lapoissonne

Yeah yeah, we all know exercise and eat right but any little tid bits that we have tried that really work?

For me it is eating protein in the morning. My day gets off to a good start if I have a couple scrambled eggs, or a smoothie or even a permalean bar...I might as well sit down with a dozen donuts and finish the box if I start out the day with a donut. Mid day I start to crash big time, and my first rule should be to not have junk for at all in the house but I seek it out even if it's not there. I'll eat out of the bag of chocolate chips and devour a box of granola bars or gold fish if there isn't a good sugary carb laying around. My way to combat that, just have a cup of coffee. I don't have time to exercise which would be a better option but with three kids and no chance of showering my sweaty body until 10pm, the coffee without gobs of creamer is my best bet. And finally, the one I need to get back into, the 10 minute work out. Something, anything, just ten minutes even if its yoga or pilates everyday. I just gotta get back in the groove. We should start a 100 crunches a day challenge for the month of August...on the balance ball with a couple hand weights if we got them...Anyone in?

symesa

In all honesty, cutting out ANY foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup is a big help. Just read the label, if you see it then tell yourself JUNK and put it down. It will make you crave more and more. All that low-calorie or fat free "diet" food usually contains HFCS so you never just want to eat one. Those 100 calorie packs -- full of it...is there no wonder you can't eat just one? Really, cut that out and it will drastically help reduce further cravings.

I just happen to have a really good list of high fiber/high protein foods that are great for reducing your cravings...

Sweet:
1 container Dannon yogurt (60 calorie stuff) with 1/2 cup Fiber One cereal - 7g protein, 14g fiber 1 point
1 container Dannon yogurt (60 calorie stuff) with berries - 6g protein, 4g fiber 2 points
1 container Dannon yogurt (60 calorie stuff) with 1 Zen Bakery (Trader Joe's) mini-muffin fiber cake - 10g protein, 13g fiber 2 points
Apple with 1 TBSP natural peanut butter (made with PB2 powder) - 4g protein, 4g fiber 1 1/2 points

Savory:
Whole wheat tortilla with Laughing Cow Lite Cheese Wedge - 7.5g protein, 8g fiber 1 1/2 points
Whole wheat toast (look for high fiber brand) with 1 TBSP peanut butter (made with PB2 powder) - 4g protein, 3.5+g fiber 1/1/2 points
Toasted cheese sandwich (high fiber bread with 1 slice lowfat American cheese) - 9g protein, 7g fiber 1 1/2 points
Breakfast burrito (1 whole wheat tortilla, 1 cup egg substitute, veggies, salsa) - 11g protein, 8+g fiber 1 point
Bean burrito (1 whole wheat tortilla, 1/4 cup fat free refried beans, salsa) - 8.5g protein, 11g fiber 1 point
Veggie/feta pizza (1 Flatout flatbread or whole wheat English muffin, 2 oz fat free feta cheese, tomato sauce, veggies) - 21g protein, 9+g fiber 2 points
Egg white salad sandwich (1/2 container Trader Joe's egg white salad, 2 slices high fiber whole wheat bread) - 7.5g protein, 7g fiber 2 points
Hot Dog burrito (1 Hebrew National fat free hot dog, 1 whole wheat tortilla, relish, mustard, chopped onions) - 10g protein, 8g fiber 1 1/2 points
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Black Bean dip with Mission extra thin corn tortillas made into chips - 6g protein, 6g fiber 1 1/2 points

PB2 powder is found only online here: Bell Plantation - PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter - Home

mommy23ms

I'm in. I need to do something to target the tummy area. And since my hand weights are being used right now as a door stop, I think that's a sign to get them back into action !!!

Bensmom

For me, how I start my day really sets the tone- a good breakfast and we leave for our walk/jog when DH leaves for a work. If I don't get some exercise in first thing, it's so much easier for me to put it off for the rest of the day and if I eat something unhealthy for breakfast my day is more likely to go downhill fast. I try to eat small enough meals so that I have room for a snack in the morning and afternoon- if I get ravenously hungry, I'm screwed. I LOVE fat free black bean dip on a corn tortilla- some yummy and filling. Microwave pop corn (low or no butter) is also great. And I always keep some sugar free "sweets" in the house- sugar free pudding is actually pretty good and the Edy's no sugar added icecream isn't bad either.

I'm totally in for the crunches- I've beenre ally good about cardio but I need to start toning up. Along those lines- does anyone have any toning/strength training DVD's they love? I have hand weights, ankle weights, a step and a band. No exercise ball and no room to store one at the moment. I've never really gotten into yoga. TIA

Sparqi

I"m in. I'll squeeze them in as I am about to fall asleep on the couch at 9 pm! I have the ball, but not the weights. I could grab one of DH"s giant calculus books...

