New You-August

Well, I think I may have finally found the plan that really works for me. I have been at it a little over 3 weeks. Here's what happened:

I was looking for the calorie count of a McDonald's salad on line and I found this site called MyFoodDiary.com. It lets you enter what your current weight and goal weights are and what food you eat/exercise you do each day. It keep track of it all for you.

I have done this before for myself, but found it really cumbersome to have to look everything up and guess on many things. This site has so many foods already in its data bank, and you can manually enter anyting you don't find. I checked the info on the site against the nutrition info on several packages and found it to be consistent with those. It is just so quick and easy.

The exercise part is also consistent with the calories burned info on my treadmill, DF's pedometer, and the plan my trainer made for me when I did the marathon.

So I feel confident that the site info is valid.

The other thing that has happened is I now have an exercise group. We meet every morning at a set time and place and whoever can come, comes. We vary the place/route, and everyone runs or walks according to her own pace. If it's raining, we don't meet and I go on the treadmill inside. There are 18 of us in the group, all different fitness levels, and it is casual enough to be fun, but structured enough that it gives me routine. It has just become part of my day.

Here is why I think it's working:

The food/exercise diary does all the work for me, I just have to enter the info.

Meeting a group is motivating, but if for some reason I can't come I don't feel guilty and then get down on myself

The food diary lets you eat anything. It just keeps track of calories in/calories out. On DS's b-day I had pizza and felt really guilty and horrible because it's a "bad food." But when I entered it in, it was just a typical number of calories for dinner, so I didn't feel guilty anymore, which usually causes me to give up, think I ruined the "diet" anyway, and eat more out of frustration.

I really think I can live with this for the long term. Walk when it feels good, run when that feels good. Vary the place, have others to distract you, and eat whatever, just be careful of the amount of high-calorie food.

I still eat as few sugars/processed white stuff as I can because I feel better when I don't eat that.

I have hope! This could be the final, long-term solution for me. I'll keep you posted.

Where is everyone else?
Bye,
-Jo

I went and signed up for My Food Diary and we shall see. I need to shed about 30 pounds and would like to do it by the holidays!

Jana

Thanks for starting the thread Jo! It's about time we all got going with this again.

I have been doing a version of the GI diet for three weeks. So far I have lost 4lbs, and am going to class tomorrow, so I'll find out then if I've lost any more. I must measure myself too, as my clothes are definitely looser.

The diet involves eating protein at all three meals and avoiding potatoes, pasta and rice (and limiting bread). The other foods I eat are all supposed to be low GI. I am finding it surprisingly easy. I feel more alert and a bit more energetic, and my eyes and skin are clearer than usual.

Off now to look at the My Food Diary site!

Really big hurdle for me - after taking two or three sugars in every cup of tea and coffee all my life, I have given it up completely

I gave up sugar in coffee and tea too, when I was in college. Now I like them better that way.

Last anyone checked, I was still a little malnourished plus anemic, but that was back in June so who knows, maybe it's resolved now. I'm making an effort to eat enough protein every day, and I'm taking iron.

Now I'm not just playing with myself. Snort.

I am very proud of myself because I got all smiley faces on my final daily report on MyFoodDiary. I managed this by replacing my usual butter with olive oil when I cooked the zucchini for dinner. Otherwise I would have had a frownie for saturated fat. I also ate 30 grams of fiber and burned 469 calories through exercise. I'm a sucker for smilies.

I didn't feel at all hungry today either.

Yesterday, the program actually gave me a frownie because I hadn't eaten enough calories for the day, and it reminded me that too few will cause the metabolism to slow down. I promptly are a plum and a yogurt.

I don't mean to gush, I'm just very excited about the long-term learning a new lifestyle possibilities.

Jana, cool! What do you think so far?

Honey and Becky, I aspire to unsweetened coffee, but am not quite there yet. I use 1 teaspoon each of splenda and sugar or sometimes maple syrup.

It's great to have you guys here.

See ya tomorrow! (after my walk )
-Jo

LOVE IT! The myfooddairy.com site!

OMG! Love the way it works and last night I could see what I needed to do in exercise to get a few more calories at dinner. It just works great. Already mapped out my day today!

Thanks JO!

Jana

All that running has left me sore, so I'm taking tomorrow off. Then on Saturday I will walk to rest and heal those muscles some more.

I'm thinking I won't weigh myself until it's been a month or two. I don't want to get discouraged if I'm not losing, because I want my mindset to be about health, not weight. In fact, I may take to scale to the Salvation Army with the clothes and toys I have set aside to go.

I do have a very well-loved pair of button-fly jeans in a size smaller than I wear now. Perhaps that should be my goal rather than a number on a scale. In fact, maybe I'll go get those out and hang them where I can see them.

Have a happy, healthy day!
-Jo

I took Friday off as I planned, and walked Saturday. My food choices were horrible Saturday, but, oh well, one day out of 7 isn't going to kill me, and it sure nagatively effected my running today. I thought I might throw up. That'll teach me. I did manage to get in 2.5 miles of walking and 2 of running, so the muscles continue to grow.

I am still really loving the food diary site. I am eating whatever works still with no problem/guilt. Today I hadn't gone grocery shopping and all that was available for lunch was some leftover chicken breast from last night. I threw some grated cheddar on a whole wheat tortilla with the chicken and half an avacado, and boom! A lunch that I once would have considered no-no became a fine lunch.

