So I started Alli over a year ago, I started at 250 pounds and lost 40! Then I left my fiance of 2 years and gained it all back and was right back to where I started from a year later. So here I am at the start of 2009 ready to start once again. I want the change to stick this time but I know I can't go it alone. I love my boyfriend but his memory is even worse then mine, so when I reach for that doughnut not only do I forget but he dosen't remind me either. I would love someone that could be my accountability buddy. If you need an accountability buddy to let me know and we could help each other lose weight and keep it off for good!

 Hi, I am in the same boat.  I started at 269 lost 42 pounds and my father passed away in May and I have had no ambition at all.  I restarted Alli last week at 255, I lost 5 pounds this week, but need to lose a ton more.  I would love to have an accountability buddy, that way I have someone to answer to about exercise or lack of and I think it would be fun to swap notes or helpful tidbits. 

My name is Linda and I live in Elyria, Ohio.  I am turning 41 tomorrow.  I have exercise equipment in my basement to use but have not used it yet.  I am tomorrow.

Hi punkybella, 

I want to congratulate you for making the decision to start fresh and over again in 2009! It is the best decision you can even make for yourself!  

The alli website is designed so that all alli customer's are provided with all the tools necessary for succes!  This includes communicating with each other, as well as specialists that can answer all of your health/wellness questions. 

Stay connected and plugged in! 

Best in health, 

Kelli

Hello Ladies!

First of all, Linda I grew up in North Ridgeville! How cool is that? I live in North Carolina now though...I am 34 yo. and have no husband or kids.

I would love it if we could all help each other with accountability! I can log in usually in the mornings every day except the weekends because of my work schedule (I could log in around 8pm). I need the most help with exercise accountability. I've been pretty lazy for the last few years. :-)

Do either of you have the Wii fit? Its a lot of fun.

Hello lilheather, I also use Wii fit and have a lot of fun using it! I also live in North Carolina. I am 22 years old college student. The exercise is what I need help with the most as well. What is the best way to stay in touch?

 Hey there Punky, I'm in the same predicament. I'm in the 250s and have a forgetful as heck boyfriend too! I would love to have more people to be accountable to. What is your check in day?

-Nneka

Oh yeah, and DDR Hottest Party 2 for the Wii is a killer. The additional hand movements along with the dance pad really work you out.

Hey, all ya'll accountability buddies!  I'm a newbie to the Alli posts, but I congratulate all of you!  You've done this once, so I know you can all do it again.  I'm my biggest critic and I beat myself up about slips, so I guess I am my own accountability buddy, but wouldn't mind it at all if I had some positive reinforcement.  I'm a bit older that you guys...I guess I'd be the 'motherly' type.  I have not begun yet...just purchased it.  I'll begin low fat tomorrow and start the capsules on Saturday, hoping I have no huge issues with side effects.  My check in days are fridays.  I live in Oklahoma...not nearly as gorgeous as North Carolina, but hey...it's alright.  I have no Wii, but I did just purchase a treadmill and have no problem with twice a day at an hour each time, which I'll be starting as soon as I can breathe again (terrible head cold).  Happy lifeplans to everyone and no one can defeat you but you...stay strong & determined and it will melt away.

 Can I join too ????  I live in Parma !!!  I joined Alli this month.  I just finished my official first week.  My weigh-in is on Wednesdays.  I'm allowed 1600 calories a day.  I started at 181 (5'5) and . . . as of today . . . I am 181.  I'm 50-something.  I haven't had any side-effects yet! I exercise 5 days a week during my lunch break - usually using a walking DVD.  I was on Weight Watchers in 2008 for 12 weeks.  I lost 10#.  My goal is 130lbs. 

I'm a "snatch and run" kinda girl.  I did so well yesterday, then I started dinner and sure enough . . . snatched 4 chicken wings and 2 choc chip cookies.  Before bed I had a sugar free Hot Chocolate.  Ended with 1780 calories.

Today, I made a really neat dessert - Chocolate graham pie shell, sugar free choc pudding, cool whip lite - only 1/8th slice !!  I'm at 1350 calories and about ready for bed.  It's the safest place to be . . .

I like to post in the evenings.

 You know Sandra...180 over your daily limit isn't a horrible thing, but eating way under can cause a stall.  When I plugged in my numbers and the site told me to eat 1800 per day, I totally disagreed with it, but I'll do what it says because I'm obviously not an expert or I wouldn't be on the program.  I'm in my 50's as well.  I've done Weight Watchers...Fat Loss For Idiots...Southbeach...if it wasn't too expensive, I've done it.  I could never maintain anything. 

