Anyone want to join me?

I'm almost embarrassed, you guys all sound so skinny!  I am probably about 70 pounds overweight.  I need to lose weight not only for the appearance, but my health, I am on Cholesterol Lowering drugs and had Gestational Diabetes which puts a woman 50% more likely to get Type 2 diabetes.  I have a food addiction, I'm sure of it, you name it I like to eat it.  I used to be a size 9 and could eat anything and everything without gaining.  Then came the kids!  That's right I blame my kids!  (Just kidding)[]  I would love to be in your group and have some support, since everyone in my family is thin and doesn't need to lose weight.  I'm hoping I'll be able to exercise more when it gets warmer (Minnesota, need i say more?)  My little Ellie is just begging for walks!  Thanks for the support and for stepping up and putting this on IDog.  I'm sure there are more people out there who will use this.

Thanks for the tips. Anything helps. I'm drinking some water right now, I hate water.
 
As for that site that was linked a few posts above... I might just keep a log. It was very handy when looking up food. I was surprised to find out that my bagel and cream cheese was 1,017 calories ALONE. Can't imagine how much my Frappacino was  [:'(]
 
 
 

I can totally relate, my favorite breakfast is a Breve (half and half and esspresso) and a Cinnamon Scone, probably all my calories for the day!

Ummmmm, you're doing all the wrong things for low blood sugar.  PROTEIN gives you a steady and consistent blood sugar.  I was severely hypoglycemic for years and really had to be careful to ALWAYS have high protein snacks with me.  Peanuts are a good source of protein, so are the hard cheeses.  By carbo loading as you are for breakfast...grains in the cereal, milk sugars in the milk and lots of natural sugars in the OJ, you're setting yourself up for a blood sugar crash.  You aren't doing a whole lot better with lunch.  All those sugars spike your blood sugar and then it crashes so you're on a roller coaster allllll day.  Feel free to PM me if you'd like some menu ideas. []

In the past I have done the protein diet and lost 40 pounds, but gained it back during and after my last pregnancy 31/2 years ago.  I guess I can't blame that anymore.  Just have to start really watching what I eat.  Any suggestions are helpful.

I don't want to butt in this thread but a few years ago I lost almost 30 pounds (I was a chubby teenager).
Shannon... I'm not sure if I understood you correctly, if I did... please do NOT cut down to 1000 calories a day! That is dangerous and you will not lose weight in a healthy way. You will deprive your body of what it needs to keep going!
Even 1500 seems a bit low, if you eat the right foods and exercise the weight will come off and you won't have to starve yourself!

Don't cut calories too drastically all at once! This can cause a huge backfire and isn't healthy. Like mentioned above, your body will shut down and store fat b/c it goes into starvation mode.
 
Good rules:

1. Aim for 6 or 7 small meals per day, each meal including BOTH carbs & protein (not eating before bed is largely a myth, based on the premise that people "starve" themselves throughout the day, and then end up overcompensating and eating too many calories at night - all you need to remember is that burning more calories than you eat will always equal weight loss, no matter when the calories are consumed)
   
2. Keep your fat intake to <20% of your daily diet (protein 40% & carbs 40% unless you are into weightlifting where you may want to increase your protein intake, usually by displacing more fat intake)
   
3. Eat only 100% whole grains - nothing refined
   
4. Never drink your calories, yes this includes coffee/soda, wean yourself off it slowly if you need to (doesn't apply if you are having a protein shake)
   
5. Water!
   
6. Let your doggies inspire you to exercise. Pretty soon, they will have to keep up with you! []

There is also a neat feature on [linkhttp://www.calorie-count.com]www.calorie-count.com[/link] that allow you to see what a certain amount of exercise is equal to, e.g. 60 minutes of fast biking = .6 Big Macs. (!!!!)

Sorry, we posted @ the same time & said the same thing about cutting calories.

I don't take it bad at all. I've done some pretty terrible things to myself over the past 10 years. You couldn't imagine....
 
It's going to take some thinking, and figuring out how exactly I'm going to do this. I just threw that figure out because I don't know much about calorie intake
 
Both pregnancies, my doctor said that 2,00 calories is a good amount to eat when pregnant. So if I stay around 1,500, that should be good.
 
I'm going grocery shopping, we do a major shopping once a month, then get misc. things at the little grocery store when it's needed. I'm going to spend part of my afternoon figuring out some stuff to get that's healthy. Things I'll need for breakfast, lunch at work, etc. Looks like I'll be making and eating my own dinner. I'll just have to cook the regulars for the kids and hubby. He'd freak if I went health nut on him!
 
So for you people that are already eating healthy, what are some things you eat throughout the day?

