LOl Ash @ your weights comment!

Yay Staashi!

I don't think that is unrealistic Nawal. You should actually be able to do well if you're breast feeding because that takes up an extra 500 calories per day or so. My friend used to to drop 30 lbs in 3 months inadvertantly.

Hey!!! You hush and speak for yourself... I am totally and completely innocent in all ways imaginable

(For all those standing near me, please move before the lightening strikes you as well )

I am going to the Farmers Market this morning and I'm going to get some fresh fruits and vegetables for my diet.

Yesterday I was voted co-chair of the Borah Foundation for 2009. That means I get to make the calls contacting people to come, and be the go to person, and do the introductions for the Speakers at the Symposium. Our keynote is a Prime Minister. I have to be on a live broadcast in 30 weeks and then stuffed in the U of I archives afterwords for life. I want to loose as much weight as possible and look as healthy and lovely as possible too!

I printed out calendars last night and I'm making a diet/exercise plan. I've got the weeks counting down to the event and I'm starting all this at the beginning of this month.

Also I'm working on a video production plan for my goals/diet exercise plan/video progress. I need to get permission first from my instructors to use the equipment at the University for personal use but I think it will be ok because I'll say I'm doing it to sharpen my skills before graduation.

I want to make a series of short videos with segments and you all can watch them on YouTube. It will be about me, my campus life, life in general, with one segment of the short video being my weekly/monthly weigh in and progress.

I need help picking a title for the YouTube series though? Any suggestions?

Wow!!! I can't wait to watch.. Not sure on suggestions for a title, but I'm super excited to see them!!!

"The Looking Glass: Reflections My Life"

Congrats on your being chair now! And tell us about your cool food. The FM is always so much fun.

Oh I forgot that.. Congrats Olivia!! Sounds like this is going to be a good year for you!!!!

Thx ladies. At the FM I got peaches, pears, cherry tomatoes, and green beans. I have no idea how to cook the green beans but I bet I can google it online. I just know I like these kind especially cooked and eaten fresh.

As for the series I am having a lot more ideas. I am going to talk to my advisers on Tuesday because Monday is a Holiday. That is s a good thing because I have a lot of homework. Thanks for the name suggestion Julianna. I am thinking more about the name for the series of videos and to put a time limit on it. I need something short. I am thinking it's more about my last year in college and what I'm doing and what interests me. I could call it, "Olivia-The final year of college." I need something catchy. Maybe "My Senior Year!" or "Senior Class", or "Upper Classman" or "The Last Path to Graduation!"

So I spent the first day of my slim down in 30 wks staring into my fridge at the fresh fruits and vegteables thinking to myself there is nothing to eat here.

This is going to take some getting used to.

You know, you can take the green beans and stir fry them (quickly) in some olive oil and garlic with a touch of salt and pepper. I am growing black-seeded asparagus beans (a kind of yard-long bean) and I've been doing the same all summer-- soooo yummy. I've also been making fresh soups. Soups are cool as long as you use something low sodium for the broth and drink the broth... because all the minerals and vitamins you lose in the cooking process you recover in the broth. It's a nice change from fresh sometimes.

What color cherry tomatoes? I have these yellow marble tomatoes which are heavenly. They are tiny and yellow and look like marbles (ummm go figure lol) and I have one plant.. and it has over 300 tomatoes on it right now. I've been saving seed because this is such an awesome tomato and I didn't have the seed for it.

"Gate to Graduation"? Sometimes alliteration can sound really good in a short title.

LOL @ staring into the fridge. i do that!

Olivia, the segments sounds great! And your pickings from the FM sounds delicious. I'm not sure how to cook Green Beans, but yeah googling does do some good! I'll think of titles if one hasn't already been picked..

Have you guys ever tried out CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)? Here's the website: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

It's basically programs that you could register with local farmers to receive packages of fresh produce while keeping the middleman out -- also I heard the produce are much better than the markets. I'm thinking of trying it out once I'm more settled in my current situation.

I think I'll be around this thread more now: I think I gained extra weight (about 10-15 lbs) since the "recent events" in my life (Not eating much, so it pretty much messed up my metabolism).

