We have not had this for a few weeks, we were down last week, and I forgot to post it. Is anyone still trying to lose weight and eat healthier???

I have been eating so much better than I ever have in my life. Everything is whole wheat, lots of fruits and veggies, NO hydrogenated oils, no canola oil, no MSG, no pop... When I go to the grocery store I just zip through now, because there are so many things I don't buy!!!

I have lost 15 pounds total. I wish it was a lot more!!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002

Answers

Congratulations Melissa! It sounds like you only shop the perimeters of the store. I do that alot. Most everything in the middle of the store is unhealthy. Are you following a specific diet? It sounds like something I might be able to stick with. I could stand to lose a few pounds myself.

-- Gayle in KY (gayleannesmith@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Hi Gayle. Not really anything specific on the diet. I do go down some of the aisles!! Mostly for juice, some canned fruit as I am running out of home canned stuff. I found peaches, pears and fruit cocktail in real juice, which my kids love. I also buy whole wheat pasta, brown rice, flour, sugar and stuff like that...

I try to eat a big bowl of oats with a little milk, and a piece of fruit for breakfast, for lunch I either eat leftovers, or some fruit or salad. Truthfully when you eat the oats, you usually are not that hungry at lunch time.. For supper I just cook normal meals, and try to eat just one serving of each item. Portion control is important I think. Sometimes in the evenings we have a little snack, maybe 2-3 evenings a week... And that is about it... but it is slow going for sure!!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002.

Hi Melissa, They say losing weight slowly is the healthiest and the best way to keep it off. Your idea sounds like a good plan. Very sensible. Summer is a good time to diet, too, with all the fresh fruits and vegies. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

-- Gayle in KY (gayleannesmith@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

I was thinking about this last night. I guess I forgot about the diet altogether after a couple of really stressful family events. I stepped on the scale the other day and it was not good. For me, it's time to start again.

-- mary (mlg@mlg.com), April 18, 2002.

Oh, I forgot to say, Congratulations, Melissa, 15 pounds is GREAT!

-- mary (mlg@mlg.com), April 18, 2002.

Has anyone been doing any extra exercise with their efforts? I have actually GAINED 7 pounds in the past 3 months - I'm underweight somewhat, so I don't really mind, but I would like to "redistribute" it! My waist is disappearing rapidly and I don't like it!

-- Christine in OK (cljford@mmcable.com), April 18, 2002.

I am basically doing weight watchers and Richard Simmons. I don't pay to attend the classes, I have a book and use that and friends for motivation. I just started back on it and need to lose a great deal. I am going for 10 pounds loss a month that is about 2 1/2 pounds a week. I eat a bagel with lowfat cream cheese for breakfast, a smart one or budget meal for lunch with a cup of fruity yogurt, veggies or pretzels for a snack. For dinner I eat whatever I fix for the kids just cut the portions down.

I try to cut down on foods high and fat and sugar. I drink diet soda and lots of water. I don't have a scale but hope to see progress soon by how baggy my clothes get on me.

-- Melinda (speciallady104@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

I have lost four pounds, just drinking water instead of things with calories, and about 1/3 smaller servings of whatever I eat.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

Just as well you didn't do the check in last week as I didn't lose anything. I was plagued by headaches and the resulting nausea so ended up nibbling on crackers frequently. I was unhappy about not losing, but I should be glad I didn't gain anything back, LOL! I did lose one pound this week again. A total of 12 pounds in 11 weeks. Since I'm doing more of a lifestyle change than a diet, I'm not finding this hard to stick with....so far. :D Biggest changes are cutting way back on fats/sugars, and eating less carbs. (Not doing a low carb diet, just was eating too many carbs previously.)

Melissa, everything I read says that any more than a pound or so loss per week will result in gaining it all back with a vengeance. I understand your frustration with "slow" as I feel the same way, but I know it'll be best in the long run. I for one don't want to discipline myself for a long time in order to lose weight, then have to start all over!! Horrors!!

-- Lenette (kigervixen@nospam.com), April 18, 2002.

My dietician has always said " You didn't put the weight on over night, and your not going to take it off overnight."

-- Melinda (speciallady104@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

Your post about hydroginated oils etc, got me to thinking,, I decided to cut those out also and some other things along the way. We have no prepackaged food now, whatso ever, I bake with whole wheat and unbleached flour when needed, real cane sugar, soy flour, lots of fruits and veggies, no pop and lots of water. So far I am down 36 pounds and feel great. Congratulations Melissa and thinks for the motivation!!God Bless

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), April 18, 2002.

