Question...

I am new to MyFitnessPal.com. I have been "trying" to lose weight for a few months, but I just generally am not trying that hard. I say I am watching what I eat, but then someone will bring in bagels, or donuts to work and I will eat one. If this was once a month, I would be fine, but it's usually at least once a week. If I am tired and don't feel like cooking, I will heat up a frozen pizza or make Hamburger Helper. I know, gross, right? :grumble:
I am going to try tracking my goals and accomplishment here. Possibly seeing it will help to motivate me and keep me on track. I was wondering if someone could tell me how to get my weight loss ticker attached to my signature?

TIPS:

Your first step was admitting you want to lose weight :flowerforyou: I have lost 20 pounds (I weigh myself every 15th of the month read more below), and I have NEVER been healthier in my life!). You need WILL POWER! Here are my tips for you and I'll send you more info on hydro oil (processed foods like cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, etc; which are BAD for you).

TIPS:

Drink 64 oz of water daily. I suggest you eat 1,250 calories at the beginning, take your vitamins/supplements, talk to your doctor before exercising/dieting, use extra virgin olive oil, eat wheat products: bread, spaghetti, cereal, etc., eat fruits and veggies, snack on "any" type of nut (walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds are best), drink skim/soy milk, eat yogurt, eat fish/chicken/turkey/lean meats, have salads WITHOUT dressing (use extra virgin olive oil), stay away from POPS/SODAS (drink diet sodas/pops once a day if not, once a week), don't eat "fried foods" (French fries, potato chips, etc), eat Baked Lays, air popped popcorn, go to www.pilsbury.com and buy a pizza stone ($29.99) you can create your own delicious homemade pizzas with Boboli wheat pizza crust (already made); veggies to your heart's content, one can of refried beans (protein), one can of whole kernel corn (drained), and lite mozzarella cheese...yum! You can eat the Oreda crinkle cut fries that you bake in the oven, stay away from the salt shaker, stay AWAY from processed foods, foods made with hydrogenated oils (cookies, cakes, pies, etc). For dessert you can eat a skinny cow chocolate w/peanut butter ice cream sandwich....yummy!

Stop eating 2-3 hours BEFORE you go to sleep. I learned from Oprah's Boot Camp you have to STOP eating 2-3 hours BEFORE you go to sleep because your metabolism shuts down (as everything does when you're in a REM (Rapid Eye Movement).

Go to www.prevention.com. They have yummy recipes and are another source of website for motivation. Did you know that if you pay for your subscription to Prevention they give you a free pedometer? One should walk/step 10,000 steps daily. Check them out! They have a free website w/the magazine there in front of you in case you can't subscribe just yet.

Don't drink COFFEE. Drink Chai black/green tea instead. Chew gum all day. It keeps your mouth "busy". I've also heard/learned that before you eat a meal eat your soup first since it helps fill you up before the main course.

Weigh yourself "monthly". I swear (Eva crossing her finger and doing a "cross" by her ) you WILL lose 3-4 pounds every month. If you do the "math" that's THE average of 1 pound a week. This helps you from NOT getting discouraged IF, if, you weigh yourself daily/weekly as allot of women in this site tend to do (weigh themselves daily/weekly and then get discouraged and give up on dieting/exercising). Look at my monthly weigh-in on my profile.

Thirty minutes before you work out eat one of the following: one apple, OR one small box of raisins with a handful of walnuts, OR soup, OR yogurt. Why? "They are packed with high-quality carbohydrates, which provide a quick source of fuel for your muscles, but they have just enough protein and fat to help you maintain a steady, elevated energy level" (source: Prevention Magazine April 2007).

AFTER your work out, drink a protein shake (Slimfast, Special K, EAS Myoplex, etc). Why? "After a workout, your muscles need protein to repair microscopic muscle tears, plus another shot of carbs to help restock energy stores. Cyclists who drank it after a tough racing session had improved endurance and recovered fast than those who drank an ordinary sports drink (which supplies carbs and electrolytes, but no protein)" (Source: Prevention Magazine April 2007).

Stay away from alcoholic drinks (includes wine).

Set small goals for right now. Start with the FIRST 10 pounds. Later, the weight will be HARDER to lose. Remember, it's soooo easy to gain the weight, but hard to lose it. "No pain, no gain!" No worries if the weight is harder to lose since it means that it is time to "up" your exercise regimen (1 hour 3-4 days a week). When you've lost the weight, then you can go "up" to 1,500 calories (maybe for the last stubborn 10 pounds). If you closely watch "THE BIGGEST LOSER" they have to lose more than 50 pounds; their calorie intake is 1,000-1,100. Wow! Bless their for doing that!!! If you've watched the Diet Detective, he gets rid of all the "fat" foods in your fridge and pantry (cakes, cookies, pies, etc). He fills those places with veggies, fruits, wheat products, dairy products, low fat cheeses, olive oil, etc. I LOVED that show, but you can still check out his website: www.dietdetective.com/lose-weight.aspx

If you want more "tips" let me know as you know how to reach me. Blessings and good luck!

Trans Fats (hydro oils). Pick up ANY packaged muffin, bag of cookies, boxed donuts, etc., and read the label. These are ALL processed foods made with TRANS FAT/Hydrogenated oils.