KBtotheBB

100 crunches? I suppose I'm in ... but it will take me awhile to get up to that.

The #1 thing that helps me is exercise. I *have* to exercise, or I will.not. lose weight. I try to do an hour of cardio 5-6 days of the week with 2-3 days of strength training thrown in. I do a little yoga and pilates, but the interest in that ebbs and flows.

Another thing I discovered that works is what Alison said ... cutting out the HFCS. Since things got hectic, I haven't been following the Core as religiously as I was (but I'm getting back on track tomorrow!). However, when I was, and avoiding all the foods with added sugar, I felt soooo much better. Not only was it helping me lose weight, but it was cutting down on my water retention/bloating ... which means my weight loss wasn't being covered up by water retention.

Also, SNACKS. Your metabolism has to remain elevated to lose weight. Going too long between meals is a sure fire way to slow your metabolism down. I usually have an apple for an AM snack. I have a half PB sandwich for the afternoon one, because I need the protein for my workout.

The last thing is WATER. WATER WATER WATER WATER. Drink it. Love it. Somewhere I read that most times when you think you're hungry, you're actually thirsty.

KBtotheBB

I have Crunch - Candlelight Yoga with Sarah Ivanhoe. I really like it. It doesn't use a ball ... it's just a series of poses and whatnot. It's pretty easy ... even DH does it, and he's NEVER done yoga. It's not very hard, so if you're advanced, it will bore you and not work you.

I also have Cathe Friedrich's Muscle Max DVD. This DVD TEARS up my muscles - in a good way!! If I did this DVD as often as I should, I'd have one slammin' body. It calls for an adjustable barbell, but I think you could get away with using hand weights ... or weighted bars, which store much more easily than a barbell and plates.

And since you have a step, I recommend Cathe Friedrich's Body Max 2 DVD. This is the DVD I use the most. It's a very tough workout ... it took me awhile before I could go through the whole thing with a rest.

Actually ... I have Cathe's Basic Step + Cardio & Weights DVD. There's a basic step routine which is a beginner workout. So, it's a little slow, but I got a workout. Then the cardio & weight workout is more advanced, and is more of a circuit. Again, it says you need an adjustable barbell, but if your hand weights are heavy enough, you could probably use those. If you'd like to try it out, I'd be happy to send it to you. I'm pretty much stuck on my Body Max DVD.

I'm all about some exercise!!!

Bensmom

Oooh, thanks for the suggestions Kim. I'll have to check those DVD's out. Since we'll be heading into our 5 months of snow on the ground shortly, I'm going to need some indoor cardio soon and I think my Denise Austin one is going to get old real quick. Did you get them from Amazon or somewhere else online?? (And thanks for the offer of lending me one- but Ben is very into chewing on cds/DVDs when he gets the chance - so I think I'll go ahead and buy them)

KBtotheBB

I bought all of my DVDs from Amazon. The Cathe ones are about $25 each ... if you only buy one cardio DVD, I totally suggest Body Max 2 IF you are up to that activity level. The description and reviews should give you an good idea of what to expect. Now that I think of it, though, Body Max does use a stability ball, but you can do the DVD without it ... I don't use my ball with it.

I also have Drill Max, Low Max, and Butts and Guts (all Cathe Friedrich). They're all pretty difficult. Butts and Guts totally kicks my butt and gut! Drill Max and Butts and Guts both use a stability ball, though. Low Max is a good high-intensity, low-impact cardio DVD. Again, the descriptions and reviews at Amazon will give you a good idea of what to expect. Cathe also has a website - cathe workout fitness exercise aerobic dvd video.

I also have 10-Minute Solution Pilates. It'ss pretty advanced ... for me anyway. If you're relatively new to pilates, I wouldn't suggest it. I couldn't keep up, so I just use the DVD that came with my toning ring.

Like I said, I really like exercising ...

Carol in Maryland

My latest diet tip is unconventional, to say the least - get a fat dog. My second golden retriever died in March, and with my financial/job situation, I couldn't afford to adopt a new one. My sister is the foster coordinator for our local golden retriever rescue organization, so she called me to be a foster home. This is neat, because I get all the joy (& work) of a dog, but the organization pays for food & medical care. The first dog I got was gorgeous and perfect, and we found him a perfect home in two weeks. Then I got Nikki. Nikki would be a petite golden if she had not been grossly overfed. In addition, she was shaved because her coat was so matted. Plus, she has a thyroid problem. When she came, she looked just like a large potato with a tiny golden retriever head and legs. She can't fit through the dog flap, so we go out on the deck (10' off the ground), and walk down to the yard several times a day, and then back up. She has been here 5 weeks now, and without any changes to my diet (Nikki, OTH, is on lowcal food), we have each lost 15+ lbs.!