30 lbs to New Years!!

[Ilikecruising]

Ok, I'm the newbie and I have a question...what is SF?

[Litewait]

I'm guessing sugar free...:confused:

 

Happy Cruising & Losing~

Donna

[Ilikecruising]

Ok, now I'm just an idiot...:o

[nana&poppy2526]

Hi all. I just found your thread today and have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the entries that sound like my life story (lose weight, gain more than I lost, menopause, love to eat, don't like to exercise, etc. etc.). When my husband and I finalized plans and made reservations at the end of March for a cruise on RCI's Mariner of the Seas in December, I looked at him and said, "I will NOT be this fat when I get on that boat". And I won't!

 

Maybe I cheated, but at 54 years old and having dieted at least 54 times, I started going to a weight loss clinic near our home that prescribes appetite suppressants and gives hormone shots. On my initial visit, I weighed 222.2 (and am only 5'3") :( and on my last visit, 8/26/08, I weighed 186.6 -- a loss of almost 36 pounds in three months! According to my home scales (which I cannot count on being accurate), I now weigh 177.5, an additional nine pound loss. Needless to say, I am thrilled with these results.

 

Here's the "problem" with my weight loss....I don't know what size clothes to buy for the cruise and, to top it off, I doubt there are very many summer things left out there to choose from! What am I going to wear? I have lots of nice, dressy things that I thought two months ago would do nicely, but when I put them on now they almost fall off! I don't know that what I have is good enough quality to have altered, and I'm convinced that alterations would cost as much, or more than, as new clothes. Any suggestions are welcome!

 

Here are a few of my "lifestyle change" (NOT a diet!!!) secrets: Protein bars (I prefer Zone) are delicious and full of protein; they satisfy that need for something sweet. I try to eat 30 grams of protein (low carbs, though) within the first three hours after getting up. According to my book, this causes the body to burn 40% more calories than without the protein. The easiest way to do this is by drinking a "protein bullet". It tastes nasty, but it's over quickly. There are some bars out there that are high protein and low carb, but they taste like sawdust to me, so I just grin and bear it and drink the liquid stuff. My diet is mostly high protein, low carb, low fat. And, I do my utmost to walk every single day. Some days my walking is replaced with mowing the yard or cleaning the house. As long as I can break a sweat doing what I'm doing, I consider it exercise.

 

Good luck to each & every one of you. I know how difficult weight loss can be, but I also (now) know how much better you will feel when some of the weight is gone. I feel like a new person -- one that wants to keep going until I reach my goal weight of 143 pounds!

 

Keep up the good work!

Nana

 

P.S. To the other Nana on this thread -- my id would have to be "Nana2BTM,ZAM,KTM,AGM,ZOM, CJM,& one on the way" if I followed your suit!!! :)

[mangotangopls]

Glad to have you join us also. Sounds like you are really determined (and doing very well) to lose those extra pounds. You mentioned looking for clothes out of season - have you looked online? I've found most of my cruise clothes online (Lands End, J.C. Penney's, Coldwater Creek, etc) in the outlet section of their websites. They are listed for clearance and great bargain out of season. ;) There also is a Cruise Fashion Board and you might want to put a thread out there (much more fashion oriented than I am there) and ask for some tips as what to do when dropping weight & getting ready for a cruise. Sadly my clothes are far from falling off :rolleyes: but hopefully I'll be having to think about this in a couple months!

 

P.S. I would have to be NanaToWMP,TJP,SMP,CSL,TRL,KML,JFL - oh my!

[NanaOfBKM]

To Clarify My Sign On - LOL I am Nana to Ben, Kendall and Matthew. So I use NanaOfBKM.

 

I'm interested in the 30 grams of protein in the first 3 hours - that's an interesting concept that I have not heard. What type of book did it come from? What is a Protein Bullet? I'm not very knowledgeable in the protein drinks and bars. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Are the Protein Bullets low calorie? How many ounces? Where do you get? You get the picture - I'm just a little ignorant in that arena.

 

For out of season clothes - a lot of people I know go the "GW Boutique" in the more ritzi neighborhoods. That stands for the Good Will Store. They tell me they find their formal clothes there for the cruise for almost nothing and many are name brand. You could also check out Ebay. And as Mango said, online outlets are great and often department stores have clearance racks for the out of season clothes. I'm envious of your problem actually. LOL

 

And to clarify someone's question the SF in previous posts. We have been talking about sugar free creamsicles (20 calories) and sugar free fudgesicles (40 calories). They are great! Look for the yellow boxes.

 

Good luck to everyone on their dieting over the weekend. That's the hardest part for me. AND don't forget WEIGH IN IS MONDAY! I certainly think that helps to keep focused on the diet over the weekend.

