Dieting Club: 10 - 25 Lbs Community

Way to go on printing out the power mind! A ham cheese and egg muffin isn't the worst--and if you really like to have an egg/meat choice in the morning, there are some lower calorie, more nutritious ways to tweak it. (and cheaper ways)

Ok-you need an approach that fits your budget and your need to just grab something inexpensive.

Try canned beans-keep them in the fridge for a quick salad with a diced up cucumber and can of diced tomatoes. You can add some cooked brown rice to that. Super inexpensive, good and will serve you several meals.

What types of foods do you like? Why do you think you need to shop 2 weeks in advance? Do you live in an area with a farmer's market?

Here are 10 ways to save money on food .

Welcome!

Canned tuna goes on sale and eggs are cheap, too. Smoothies, made at home with fat free milk are good ways to get protein. The whey protein goes on sale at drug stores, also.

Maybe if you pack more of your meals and snacks you won't be so tempted by fast food. Fast food is tough to break up with it is so available. But, you CAN do it!

Oh, peanut butter goes on sale. On rice cakes or apple slices that is pretty healthy...and celery, too.

I know I really ought to get in the habit of packing my lunch and breakfast for work, I work in the hospital and pretty much rely on their cafeteria for food. and on weekends like I said I go to the fast food places. I have 30 dollars left to last me 2 weeks until pay day. I just got paid and all my money is always going to bills, I have alot of problems... ha ha! I am thinking once I find a second job ill be on the run even more and will have less time for shopping and food but plenty of money hopefully. its things like this that make me decide I should wait to try to be on a diet, because I feel like I just cant do it right now cause I have so many other problems....
But when I eat at the cafereria I eat really healthy and I get deli sandwiches, soup, or salad, when I made my healthiest choices. I can make all of that at home. I have tupperware too, that I havent even used that I bought to do just that ha ha. I am really picky about my food, like a can of cold beans with canned tomatos sounds really yucky to me. I wouldnt even eat it if that was all I had. I would find some change and go buy a dollar cheese burger over a can of cold beans. I have always been pciky about leftovers too, cause my mom was a germaphobe, she would throw things out after a day before you got a chance to eat it...
another problem is here at work the drug reps bring us free gourmet treats all day long! I get free olive garden, or mimis cupcakes, and paradise cookies, and jamba juices...starbucks... mmmm... stuff like that. I turned down the cupcakes yesterday but its hard cause everyone in the office is asking if you got a cupcake yet, no I dont want one I say, oh they are so good mmmmm yum yum too bad for you.

I had totally come up with the idea of buying blender and making smoothies! I LoOoOoOVe smoothies, and shoot I can stir in supplements and whatever I want like yogurt, orange juice anything. I like tuna sandwiches, so that would be a good thing to have handy too. I have a really sensitive stomach, I get nauseated, or diarrhea, constipation, belly cramps, bloating, with MOST things I eat, I think I must have an irritable bowel. I stay away from things that are famous belly bubblers, like beans haha. rice cakes sound good... stuff like that is good, cause it cant rock my intestines world all night....
LoL at JambaJuice the food Jedi, congratulations!
and I will share this paragraph with you.
Today, 8/30/10, I Melissa *lissmeanstrouble*, will begin to practice healthier lifestyle habits and I will make the following commitments. I will give to myself as i give to others, I will value my health as I value the health of my loved ones, I wont ask should I, or shouldn't I, about matters of self care. I will just do it. I humbly accept that I must work to be the best I can be. I will choose to work for myself rather than abandon myself, I will take responsibility for my lifestyle behaviors and I commit to practicing them with patience and consistency. And, I will embrace adversity as an opportunity to test my newfound mental and physial strength.
This paragraph helps me cause for one its true for me, I feel I abandon myself and dont have enough patience to follow through with this, I feel that I need to be more responsible for my habits and lifestyle. Two, my best friend just graduated from Air Force basic, this just reminds me of something she would say, and I miss her alot. She is still in Texas being in shape and Im still in Utah being chunky. She is my biggest insiration and always has been, if it wasnt for her I wouldnt have lost that 10 pounds before she went to basic. I was really sad and depressed when she left, cause I miss her so so so much.... :( and thats why I fell off my work out wagon to her disappointment.
I know I am really picky about food, and I spend too much money on food I really cant afford because my mouth is too picky. thats why this paragraph is good for me cause its telling me to be more responsible.

