Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Dieters Support Thread

I love the Smart Ones dinners! I have those for lunch most days and for dinner when I eat late. I like the Thai Peanut Chicken, the Three Cheese Macaroni, the Tuna Noodle Gratin (my mom's fave)and Santa Fe Beans and Rice best.

They're also the easiest frozen dinners to prepare. I swear you need a degree in mechanical engineering to heat a Lean Cuisine dinner, but the Smart Ones just go in the microwave--maybe you might have to stir in the middle--and they're done!

For breakfast, I like the salisbury steak & Mac/cheese... breakfast food is SO fattening, so it's easier for me to have a SMART ONES. I also love the bistro chicken fettucinni, shrimp primavera, chicken enchiladas and sante fe r&b!

Um, that made me hungry!!! What kind of dieters are you!

Yes, one of the things I've found most interesting is the calorie/point value for most breakfast cereals, especially the "healthy" ones! It's like eating a small steak! So, why not have Salisbury steak?

I love Salisbury steak. But I'll have to check out the ingredient list to see if WW prepared stuff is safe. Since Caroline can't have aspartame or MSG I try to keep it out of the house. Thought about doing that Nutrisystem stuff that's all over TV but the thought of shelling out $300 to get the food before trying it just doesn't appeal to me.

And welcome aboard DC! Missed your post after my last one so I don't want to leave you out. I think we've got a great group of support here and it shows. Feeling better today than I have all week (thanks for asking) so I'm hoping to get some calories going.

Already had a great veggie lover's salad (romaine, iceberg, radish, carrots, purple cabbage) with a low fat balsamic vinaigrette for lunch. Loaded it with fresh ground pepper (I keep a pepper grinder at work as I love the stuff) and it was delicious! Now I'm trying to avoid having some popcorn, my one true snack weakness. I know some of it is okay but the sodium is a killer.

I love Salisbury steak. But I'll have to check out the ingredient list to see if WW prepared stuff is safe. Since Caroline can't have aspartame or MSG I try to keep it out of the house. Thought about doing that Nutrisystem stuff that's all over TV but the thought of shelling out $300 to get the food before trying it just doesn't appeal to me.

And welcome aboard DC! Missed your post after my last one so I don't want to leave you out. I think we've got a great group of support here and it shows. Feeling better today than I have all week (thanks for asking) so I'm hoping to get some calories going.

Already had a great veggie lover's salad (romaine, iceberg, radish, carrots, purple cabbage) with a low fat balsamic vinaigrette for lunch. Loaded it with fresh ground pepper (I keep a pepper grinder at work as I love the stuff) and it was delicious! Now I'm trying to avoid having some popcorn, my one true snack weakness. I know some of it is okay but the sodium is a killer.

WW prepared foods are a lot harder to get in Canada, at least in my my city. I can usually only find about 3 diffrent types of Smart Ones, so I seldom have them. I've become quite the expert at creating low points versions of "normal" foods, because I'll never be a person who enjoys fish and salad for dinner!

I love breakfast food!

DC: try All Bran Guardian cereal. 1 cup is 2 points and it's chock full of fibre! (no fibre in steak)

I also like to make breakfast smoothies with skim milk, orange juice, fat free yogurt and frozen fruits. Delicious. And it's amazing how many servings of fruit and dairy you can cram in a blender.

Or try 2 slices of WW bread, toasted, with 2 tbls cream cheese and 2 tbls fruit spread. Only 4 points and sooo good! Probably less if you use low fat cream cheese. If I'm in a hurry I have a 6 oz. glass of oj or skim milk (3 pts) and a fruit & nut granola bar (3 pts).

If you prefer more "manly: fare, fat free ham is only 1 point for 60 grams (2 oz.) And eggs are 2 pts each. I'll stop now...

Alright, just did some checking and OMG! Do you guys know how much sodium you're taking in with the prepared WW meals? An average of 700mg per serving. On a good diet you should limit your sodium to 2100-2400mg per day (for me, because of the bp, I'm limited to 1500mg per day). That means just three of these meals and you've blown your sodium for the day. Its almost like the Lean/Hot Pockets I was becoming addicted to for lunch. The sodium in those was killing me to have two a day on top of whatever else I ate.

