[jkfrench]

umm, casper where on earth do you plan to loose 5 lbs.? If you need to loose 5 lbs then so do I. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? I'm 5'5" and weigh 106. Maybe I will have to compete with you! Now this is good for me considering I just ate a handful of hershey kisses. aghhhhh
Jodie

[Casper664]

HAHHAHA well I'm 5'7" and I weighed myself this morning and was 126.4. so yeah I got 20 lbs on you girl!! this is just what I need...some competition! I lack the motivation to eat well and since I stopped working out hardcore, I can't keep eating the way I used to! and don't worry, me and the girls just ate pizza and have now been drinking wine..eek!
Mary (p.s....anyone wondering where my Casper name came from?? well I had a close crew in highschool and I was nearly the whitest one, considering one of the girls was indonesian, and 2 were mexican..the other girl were flat out tan lol...so here I am..the whitest of them all!! so I gained the nickname Casper (like the friendly ghost lol ) and it stuck !

[Jeff]

Ok, I just threw together a quickie logo for this - I'll use this for links to this group on the site.

[jsuter69]

Well I screwed up...yesterday was a very bad day, my bf are fighting, he does not like my son, he's 14, his daughter whose 13 started "dating" while we all lived together(2 mths ago Brendan ,son, moved out) and my son use to be horrible to his daughter...now Mark(bf) doesn't like my son, he jumps on my son now for EVERYTHING, loud noises, talking to loud etc, it's like Brendan can't even visit me w/o it being stressful here...funny thing is...Mark says it doesn't matter if he likes my son or not because this relationship is between us??? And Marks daughter...she's a complete mess, tight clothes, cusses and yells at her dad, he caters to her, cleans up after her, she can do no wrong...but MY kid is the problem...Mark thinks because Alex gets good grades she doesn't cause problems...I'm frustrated...so I "ate" my feelings...weekends over but I ate nachos last night and movie theater popcorn!!! I'm mad at myself I just am not very happy right now...
Julie

[jsuter69]

Like the LOGO btw...very cute!!

[Casper664]

well we all fall off the wagon, you just gotta get right back on and start over today.....last night I gave myself the reins to eat whatever since I was having everyone over..we ate pizza, chips, and wine lol....thats HORRIBLE!! BUT this morning I had a healthy breakfast, apple for a snack..some chesse (low fat string cheese hits the spot! and its only 50 calories) and ...wait for it....I just ate the leftover piece of pizza! ARGH!! BUT i said..ok...you ate that ...now dinner has to be healthy..so i'll be good and 'start over'. once you have a couple weeks of eating good, you kinda lose the cravings for bad food like you used to. when i eat really good, after about 2 weeks, looking at a cheeseburger or fried foods just look sooooo nasty to me. you gotta let yourself get in the groove..and sometimes endulge. if you dont endulge here and there you end up filling your stomach with other things you think will help satisfy what your looking for...where sometimes your better off have 1 handful of chips and being done with it. One tip I use that works? well after I eat a meal, My mind tells me im not really satisfied until I have a piece of chocolate. once i have that small piece, somehow i feel all better!! so I keep a dark chocolate candy bar in the freezer. and about once a day I have a small square after my dinner usually. that or pick up some peppermint or lifesaver mints. if I eat that after a meal, that mint makes me not want to eat anything else. sometimes if I get cravings during the day and have some mint, I lose that craving...weird..but TOTALLY works for me!

[Jeff]

I don't know if you wanna be called Casper or Mary, but either way, I think that's excellent, excellent advice.

I can only speak form my own experience, and for me, if I feel like I'm forever denying myself every eating pleasure, it isn't long before I get pissed off and decide the whole Idea is stupid anyway, and eat a bag of nachos. Or spend $12 at McDonalds drive-thru. So I do like Casper does, and after almost every dinner, I eat a little something sweet. Maybe one caramel. Or a small handful of M&Ms. (sometime a big handful.) Or a candy cane. (only 50 calories!) Just something so I feel like I'm not stuck eating twigs and berries forever.

