My wife and I have been doing WW for about 6 months now-- and have lost about 40 lbs together. She has about 15 more pounds til she hits her goal and I have about 50-70 more pounds for my goal. Its slow, but it feels good-- to be lighter.

My one thing I am not good at is -- drum roll: exercise. Any suggestions on what to motivate someone?

1st day back at the gym with my trainer. Crossfit day......OMFG! that is all.

Thank you, Gemme.

a.

PS. Congrats on your new weight--

Hi Healthies :)

So glad to see you all in here supporting each other!

I'm still chugging away at the world's slowest weight loss. The good news is that it's still going down. I can look back and remember my high weight of 230...the incredible struggle I had to break the 200 mark....and now know that on any given day I can hop on the scale and see something near 195. This morning it was 194.

Part of me thinks my loss is slow because of the diabetes meds I'm on....my cousin thinks I should get my thyroid checked since evidently the whole family has thyroid issues...and personally I think it's just because I'm making "baby step" changes rather than dieting, so that I can live like this for the rest of my life.

I'm still doing the Curves thing 3 times a week, although I've missed a few when traveling for work the last couple months. My body is reshaping and firming up in a way that makes me happy. I'm back in my size 14 skirt suit for client visits, and am buying off the rack size 16 shorts (although those are getting lose now....think I need to head for the 14s) and size large shirts.

Still have that annoying lower belly "thing" that I got after having my son and has never left...but everything else is looking and feeling pretty good. :)

I don't really like to focus on pounds or sizes but how I feel-however, I tried on my size 12 jeans today thinking that no way in hell they would fit but they did.

They had fit me about 14 months ago and then I porked myself out of them, much to my dismay.

Since my 1st surgery in March, I have lost 15 pounds but more important, I have gained most of my stamina and energy back.

In the end, health truly is all that matters.

The last two days have had an eating out component and I am very happy with my food selection and portion control.

The downside is I was up so late last night that I will miss yoga this morning, because I will be returning to bed in a few. (Why I can't just sleep in like normal people......)

My motivation is purely health. I wish I had rewards to look forward to but there isn't anything I can think of that has a strong enough appeal.

What are some of your milestone rewards?

A couple of months ago I changed my primary care Doctor,I told her how I had been watching my food plan along with working out three to five times a week but didnt think I was loseing enough weight.She orderd a thyroid/hormone check and found I was low on all counts by 10 to 15% so now in on pills to help it get back to normal numbers slowly but stedly they are getting better.I weighed yesterday at 254 so I am now loseing it again at the rate of a pound to a pound and a half a week more or less.For a long time I was just stuck at 265 gain cause I had started gaining but I had no idea why.I had all the probs that come with such low thyroids and hormones even some I didnt think could be part of it.Lack of sleep,restlesness,some bad irritablity,dry itchy skin even some hair loss and just general not feeling good day after day didnt help.

Good morning healthies :)

I just did my periodic check on how I'm doing with my two favorite clothing items that don't yet fit. You know....we all have those, right?

I am SO FREAKIN CLOSE to getting into my favorite Apple Bottom jeans.....arrrrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!

Can't wait...cuz...frankly, my rear view is much improved with 9-1/2 months of exercise. :sunglass:

So glad to see you back PinkieLee! :)

Don't be too rough on yourself about gaining the weight back....it's incredibly hard to keep it off, let alone keep losing, when we're going through intense stress and emotional stuff.

The good news.....you did this before, and you can do it again. We have faith in you! :)

Good morning! I have to share.....

Yesterday on both the treadmill and the elliptical (or torture machine, as I call it), I was able to go twice as long as I have since restarting my health program. While not a great length of time (20 minutes and 10 minutes), it is a big deal for me.

I had encouraged myself not to focus on the discomfort of what I was doing but to challenge myself into going as far as I could. That made all the difference.

Keep up the good work, everyone.

Just finished a killer back, and chest workout!!! I love the bustin at the seams kinda feel!!!

My reward is feeling better plus being able to get up and do the things I like,the bestthing is watching my chubby santa belly shrink.I know lots of my weight gain is because of steroids I have taken over the years for my back problem and sinus probs.I finaly got my Doc to realise im not standing at the fridge at 2:a.m. raiding the thing,it only took months of hunting ALL my medical records from over the years.

One thing I did that not everyone may be able to do, is to move my full-length mirror into the kitchen.

I have it right next to my refrigerator.

That's an appetite killer, I will tell you that.

Makes me think two and three times about whether or not I am really hungry and secondly, if I really am, if what I am planning on eating is the best choice for myself.

