Join Our Weight Loss Journey: Supportive Community for Healthy Living

[its_me_susan]

I noticed in the highjacked leadership thread that I am not the only one aiming to "remove" the extra from my body.... I was going to post this last week ~ wish I had. I just rejoined Weight Watchers last Tuesday (so Tuesday is my weigh-in day)... Would anyone like to try to do this together? You can lose how ever you wish, but I'd love a supportive place to post my accomplishments (I'm NOT going the other way); be it pounds removed, exercise, water, etc. Since National 07 I have gained 15 pounds from inactivity and PC recipes (Help I love food and I can't stop tasting). My goal is to "remove" 35 pounds. When you next pick up a 5-lb bag of potatoes, think of me - that is my week 1 goal (1st week is always the biggest loss & I am doing so well ~ I just want to eat Goldfish!) lol. :cry:

Here's what I'm doing now:
* WW online allows me to enter my foods. I'm doing the core plan because I am not a weigher or measurer. Core is like South Beach Diet, which I love. I'm kind of combining the two.

* Right now I'm wearing a pedometer and getting around in a walking cast (ankle surgery) - no driving so it is a challenge just getting to 5000. 10,000 is the daily goal to get to eventually. Not allowed to swim or use my tredmill yet.

* I'm drinking loads of hot green tea (decaf) with no sugar. Feeling less bloated already.

Anyone else?

 

[redsoxgirl]

If you guys wanted a place specific to weight loss/getting in shape, SparkPeople.com is really good for that. Y

ou can create teams (private or public) and there are places for you to track food and exercise. I use it and like it a lot!

They have articles on all sorts of different things from how to eat out, family dieting, getting kisd active, etc.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I'm not planning to 'die-hard diet', but I do need to lose a few punds and exercize more to tighten up my flabby parts. DH joined Gold's Gym a few months ago and I told him to turn it into a family membership so I can go to. I have a friend who owns a Ladies Workout Express and I exercized there for the last year on an off and it just didn't do it for me - same ole same ole and too boring. So, next week I start at Golds. I have several friends and neighbors who work-out there and I'm looking forward to it.

 

[KellyTheChef]

We have a $2,000 treadmill downstairs and I have only been on it twice in the past month. I need to do two things first:

1. Eat ONLY when I am hungry. (I graze all day on crappy stuff, even when I am not hungry)

2. Use my treadmill IFit program (warms you up, cardio part, warms you down) 5 x's per week.

Those are my two goals to hit first.

I am "in" if we want to start a club to post!

 

[StacieB]

If you guys wanted a place specific to weight loss/getting in shape, SparkPeople.com is really good for that. Y

ou can create teams (private or public) and there are places for you to track food and exercise. I use it and like it a lot!

They have articles on all sorts of different things from how to eat out, family dieting, getting kisd active, etc.

I joined Spark People the other day and love it!!! i also am using my new elliptical machine twice a day!!!

 

[urbnk8]

If you guys wanted a place specific to weight loss/getting in shape, SparkPeople.com is really good for that. Y

ou can create teams (private or public) and there are places for you to track food and exercise. I use it and like it a lot!

They have articles on all sorts of different things from how to eat out, family dieting, getting kisd active, etc.

I LOVE SparkPeople.com!!!!! It is a great site and I have had really good results using it. Last year I lost 17 lbs. by tracking everything on that site and exercising. I just got back on there again because I have gotten off track and need to lose more!

Love it, love it, love it!!

And the best thing about it is that it's completely FREE!!!

 

[K_Jurich]

I am up far it too. My DH and I just started going back to the gym last week, so hey count me in! I have a 9 and 5 and would really love to finnally loose that baby fat. Hahahaha! Except I don't think it is concidered baby fat anymore. I keep a pic of me in Disney 1 month before I got preg with my first on the fridge and I look at it and pray maybe one day.