Another thing I'm finding is working for me, and this will depend if you like spicy food - but I'm putting a lot more peperoncini or crushed chili pepper on things. Or just regular old pepper. Somehow I feel more full if the food I'm eating is spicier.

But like Mary said, you're gonna have bad days. Forgive yourself for those, because they're gonna keep happening. Wipe it out of your head and start again today. Or start again at your next meal.

Oh - one other little trick I just discovered myself - I'm an on-again, off-again coffee drinker, and right now it's on again. And I like my coffee sweet. But cinnamon is good for your heart. And it flavors the coffee pretty nicely. I still put sugar in there, but a lot less, and make up the rest with zero calorie cinnamon.

Mary was also right about diminishing cravings. Somehow when you've been in "the groove" for awhile, the really bad-for-you foods hold a lot less appeal. A big, juicy apple or pear starts sounding way better than a greasy hamburger, sitting at the bottom of your stomach like a pound of lead.

I'm sorry to hear about the domestic situation - that never makes anything easier. Just try to remember that yesterday was yesterday. Ok?

jeff

[jsuter69]

Thanks you guys...I did do better for lunch...I had a can of chicken tortilla soup...and a handful of oyster crackers...

[jkfrench]

Great advice Casper. I have the same problem that you do. I HAVE to have some chocolate after I eat. I love chocolate. My problem is that I can't eat just one hershey kiss or one M&M or if I bake cookies just one. I need to work on that. I also cheat on the weekends. I eat what I want. Usually that results in gaining a pound and then I have to work all week to loose it, but oh well. Like Jeff said, if you deny yourself the pleasure of "bad" food all the time then you will just cave and go overboard. Portion control is a biggie too. (except of course with chocolate lol)
Cute logo Jeff.
Great job on "regrouping" and having a light lunch Julie. I'm proud of you.
So today, instead of eating I went shopping with my daughter. I spent too much money but at least I'm feeling skinny tonight! lol.....
Jodie

[Casper664]

hahah jodie...your so funny just think of all the calories burned shopping I just got done watching this SAD chic flick and found myself crying my butt off lol...wonder if you can lose calories crying??? hahahah......great advice jeff on the coffee!! im going to try that!!! what about cinnamin is good for the heart? thats a great idea...ill have to try!! ate a healthy dinner!!! just a light sandwich and soup! following by a mini milky way...and just like every other day, that satisfied me for the night! jeff..candy canes are GREAT!!! I just bought like 300 that were on clearance from christmas..they are the mini ones..and that is PERFECT to grab 2 after a meal to satisfy the sweet fix....and those are 15 calories a piece!

Jsutor: I dropped 3.5lbs going from relying on the work cafeteria to packing my lunches everyday. and that was without exercising. its amazing how controlling the food you bring to eat can affect your body! I pack a lot of stuff, and usually am eating something every hour. literally...ill have toast and jelly for breakfast (they make this stuff that 35 cal. a slice and its whole wheat!) ....an hour into work im eating a banana..and hour later low fat string cheese, hour later its about lunch time....I cook all my chicken sunday for the week..I marinate it saturday..and by sunday night its sooooo yummy!! so I pack chicken, with some type of vegi if poss (usally broccolli..I use those zip and steam bags and put in garlic powder, and seasoned salt on the broccoli..its the best shiz you'll ever eat!!)...then after lunch i might have a peppermint or a dove chocolate piece (1 only!!)....then about 2 hrs later im eating an apple....and another hour later raisons...then...time to go home and eat a lite dinner!!! I find that when I eat like this during the days, I keep my metabolism going all day long, and by the time I get home, im hardly hungry for dinner..so I eat light! and this way im definitly done eating by 7 (which is GREAT advice jeff btw) and i dont fell full and yucky. it'd prob be hard to adjust your body at first if you wanted to try something similar..but after a week or two, you'll be in the groove! and packing your lunch like that MAKES you eat what you brought....ONLY. its like ok, dammit theres not a candy bar in here, etc..ill have to settle for this one hershey kiss....

this works for me VERY well


p.s...you can call me Mary off to bed now! tomorrow...I will be at the gym at 5:15...when is everyone else working out??!?!!?!?