Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Dieters Support Thread

Welcome aboard Mechana! It's always good to hear how another person is doing, so keep us updated!

Girl or guy, it's always good for everyone to get in (and stay in) shape . I definately reccomend a little weight-training to balance the dieting too.

How's everybody doing? Welcome, Mechana. Keep us all posted on your progress. I've now lost 40 lbs since January 1, 2004. There's no secret to it, just lots of exercise, cut out sugars, bread, potatoes, and alcohol.

I've also discovered Splenda brand sweetened diet sodas - they're the only diet sodas I can stomach. Diet Rite makes a good raspberry soda and Hansens makes a good tangerine lime diet soda.

I haven't found any Splenda sweetened soda in my community. That would be great; aspartame makes me gag, bleagh!

I've been so insanely busy lately there are no groceries in my house and I've been eating three meals a day at my desk. Not exactly a formula for success, and I actually gained a little last week. But that pissed me off enough to put me back on the straight and narrow this week.

Also, I work next door to a 7-11. The siren call of slurpees haunts me all day long!

My boss once made a strawberry pie using Splenda, and it was fantastic. Haven't seen any sodas around though.

Waist Watchers brand sodas all use Splenda. I can't wait for the major brands to catch up and switch from aspartame.

(As an old coworker once said, "Why would I want to drink something made from the ass parta me?" )

My Mom started using Splenda in everything after she was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, and now I use it whenever I can. Everything else is too sweet now!

Bah. If I can't trim the fat off my screen name, I guess its time to start trimming the fat off me once again!

Look out 180s... here I come (again!)!

Ah, 180's... How I miss Junior High...

Hey everybody! Today was weigh day and I'm down a total of 20 lbs so far! Yay me!

Still haven't found any Splenda sweetened beverages here. Haven't even heard of the brands mentioned here. I think I'm going to try making Kool-Aid with Splenda as a break from water.

Good job, mechana!

Congrats, mechana!

Thanks guys! If I ever have a chance to meet you all I don't want to be lookin' all frumpy!

(And Kool-Aid with Splenda is GREAT!)

Mechana, 20 lbs. is great. There's something immeasurably pleasurable in wearing loose fitting clothing, that used to be tight.

I'm surprised that Canada hasn't gotten Splenda products yet. When I was growing up in Ontario, I know that Canada used to be behind the States - but that was in the 50's and 60's. Now, Canada is often ahead in product introductions. Check out Safeway. I know they have them in Vancouver. I get my Splenda soft-drinks at Safeway here in San Francisco.

I have pretty much stopped going to the gym! The kids are out of school, and we're running around a lot, but that's not really a good excuse. I really could add a workout in the morning before they need much attention (my oldest son can be in charge while my wife and I are away). My excuse has been that in addition to the kid stuff and work (remember I work in the evenings) I am PAINTING MY HOUSE!!! There is so much involved in that. The prep work alone has been almost unbearable. There are parts I have to get on the roof to reach. That's scary! It's just hard and very time consuming. More bad news, since I'm so tired and usually hot somewhat frustrated, I don't really feel like preparing wonderful nutritious food for us all. So, there's been more fast food and stops at the grocery store deli counter. The good news is that over this winter, I must have trained myself to eat less at a sitting, because that is a difference I can feel now that I didn't feel so much last summer. I just don't feel like stuffing myself the way I used to.

I haven't stepped on a scale, so I don't know the numbers, but I do feel bigger in the stomach than I did in May. That's not good. However, I must say that coming here to this thread is a great reminder that I am capable of doing it, so I'm GONNA go back to that gym!!!!

I have a birthday coming this month, and I find that to be a time to sort of take stock of my health and wellness. This year is definitely better than last year. (I had a sorta melt-down this time last year.) I want to look and feel good on my birthday. Also, my 20th High School reunion is coming next month. Hard to believe. So, I want to look good for that, too.

Looking good is important to me, but the best thing about eating right and working out is how it makes me feel so much better. Feeling better makes me look better too. I can't believe that's so hard to remember sometimes.

I'm hittin' that gym tomorrow morning right after the kids go to soccer camp!!!
That's it!

I did it. I went to the gym right when I said I would! I think what's happened is that some of the muscle I built over the winter has dissapated and some fat has crept back on. I weigh 188. When I did various exercises and machines, I felt the same as ever on them. My flexibility is only slightly worse than before. This was good news. I want to continue now, and get nice and slim for my upcoming events. Food is still as big a factor in this as the exercise. I'll continue to post here, as this forum is really acting as a journal for me, to keep track of everything. A public journal, with other friends who are doing the same! I love to hear about everyone elses efforts.