Still totally off sweets. This week alone at work, I said no to coconut macaroons and a chocolate baby shower sheet cake. Two favorites, too.

Bravo my friend! It's hard to turn down the goodies, especially our favorites.

I know that it would be much harder for me if I worked in our headquarters offices instead of at home. Every time I go there, people are constantly bringing in treats, inviting people to come finish off the luncheon from whatever meeting went on, and going on Starbuck's runs.

I salute all of you who deal with those challenges at work.

I'm still plugging away....no gain or loss for this week. Did miss a workout at Curves...just too sore from overdoing physical work in the house and yard...so figuring it probably all works out. I am planning on taking the dogs for a nice, long beach walk tomorrow....and having a swim this afternoon.

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Hello and happy weekend healthies !!

I found this article at Shape and thought I'd share it here. It says 7 Foods A Nutritionist Would Never Eat .. so maybe you shouldn't either!

1. Rice Cakes - They are the ultimate diet food for low-fat/no-fat, but don’t be fooled. Rice cakes can have a glycemic index rating as high as 91 (pure glucose has a rating of 100), making it the kind of carbohydrate that will send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride. This is bad for weight loss and for your health.

2. Fat Free Salad Dressing - It's a good food gone bad. Salad dressing is the perfect combination of vinegar (which helps control blood sugar) and plant oils (full of essential fatty acids and sometimes antioxidants). But the result of fat-free salad dressings is sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other ingredients not so good.

3. Seitan - Originally from Asia, is a common meat substitute for vegetarian dishes. Unlike many meat substitutes, seitan is not soy derived but made entirely of wheat gluten. Wheat gluten is a highly allergenic protein that is naturally found only in small amounts in wheat-based products. While there is no research linking seitan intake to increased prevalence of gluten allergies or intolerances, but perhaps eating a lot of this allergenic protein may trigger development of a more severe gluten allergy or intolerance.

4. Shark - The risk/benefit ratio of eating fish (the benefits of omega-3 fats vs. the risk of mercury) typically falls in favor of the omega-3 fats and their incredible health effects. Shark is one of the exceptions. Despite having an omega-3 fat content similar to tuna, shark contains almost three times the amount of mercury. Tilefish is another high mercury/low omega-3 fish that should be avoided. Salmon is your best bet for maximizing omega-3 fats while minimizing mercury levels.

5. Refined and Refortified Grains - Unfortunately this rules out a majority of the carbohydrates found on supermarket shelves. Refined and re-fortified grains are grain-based foods like certain breakfast cereals, pastas, and rice products that have been refined such that the naturally occurring fiber, vitamins, and minerals have been removed. Companies then replace the fiber and synthetic versions of the vitamins and minerals that were initially removed.

6. Sugar Sweetened Beverages - If you stop eating only one thing on this list, it should be sugar-sweetened beverages. The empty calories help pad your waistline without offering any sense of satiety or fullness. Plus, simple sugars do an excellent job of lowering your good cholesterol and increasing your triglyceride levels (two risk factors for heart disease). Drinking sugary beverages also promotes disturbances in your body’s inflammatory balance, making it harder to recover from exercise and increasing your risk of numerous chronic diseases.

7. Grits - Another hyper-refined carbohydrate. Nutritionally speaking, grits lack significant amounts of vitamins or minerals. They contain a minute amount of fiber and no essential fats. Their flavor is lacking and thus butter or heavy cream is used to make them palatable, bringing together the blood-vessel-destroying, unholy marriage of simple carbohydrates and saturated fat.

I know for me I need to check the fat free dressings I have! I think some of you have offered recipes and alternatives here for dressings. I also need to get away from sodas, whether they are no calorie or otherwise. I had lost some lbs and gained them back and I know where they came from, sugar and carbs! I'm gonna focus on 10 lbs for now, losing 10 lbs and I'm gonna go for this by end of the year and see where I stand. That's a good goal for me. :)

I start my new position at work tonight and I don't plan on eating all night or early morning while I'm working. I need to plan accordingly and eat dinner before I go to work and take a snack or two that is good for me. I'll also be drinking black coffee and tea. On the plus side, I'll be getting off my arse and moving more for this job!

I found a cool app for my iPhone..It is called Yoga Builder and I am going to start out with the semi easy poses until I work up to the harder ones...I have been emotionally stressed out at work and I have been munching and less than a month ago I could get into my size 11 Junior skinny jeans and now my work pants are a little snug..Time to get rid of the extra weight!

Zimmeh