If you are serious about wanting to exercise, you can often find FREE exercise
equipment on craigslist.org.  I just looked, and in my area someone's offering a
treadmill, and another person posted a nordic track machine.

There are also freecycle groups here on Yahoo, which exist for the sole purpose
of finding new homes for unused items - all free.  You might want to go to
freecycle.org and sign up for your local group to see if anything pops up.

Kirstie
Moderator, SpecialK Group

--- In SpecialKgroup@yahoogroups.com, "st_kwhite" <st_kwhite@...> wrote:
>
> > Also if anyone has tips on daily excerices? I used to walk, but I don't feel
comfortable doing that at night by the time I get off work, and with student
loans looming, I have no money for a gym membership!
>
>

Hello everyone,

I stay in the Phx AZ area.  I joined this group to help get the motivation and
the support I need to lose weight.  I am currently 5'2 and I want to lose about
200lbs.  I was in a car accident back in last Aug and then I was doing good at
keeping on track.  Well because of the accident I was in a wheel chair for about
5 months and just recently being able to walk fully about 75% range of  motion. 
I gained about 30lbs after the accident because I wasnt allowed to walk and
stuck in a wheel chair.  I will be going back for surgery again here soon and I
dont want to gain another 30lbs while I am stuck in a wheel chair again.  I also
want to be able to do some sort of exercise and eating right that will stick
with me even after I am fully recovered.  I figure starting on the Special K
diet will and sticking to it while I am less active will help either lose weight
or at least keep it at a stand still.  After I am recovered I want to really get
back into doing what I need to do.
I would love any support I can get and I would love to help support anyone else
out there.

Hello Nicole,

You've taken the first big step by starting on the SpecialK challenge.

Good luck!

betty

------

   Hi my name is Nicole fuller and i need some help with my weight I have three
wonderful girls and ever since i have my last child last year I've been having
trouble in losing weight so Im going to try the special K challenge wish me luck
and I'll keep you posted

Hello everyone

Im hailing all the way from Asia so you must imagine how hard it is to get
Special K products here (ugh). So far I can only get the cereals (original, red
berries, vanilla almond and cinnamon pecan). So im just planning to use thesed
for plan. Any suggestions so that I may not die of hunger?

Tha nk you and a looking forward to all your support.

Kelsey,

STOP!  Take a few deep breaths.

The fast food places have healthy foods choices as well as junk food.
The decision is yours.  Good luck.

betty



-----
   It took some serious changes in my lifestyle and eating habits but I am where
I want to be and have been for a couple of months! The problem is that with
graduation coming, and two jobs, I have lost the time to cook healthy meals and
have slipped back into fast food! I am trying to find healthy and quick
alternatives for snacks and meals in between jobs.

Hello,
Thank you for the website "dailyburn."  I have registered with them.
I'm only on maintenance, but have a heck of a time with it.  Have a
terrible sweet tooth.

Night time is my worst time.   That's when I want to start snacking,
and of course, on the wrong things.

betty


----
   Please checkout http://dailyburn.com it is a exercise.diet site that has diet
and exercise logging, most of the foods are pre entered in their database so you
just tell them what and how many servings you ate.

   There is a "pro" (paid) option but a lot of the goodies are free.

   You can keep track of your exercises and your meals very easily.

   Dave (I am not affiliated with the site other than a non paid membership)

Hi all, My name is Amy and I live in Alaska.  I decided to do the Special K
challenge starting today.  I bought cereal, protein meal bars, protein shakes,
the iced tea and lemonade drink mixes. I get that you should eat cereal for two
meals and one regular meal.  And then 2 snacks can be bars?

Does it matter if the snacks are the meal replacement bars or are there "snack"
bars as well?  Where do the protein shakes fit in? I bought some of these and
tried the chocolate and liked it. Can I have those for a meal and/or a snack?

Thanks, oh and I have about 15-20 pounds to lose. I am 5'6 and weight 155. I
would be happy to get back down to 135.

Amy

Hello everyone,
  I'm new here and thought I would try this diet out. I'm gonna start it this
Monday.
  I baught 1 box of cerial and I baught the protein water and the shakes just to
try a little bit of it out to see if I even like it. I just wanted to find out
when I should drink the shakes and the protein waters. Are those replacemnet
meals?