[AKSnowbird]

I am soooo jealous : ) Good for you! What an outstanding loss! I'll bet your jeans feel loose!!!! What a great feeling that is! Keep it up!

 

BTW: Don't get hoodwinked into "celebrating" by cheating! That is my downfall...I lose...then I sneak...then I go up a bit...then back down..Hang in there. Stay on track...Keep losing!!!!! You are such a motivator!!! :)

 

AKSnowbird

[nana&poppy2526]

Good morning!

 

What I call "protein bullets" are actually called "New Whey Liquid Protein". They have 42 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbohydrates, and 176 calories. There are 4 calories in every gram of protein, so 99.9% of the calories are protein calories. On my diet, I don't have to count any protein calories! "The book" I mentioned is the one given to me by the weight loss clinic. I have gotten some liquid protein from eBay (~$2.50 each bullet). The website on the container is www.idssports.com. I think they're closer to $3.00 each from the website. My favorite flavor (although none of them are good!) is fruit punch.

 

Thanks for the online shopping ideas. Now, if I just knew what size to order.....

[Salsa Dancer]

To Clarify My Sign On - LOL I am Nana to Ben, Kendall and Matthew. So I use NanaOfBKM.

 

I'm interested in the 30 grams of protein in the first 3 hours - that's an interesting concept that I have not heard. What type of book did it come from? What is a Protein Bullet? I'm not very knowledgeable in the protein drinks and bars. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Are the Protein Bullets low calorie? How many ounces? Where do you get? You get the picture - I'm just a little ignorant in that arena.

 

For out of season clothes - a lot of people I know go the "GW Boutique" in the more ritzi neighborhoods. That stands for the Good Will Store. They tell me they find their formal clothes there for the cruise for almost nothing and many are name brand. You could also check out Ebay. And as Mango said, online outlets are great and often department stores have clearance racks for the out of season clothes. I'm envious of your problem actually. LOL

 

And to clarify someone's question the SF in previous posts. We have been talking about sugar free creamsicles (20 calories) and sugar free fudgesicles (40 calories). They are great! Look for the yellow boxes.

 

Good luck to everyone on their dieting over the weekend. That's the hardest part for me. AND don't forget WEIGH IN IS MONDAY! I certainly think that helps to keep focused on the diet over the weekend.

 

I've been reading all of the posts on this thread and wanted to jump in regarding the clothing issue. I do "GW Boutique" shopping and have one within a mile of my house, and another about 5 miles away. I have to go frequently but it is awesome. For our first cruise, I found a full-length black sparkly dress in a stretch fabric with 3/4 length sleeves for $15. It looked brand new. A week later, I saw that dress, still on the rack, at Marshall Fields for $189! It is off-the-shoulder and gorgeous. When I post a picture of my hubby and myself on formal night, I'm wearing that dress (for my Avatar). I also bought two chocolate brown satin dresses for $12 and $10 and both have tags on them and ran over $150 each! I bought them both in a smaller size and am waiting to get into them as I lose weight. I know what style fits my body type and they both will work as the weight comes off. I collect many GW dresses and have a ton of them in every size...from 16 to 8s...and most of the time pay $5. Some of them are "dream" dresses that I can't wait to get into...red flowy silk chiffon, black halters, forest green silk chiffon, etc. Aside from that, I use a tailor in my neighborhood (Asian), for something that I can't live without, and they are usually pretty reasonable. Other times, I just look for more items rather than pay for alterations. With the prices I pay, though, I figure I can afford to have the alterations done on an article of clothing that I really love.

 

I have wondered the same thing, though, about clothing for my cruise in late March '09. Shorts, capris, etc., will be another issue. I noticed that a couple of clothing catalogs like Newport News, have a page that shows several outfits coordinated from one small group of clothing pieces. With airline baggage policies as they are, we might all be better off shrinking our wardrobes down and simplifying, rather than paying those extra fees for checked luggage. Those fees are for flights in and out.

 

Another option regarding shorts and capris....you can go to GW or consignment shops, find pants that you like, then have the tailor turn them into shorts or capris or a good friend who sews can do it too. I've done this with long dresses--had them shortened to above the knee.

[nana&poppy2526]

We have several "upper class" areas in Charlotte; I think I'll look for their GW Boutiques; selections should be even better there, I'd think. Also, I hadn't thought of the long pants made into shorts idea. Excellent idea. I've been looking online at some of the places other folks have suggested, but the problem there is that if I can't try it on, I won't know if it'll fit.

 

I agree; airline luggage prices are making me think I won't need much! My fellow cruisers will just have to get used to seeing me wear the same thing more than once!

 

Have a great day everyone!

[Litewait]

Are they actually called "boutiques"? Or any GW store? Great idea.