Snatch & Run huh...that's too funny.  I'm just plain addicted to good tasting food.  I wish there was a pill you could take and there was no food.  That way, there would be no taste to crave or become addicted to.  

Parma...Italy...Michigan...Ohio?  Which Parma do you live in?

You did really well with the dessert though...you should feel proud of yourself!  I'd rather post in the evening as well...I get up at 4:45am, am at work around 7:30 and don't get off till 5, then there's the 33 mile drive home, 1 hr on the treadmill, cooking dinner and then...a post right before bedtime.  =)

Keep up the good work!   

Artgirl: HI there! Don't be too scared of the side effects. Stick to meeting your fat gram goals and you'll be fine. One day a slightly over did it with it with beef andI just had a little bit of a tummy ache.

Sandra, I know what ya mean. The longer I'm awake, the more I want to eat. The problem? I'm a complete night owl. I hope my late night snacking doesn't catch up with me tomorrow ( keeps fingers crossed).

I always post in the evening as well since things are slow on the job.

Ladies, as a man I have to tell you how disgusted I am by men who are so emotionally destructive toward women.

I know what you are going through because, believe it or not, some of us guys eat for comfort, too. From my expeience, trying to lose weight while enduring heart ache is like trying to swim up a waterfall. Quite frankly, until you are able to work out your life and heal from your wounds (and I know you can and you will), you don't have to be so hard on yorself about your comfort foods. You can have those munchies and that ice cream and all that jazz, and the ALLI diet plan CAN help you lose that weight while you cope AND eat. Many people will tell you to just frce yourself to stop eating so much - but you and I know that it just doesn't work that easy. There is TONS of stuff out there - yummy and tastey stuff that you can eat that has no or extremely low fat and no or low calories! And together with alli and your accountability buddies here, you can lose weight AND deal with the hurts and emotional needs at the same time. Just take a trip to a WHOLE FOODS or WALMART NEIGHBORHOOD supermarket (or your local supermarket if you you don't have the others) and just take your time to browse and read the nutrition labels. Check out the frozen diet desserts! And while you're walking around the store, bring some RoldGold pretzel rods to nibble and suck on - it just helps. Check out the delicious fat free yogarts... key lime pie boston cream pie, etc.....  toss in some low fat low calorie fiber cereal for a crunch! 

You can "comfort the flesh" while you "deal & heal" and still lose weight with alli and great food. But listen, you've GOT to deal with the pain and the self esteem. Every day that you feel bad about yoursef and your situation is a day lost from your life. I'm not going to tell you that you need to love yourself. People used to say that to me and I just wanted to hit them. But what I will tell you isthat you've gotto start respectingyourself more, and the way you do that is by stop talking to and treating yourself in a way that you wouldn't allow others to talk to you or treat you. And you can begin by telling yourself this awesome quote that changed my life, from actor Harvey Fierstein:

"The only thing I need from anyone (that's rght, ANYONE) is love and respect, and ANYONE who cannot give me those two simple things has no place in my life."

And a friend once said to me, when I had gven up on life, "Well, you obviously aren't going to kill yourself; and if you're aren't going to kill yourself, YOU HAVE TO GO ON!"

Tell yourself these things and believe in it, and with tim you will startto heal and feel good about yourself - and THEN you will dobetter as not muching as much. In the men time, while you heal, munch! Just do it wisely! Follow your alli diet for your fat gram and calorie targets, just aim for things with less fat and calories and that will allow you to eat more. I am NOT advocating over-eating. You DO need to wean yourself off of the cnstanteating - BUT there are ways you can do it without going cold turkey and losing your mind.

Here's a list of some food I bought just today. You'll see some awesome stuff you can munch on until you can get things under control. Just stick to your alli program! It's really brilliant.  

_________________

Here's a list of some delicious basic super market food and personal recipes with very low fat and calories. Please note that I am just an ALLI diet plan customer just like you and I do not work for any of these product companies, nor am I a nutritionist or medical advisor, yada yada yada etcetera and so forth. I just wanted to share this stuff.

BLUE BONNET LIGHT (1 tbsn: 40 cal/4.5g fat) I checked 22 butter, margarine and spread labels and fond this to be the absolute lowest - and it tastes exactly like butter.

WALMART'S GREAT VALUE BRAND'S 90 CALORIE CEREAL BAR in various flavors (1 Bar: 90 cal/1g fat) Totally delicious! The strawberry and blueberry are especially good. Perfect for when you have the munchies.

KRAFT'S LIVE ACTIVE CHEWY GRANOLA BAR in various flavors (1 Bar: 140 cal/3g fat) Perfect for when you are on the go. Very tastey.

LITTLE DEBBIE'S FROSTED GINGERBREAD MEN (1 Man: 90 cal/3g fat) Yummy snack.

