Today is Fun Day - Cheat Day for me too!

I have been on the program now for 3 weeks so next week is my Slingshot week of all high carb days. Does anyone have any advise for me? I am going to plan and prep my recipes today so I am ready to tackle the week.

I feel great! I even fit in a couple of Zumba classes last week in addition to my shapers and shredders because I am feeling so great!

Protein Shakes: I love Pure Protein Frosty Chocolate (140 Calories per scoop) but I had to try the Optimum Nutrition brand (120 calories per scoop) because it has such great reviews on Amazon. I'm not sure I'm impressed with the Optimum Nutrition brand. When you mix it, it dissolves great but is really bubbly. I like the texture of the Pure Protein brand better even though it is harder to mix. It seems like it is thicker and I like that.

I lost just over a pound this past week. I'll gladly take it because I didn't do any extra exercise. Now that I can go up and down stairs and breathe, I'm going to do some videos this week. It's 50 today, but supposed to be cold and snowy next week. Once my son goes down for a nap, I've got a rabbit pen and chicken coop to clean.

eta:
We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast today. I love CB and usually get the Sunrise Sampler: 2 eggs, 1 piece bacon, 1 piece turkey sausage, 1 piece country ham, hashbrown casserole, biscuits (I don't eat the gravy or grits), and "fried" apples. I tried one of the apples and they were too sweet. I didn't finish everything, I stopped when I got full. Shocker for me, I used to eat everything and be hungry and hour later. I also got regular tea instead of sweet tea. I think CTL has killed my sweet tea addiction! Yay! Especially seeing how many calories are in sweet tea...

WIChelle: Slingshot week is "bookended" by 2 Fundays. I have my funday on Sunday, so Mon - Sat I slingshot, and then do another Funday.

A virtual party sounds fun. I have plenty of protein shakes and celery to share! LOL


muncagirl22: WTG on the weight loss so far! It also sounds like you are doing great exercise too! At some point you will likely want to start doing "shapers" or weight lifting, or other body resistant exercises to build some strength.

I have been to the golden coral once. My husband raved about it. I was less than thrilled. Thankfully it was on a trip, and we don't have one near where we live.... so I went only the one time.

I love hearing about everyone's funday!! It great!

Great job on the loss and getting compliments muncagirl22!!! I love your positive attitude about life. I too had a scare several years ago with a blood clot in my leg. Life is precious and we only get ONE!!!

I'm starting my first slingshot week today. It's so tempting to do a low carb day today after the junk I ate yesterday... :ohwell:

I agree with WIChelle about being ready for guidelines today! Have a fantastic day everyone!!! Monica :flowerforyou:

Hi everyone! Tomorrow is my first day starting this program. I just finished the book today. If anyone could give me some pointers or add me as a friend I would appreciate it! Looking forward to this new lifestyle!

Hi everyone! Tomorrow is my first day starting this program. I just finished the book today. If anyone could give me some pointers or add me as a friend I would appreciate it! Looking forward to this new lifestyle!

Michele, If you have not already, read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813951-so-you-want-to-start-choose-to-lose. I have many pointers there for getting started. I hope it is helpful for you.

As with any new eating plan, especially one that is rigid, expect the first few weeks to be "trial and error." You'll likely make some mistakes, but shake them off and move on.

My biggest pointer is this: Do your best to eat 5 meals a day, every 3 hours, and using the hand size guidelines in the book. And, if you have any questions, ask them here in the group! There are lots of us here that are willing to help!

Good Luck!


@Munecagirl: Shake off the bad eating and move on. We all make "mistakes." Besides, if you look at Choose to lose as a "lifestyle framework" and not a "diet prison" it will probably be much easier to move on.

The recipe sounds like it could be good! When you get the kinks worked out, feel free to share it under the recipe ideas sticky! If it has almonds in it I would catagorize it as a LC meal.