 

Hows everyone doing? I hit 161.8 today!!:D :D :D

 

Now if I can just make it through the weekend~:eek:

 

Happy Cruising & Losing~

Donna

[Ilikecruising]

Funny about the clothing blog. I was thinking yesterday of starting one about clothing. I went to Pennington's and Additionelle and found the sale rack. I ended up with 2 tops, 1 at $15.00 and the other at $10.00 and then got a 10% discount. the other place I found a skirt and top set for $15.00 that ended up being 50% off...how could I not buy it at $7.50? And it looks great.

 

I have never had any luck at GW Boutique, but maybe I'll just have to try again.

 

I'm not doing too well at the losing weight. I truly need to get serious about this. I am so tired of the yo yo. I almost feel like what's the point? If I lose, I just gain back "plus". Are we all in the same boat? Does anyone know of someone that has lost it and KEPT it OFF?

[NanaOfBKM]

GW Boutique is just a better name than saying I went to the Goodwill Store. LOL I'd never heard of that either until recently. I actually found a dress for formal/dress up night for $5.

 

Nancy - I think we are all in the same boat. We lose .... we gain.... we lose...we gain. BUT we have made a pact on this thread that we will not gain after we return from the cruise. We will stick together through 2009! JOIN US!!! Heck my weight yo yos while I'm on a diet. I lost 2 lbs this week in 3 days and then today (day 4) I'm up a lbs. So I'm going to drink lots of water this weekend and see if I can get that lb back off before Mondays' weigh in.

[Litewait]

I think thats what unique about this group. Most of us have battled the yo-yo thing.. I know I am, I think my first post was, "I am tired of losing the same 20-30 lbs, over and over". I know I can lose it, but I am dedicated to keeping it off this time. I can't even remember how many times i've lost them..

I don't want to look in the mirror anymore and go oh man how can I be this big.:confused: I know how, I eat to much of the bad stuff. I can think and know exactly how I got here. I even at one point this summer told myself "oh well I'm just going to be this size, I'm almost 50 and it really doesn't matter".

Yeah, ok, thats called justifying it to myself. And obviously I couldn't accept it because here I am.

I'm unhappy looking this way and I have decided to do something about it for the last time. I'm tired of doing it over and over.

 

I've lost 10 lbs this month and my clothes are starting to feel better, and I like seeing the numbers on the scale go down.:D Now, only 21 more to go!!

 

What is it they say..

 

"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels"

 

Keep up the good work, don't talk yourself out of this. You can do it!

 

Happy Cruising & losing~

Donna

[NanaOfBKM]

Hi Nana #2 - I just realized you are from Charlotte. I'm from Mount Holly. Know where that is? (across the river in Gaston County) My sister has gone to a lot of GW Boutiques and even resold things on Ebay. She says the ones up near Lake Norman are great. I also think there is one near Northlake Mall that is probably good as well.

[NanaOfBKM]

Donna,

 

I have never heard that phrase but I'm going to put it as background on my laptop and also my screen saver. That can become our group's slogan:

 

"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels"

[Ilikecruising]

Thanx for the support, Yes, I'm IN!! Starting NOW!!!! :)

Lots of water, less bread, more fruit, veggies (which I love) and protein. I can do this...WE can do this!!!

 

I'm hovering at around 250...yes lbs....I'm 52 (53 as of the date of my cuirse which is also my birthday) It sure is time to do this and keep it off this time...

 

I'll be checking in regularly for support both to give and take. :D

[NanaOfBKM]

Congratulations Nancy on taking that first important step! We all have our ups and downs but need to keep focused with the overall picture. Look forward to sharing your success with you and yes, when you have a bad week - we all have them.

 

I am leaving Monday for a meeting in Dallas, TX and will be there for 3 days - yes, lots of good meals being given to us. Going to be so so hard. I'll just have to try to make wise choices and be ready to get back to the grind of this diet and exercise come Thursday morning.

 

Marlene

[Ilikecruising]

Good luck Marlene on your trip and good choices. I really do think that is the key....one good choice at a time. Meal by meal, snack by snack. Don't forget the water...amazing this works so well too...

 

Let us know how you do and thanx for your support.

[mangotangopls]

What a fantastic group! I know we can do this together. And you are right - one good choice and then another and another. If you make a mistake, get right back up & make a good choice again & again.

 

I'll be darned if I am going to be left in the dust when all of you get so nice and slim! :p

 

I once heard a variation of the slogan you mentioned:

NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS LOOKING GOOD FEELS!!!!

or

"I'm stutting my stuff 'cause I KNOW I am looking Gooooooood!"

 

I'd really like to feel that way!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: I have to really keep that in mind.

