Hello Myfitnesspal!

leafsan

I joined this board about a week ago when one of my coworkers mentioned he was joining it to help him track his calories. Finally deciding to introduce myself. I'm 26, a teacher, and I have been battling my weight since my teens when I went on BC for medical reasons. I was up as high as 220 three years ago. I Yo-yo'd down to 185 when I was overseas as a student and eating asian food ALL the time. Then once I was home I bubbled slowly back up to 210. I've bounced between there and 195lbs over the last 1.5 years (not all that coincidentally when I went back to college for a second degree I think). I am currently weighing in at 204.
My best friend is getting married next January, I am her MoH. It's a destination wedding and I would really like to be down to 155. I haven't been 155lbs in over 10 years, I wasn't even done growing then so I am sure I would look fantastic if I could reach that weight!
I am hoping that a combination of my eating right, which I have been working hard at since coming back from overseas, and working out a few times a week will help me get there. Right now I work out on the weekends for 30-40minutes each day, mostly because I don't have a lot of energy at the end of the day when i get home to get myself to the gym and do it during the week. My students are great, but they wear me out!
I will be looking around other boards for suggestions and ideas. I am considering slowly changing all my cooking habits over to asian style as that eating style seems to help me stay in control.
I don't know about others here, but I was brought up in a family that had strong farming roots, while we don't farm, we have always ate like farmers. I LOVE food. I love that portion control allows me to eat ANY food i want as long as I'm controlled with it. Any tips for a girl who loves food but doesn't love the weight and has a tight schedule and budget?
Thanks ahead of time.
~Leaf~

driscollmc

hey leaf!!

first of all, welcome to mfp as far as the cooking thing goes, i've found that cutting out sodas and other high sugar stuff really helps. drink plenty of water (obviously), and when you're cooking, try to use as little butter/olive oil as you can. if you don't have a lot of time, subway sandwiches are the BEST for on the go. i'm in college, and i'm trying to juggle classes, a job with a commute, and 2 student orgs that i'm very involved in, so that always helps. also, if you have the time, make your food over the weekend in bulk, save it in the fridge or freeze it, then just pop it in the microwave when you get hungry. hope that helps!!

leafsan

excellent notes! Thanks! I already have cut out sodas, and I don't keep a lot of sugary food in the house. I think my biggest weakness is pasta. Any tips with that? I do measure it out when I cook.
Bulk is certainly our friend with cooking! Thanks!

mikedraper

Hello and welcome, I have only been on MFP for about a week. I joined a gym in November, hoping that the cost of a gym membership would encourage me to use it. which it has. I workout 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday, Sense I joined I've only missed Christmas Day. My family threatened my life if I went that day. Anyways, I work at a Secondary School and had a hard time finding the time to go. So, I picked mornings. I get up each weekday morning at 4:30am and get to the gym by 5am. I workout till 6:15am, then use the showers there and head to work from the gym. It was really hard to get up that early the first month, now I'm use to it. The nice thing about that time in the morning, is there usually isn't anything else going on in my life to get in the way of going. Anyways that has worked for me. Sense I started going to the gym I've lost 13 1/2 pounds. I wish you good luck in reaching your goal.

leafsan

Thanks for the suggestion! I wish that my gym was open that early, it really would make a difference for me. I enjoy working out first thing in the morning best anyway. Maybe I can find a new gym, though this one is currently free to me (School alum) so that's why I use it.
Thanks for the suggestion again! Good luck with your own goal!

mikedraper

If you check into a different gym. Mine is open 24/7. Every club in my area has some sort of discount for different health insurance companies, like the one my school district uses. Some offer discounts for educators. So make sure you ask about it. Good luck.