 

[susanr613]

could we form a mini-group within sparkpeople? that would be cool - the cheffies-in-shape group

 

[MissChef]

We have a $2,000 treadmill downstairs and I have only been on it twice in the past month. I need to do two things first:

1. Eat ONLY when I am hungry. (I graze all day on crappy stuff, even when I am not hungry)

2. Use my treadmill IFit program (warms you up, cardio part, warms you down) 5 x's per week.

Those are my two goals to hit first.

I am "in" if we want to start a club to post!

Gosh I want a treadmill! I would do so much more if I had one! How much do these cost and does any one have any ideas where one might get one used at a discount???!!!

 

[MissChef]

I just re-started my southbeach diet!! Lost quite a bit about 3 years ago, I need to do it again and really make it a life style and not a diet! I need to because there is heart disease in my family and I don't want to mess with that~!
My biggest problem is exercise! I don't have the money for a gym and it is so freaking snowy here that I might break my neck or back or something if I try to walk quick outside! LOL!
The mall is 10 miles away and I hate cheesy exercise tapes! The only time I ever really stuck to exercising was when I walked when I had a full time job about 7 years ago. I did it during my lunch hour! I walked all the time and the area was easy to walk in because the businesses plowed their snow! I actually loved walking so much! That is why I wish I had a treadmill I could see myself grabbing my son's mp3 player and just walking for at least 30 minutes! I need to look into this! Anyone have any ideas about the treadmill?

 

[redsoxgirl]

could we form a mini-group within sparkpeople? that would be cool - the cheffies-in-shape group

Absolutely! You can create your own group and make it so people can join by invite only - that way one Cheffes can join :chef:

They have cute smilies/pictures to put in posts too

 

[lacychef]

Gosh I want a treadmill! I would do so much more if I had one! How much do these cost and does any one have any ideas where one might get one used at a discount???!!!

Cathy, my parents got one at Sears last year on sale. I think it was close to $1000 though.

 

[MissChef]

Cathy, my parents got one at Sears last year on sale. I think it was close to $1000 though.

holy crap!!! forget that! I better start working my business! LOL!:balloon:

 

[elizabethfox]

Absolutely! You can create your own group and make it so people can join by invite only - that way one Cheffes can join :chef:

They have cute smilies/pictures to put in posts too

so let's do it!

 

[Leigh0725]

Has anyone had any success with the Fat Smash Diet? It's the one that was used on Celebrity Fit Club. I'm contemplating it.

 

[ChefJoyJ]

I'm in like Flynn!

Maybe instead of grazing/eating when bored, I'll just come post here. Since I flat out refuse to buy a new wardrobe, I need to do something about the weight on me now...kwim? Especially since I'm aiming for a trip...

 

[its_me_susan]

If you guys wanted a place specific to weight loss/getting in shape, SparkPeople.com is really good for that. Y

ou can create teams (private or public) and there are places for you to track food and exercise. I use it and like it a lot!

They have articles on all sorts of different things from how to eat out, family dieting, getting kisd active, etc.

No no just thought it would just another way to support each other. Nothing strict. don't even have to do it here - was just "moved" by all the weight-related posts in the leadership thread.

 

[MissChef]

I got asked on the Leadership thread what I ate on the southbeach diet. Basically it's lean meats, eggs, low fat 2% cheeses or fat free, milk (2 cups a day) 1% or fat free. You can eat plain yogurt that you sweeten with sugar free jello, or almond extract and toasted almonds and sweetner,
cottage cheese, hummus, veggies (most are allowed but carrots are not in the first phase because they contain a lot of natural sugar), beans, olives, avocados, nuts, pickles, sugar free fudgsicles.
Check out south beach diet on line! They will have a list in there and you can read reviews if you do a search.
It works for me because the first stage is only 2 weeks long, then you can add in whole grains and fruit and quite a bit more! you stay on that until you reach your goal. I usually go for 3 weeks on the first stage, and then go from there, depends on how bad my bread withdrawl is! I love bread, but I can be happy with whole wheat! Southbeach has also got quite a bit of packaged foods too that are good for you! and they taste good too!
One of my favorite things is hummus, especially homemade hummus and I make a great one. I can munch on celery and cucumbers and such with my hummus quite a bit! I figure if I cheat a little and eat a little bit more of the hummus then I should then I be careful with my meat intake, at least the splurge was on something that was allowed and better than cookies and cakes and bread, icecream, high bad fat foods.
The book is really interesting and I do well with it!:balloon:

 

[its_me_susan]

Gosh I want a treadmill! I would do so much more if I had one! How much do these cost and does any one have any ideas where one might get one used at a discount???!!!

