The day has been exhausting and I feel blah & drained. I came here instead of eating the whole bag of Hershey's Sugar-free dark chocolate that's been screaming at me from the freezer ever since I got home. I had a serving (such itty bitty teeny tiny bars) and really want to inhale the rest of those little suckers.... But you know it really felt so good to actually fit into a 16 today...okay so I just barely squeeeeeezed into last year's stretchy size 16 jeans again...who cared that the seams were complaining that they were ready to burst & I looked like a water balloon, I was IN THEM! So NO MORE CHOCOLATE. There.Thanks for the info on the pedometer and the heating mats -- I looked up Hydrofarm mats on the Internet & saw that the thermostats are optional for these mats, which reduces the price by at least half. Now I'm wondering if the other mat's thermostats were optional as well? Shoot. Oh, well I've already invested all that money in the grow light system so I'll stick with that since the plants did so well up there in the bedroom. I'm waiting for the police to raid the house since the grow lights stay on 16 hours a day. LOL
Also thanks for letting me know that they make such small pedometers. I got mine today and it's very comfortable except with those stretchy size 16 jeans which I wore shopping today. I'm wearing my 18's right now and I can't even tell I'm wearing a pedometer! So I'm back in the business of stepping & tracking & should be able to keep it on all day.
I hear you on the skin - You're so young that I hope it all snaps back where it needs to be very soon so you don't need the snip snip - but if you do choose to do that, I support your choice & agree with you completely.

OMG SkinnyErinn-drool, drool, droooOOlll, I just read your post about the chocolate--I bow down to you LOL (SNL-I'm not worthy) You really did great, including your sandwich choice & just eating the allowable stuff. I would have thought that you would have felt so empowered even if you didn't quite get in all the nutrients for the day. that's what vitamins are for LOL. Drinking really lowers our resolve, so in my books you had a very successful day in a very hard situation. Especially since it was such an emotional time for you as well. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. That was so kind of everyone to chip in that way - what a wonderful way to be remembered & loved.

Pattialbert-:) I hear you on missing the gardening - I would be in withdrawls & be the lady with the potted plants all over the place (like one of those hoarders on that TV show or the funny cat lady - only it would all be plants all over the place) Oh yeah, turn on those pumps & maybe record it, too. That way you can bring the sound home with you. I love my water feature. It's so soothing. Glad that you're back on your feet & feeling better. Congrats on the 2 pound loss last week - gee for me that would be an awesome week! You did great.
jordanna1979-love your blog. You've lost a LOT of weight and LOOK GREAT! I agree that you've lost a lot of weight in your face & neck area -- You really, really look so great- years younger, too! Congratulations on all that hard work paying off. I seem to hang onto the weight in my chin area - bummer huh?

Oh desertmountain, so great to hear that you are wearing your 16's. That's very very cool. Just think in another couple of pounds they will be your regular jeans and you'll be tossing out those 18's. Today I wore a pair of jeans that I could not pull up over my hips in January let alone button, but today they slipped on and off without being unbuttoned. So tomorrow I'm getting rid of them.

New to this site
 

Hey guys, I'm a newbe to this site and need a friend to kick my butt when I need it. Anyone interested?

5'6"
285 lbs :o

I'm really jealous about the size 16's!!! I don't remember even being in that size I think it was my freshman year in high school - about 15 years ago! I'm so proud of you!! That is so awesome!!

I'm back on track this week - weekends are so hard for me! But I went for a long walk last night and walked a hill that has been taunting me for weeks! Made it to the top!! Been sticking around the same weight for a while and it's really starting to bug me! I'm going to have to kick up the exercising or something - I need to get past the 270 mark soon!!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!! :)

Kick, kick, boot to the butt. So what is your diet strategy? Give us all the dirt.

Whenever I hit a hard plateau I boost up my protein for a couple of days, I strive for something around the 40% mark for 2-3 days running. It usually kicks it for me, unless of course Aunt Flo is visiting...

The numbers are going the right way!
 

After my first week last week of my new walking routine (an hour a day, five days a week) and being back on Fitday for a bit over a week, I bravely stepped back on the scale this morning.

