rabblerabble Member

Haven't had a drop of soda since the first of the year.

Generally have them with whites only. Usually just mix in chopped veggies (onions, red/green bell peppers, a little fresh spinach and mushrooms), with just a little Parmesan sprinkled on top.

I snack a few times a day but it is healthy snacks. My lunch box I bring to work each day always includes a bag of celery sticks and/or carrots, a bag of grapes, an apple, and in my desk I keep a jumbo bag of jerky (has a lot of sodium, but loads of protein and quite low in fat). I also drink lots of water during the day…

I spend a rather modest 30-40 minutes lifting (after a short warmup period) 2-3 times a week and on most other days do about 20 minutes of HIIT cardio. I feel the quality (push as hard as I can during a shorter time) rather than quantity (spending hours at a time in the gym) works best for me.

2 pounds down is a lot better than 2 pounds up. Stay with your plan and try to patiently take it slow and steady. I've lost over half a hundred pounds and that pretty much took me most of the year to do so. Keep track of your weekly progress and wait a few months to get a real view of how you are doing.

Most feel you should always try to eat something soon after waking to get the metabolism up and running. If you get up late, then after a healthy breakfast, push back lunch and dinner a bit if needed.

OK to have the occasional indulgence. All about not doing it all the time and most days getting up and eating as healthy as possible. In a few weeks we're having Thanksgiving with family at my brother-in-law's residence and his wife is truly an amazing cook. I'll certainly try to enjoy some of her dishes and will try to…

Just do what you can and try to run a little faster and/or further each time. A year ago if I ran for about 30 seconds (to catch a train perhaps) I'd be panting and out of breath. Can run much further now that I've spent a year starting to get in shape.

A year ago when I started a healthier lifestyle most of my jeans had a 38 or 40 inch waist size. Been getting baggier all year long and I finally went out a week ago and found I comfortably fit into 32 inch waist jeans. Taking all the old jeans which are in good condition to donate to goodwill in the next few days.

Getting to bed on time the night before makes a huge difference of course and I'm bed each night by 10PM. Alarm goes off a bit before 5AM (it's intentionally on the far side of the room so I can't reach over and hit the snooze button) and I get up, throw on my workout clothes, start the coffee and prepare a bowl of…

The only enhancer I need in my water is ice.

You can learn a lot more just reading the forum pages here than anywhere else. Check out what everyone else is saying works for them and incorporate it into your own plan.

I don't even try to log lifting sessions (I generally do pyramids which makes recording all the different sets with varying reps and weights far too tedious). I just figure that gaining muscle is one of the best ways to boost metabolism and make me fitter is many different ways.

I would think if you have access to a gym that some of the leg machines that isolate the quads (leg extension) or hamstrings (lying leg curl or sitting leg curl) would be good as they put little emphasis at all on the calves.

Want to be down to my goal weight in time for the annual health assessment (which is some time early in December). Still need to lose 1-2 pounds/week which includes getting through Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the early XMAS seasons where we always seem to have holiday snacks readily available at home and in the work place.

I've managed not to sneak any pieces of candy at all this season (despite a huge opened bag of fun sized candy bars sitting on the living room table the last few weeks). Once I eat one piece it's like eating potato chips and I can't stop. If I don't eat that first piece, then I can't ever eat that 10th piece.

I'm finding that healthy foods are starting to taste better. I really worked at getting more fruit/veggies into my diet this year. (used to average perhaps 1-2 servings a day on a GOOD day, now it's a minimum of 5 servings and almost always more.) Really starting to enjoy the taste of plain fruit (apples, oranges, grapes,…

Note quite to goal weight yet (about 8 pounds to go) but I went out and bought a few pairs of blue jeans over the weekend. (I was wearing 40 inch size before, but now fit into 32 inch.

Many burger joints have grilled chicken. If it's a sandwich shop, I usually try to go for chicken/turkey sandwiches (on whole grain if possible) and I never get fries or potato chips and avoid soda too.

I'm getting a little colder at night now and need another blanket on the bed and/or pajamas. Guess all that blubber I used to carry around was providing insulation.

Already done!

Used to drown baked potatoes in butter and sour cream. Now I put on a generous scoop of cottage cheese.

Biggest challenge for me will be getting through the holidays and try to stay somewhat on my eating plan. (Tough when you have all those family holiday meals and lots of tasty gifts keep on arriving.) Glad my gym is less than a mile away and easy to get to even in the worst of weather.

If you have the time, try to hit the gym, or perhaps take a walk around the neighborhood. If other duties (family, work, etc.) prevent getting in more exercise, then just try to get back on track tomorrow. Can't change what you did in the past and can only make healthier choices the rest of today and tomorrow.

When the weather is nice, I try to get in a nice 30-40 minute walk around the area near my office. (About to leave as we're having a rather pleasant autumn day right now).

I have a tough time with nuts. Sure they're healthier than most snacks and have healthy fat but they still are loaded in calories. I can't just eat a small handful at one time and keep reaching for more. Have had to settle to not keeping them in the house. And since others in my home demand it, there are always things like…

I just drink my coffee black. Helps to use quality fresh ground beans. Yeah it would taste better with creamer/sugar/etc added, but that stuff is just empty calories that I don't need/want.

Most days, my sandwich for lunch contains a liberal portion of fresh spinach leaves.

Black grapes. Simple, sweet, and tasty.

It may seem mean spirited but sometimes I'll see someone who is overweight with their belly hanging over their belt and think "that's what I was starting to look like" and it's then easier to pass up the next doughnut, handful of chips, or fast food burger/fries and to get out of bed early and hit the gym the next morning.…