So, please, just be careful. They may be good in a lot of other ways but adjust your sodium in other areas if you eat more than two of these a day.

Sodium is a killer. I focus more on low sodium than I do on calories sometimes.

BUT I did read a study where people at just frozen food packs all day within a certain amount of calories and another group at the same amount of calories but fended for themselves. They did not eat frozen foods.

The frozen food group lost much more weight. They said doing it short term for weight loss may be worth it.

Sodium for me is horrible. I retain alot of water and get super bloated. I've actually dropped lots of sodium from my diet and I feel great. Still fat! But great!

Pardon.... just cut/pasting some of my old posts here to help me keep track of stuff....


Jillikers, after rereading this entire thread, I feel so much better about being at 185.

Back in January when I started this thread, I had reached 204 pounds! *shudder!!*

Then I dieted down into the 190s, but quickly ballooned back up to 199!

That was in March; I then went on the low-carb and dieted all the way down to 183 (my lowest recorded weight yet on this thread).

Of course, after that, I vanished for a while from this thread (meaning I had goten complacent and started eating whatever I wanted, no doubt) and when next I showed up I was BACK in the 190s!

So in August, I started this "eat less" thing, and although the weight has come off VERY VERY slowly, it has come off and, more importantly, has stayed off. One month ago I weighed 186, today I weighed 185. That's with virtually no effort on my part. Maintaining is important, something I haven't done all this year until now it seems.

Yeah, 185 doesn't sound so bad.


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Today's weight: 185

Total pounds lost: 22


So I'm back on this thread and the story can be told.

Early 2005 (as documented here) I resigned myself to being content with 185 pounds. Then around April/May (also documented here) I began daily miles-long walks, finding myself in the upper 180s-lower 190s, but not really minding.

Then I got kind-of silent here later on in 2005.

That's because after the time jumped forward, and it got colder, and the treadmills in my apartment broke down (only recently got repaired, too), the walks stopped dead.

But the eating continued, unabated... and even increased.

So long story short, before I knew it, I was a whopping 207 pounds.

Now, March of last year, my Mom started Weight Watchers. She was only 148 pounds, but being that she's so short, that was really big for her. She dropped all the way down to 113-115 pounds (and is still there), and looks years younger (she was also my walking buddy before winter kicked in).

So then, distressed about my weight, and realizing I didn't really have anyone else to do it, she started in on my weight gain and how bad I was looking.

She was right.

And I had tried my usual round of crazy diets, and nothing was working, and I couldn't commit to any of them because they were so awful.

So finally, after seeing how doughy and awful I looked in Christmas pictures, I told her January 1st I wanted her to help me do this Weight Watchers thingie.

I started on January 3 with her guidance.

Today is day 2 of my 8th week. 22 pounds down, that's a smidge over 3 pounds a week.

And I ain't stopping here. This diet is WAY too easy, fulfilling, and even fun. I eat all the frickin' time and the weight has plummeted off. I even have my friend at work (also my primary party buddy) on it. He lost 5 pounds the first week and is nearing the end of his second. The two of us have inspired our other work friend, who is making a trial run of it this week.

The 170s is firmly in my sight and I know I'm going to get there now. It's been a mighty lOOOOOOng time! Got tons of cute clothes waiting to be worn... *giddy!*

And all this withOUT the excercise.... once Spring kicks in and the walking starts back again--- Maybe I should shoot for the 160s. That's my High School territory!


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last posted weight from 2006 WW diet:

I'm about 177.

Thurs and Fri I walked 2.39 miles (3.2 miler per hour at 45 minutes) on the treadmill. Will repeat today.
Figured it was past time to add excercise to the diet mix.

Perhaps Mort Weisinger's advice to Jim L. of New York might be of some inspiration to you guys!

heh heh heh!

(You'll have to e-mail me about your diet, Lashie. I've gotta do something, and physical activity is somewhat limited to arm exercises right now. Dropping the weight could go a long way towards getting back on my feet. )

I think ol' Mort may have set up some therapist for life with that response. Poor kid.

