Journey to Better Health

Go Girl!

I too need to lose weight - the inactivity due to pain from RA has undone all the good I did. I really need motivation to start up again, as even with 5 - 9 hours of mostly cardio exercise per week, no snacks and no cakes, I still only lost weight at 0.5 - 1 lb a week. My record was kept in a notebook and was a good focus.

This looks like another reason for me to get an iPhone...having just found out that the contracts aren't much more expensive than my current one!

You might want to try out the Cozi calendar app. I've heard good things about it on the FLYLady website (also worth a visit). The Cozi allows you to set up shopping lists and share them with family. They update in real time, so you only buy what you need! They do way more than that, but that's the most relevant here.

Keep it up - we'll be cheering you on! And you may have given me the nudge I need. Thanks

I checked out the website for FLYLady and loved it! I like the idea of having a list on your phone. Helps with impulse buys like cookies. Buy the way, how did you know I needed to organize? Very insightful, but so true.

Thanks for you support too. A friend of mine already lost 30 lbs using the lose it phone app and walking every day. I'm hoping to be as successful.

I've been a FLYbaby for over a year - flying through the side door! I need some more momentum right now. There are few really organised people - we all need a bit of help

Hi LakeGrl,

I'm familiar with the cardio diet scene. The big deal as I recall was getting your fat intake down to the recommended daily intake. My advice would be this: don't eat any prepared foods with trans fat, and eliminate all the cheap oils from your diet - just use olive oil. Also if you are making juices with tomato or carrot, add a drop of your daily olive oil quota to the juicer. It will help you to assimilate the carotenes (beta carotene and lycopene are heart-friendly things) and maximize their benefit to you.

Good luck! I hope you meet your goals, and it sounds like you're well on the way.

Congratulations. Thank you for the info on Lose it. I may try that one myself. We hope that you do indeed have as many years ahead as you have already enjoyed. And may they be enjoyable years with good health. Please keep us posted as to your progress. It is much easier to succeed with encouragement from friends.

BTW, my wife and daughter both have i-phones and we are all starting a healthy regimen, trying to improve our health and shed a few extra pounds.

Having been diagnosed with the on set of diabetes ΙΙ about 2 years ago. Instead of the normal here's a pill from the doctor. I tried to control it with diet. Just by cutting most of the processed sugar and anything which had high sugar content.

So just counting carbs may not be enough. The more complex the carbohydrate is the harder it is for your body to break down. It takes longer for the body to convert to sugars. Which it my case is what I was trying to do. Even utilizes some energy to do so.

I drop 50 lbs in 6 months. Drop daily blood glucose average from 127 to 103

After dropping the A1C results from 7.2 to 5.68 the doc shut up about meds.

Still working on it. Somethings learned too.

How to make jams with out adding sugar. Natural sweeteners like Stevia which are easily grown. Which can be used to replace sugar in most recipes.

So don't just count the carbs know what the source of those carbs are will be a help.

Congratulations on your weight loss ozzb! Those are excellent numbers.

Processed sugars and corn syrup, added to so many packaged foods and drinks, are a definite cause for the increase in obesity and diabetes. I have switched to more complex carbs and eliminated the white flour and rice out of my diet. I usually use olive oil or canola oil in my cooking and never use white sugar. I don't like sugar in coffee or tea, and in my juice I use either an apple with maybe a little agave nectar or honey. I will try adding a drop of olive oil to my juice to help with the assimilation of the carotene and lycopene. Thanks for the tip artsmith.

I hope to incorporate standing at work or using an exercise ball while I work to try to burn more calories. We have a standing work station that I can utilize while I am in the office. When I work at home, I try to walk around every half hour or so to keep moving and avoiding a stiff neck or back ache from sitting too long.

Would stay away from processed oils like canola. Most of the good fats in it are damaged by processes used to extract the oil. I try to use virgin coconut oil as much as possible.

A little cider vinegar in a glass of water makes a refreshing drink. I have found that the quality if the vinegar matters! Get a good one and the result tastes like apple juice/squash, a bad one tastes like dilute vinegar. Mind you, I'm aquiring the taste for that!

I like balsamic........................applied liberally to a warm piece of Italian bread that's been dredged in hot olive oil with freshly chopped garlic.....................washed down with a hearty, peppery red wine. Repeat.

Yummy! In fact, plain balsamic vinegar makes a great substitute for salad dressing (if one must).

Just to make up for my previous post.............balsamic is also excellent on air popped popcorn. Tasty, satisfying, and very few calories.

I also don't think that it's completely out of line to request that lakegirl post bikini clad, before and after pictures of her project. If it's good enough for the TV commercials, it's good enough for CR4. Could even be useful across multiple blogs. Nothing a true team player wouldn't be willing to do.

Agreed - basalmic for eating. I was suggesting a tasty no-calorie drink.

Anyway, you're rotten, you are. I can't eat lovely warm crusty bread....Waaaaaa

And I can't stand wine...

The thing I found hardest about dieting was the serious craving to fill the gap often at night, after not getting enough to eat all day. It was really hard to live on the small amount of fats allowed according to the BMI standard - ultimately I think the standard is too low, and since I only had about ten pounds to lose, the compulsion to make up lost ground at the end of the day - immediately! - was pretty hard to resist. The problem is, any food you eat at night, when your major physical activity is done for the day, will be converted to fat since it isn't being used for immediate needs.

I found it was necessary to err on the side of generous servings earlier in the day, to keep from defeating the purpose in the evening. Getting most if not all of your carbs and fats by mid day gives you a chance to exercise em off. Keeping fat free snacks like fruit and vegetables on hand for evening hours is a good idea (or a downright necessity for someone like me!).

Soup is a preferred diet food, because it fills you up with fewer calories - I expect your juices have the same effect. There are some specific foods that help to reduce cholesterol, which was the main objective for me, and they happen to go well in soup too (barley and shitake, for example).

I have also read that cayenne pepper and ginger speed up your metabolism and help to burn calories, but can't cite a source for that although I have the impression it may be true. Good excuse to cook chinese food, alright by me.

Soup and veggie juice is great for filling you up with little calories, cinnamon is also good to boost the metabolism and help metabolize sugar. I agree that fat and carbs should be consumed early in the day, at least not after 6PM, but unfortunately that's when you tend to want some comfort food. Love Chinese food but it tends to have a lot of salt unless you cook it yourself. Vinegar, besides tasting good on bread with a little garlic and oil, is good for arthritis too.

BTW - I lost another pound and converted some fat to muscle - whoo weee! I love/hate that new Geico commercial with that little pig Maxwell:) - weeeee, wee, wee, wee!