Ana

Quote: Originally Posted by shannon Today is payday for me- and I know now how I'm going to spend some of the money- they are sooo cute!!! Thanks for posting!!!!! I just got my tax return so I might have to buy myself a little something too

mine spins a bit too, but in a weird way I kind of like it :S

thank you so much for this article! Its really scary

Quote: Originally Posted by sunnydaes Ana- Awesome tips! thanks i have a great margarine/butter replacement its called EARTH BALANCE. they sell it at Ralph's, before i used to only be able to find it at wholefoods. but its good for you! and tastes (well, to me) like butter. I love the info about Soy because i have quite a bit of soy in my diet, i try not to go overboard, but that info is nice to know. thanks for sharing Thanks for the info, I used to eat Verve when I was in Ontario...its a flax margarine replacement too and it was really tasty...but they don't distribute it here in BC I haven't been able to find anything else that is really organic and as natural but I'm going to Whole Food's now after work, hopefully they'll have Earth Balance (maybe I'll google it too). I'm so excited now! lol! p.s. I love this thread...and I love soy too, I love the taste. There are some good recipes in the nutrition package (which reminds me to go grab it now)

cool thanks for the info

a friend of mine who's a jewler said that if you have a problem with your ring spinning, you can have it shaped more like an oval than a circle. The oval shape prevents it from spinning.

wohoo its my day off! I've worked out for the past 6 days straight so today is my day to celebrate...with sushi and then marriage prep at the church

its all so cute!

Hi Bari welcome to the forum!

Quote: Originally Posted by dragonfly Running use to be my drug of choice. I was obsessed and was running a 6 min mile. Running got me through my divorce, the death of my father and the heartache of Nicole. I don't know what I would do without running. I have had to slow down because of a foot injury, that I need surgery on and haven't found the time to have, so now I run to blow off steam and for some time alone. I do these races called the Great Candian Running Series, in Toronto. Starts off with a 5 k in April and ends with the 1/2 marathon in Sept. They are a series of races that build you up with each race, you have your 5k, 10k, then a fun party kegger 10 mile, another light 5 k, and the final race either the half or you can just do 5 k. They are so much fun, you get to know people and it is great running down the middle of the Gardier express way in downtown T.O with people yelling and honking at you. I'm moving to Toronto come this fall, and I'm totally going to do that! Thanks for the info it sounds like so much fun

I love running! Its a great feeling, and you get to see so much when you're outside. I'm lucky enough to be in Vancouver now so I can run outside pretty much year-round...it was tougher when I was in university in Ottawa where it goes down to -20 or 30. I've never been in a race, this coming April 20th will be first 10k race. I'm also training for a half marathon. I'm running aprox 10k every other day, and once a week on a Sunday I'm doing a longer run between 16-22k. I really enjoy it though! Now that I'm actually trying to lose some weight I'm adding sprints to my usual 10k and keeping my fingers crossed that in combination with the gym cardio and toning should do the trick.

A friend is someone who loves, understands and respects you. Your friend doesn't sound like she does has any of the above. I think although its tough sometimes to just let go of a friendship, in life we are faced with all sorts of revelations and we need to adapt. If she doesn't respect you then how could she contribute to your life. Just ask yourself "how does she ADD to my life?" if you can't answer it then I think you should do what alot of other girls on the forum are suggesting, and just let her go. Maybe she needs some time to mature.

Quote: Originally Posted by NewOrleansbride I understand that for most traditional weddings the grooms family and the brides family get a certain number of invitations. However, since we're having a destination wedding and we want to keep it small and intimate, my fiance and I only included the people that are closest to us. My fmil asked me last week when she should send me her guest list (she knew that I had already sent out the save the dates). I tried to explain that we already had the guest list completed (a lot of her friends are invited), but she did not seem to grasp the concept that we want our wedding to be small. So, my question is... did I break an etiquette rule by not giving his mom a certain number of spots on the guest list (by the way... they are not paying for any part of the wedding)? I don't think you broke any rule at all. Its your wedding and you can do what you want. Also, if she was paying for any of it then I think she might have a bit more say, but since they aren't then I definately think that its 100% your decision. She should be curteous and understanding.

they're beautiful

they're so HOT!

OMG I'm so sorry hun. But honestly, everything will work out for the best I'm sure of it. We're all thinking of you.

that is super weird, I haven't heard anything about this. Maybe you can call the Mexican Consulate and ask to see if its valid

I'm using Deena Abadiano for my cake, and doing a cake test in the summer. Here is her website! Sweet Dreams Special Occasion Cakes, Los Cabos, Mexico

woo! cute! thanks

Quote: Originally Posted by JamaicaBride062108 I listen to primarily techno when I do my cardio. We have XM and you can record the radio and play it on your MP3! I don't know how it works, that's FI's job! See if you can find some house music or something with a strong beat to keep you going! Latin/Salsa is also a good way to mix things up! Yup I'm the same. My main song's/artists right now for workouts are: 1)DJ Tiesto - Live@ Cream Amnesia Ibiza 2005 2)anything by Madonna 3)anything by Brittany Spears (she's crazy but the music is awesome for working out!) 4)Scream by Timbeland ***just listen to something that gets your blood pumping and makes your want to get up and move