  Thank you,

Christy

Hello,
  I just baught a few things to start the Special K diet. I have never done this
diet but I have been on the Medifast diet. While it does work, I couldn't be on
it because it gave me such headaches. So I came off it and the freedom kicked in
and I'm sure I have have put back the 15lbs I lost. The food was expensive and
it was not tastey!
  So I thought I would try this diet. When do I drink the shakes and the protein
waters? Are those replacements until u have dinner? (That's how I'm gonna work
it, eat lighter at dinner time)

Thanks,

Chris

I am just starting today.  I need to loose about 25 pounds.  Does this really
work?  I need something that I can stick to as I seem to get unmotivated after a
few weeks.

Hi,
I was downsized in November after 29 years with the same company. I am
overweight-really overweight...need to lose 200 pounds.  I have osteoarthritis
in my knees and its hard to walk and going up and down stairs is nearly
impossible.  I went to a doctor regarding my knees and he told me, go get a
gastric bypass operation and come back when you lose 100 pounds, then I can give
you new knees. You think that would motivate me to lose weight..all it did was
make me more depressed.  Then in November I got downsized, and trying to get a
job and being overweight is a joke, nobody wants to hire a fat person with bad
knees. I am an intelligent woman but I know people have that perception of
overweight people being lazy and sloppy.  I need to do something, but am having
a hard time getting motivated. I know what I need to do, but can't get motivated
to do it.  I am limited as to what exercises I can do, but there are still ways
to get moving...even if I start by doing chair exercises.  Help!  I have 2
children to think about. I want to be around for them!

Hello,

Your message raised an issue that I believe is also a concern for many here.  I
felt for you when you said that you were very depressed and couldn't take this
weight anymore.  It is worrisome.  The anxeity seemed great, you felt like you
were about to lose your mind. This is serious!

These negative emotions, depression, anxiety, frustration, and in some cases,
shame, guilt, embarassment..., often come along with our weight and our
struggles in losing weight.  I call it our "mental weigh".  This by itself could
make our lives less than what it could have been, let alone the physical
problems themselve. In some sense some of us feel like our whole life is
preoccupied by our weight problems, like we seem to be defined by our weight by
others, or even by ourselves, often subconsciously. This is not healthy.

I have long been thinking that a "mind approach" to weight problems is just as
important as a "physical approach". We want to safeguard our self identity and
not to let it, subsciously or not, loss in our weight problems. We want to
safeguard our lives and our emotional health, not to be preoccupied or
overwhelmed by just this one aspect, our weight. I know it is hard, and first of
all it is not our fault to have those negative feelings.  It's just a concern.

But we are valuable beings, much more than what our weight could describe us. 
There is the new and increasingly popular idea in psychology that we each have a
unique set of "signature strengths" in our core, strenghts such as "capacity to
love", "kindness", "gratitude", "citizenship", etc.  And that should be the
defining elements of each of us as a human being. They even have instruments to
find that out for each person, and can help us excise those strenghs that,
according to the top researchers in the field, could make us authentically
happy.  This same field, www.positivepsychology.org, also have mapped out
strategies to increase our positive emotions. These strategies could be used in
our daily life to counteract the negative feelings we often feel over the weight
issue.

An article on Suite101, "The mental health effect of obesity", said,

"... taking care of your emotional and mental health is one of the best things
you can do for your body and life."

I totally agree.

So, taking a "mind approach" might be one safe way, to reduce  our "mental
weight" at least, and it might even work to reduce our body weight, as I believe
we want to build a full and thriving life even facing weight problems.  And with
a full and thriving life, the weight problems would have a better chance to
shrink, literarily, away...

Hope these thoughts help somewhat.

Best,
Jane


--- In SpecialKgroup@yahoogroups.com, "breann1210" <sbell1223@...> wrote:
>
> I truly need to know a healthy way to lose weight. I really need to lose about
90-100lbs. I am very depressed and I can't take this weight any longer. I feel
like I'm about to lose my mind. Is there truly a healthy way to lose wieght?
Something that really works and that's safe? Please help!

