dawnmcneil10 Member

Thanks, this looks fabulous and a good reason to go get some chickpeas.

I schedule myself to take breaks, if I don't schedule them I'll work right through them. I set a reminder to walk and go walk the parking lot a couple times a day. You have to get over feeling silly the first few times but then you realize how happy it makes you feel and forget about the silly part.

Were you tracking your foods while in maintenance? Logging your exercise? If you have you can look at the "reports" section and see if you were eating more calories or maybe moving less than usual. If not that's probably the problem right there, you might be adding a bigger scoop of this or maybe not pushing your limits…

Be a kid again, I can't stress this enough with people. What did you do for fun as a kid? Most of us used swings, played ball of some kind, had a hula hoop, rollerskated or rollerbladed and so on. Just because your an adult doesn't mean you can't do all/any of those things. Sometimes I even challenge kids to a who can hula…

Fresh spinach, radishes and onion sauteed for breakfast with swiss cheese and an egg over the top. Summer time tends to be fresh cucumber and tomato with lots of pepper when they're still warm from the garden. In winter it's my homemade butternut squash bisque.

Grilled zucchini is one of my favorites, sometimes I add other veggies and do kabobs for a mix of flavors. Cut into large chunky then baked with salt, pepper, garlic and parm is fabulous with a garlic butter pasta or just by itself. One of the most natural combos with zucchini is tomato, you can slice the zucchini…

Could be too much sodium in your diet, happens pretty quick if you've been eating an excess of processed foods. Some medications will cause fluid retention too and tends to strike the knees or other areas that might be weaker on your body. I'd say try some gentle exercises and if it's painful to seek medical attention.

What helped me was to change the MFP settings to custom and set carbs to 40% fat and protein to 30% each. Honestly it doesn't take long to fill up the fats column if you eat avacado, nuts or nut butters.

Do a little research on what the fresh local foods are for the time frame you'll be there and look for recipes now so that you have an idea what to cook while there that uses as much of the fresh local food you can especially if you're backpacking all your supplies. As for flying, walk in the airports, keep water drinking…

Use dry spices to flavor meats instead of marinades. If too many spices scare you buy the Mrs Dash seasonings, they have several different types of flavors. Make up a batch of black beans, they're great cold in a salad with shredded cheese, corn, onions, peppers, spicy pork, chicken, grilled fish or beef. For dressing use…

I had the chicken Cantina Bowl a few months ago and really enjoyed it for "fast food" it was pretty filling. Of course I still like Wendy's too, can't beat a bowl of chili and/or a baked potato some days.

I scramble up eggs, sausage, peppers and onions sometimes adding potatoes to make a breakfast burrito filling. It's a food that freezes and thaws pretty well for easy breakfast on the run. You can also toss all these items into a casserole dish, top with cheese and bake, then portion out for your week. Chili is always an…

Wine spritzer Diet soda with shot of flavored vodka Light beer Bloody Mary Skinny cosmo, margarita and so on. Most chain restaurants have this option now.

If you've been a meal skipper it's tough to get your calorie count up there without working at it. I pretty much eat all day now because I can't do large amounts of food at once. Things that have helped me were to drink some calories, have a glass of milk, some juice even a latte if you like them. Try making smoothies, you…

I would definitely suggest snacking on some different foods. Try having some string cheese along with an apple and peanut butter or hummus and veggies. You may also benefit with finding something to do with yourself like adding exercise or reading a book to avoid the boredom eating. I suspect changing up WHAT you eat will…

You'll have to find what works for you and sometimes our environment is more of a struggle than at other times. Control what you can and don't stress over what you can't. For example if you don't want the ice cream others want have what you do want, maybe for you it's a soda, a beer or cup of coffee, a treat doesn't have…

Perhaps some of the best advice I've seen yet!

I personally like chicken thighs slow cooked in the crock pot. They're pretty juicy usually so I use mexican spices and a can of diced tomatoes for a shredded chicken effect.

Yep, sure seems that way to me. Not going to complain though for something that's free and has helped me a great deal.

These all sound delicious and to the pumpkin folks I say thank you because that is something I never would have thought to add but will definitely try. My personal favorites are taco salad which I kind of go crazy with, anything you'd find on a mexican buffet could be in it. The other favorite is cheeseburger salad, ground…

Oh the memories, if you haven't yet had a treadmill experience you will. Mine was dropping the cap off my water bottle and not wanting anyone else to get hurt I bent down to pick up the cap, yeah apparently you're supposed to stop the treadmill first landed on my feet to applause. If you're every feeling a breeze where you…

This is fabulous! :smile: Congratulations on doing your own thing and finding what works for you. I'm so happy you posted here instead of on FB because honesty you'd never get the amazing responses you'll get here and on here you're going to be an inspiration to so many others.

Get some equipment to keep at home, even if right now it's just dumbells and get up 15 minutes earlier at 3am. If you've got kids, use their body weight during family time, nothing like lunges with a 5 year old strapped on your back. It's not perfect but it's a place to start until you can figure out more.

Maybe try making tuna casserole, pasta salad with lots veggies and cheese or if you really don't like them how about donating to a food pantry or shelter.

Make it fun! That's my advice. For exercise be a kid again, remember all the things you did back then and do them. Go to the park, swing on the swings. Get a hula hoop and laugh at yourself when it falls to the ground. Draw out hop scotch and see if you remember how to do it, jump rope, play catch or toss around a frisbee.…

How about going thin crust and using a corn tortilla? I've done large portabello mushroom caps baked or grilled and then topped with a meaty pasta sauce and cheese. You can use zucchini as well just slice into long srips about 1/2" thick and bake or grill to dry them out. I usually do diced tomatoes or a garlic and olive…

I use plain greek yogurt as salad dressing, works well with salsa for a taco salad or something along that lines. You can also use it with your favorite seasonings and to thin add a little milk. It's much lower calories and gives you a little extra protein in your day. Sometimes I do a half greek yogurt, half salad…

Here's some advice that worked great for me, if you can't have a conversation when running, you're running too fast. Stand up straight, don't slump forward when running and don't clench your fists. I didn't do C25K but I hear great things about it. I just picked out random landmarks and ran to that point, next time I'd…

I've done this same thing. I truly enjoy a good cup of coffee but I try to limit myself to one in the morning and drink water all day, sometimes I have an afternoon reward of a 2nd cup or I wait until evening and use one to relax with. Didn't stop me from losing weight, hasn't stopped me from maintaining weight so I think…

I know you're not a big egg eater but have you tried egg whites instead? Breakfast casserole can be an option too, toss a bunch of meat, veggies and cheese together and use just enough egg whites to hold it all together. Don't go wimpy on the spices, live it up. Anything is acceptable for breakfast in my opinion but I also…