OHMYGOD!!!!! so remember i told you how i am a tv addict? well one of my favoritest is big brother. they finally decided to come do a casting call in houston!! OMG!! but no. they had to pick a day that i have finals in my classes on that day!!! ERRR!! oh well its probably for the best.  i dont want to go on there fat. haha. than again, america always love the nice jovial one. hahaha i am not a happy camper, but it dont feel like the right time anyway. i'll either be the bitch that everybody hates or be the crybaby that everybody is annoyed by. yea i am probably the moodiest person you will ever meet. runs in the family, on BOTH sides. okay, time to watch my sexy dexter. i  LOVE him.  that is my favoritest show EVER!!!! cop serial killer? YEA!!!

oh  yea good job guys. i've been being lazy this weekend, but monday i'll get back to it.

Ugh I've still got this disgusting chest cold and am afraid to workout.  I've been coughing all day everyday since Wednesday.  And haven't had a workout since tuesday when we played soccer outside (in 40 degree weather!  shame on me!)  I hope I get over this soon!  I'm afraid to get back on the scale because I haven't been to the gym and haven't been eating too great.  Do you guys think it's best for me to keep resting while I'm sick or to sweat it out at they gym?  I've heard that both help!  So confusing.  I've been extra cranky without my workouts!  My poor fiance! :)

Eileen--I've also heard both ways--but from what my trainer says if your really sick stay home and in bed--and only you can be the judge of that--but if your just at the cusp of not being sick vs being better then maybe go sweat it out--Also I know I know but i have to mention remember the other gym members-don't want to spread your germs! You will be able to catch up with your work-outs I promise they are always there waiting--so just rest it out

Watcheme--this is what i got from a website please tell me what you think--I'm so confused

Calorie Cycling

To Maintain I need to eat 2438 based on 5 days of exercise

Monday: 1696

Tuesday: 1696

Wednesday: 2036--I really think I will be satisfied on this

Thursday: 1696

Friday: 1696

Saturday: 1866

Sunday: 1696

Total: 12383 ----This is my goal number so if for some reason one day I decide to eat more or less, I just need to make sure my weekly average adds up to this number

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm#

okay now i am confused. i thought we were suppose to aet a certain amout every day. i thought that it wasnt justified if you ate less by eating more the next day? or vise versa? dude all of this is so freakn hard just to understand. i am just going to keep up with the jogging and stay away from the greasy and fast food. probably cut back on the drinking to. its gotten WAY out of control.

Fallon--I honestly think you can do it either way and still lose weight--the deal is I do better mentally I think when I get to eat more one and then maybe less the next--anyways I just have a hard freakin time sticking to one number! So this works for me--I think you just have to find what works for you

bootser, i'm not following that girls' example so i'm going to give you one of my own.  hope that's ok.

let's say to maintain weight you have to eat 2500 calories a day.  but let's say you want to create a 1000 calorie deficit per day.  that means you eat 1500 calories a day on average or 1500 calories/day x 7 days for the week (10,500).

here's an example of what you can do:

sunday - 1300

monday - 1600

tuesday - 1400

wednesday - 1200

thursday - 1500

friday - 1700

saturday - 1800

this keeps your body guessing.  i also tend to give myself some more calories on friday and saturdays knowing it's my time to go out to restaurants with friends and that even with the pre-planning and  looking up info about the restaurants or choosing the chicken salads, the meals are going to be a good 500-600 calories!!

ok so i guess this thread was started a long time ago but i'm here!

i'm 20, about 5'8'', and started at 227, down to 224 after about a week now. i'd like to be 145-155, leaning more towards 150-155. (i've been 145, i didn't like it)

me deficit is about 1000 cal/day, but that still puts me at about 1800 a day, with working out 6 days a week (an hour-hour and a half each day)

Holy Cow!  I can't keep up with all of you anymore!   Welcome to everyone whose just found this wonderful thread!  This is THE place to be!!!  I've started working about a 50 hr. work week between the 2 new jobs.  It sure is a crazy adjustment, going from not working at all for several months and spending 24/7 with my son, to this (and only seeing my baby when I get him ready in the mornings ).  I haven't been able to stick to my regular 5-6 workouts/week, nor have I been eating well.  I've been drinking too many free, sugary-flavored, coffee concoctions from Starbucks.  Since I haven't been very organized with the meal planning, I've also been eating high fat/sodium convenience foods.  The good thing is that I'm on my feet a LOT (6 hours of standing burns 1,243 cals, and I am grossly under-estimating that time on my feet).  I realllllly need to start bringing raw fruits and veggies with me in the mornings and drinking more water (less sugar-laden coffee beverages).

interesting thought. i may have to look into that next semester. only thing with that is i dont qualify for financial aid. why? who knows. so i have to pay for  every thing out of my parents pocket and the way my pops has been, i dont even know if i am going to be able to go this summer

Good morning ladies! I stay away for a few hours and so much happens! I've thought a lot about calorie cycling, and may also try it soon. We'll see if I'm able to break this plateau while I'm on break from school. That would be amazing. I mapped out two different walking routes yesterday (on mapmyrun.com) and one is 3 miles, the other 4. I did the three miles yesterday and think I may go for the 4 today. I'm also going to the gym this morning to get in some major cardio.

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

I'm close but I desperately need motivation. I'm only 18 (is beaten with sticks for not being twenty) but I weigh 220lbs at 5'6" and I'm trying to get down to between 140 and 130. I'm in college and just started calorie counting trying to stay between 1500 and 1600 calories. I'm pretty active now with my new DDR game and walking to and from class. At work I'm standing and running around nearly constantly (got to love food service).