 

Marlene - have a good time on your trip - we 'll be waiting to hear from you when you return. You can do this - meaning have a good 3 days and not go backwards. Find a reward that you will give yourself for doing well like, manicure, pedicure, night at the movies, etc - anything but food.

 

Nancy - we've got a great group and are glad to have you with us. We plan on keeping this thread together for the long term. I really like that.

 

Happy Losin' and Cruisin' to all

Mango

[*Sass*]

I hope everybody is doing okay. I'm finally finished moving out of my place so I'm back now. I was down to 192.2 and then the next day at 194.6 and then today at 195.4...ODD! Anyway, I haven't been eating home made anything since I was moving so that may have been what got me up those two pounds. This has happened befor so I know by next Monday I should be down 4lbs. Anyhoooo...I've been watching my calorie intake so that's what's saving me. I went over it only one day this past week, but I've been working out moving so it all balances out.

 

Again, I hope everybody is doing well!!!!! Keep going!!!!

[nana&poppy2526]

Belk in our area had a wonderful sale going on yesterday (50% off the last marked price on clearance rack) and there were lots of summer clothes left (not many shorts, but lots of tops). So, I bought a bunch of stuff, some of which is tight right now. Even if I never fit into it (yes I will!), I haven't spent much money.

 

Other Nana, I know exactly where Mount Holly is. In fact, I'm on the "Mount Holly side of Charlotte" (if there is such a thing). I live about two miles from Northlake Mall, close to the corner of Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road and Beatties Ford Road. We're practically neighbors!

 

I walked yesterday and used someone's suggestion (sorry, I don't remember whose) and changed my pace every once in a while. At one point I caught myself jogging! (Okay, most people would've called it looking funny while walking real fast, but I called it jogging.)

 

Weekends are the hardest for me regarding food intake. In fact, I vote that we change the spelling of the word to "weakend"!!!

 

Good luck tomorrow, ladies. I'll have my fingers crossed and my lightest clothes on!!!

[Gathina]

If you are going to eat when you are depressed and overeat or eat garbage at that, then don't keep the wrong food in the house. PERIOD. .

 

Every piece of medical research I've ever read on depression (I am a psychologist) will say "have a healthy, daily, structured routine that includes sitting down to meals and daily exercise..whether you feel like it or not". It's the healthiest way to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression, reagrdless of the origin of it.

 

for everyone else, if you are thinking of eating something you shouldn't, ask yourself "Why do I have to have this NOW? Today? I have the rest of my life to eat it!"

 

 

Marlene: Sending lots of good wishes your way for a quick recovery and better days for your daughter and her family. I know you are cleaning like crazy today but just don't wear yourself out. You need rest to get over any infection. Right now its more important to take care of you than worry about the dieting too darn much. Did you mention to the doctor that you are dieting?

 

I also am an eater when I am get down or depressed - I find myself going from refrig to panty when I am upset. So I do understand. Part of the answer is consciously realizing you are eating - sometimes I have to stop myself by putting cookies etc. under running water or down the garbage disposal - What a waste but it works for me. Work your way thru a box of SF creamsicles - very little damage there. ;)

 

I know you are feeling very bad for your daughter & grandson right now too. Had something similar in our family too but long term it was for the best. Keep in touch Marlene - we are here for you. Sending e-hugs your way!

 

Also, welcome to Newbie. And Sass thanks again for all the South Beach info. I will be trying SB for sure if I don't see some results shortly. Have to get back to work now but I will stop in again later today if I can.

Good day to all!

[NanaOfBKM]

Congratulations on the clothes find, Nana. Yes we are almost neighbors - isn't it a small world!

 

I'm not having a good week on my weight. I saw a 2 lb drop earlier in the week and then it bounced back up. I've stuck with the diet but apparently something I've eaten recently has my water retention up (just a guess). I'll probably end the week with 1 lb loss and then leaving tomorrow for a 3 day meeting in Texas. Not good, but I will come back focused to get started back. I WILL LOSE THE WEIGHT!!!

 

I plan to get up in the morning, walk 3 miles and then head to the airport. I hope everyone has a great weigh in and if you don't have the loss you had hoped for, remember Monday is also the beginning of the next 7 day period of our weight loss plan.

 

Marlene

[Litewait]

Ok everyone, it's weigh in day.. I didn't lose anymore, stayed at 161 which was a 3 lb loss for the week. Can't complain. That leaves me with 21 lbs to go.. I Can do it!! Thats 10 lbs for the month of Sept. And we have 5 weeks in Oct., so go for it everybody, make Oct a good month for you!!

It's rainy here today so I'll walk indoors, gotta boost the exercise and get the scale moving again:D

 

Happy Cruising & Losing~

Donna

 

 

SW~ 171

CW~ 161:)

GW~ 140:D