Original Post by fighead:

PS: Any snack recipies? : D

 Favorite Snack Recipe #1 ...

Slice up a medium sized apple, drizzle on some Walden Farms calorie-free caramel dip, add 2 tablespoons of low calorie whipped topping, sprinkle on cinnamon .... YUMMMMMMM! (And about 100 calories)

Favorite Snack Recipe #2 ...

Get some mini sweet peppers and half them. Sprinkle garlic powder on them, and some cilantro. Drop in one cube of Laughing Cow Light Gourmet Cheese Bites (7 calories each)... then broil in the toaster oven. It's WONDERFUL!

Favorite Snack Recipe #3 ...

Start with 6 hardboiled eggs. Half and remove/toss the yolks. Fill the 12 halves something ... hummus, tuna, caviar, sundried tomatoes, dill pickle piece ... yum! (And low carb, too!)

MOLLY

Original Post by leopardrayne:

The Salvation Army is like going fishing.

Okay so... I went to Salvation Army for my 30-pound-30-dollar reward, and picked up a few new pairs of jeans (all size 11 so I have something to look forward to fitting into), and a beautiful beautiful sundress.  This SA doesn't have a dressing room, so I found my eyes going through all the clothes greedily and wondering if they'll be too tight or too loose, to the point that I'll have to "throw 'em back", after having already paid for them.

So... about the sundress... I tried it on, and it fit... if I didn't zip it up in the back.  So... my next real goal is to be able to fit into it (beautifully) by the end of the summer.  I want to show it off to my godmother on August 5th.  I'll even wear it on the plane and I might find a cute guy.

 Sounds like a successful shopping expedition and now you have some great clothes as motivation!!!!

MOLLY

Original Post by lynnhaslost:

WOOOHOOO! I am in.... ONGOING MOTIVATION! What a PLUS! LOVVVVVVVVVVVVE iTTTTT!

Now let's get down to business with my 75 day plan..

1. Stay with the counting calories/fats/carbs/and protein.

2. I have 19 more pounds to lose, and I pray I lose it by August 1st. My plan God's will right.

3. Stay strong with Jella's Smart plan.. That was a God send :)

4. Work Hard at my 30/30/30 program. Cardio/Yoga/Weights
     This will change up in 4 more weeks, but still 30/30/30 rule is in play.

5. I'm going to start playing Kick Ball with my children. No more Mom yelling play fair. I am going to be out there with them like always.

6. Still work the Garden with my dad and children.

7. Start running 3 days a week with my son. He loves the track and to run.
    :) That's my coach. My kids has been my coaches and motivation for so long.

8. I can't forget the 80oz of water I have a day.

9. To lose enough weight to fit into the birthday dress I've ordered.

10. To keep you all close. In my prayer's and thoughts.

Thanks for this COUNTDOWN CLUB Molly:)

I really needed this post. Thanks a lot. I wish you all luck.

Have fun in the sun/water/shade/whatever you choose this summer. I know I will.

 Thanks for joining us .... nice to have you here! (And great goals!)

MOLLY

Tips for drinking more water...the first thing to realize is that most liquids count towards that goal, you also do get some water from your food, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. 

1. Morning coffee, even though the caffeine is a diuretic, you can still count it for 1 cup of water.
2. Have it handy...I keep a few 3 gallon dispensers of distilled water at work since I don't have any other water source.  I use it for my coffee, for drinking, etc.
3. If plain water isn't doing it for you...sometimes it just doesn't, then add some crystal light mix (tastes like lemonaide and the raspberry lemonade is wonderful) or make a mint tea or add a chopped lemon or orange to give it a bit of flavor.
4. Get a nice water container to drink from and keep it handy and filled.

Snack ideas, I'm a fan of no extra cooking where possible:

1. Cut bell pepper
2. Bananas
3. trail mix
4. candied ginger (hey, you have to have some treats)

Molly, Thanks for having me.

Smwhipple, I love bell peppers. I eat them all the time. I think that's my fav-Veggie.. I can't go without them. I tried, and my week was off.. Thanks for Sam's Club. I get them 6 to a bag their, and I love them. Colorful ones, down to the green ones. I got to have them. Apples, I eat 3 of those a day, and I love what I get out of eating them 3 times a day. I notice eating 3 apples per day keeps my sugar fits under control. I have one after each meal.

Bell Pepper are loaded in water... I love that too.

75 Days That can be done.

1. Lose 25 pounds

2. Exercise at least every other day

3. Drink lots more water

5. Read those labels more faithfully

Newbeginning.... welcome aboard. I need to read labels more carefully, too.

If I didn't mention it earlier, I biked 8 miles this morning before it got tooooooo hot. Of course, now I am coughing up a storm ... who knew it would take so long to get over pneumonia? Grrrr.... I hate germies.

ANNOUNCEMENT ....

