techigirl78 Member

July 2012 I knew the feeling. I have lost about 70lbs now. You can do it. Just make small goals. I set goals every 10-20 lbs that were meaningful and celebrated those accomplisments. I just make small changes to my lifestyle each week vs calling it a diet, which never worked for me. I still have about 40-45lbs to go to…

Good job on the weight loss. I agree with mama, it can take time for your skin to catch up. I would give it 6-12 months at least. Lotions with aloe, vitamin e, and aha are suppose to be helpful. I use jergens stretch mark cream in morning and eucerin at night. I also saw a new derm approach on the doctors show that may…

I was in same situation. I have IBS and when I stopped drinking soda (and caffiene), it got real bad. I didnt go for over two weeks at one point. Over the course of four months it was bad. My stomach had constant lower left pain. I took exlax and almost went to hospital due to the pain. Doctor said fiber wasnt enough. She…

Agree with others. You should eat more. You may end up falling out of your good workout routine if you stay too low on the calories too long. Your body will run out of energy.

I eat a shake almost every morning. I use whey protein, but mix in other stuff as well and it gives me a bigger variety - yogurt, fruit (using different kinds), spinich, peanut butter, almond butter, soy milk, skim milk, flaxseed, splashes of different juicies. Makes a variety and one of my biggest downfalls that made me…

Yes. I have had days with 2000+ calories. I think making a weekly target for those types of weeks is good. I have days where I go over too, so it is a balance.

I think part of it is genetics. Just continue to stay hydrated and do strength training to help yourself as much as possible. Also, I think slower weight loss is helpful. I have lost about 70lbs (still 40 to go) and I don't have much sagging skin. However, I wasn't very fluffy even when I was bigger (didn't have a lot of…

Stop being afraid. If you have stretch marks now, they will continue to fade. I haven't gotten a single new stretch mark during weight loss. To prevent really saggy skin, stay hydrated, exercise, and lose weight at the recommended rate. If you are dehydrated or lose too quickly, it won't allow your skin to keep up. If you…

I try to focus on eating the right amount of good fats, protein, fiber, and sodium, since those are the areas I have problems while staying in my calorie range. I ignore the sugar as I usually go over just from the fruit I eat as well. When I tried cutting back sugars to get in their range, I don't feel like I have enough…

I agree on taking the stairs if you have them in your office building.

I ate around 1200-1300 calories until I hit a plateau, then I increased calories and started losing weight again. If it is working and you feel great, then keep it the same. However, if you are not getting smaller (inches/weight) or you feel tired/irritable/hungry all the time, then change it.

After losing about 50lbs, I noticed my heels were alot more comfortable and was able to get bigger heels. Still only wear them to work and to go out though.

I gave mine away to people who are larger than me. It feels good to get rid of all the old clothes. I kept one pair of pants I wore all the time at my biggest. That is it. Good job!

I can see your point. I was scared to increase my calories and I haven't lost close to the amount of weight as you. I would opt for increasing your calories slowly versus giving up gym and see what happens. Hopefully you will be able to have insurance pay for it! I can only imagine things that must go through your head.…

I posted something just yesterday and a number of users bashed me telling me to get my facts straight and basically saying I need to get educated. However, the information I provided was from my doctor. I thought about responding to their comments, but I come here for support and share things. Not to bash people or think…

That is a little bizarre. I usually park far away just so I don't have to deal with all the other cars.

Really, this is why I pay taxes? For cafeteria police and providing free food to kids if their lunch doesn't make the cut? Even the explanation from the school doesn't make sense.

Wow, 199lbs. You should be in success stories. Great job! I looked at your diary for a few days and you may need to up your calories. When I plateaued for all of December, I chose to up my calorie intake and the weight started to come off again. Also, take a few days off from the gym and give yourself a break. If you don't…

MFP works in that you choose how fast you want to lose weight and enter that into MFP. Then you eat all the calories including those you gain from exercising and log it. For someone your size, you probably want to target about .5 lbs per week. It will tell you how many calories to eat for someone with your activity level.…

When I started, I probably was drinking about 10-15 servings of soda a day. Way to many calories to drink. You will need to cut back to reach your goals. Also, make sure to log all the beer you drink. You will see how much it adds up. Then, you will need to decide do you want to fuel yourself with beer or good nutrition…

I have chocolate squares I eat occassionally. But usually I'll eat chocolate protein shakes. Sometimes add peanut butter for extra kick and they smell just like reeses.

Don't usually use it, but when I do I use the Mayo with Olive Oil.

For resturants, I vary a lot. From 15-35%. If the waitstaff doesn't meet my needs, I'll leave 15%. With one really bad experience I left a penny. The waitress was the most horrible waitress I ever had messing up our order 3 times. Then bringing us desserts to make up for it and charging us. Horrible. I was a waitress, so I…

Yes, from some people. Otherwise, I tell them how much more I want to lose and they say it is not necessary. However, my goal is the weight I was when I was about 23 and felt good about myself.

Go Pack Go! Love the Green Bay Packers.

In the end, calories in must be less then calories out and you need to feel good while doing it. That is all you need to remember. If you hit a plateau, trying something different, like increasing or decreasing your calories. Slow and steady wins the race. You'll lose weight faster in the beginning then the end. If you are…

You can actually go over on both, but you would need to eat a ton of it to go over. Fat is bad as it cannot convert into anything else. Protein can convert to carbs, then fat. Carbs can convert to fat. Fat can convert to fat, that is it.

Don't punish yourself eating things you consider "bad". If you restrict yourself too much, then it isn't worth it. If you go to the gym and burn 400 calories, it isn't the end of the world to go eat a chocolate with 80 calories. Just don't go over board on the junk and make sure you get all the nutrients you need. You need…

I also have Polar FT40 and love it. I don't know anything about fitbit. I got the polar as the ratings were good and it uses a chest band, which are suppose to get the best readings based on information I read online. I also have the link device, but haven't used it much yet.

If you can be a vegatarian (I can't), then you should be able to make some small changes to get the weight off and keep it off. Good luck!