I'm still trying to figure out the best day/time to weigh, since I get up at 4:45 to walk and have a smoothy on my way to the basement and drink most of a liter of water while I'm walking. But I weighed in after my shower this morning and I've lost 4.5 pounds since last Monday. Ahhh success!!! :D I'll be smiling all day today!

Thanks for all the support I'm getting here. I told my daughter this morning, only 115.5 to go!!!

Good morning ladies. Thank you for saving me from myself last night. Coming here & reading your honest & heartfelt posts grounded me in ways that I just couldn't do by myself last night. I'm feeling strong today & very happy that I didn't gobble up all that chocolate.

I'm not good at kicking butts (every time I point a finger there are 3 more of them pointing back at myself) but I do have big shoulders, lots of enthusiasm and am so happy to have you join our journey! Most of find that Fitday is a great way to track, analyze & then adjust everything to stay on track. Hope that it helps you too. There are also many wonderful people here that are dedicated to their journey, bright, creative insightful & very helpful people. I'm echoing Almeeker's request--Dish! What are doing to make this work for you?


Congratulations on the 4.5 pound loss - Way to go montanacricket (love your name btw)! Almeeker has started a pedometer challenge in the Exercise forums - why don't you join us there, too? It'll be fun to have more encouragement for each other just seeing how many steps/miles everyone is doing. I'm pretty much a slug now, but aspire to reach the realms of work horses or rabbits or sled dogs...well, shoot pretty much any thing other than the slug or amoeba I am now.

Disujo - Thank you so much. I KNOW that you'll be wearing them again too. Last year I lost weight really fast doing P90 & since it had been so long since I'd been a size 16 I had to buy a new wardrobe, albeit a very small wardrobe but I can't wait to fit into the rest of the cute clothes waiting for me in my closet. I keep them right in the front for motivation. So far the only thing I can wiggle, pull and squeeze into are the stretchy jeans, but it's really motivating me to work out harder & longer since it seems exercise is a key part of my weight loss.
WooHoo!! Yeah! Can't wait! Slipping off without unbuttoning? LOL - Sweetie it sounds like you may need to buy more new & smaller jeans before an embarrassing moment happens :o LOL
I've noticed that I lost more on the bottom than the top since none of the tops fit at all. I'm not complaining here - just a comment on how weird our bodies can be when we lose weight & different every time. I can still wear blouses in 22's, the new ones I bought last week, size 18's, are a tad snug but I figure in a few weeks they'll fit perfectly. I'm throwing away & giving away all larger sizes along my journey this time - leaving no trail in my closet to wander back up.

I hope everyone has a fabulous day today! :) thanks again for being you & sharing here.

Thanks so much for the idea! I'll go take a look. I know I have a pedometer around here somewhere!

A not so terrific tuesday, I begin moderately slipping sunday, my scale didnt offer up the expected favorable results, so I bindged a tiny bit and have been slipping slightly ever since. I did get mostly back on track today, and walked. I am having just rough turbulent days at work with a temporary boss running the show from out of state pending the hire of a new boss, and the tension and backstabbing of co workers with the mentality of high school drop its enough to make me need to eat comfort foods in bucket loads full but have maintained a sense of self control and keeping the bigger picture in focus. I ate fruit and 2 energy bars which I didnt need those bars but was better then I supose the candy bar or fried food that could of ended up inhaled with reckless abandon. I did visit my local mall, it has a Teavana store and bought some skinny chai pu-erh -this is a black tea that is super strong as it is fermented twice as long as normal black tea, its supose to help boost metabolism and burn fat and if you combine it with matevana herb tea that is suposed to work to curb appetite. I dont know if either of those things are true, I just like the tea/herb combo it tastes great, it feels healthy and has a satisfying flavor and pleasant aroma. It is a safe comfort beverage I guess lol. I will try to de-stress and stick with it tomorrow. I want to see results I want to be healthy. Thanks for providing a group I can vent too. Hugs to all, love hope.