Hey Micheale, I have been buying "raw" sugar too. It is kind of bigger granules than the white sugar and kind of tan colored. I found it in Amish Country for 50 cents a pound. I did see it at Kroger's but it was $2.50 a pound instead!! It is REALLY eye opening to read those lables. So far I have found NO taco shells that don't have hydrogenated oil, but I did find baked tortilla chips, so we will just substitute them instead. The kids always like to crunch up the shells and make a salad anyways...

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002.

Hey all..

glad to see this is still here. Thought it had disappeared.

I am still losing, 9 pounds total since we started. I'm feeling really good, clear, and energized...not tired and crabby as I have when I've dieted in the past. I can see the difference now. I'm still doing the same thing; at least 8 glasses of water a day, very little sugar, no wine or alcohol (I'd rather have dessert once a week!), and Blood Type diet. Aerobics with weights three times a week and yoga twice a week.

I went to the ob/gyn doctor today and asked her about weight. She bought out a body mass chart and I'm within the best range for my height, so that feels good. There are three ranges for each height: healthiest (the white area), starting to be at risk for health (gray area), and very at-risk for health (the darkest area). I'd never seen this before, but anyone on the board who's in the medical field may know more about it.

Melissa...curious...how long has it been since you started this Thursday check in?

Keep it up, everyone. Good luck.

-- Cat (catcrazy@somewhere.com), April 18, 2002.

Melissa, why have you eliminated canola oil from your diet?

-- Lenette (kigervixen@nospam.com), April 18, 2002.

I've started doing something just awful. Our Winn Dixie has a scale in the pharmacy so I go there before I do my shopping. Then I never want to buy anything. It works in that I'm saving money but I haven't lost a pound yet! ha ha!

-- Christi in KY (christi@bardstowncable.net), April 18, 2002.

Thursday check-ins started the first week of January.

On the canola oil, the research I have done indicates that canola oil isn't as good as some other types, so I switched to olive oil or corn oil... There is a lot of stuff in the CS archives on canola and on the net as well... Basically it is from a genetically altered plant called the rape plant, and I read enough "bad" stuff to convince me that I just don't need it.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002.

Corn oil isn't any better.....most corn either is genetically modified or is contaminated with the GM pollen.

-- Peace and Carrots Farm, Vermont (wsm311@aol.com), April 18, 2002.

Mostly I do use olive oil, and I found some "organic" corn oil, so hopefully it is a little better. I use it very sparingly anyways. I figure I at least know what corn is and I haven't a clue about a rape plant!!!!!! (That is just some blonde logic for you all to ponder!!!)

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002.

Melissa, I went over to the CS archives and read the info posted regarding canola oil....that stuff is an Urban Legend. Check it out on the urban legends and internet hoax sites.

Only some of the rape seed is GM engineered, not all of it. The reason the oil kills insects is that insects are smothered by oil, any oil. It has nothing to do with toxins. Rape seed has NOTHING to do with scrapie, mad cow disease, etc. And canola oil I believe is the lowest, or one of the lowest, oils in saturated fats.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@nospam.com), April 19, 2002.

Hi Lenette... I am glad you were able to find some information about it.

BUT... I am still not going to use it!!! My chiropractor is very into healthy eating, and his Dad is a professor of chemistry and they have also done a lot of outside research too, and they won't touch it. He gave me a lot of info to read a year ago and it was convincing enough for me... However I am not trying to persuade anyone else one way or the other.

I use olive oil about 95% of the time. We really love the taste of it and I don't fry anything very often. My cholesterol is in the 160- 170 range and they say that is pretty good. But I have not had it checked since I have started being a little more strict with myself, so it may be even lower than that...

Thanks for the hoax site info...

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 19, 2002.

54 pounds so far since October 17th of last year :o)))). Just 18 more pounds to go to get to what doc says is a healthy weight. Just 28 more pounds to get to what I consider my ideal weight(if that is possible after having children...I'll be happy with the 18). I've gone from a size 26 to a 16 :o). I've lost over a feed bag worth of weight! If anyone would like the details of how I lost weight email me(no I'm not trying to sell ya anything....just saves me typing).

-- Amanda (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), April 21, 2002.