And hello, my name is Miranda. Of course, like most of us, I have been struggling always with my weight. I've been on a good roll here, though, for the last 10 months and am pleased. I've lost 30 pounds, but stuck now at my 155. I look pretty nice as a 155 thanks to the curves and natural muscle God gave me, but I know 140-145 would be a healthier weight for me to sit at. I do like to exercise, I love to run although my knees and feet protest, so I do it moderately. I use a treadmill, incline and walk/run intervals. I do a 30 minute Pilates video - goal of 2-3 times a week, currently not happening lol. I also am taking a hip hop/jazz dance class (2 hours 2 times a week) at school.

I'm 24, a full time student, mother of 2, married, and work 20-30 hours/week at McDonalds! lol, I do love my job, quitting is out of the question, but I also love chicken nuggets and eat them every time I work. I find it is not bad if I budget for it (IE a 10 piece has 420 calories, so I eat better earlier in the day to manage the 420 without gaining weight) but in the last week, I've been terrible and consuming an extra 500-1000 calories on days that I work on McFlurries and cookies. Forgive my openness, but I know it is PMS, as well as my natural tendency to binge, but it does concern me nonetheless.

K. Now you know my life story. Hello and does anyone have any tips for me?

hi and welcome to traineo and congrats on your weight loss!
can you look at the nutritional info and watch how the stuff is being made? maybe that would stop you from wanting it? can you plan to allow to have it in your diet occassionally? when do you tend to eat it?

It seems like you are pretty active aerobically, which is great! Get some dumbells and start doing a bit of weight training. There are tons of exercises you can do at home, without weights even. That will help tremendously.

I should also mention that you sound a lot like me when I was in college, except I didn't have kids! I can only imagine how busy your life is, and how stressful it can be at times. Stress levels increase the hormone cortisol, which unfortunately makes it harder to shed fat. Pilates is supposed to help calm your mind, too, right? You picked a good exercise! If you can't get around to Pilates as much as you like, try meditating (I know it sounds kooky) or something to help calm yourself, which will magically reduce cortisol.

Good luck!

It's funny, because I was just reading the thread on cheating (or treating), and I think the same rules apply here. Set limits for yourself. If you don't think you can limit yourself to one McFlurry a week or something like that, make it one treat per day (including your beloved McNuggets). Each week, cut back by one until you're down to one per week. You can probably manage to reach your goals (more slowly, or course) allowing yourself one of these treats during work per week.

The other thing you may want to do is announce to all your coworkers that you aren't going to be eating all that stuff anymore. You could even make it a game with them (like a swearing jar), where you have to pay out a dollar every time you go past your limits. Just knowing other people are aware of your goals often helps you stay in line better.

Ooh, I like that last suggestion about payment, Cindy.

I do like one of the things that Jeff always says about writing out your specific goals. It is one thing to have a goal of my limits in my head but I really think writing them down will help me stay accountable to them. I just posted a comment to the blog, and it is all about realism and yes I know McDonalds is bad for me, but it's like my cigarettes, almost at this point I have certain addictions, that i feel is unrealistic to completely eliminate it. But I do like the limit setting and writing out goals.

Thank you all for your responses!

I was just wondering how long you've worked at McDonalds. For two long winters I worked at an outdoor fish market. It's only outdoors during the winter, when the whether is cold enough to preserve the merchandise. But my point is I worked there when I was teen for about 5 hours every night and then 15-20 hours over the weekend. My dinner consisted of anything that fell on the floor or didn't sell after a few days (we cooked it so what's the problem?). At first, it was great, all the shrimp and fresh fish you can eat. I remember roasting shrimp across the top of the kerosene heater we had. Fun times. Now, I still get a bit nauseus when I walk past a fresh fish stand and I don't think I've had a desire for any type of fish or seafood in the 15 years hench, although I can eat it if it's offered.

I have worked this time for 2 months, but worked there for 3 years from 15-18 years old. I did good today, tho! Kept my calories where they should be!