Yeah, local harvest is way more healthy than non-local harvest. By the time "fresh" fruits and vegetables reach you in the store, they have been picked underripe (which means they don't have all the nurtrients to begin with), are likely a good shipping hybrid but not bred for nutrition, have been put to sleep in oxygen-less trucks for shipping (or containers), and are several weeks old... during these weeks, every day they sit still, they lose nutrients. Frozen, on the toher hand, is picked fresh and rip and then flash frozen within a couple of days... 2-3 at the most... from harvest. Frozen is way more healthy. Local harvest is, of course, the best. growing some of your own is even better-- even if you only have an apartment and need to work around things by using pots, it's still better. And for those who think they can't do it in a small yard...

http://pathtofreedom.com/

the above has some great tips... and I love their journal photos and gallery:
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/

The above really try to mostly eat out of their garden as well, which is awesome.

I AM IN!!!
And as some of you may know, when I posted here before, I am a certified personal trainer at a popular gym here in the states.
I just want to say that even trainers can fall off the wagon!
however, I have never let myself go for this long and this dramatically
amazing how long it takes to get to where you want and how little time to undo what you have accomplished
in one year I went from a size 4, 125 lbs to now a size 8 and I dont need to say how much I am now,
let's just say 20lbs in one year

I know exactly what it takes to get to where i want and it can be done
we need discipline in all 3 areas....#1 first and foremost is DIET..what we take in and how much..quality and quantity
#2 lots of cardio...the more fat you have the more you have to burn daily and take in much less #3 resistance training
I am sure we all know this and with Ramadan here I started feeling this was an easy way for me to lose weight however, this fasting is not a healthy way to lose...i mean not drinking water is very dangerous esp in heat of summer
we need water and not eating all day, then stuffing ourselves late at night is not going to help our metabolism
plus we all know you need to stop eating by 7 at the latest everyday..this helps weightloss alot

my most fit time was when i was a vegetarian and living in india
i stopped eating american style...no more processed, frozen, packaged, overly fatty foods
all fruits and veggies...some little carbs....i mean losing meat and carbs really worked alot for me
but i was so healthy
i would eat 6 times a day..like every 2-3 hours..this is really much more effective and keeps you satisfied
I didnt eat the chips, candy and take out foods...they just werent available
it is hard in our culture....i mean taking out meat you need to make sure you replenish those nutrients, mainly protein and vitamins lost when not eating meat. for me, i was barely taking in much dairy that time too
BUT dairy is so necessary for us, as women...bones, teeth and even for weight loss and management

we just need to take little steps one day at a time
dont cut out everything at once....choose one category at a time to eliminate
move move move at least 30-40 mins daily
even for me now, not working in a gym full time anymore has me strapped for time
and after 3 kids I know how hard it is and how long it takes to get into shape
for those of us who are so serious...you can make major changes in as little as 4- 6 weeks with serious dedication
good luck to you all
and i am not waiting for the new year to make my changes
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Oh I like that title! *Snag!* I may try stir frying the beans like you said. Then next Saturday I'll make a soup with a new batch of beans. I love sipping broths and it's getting colder here so soups are more appealing. I picked up the vegetable broth cubes at the store to make some soups with. Still trying to stick with the vegetarian theme. The cheery tomatoes were red marbles. I've been eating those up and their almost gone. I love tomatoes. Maybe I will do a cherry tomato plant in Egypt next summer on our balcony? Think I could smuggle some of your seeds?

Now getting myself motivated to finish all my homework and do some cardio at the gym today or the windsor pilates set I have at home? Hmmm... First day of exercise... Maybe I should take it easy on myself and start with an hour walk each day for the first two weeks conditioning myself for exercise again after not doing a routine for so long? When I tried the running program with couch to the 5k this summer I got shin splints almost right away.



Thx for the recommendation! I'll check it out. Glad you're going to be around this thread more now.

Oh wow! Great to have you too! I know what you mean. The last five years I've been gaining 20lbs a year too! The majority of the weight came on in the first year though. Now I'm saying the same thing, "Enough". When I lay down in bed I feel choked with fat. It doesn't make me feel very attractive to my Husband either. I remember my happy weight was in the 120 range as well and I was a size 6 but I was way more active then. I did something everyday and was in the best shape of my life. Now I'm older and way over my ideal weight. I just want to get to my ideal weight first which is 150 because that is what is recommended for my health wise. Once I'm in that range it will be my first real accomplishment. Then I am willing to go down from there to my goal weight of 135. If I am still feeling I could lose some then I would seek the 120 range. I may need to allow for adjustment of goals.

And, depending on how sneaky you want to be and what you want to say, you can choose Gate or Gait...

