cjohnson728

Mern, congrats to you again; I wasn't aware that you were a reformed smoker, or perhaps I did know and it fell out of my head. It's a hard thing to quit. I worried all my life about my mom's smoking. She finally quit 2 years ago at age 77. I know that doesn't erase the damage, but it's a heck of a lot better than not quitting.

Yes, we're all going to die of something. But staying as healthy as possible means that you have more quality years of your life before you do die. This has been mentioned in several seminars I've attended; there are all sorts of stats. For example (I'm making up numbers bcs I don't remember off the top of my head), healthy people have about 2 months of illness/bedridden before death; unhealthy people have years of compromised functioning before death. It's pretty simple to answer which you'd rather have. As always, it comes down to long range goals vs. short term gratification.

I was reading the other day about teaching kids good food choices and how often we give them a pass because they don't want to eat vegetables, whole grains, etc. Do we ever give them a pass because they don't WANT to look both ways before they cross a street or don't WANT to do their homework? No. My husband and I came from two different food backgrounds; he was forced to eat everything on the plate and all of the healthy stuff he hated; I of course grew up with the queen of junk food. It's been by guess and by gosh that we've tried to find a happy medium. I am totally floored by that statistic that today's kids will be the first generation to not live as long as their parents did. Sobering.

Well, not sure how I got onto that. Mike, in answer to your question, I wouldn't say my head is held high, but I'm staring dead ahead and staying determined. As they say in addiction recovery groups, there is no easier, softer way, so I just have to buckle down and do it. Giving up isn't an option. I still have 4-5 pounds that need to come off but that's a lot better than the number I was facing last weekend and before. I did a lot of thinking and I am totally sure that my getting out of control was anxiety over this job thing, and the fact that it all came down during vacation and being sick, combined with some physical stuff, only made it into the perfect storm. I thank you, and others, for all the support.

*Always enjoy the "Mike tells it like it is" portion of today's programming .

mtlgirl

Woohoo! I had a very successful Saturday! YAY!! Half the weekend down, and I am totally on track. I engaged in a little retail therapy today. I spent a small fortune on a pair of boots from All Saints. I don't care though! I have been living so economically I deserve it. And they are sooooooo cute! My new Fall boots. I am going to look at them some more now.

MY GOALS:

1. Eat between 1200-1400 calories per day. YES 1322/ YES 1370/YES 1397/YES 1378/YES 1107
2. Exercise 6 times. 4X
3. Take my vitamins. YES/YES/YES/YES/YES
4. Drink 1.5-2 litres of water per day. YES/YES/YES/YES/YES
5. Journal before I eat anything not on my plan. (Thanks Cassie I stole this from you.) Haven't had to yet!
6. Achieve a 7000 calorie deficit for the week! T-1244/W-827/TH-1266/F 836/S 1688 total so far:5861

YAY Mern!! Way to go on REVERSING your pre-diabetes, and making such amazing improvements on you cholesterol, and triglycerides!!! You did that through sheer perseverance and dedication and I am just so impressed with you. I wish I could give you a big hug in person!!! I literally got tears in my eyes reading your post. Way to go, Mern!!!!

Cassie, thanks so much for the inspirational words. You are so unbelievably eloquent and you really know just what to say. We sure are lucky to have you here on our forum. Congrats on a stellar week! I know you can make it through this weekend. It's dinner time here in the UK and I can safely say I made it through Saturday! I am feeling much more positive and happy.

Mike, you did it! Amazing job! You lost 10 pounds in a month and you ate almost an entire rum cake in the process. I bow down to you. Even if your scale goes back up on Monday, you have still done an incredible job at losing weight this month in the face of your back injury, epidurals and rum cake! I can't tell you how jealous I am. If I so much as read the recipe for that rum cake I would gain a pound. I also laughed (even though it wasn't funny) at your anti-smoking rant. I personally DESPISE smoking. It grosses me out beyond belief. There is nothing more disgusting than an overflowing ashtray. YUCK!!! Thank goodness we don't have to be exposed to that anymore in restaurants.