I am new to the group. I am 33 w/ 4 kids. I want so deperatly to loose weight. I
am 5 3" and we weight 233. I play softball and run my kids every where. That I
almost have no time for myself. I this week was only eating salads for lunch and
dinner. There is only so much grass you can eat. I hoping that this will work.
To be part of group, having that support will make it all that so much easier.

Hi missedwish, My name is Sharon and i also live in Clinton Twp. maybe we could
partner up for tips and walk. I just recently found out about the new park on
Moravian in between Cass and Harrington; it has a nice trail. Let me know if you
are interested. My weight loss goal is to loss 50-60lbs by Nov for my 40th
birthday and after reading alot of the special k blogs i know i can do it.
Please write back my e-mail address is heysalboo@.... Good luck!

________________________________
From: missedwish <missedwish@...>

Hi the only truly healthy way that I know of is to watch what you eat and count
your calories. I recommend a food journal I used one in high school and lost 20
pounds pretty easily since I was aware of what I was eating. I understand your
struggle though. Now in college, I've gained quite a bit of weight and I'm not
even living away from home. My goal is to lose 60-65lbs. I need to do this for
me, my self esteem, my little sister and my health.

I live in Clinton Twp, MI

---Lauren

I have seen them at walmart

--- In SpecialKgroup@ yahoogroups. com, "je000644" <je000644@.. .> wrote:
>
> Hello All,
>
> does anyone know where i can find the above mentioned? i tried shoprite and
they had the cereal and the snack bars but not the protien stuff.

Hi my name is Nicole fuller and i need some help with my weight I have three
wonderful girls and ever since i have my last child last year I've been having
trouble in losing weight so Im going to try the special K challenge wish me luck
and I'll keep you posted

Hey Yall,

I'm Kelsey and I just joined the group today so I'm doing my intro! I am
twenty-two years old and at 166 lbs. and 6 ft. tall I'm pretty happy with where
I am at! (No I did not play basketball... I'm not that coordinated :) and yes I
realize that is very tall for a woman, I love it!)

Anyway, I joined the group because I have not always been at that healthy
weight. Without going into a huge life story, let's just say the Freshmen 15
people joke about in college was not such a joke for me!
It took some serious changes in my lifestyle and eating habits but I am where I
want to be and have been for a couple of months! The problem is that with
graduation coming, and two jobs, I have lost the time to cook healthy meals and
have slipped back into fast food! I am trying to find healthy and quick
alternatives for snacks and meals in between jobs.

I like the Special K cereal and the meal shakes are decent... but I like
variety! Any tips or advice or even fast recipes would be greatly appreciated!

Also if anyone has tips on daily excerices? I used to walk, but I don't feel
comfortable doing that at night by the time I get off work, and with student
loans looming, I have no money for a gym membership!


---Thanks!---

Hi my name is Tiya and I new to the group

I am 33 years old with three kids, 2 boys ages 11 and 5 and then a 15 month
girl. So I am trying to get back to my prebaby weight before I had all my kids.
I am 5'6 and I weigh about 194. I want to get down to 150-160 by November 2009.

I eat 5 mini meals a day, that is eating breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner,
I don't eat after 7:30 pm. This month I really started to add more protein to my
diet, such as nuts and fish. I drink about 80 oz water and 16 oz of tea
everyday. I workout 5-6 days a week during Taebo, or on my orbitrek for one
hour.

I haven't weighed myself for the past couple of weeks, I am shrinking because I
can tell by the way my clothes are fitting me. I used to way myself daily but I
was going nuts I rather weigh myself once a month, and I figure as long as I am
losing inches, that is more important. I want to get size 8-10. Right now I am
14.


