New Years Resolution

It depends on what your resolutions are.

For example, if one of them is to lose weight, you would report how much you've lost that week.
Exercise - if you've met your goal of how many days, how much time exercising you've done.
Following a budget - How well you followed it that week.
Depositing money into a savings account and not touching it - since most of us get paid every two weeks/twice a month, it would probably make more sense to report this every payday.
Fins - not making faces (probably needs to report that every day!) (lol).

I really like the idea of reporting periodically. It not only helps us to stay focused on our goals, but it helps us to be supportive of each other.

Right, and since most of them have something to do with debt, we're not losing sight of our objective here.

Exactly - that way no one can slap our fingers for getting off topic. LOL

Right! (However, if we get a little off topic, maybe they'll let it slide!)

It would be hard to stay strictly on topic since everything in our lives is affected by our financial situation. So, I feel that it might be o.k. to stray a little because we can express how overcoming our debt affects the other portions of our lives in a positive way.

Deb, Good point.

Okay, is everybody ready for New Year's? For those of us whose goal it is to lose weight, don't forget to weigh in tomorrow morning. For those of us whose goal it is to follow a budget, did you map out your budget yet?

On your mark, get set............

Budget mapped out and ready to go. Scale is already calling my name.

Lol, good job! Same here. The only thing I have to do is get a savings account set up, which I will have set up this week.

guess I'd better enjoy this cappuccino - it's going to be the last one I drink! I'm going to try and wean off of regular coffee and do decaf, and no cappuccino - too fattening. :(

that's ok, I'll feel better for it. :-) Going out to walk the dogs, back soon!

Good for you, Sue! That's going along with my diet - cutting out the caffeine. My daughter's boyfriend's dad and I agreed to that on Christmas. I'd better make a list!

Glad I walked the dogs when I did, it started pouring outside!

Back to resolutions - what is everyone that wants to lose weight doing? Any certain diet plan or exercise regimen?

I plan to cut way back on sugar, starch and sweets, including cappuccino, and caffeine. I will be drinking tons of water every day (some days it just kills me to do that), walking around the inside of the building at lunch, outside if the weather is nice, and using a kickboxing video I have here at home. And walking the dogs. Oh, and a salad at lunch every day.

Do you know that you could lose ALOT in just one week just by cutting out the pop? Most of that would be water, but that is weight loss none the less.

I'm going to alternate between having oatmeal and Cheerios with fruit for breakfast with soup and salad for lunch, switching coffee for herbal teas. I have a Kathy Lee video I'm going to alternate with exercising with free weights in my basement (with Sundays off).

I've heard that, too, Steelers. Instead of pop, I'm going to have home-made iced tea using herbal teas and cinnamon for flavoring.

I need to start drinking more water and laying off the caffeine, but I have a hard time doing that in the winter months :(

That's a very good point, Steelers, about the pop. I don't drink much myself - in fact, if I open a 20-oz bottle that most people can guzzle with a burger, it takes me 2 days to drink it. No kidding - 2 days. I sip it, put it back in the fridge, sip it a little later...I'm just not a big pop drinker, which is a good thing. Coffee on the other hand.... :roll:

Green Tea is supposed to be good for weight loss.

They have herbal green tea, don't they - without the caffeine?

yes, dbaker, I'm sure it's available.

Yes. And also fidgeting a little more when you are sitting down will increase your metabolism and the amount of calories you burn.

I really don't drink alot of pop either, but it's the coffee that I need. I have to have Tim Horton's coffee everyday. Last time I was there, which was yesterday, I bought a can of their coffee to bring home so I won't have to make trips there everyday.

I'm not really a hot tea drinker, but I do like iced tea :lol:

Green tea also helps you to have a natural boost when your sugar levels run low. I'm cutting out red meats and going with vegetarian-based meat. Keeping chicken and fish. Cutting out saturated fats altogether. Using up the last of my Herbalife products to get started, switching to salads for lunch. No breads. No pop again. Adding omega three capsules along with my vitamins. Omega three's attack the fat chain from the opposite end and you lose weight and inches faster. If you try it, fish oil is better if you can stand the fish taste afterwards or try flax oil.

I drink about 7 cans of Pepsi a day. It is the biggest vice I have and I don't want to give it up.

Wow - I can see where that would be a problem, Steelers. My biggest problem is that I don't exercise enough, and I drink coffee all the time. I'm drinking it now, matter of fact. :oops:

I guess I'm having one last hurrah before new years. LOL

P.S. can anyone explain why no more debtcc's being added to my posts? I'm going to the forum from the link in my e-mail and logging in, and have posted about 4-5 times already. I'd like to get to a point where I can donate if necessary.

Deb--

I know fish is good for you, but did you know that it contains mercury. Believe me, I know, I work for GE making light bulbs and all the employees have to have mercury tests every so often b/c of the mercury in the light bulbs. Long story short, I was almost pulled from my job and put in another dept b/c my mercury level was high. Come to find out, it was from eating alot of fish.

When you post to the pub, you don't earn any points. It's in the other forums you earn points.

LOL Suebee, I don't see my 7 Pepsi's a day as a problem, but alot of other people do! LOL

BTW, I'm not trying to discourage people from eating fish b/c I still do :D

Yes you are! Lol

Guess I have to be more selective about my fish. I was raised on the coast, so no way will I give up on my fish -- maybe just cut it down to be careful.

Oh yeah, I'm still learning how everything works, so thanks for the "heads up" on the debtcc points. I didn't know how it worked.

Steelers, This one place I used to work at, our supervisor had us stop working every hour (computer work) and do stretching exercises - not much exercise but it was better than nothing.

Deb, I can't stand fish, but I like the idea of flax oil. Also, I would make dishes that usually call for meat but just not put the meat in. I've done this with "beef" stew, chili, and lasagna. If you substitute the regular cheese with non-fat, these are very low-fat meals. My son also came up with making bean burritoes, using the fat-free refried beans, salsa, lettuce, fat-free cheese and fat-free sour cream (which is also great on baked potatoes along with a little bit of fat-free margarine).

Fish oil is supposed to help with depression. They sell it in capsule form and I'm sure in other pill forms as well.

So with the pills/capsules, you wouldn't get the fish aftertaste?

Depends. If you get Omega 3 capsules that have fish oil, you'll get ... not an aftertaste, but kind of like if you burp you taste it. Omega 3 capsules with flax oil have no effect from what I've experienced.

Flax and Omega 3 oils are VERY good for you. We don't get nearly enough of them in our daily diet. I plan on stocking up on the vitamins this month or next, too. Part of my get healthy plan.

Garlic is also good for your cardio health.

OMG, I work with this man and I swear, he must be eating garlic like it is going out of style. I guess he could be taking the pills, but his breath is out of this world.

Yeah, it can make your breath and sweat smell garlicy. Yuck.

Thanks for the tips on the Omega 3 and garlic.

Have you guys heard of a product called "happy camper"? You get it at health food store, it's a natural antidepressant.

OMG! No I haven't heard of Happy Camper. LOL. I don't mean to poke fun, but the name says it all! :D

LOL, exactly!! Hey, why not!! :lol:

I have heard of it but never tried it and don't know anybody who has tried it.

I have never heard of "Happy Camper". I'm a child of the 70's so that gives me a whole different interpretation of what that might be.