There are some really great vegan and vegetarian broth cubes without salt that i would try to look for... chances are you will add less sodium than they have in those prepackaged soups, and thus you'll be healthier.

You could totally smuggle some of my seeds-- or any seeds-- into Egypt How cool does it get at night when you're going? Tomatoes want 70-80*F weather at night to ripen.

You may want to work up to yuor exercising.. maybe do the walk and some mild resistence stuff.

Welcome Sandrilla!

I'll have to ask Waleed how cool it gets in the summer as I don't know coz I haven't lived there before during the summer. I think I will do the walk. What sort of things can I do for resistance?

Are you going to Alexandria? Cairo? It's Alex, isn't it?

Well, I'd start with 15 crunches, 20 side leg-lifts on each side, and 5 girlie (knees on the floor) push ups. See how you feel from there. If you haven't done things in forever, you may feel that's hard. if you are in better shape, you can repeat I think you'll need to work up some before you do more actual resistence, but body-weight exersizes are awesome.

I the kitties!!

Awww, thanks! I don't usually show them, i'm kind of protective over my kitties lol. It's Belfry, Ptolemy, and Mudpuddle from L-R, ages 5, 11, and 8 respectively

I love your Kittehs too...Ptolemy reminds me of my cat, Buddy...he passed away 4 years ago - but he really was my buddy. I always say, "There is nothing like a big ole orange cat!"

Ptolemy looks like a luv bug! Reminds me of my Frankie:) I had a tabby cat...his name was Fat Frank. I adored him He passed away from cancer...it was the hardest thing ever. I don't think there is a cat out there like him. (we always feel that way don't we?)

Funny story....when I used to order chinese food...the man that would come to deliver...every time he saw Frank he'd yell out in his Asian accent..."Ohhhh Mr. Lion (wyon) how you doing?" He was gigantic...so scary to most because of his size but a total luv bug. And the delivery guy would bring him treats so Fat Frank LOVED chinese food night!





OMGoodness....similar story

We moving to Hurghada which is on the Red Sea. We'll be in Cairo first and I think the wedding will be in either Cairo or Luxor depending on the family. Really I'm not planning it the family is doing it which makes it nicer for me. They just ask garden or ferry boat. lol. I think I want a wedding dress like I saw in todays daily thread of the siggy's. She looked like a doll!

Ok back to reality. I'll go do those exercises and see.

there really are so many things you can do in home without equipment at all
JUST YOUR OWN BODY WEIGHT
and when you are just starting out DONT STRESS YOURSELF TOO MUCH, dont make unrealistic expectations and just do what you can
work yourself up gradually
i should talk right? this has been the hardest, most depressing year for me
all this immigration, living without my husband and feeling so hopeless and helpless
well we can always take back our life and find ourselves again and that is what i plan to do
this ramadan...this is the time for me and thank god i came across this thread again
you all have motivated this sad personal trainer
isnt it true that you can give the advice but not take your own?
well now I just want to start to eat better and less and just do whatever exercise I can do when I can
I have started 3 weeks ago by simply walking about 3 miles a day on my lunchbreak
it takes about 40 mins...it makes me feel so much better plus getting the sun in too!
just little steps...nothing too stressful...right...breath in..breath out

Yeah, Ptolemy is a luv bug. he loves to sit on you at all times, sleep wth you, play tag, play chase, etc. He's gotten smaller a bit this year, and I can tell he's getting older now. He used to be about 16lbs but now he's more like 13-14... still a fine weight but I can tell he's slowing down. I had a cream-colored male before as a kid who died of toxoplasmosa when he was 12. I loved him so much.

Belfry, OTOH, gets very lovey and snuggley.. and is now almost 20lbs. he's kind of big too... like he's (Ok, I went and measured him lol) 26" long (head to butt, so not counting his tail which is 16" long) and 16" tall. WHen he gets really in a snuggley mood it's kind of painful lol...he's so heavy and he's all over you. Ammar made friends with them now, and when I asked him he said he wouldn't/couldn't eat them in an emergency because it would be like eating your friend. Awww. So, that's good. He also talks a lot and will talk for over 10 minutes if you answer him back.

Puddles is generally very quiet, isn't interested in being touched, but loves "fetch." He also loves sleeping under the covers with you.

Actually, I just realized it...Buddy's been gone 5 years. I was on my way to Mass and I had seen Buddy next to the driveway and I knew he was ok...well, when I backed down the driveway I hit him - he had jumped in front of the car. I didn't kill him instantly, but we had to take him to the emergency room and they put him down, as there was nothing that could be done for him. He was such a great cat, but my heart broke that night.