--- In SpecialKgroup@yahoogroups.com, "Summer Swindell" <summer_breeze_1985@...>
wrote:
>
> hey.....i too am about 5'6 and wear a size 14-16 roughly about 200 pounds...i
have actually lost six pounds! the thing with losing weight is portion control
and what you put in your mouth. i try and stick to wheat foods brown rices and
no red meat. instead of hamburger i use ground turkey. also fruit and vegetables
are the key. if i have a sweet tooth (which happens often) i eat a small bowl of
low-fat yogurt and grape-nuts. i bake a lot of chicken and keep the soda to a
glass a week...i hard..we just dont buy it when we go shopping. i hope this
helps. also kraft.com has good healthy meal plans
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "ayannavaughn" <ayannavaughn@...>
>
> i am 5'5/5'6 not too sure. i wat to lose weight but dont wat to bee too
skinny. i love my butt but want to tone it up. i have big arms and want to slim
them down.
>

--- In SpecialKgroup@yahoogroups.com, "soroush hazardastan" <tribble_boy62@...>
wrote:
>
> I love sort and bussiness,
  Good Morning special k'ers, its 7a.m where i live and i just got done getting
ready for work. i go in at 7:30. and since my job is is only a 7 min drive, i
have time to get on her and great all you people. i just wanted to say that i
read so many topics in here that i have always related to and i admire every
single one of you! with my reaching over 30 pounds of weight loss now ,i look at
myself and think, i can do more. Do you ever feel that way?? yesterday and the
gym i burned more calories in half an hour than i ever have before.Have you ever
pushed yourself just alittle more??? well all i wanted to do was start a topic
and let everyone know that you are all very strong minded people,and to the ones
that get frustrated and confused, i think you are the strongest,not only for
what you do, but because you come on here and ask for help, so you have more
courage than you think.so im gonna leave you now with hope you have a good
morning and a good day. ill check up soon, so get back to me.

yes linda we can we can do this together.

--- On Wed, 7/1/09, linda <lincin12095@...> wrote:

I am getting desperate, I don't like the way I feel or look. Msybe we could
buddy up. I live in upstate New York and maybe we could provide inspiration to
each other. If you are interested I will give you my email and we can
communicate that way. Linda

It is really very difficult for me, I have been trying for quite a long time, I
am nearing my 46th birthday, and it has gotten real stressful to stay on the
programme, I try to watch what i eat , i have gotten a professional fitness
trainer to give me a good exercise routine, but I am not as consistent as i
should, i am a single parent  and self employed with a very demanding retail
business that take up all the days of the week, i try to do my exercise early in
the morning, by 430 am i am up getting ready to start , which last for one hour
a day.  My metabolism has slowed down tremendously, I am thinking of getting a
good herbal energy booster, that is medically safe in order to assist me with
this situation. Can anyone help me with this situation, its really very rough to
keep at it

Please checkout  http://dailyburn.com   it is a exercise.diet site that has diet
and exercise logging, most of the foods are pre entered in their database so you
just tell them what and how many servings you ate.

There is a "pro" (paid) option but a lot of the goodies are free.

You can keep track of your exercises and your meals very easily.

Dave  (I am not affiliated with the site other than a non paid membership)
--- In SpecialKgroup@yahoogroups.com, Samantha Sutton <samanthasutton@...>
wrote:
>
> It would help if you kept a food chart of what you are eating that includes
the calories, fat, etc. with the water intake along with the minutes that you
exercise.
> Sam

Hi Ladycheetah, I'm Sharon from Mi and i just got started 6-29 and would like to
lose 50-60lbs! Now i'm no expert but i think that you should try to follow the
special k food plan, because alot of the things you have on your food diary for
the week don't seem too healthy.  I'm not trying to be mean but we have to be
very discipline with this weight loss thing and i truly believe if we follow
their instructions and their guide to see if it will work for us we will see
some results.  So if you can just take out some of the cheese on sandwich, minus
the fries and sodas, and if you have to have bread try whole wheat. It may seem
like alot to give up but i bet you are gonna love the results at the end. Don't
give up and just ask God to give you the strength to stay discipline. Good Luck!
Everything takes time. Sharon

________________________________
From: ladycheetah212001 <ladycheetah212001@...>

This is my food diary for this week:

...