Quote: Originally Posted by BillysBride Thank you, BFB. Girl, we as women need to get over this constant comparing ourselves with what we see on t.v. Those heffa's have been nipped, tucked, airbrushed, peeled, suctioned and augmented to the nth degree and here we all sit looking at them, then in the mirror thinking we are unnatural. Something is VERY wrong with that. I refuse to starve myself. Am I happy with my body? Ofcourse not. It needs some tweeking, but I'm not about to tell myself I need to be a size 2 to be gorgeous. Some women are simply not meant to be single digit sizes, and I'm one of them. I ain't been a size 6 since I WAS six, so I'm not sitting around the house trying to figure out how to go back to that. I had some medical issues about a year ago, and got down to a loose fitting size 10...people kept asking me what was wrong with me. I looked gaunt, emaciated and just plain unhealthy. This was the weight loss, not the medical problem that caused it. Once I gained about 10lbs back, everyone noticed and stopped even worrying about me even though I still had problems with my thyroid (mine was HYPERactive instead of sluggish, so my metabolism was in overdrive). I've always thought the Marilyn Monroe's of the world are far more beautiful and womanly than the Twiggy's. I hate it that America has done this to the female population. Its mass brain washing I tell you! Not that theres anything wrong with being skinny. If thats your body type, then rock it. If its natural for you, then chances are you look good that way. I've just never understood the entire mentality of DYING to be "thin" or "skinny." In fact, I remember someone calling me that in college, and I got offended! I need my pumps and a bump....as Latifah says, "Its a curvation nation!". I'm a 14 now, but a 12 dress size. Its my hips that keep me outta of 12 pants, and they are not going ANYwhere, ya here? So I'm trying to tone up, and lose this damn pooch I have. I can't even blame my kids for it, I had it before. They just made it a little bigger, so not really their fault. hahahahaha My wedding goal is to have SOME type of abdominal definition. You know, that outter rim women get even when they don't have the six pack? Ya, thats what I'm going for. Pooch reduction and a little ab definition as well as having thighs that do not jiggle when I run scantily clad down the beach. Because, honey, let me tell you..I WILL be running scantily clad down the beach. With no shame. And my man will love it. Y'all all need to do it. She'it, have you been to the beaches outside of the U.S.? If you see what some of those European women are working with, and showing off, you will stop feeling so bad about yourselves. ((shudder)) Y'all stop dogging yourselves. For real. Please. Obviously, you have men that think you are the cat's meow and sexy as hell or they wouldn't be tying themselves to your "fat" asses in the first place. I guarantee you, the only person thinking you are fat (other than Hollywood) is you. Well said!!! I love your post!

Take a look at this post, it might help you too, or give you a bit of encouragement. I posted some tips from my nutritionist on there too, and tomorrow I'll scan and email a mealplan recipes etc... that the nutritionist gave me. There might be something there that you might find helpful or inspiring. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t18486

Oh I remembered two more things: - stay away from margarine (its plastic in soft form...horrible for you) and try not eat butter too. If you can find a Flax based margarine then that would be good, and/or put a little bit of olive oil on your toast instead - you need fat to burn fat. Just make sure you replace the bad fats (like cheese, sunflower oil etc...) with good fats like almond butter, olive oil

