a mere shadow of my former self ;)

[hoodat]

Exercise helps. I was telling my son the other day that I wouldn't do anything unless something would suffer from my inactivity . . . darn kid agreed with me!

Okay, he knows me fairly well. (and, he's no kid )

So, I get wound up and go . . . the only way I know how to do anything.

Veggies help. There was someone on BYC who was wondering if they could give their chickens too many greens. My response was that the birds should know when to stop eating lettuce and go back to their feed, as long as they had feed to go back to. He would probably only get into trouble if he was trying to replace the feed with greens.

Lettuce has 15 calories to the 1/4 pound.
Chicken feed has over 300 calories in a 1/4 pound.

Both chickens and people would starve on a lettuce diet.

Veggies are really low-calorie: spinach about 25 calories, broccoli about 40, carrots about 50.

So, I've just got to stay in the garden and eating out of a basket and stay out of the feed bag .

Steve

My trouble is that although veggies are LoCal the way I like them isn't. I like my zuchini fried in butter with onion and garlic.
Other than fresh my favorite way to eat maters is thickly sliced, and topped with cheese then brushed with olive oil and broiled. I also like fried green maters.

 

[journey11]

My trouble is that although veggies are LoCal the way I like them isn't. I like my zuchini fried in butter with onion and garlic.
Other than fresh my favorite way to eat maters is thickly sliced, and topped with cheese then brushed with olive oil and broiled. I also like fried green maters.

Yum!

I suppose I'd get a lot more exercise if I spent a lot less time on here.

But you've gotta have intellectual stimulation too! Hopefully my brain is benefitting as much by it. I know my garden sure is! I've learned a lot on here... LOL

 

[digitS']

I tell you what: If you asked most North Americans to eat more than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, they would say, "No, I can't! It's toooo muuuch!"

". . . the average American gets a total of just three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The latest dietary guidelines call for five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day. . ." Harvard School of Public Health

A large apple weighs about 1/2 pound and only has just over 100 calories.

If we can just keep those veggie and fruit servings way up, we can keep our calorie intake low. I mean, we only have the capacity to eat so much food!

The slice of cheese counts but imagine the difference between putting it on a tomato . . . and putting it on a sausage and pasta casserole .

Steve

 

[Kim_NC]

DH & I quit smoking 3 years ago...well, it'll be 3 years in a couple more weeks....July 23rd. We took Chantix. There is nothing I've enjoyed more than FINALLY being a non-smoker.....errrr, except for the weight gain.

It took 18 months to go from 120 lbs to 154 lbs. Ouch! I started working on it with Weight Watchers last Sept. I lose a bit, gain a bit back....the ole' 2 steps forward, one step back approach. LOL I'm now at 134 lbs. That's an improvement, but still want to get another 10 lbs off so badly.

It's not what I eat, but how much. I probably do approach 13 servings of fruits/veggies per day. Unfortunately calories of 'good stuff' do add up.

At least I'm not killing myself with junk food and fast food calories. If I'd just tighten up or get on my ab lounge, I could dump that 10 lbs. *sigh* so much to do, so little time, so many desires.

 

[digitS']

Quitting cigarettes is easy, Kim! I have done it dozens of times.

Koff, Koff . . . I finally quit quit about 20 years ago because I couldn't stand the pressure others put on me to stop. I may never have had the will to do it on my own.

There seems to be a number of things that contribute to weight gain in life . . . outside of the terrible, calorie-rich processed foods all around us. When I was about 40, I realized that I could eat whether I was hungry, or not . Eating just as an act of enjoyment became important enuf that I was never hungry after I passed this milestone !

Darn it! There used to be a lot of things more important than eating! I had a hard time keeping an extra pound on me! I mean, I'd get involved in something and lose 10 pounds. And, when I was already scrawny, that wasn't so great. Also, the activity probably wasn't the healthiest to begin with - and usually involved staying up late at night. When it involved a lot of actual exercise, my weight would usually go up as my appetite increased and I'd build muscle. But, I'm talking about a LOT of exercise!

I'm considering alfalfa pellets as a "weight watchers" diet! Yeah! You know that there's only about 500 calories in a pound of pellets! Since adults usually eat about 2 pounds of food a day, I'd cut my usual calorie intake by way more than half!

I'd drop weight like yesterday's trash!!!

Steve

 

[obsessed]

speaking of Weight Watchers steve...

I have lost 9.6 pounds in 9 weeks. I has been a real eye opener. I am amazed at the amount of food I was eating before WW when compared to now. I am not hungry. And I don't feel like there is nothing I can't have. I just have to account for what I ate. So if I eat a piece of cake for 13 points. I am going to be starving later. So I am choosing better healthy options (ok so I am trying to chose).

I like it. It is like AA for fat people.

 

[Kim_NC]

I cannot subsist on a diet of alfalfa pellets. *grin*

What I like about weight watchers is - it's kind of like everything in moderation. You really can eat anything, but you have to add up the points (similar to calories), keep the portions down, and not too much high calorie food(s) in one day.

And it's true, if you make healthly choices - go with the more nutritious foods like veggies/fruits, and proteins - you will not be hungry.

Hahahaa....now if I could just stick to the not too much in one day part. It's not that I'm hungry. At times, I just eat too much as a sub for smoking. And it's not even that I want cigarettes, I really don't, just have a habit of my mouth being in constant motion from smoking. LOL

 

[obsessed]

Hey kim, I am working on the smoking as well. I actually didn't start smoking till about a year ago when my husband for some freakish reason started to. But I wanted to secure in my points before I take on anything else hard. Cause learning to eat all I need vs. all I want can be quite challenging. Especially when having to live in a society with other people. There are so many deserts I forgo at the office and just about everywhere else.

 

[cwhit590]

I used to say that I gained 15 pounds every winter and then lost it during the summer.

Then , I started to gain 15 pounds every winter and lose 10 pounds during the summer. Four years and 20 pounds later, I began to get in trouble . . .

I became discouraged along about New Years Day and stopped climbing on the scales every morning. I know that I was over 200. Disappointment may have helped in some odd way - I was just below 200 in the middle of February.

But, if I use the 200 pound mark - I lost about 8 pounds thru the spring!! Down to 192 this morning and that 185 mark that I hit at the beginning of last fall doesn't look so far off! Maybe I can even take it closer to the 170's!!

How you doin'?

Steve

Wow, we're around the same size Steve. After this winter I was up to 200+ :/ but.... thanks to some freak flu bug over the past few weeks I'm back down in the 190's....I need to get down around 185 or so too!

Like others have said I have to watch my portions. I generally eat healthy food, and I love my fruits and veggies...but when you eat too much and don't get enough exercise...yah. not good.

 

[journey11]

I quit smoking about 4 years ago--yes indeed--that will make you gain weight! But I am so glad to be able to BREATHE and SMELL. That is priceless. Wouldn't trade it for anything. Also, I quit just before the price of cigs went sky-high. I quit because I'd been wanting to quit the yucky habit for years prior to that and deciding to start a family was the final kicker. Having my daughter had no affect on my weight, strangely enough.

Also I quit my job waiting tables about 7 years ago. There is nothing like being on your feet 9 hours a day serving customers to keep the weight off. If I really want to lose a few pounds, I think maybe I should go back to that and get paid to lose weight. LOL Nope! Not worth it!