So it will be easier to find, I have started indexing the "Question of the Day" in the first post, so if you don't want to read around and look for it, you can go to Page 1, Post 1 .... and see where the day's question is! (Thanks to smwhipple who mentioned that it would be nice not to have to hunt for the QOD!)

MOLLY

I had a very good day today (35 mins roller-blading, good stuff to eat!) and this week has been on track with my goals.  I did eat into my deficit yesterday.  How, you ask, did I do that given I fasted for most of the day??? Well that's exactly it, I was so hungry by the time it was ok for me to eat, I could not stop.  But, the good news is I still had a deficit (about 150 cals) and the food was not bad food.  Peanut butter toast, graham crackers and nuts. 

Work out wise I am on track as well for the week and I did send out a motivation e-mail to my friends who have not responded yet!  Glad I have y'all here to keep me goin'  It's great to get snack ideas and to see how everyone is fitting in all the water.  Perhaps a good follow-up question is "how do you find the extra time to pee after drinking all that water?" 

Thanks all for the reminder to drink more water as I have been lax about that for while now. 

This is a great idea!

Hmmmmm.... my goals are...

1)Go to the gym 6 days a week.  My mom just got a membership to the same gym, so hopefully we'll be pushing each other.

2) AVOID LATE NIGHT SNACKING!  Oh man, it's my downfall.  Actually, I'm going to set an 8 oclock time limit right now.  No eating after 8 oclock at night!

3) Drink only water and tons of it.  I think I can last 75 days with only water!

4) Eat above 20 grams of fiber each day.  I really need to get more fiber!

I think thats it for goals now.  I really want to stick to them!  75 days is a great length of time!

Hopefully I'll hit my ten pounds lost mark during these days and then I'll treat myself to a massage!

As for the water question...  I have one glass in the morning.  Then at work I always have a huge solo cup full of water.  A lot of my job is pushing paper.  After I get one group of papers out of the way I'll tak e 3 or 4 huge gulps of the water.  I usually end up drinking about 3 or 4 of these 12 ounce glasses before 1 or 2 in the afternoon.  It provides a great break from work and also allows me to take in tons of water without really noticing.

PS lynnhaslost- great idea about the 3 apples a day... my sweet tooth is the size of the atlantic ocean :-)

Late night snacking .... oh, I totally understand!  Don't forget that one medium cucumber is just 24 calories and one cup of sliced radishes is just 19 calories .... so those are both safe late night snacks.

Sugar free jello (10 calories) and sugar free popsicles (15 calories) are also nice.

And, of course, there's always tea or bouillon!!!

Glad to have everyone aboard -- thanks for sharing all your tips and advice. After all, we're all in this TOGETHER!

One of the other things I want to do this summer is do a better job of tracking when my monthly cycle is, and when I am experiencing PMS symptoms/retaining water ... just so I can schedule/plan for it a bit better. I definitely am hungrier/more tired when I am PMSing.

MOLLY

lisaplaysflute- 3 apples per day will also help with that extra fiber intake you need.. Get's things Moving along, if you know what I mean.  You can even have them before your dinner. Having them before your meals will help you cut down on a lot of wild snacking too. It must be a large apple. They are the best. I was reading in my calories book, that apples run around 110 cals. Who cares. I love the read ones, and they give me the extra amount of fiber I know I've missed. Thanks to Jella's Smart plan. I have been eating more salads and fruits. I was eating thse things before, but not as much as I should have been doing. With this added 3 apples perday. I've notice a lot of things that I didn't before.

I've even notice that my skin has gotten even better with the add fruits and veggies. My kids are even eating SMART.. I got them down to 1 pack of noddles every 2 days. :) They even want apples the small ones twice a day. It's a good thing to have in the house.. We don't even keep candy like we use too.

count me in......

I have been a member since april 17, 2008 and should be doing a lot better than what i have been doing all because of ICE CREAM!!!!!!! MY DOWN FALL.....

I do drink water and plenty of it..... so I know I can do that.  I don't drink any kinds of soda unless, I really want which is usually never....

My other down fall, Beer and COSMOS I have been trying to only drink only every 3 weeks and so far so good.... hope i can kept it up with summer parties coming around the corner.....

But my goal is to eat salad for a least one meal and at least have two fruits and a yogurt everyday.... 

I'm so glad i found this site.....

patty

p.s I will also be praying for you husband in Iraq... 

Original Post by bonton71:

Oh I forgot that I have canned corn and red skin potatoes but I consider them starches not veggies~ LOL do like corn though. Also tried spaghetti squash once and liked it but don't have the faintest idea how to cook it.

 It's really easy to cook spaghetti squash.  I cut in half and remove the seeds. Then put in a covered dish (or cover w/ plastic wrap) with about 1/4" to 1/2" water and microwave for 5-10 minutes until soft.  Once it cools enough to handle use a fork to pull out the strands.  I serve usually serve it with tomato sauce.  You can also bake it in the oven.