Quote: Originally Posted by arhoyaltres I've been frustrated with my weight loss plan as well. I wouldnt go dress shopping until I had lost 10lbs. Well I lost 8lbs and now want to lose an additional 5 lbs for the bikini I'm wanting to get into, but seem to be at a stand still. I've changed my diet & increased workouts, but I cannot seem to lose weight. I used to be a soda addict & have heard the stories that if I cut that out I could drop a lot of weight. Well, I've cut sodas out completely and have replaced it with water, but still didn't drop the weight that I want. I'm just trying to stay committed and hope that I will be okay...especially since my wedding is soon after Thanksgiving. I might need to lose a couple of more pounds for that. You shouldn't worry too much about the extra few pounds just because if you're working out alot you might have put on some muscle..and muscle weighs more than fat. Have you tried maybe eating a bunch of healthy snacks and food all day long, so every hour have something, an apple a granola bar etc...? when you eat often you increase your metabolism and you're less likely to eat a high calorie meal all in one shot. I'm going to post a few of the tips that my nutritionist gave me which won't be in the book with the meal plan, recipes etc: 1) don't eat any food for about 12-14hrs between your dinner at night time and your breakfast in the morning. it takes on average about 14 hours for your body to fully digest all the food in your stomach. This helps to regulate your food intake as well and you'll see that you feel better if you eat your dinners early and not right before you go to bed 2) its good to kickstart your metabolism in the mornings and to cleanse your system. Take half a lemon and squeeze the fresh juice in a glass, then fill about half the class with water. Drink this on an empty stomach. This helps flush out the toxins in your system and speeds up your metabolism for the day. Within the first few weeks of doing this you might notice a bit of breakout on your chin, face etc... also you might find that you sweat more. The reason for this is that your body has many toxins in it, and your skin is the largest area through which they can be eliminated. **note: use only fresh lemon juice, don't use the pre squeezed stuff** 3) plastics make their way into our system through a variety of ways, and the female body recognizes the plastics as estrogen and stores it as fat. The "estrogen zone" is the area of your stomach, butt and thighs that generally collect fat on a woman's body. If you have issues with these areas then these next tips might help you. Be aware of plastics entering your food and try to stay away from things that could have it in them. - don't reheat your food in tuperwear, rubbermaid, plastic containers in general...when you do this, small traces of plastic are secreted into your food and you ingest it - you can store your food in plastic containers, but wait for it to cool completely before putting it in. Take it out to reheat. - if you drink milk from plastic containers, bags, cartons (lined with plastic) you're also ingesting alot of plastic. Milk is put into these containers while hot, and some of the plastic melts into it. If you can buy your milk in glass this is the best way to do it 4) soy milk and soy based products are amazing for women. Soy is not only a good source of nutrients but its also recognized in your body as a plant estrogen. It is natural and helps your body eliminate the fake plastic estrogen that might be stored there. Also, it helps you to burn carbs quicker. The soy molecules stick to the carb molecules (I forget the proper name for it :S ) and help pull them out of your system. YOu should be drinking about 1/2 a cup a day of soy milk, at least. Be aware of sweetened soy milk though, if it doesnt' say that its unsweetened then it has sugar in it. Anything high in sugar isn't good for you. 5) anything in excess, sugar, carbs, etc... are going to be stored in your body as fat, so keep it all in moderation 6) its good to eat WHOLE foods. For example, if you eat a potato eat the skin too, if you eat the apple eat the skin as well etc... Each food as a whole has all the specifications needed to be able to help you properly digest it and also eliminate it. That means that when you eat a whole potato for example it will be digested and properly eliminated, if it isn't then the extras will be stored as fat. 7) eat whole grains, and seeds (not roasted or salted). Try to eat about 10 almonds a day, they contain the proper fats needed for your body. Also its good to eat the seeds "alive". What it means is, before eating them try to soak them in water for about 10min. This wakes them up in a way and makes them active. When you eat them this way you get more out of it. try to eat everything organic if possible. Non organic food contains extra medicine, antibiotics, nutrients, vitamins etc... you don't need these extras in your body. The extra antibiotics and so on are turned into fat by your body, so try to stay away from it. 9) try to eat something every hour, even something small, it will help to keep your metabolism raised throught the day. It will also prevent hunger and cravings, so you'll eat less as a whole and are less likely to binge 10) drink lots of water...if you're also excercising try to add another liter or two to whatever your'e already drinking. Some cravings that you think are for food are actually cravings for water. It will help you stay hydrated, less hungry and also help your skin out. Don't wait to be thirsty before drinking water...if you're thirsty you're already dehydrated. Remember also that you need water to process some of the food in your system. 11) eggs are good for you but in hardened form they turn into bad cholesterol. Don't eat hardboiled eggs, omlettes etc.. The best way to eat an egg is soft boiled. The hardened yolk is a source of bad cholesterol for your body and is in turn stored as fat (like everything else) ...I think that might be it, I can't remember if I forgot anything...I'll add it in later if I remember.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pisces Ana, I'd be really interested in seeing your nutritionist's plan if you're willing to share. I don't think I could survive my workouts on only 1200 calories per day. That was the only thing about that article that I didn't like. Everybody starts from a different place, so I don't think we should all be cutting our calories to the same level. I will scan and post it tomorrow. I meant to grab it on my way out to work this morning, but I didn't have a chance. Anyways I really like having it. Its not so much for following step by step because it can get a bit tough, but it provides good guidelines for what to eat, what quantity and at what frequency. Plus it gives really good recipes and substitutes etc.. Also, I don't know if anyone else has heard of this book, or if its available in the US, but its called Anne Lindsay's New Light Cooking Amazon.ca: Anne Lindsay's New Light Cooking: Anne Lindsay: Books Its a wonderful book! (pretty much my bible) It was written in cooperation with the Canadian Medical Association and a registered dietician. The great thing about it is that it provides light cooking options but it gives you tips for substitutions depending on your diet or preference etc, it also gives you the nutritional breakdown of the dish just like on the food products at the supermarket. Its a great educational tool and has information on all the different food groups, diabetes, cholesterol, and at the end it gives you a chart to determine how many calories you should be consuming. The recipes are great too, and they don't taste like they're low in fat. I found this to be really helpful on a day to day basis, because I can really control what I eat now and I know exactly what I'm putting in my body.