Hey ladies! How's it going? I'm really beat tonight, I haven't done a big shop in 3 weeks and spent the afternoon out taking care of that. I'm a wacky coupon lady, so it takes a while. I also shop with children, so that adds time as well. The good news is that is I made a really big number on the pedometer, and bought a house full of really healthy food, which didn't break the bank. All good, except the over tired feeling. Then I went to log my foods into fitday and realized I'm low on calories, which might explain the tired feeling. I tried to find a way to get my calories to have the right pie chart, but I really wasn't hungry enough to eat an extra 200-300 calories (most of them protein and fat). So I just ate the chili I was planning on and threw some extra cheese on it. So now I feel full and even more sleepy.

hiddenhope, sorry work is so stressful. Hopefully they will hire the perfect new boss tomorrow? I always said about work that it was necessary they write me a paycheck because there's no way I was doing it for free. I've been trying to do the green tea thing too, although I hesitate to admit I'm taking the Celestial Seasoning road, hey it was on sale today and I had a $1 off coupon.

montanacricket, way to go on the 4.5 pounds, awesome. I haven't had a week like that in months. Yes do join us on the pedometer challenge. So far I haven't got very many people participating, but I keep hoping I'm motivating people to at least think about it. It helps me - a lot.

desertmountain, so you get motivated by clothes too small to fit into as well? That's fantastic. A friend of mine thought I was nuts to buy clothes that didn't fit me. Hey I got into all my old skinny clothes and needed new ones to work toward. I find it really motivating, she's a skinny tightwad and thought it was a big waste of money. Oh and I did get some new jeans, but yesterday I wasn't leaving the house really, so I just threw those big ones on while I was doing laundry. Today I wore the new ones, and guess what, they're getting loose. Not so loose they'll fall down any time soon, but maybe in the not too distant future.

Well gotta go, it's time to read to the little heathens, uh, I mean sweet darling well behaved chilren.

This week so far...
 

Been eating well, found LIGHT SALAMI! Yea baby! Totally my saving grace this week since the turkey pastrami was getting tired.
Lots of fluids, all my vitamins.
Last night, my 7 year old wanted to go to the gym... well obviously I didn't go... I didn't get to be a fat girl by hiking it to the gym every night! :rolleyes:
So, she agreed to give me the night off, if I got up at 5am this morning and go with her then - she's training to be a gymnast. I can't believe I am saying this, but I got up! We worked out for about 30 minutes - aerobics and weights. Felt really good. Going again tomorrow so I can get all prepared for those personal trainer sessions. :eek:

I just got done reading everyone's posts... you guys are so awesome, I just love you! I really enjoy the support and the real-world perspective you give. I'm going to try to be on here more to GIVE support, not just get it.

Off to bed, 5 AM comes early - especially when it comes at the gym and not a Dunkin Donuts. :p

Hey Jordana - I love your blog, you're hilarious girl. Our sons are just a few days apart - Joeldon was born on 5/5... which means that Hudson is gearing up for his big day THIS WEEK! I had to laugh because reading about Hudson was just like reading about my own independent little man who somehow doesn't think he is a baby anymore - unless he's sick or too sleepy to resist a bottle of warm milk.

good morning
 

Hi all, you are all so motivating- been having a hard time with cravings this week too. Congrats on all of you who did not go to the dark side lol. If there would have been something in this house last night i would have gobbled it up. Luckily, I was in my PJ's and was more tired than I was motivated to go out and get a snack. Maybe that has something to do with it- I have been really tired the last few days and cannot figure out the reason- sleeping the same and have not done anything out of the ordinary. Maybe I will bump up my iron, I can get anemic at times and maybe it is low.

Skinnyerinn- is that salami a package or have a brand name, I would like to find it in my area. I pack my lunch for work and that would be a terrific alternative- I get tired of fat-free turkey. LOL

I weigh in every morning, right out of bed, naked as the day I was born, after I pee. Then I get dressed and work out. I hit 65 pounds this morning!!!! Very pumped, feeling really good about life in general. And I'm sitting here in my size 16P LL Bean jeans that I bought at Goodwill last month, and I can even breath. Admittedly I have a bit of pooch sloshing out above the waist band, but I'm willing to live with it - for today.

