JUN1st - AUG31th Transformation thread

[geek23ka]

lots to catch up on. hi. i'm back.

rocket, i grew up in houston, and all of my friends are there. the highlights were definitely my friends and menil. hot bagel shop came in third. (btw you should go there, when you go back. they are unbelievably good bagels)
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/8/112734...l-Shop-Houston

loseitall, i agree that NY has excellent bagels, but hot bagel shop rivals them. swear.

highlight of the trip was krause springs, which was totally spontaneous. north padre was also fantastic. also san antonio? holy bananas, i could live there, it's so beautiful. i'd never been. the hill country, austin and san antonio are my favorite parts of texas.

i want to leave the chihuahua desert, i've decided. the rest of the family is up for it. my husband said as soon as he pays off his school loan he is happy to move elsewhere. maybe san antonio. maybe paciffic northwest.

weight went from low of 222 carb depleted to 229 carb loaded post vacation and at the worst of my cycle. i might have gained a real pound.

carb cycling with re-commence on monday along with the training. for now, i am just eating reasonably.

[OzChops]

Two days on the road for work this week.
Calculation and estimation are better than nothing when you have no alternative.
I still hate doing it personally. You can not manage what you can not measure.
Should be pretty close to maintenance for those days.

[mcbourque]

lots to catch up on. hi. i'm back.

rocket, i grew up in houston, and all of my friends are there. the highlights were definitely my friends and menil. hot bagel shop came in third. (btw you should go there, when you go back. they are unbelievably good bagels)
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/8/112734...l-Shop-Houston

loseitall, i agree that NY has excellent bagels, but hot bagel shop rivals them. swear.

highlight of the trip was krause springs, which was totally spontaneous. north padre was also fantastic. also san antonio? holy bananas, i could live there, it's so beautiful. i'd never been. the hill country, austin and san antonio are my favorite parts of texas.

i want to leave the chihuahua desert, i've decided. the rest of the family is up for it. my husband said as soon as he pays off his school loan he is happy to move elsewhere. maybe san antonio. maybe paciffic northwest.

weight went from low of 222 carb depleted to 229 carb loaded post vacation and at the worst of my cycle. i might have gained a real pound.

carb cycling with re-commence on monday along with the training. for now, i am just eating reasonably.

Pacific NW is awesome
I'm sure you'll drop that extra weight in no time. Water gain due to carbs!

[mcbourque]

Two days on the road for work this week.
Calculation and estimation are better than nothing when you have no alternative.
I still hate doing it personally. You can not manage what you can not measure.
Should be pretty close to maintenance for those days.

Can you take a small scale with you? I know some people on here who do that in restaurants. Or many a small 1/4 cup? Better than nothing.

[mcbourque]

I see a few recurring issues here that I pretty much got solved over the years. Mostly with the "try, try and try again" method

Party, alcohol and overeating:

I don't drink at parties anymore. Took me years but it's been at least 5-7 years since I stopped drinking at party. I don't drink much sodas so I get myself diet coke and bring that to parties. It's my special treat for the night and I find being sober really really helps me stopping myself from eating too much.
I also eat leas during the day and save my calories so I can eat more at the party (I've been doing that on Saturday for family movie night and that helps too)

Stress binging
I have a stressful job as a middle school teacher (broke out 2 fist fights today) and coming home is hard. I found recently that saving a treat in my calories (Skinny Cow!) really really helps. I have it after work and it takes the edge off. Knowing I can have ice cream every day stops me from wanting a whole tub.

Hunger Pains:
That's a hard one. I struggled in my last cut attempt and got lots of help from the O35. Finally figured it out. I drink lots of liquid earlier on (not the best but Crystal light and lemonade with stevia helps). I also keep have proteins early during the day (eggs, Greek yogurt,cheese string, almonds!!) and it stopped the extreme hunger pains I used to have at 1pm)

Hope any of this help. If not, well it helped me just to write it down

[OzChops]

Can you take a small scale with you? I know some people on here who do that in restaurants. Or many a small 1/4 cup? Better than nothing.

I have considered a small folding scale for such occasions.

[tara19]

I have considered a small folding scale for such occasions.

Don't be that guy.
Estimation is fine. Besides, you will know when you weigh in if you are over-estimating or under-estimating.
Make sensible choices. You will be fine.

