em>frugally</em> for the last five days, but I didn’t expect to see the overnight drop, LOL. I’ve still been eating my little <em>treats</em> too. Discovered some chocolate covered caramels made locally that are to die for. But have only eaten two so far. They’re the kind with the sea salt sprinkled on top . . .Went to the zumba class tonight, which I hadn’t been to for a month or so. Forgot how hard it was. Went through two water bottles in 50 min. Still can’t do lots of the movements, but fun to try, and the time went by very quickly.</p>
<p>sorry about the double post. Computer got stuck, didn’t think it was going to post at all, but when it finally did, it did double.</p>
<p>I’m wearing a pair of pants today I haven’t worn in a while. I remember them being skin tight - they have at least an inch give all the way down. What happened?</p>
<p>What happened was that your hard work is paying off!!! Good job!</p>
<p>Lat night I was grateful for Worknprogress’s tip from way way back on this thread. A few weeks ago I made chocolate covered banana slices and kept them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. I was craving chocolate and two of those hit the spot without spoiling my day’s effort at eating right.</p>
<p>That sounds like a great idea, EPTR</p>
<p>Good supportive activity going on here while I was away!</p>
<p>Back from the cruise and only gained 3 pounds, less than I expected based on how I was eating the first several days. Eventually I slowed down; I wasn’t eating all that healthily but quantities were back to my usual. I was enticed by the siren song of ice cream with meringue and chocolate chip cookies and chocolate syrup and sprinkles available ALL THE TIME!! It was lunch at least twice. :o Luckily the main dining room food was erratic so my major indulgence was bread and butter. Through necessity I was drinking tons of water, even though the first four days of the cruise were overcast and sometimes raining.</p>
<p>On the beach at Aruba, I got to talking with the woman next to me. She had worked with a nutritionist for several months to lose weight but was gaining instead. She opted for weight loss surgery and dropped 130 pounds, but apparently can barely eat or drink much of anything without getting sick. That’s quite a sacrifice.</p>
<p>I was getting worried that my purple dress wouldn’t fit for the last formal night and heaved a sigh of relief when it zipped up. Must have been all those circuits around the promenade deck (where I was being passed by people at least 10 years older than me), and roaming endlessly around the little tourist towns hoping to find some kind of decent souvenir. And of course all the running back and forth in the Lido to get food ;). I did enjoy getting tons of portraits taken and ended up buying a couple. DH and I compared them to the pictures from the cruise we took a few years ago; he said I look younger now. I guess he must have missed me!</p>
<p>Welcome back, Marilyn! Reading about that woman on the beach at Aruba was pretty sobering. I can’t imagine what a price she paid. Years ago my daughter’s pre-school teacher had weight loss surgery. She was doing so well with losing the weight in the following weeks. Then, without warning, she died. Her husband never shared the details but it was due to the surgery.</p>
<p>It puts our weight loss travails in perspective. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted here and it’s good to be back. It makes the journey so much more supportive.</p>
<p>Well, I got rid of the two pounds I had gained over the last three weeks. Too many snow storms keeping me indoors and at the mercy of the refrigerator. </p>
<p>The school that I work at has a salad bar. Lately I have been taking advantage of it at lunch time. I think that has helped!</p>
<p>Sometimes those last few pounds are definitely the most stubborn - congrats for beating THEM EPTR! </p>
<p>I love salad bars but also know that I love salad dressing so I have to be REALLY careful to not overdo…</p>
<p>I’ve lost 2.5 pounds this week!! Finally some movement in the right direction. I’ve counted every calorie and also worked out 5 hours (hard workouts) so I should have lost something. Now if I can keep it up. DS is home on spring break, so it will be harder eat well while feeding him some of his favorites.</p>
<p>Congrats to others who are losing the weight too.</p>
<p>Marilyn–only 3 lbs with all that food around is pretty good. I have a friend who also did the weight loss surgery–she did the gastric bypass. She looks great, but can’t eat much at all and if she eats too much or the wrong thing she gets sick. Others I know who did the lap band (is that how it’s spelled?) seem to be able to eat more normally at least it seems like they don’t get sick. </p>
<p>Here’s looking forward to another week of weight loss.</p>
<p>Yes! Let’s hope the scales are in our favor this week. Thanks for the reminder about the salad bar, Abasket. I go easy on the dressing but some of the other stuff is so tempting. Eggs, tuna salad, olives, etc. It can go wrong so quickly!</p>
<p>Eggs & tuna are protein and help keep you from getting hungry so soon after the salad bar visit. That’s my theory, anyway.</p>