The beans don't have to be cold - you can warm them together with the tomato and onion.

And remember that taste can change - if you eat it, even if you don't like it all that much, you will more than likely get used to it and fond of it sooner than you would have thought possible.

For example: I never used to like brown/wholewheat bread; I always preferred white. I started eating brown and wholemeal bread anyway because it is more nutritious and cut out white bread. Now I am used to it and buy it automatically; I never reach for white bread and don't really miss it.

Hey, Ms.lissmeanstrouble,

YOU are definitely talking the talk. BUT now it is GRUNT time.

PLEASE quit smoking. I smoked over 10 yrs., so I know it isn't easy.

One step at a time.

Good luck!

Well its back to work, time to try to quit smoking again. I do well until about saturday...
I have lots of energy today... maybe its cause I had a four day weekend... maybe its all the vitamins I have been taking my skin looks better and I was getting sick and I already kicked whatever was bothering me, which is not usually the case! These vitamins really ARE helping! I take vitamin E,C,A,B... I also take CLA and a probiotic... and garlic and... a multi that I forget everything thats in it... iron and zinc and vit d and calcium probably. antioxidants... eating lots of foods with unsaturated fats... kind of noticing that my pants are fitting better but not any weight loss I have actually gained, but I read that CLA increases muscle and trims your body so maybe thats why the pants are fitting better and the scale says different.
I have been walking. not as much as I SHOULD.I go LONG distances when I do walk, but this is only like 2 or 3 times a week. I am weaning myself into this, cause I know myself, and this is how I will need to operate until I get used to things... this morning I surprised myself. I didnt even so much as LOOK at fattening foods in the cafeteria, I went straight for my cottage cheese and didnt pine over the aroma of bacon and eggs with country gravy... :D LoL.

Saturdays! Baby steps is great Liss.

okay so last time I got on a scale...2 weeks ago I was 167, and today I weigh 161 :D so I have lost 6 pounds in two weeks... that makes me pretty darn happy. So... I am not really sure how to get a hold on my money. It sure would be nice if I was gettign food stamps like so many of my towns residents that are on drugs and probably dont even deserve my tax money to buy their food. Point is I am tryin really hard to budget so I have plenty to grocery shop, but I end up going broke for a week every month and have to take what i can get during that time. I really do need a second job, but working one is stressful enough with my history of depression I dont feel its a good idea to push myself too hard right now. BUT I have been eating good! beside the fact I ate at del taco yesterday when I came home from camping, 3 tacos and chili cheese fries, I was starving, cause my friends forget about packing breakfast, we put potatoes, onions, and brats in tin foil, threw those in the fire for dinner, mmm that was really good :D but besides that stuff all last week I ate salad, from scraTCH chicken noodle soup, cottage cheese, turkey, and tuna sandwishes I had cucumbers and peaches at home for snack... with the occasional greasy treat, like on thursdays they serve these skinny breakfast burritos that are fried down at the cafe. Mmmmm. gotta treat myself every thursday. maybe ill give em up later. still drinking soda, but not NEARLY as much... lots and lots more water.
I caught a strange virus here at work last week and was off work all week last week. I slept alot, and cleaned my entire house head to toe. Like some real deep cleaning stuff. I dont wanna let any home visitors catch hand foot and mouth disease... cause my toes hurt alot and so did my throat, it wasnt pleasant. By Friday I was better for the camp trip on saturday. We hiked up hill with 30 plus pound back packs on for 2 hours lol. I feel like I can definitely conquer that track down the street now after work today. camping was really fun we did some more hiking and lots of beer drinking. When we hiked back from camping it only took us an hour ha ha cause it was downhill and we had less supplies to carry. But yea I am definitely happy we went to do that, it was the boost I needed to get me started at the gym for real. When I go tonight, ill get the the treadmill and see how long I can go before I get real tired... and not gonna lift wieghts cause my arms and shoulders and legs are pretty sore from that hike. my back pack had horrible straps on it, that pack bounced everywhere, I feel the pain! ha ha!