Grocery coupons! I usually forget to bring them. *head thunk at the checkout* I love that feeling when the house is full of healthy nutritious food especially when there's discounts & savings involved.

Skinnyerrin-I'm with Speedyfair, does that light salami have a name? I found some 'light' peperoni at Walmart (forget the name, it sounded Italian with a red & green label) it had almost half the calories of regular peperoni but it still had a lot of fat grams & calories so I didn't get it. Ever since I saw it I've been thinking, uh...fixating, about how to make them into a crustless pizza. I'm really impressed at your new lifestyle choices! The gym instead of going to DD - That is so awesome.

Speedyfair: I'm glad you didn't go to the dark side! LOL Everyone wants to snack when we're fatigued b/c our bodies are screaming for energy. I usually scream back, 'Eat all the stored fat why don'tcha?!' Funny how my body has a mind of its own & never listens. I'm wondering if you're eating enough calories & protein? Hopefully the iron supplement will do the trick quickly but if not maybe you can check your Fitday values to see where you can bump up the protein or cals. They say that carbs are good for fast energy but I find that it actually makes me feel more tired in the long run but protein helps my energy levels stay even. After my body ignores my suggestion of eating stored fat I'll eat a high protein snack like 1 oz of lowfat cheese, fat free cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (no fruit or sugar added) a couple of walnuts or 1 oz of meat. It perks me up in about 15-20 minutes. Takes longer to take affect compared to eating carbs, but there's no rebound of feeling drained again or worse after an hour. I get that drained feeling when I don't eat enough calories too. It's like my body wants to shut down & sleep. Hopefully you'll get that straightened out quickly - keep us posted.

WooHoo!! 65 is awesome! You Rock!!

Being as it was 10 days into my journey, I figured I'd do okay, but wasn't sure. It sure was refreshing to see the scale move downward instead of upward!

I need to pick up a battery for my pedometer, and will join you guys on the pedometer challenge after that.

WalMart here sells Turkey pepperoni--it's got all the great flavor but is much lower (it's all relative right?) in fat than regular. I love pepperoni too much to give it up completely though. And I would love to find some light salami too!!!!

Every morning? Isn't it depressing? I was planning to weigh no more than every 2 weeks, but got BACK on the scale this morning to see another 2 and 1/2 gone! :eek: Something I'm doing is RIGHT!

But sadly I have to admit to exhaustion this morning. I didn't get up to work out, took a day. Maybe next week it'll be all five days! But I will be up walking tomorrow again!

YES! It's Gallo salami, and it's a mixture of turkey and pork. Just looking at it you can see how little fat there is. In 1 serving, there is 70 calories, and 7 grams of protein. I think the fat was around 4 or 7 grams...MUCH better than regular salami. I hope you find it, Walmart stopped stocking it, but Raley's has it.

Thursday... weigh in day... I have definitely bumped my protein up this week. I am hoping I see it pay off tomorrow. I have less than 2 pounds to go before I have lost 10% of my body weight. I don't think I am going to make my goal of being 270 by the 26th, but I am going to keep working at it. If I lose the last bit to get to 10% lost, I am rewarding myself with a facial tomorrow. Here's hoping I am getting gooped and cleansed tomorrow. :o

For those who are feeling more tired than usual... boy was that me the past 2 weeks, I can honestly say that by jumping up the protein I am certainly feeling tons better. My nutritionist actually told me that he doesn't care about calories, just the carbs and protein. I hope everyone gets perked up and feeling better.

Great job on the weight loss. Hey, if you don't make your goal by the 26th, there is always the 27th or 28th or the 6th of May right?