Cathy I got a *good* one for $50 from someone I knew who was using it for a coat hanger! So lucky. Check out and post a "wanted" at freecycle.com in your area. You never know - some people will give it away if you'll pick it up!

 

[PSPingMom]

I got asked on the Leadership thread what I ate on the southbeach diet. Basically it's lean meats, eggs, low fat 2% cheeses or fat free, milk (2 cups a day) 1% or fat free. You can eat plain yogurt that you sweeten with sugar free jello, or almond extract and toasted almonds and sweetner,
cottage cheese, hummus, veggies (most are allowed but carrots are not in the first phase because they contain a lot of natural sugar), beans, olives, avocados, nuts, pickles, sugar free fudgsicles.
Check out south beach diet on line! They will have a list in there and you can read reviews if you do a search.
It works for me because the first stage is only 2 weeks long, then you can add in whole grains and fruit and quite a bit more! you stay on that until you reach your goal. I usually go for 3 weeks on the first stage, and then go from there, depends on how bad my bread withdrawl is! I love bread, but I can be happy with whole wheat! Southbeach has also got quite a bit of packaged foods too that are good for you! and they taste good too!
One of my favorite things is hummus, especially homemade hummus and I make a great one. I can munch on celery and cucumbers and such with my hummus quite a bit! I figure if I cheat a little and eat a little bit more of the hummus then I should then I be careful with my meat intake, at least the splurge was on something that was allowed and better than cookies and cakes and bread, icecream, high bad fat foods.
The book is really interesting and I do well with it!:balloon:

Thank you very much for your answer:chef:

 

[its_me_susan]

I just re-started my southbeach diet!! Lost quite a bit about 3 years ago, I need to do it again and really make it a life style and not a diet! I need to because there is heart disease in my family and I don't want to mess with that~!
My biggest problem is exercise! I don't have the money for a gym and it is so freaking snowy here that I might break my neck or back or something if I try to walk quick outside! LOL!
The mall is 10 miles away and I hate cheesy exercise tapes! The only time I ever really stuck to exercising was when I walked when I had a full time job about 7 years ago. I did it during my lunch hour! I walked all the time and the area was easy to walk in because the businesses plowed their snow! I actually loved walking so much! That is why I wish I had a treadmill I could see myself grabbing my son's mp3 player and just walking for at least 30 minutes! I need to look into this! Anyone have any ideas about the treadmill?

Cathy get yourself a $15 pedometer, and walk with your mp3 player! Or just clean around your house (counting every step). The pedometer is a huge motivator. Write down your daily steps on your calendar. You'll see yourself improve!

 

[its_me_susan]

Cathy get yourself a $15 pedometer, and walk with your mp3 player! Or just clean around your house (counting every step). The pedometer is a huge motivator. Write down your daily steps on your calendar. You'll see yourself improve!

Ok so we have:

Susan
kelly
stacie
kara
cathy
Joy

to post here or there?

 

[MissChef]

Thank you very much for your answer:chef:

your welcome! there is more foods too, and when you read the book, your really get the whole picture! It's like attending national conference! LOL!
It is pretty easy for me to stick too! Phase 2 is actually pretty easy!:thumbup:

 

[MissChef]

Ok so we have:

Susan
kelly
stacie
kara
cathy
Joy

to post here or there?

If someone here will start it over there.... ahem...susan..ahem!! Then I'll join it. I don't care where we post.... both is fine with me!

 

[MissChef]

Cathy get yourself a $15 pedometer, and walk with your mp3 player! Or just clean around your house (counting every step). The pedometer is a huge motivator. Write down your daily steps on your calendar. You'll see yourself improve!