[DeuceOrion]

Hunger Pains:
That's a hard one. I struggled in my last cut attempt and got lots of help from the O35. Finally figured it out. I drink lots of liquid earlier on (not the best but Crystal light and lemonade with stevia helps). I also keep have proteins early during the day (eggs, Greek yogurt,cheese string, almonds!!) and it stopped the extreme hunger pains I used to have at 1pm)

Hope any of this help. If not, well it helped me just to write it down

Hey, can you tell me what brand of lemonade has stevia in it? The whey protein I drink has stevia, and I like it. Also, where do you buy it?

[neelium]

Am I the only one who can't stand stevia? I tried it for a bit and it straight up tasted like chemicals.

[mcbourque]

Hey, can you tell me what brand of lemonade has stevia in it? The whey protein I drink has stevia, and I like it. Also, where do you buy it?

It's called True Lemon from a site called TrueCitrus.com. It's a little "On the go" packet of powder you add to water.
Got it at my local Safeway.

[DebiLynn]

The whey protein I drink has stevia, and I like it. Also, where do you buy it?

I was able to buy Stevia at BJ's Wholesale Club! We have a store called Trader Joe's where I picked up liquid Stevia. Wal~Mart even sells it now.

[DebiLynn]

Thursday's Workout

1hr 35m working out with weights
40m swim
408 calories burned

[stingray72]

Am I the only one who can't stand stevia? I tried it for a bit and it straight up tasted like chemicals.

.

I agree. im going to have to do some real research on this stuff it cant be natural.

[davidolson22]

Am I the only one who can't stand stevia? I tried it for a bit and it straight up tasted like chemicals.

I don't like it either. It doesn't even taste sweet to me. Maybe it's genetic. I wish it tasted good, lol.

[davidolson22]

Hey, can you tell me what brand of lemonade has stevia in it? The whey protein I drink has stevia, and I like it. Also, where do you buy it?

You can always buy some unsweeted lemon juice (usually in the juice isle of the store), add it to a glass of mostly water, and add some sweetener. Amount of sweetener and lemon juice is set to taste. I usually go mild on both.

Limeade is also really easy to make.

[OzChops]

Am I the only one who can't stand stevia? I tried it for a bit and it straight up tasted like chemicals.

Nope, me too.
I actually quite like artificial sweeteners after some adjustment to their taste.

Don't be that guy.
Estimation is fine. Besides, you will know when you weigh in if you are over-estimating or under-estimating.
Make sensible choices. You will be fine.

Yeah I don't think I need to go to that extreme - I am confident enough with portion control that I can keep things reigned in enough that I can enjoy myself while travelling without becoming a big fat blob and undoing all my progress.
I do like the control of the weigh, measure, adjust routine though.

[DeuceOrion]

You can always buy some unsweeted lemon juice (usually in the juice isle of the store), add it to a glass of mostly water, and add some sweetener. Amount of sweetener and lemon juice is set to taste. I usually go mild on both.

Limeade is also really easy to make.

I can't afford to do that, I live on an extremely limited fixed income (SSI) and my drink mix budget is $10 a month or less. I currently buy those packages of 8 per pack from the 99 cents only stores of lemon berry squeeze, among other flavors. I try not to drink more than 2 a day. 8 of those $1 packages lasts me a month. But thanks for your advice.

[DebiLynn]

Oh, don't feel intimidated! If you're worried about doing an exercise you might want to try looking them up on youtube first. That really helped when I was first starting out because I felt like I was a bit more prepared before I just wandered around. Could you follow a specific routine? There are lots of good ones and that might help you feel more at ease at the gym because you know what you're trying to accomplish.

I will go and check out YouTube and might look into a program, thanks!

Yay Debi Lynn!!!!!! I think you should find a full body, 3x a week weight program and jump right in. You'll love it. I like Jason Blaha's 5x5 myself.

Very proud of you!

Thank you Kristen!

[DeuceOrion]

It's called True Lemon from a site called TrueCitrus.com. It's a little "On the go" packet of powder you add to water.
Got it at my local Safeway.

Thanks for getting back to me, I'll look into that.

I was able to buy Stevia at BJ's Wholesale Club! We have a store called Trader Joe's where I picked up liquid Stevia. Wal~Mart even sells it now.

Thanks for letting me know

[davidolson22]

I can't afford to do that, I live on an extremely limited fixed income (SSI) and my drink mix budget is $10 a month or less. I currently buy those packages of 8 per pack from the 99 cents only stores of lemon berry squeeze, among other flavors. I try not to drink more than 2 a day. 8 of those $1 packages lasts me a month. But thanks for your advice.