I started out at 223 and since my freshman semester I've been fluctuating between 223 and 219. The other day I saw 217 and nearly died from relief. (then I gained it back due to poor eating) It's hard to lose weight healthily when you want it so bad.

rgn0622 - not to worry, we all have slip ups once in a while! It's just bound to happen! DDR is a great way to get exercise on days that you can't be outside or at the gym. Walking to/from class is great too! Don't be so hard on yourself, you're putting forth the effort to lose weight and with everybody's motivation from this thread, you'll be down to the weight you want to be at in no time!!! I promise! I was getting pretty stuck in a rut for a while and then last week I decided that I really needed to get back into my good habits of exercising and eating better. I understand it's hard to eat healthy when in college, but we all have to make sacrifices!!! You can't go to a fast food place and order 3 cheeseburgers, a large fry and a diet coke and hope to lose weight, it's just not going to happen that way! Even salads at restaurants aren't as good as you think they are for you. Some of them have just as many calories and fat as the greasy hamburger & fries on the menu does! You're always better off making your own "healthy" meals at home, you can control what goes into them and how much of what you really want in there. If you want more tomatoes than onions in your salad, by gosh, put more of them in there, but remember that's also adding calories, you may want to decrease on something else that you put in there.

First off, get rid of all the junk food you may have at your place. But if you are craving something that you absolutely can't live without...let's say.. your favorite candy bar...go ahead and buy the candy bar...and if you plan to eat it right away...hold off your craving until you get home then cut the candy bar into little bite size pieces and only have 1 piece each time you get a craving for the candy bar. Try to space out your cravings as long as possible. This will help you to not have these cravings as often and help you to eat better things.

If you love popcorn, I suggest the Act II 94% fat free popcorn. Of course it will taste awkward at first because we're all used to eating popcorn loaded with butter. But this FF popcorn is actually better for you. Popcorn is naturally high in fiber, and it is a good filler when you want something to munch on! Get the snack size portions and you'll still be able to munch on popcorn and consume less calories that way. Also, when you crave things with a crunch....eat a pickle! Typically, they're only 5 calories for 1 spear. Or get some baby carrots to munch on, they have excellent crunch to them, same with fresh broccoli & cauliflower but forget the dip! That's where a lot of people get in trouble...they figure..."oh I'm eating veggies it's good for me." But 9 out of 10 people claim they have to dredge the veggies in dip, even if it is reduced fat dip...it's still not good for you!

If you don't like fresh veggies, steam them in a little bit of water (if you don't have a veggies steamer, just put a little bit of water at the bottom of the pan and put your veggies on top, cover and cook until they are al dente, slighty tender.) Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder or any seasoning of your choice...italian seasoning is really good on them too!

If you like eating hamburgers....skip out on the fast food...go out and buy Jennie-O Turkey Burgers/brats/sausage. They are really good. Most recipes that call for ground beef you can easily substitute groung turkey or chicken for. And I've found that it tastes better too! I love making my tacos with ground turkey or chicken, same with spaghetti (with whole wheat pasta & fresh mushrooms & diced tomatoes in the sauce).

I could go on and on with things for you to try instead of unhealthy things you may be eating. I live in a college town and it's very rare to find healthy food anywhere except the grocery store.

There is a restaurant that I love to go when I'm feeling a bit risky with food choices, but it's still healthy for me. Not sure if you have one in your area, but it never hurts to check into it! The place is called the Pita Pit. They'll fix a pita sandwich for you right before your eyes, you choose what you want in it from the meats, veggies/fruits, sauces, cheeses. It's a great place to go. These pita sandwiches are usually so large that I cut mine in half and save the other half for another meal later that day or the next.

Good luck on losing the weight!!! I hope these suggestions helped!

Morning!  Just wanted to check in with everyone!  Had a pretty good weekend, ate really well (1800 on Friday, 1700 on Saturday, 1460 on Sunday) and got in 5 hours of exercise (2 hours elliptical, 1/2 hour weights, 1/2 hour walking, 1 hour salsa dancing, 1 hour dance aerobics class).  Now upto 10 for the month through yesterday!  Hooray! 

I also finally figured out how to work my Tanita scale so I got my body fat and water percentage.  So, I'm still at 266 lbs and my body fat percentage is 47.8% and water percentage is 38.7%.  I have NO idea what this means :)  I know that body fat should be between 21%-33% to be healthy but if anyone cares to shed some light on my numbers OTHER THAN THAT, I'd be most appreciative.  I guess the percentages will give me an indication of whether I'm putting on muscle or just have more water in me even if the pounds don't budge once in a while?  My guy friend doesn't focus on the lbs at all and just cares about getting the body fat percentage number down.

EDIT:  I found this chart on healthy body water percentages depending on body fat percentage http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art13909.asp

Female Body Water Chart

Body Fat %   Body Water %

 4-20%        & nbsp; 58-70%

21-29%        52-58%

30-32%       49-52%

33%+         37-49%

Great advice sweepie!!

I know oatmeal is really good for the body...but really what does it do for you? Except fill you up with smaller portions?

I've been on an oatmeal kick for breakfast lately. I bought a variety pack and been taking it to work for breakfast so I don't over indulge by making another packet at home. I was just kind of curious what was so good about oatmeal to being healthy and good for the body?

Is this a good habit to get attached to, having 1 serving of oatmeal for breakfast instead of fruit or is it just as good??? What if I put a serving of fruit with it? Would that then be bad because of the natural sugars in fruits?? I'm kind of lost on this one.

I'm not too big on breakfast bars so I'm trying to find something healthy to eat in the mornings, other than just fruit or cherrios since I have to take my medications with food. I make eggs once in a while, but I know they are higher in fats and chloresterol. Any suggestions?

Also, what about white corn tortilla chips & salsa (home-made or store bought), one of my favorite snacks...is it good for me or is there too much salt and fat in it to still be able to snack on it instead of popcorn all the time??