Quinn, amazing job on getting rid of your fat clothes! What a fantastic accomplishment you have achieved especially with over an entire year of maintenance. I'm sorry to hear that you have had to do hospice care for so many family members. My dad died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) last year. He battled it for 19 months and it was a completely devastating experience for the entire family but my mom insisted on keeping him at home. My dad was so proud of his house, it was very meaningful to all of us that his life should end there. It was traumatizing but the experience taught me something important about myself, that I am bloody strong! I cared for my dad alongside my mom and even got over my intense needle phobia enough to be able to give my father injections. However, I can't imagine going through this 3 times like you have. You are an angel! I am beyond impressed.

cjohnson728

Rose and Quinn, you are teh awesomes!

Congrats on biting the bullet with your "fat" clothes, Quinn. Why is that scarier than it should be?

Rose, WTG on making it through Saturday. You are rocking an awesome deficit so far this week, nice job!

Anybody else ever get to the point at which the pie chart is so perfect that you just don't want to eat anything else for the rest of the day??

mtlgirl

Oh yes. I have felt that way too! And thanks for the support Cassie.

brandismom1990

Check in?? Post?? Or exercise before I have to get ready to go to a party I really don't want to attend but must because I need to get over the "I'm fat, so I can't be social" issue and just LIVE MY LIFE.

So -- that's the total of my check in -- must go exercise!

Angela

Mern

Cassie, when I don't have time to read all the posts, I often skip those addressed to someone in particular, so I can see why you missed or forgot that I quit smoking. I think I mentioned it only a couple times before when encouraging someone else who was trying to quit. Looks like you've made some real headway in figuring out the cause of your having such a hard time shedding those last a 4-5 lbs. You are amazing, Cassie, and you so deserve to work your way out of this and reward yourself by reaching your goal. My good wishes and heart are with you as you come down the home stretch.

It's so painful to look around and see loved ones who have chosen the short term gratification and have rejected the notion of self help. I hope I go first because I dread the days I will watch them suffer long term illness and then bury my two siblings and best friend. My siblings are 5 and 9 years my junior, and my best friend is 14 years younger than I.

I think I heard on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that today's kids will be the first generation to not live as long as their parents--and that was solely based on their diets and lack of exercise--didn't take into consideration other illnesses, accidents, or suicide. Breaks your heart, doesn't it?

"Mike tells it like it is portion of today's programming." I appreciate that quality in Mike. Not kidding--it's gutsy and refreshing--kinda like a blast of a strong mouthwash. LOL

Mern

Yo, Rose! Congrats on your successful Saturday! So cool about the boots. Don't have any myself but I love a pretty fall fashion boot--that's great that you treated yourself to a pair you wanted--because you earned that treat. OMG, I need to earn an all green check-in like you did. I have to APPLY myself. Hey, you know what? I could FEEL your genuine cyberhug and it felt wonderful. Thanks so much!

Cssie, I think I had that perfect pie chart just a few times but it was planned out when I had good willpower and I got in every morsel of food that I could program into it. I wanna be like YOU and ROSE when I "grow up." LOL

You know, after today's motivating thread, I think I'm going to have an even better week next week, getting closer to an all green report than ever before.

I'm giving Brandismom Angela a BIDIA award for making herself exercise before going to that party. That's HUGE, Ang! Way to go!

01gt4.6

Y'all girls are funny... Me telling it like it is programming. LOL I guess you can say that I'm very opinionated and don't beat around the bush very well. At times it can be a curse but it is who I am. Some people think that I feel that I'm always right, I don't think so, I just think I can be very passionate at times (depending on the subject). I try not to offend too many people but the only way to do that is either keep your mouth shut or just agree with everyone, I'm not too good at either.

Rose, thanks a bunch. Congrats on having a successful day today. How's your progress coming? Monday is weigh in.

Mern

Mike, yeah, that's how you come across--opinionated but not saying you are infallible. And that's fantastic and honest. Nothing wrong with that. And being passionate is good---in more ways than one. You've never come across as offensive as far as I've seen. If people are offended by you in our group, they're in the wrong group.

01gt4.6

You're too kind, Mern.

Y'all may (probably won't) get a break from me next week. I may just have one goal for the week.