mspianomistress

I'm so glad I found this thread. You look amazing. I'm going to keep some weights in my office and do some reps at work throughout the day.

My go-to cookbook is the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Look for it on Amazon. It has lots of useful info! It's divided by category (meats, vegetables, sauces, etc) and has info in the back of each section on how to cook lots of different things. Growing up, we always had one in the house, and my mom bought me one when…

Congrats on your weight loss so far. This sounds like such a difficult situation you are in. I'm so sorry you are feeling this way. You will feel much better if you just tell him - tell him everything you said here. Even read this post to him if you can, so that he will understand what you are going through. It also sound…

Butter all the way! I feel better when I avoid most processed foods, and margarine is highly processed. Extra virgin olive oil and unrefined coconut oil are also excellent. I haven't bought margarine in years. If you don't like the salt in butter, you can buy unsalted.

Interesting!

If I only ate 1200 Calories per day, I wouldn't stick with it. That is WAY too low for me. I'm 5'2" and currently at 174.7 lbs. I have a semi-active job, half desk and half active on my feet. I put my activity level as lightly active and my goal as 1 lb. per week. It still put my calories below what I needed not to starve,…

-13 for fat isn't bad at all. I usually just ignore those numbers, in all honesty. I personally pay more attention to my carb number because I had gestational diabetes, so that puts me at a higher risk for diabetes. I agree with what other posters have said. If your diary is complete for the day, you haven't eaten enough.…

My husband and I have a 1.5 year old daughter, and we are older parents. I'm almost 39, and he is 41. I know he has gained weight and he needs to get into shape, not for vanity reasons, but because I want him to be there for his daughter when she grows up. He also smokes, and I am concerned about his health. I have started…

I don't care for pretty much anything fried and most processed junk food such as Doritos, etc. are disgusting to me now.

If you're still interested in swimming but can't afford much, there are a couple of possible options out there for you depending on what's available in your area. Community centers and city parks often have pools open in the summer and are quite cheap or free if you're a resident of the area. Also, like others suggested,…

Sure :-)

I thought of another one. Sweet leaf drops! I sweeten everything with them lately. Coffee, oatmeal, cereal, etc. They come in many different flavors. It's a natural zero calorie sweetener!

Cinnamon. Makes things sweet without calories! I also used seasoned salt on just about every savory dish.

What a beautiful, inspirational story. Thank you for sharing it, and congratulations on your weight loss!

I haven't tried that but it sounds yummy!

I wholeheartedly agree! I have a 1.5-year-old at home and work full-time. Every evening, and I sit on the floor with her for playtime. Lately I've used a yoga mat, and she does crawl over me. I make a game of it. She also has a bunch of toys she gets out of her cabinet only when I am home. I can fit in crunches and…

Congratulations on taking that first step. Like other posters have replied, I suggest you start by logging everything you eat. You may find that just having something like a food log for accountability will really help you see what you are eating and start making positive changes.

Look up "mowing lawn" under cardio and put in the number of minutes you did it.

It sounds to me like your reasons for wanting to lose weight are very unhealthy. Please do not continue on this path. Skinny is not necessarily healthy, and starving yourself to get thin can lead to very bad long-term health effects.

I made it to 37 without any babies. I have 1 now.

I turn 39 this August and have struggled with being on the heavier side for most of my adult life. I just had my first child last year, so now I'm dealing with extra belly fat as well. If I do have another child, I'd love to drop this weight beforehand, as I had gestational diabetes. I have a pretty active job and do get a…

I love Alpine Valley 21 grain bread. It has a great nutty texture, is high in fiber, is organic, and only has 80 calories per slice.