The coolest thing about Buddy was that I could open the door and call him and like a dog he would come running. He also would love to go on walks with my family - sometimes though when the walk went too long he would tire out - so, we'd have to throw him over our shoulder to take him home. Just imagine a 15lb housecat thrown over your shoulder. He was my greatest cat...and I almost don't want another one because he was just so special.

http://www.touregypt.net/climate.htm

According to the above, it may be too hot to grow tomatoes when you're there... they will grow just fine but either not set fruit or not ripen their set fruit. But! Never fear, you can try.. and we can find some awesome alternatives.

That was an Islamic wedding dress... they are pretty common and yu can find one over there really easily.

Good luck with your exercises!

Staashi...this was Frankie for me! He was 19 pounds and the size of a small moutain lion but hey...I loved his chunky monkey butt! Well, that just tells me there are other special kitties out there for us!!

Someday, when we're both ready we'll get new ones...I think you need one now to eat the scorpions.

Yay! Back to the gym today for me!

I started running this weekend! Hoping I can keep it up...I'd like to keep at 3 to 4 times a week.

Yay! What did you end up doing?

What if I grow them in the months between November and April? I remember their nights were not that cold there during the winter but then again I am from Idaho. I can prance around in shorts in 60 degree weather.

The wedding dress reminds me of old romance. Like Braum Stocker's Dracula costumes and renaissance era. I would loved that dress and the porcelain doll make up! This Egypt wedding is really more for his family anyways so I'm going along with whatever because it's just nice to have a wedding instead of the experience I had getting married in a smoke filled office over 20 months ago at the Ministray of Justice. I think doing another cultures wedding would be something interesting and fun!

I also dream of doing an American wedding during the morning in a Rose Garden with friends and family around and then a same simple lunch. We may do that here. If all goes well.

November-April looks perfect. Depending on what size balcony you have, you could actually have an awesome garden on there that you're also eating out of

I remember Islamic boutique used to have a really nice wedding abaya that i liked... but I'm not one for poofy dresses. my wedding dress (my actual one) isn't poofy at all

Our balcony may look something like this:

I had my bowel cleanse stuff for breakfast.

Then an apple.

And I walked a 1/2 mile to school in 20mins.

I also got the permission to begin production for the short films.

Woohoo sounds like it was an awesome super productive day for you!!!!

Good luck with the films!!!!

I have one crew member lined up. Now I better hatch out the preproduction if I can manage time inbetween any of this homework.

Congrats Olivia!

Jenn, how did your first day back go? I had mine yesterday (i inadvertantly took 4 days off-- the first two were because my muscles were in total exhaustion-- not sore really, but if I tried to work out at all they would just be soooo tired and burn-- literally it only took like 4 bicept lifts, squats, etc) and the second two days were just laziness.

I was watching something on TV with Ammar and it was on the military... airforce actually. Anyway, it was hilarious, because they were showing their morning workout and it is exactly the same as mine. He turned to me and asked me if i was secretly in the airforce

Tell him..."Honey, you didn't know I was in Mossad?" Then wink at him. hehe

Ooh, what's the airforce workout? I want to try!

Yesterday wasn't so bad, I thought I was gonna have a harder time getting back into it since it had been over a week since I'd been. But I managed a 3 mile run without too much difficulty. I didn't make it today though - I'm working to a deadline at work tomorrow morning, so I've got to get to bed now and go in early. Hopefully I'll make it for a run at lunch time tomorrow though.

I did spend 20-30 minutes tonight doing ab work, pushups, squats and whatnot, at least it was something...

We're moving into a new apartment this weekend that has a gym on-site. I can't wait to learn the machines - looking forward to something new!

I've been meaning to ask, and maybe you've explained it but I missed it. Olivia, what is this bowel cleanse stuff that you're doing?

LOL Staashi!

Jenn, your runner has smacked head-first into the pot of gold.