Thanks, I might do that!

 

[MissChef]

Cathy I got a *good* one for $50 from someone I knew who was using it for a coat hanger! So lucky. Check out and post a "wanted" at freecycle.com in your area. You never know - some people will give it away if you'll pick it up!

And I really thank you for this advice.... I'm going to go chek it out at freecycle and see what I can do!

 

[its_me_susan]

If someone here will start it over there.... ahem...susan..ahem!! Then I'll join it. I don't care where we post.... both is fine with me!

:blushing: actually... I wasn't going to go there. Have too many boards to try to keep up with. I was going to let you all go there if you wanted; I'm going to weekly meetings so far and inputting at the WW site.

By the way - this South Beach Diet board is awesome! I used to co-lead it. You'll love the support and information.

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-fbsouthbeach

Tell Cathy I sent you

 

[susanr613]

add susan r too please!

If someone here will start it over there.... ahem...susan..ahem!! Then I'll join it. I don't care where we post.... both is fine with me!

i'd like to join too - thanks!

 

[Gina M]

I'm not necessarily dieting but am getting back to my exercising on a much regular basis. This week alone - I went to Curves on Monday - our Curves now have these computerized machines that tell us how hard we're working on each machine and how many calories burned after the workout. And then it keeps track on the computer. On Monday, I burned 422 calories in 30 minutes! Then on Wednesday, I took a 30 minute abs crunch class with bosu ball and regular ball - I'm still feeling that! And today I took a 45 minute class - Zumba - new at our park district - totally fun and a great work out - I'm trying to be better about drinking water and haven't felt the need to eat too much. My goal is to get in better shape and maybe lose around 10-15 pounds but I'm not really focusing on weight loss - just want to be more toned as well.

 

[Leigh0725]

What are your opinions about curves? My current place of employment has a workout facility that isn't bad (and showers to allow us to work out in the morning or lunch). The people there are the big athletic type, and I get discouraged easily. I'm paying about $32/month for this. Just thought I would get an idea of my options. Do they offer early morning workouts? I'm not familiar with how curves works, but like the idea of only being around women.

 

[Gina M]

Curves is a bunch of different machines (our place has 14 I believe) and then recovery boards in between. We just got the machines that measure how hard you're working - not all Curves have this yet. Each machine - you work out for approximately 35-40 seconds - and then you use the recovery boards to run in place and then on to the next machine. It's resistance training - so you don't change weights - the machine works you as hard as you work it (does this make sense?) There's music going on and it tells you to change stations. I've been doing Curves for over 5 years now - I like that it's all women and you're basically done with your workout in about 40 minutes with stretching afterwards. Our Curves opens at 6 am and closes around 7:30 on weeknights and only is open on Saturday mornings from 7-11 am and is closed on Sunday. My suggestion is go into your local Curves and ask for a free trial to check it out - most of them do this already and it's a great way to see if it's a good fit for you.

In fact, my director met me at Curves during HWC month and got herself a recruit just 3 months later - I've done a HWC fundraiser the past 2 Mays there and have gotten a lot of nice business. Our owner is great.

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

I want to say I'll do it but I know me. But, HELLO, I don't want to look scary on that cruise! So, ohhhhhhhh, OK, sign me up.

 

[chef greta]

What are your opinions about curves? . . . Do they offer early morning workouts? I'm not familiar with how curves works, but like the idea of only being around women.

I have a Curves in my neighborhood and they sent out post cards for a "fitness study," so I signed up. I've been several times, and i still don't know what i think about it. I know i raise my heart rate, but i've never felt sore the next day. That was always my gage when i used to workout at the gym... if i was sore the next day, it was a good workout.
I would definitely get a trial membership if possible and see if it works for you.
Good Luck everyone, I just started a 4 month Biggest Loser Challenge with 10 of my cousins, and the biggest help for me has been keeping an online food log. I use http://www.selfdietclub.com, it's free for subscribers and so far, it's been really helpful.

 

[chefjwr]

I'd like to join a cheffer group on Spark People I would like to lose 40 lbs.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

Count me in........ I need to loose 50lbs myself.

