joonieB

Welcome to MFP. You will love it here. So many really important things to learn about nutrition and so many nice, encouraging people too! Follow the "rules" and you will see results. Log your day in the morning so you have a plan for the day and know you will be getting all the nutrients you need. Keep reading the boards…

Welcome! You are in the right place! I have been here for nearly 6 weeks and have lost 15 lbs. What I think is so wonderful about this site--besides the awesome support--is what I learn here about my own nutrition. I'm not just eating 1200 random calories a day, I am eating 1200 well-balanced and nutritious calories…

Look at you!!! That is awesome, don't you just love swimming? Sometimes if I have really pushed myself in the pool I feel like I have had a full body massage. Keep it up (but maybe give yourself a little break from the decathalon tomorrow :wink: )

Don't you just love MFP??? Happy Birthday!:bigsmile:

When I was in the same boat a couple of weeks ago I dropped 3 workout days. It did the trick. The weight started shifting again and now I'm down another 4 lbs. The key for me is sticking to the 1200 (I gain when I eat the workout calories too--don't feel like a failure!) and mixing it up on the workouts. When I hit my next…

Congratulations on losing! I know what you mean though, it can get a little scary, especially when the weight drops so quickly. What I find helpful is asking myself "Is what I am currently doing (exercise, total calories, etc) something that I can see myself sticking to for years, or am I holding on for dear life?" I have…

Welcome to MFP, Tailea! I also eat 1200 calories a day, but I haven't had the problem you describe. I get my calories, carbs/protein/fats, etc. from the following: Breakfast: 1 medium egg 1/2 double fiber whole wheat english muffin, toasted 1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese Lunch: 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 85 grams chicken…

I have been in a plateau slump for a few weeks (either not losing or only losing 1/2 pound per week) and so I dropped 3 of my workouts a week. Now I'm just MWF and in a week and a 1/2 I am down 2 1/2 pounds. Crazy, huh? I was doing everything "right" before, I guess my body just didn't like how much I was asking it to do.…

Thanks for the reminder, Laura. I have been keeping watch on my sodium levels too. I have found that if I make myself a Lean Cuisine every night for dinner (I really stick to the healthier ones, with extra veggies and under 275 calories) I do much better on sticking to my meal plan than if I try to make up something on my…

You can do it! Like the poster before me said, log everything. It is so important and really what I was missing the other times I tried to "eat right". I have found that there are 5 things I have to do to lose weight, and they are..... Sleep (at least 7 hours) Eat (for me it is 1200 very carefully chosen calories a day)…

Sounds like you are doing FANTASTIC so far! Seriously, all those pounds and inches already--you are well on your way!! I know how rough it can be to be "following the plan" only to feel like your body betrayed you. But think about it....this plan has already really been working for you, and it is only one week, so I don't…

If by electric you mean digital I hate those scales! We had one that every time you stepped on it, it would give you a different weight. I prefer my cheap-o $9 old fashioned scale, the type where the little red line goes around the circle, pointing to your weight. It is accurate, but hard to read--I wish they would make…

I know it stinks to hear this, but slower is always better. I have been following the same 1200 calories a day diet since Jan 5. The first week I lost 5 lbs! Second week 3. Third week 1.5. Fourth week .5. My weight loss has dramatically slowed and while that doesn't make me want to do cartwheels, the inches are slowly…

This is a good thread. It hit home for me because 1 month into my new way of eating, and every once in a while I start to feel sorry for myself. At the beginning I was so anxious to get healthier and shed the 20 lbs I have put on over the last year and a half. I'm halfway there, but now and then I feel like I lose my…

Of course that is correct.....however. For me it is simply a short cut to say "muscle weighs more than fat". What I, and anyone over 8, means is that muscle takes up less room that fat, that it is more dense and more attractive--less lumpy. (I just had a similiar discussion the other day with my 7 year old twins about the…

Hey megbar--I could have signed my name to your post and it would have been 100% true for me too! My first week, 5 lbs! Second week 3. Third week 1.5. Fourth week .5. I'm not giving up, because this is the way I have to eat forever--not just a way for me to lose some extra weight. But man, does this rapid slow down suck. I…

I save a special treat for my "just before bed snack". It is low in calories and feels like dessert (at least a dessert to my new way of healthy-eating thinking :wink: ) and it is this: 8 oz of super hot skim milk 1 25 calorie hot cocoa packet Total calories: 115 It fills my tummy up right before bed and it is something…

Have you tried drinking a diet hot cocoa? It is 25 calories and really fills you up. I end every day in my cold climate (Colorado) with a hot cocoa. It is especially tasty made with a cup of skim milk--if you can afford the calories.

Ack! I feel like I could have written this! I found myself (for the first time since I began here Jan 5th) eating past my set amount of popcorn. And I knew what I was doing but I just kept doing it! I was disappointed in myself because I thought I had "fixed" this problem. I guess what the "old timers" have been saying all…

Aw, I just love this site! I know you were responding to one of our newest recruits--and I am an old-timer now at going on a month--but I really needed to hear these words today. Thanks for lifting and encouraging us all!:wink:

I can't help you on your question but I can tell you I recently bought a scale (for the first time ever) and this just might be me but I was ASTONISHED to see how off I was when I "eyeball" it vs. actually weighing it. I was leery to get a scale because that just sounded so obsessive to me but I have found I really enjoy…

I am conflicted about this. At first I didn't eat my exercise calories, because I didn't know that is what I was supposed to do. And then when I found out, I began eating them. Only here's the thing--I was losing at a steady pace until I started eating the calories. Then I pretty much didn't lose a thing. So I went back to…

Check it out online! I would imagine you can find out what is on Chili's menu if you google it. If not, maybe some MFP members have already put in some entree choices into the list. I would type in just Chili and see what pops up. I am flying tomorrow and then taking a four hour bus ride to my destination. Aside from…

I am an every day weigher inner too. Just once the scale has gone back up--tragic!--and I measured myself right then and there. All my measurements were up too so I knew it was from bloating and didn't let it get me down. I don't have a set day for measuring. If I go for more than 2-3 days without seeing the scale budge at…

Thanks Amy. Your momma raised you right! Just the other day I was reading an exchange that I thought was rather combative and it made me feel bad. I love all the positive things I've read on this site. Let's not let the ugly creep in, even when we don't agree with what somebody else believes in.

Hey! I'm new too and also 37 and mom of 5! Except I am the reverse with 4 boys and one girl. You will love this site! Good luck!!

Thanks! That's interesting info--I'm all for releasing fat stores. I already eat an apple and a cup of skim milk during the day--I'll just move it to the evening.

Just saying HI as instructed. I have been getting acquainted with this site and I love it. I feel like this is what I have been needing--a supportive place where I can log all my food, water and exercise for the day and not only know how it all adds up but to be accountable for every bite! Quick question: I am finding my…

I am a woman and I weigh myself daily. I have always weighed in every day. Yes, water retention among other things related my hormones will cause some fluctuation. THAT IS THE REASON I WEIGH IN EVERY DAY. If I only weigh myself once a week, how will that tell me a more accurate number? What if I am retaining water on that…