Clearly your nutritionist is a skinny human? My bff is a nutritionist. She's always saying things that are counter to my own experience, but again she's never been a fat girl. I swear being obese changes you body and mind forever. I've tried to explain to her that I'm never going to be completely over my food fixation, but I am learning to control it and live a healthier lifestyle, and for me it's hard work and does not, and will never, come naturally. She thinks that it's like the flu and one day I'll just wake up and be over it. Which we all know is bunk. I feel like being obese is similar to motherhood. I'll never forget how it felt to be pregnant or get rid of the stretch marks even though I'm no longer pregnant or plan to be. That's the part she doesn't understand. I'm forever changed by obesity and I'll never be able to go back to exactly the same skinny person I was 20 years ago. Even once I reach my goal weigh, I'm still going to have the soul of a fat girl. My bff thinks that you can reverse your relationship with food and wipe out all your issues with it, and pretend they never happened. But she also has a tendency to live her life wearing rose colored glasses, which I just can't do.

No it isn't depressing. I've weighed myself every morning since the second day of 4th grade. It's sort of like brushing my teeth, I don't really think about it I just do it. I don't get bummed out about a pound or two here and there, it gives me direction for the day. This morning I was up a little, so I looked at the food log and realized that I've had beef twice this week, so tonight I'm thinking we'll have fish or chicken. I'm also going to ramp up my protein today and watch the carbs a little closer than usual.

Thanks so much. I will look for Gallo next time out. Albertson's bought out all of our town's Raley's but they're really good at ordering stuff. I'm going to look for it - I love making roll ups with lunch meat, some lowfat cheese & veggies & it keeps me feeling like I'm not missing anything even though I don't eat bread any more. But since I"m using dh's lunch meats from the deli I use Fitday's calculations and never really know if it's accurate or not. This way I can have my own & know for sure. Speaking of ordering things - PopSecret makes a 100 calorie a bag popcorn, too.
You're so close to that goal of a whole 10% body fat GONE! I'm so excited & proud of you!! Great work.
Almeeker, I understand what you're saying, yet I think I understand where your bff is coming from, too because some people can and will change their predominate mindsets eventually (however they are wiser & more experienced) while others won't or can't ever change theirs. Throughout my life I've seen this over & over again for many different people having different experiences including substance abuse, relationship issues (repeatedly), etc.
Your post gave me much food for thought, thanks for writing what you did. For myself I know that I will never ever forget my experiences of being morbidly obese, the hurts (emotional & physical), the rejections (from self & others), the difficulties (hey, even tying my shoes was so hard it left me out of breath) and my past relationship with food. These are the psychological aspects caused by mindsets that I'm diligently working to change because I don't want to be wearing a size 12 and still see myself as the fat girl like I did when I used to wear a size 12. I had a lousy self-image caused by those mindsets & those won't change by just losing the weight.
On my journey I'm taking time to talk to myself through out the day - I'm doing positive reinforcements about how I look, how I feel, what good choices I'm learning to make, positive personal stuff I do/am about, etc. What I'm finding is that I like myself more, not because of the weight loss, but because my mindset is shifting and that allows me to be more gentle, understanding with myself & I see the good stuff about me. So even though I don't think that I'll forget what it was like before, my mindset is different and I am already starting to change the way I see & think of myself & food. I have a long way to go, but since this journey will be at least another year there's plenty of time for me to keep addressing my old mindsets that undermine me (self sabotage, fixating, etc). Lots of work with the fixating LOL.

Yes, he is a skinny human and all of his Physician's assistants are supposedly past patients... nonetheless... I weighed in this morning (on a different scale than I usually do) and I only lost 1 pound this week. So, on Sunday I am enrolling in a 12 week Momma Boot Camp. It's a combo of personal training, nutrition and counseling about why I am obese... and for TWELVE WEEKS... it only costs $300. Much cheaper than my crackpot nutritionist, lol.

I feel strong with my relationship with food, as long as I don't EVER EVER give myself an inch. The moment I take, "just one bite" of something, then I eat all of everything. If I stay vigilant about not letting anything off my diet pass my lips, the easier I find it to stay on plan. I just act like I am in recovery or I have an allergy - which I guess is the truth when you get right down to it, but nonetheless I am terrified of the time when I am supposed to eat a maintenance plan... I know that available food is my weakness, maybe I'll just always be that girl at the party who refuses the cake instead of the one who is lining up for a second piece, or "cleaning up" so she can swipe her finger on the dishes.