A single bottle of lemon juice concentrate would probably last you a month using at a rate of 2 lemonades a day. I think it's about 2-3$ for a big bottle.

[anthonyUTM]

How much does everyone spend a week on groceries. Currently living with my parents until I move to STL in September. I need to start buying my food seperate from my parents because it's just not cutting it.

[TheNormalMan]

Had my first free meal tonight. I kept it simple and just made myself a couple of moderately healthy egg sandwiches.

Feeling good energy wise and mood overall. Strength is strong and so is my mind.

Workout
40 Minute Walk

Nutrition

[PJ03029174]

Didn't post a weight last week because I was really ill and was down 10lbs!
Weighed this morning and am 194 today 28% body fat.
Started riding my bike into work today. 50 minutes and. 650 cals. Really hoping to get down to 20% body fat by the end of the 3 months

[Dutchie1972]

Did mobility work to open the chest/shoulder/trapezium and air squats with PT. Than I did the Elliptical, 45 min, AHR 127, 363 cal.

Tonight's challenge is to have only one glass of wine and no snacks when hanging out with friends to watch the Dutch play Spain. That is going to be tough.

[kmac1196]

.

I agree. im going to have to do some real research on this stuff it cant be natural.

It's natural. It's actually a plant not sugar at all. It doesn't sweeten stuff, per se, it takes the bitterness or sourness out of foods. Stevia PLUS(which is just added fiber) is most stable on insulin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

[kmac1196]

lots to catch up on. hi. i'm back.

rocket, i grew up in houston, and all of my friends are there. the highlights were definitely my friends and menil. hot bagel shop came in third. (btw you should go there, when you go back. they are unbelievably good bagels)
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/8/112734...l-Shop-Houston

loseitall, i agree that NY has excellent bagels, but hot bagel shop rivals them. swear.

highlight of the trip was krause springs, which was totally spontaneous. north padre was also fantastic. also san antonio? holy bananas, i could live there, it's so beautiful. i'd never been. the hill country, austin and san antonio are my favorite parts of texas.

i want to leave the chihuahua desert, i've decided. the rest of the family is up for it. my husband said as soon as he pays off his school loan he is happy to move elsewhere. maybe san antonio. maybe paciffic northwest.

weight went from low of 222 carb depleted to 229 carb loaded post vacation and at the worst of my cycle. i might have gained a real pound.

carb cycling with re-commence on monday along with the training. for now, i am just eating reasonably.

First....WOW on that small gain! Good for you!!!!!

Second...so glad you had a nice vacation. Sounds like you had some fun and just what you needed! Good for you

Third....glad your back

And lastly....What do you think is the best part of Texas to live and why? We've looked at the coastal areas for ****s and giggles.

How much does everyone spend a week on groceries. Currently living with my parents until I move to STL in September. I need to start buying my food seperate from my parents because it's just not cutting it.

We budget $140 for a family of 5. If we don't spend it, it stays in the "account" and we keep that for weeks that we need bulk chicken or things like that. If something goes on sale we buy lots of it (we use it anyway). We buy chicken breast at $1.30 a pound right now but we have to buy 40 lbs worth. So we portion it into 1 lb packages (when I say we I mean my husband lol) and freeze it until we need it.

And we buy produce that's on sale. I don't use supps (except For quest bars) and that is a separate budget.

[kmac1196]

Good morning! Happy Friday.

Work day for me today (2). Getting back to normal after this week's scare. I'm still exhausted.

Lifting tomorrow and I can't wait.

Other good news...my pool is clear!!!! Bleach is your friend, people!

More later!

Kristen

[aesir22]

Weigh day today! Down to 263.5lbs so lost 2.5lbs this week!

[x0dinx]

Week 2 update.

191.4 lbs, 1.6lbs down.

Week off work next work, lots of celebrating and BBQ's. Challenge accepted!

[Earlbolus]

Slippery slope my friend...

True, didn't feel comfortable about it either.


Weigh-in: 198.9 lbs, which is a gain of 1.1 lbs. I expected a gain and I'm glad it's only 1 lbs after 2 barbeque's, 3 grand fast food meals and 2 days of drinking. I'm at the right track again since a couple of days so I will see the scale go down next weigh-in. Oh, and I'm going to make this weekend count!