cmfruin2012 Member

Well thank you!

In case anyone is wondering...my fitness regime consists of swimming laps 3 times a week (I can now do about mile in an hour) and a combo of cardio and strength training another 2-3 days a week on my own and with a trainer. I also try to walk 3 miles every day.

How much better I feel is the greatest thing. Being a smaller size and weighing less are nice, but feeling stronger, sleeping better, not hurting, etc. are the greatest motivators. I can't imagine how much better I will feel in another 10, 20 or 50 pounds.

Thank you Diana. I appreciate your support and friendship.

Best advice I can give to anyone if they hit that kind of wall is to muster more patience than you think you have, to jot be afraid to change things up a bit, and do the be afraid to seek out reliable professional advice.

Thank you. The wellness instructor at the YMCA today commented about how I am always smiling and have a glow these days. Getting healthy suits me.

Thank you all. The fact I stuck with it during that long plateau tells me I can do this no matter what.

Thank you so much for your very thoughtful review and advice -- I appreciate it!

So many good responses! Again -- thank you to all who have responded so far. I am feeling like much less of a picky eater now for not liking mushrooms!

And three cheers for all the oatmeal haters out there!!

I posted this same question on my FB page and surprised at how many people there also responded bananas! I also know several folks who can't stand tomatoes. Love all these answers -- thanks for participating in my little poll.

Glad I am not the only one who doesn't like the texture of oatmeal!

I hear you about watermelon. I can't eat it or cucumbers -- the acidity doesn't agree with me.

A million congratulations -- a very exciting milestone (trying to get there myself -- just 5 more pounds!) Keep up the great work.

YAY!!! That is very exciting! I look forward to that day myself -- just glad to be putting more and more distance between the 4 and the 3 on my scale! Congrats on this huge milestone and keep up the good work.

Fantastic milestone!!

Amazing transformation!!! You have nothing to be embarrassed about -- bravo to you for being confident and successful!

I understand your situation -- please feel free to friend me. I am a busy working parent -- I have been steadily but slowly working on losing 200+ pounds since January 2013. It can get very frustrating at times (I just broke through an 8 month plateau where I didn't lose a single pound!). There are good people here -- and…

I struggle with sodium also. I find that I retain water terribly regardless of how much water I drink if I consume a lot of sodium, even though the common advice is to drink more water. And you are right -- it is in everything. No matter how "clean" I try to eat -- it sneaks in there through things like condiments, cheese,…

I am so glad you are my friend....thank you for your words and I will also read the article you shared.

Thank you for clarifying about bad carbs vs. good carbs. I have tried to buy whole grain pasta and bread and stay away from white flour whenever possible. I think I need to keep doing what I'm doing but increase my attention to detail and make some small changes here and there. Maybe my doctor will have some suggestions…

Thank you for that swimming calculator site -- that is really interesting!

I like this!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you! I do think that I'm going to ask my doctor when I see her this week to refer me to a nutritionist.

While many of the comments have been helpful/useful, many of them also confirm what I have always suspected. There are a LOT of theories out there about what is right and what is wrong. What works for one person, doesn't always work for another. There are certainly some basics that are true for everyone -- but the…

This is great! Thanks for sharing!

Extrapolated over time, yes, it comes out to a pound a week, which is wonderful, I agree. However, I'm looking at 12 weeks with no loss -- not looking at it as having lost 3-4 pounds a week the first 6 weeks as contributing to an average of 1 pound a week. Perhaps I do need to change the way I am looking at it.

To those who keep asking -- YES, I agree that MFP overestimates exercise -- which is why I don't eat back all those exercise calories. The point about not logging meals on occasion is well-taken and it is an area that perhaps I need to be more diligent about -- and more honest with myself about. On measuring -- I feel that…

This is a really good point -- to not rely upon solely what the labels say but do actually weigh the serving size.