I love that we are all so very honest here, I talk to myself too. I don't have a ton of self esteem issues, I decided ages ago to be happy with the fat me, she's a great lady, a great friend and a great cook - no shame in any of that. My bff is a great person, but she and I don't see eye to eye on this issue. The weird part is that she has counseled lots obese people (not all of them successfully, her own sister weighs 400+). I've been trying to tell her that some of my food issues are from the way I was socialized and some of them are from being a long time carboholic. I don't think she believes that carboholism is real, but I know from experience that it is real and that I'm a classic textbook case of it. I have memories centered around carboholic behavior from as far back as I can remember. I'm determined to get to a healthy weight in a healthy way and stay there, but that none of the effort it takes comes naturally to me - although "thin behavior" is coming more and more easily the longer I do it. I'm never going to forget being a fat girl and I'm always going to want a piece of birthday cake, even when I'm not hungry. And when I am hungry I'm going to want 2-3 pieces.

You know the interesting thing is that I allow myself an inch. I used to feel like you do and never give in for fear of falling off the wagon, but I've found that deprivation actually makes the cravings worse. So now I sometimes let myself have a bite, along with a great big glass of water, and it seems to help shut the screaming craving off a little.

Very cool on the cheap boot camp program, it sounds great.

Hey all,

I am a 33 yr old female, 5'6 weighting 250.50 pounds. My end goal is to get to 140 since my range is 155-124. I have a big build so I think 124 is rediculous for me.

I am so tired of caring around this extra weight and seeing the scales go up everytime I get on them. I am scared because I can not afford to get any bigger.

I am not good at diets but I am trying. I have been on all sorts of diets even Berstein so my metabolism is probably shot.

I will need any help I can get regarding the food part since I am working out 5 days a week on my lunch for 45 mins now.

I look forward to hearing about you,
Christine

Need to lose over 100 pounds
 

Hey all,

I am a 33 yr old female, 5'6 weighting 250.50 pounds. My end goal is to get to 140 since my range is 155-124. I have a big build so I think 124 is rediculous for me.

I am so tired of caring around this extra weight and seeing the scales go up everytime I get on them. I am scared because I can not afford to get any bigger.

I am not good at diets but I am trying. I have been on all sorts of diets even Berstein so my metabolism is probably shot.

I will need any help I can get regarding the food part since I am working out 5 days a week on my lunch for 45 mins now.

I look forward to hearing about you,
Christine

Truer words have never been spoken. You are so right here! They'll never understand!!!

I'll have to try weighing in more often I guess. You guys are so right about the protein and not enough making you tired. I'm working with a modified South Beach plan, watching the carbs, especially the type of carbs and not eating too many in the afternoon. I also try not to eat after 7 at night at all.

Hang in there. With working out for that long every day, you WILL boost your metabolism. I've moved to an hour 5 days a week (though I don't always get it in, usually 4 days a week).

HI Christine - glad that you found us over here. What kinds of foods are you eating now? Maybe if you gave us some examples of a typical day ppl could share what's worked for them & what they see that might be a problem. Great going on the workouts! Getting to make it a daily habit was really hard for me. I still have to make myself do it most days.

Good morning & TGIF everyone. I hope you have fun things planned for your weekend, or at least interesting things planned. LOL - I'll be out in the garden, bliss! Have a wonderful day.

She doesn't believe in ppl being a carboholic and is a nutritionist? I'm very surprised since the books (Protein Power & several more on sugar & carbs) I've read all list tons of medical research about how high carb foods, I'm not talking non-starchy veggies here for those of you who are new to this, affect our brain chemistry & body. The books helped me to understand & get a grip on my carb addiction. What I didn't know until all this tracking on Fitday was how freakishly little of them it takes to cause me to have cravings, increase hunger, stall & gain weight.
I don't think that I've met anyone as determined as you are to loose the weight & maintain it LOL - when I read that part of your post I smiled and nodded.
I'm working on the self-esteem issues and am getting to where you're at now. No matter what my size, there's no reason not to love myself. It's funny b/c I don't judge others who are my size or even bigger, just myself. Conditioned from birth I say. LOL

I hear you on the birthday cake. What I've been doing when I start to fixate, which leads to major cravings is calling up memories of what that food tastes like when it's not made right or old & stale (for example: doughnuts- old stale & cold cheap doughnuts made with old rancid oil. Hamburgers: very old & stale bun, cold greasy cheeseburger.) and it's been helping me with the fixating/cravings for most food. But not with birthday cake & cookies. I don't think I've ever met a cookie I didn't like or a birthday cake I didn't enjoy. Sad but true.
Hope you & your family have a great weekend.