Trans fatty acids are fats produced by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen. This process is known as hydrogenation. The more hydrogenated an oil is, the harder it will be at room temperature. For example, a spreadable tub margarine is less hydrogenated and so has fewer trans fats than a stick margarine.

Most of the trans fats in the Western diet are found in commercially prepared baked goods, margarines, snack foods, and processed foods. Commercially prepared fried foods, like French fries and onion rings, also contain a good deal of trans fat.

Trans fats are even worse for cholesterol levels than saturated fats because they raise bad LDL and lower good HDL. While you should limit your intake of saturated fats, it is important to eliminate trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils from your diet. Reference: http://www.hdosport.com/tips.php?id=70

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Not convinced? Here's another one:

Hydrogenated fat and health
One day, hydrogenated fats and oils will be conclusively linked to heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, clogged arteries, at the least. One day, studies may also link obesity, lethargy and chronic pain to the consumption of hydrogenated fat.

Happily, that day is approaching much more rapidly than we would have thought. A plethora of new studies, and a new labeling law in the United States, promise to raise awareness among consumers. One group leading the charge, Ban Trans Fats, filed a lawsuit against the makers of Oreo cookies, which have poisoned kids all over the world with their high levels of hydrogenated fat. Kraft foods, one of the world's largest food producers, responded to that effort by promising to reduce the amount of trans fats in many of their products. Large commodity companies are now offering low and no trans fat products for commercial bakers.

Hydrogenated oils went mainstream in America in the 1920s, when the vegetable oil cartel finally became more powerful than dairy farmers, and cardiac arrest has been going up ever since. According to the Harvard Medical School, the chemicals found in hydrogenated fats may be responsible for as many as 100,000 premature deaths per year, in the U.S. alone.

We feel there is no question that hydrogenated fats are closely related to the epidemic of heart and arterial disease in America and the rest of the "developed" world. We urge you to eliminate at least 95 percent of the hydrogenated fats from your diet. On July 10, 2002 the United States Academy of Sciences basically agreed with us. They said there is "no safe level" of trans fatty acids in the American diet. What is the primary source of our trans-fatty acids? It's the hydrogenated vegetable oils found in so many of our corporate prepared, pre-packaged foods. Read the story.

What is hydrogenated fat?
What is wrong with hydrogenated fat?
Where are hydrogenated fats found?
What are some hints that a product might contain hydrogenated fats?
They wouldn't put hydrogenated fats in kid's foods, right?
What about Fast Food? Does it have hydrogenated fats?
What about partially hydrogenated fat? Isn't that better?
Why do food manufacturers use hydrogenated oil?
How do I find food products without hydrogenated fats?
HEY! I'd swear I bought this product a year ago and it had no hydrogenated fats. I bought it again and it did. What gives?
Where is your medical proof against hydrogenated fats?
So, can I lose weight by eliminating hydrogenated fats from my diet?
So, what can I do?
The big picture.
Was there a conspiracy to eliminate natural fats from our diet in favor of artificial hydrogenated fats?

Source: http://www.sustainableenterprises.com/Body/hydro.htm

Blessings!
'
Eva

I am new to MyFitnessPal.com. I have been "trying" to lose weight for a few months, but I just generally am not trying that hard. I say I am watching what I eat, but then someone will bring in bagels, or donuts to work and I will eat one. If this was once a month, I would be fine, but it's usually at least once a week. If I am tired and don't feel like cooking, I will heat up a frozen pizza or make Hamburger Helper. I know, gross, right? :grumble:
I am going to try tracking my goals and accomplishment here. Possibly seeing it will help to motivate me and keep me on track. I was wondering if someone could tell me how to get my weight loss ticker attached to my signature?

Get veggie pizza's and make the hamburger helper with ground turkey instead of hamburger. Your not avoiding these foods all together your just making healthier choices and teaching yourself to live an active lifestyle.

:noway: :noway: :noway: Whole wheat products. Make whole wheat spaghetti. Boil water. Add EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), 1/2 a cup of whole wheat pasta. Add fully cooked shrimp and/or chicken breast (baked/broiled/boiled w/EVOO, of course), use Muir Glenn (organic) spathetti sauce, dip your whole wheat bread in the EVOO in spices to give it a "kick", a side salad WITHOUT dressing, water, and have a fruit for lunch/dinner. Stay away from Hamburger helper! Go with what Agarlits said, "Use lean meat".

Buy a pizza stone from www.pilsbury.com (Target, JcPenney, Walmart, etc). It contain litterally zero percent of FAT!

Blessings! :flowerforyou:

Eva

Eva - you are spot-on. Your information is fabulous.

Many people believe that a glass or two of wine, each day, "won't hurt," or that diet soda is "harmless."

I believe much of weight gain is from the human body saying "What IS this? I cannot process it!"

I scratch my head at the frozen foods, processed foods, that claim they are good for the waistline. Initially, the body may be so shocked that weight is indeed lost, but the body then adapts..and here comes all the weight..and then some. I have seen it happen to so many people.

Mindless eating is yet another pitfall. People will come home from work, irritated, tired, and start raiding the kitchen without realizing what they are eating. It is so easy to do!..and very dangerous on the waistline.

Think of it this way: If Mother Nature made it, I can eat it.

Then you'll never have to paste it again. ALSO when you update your weight on the "Check In" option...if you lose weight (horrray!) Your ticker will automatically change on your signature!

Thank you so much!