joonieB

Not only do you look beautiful, there is such a difference in your smile. In the second pic you are smiling with your whole face--especially the eyes. You must be thrilled to be this close to your goal!!!

Sorry, my reply was meant specifically for GiGi76.....

My husband and I just started P90X last night and there is a "before you start the program" fitness test that should help you know if you are fit enough. Just judging by the exercise programs you listed, I would think you could pass the fitness test and do P90X.

Good for you! I am also a SAH mom (5 kids ages 4-14) and I have found that the more I invest in quality activities for myself--like eating right and fitness and continuing education--the better off we are as a family. This site is so helpful and everyone is very supportive. Good luck and keep at it!

I feel your pain. Once a few years ago I did a full triathalon over a period of two weeks at my gym and my thighs totally bulked up from the experience. I realized that the stationary bike was not my friend. I've had much better luck with swimming and the eliptical machine. No doubt you are getting fitter and replacing fat…

I'm taller than you so I don't have personal experience here but I know many women your height or shorter and they all say tiny women need less than average-tall women. Makes sense. My friend who is just under 5 feet tall says she can't eat more than 1000 cals a day. Think about it, all of the RDA's for nutrients are based…

I don't know a ton about those lap bands but I have read a few articles about them stating that after a quick and dramatic weight loss for most of the people who have the surgery, most will inexplicably gain the weight back over time, even while eating less than 1000 calories per day. The one friend I know who has had the…

Wow! All I can say is WOW. What a difference! My first thought is......only 47 lbs???

Sounds vulgar :wink:

I did South Beach 3 years ago. It was very "successful". I lost 35 lbs in 12 weeks. HOWEVER, for many reasons I wish I hadn't done a low carb diet. 1. Weight that comes off quickly comes back on quickly. I ended up gaining 30 lbs back, over a period of 2 years. I had to quit the diet, which leads to #2 2. I couldn't…

Are you pregnant? Sounds so similar to how I feel at the beginning of a pregnancy--a few weeks before I even find out. Maybe you are anemic?

great success story! I am not the technical genius that some people here are, but I think you have to put the pictures in your profile. At least that is what I have seen others do. Congratulations on all those pounds lost!

Ooo you are gonna love it here. This is the real deal. May I suggest logging your day in the morning and then following it? It works for me. I have learned so much about portion control and counting calories here. Plus we are all in this together. If you have tried "fad" diets in the past, wipe your mind clean of those old…

When I first started drinking water in massive amounts, I noticed straight away that all the tiny lines around my eyes and mouth were going away--the type of results I would expect from some schmanzy anti-wrinkle cream. Except water does so much more for me, and is (practically) free! Yay us!

I am exactly the opposite! My work out days I am sooo much hungrier. I've learned to eat about 100-150 calories extra on those days, in the morning hours. It seems to "get my hunger" out of the way faster. I don't know what to do though, about extra hunger on the non-workout days.

Well, clearly I have a thing for Arrested Development. So sad they cancelled it. But 24, American Idol (I can't look away!), Mighty B, Office and 30 Rock!

I have done the cleanse you are talking about--once years ago when I was in high school and then once last fall. I did it for nearly the full time back in high school and it was really hard to get back into eating. Don't get me wrong, I WANTED to eat. The cleanse though had me "backed up" as soon as I was eating more than…

It may be the hormones, but that story brought a tear to my eye! I am so glad that you not only made some changes in your life that you feel good about--but that you decided to go back and try roller coasters again. Now you have the satisfaction of knowing that YOU did it! You made some improvements and have been…

My favorite: What's brown and sticky? A stick!

Principal Skinner, standing in the school cafeteria lunch line, responding to something negative he just heard: "Good Gravy!" Flattered lunchroom worker: "Why thank you! It's just brown and water...." --Just thought you deserved a laugh. I'm unsure of the calorie totals for "brown and water" myself. Good for you for not…

Sounds about right for normal food, unfortunately Claim Jumper and other restaurants ALWAYS add extra fat through the liberal use of butter. Even foods that normally don't have butter in them have butter in them. So who knows. But think of it this way, you are one pound away from your goal. You can have a meal now and then…

Please don't give up. I am doing 1200 cals a day too and with all that you are burning in exercise, I am shocked that you aren't going over more than 119 calories. Have you--- Tried eating your exercise calories? Tried cutting out 2-3 of your workouts per week? Counter-intuitive I know, but this is how I broke through my…

Every morning, BABY! I know that my daily weigh-ins are not exactly popular around here, but I figure Hey, why not admit it and get it out in the open. I know I'm not the only one. Although I haven't read it in the few replies above me, I often hear the biggest reason to only weigh yourself once a week or once a month is…

All over the place, really. I am now back to the dreaded Pill, after taking a "mental health break" for the past 3 months (I only use the Pill to help my skin, I don't need it for preventing pregnancy) and now I am sadly back on that crazy train. My body obviously doesn't process hormones very well on its own but the Pill…

Either it is mislabled or a scam. Either way, use your food scale. I bet on line you can see what a 2 oz drained portion of chicken is worth, calorie wise. Like you, I really want the correct total going onto my food log. 50 calories here and there and all of a sudden, you are off 10% of your daily calories. Lame!

Thanks for sharing this again! You really inspire me and I know you are inspiring others. I think all of us have been conditioned to think that something as basic as counting calories won't work. It was a real light bulb moment when a casual friend at the gym suggested counting calories for the weight I was hoping to lose.…

Exercise certainly won't hurt, but much depends on how old you are and how quickly the weight comes off. A very clean diet and slow and steady weight loss is best--for a lot of reasons. A person in her 20's will have much better luck with the skin snapping back than a person in her 40's. Sorry if this isn't what you want…

I have been wanting a HRM, glad to hear you like yours. I am seriously considering the kind that can be used by two different people, as I think the only way I can convince my husband I really need to spend the money on one is if it worked for the both of us--then it's half the price:wink:

This sounds familiar to what I went through a few years ago. I had planned a trip to Hawaii and had six weeks to get it together. I started eating better (although this was pre-MFP days, so I just cut out bad stuff and concentrated on eating healthily) and I ran 5 miles a day, 6 days a week, for 6 straight weeks. I…

For me, logging my food (on an official site that doesn't round down or underestimate calories :wink: ) has been the most critical factor in my recent weight-loss success. Since January 5, I have lost 19 lbs. Twenty pounds was my original goal. Once I started to understand my "calorie bank" and treat my calories just like…