ROLD GOLD PRETZEL RODS  (3 Sticks: 110 cal/1g fat) Perfect when you can't have a cigerette, or when you want to nibble while relaxing or watching TV but want to avoid a bag of greasy chips. Sucking on a pretzel rod also helps curb hunger.

TOSTITOS BAKED SCOOPS CORN CHIPS (14 Chips:  120 cal/3g fat) The texture of SCOOPS adds to the pleasure of the taste, which helps you focus on taste and how much you are eating and helps avoid thoughtless scarfing. The scoops shape also makes it easier to eat with dips - especially salsa which is fat free or dips made with fat free sour cream.

LA MEXICANA SALSA (5 Tbsp: 25 cal/0g fat) This is great tasting FRESH salsa usually available in the supermarket refridgerator cases near produce section. NEVER buy the junk in a jar.

For perfect salsa make your own! It's extremely easy. Here's my own recipe. Simply mince 5 tomatoes, 1 medium yellow or white onion, 1 green bell pepper, 2 tbsp garlic powder, 1/2 bunch of minced fresh cilantro (or 1oz. cilantro flakes if you're lazy like me), 2 tbsp salt, 2 diced green jalepeno pepper (remove the seeds to make it milder), juice of one squeezed lemon. Mix together, cover, refridgerate overnight.   

MAKE YOUR OWN AWESOME LOW FAT/CAL PIZZA WITH MY RECIPE:

1 - 6.5oz box of JIFFY PIZZA CRUST MIX (1/5 pkg: 140 cal/2.5g fat) follow simple directons to make the crust.

USE FRESH SALSA INSTEAD OF TOMATO/PASTA/PIZZA SAUCE!!! It's fat free!! Choose from the salsas above. 

USE KRAFT FAT FREE SHREDDED MOZERELLA CHEESE (Yes, I said FAT FREE!!) In your store's cheese section. Tastes fantastic! You'll never use the fat stuff again!  

ADD YOUR TOPPINGS (any veggies - but follow your ALLI diet plan if you use meats!!!)

WALMART GREAT VALUE BRAND'S 100% EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL COOKING SPRAY (1/4 second spray: 0 cal/0g fat) That's right, no calories or fat. Never cook with butter, margarine or oils again! And it's inexpensive! Believe it or not, this particular spray also tastes good as a butter/margarine substitute on bread and hot veggies!

CAMPBELL'S CHUNKY HEALTHY REQUEST GRILLED CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO (1 cup/half can: 140 cal/2.5g fat). The competition has NOTHING on this! 

CAMPBELL'S CHUNKY CLASSIC CHICKEN NOODLE (1 cup/half can: 110 cal/2.5g fat) Delicious.

BREAKFAST CEREALS:

POST GRAPE NUTS CEREAL (1/2 cup: 200 cal/1g fat) Also has a whopping 7g fiber.

KASHI STRAWBERRY FIELDS CEREAL (1 cup: 120 cal/0g fat) Only 28 carbs! - Wait.... you HAVE been watching your carb intake, too, on your ALLI diet, right? 

QUAKER OATMEAL SQUARES CEREAL - HINT OF BROWN SUGAR (1 cup: 210 cal/2.5g fat) Awesome cereal. But beware of Quaker's granola cereals - very high in fat!

You should be eating berries in your ALLI diet, so throw some in your cereal. Try dried cranberries which are excellent for your body. Use with rice or almond milk (see below) which are super low on fat and available at Whole Foods and some Walmart Supermarkets, or use fat free hormone free milk - never use store brand milk because they are filled with hormones which wreaks havoc on your body (guys, have you been wondering why your pecs are a bit, uh, feminine? It's partly from the injected cow horomes you've been drinking and eating in dairy!).... it's worth the slightly higher price. If you've never considered the specialty milks before and always make a bee-line for the store brand, now's the time to check it out!!   

RICE DREAM BRAND RICE MILK - VANILLA (1 cup: 130 cal/2.5g fat) Tastey.

BLUE DIAMOND BRAND ALMOND BREEZE ALMOND MILK - VANILLA (1 cup: 90 cal/2.5g fat) Scrumpious!

WALMART GREAT VALUE BRAND FAT FREE CREAM CHEESE (1oz: 30 cal/0g fat) Besides use for the typical stuff, use it to replace Ricotta Cheese in Lasagna or stuffed pastas, spread it on pizza dough before adding sauce, put in container and microwave for 20 seconds to make soft and stir in mashed avacado or garlic powder to make a fat free dip - and use it to replace sour cream (which usually tastes nasty when fat free).