Tomorrow I will walk again and run on Tuesday. DS15 starts soccer tomorrow and has double practices Mon-Thurs. I have to have him down there by 6:30 each morning, so there is my custom-made exercise time!

See ya,
-Jo

We had a ruby wedding celebration to go to today, so of course I ate (and drank ) all the wrong things. Last Thursday at the club I had lost another 2lb (so far that makes 6lb in 3 weeks), but I expect I will have put it back on after today!!

myfooddiary.com It lets me see exactly where I stand. Wonderful visual for me. I have not had a Dr. Pepper in a week, have really increased my water and have been making better choices on what I STICK IN MY MOUTH!!!!!!!!! I have also been making a big effort to eat every 3 hours and not after 8 pm.

Jana

And I was on the recreation trail. I walked 5 miles and watched the sun come up, listened to the birds, smelled the flowers. It was pretty nice! Tomorrow DF and I will run 2 miles of the 4 mile trail at the same time of day.

Went grocery shopping so now I have good food in the house. This will help for sure.

Jana, I'm glad you are liking the site too. I told DF about it, and she LOVES it. She is assistant coaching the JV girl's soccer team, and told one of her players about it today. The incoming freshman came to practice today never having run more than a mile before. She cried the whole time because she weighs 300 pounds and is five feet one. DF stayed with her through the whole run and encouraged her. This young lady has lost 15 pounds already, and she had the courage to show up for soccer today, so I give her a lot of credit. Maybe the site will help her too.

See Ya,
-Jo

I'm glad you all are doing well with the food diary site. Maybe I'll go check it out when I go back to work next week and have a routine going again.

Just got back last night from a four day trip to Cincinnati. Drove out there Thursday and checked into the Millenium Hotel. Had supper at the Montgomery Inn rib place on the river. Friday we walked around the city and had lunch at the Rockbottom on the square with the fountain. Friday night was the Bengals game (they lost). Saturday we headed out of the city and on to Paramount King's Island, where we stayed until about 9 p.m., then went north a couple of exits to a fancy schmancy Holiday Inn, where we had a late supper at Max and Erma's (like we really needed supper after all day at PKI!). Sunday we drove home.

I did make it to Curves today for the first time in a long time. I figured since we had done sooooo much walking over the weekend, that I should keep the momentum going and not miss today.

My hat goes off to you ladies...this business of having kids around--even only half the week--can really mess with your plans!!

Anyway, let's just say the trip motivated me, and leave it go at that.

See you tomorrow!
Jul

Julie
"We must have patience for love, born of an accidental look." --Me

Yesterday when I took DS13 shopping we went to the Japanese restaurant that he requested. I would usually get the assorted tempura lunch box, but I thought about how that tempura would come out on the food diary (at least a bazillion calories) and ordered shrimp teryiaki instead. I also opted for hot green tea as a drink rather than my typical virgin pina colada. Kep the calorie count for the day reasonable!

When my mom came over yesterday she commented that my face looks skinnier. She's my biggest weight critic, and that's big coming from her(the eating disorder queen), so that made me feel good.

I still havn't gotten on the scale, and refuse to until August 26th since that will be one month from when I started, but my belly feels less poochy and I have less of a roll under my arm from my bra.

I just need to keep on keeping on.

Bye,
-Jo

I am taking today off from exercise to rest and recover. I walked 6.4 miles with my exercise buddies yesterday on very steep hills, and now I have three big blisteres and a raw spot where my bra rubbed.

Am still doing well with the eating, thanks to the food diary. It just really works for me. It gave me an interesting warning the other day because I had exceeded my iron RDA. I had fortified cereal for breakfast and a bunch of spinach for dinner.

I have been sleeping better and drinking less red wine, so that's good for the health too!

Have a healthy day,
-Jo

I went for a run with my buddies this morning and I walked half a mile, ran two and a quarter miles and then walked another mile and a half. This is the first time since I stopped running in 2004 that I felt strong after a run. My legs didn't hurt or feel really tired, and I don't feel like I want to just collapse in my chair and stay there all day! Yippee!

Unfortunately, I am eating like a woman possesed. I am having intense cravings, and I blame PMS. I figure, I'll just eat it and eat healthier when this stops. I'm still exercising, so I'm still ahead of where I was a month ago!

Bye,
-Jo

I think that would make a huge difference. I was down a pound and lost 2 inches in my waist. No to shabby but I still have 27 pounds to go until I am at my goal weight. We are trying to figure out a new routine as we are starting up the busy season and I just HAVE to fit in exercise.

My Food Diary is working out great for me. Thank you so much to Jo for sharing!

Jana

it's September, I'm just too lazy to start a new thread.

I weighed in on Aug. 26th and I lost 4 pounds last month! Cool.

I think the Food Diary is really helping me learn how much I can eat as I have to weigh stuff and keep to a calorie budget and all. The one pound a week scenario is exactly what the site said I'd lose.

I am also still running/walking and can do quite a lot of running and not fell like I want to die. That's really good because I love running. I only go every other day lately, but soon I want to throw in some cross training (tae-bo or step aerobics) and start lifting weights.

That's the update!

-Jo