 

[its_me_susan]

Weigh-in Day for meI'm down 2.2 pounds (this is after coffee and fully dressed at the meeting). Yea me!

Anyone else here? Or is everyone at the sparks site?

 

[K_Jurich]

I am here and after 2 weeks of healthy eating and going to the gym. . . THE STUPID Scale did nothing!

 

[nikked]

If there is a cheffers group on the sparks site, could someone please post the link? I' totally there.

I weigh tomorrow...Hoping for another two pounds, but it's been back snacking week for me...darn those Little Debbies!

 

[jetcitysandy]

I'm onboard with you too. Maybe if I do this then I will have to be accountable for losing the 50 pounds I would like to lose.
Sandy

 

[Grandmarita]

Good timing, ladies. Count me in for the Spark People.com site. I will check
in there tomorrow. I have the South Beach books, and abstained from
refined sugar and refined flour in 2005. Lost 50 lb. and have now regained it because I broke my abstainence. I've been away from Curves since dealing with breast cancer and the radiation. I've noticed the flabbyness has returned and need the toning the resistance equipment provides. This year Help Whip Cancer will have new meaning to me. I am so thankful for my annual mammogram discovering the little spot that would have otherwise gone undetected. Be sure to add a mammogram to your Fitness program, ladies!

 

[mommyhugz1978]

I am starting weight watchers this week........ I ahve really taken myself to the next level with what I am eating everyday!!!

 

[GourmetGirl]

I want in as well! I started WW in October and am down 14.6 pounds so far. Nowhere near where I want, but at least it is better than nothing. I would definitely love more motivation to keep my butt in gear. I will be going to Vegas this spring and want to lose at least 20 more before I go, I have definitely not been strict enough with myself to get on that pace (only lost 0.2 last week, however I thought I would have gained as it was a really bad week, so I guess any loss is better than none!). Count me in for sparkpeople as well!

 

[mommyhugz1978]

I made a new years resaloution to stop drinking soda... I have lost 5 pounds since new years..... I am almost down three pant sizes too!!!
Any weight loss is better than none !!!!

I want in as well! I started WW in October and am down 14.6 pounds so far. Nowhere near where I want, but at least it is better than nothing. I would definitely love more motivation to keep my butt in gear. I will be going to Vegas this spring and want to lose at least 20 more before I go, I have definitely not been strict enough with myself to get on that pace (only lost 0.2 last week, however I thought I would have gained as it was a really bad week, so I guess any loss is better than none!). Count me in for sparkpeople as well!

 

[iteachurkid]

I'd love to join up with you guys...I have a lot of weight to lose and could totally used the accountability and motivation. Let me know if you have set up the site and what the link is...Thanks so much for setting this up!!

 

[Grandmarita]

I just went to Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople
I did not see us as a group. What name should we use?
I could go back in and put in Cheffers, and it could be
renamed if we came up with something different, okay?

 

[Grandmarita]

I hope you all will join me on the Cheffers team of sparkpeople.com. There was another Grandmarita so I identified myself as Grandmarita3. I have so little internet experience that I would welcome someone with more experience being the "leader". Question for some of you who might live in the are that is having a Regional in Geneva, NY. Would you like to meet this weekend? One other Cheffer and I will be having lunch on Friday. We have an additional person who will be joining us, so we will take a group photo for the Profile - our Starting Image. Others are welcome to join us too. Send me a private e-mail.

 

[iteachurkid]

I can't find it...I'll check tomorrow and see if it's there then...my computer is acting funny so it could be me Thanks for setting it up!!

 

[jetcitysandy]

I got my daily e-mails today from Sparkpeople and Ellen is going to interview people from Sparkpeople on her show tomorrow Wed Jan 23rd.

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

I can't find it...I'll check tomorrow and see if it's there then...my computer is acting funny so it could be me Thanks for setting it up!!

I can't find it either.

 

[K_Jurich]

I went to sparkpeople.com and signed up . . .How do I find everyone. I am SO excited!