I'm taking a couple of days off to do some housecleaning. I was just going through my closet and found a pair of pants (never worn) and a pair of bluejeans that I had put away because they were too small. They fit beautifully now--in fact, the jeans are a little loose! I had to post here about it!

Yay!

Rockhopper -- that's always the best! I have some pants set aside to try on in a few weeks, I hope.

My weekly weighing indicates another 3 lbs lost this week. That's 9 lbs. after 3 weeks on WW. I am thrilled, especially because I don't feel particularly deprived yet. I've had one splurge meal per week so far and am still losing at a good rate. I'm notching my belt tighter, and my dress shirt collars are looser.

It's particularly encouraging to realize that I CAN control this aspect of my life, that it's within my power, and that I can still enjoy food, cooking and eating.

Oh, and Mort Weisinger can bite me! There is still plenty of me to go around, after all!

Congrats John! I love that feeling, having been able to get into both pants and shirts a size down from what I have been wearing (and preparing to go up another). I even found some cool new shirts in a 4x at K-Mart of all places. Can't wait for some dress down days at work to wear them.

And congrats on your loss too DC. Three pounds a week is good, especially if you are finding you can handle the control.

For me I lost a total of five pounds last week but only one more between Tuesday and Saturday (my official weigh in day). I think I've hit the barrier where I really need to find a good little bit of exercise to go along with the healthier eating. If it wasn't so damn hot here I'd just walk but the sun doesn't go down until nearly 10 PM and the heat is just sticking around.

Amen to all of the above and congratulations!

You've touched on a lot of the things that I like about WW also, DC. I went to my friend Andrea's wedding this weekend and I had a little bit of everything I liked on the buffet, but didn't gorge myself. I even had a small piece of the groom's cake (If I'm going to splurge on a sweet thing, it's going to be chocolate!) and some champagne. And I still was able to stay on WW.

And being able to control this aspect is a big thing for me too. Last night, Tom, my best friend, called and asked if I wanted to join him for dinner at our favourite Mexican restaurant. Having already used most of my weekly points at the wedding reception, I declined and explained why. He understood.

Good going, Scott! As I've said before, having to buy new clothes is one of the best things!

Exercise is the hardest part for me too. I have a gym membership that I never use. It intimidates the bejeebers out of me!

Fortunately, I have a dog who requires that he be walked twice a day or else.

You just reminded me of a conversation I had with one of my best friends (who works on my team) yesterday. We were talking and he said that he had last 10 pounds over the last few weeks thanks to me. He hasn't done anything more than just be more aware of what he was eating, what the serving size was and what it contained. I thought that was pretty good. He wasn't actively trying to lose weight but now that he's more aware he finds he doesn't really miss anything. Sometimes that's all it takes. Just being aware of what we stuff in our faces.

That's right. And seeing a friend lose weight often provides the inspiration we need. I think I've mentioned the friend who inspired me is a guy in the choir I sing with who lost over 100 pounds last year. He told me that, including me, he has inspired over 500 pounds of weight loss! And we all help each other. I've had several people say that I've inspired them to start watching their weight.

Hi guys: well it turns out that stress related starvation is a surprisingly inefficient weight loss method. I was only down 0.6 lbs this week. But I did run out out diuretics (for blood pressure) a week ago, so maybe I'm just full of water.

Feeling better emotionally this week, so my appetite is back. Glad to be feeling better, but almost disappointed that food is no longer the last thing on my mind. Almost. But I am proud that I never once turned to food to make myself feel better during my crisis. I don't know if that's just a girl thing or not, but there's nothing like a big bag of chips to sublimate one's feelings!

I'm so glad things are going better for you, Ronda.

I'm also proud of you for not turning to food for comfort! It's not just a girl thing. Guys do that too--a lot more than most would ever admit. I know I've done it a lot and that's one of the reasons I'm posting on this thread!

As for me, I weighed in this morning at 196. Two more down!

Well I just got off the treadmill and after 35 minutes of brisk walking, I feel amazing. You know my doctor has recommended anti-depressants to me twice, but I wonder if I wouldn't just be better off with some regular exercise. At least then all the side effects would be good ones.