I too need to lose a hundred pounds or more and your not alone. I have the same
problems with my knees and complete exhaustion. I start the Monday after the
holiday and all. I work in a job where I am constantly busy and always moving,
by the time I get home who has the energy to go for a walk.
I am getting desperate, I don't like the way I feel or look. Msybe we could
buddy up. I live in upstate New York and maybe we could provide inspiration to
each other. If you are interested I will give you my email and we can
communicate that way. Linda

> --- In SpecialKgroup@yahoogroups.com, "breann1210" <sbell1223@> wrote:
> >
> > I truly need to know a healthy way to lose weight. I really need to lose
about 90-100lbs. I am very depressed and I can't take this weight any longer. I
feel like I'm about to lose my mind. Is there truly a healthy way to lose
wieght? Something that really works and that's safe? Please help!
> >

Congratulations Alice! Wow! You deserve a gold medal - your weight loss and
determination is wonderful. Way to Go! Gail

--- In SpecialKgroup@yahoogroups.com, "moladyrose" <moladyrose@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Taryn,
>
> I am also new here and have 40 more pounds to lose.  I started my diet back in
March of 2007 when I weighed about 451 pounds and became a type 2 diabetic.  I
was told about the portion plate and I stuck to it and pounds started coming off
like crazy.  I did alot of walking at first and when I lost the first 100 pounds
I got into other exercise.

It would help if you kept a food chart of what you are eating that includes the
calories, fat, etc. with the water intake along with the minutes that you
exercise.
Sam

From: marussia37 <marussia37@...>

Hi. Honestly to loose weight take time, patience and effort. I'm
battleling with sort of the same problem. I'm 41 yrs. so is taking me
longer to loose weight than when I was 35yr. But I'm not giving up,
persistance is the key.

hey.....i too am about 5'6 and wear a size 14-16 roughly about 200 pounds...i
have actually lost six pounds! the thing with losing weight is portion control
and what you put in your mouth. i try and stick to wheat foods brown rices and
no red meat. instead of hamburger i use ground turkey. also fruit and vegetables
are the key. if i have a sweet tooth (which happens often) i eat a small bowl of
low-fat yogurt and grape-nuts. i bake a lot of chicken and keep the soda to a
glass a week...i hard..we just dont buy it when we go shopping. i hope this
helps. also kraft.com has good healthy meal plans

-----Original Message-----
From: "ayannavaughn" <ayannavaughn@...>

i am 5'5/5'6 not too sure. i wat to lose weight but dont wat to bee too skinny.
i love my butt but want to tone it up. i have big arms and want to slim them
down.

Try this eat a bowl of special k (for the sweet eat strawberry) in the morning
and a cup of tea without sugar, for lunch eat a salad add tuna or meat no more
than a pound of meat have a piece of fruit for snack eat dinner by 6 or 7 at the
latest.  Eat something baked or grilled a vegetable and 2 table spoons of rice. 
The thing is you have to limit what you eat no bread no chips no candy if it
does not fit in a 3oz cup then you cant have it

________________________________
From: kmjog_2000 <kmjog_2000@...>

I am trying myself to lose 10 pounds and it is hard cutting out food that you
like to eat.

its great that you wanna plan out your meals butt remember that sodas carry alot
of extra calories as do white pasta and bread. even red meat is unhealthy. try
sticking to white meats...chicken....and what not

-----Original Message-----
From: "ladycheetah212001" <ladycheetah212001@...>
Subject: [SpecialKgroup] Re: Please help!!!!

This is my food diary for this week:
...

This is my food diary for this week:

June 29-July 4th 2009
DAY 1

B:Cereal
L: Bologna w/cheese Chips, Cake Lime soda
D:BBQ Sandwich w/cole slaw Fries Soda

DAY 2

B: Grits and Eggs, Bacon and Juice
L: Ravoli w/Bread (white) Strawberry Soda
D: Chicken w/Noddles Mixed Vegetables Juice

Day 3

B: Steak & Eggs w/ White Bread and Juice
D: Fried Chicken w/ Mac and Cheese and Green Beans, Soda

DAY 4

B: Cereal
L: BBQ Sandwich w/slaw Beans Grape Kool-Aid
D: Spaghetti w/ Red Cream Soda

DAY 5

B: Cereal w/ coffee
L: Ham and Cheese Sandwich PB and J Chips and Water
D: TBD

Note: I am going back to basis and Hope this helps with and light exercise on
this Saturday


Ruby