So nice to read everyone's progress so far. I'm glad this is working for others. Today marks day 1 week 3. My first week went well. I had tons of energy, felt great & lost 3lbs. Last week was good too. I started to realize some of the mistakes I was making, really started to look at some overlooked details & am tweaking things some. Over all tho, I felt good, lots of energy. Saturday morning I was down another 2lbs for week 2 - Sunday was my funday. Saturday was a low carb day & I really kicked it up a notch for exercise. I went for an extra long hike, put in alot of extra effort, even threw in an extra steep hill at the end. I also did JM's 6wk6pk dvd & an extra 9 minute Ab routine. I was also extremely active the entire day cleaning. Never sat down all day. I really stuck to my diet & was expecting to see a good loss when I stepped on the scale the next morning. But, I was up a pound. I'm not worried about it, could be from all the extra strength training I was doing thru the week & I quickly realized it was also time to start my period.

Yesterday was my fun day. I really was not enthusiastic about eating a bunch of 'bad' food. Nothing really sounded good. I was bummed cuz I kind of wanted to exercise. I didn't tho, and that's a good thing because as the day went on I could feel my body did need a rest. I relaxed a good portion of the day, but also spent hours grocery shopping & prepping meals for the week, so not a completely lazy day. I had a small quiznos chicken carbonara, which was delicious. I was surprised that I was completely satisfied with a small, normally I would eat a regular & still want more. My plan was to have a bowl of ice cream, my absolute favorite gulity pleasure - and it really wasn't that great. I more or less ate it only because I knew It was something I couldn't have for atleast another week. I really didn't expect to not miss ice cream.

This was only my second fun day since starting CTL, but both days I found myself wishing I could exercise (I did exercise on fun day 1) and I found myself wanting the healthy foods I eat during the week. I look forward to getting back to the CTL routine - food & exercise. After my fun day yesterday, I was not surprised to see I was up another pound when I stepped on the scale this morning. So, now I'm wondering - what is the purpose of fun day? Is it to keep us motivated thru the week, or does that spike in calories aide in the weight loss? I think maybe both, but I'm starting to realize fun day isn't as exciting as I thought it would be.

So, now I am about to start week 3 & hopefully I will see good results. I am going to spend a little time on MFP catching up on logging for yesterday and then I am going to take a good hard look at my progress for the last two weeks. I'll be looking at my diet, calories & exercise routine & hopefully I can see where to make some adjustments to improve on the upcoming week.
Even tho I've only lost a few pounds, the real reward is the way I feel. I have been in a great mood everyday, motivated and full of energy. I am a little nervous about doing the slingshot next week. I will be looking for everyone to post their experiences with it.

Hi everyone!

I am happy to see a weekly chat. :-) I need it!

I was down with the flu for most of the week last week, but back at it today. Look forward to seeing the scale move again. Got my meals planned out for the week (dinners anyway) and that helps me so much!

First workout in 5 days done, too. Yay!

--Christine

Hi Ladies. Today is my first day. I'm so glad I found you. Its a real boost to hear how everyone is doing and their successes. I can't wait to say "my meal at Wendys wasn't that good", or ' I couldn't even finish a whole sub, I was full and satisfied on half". I'm still fumbling with the meals but hopefully I'll get the hang of it by the end of the week. Have a great day ladies!

yes that free day is to make are bodies act faster to burning are fat its a constant change... thats why i wanted to even stay with this plan.. i really do love it

iam not any way near slingshot days lol...

Yesterday was a low carb day and I found myself famished on the way home from grocery shopping. Then I saw it...the billboard with a Big Mac on it. I'm not normally into Big Mac's but something about it sounded like my mouth would like it very much. I turned to hubz and said 'whatta ya think, should we split one?' Thankfully he said rather quietly, 'no'. So, we didn't. Came home, made beef stir fry, and when I hopped on the scale this morning I was down 1.7# from last Friday! Yippee for skipping the otherwise disgusting Big Mac that wanted me last night!

So far i have not found a chocolate protein I like besides the way to $$$$ shakeology.

See if you can find someone that sells melaleuca... the chocolate proflex 20 shake tastes almost like hot cocoa to me. I love it! The vanilla is good, but the chcolate is fabulous!

Sherrielynn welcome to the group!!! If there is anything we can do to help you give a holler! It just takes a while. i know I am still asking questions.

Losingmybehind i wouldnt be scared at all. You are really doing awesome!

Thanks for the welcome. Its a relief to have support.