Keep it up everyone!

Way to go Dean. Have you thought about setting up a small gym at home? If space is limited, you can do exercises for just about every muscle group you can think of with an adjustable bench and a set of dumbells, . If space is not limited, you can add additional equipment for convenience. I started working out at home this year and it's been great. I do it first thing in the morning before work. While it took some adjustment to get up at 5:30 every morning, I now look forward to it. The best things are: (1) I have after work hours free, (2) there is no waiting for equipment, and (3) I have no excuse for missing a workout. I finish each workout in about 40 minutes.

Nicely done Dean! I also have a small gym at home, (although the tread mill is broke), and highly reccomend having one. The best part is that there is no drive there and back and you can shower after at your own convienence.

I'm happy with myself too, since I added a new part to my workouts--I've started going hiking! After hemming and hawing about it for awhile, I've started hiking after my early morning runs and weight-lifting sessions in the late afternoon. I love hiking itself, especially the gradual burn that you feel, in addition to being outdoors and having some nice peace and quiet that allows for some meditation time. I've lived my whole life in an urban area near a city, so I've come to love the outdoors since I get stuck with all the noise and pollution that accompanies it. Hiking lets me get outdoors and have a nice workout at the same time. Highly reccomended!

As for Splenda and Diet Sodas, I don't drink any of that except water. My biggest obstacles are cutting back on beer, liquor and coffee.

Possibly the most important info of the week:

Low carb ice-cream flavored with Splenda, can now be found in the following flavors in my local grocery store:

Strawberry - my personal favorite
Chocolate
Chocolate with Peanut Butter Chunks
Chocolate Chip
Rocky Road
Vanilla Bean
Mint Chocolate Chip
Neopolitain

and, as of yesterday .....

Butter Pecan

Any other flavors we're missing out here?

Is this a particular brand, Semi???

Those are the flavors offered by three brands:

Carb Solutions
Carb Smart (Breyer's Ice Cream)
Carb Benefit (Dreyer's Ice Cream).

Today, like every Friday, is free donut and muffin day at work. There's an apple fritter with my name on it in the lunch room calling out to me. Like Odysseus, I have lashed myself to my office chair (I didn't have a ship's mast handy) to resist the siren call. It's always a struggle, but today I'm going to win.

Very appropriate, since shaping one's body is really like an Odyssey!

Went on the best hike ever on Wednesday, a two and half hour excursion up a mountain, and then the same back down. Best workout I've had in years, since I played hockey in high-school.

And I've now decided that I want to have a strict diet eliminating carbs, which will be hard, since chips and nachos are my Waterloo. But I want to be trim around the middle too!

Missed my workout this morning because I had to be in court at 8:30 a.m. - but I'll just pick up tomorrow where I left off. I need to find a tailor to take in all my dress pants - they're all too loose, even the new pair I bought a month ago. I know I'm bragging (and I apologize), but I'm just really pleased that all this exercise has paid off.

Bragging? No way! This is the place to communicate all our fitness news, good and bad!
Congratulations, Semi! You have every right to feel proud.

I haven't been back to the gym. I just went on a camping trip last weekend, which included rafting, and I totally feel all that rowing in my arms, still. Then this morning (well, Monday morning) I *was* going to go to the gym, but I got a call from my brother, telling me he'd purchased a used hot tub and he'd be working on installing it. So, I went over there and found myself helping him haul 12"x12"x2" concrete blocks to build the foundation. That was a workout. Had a salad for lunch and a chicken sandwich (with tomatoes and cucumbers on it, with NO side accomaniments) for dinner. So, I'm still watching the food intake, but not hitting the gym.

I wanted to respond to the questions about other forms of exercise versus going to the gym... I do have a weight bench at home, which I used at first, before I sorta took a break from all this. I really don't care for running/jogging because my knees are bad. The gym has equipment that I find both very effective for my needs, which is important, but also, there's just something about getting in there, making it happen and getting it done, then leaving. There's a HUGE mental element to exercise. To me, maybe even as much as the physical.

I really like working out at home. I burned a 70's disco cd that I work out to. That kind of music always makes me energetic, and believe me, I need all the help I can get at 6:00 a.m. The disc starts out with:

Working My Way Back to You Babe - Spinners
Heaven Must Have Sent You - Pointer Sisters
Shame - Evelyn Champagne King
If My Friends Could See Me Now - Linda Clifford
Dancing the Night Away - Voggue
Love is In the Air - John Paul Young

and at that point, I've usually finished the workout. So I seldom get to hear the rest of the cd.

By the way, what do the rest of you use for sore muscles? None of the products I've tried really help.