Yikes on the virus. Glad you feel better! Congrats on the shed weight too.

I do the sick eating thing too. I have Crohn's so often when I am sick, all I can do is liquids--but I can pack in the liquid calories like crazy.

I have come with questions! but in reply:
Crohns runs in my family I often wonder if my bad stomach is related to the possibility I have that or something? I know I should really go to my doc bout it, but he wants to do a colonoscopy on me and I cant afford that at the moment! what kind of liquid calories do you pack on? from soda or what? I try really hard to stay away from soda but its part of my morning ritual still.
So I have been going on lots of walks. I have these pink running shoes that are awesome, but I have seen the sketcher shoes that are supposed to boost muscle tone when just walking, and reebok and a few other off brands have marketed similar shoes, has anyone tried these and notice if they are really helping tone your thighs and butt and if it speeds up wieght loss like they claim to? They are pretty expensive, I dont wanna go for them if I end up hating them. Just wondering cause I plan to buy new work shoes soon, and might spring for those. If I wore them to work and around cleaning I assume they would be better then just regular shoes for body beautification? LoL.
Also I have heard alot of people here at work say they hear that if you stop eating after 3 or 4 pm in the afternoon and only do lunch and breakfast thats a good and healthy way to lose weight as well. I have always heard 3 meals a day with snacks, but I guess they have friends that actually live by the no food after 3 pm rule and they swear by it. Thats what I did yesterday just to try it out. I woke up hungry, didnt fall asleep starving. I had cottage cheese for breakfast, and a pulled pork sandwich for lunch. They say its really good for people like me who are busy all day and dont feel up to exercise after work. Although I got plenty of sleep last night and if I dont hit the gym tonight like I have been planning I will seriosuly be pissed at myself! I was bummered out last night thats why I didnt go, but today I have no excuse! I plan to run until I feel I cant go on, in intervals, and do push ups and crunches. I have no idea how many sets of crunches and push ups to do... I will start out soft at first, but for next time what might yall reccomend?

If you have symptoms of IBD , then you should get checked out. It can kill if not treated. Generally people with IBD have more trouble maintaining weight and not becoming underweight. If you have any type of insurance, after 9/23 it is my understanding colonoscopies will be fully covered.

Liquid calories: coffee drinks (three times a week, nonfat but with sugar), instant breakfast, Boost, and soda.

Dr. Peeke has a saying "eat after 8, gain lots of weight." Skipping meals is never a good idea (it does bad things to your cholesterol and there is a suggestion it messes with how your body reacts to insulin and may lead to resistance and later diabetes), so instead of following your friends advice, keep an eye on the calories.

We have a new article "The Truth about Toning Shoes " that might answer your question about the shoes.

Okay Louise your the boss. I will do 3 meals a day, not after 8. I am not gonna spring for the skechers... cause yeah the article pretty much says its not worth it in my eyes... and I do have insurance so I WILL get a colonoscopy some time soon, cause I get really hot... like constantly, I break out in sweat and turn all red just while Im walking into work,or sitting, or just randomly... I TOLD MY DOC And he upped my Celexa dose and said the tingling in my hands and hot flashes were from anxiety. Well I think it helped some with that, but I still get hot flashes, and readin that IBD can give you a fever... I wonder. MY allergy pill has a time release side... that doesnt digest at all, alot of the time things come out looking the same as gone in, I can tell that it was what I ate yesterday. Sorry if this is really gross, but now you have me pretty concerned, I have honestly gotten used to it after 2 years of this and kinda just stopped being concerned... but now I am concerned again.
I am looking for a seond job today, but ill still try to find time for a walk.