I could handle to shed a few pounds as well.. (well, like 30) []. I talked to my mom and she said her doctor gave her a recipe like the following:
[linkhttp://www.planetherbs.com/articles/soup.html]http://www.planetherbs.com/articles/soup.html[/link]

This soup is really low in calories, but please note that you should NOT follow the instructions.  Whoever came up with this recipe and eating guideline figured it's healthy to lose 10-17 pounds in a week. Heck No!
You can also modify this recipe, add a few veggies (I added carrots), take one or two out(I took out celery - nasty!). But apparently the tomatos are a must.
But you can pretty much eat as much as you want. And do suppliment with fresh fruits and vegetables, and cut down on grains.

It does help to eat many small meals a day - or just munch on carrot sticks/cucumber/celery - anything like that - all day.

This, coupled with lots of exercise (which our dogs will love us for), and we'll lose our pounds in no time []

A great breakfast is egg whites plus fruit. Or you can mix in some oats into the egg whites for your carbs to make an omelet. Or breakfast burrito = egg whites + turkey bacon + low fat cheese in a whole wheat wrap.
 
Snacks = protein shake/bar, almonds, fruits/veggies, whole wheat waffles w/natural peanut butter (no salt), there are so many possibilities.
 
Small meals =

• chicken salad (just mix chicken breast + grapes + fat free raspberry vinegarette dressing)
  
• turkey burger (3 oz. ground turkey pattie on whole wheat english muffin w/turkey bacon & low fat cheese = yummy)
  
• 3 oz pork loin w/mixed veggies
  
• stuffed chicken (bake chicken breast in oven, stuffed w/mixture of whole wheat bread, applesauce and poultry seasoning) - eat with asparagus, corn, or other veggie
  
• pizza wrap (cook chicken in pan & add tomato sauce, green/red peppers, onions, pizza seasoning - put in whole wheat wrap)
  
• turkey taco (use ground turkey instead of ground beef, add sante fe seasoning, put in whole wheat wrap & top with tomatoes, lettuce, low-fat cheese)
  
• homemade soup (mix 1 can chicken broth + one can stewed tomatoes, then add whole wheat noodles or any other veggie you like, chicken too)

Okay, I am making myself hungry. These are just some suggestions for good recipes.

I am in a wedding on April 1st and I tried on the dress Monday night and it fits but looks horrible!
 
Here's my plan:  I am eating very light (sticking to my Weight Watchers rules) and working out doing cardio like crazy.  Yesterday I did cardio for 3 hours! and definitely burned more than I ate.  Today I did cardio one hour so far but I am going latin dancing tonight to burn more.
 
I plan to do at least 2hours cardio a day.
 
Also, I switched out my desk chair for a yoga ball for added ab work . 
 
I am in a rush now but I will read everyone's responses later and check out that calorie site!

I have read in different fitness books and magazines that you reach a plateau when doing cardio, and after that plateau is reached that your body actually starts burning muscle tissue instead of fat. Can anyone comment on that? I just googled and found this info below. Not exactly answering my question but related to it.

"For a long time fitness experts believed that longer periods of lower intensity cardio were the most effective way to burn calories but more recent findings suggest that shorter periods of higher intensity cardio burns the most calories and creates a more significant caloric deficit which is one of the main contributing factors to weightloss."

Kudos Stacy...Sitting on a yoga ball is supposed to be much better than a chair.

This is what worked for me:  Body for Life
NO scale - no numbers obsession
 
exercise in the morning before eating - will increase motabilism (sp???)
 - if you do exercise at another time, do not eat at least 4 hours in advance.
 - cardio one day, next day weights, back and forth
Eat 6-8 small meals throughout the day
- one portion of carb, one portion of protein, and veggies (a portion size is either your fist or the palm of your hand) each meal
You get one day off (your choice) to NOT exercise and eat whatever whenever you want.
- this helps control the cravings so that you are not denying yourself anything and making you crave it more
Drink LOTS of water.
 
All in all I saw it as a good way to eat properly and healthy and incorporate exercise.  I did see definate improvement within 6 weeks.
 
The book explains the whys and such of the program.  (eating breakfast so you are not hungrier later in the day and more likely to binge)... not starving yourself, cause your body will store fat when you are not starving yourself so that it has reserves when you do starve yourself...stuff like that.
 
I really should get back on the program. 
 

Okay, here's one (in relation to what Glenda is saying) - WHOLE GRAINS! Basically just stop eating all things "white" like - white bread, white pasta, white crackers, white rice. Read your labels and ONLY eat things that contain whole grains. So - whole wheat breat, buckwheat or whole wheat pasta, whole grain crackers, brown rice, etc. It makes a HUGE difference. Basically all this "white stuff" is just refined grains which equate to SUGAR in your body. Someone once told me that eating white bread is equal to eating a candy bar. I quit the white stuff years ago and not only did I lose tons of weight, but I feel so much better - more energy (sustained) and less "bloaty". haha. It's part and parcel of eating healthy but as I said, if done religiously, makes a HUGE difference. Good Luck!