The workout I do evrey other day is an interval training thing... basically I do 90 sec cardio, 30 seconds strength, 60 seconds cardio, 30 seconds strength, 30 seconds cardio, 30 seconds strength of each exercise and then swtich to two new exercises. So I jump rope, do rows, jump rope, do rows, jump rope, do rows. Do weighted jumping jacks, do push-up, do weighted jumping jacks, do push ups, do weighted jumping jacks, then push-ups... then "speed skate" (have your left leg straight back, lunge forward on the right leg, touch the ground with your left hand... ok... so you take this pose and switch back and forth between left leg back/right leg back) and do tricep dips (where you dols on to a coffee table/bed/etc and dip your body down while your back is to the bed/table, then push yourself up), then squat thrusts alternated with "bicycling" (where you are on your back and lift your head with your arms behind it, take one leg straight out and off the ground, the other leg to the chest and try to touch opposite leg to chest-- this one you do for sixty seconds each time instead of flat 30s), then backwards lunge-kicks alternated with biceps, and finally jumping up from a crouched position alternated with plank-- one front, and one on each side held for 60 seconds each.

At first I was thinking like Jenn that I want to try this air force work out too and then I got exhausted reading your description of it julianna. You lost my motivation after reading what speed skate was. I felt all my will drain out of me and say I'm too fat need to take it slower for now! LOL I'll get there though but I've got a couple months and maybe 100lbs to work off.

Jenn this bowel cleanse really works! You do it for a month to three months and it's all natural and gives you energy. It's two parts. The part that cleanses your bowels takes three months and that is called Colonix. The part that cleanse your whole body and organs is called Toxinout. For the bowel cleanse I am doing the Colonix first. You take these anti-parasite pills first with a full glass of water on an empty stomache first thing in the morning when you wake up. Wait for 45mins for the gel capsules to disolve. Go shower get ready for the day. After 45mins take a scoop of fiber and mix it with pure water or orange juice or some liquid at least 8 oz. I have the fiber with water and shake it for 15 mins on my walk or sometimes stir till all the lumps are out and then drink it. A good thing I learned is it's best to put it in a refillable bottle so I can shake it on my walk to school in the mornings. This way after 20-25 mins when I reach campus I'm thirsty and hungery and so I suck down the fiber and water. It tastes like bananas and the texture is like oatmeal or cold cream of wheat cereal. It fills me up for breakfast so I am not hungry and cleanse me out during the day! At night before bed I drink this special herbal tea which I loveingly dub "Poop tea". The tea acts like a natural laxative relaxing the bowels to make for a nice smooth exit for all that fiber and depree of years of junk we collect inside of us.

About the 15th day I started noticing multi-colored stools and fascinating, shocking, gross, but intriguing things come out of me. I feel lighter, healthier, more energy. I love pooping it all out all the time and it makes my day so much better to have a satisfying crap. Ya know what I mean? You're not all constipated and bloated and feeling unhealthy and greasy and fat and fatigued? So many people don't pay too much attention to cleansing their bowels but their bodies become toxic from it. Especially if you're having a long period of unhealthy eatting, and sedentary lifestyle. That's how we grow fat with our unconcious choices brought on by the luxury of convience and being feed cheap and easy drive thru don't have to cook for yourself or really do any activity in your life but get by each day and mess around a little here and there.

I'm going to keep doing it and see how it goes but so far the results have been working great even when I started out with concerns and a little bit of skeptism. I'm glad I'm doing this and happy with the results so far.

OK! So this week's measurements are in and the weight thing is just driving me nuts!! I gained 2lbs back but still am shrinking inch-wise.

So far, I've lost:

Hips-- 3.5"
Waist-- 3"
Biceps-- 1.5"
Bust-- 1"
Thighs-- 2.5"
Calf-- .5"

I think I may be in the weight gain part of my cycle... if so, then next week's weigh-in should be better. I bought some size 8 pants, but now they are getting loose.. I lost my freaking size 8 jeans though. i have looked everywhere for them. Maybe they are in the junk room? Anyway, if I can find them and try them on, I'll have a better ideas as to how far I am actually coming. I was saving them as pregnancy jeans and then was wearing them... probably when i was actually a 10/12. it was bad. So, I tried them on about 3 weeks ago and they were OK... but barely tight. That's when I got these which were also kind of tight. Now they are loose and I want to know if that's because they ahev really stretched or if that 3.5" of hips has finally meant something. Girls at work said my butt is looking good. So, hopefully, whenever I can dig up those jeans I'll have a clue. Worst comes to worse, I'll break out the size 6 jeans and see how that goes.

Ok this healthy diet stuff sucks! I want pizza and cheese and grease and oil!

Eating raw vegetables suck! Any way I can get over this? I want to be healthy.

You could eat cooked vegetables LOL! Nope, no way out but you can cheat once a week.

By the way, where are my pants?!?! They are not in the junk room.