KRAFT FREE RANCH DRESSING (2 tbsp: 50 cal/0g fat) Delish! Also makes a great dip for carrots and celery and even crackers. Did you know that celery has NEGATIVE CALORIES!!!

ANY BRAND FAT FREE YOGART (typically 8oz is around 100 to 150 cal with no fat) Various flavors. Yoplait has 2LBS containers for around $2-$3. Add berries or fresh granola (in produce dept.). Good for your ALLI diet breakfast or snack.   

LENDER'S EGG BAGELS (1 bagel: 200 cal/2g fat) Use fat free cream cheese.

CORN TORTILLAS (1 tortilla: 125 cal/2g fat) Use fat free olive oil spray (see above) and put Kraft Fat Free shredded mozerella and cheddar cheeses between two tortillas and fry in a pan and lightly salt for an incredible casadia! Corn tortillas last a VERY long time in the fridge. 

WEIGHT WATCHERS SMART ONES CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH SUNDAE (1 dessert: 170 cal/3g fat)

WEIGHT WATCHERS SMART ONES PEANUT BUTTER CUP SUNDAE (1 dessert: 170 cal/5g fat)

OMG!!! SOOO GOOD!! These both come in a two pack box in the fozen foods section.

HORMEL COMPLEATS - SANTA FE STYLE CHICKEN WITH RICE, BLACKBEANS & FIRE ROASTED CORN (1 meal: 280 cal/4g fat) Cooks in 90 seconds!

HORMEL COMPLEATS - CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS (1 meal: 260 cal/8g fat) Cooks in 90 seconds!

LEAN CUISINE FRENCH BREAD PEPPERONI PIZZA (1 pizza: 290 cal/8g fat) Want a quick and healthy pizza without making it from scratch (as described above), this is perfect for lunch, or eat half for a snack. Microwaveable  toaster oven.

LEAN CUISINE BAKED CHICKEN w/CORNBREAD STUFFING & WHIPPED POTATOES (1 meal: 240 cal/4.5g fat)

LEAN CUISINE GRILLED CHICKEN & PENNE PASTA w/ VEGGIES IN GARLIC HERB SAUCE & CARMEL APPLE DESSERT (1 meal: 330 cal/4.5g fat) 

WEIGHT WATCHERS SMART ONES CHICKEN ENCHILADAS SUIZA w/SAUCE & SPANISH RICE (1 meal: 290 cal/5g fat)

HEALTHY CHOICE MUSHROOM GRAVY ROASTED CHICKEN w/ VEGGIE MEDLEY, MASHED POTATOES, & REAL PEACH CRISP (1meal: 250 cal/5g fat)

 Sorry for the typos. The keys on my keyboard stick, and I guess they don't let us edit our posts.

Hey guys, just popping in. So, at the end of my first week, I'm 5 pounds down. I'm a touch disappointed because I weighed myself a few days ago and it was the same weight. I was hoping for one more pound off or something. That's what I get for weighing myself more than once a week. I think what got me was my adding more calories to my diet on day 3... I went from 1400 to 1600 because I thought I was more sustainable for me.

Logically, I know 2-3 pounds a week is the healthy pace. I just have to get that to sink in and be patient. This is a lifestyle change and not a fad diet, right?

Girl!  5 pounds at the end of one week is HUGE!  Be thrilled!!  I'm thrilled for you!  Yeah!

I'm leary of the side-effects, certainly.  I've heard horror stories.  It's good to hear some not so bad! =)

Just wanted a quick reply to you while I'm at work sneaking in on the board...yikes. 

To the guy who's posting (I'm so sorry, I didn't write down your name or I'd properly address you), I'll have to read yours after while...it's long and I don't think my boss would appreciate me taking too much time, but you sound like an interesting person and I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. 

I'll post more later...before "Biggest Loser".  Since I get up at 4:45am, I'm afraid my bedtime is around 9ish.

Genrouchan!  You go girl...You're doing it!  Never be disappointed in 5 pounds.  Talk later!

artgirl7681:

Girl!  5 pounds at the end of one week is HUGE!  Be thrilled!!  I'm thrilled for you!  Yeah!

I'm leary of the side-effects, certainly.  I've heard horror stories.  It's good to hear some not so bad! =)

Genrouchan!  You go girl...You're doing it!  Never be disappointed in 5 pounds.  Talk later!

 

 Thanks! Ya know it came to me while I was weight-lifting that I probably gained some muscle weight. Muscle ways more than fat, so I think I will disagree with the scale a bit as I gain more muscle :)

Keep a food journal if you haven't started one already and document your calories and fat grams. It'll help you keep everything in check and avoid those side effects. The worst I've had were some oily spots in the toilet after doing was I was going to do anyway (lol). I know you can do it!

-Nneka