Morning everyone
Not to sure where the month of April has gone ,,,Ive been trying to get into the next decade all month with the scale doing a dance with me..well yesterday I broke thru and so today I gingerly got on the scale hoping it would be the same and I was shocked to see 3 pounds gone! I have now lost almost 31 pounds since end of January!! Now to work towards the next decade! Took more effort this time and I have to keep that in mind!
Almeeker I dont have a pedometer to join that challenge..how does the challenge work?? Are you counting steps? I like how everyone is so honest here...feels like you can talk about anything and no one judges us...
Erinn Im glad your Ds is doing better... I just got a grocery flyer in the mail this morning and there was a whole list of lean turkey cold meats for sale..such as pepperoni, salami etc..going to check them out. I am leary of the sodium in them though...do you find you retain water when you eat them??
Speedyfair when I had a craving for something sweet this week I grabbed a laughing cow fudgicle...its been very hot here and they really hit the spot!! Thats my dark spot...haha
Desertmountain Im off to the grocery store to make sure my house if full of that nutricious healthy stuff too....
Christineval and Chris. ...welcome to our group!! You found a great support group here!! We will look forward to being on this journey with you!
Jordanna love your blog!!! Ive been reading it and getting some green tips from the comments left on the site...and Im in Fort Mac. Thanks for sharing!!
Ok ladies Im normally done walking for the week..but its supposed to rain all weekend but hasnt started yet..Im off to do some groceries and then will head outside to take in some fresh air! And more exercise...the scale is a great motivator!!! Have a great weekend everyone..

Oh, I forgot to add something new that I've been trying with good results so far. According to Fitday my calories should be 1200 a day. I'd read here about the ZigZag diet plan where ppl eat more calories a couple of days a week then fewer the rest of the week to average out to their target caloric intake. By accident I got started on this when I made up a batch of lentils that had like twice as many calories as I thought and I had eaten 1700 calories :eek: by the time I made out the recipe & entered it into the custom foods. The damage had been done so I cut back for the next few days to average out the 1200 per day goal and noticed a pound loss midweek. So I did it again and for my weigh in this week I've dropped 2 pounds which is twice as much as I normally loose per week.

I found that having 2 days of increased calories also allowed me to splurge with some higher calorie cooking on those days which really made me feel great. Foodie that I am it was like winning the lotto or something. :D For the other days I made sure that I had plenty of nutritious low cal snacks & meals preplanned.

Okay I seriously have to get to work - I need my job & I'm really slacking today-TGIF

desertmountain, hey I zigzag accidentally as well! It's called the "I eat more on weekends" diet, don't mean to, it just happens that way. During the week I stick to 1350-1400, and on the weekends I get up around 1,600. For me it's bacon at breakfast that usually does it, and sometimes eating out on Friday or Saturday night. I don't worry about Saturday too much, because I usually get to the gym, but Sunday is another story... My bff does believe that people can be carboholics, just not that it's a lifelong addiction. She doesn't think alcoholism is life long either, and that you can be completely cured of your addiction(s). I believe that you can be clean and sober or off the carbs for the rest of your life but I also believe that once you've been an addict the threat to repeat is always within you.

When it comes to self esteem, I have an unusual take on it. I put myself through college working as a seamstress in a bridal salon. We sold all sorts of gowns and did a ton of business in the pageant/entertainment industry as well. At one point I did fittings on a dress for a woman who's measurements were 38, 22, 36, and she was drop dead gorgeous to boot. During the fitting she was moaning and groaning about her jiggly boobs and her big fat baby birthing hips. So she leaves our shop with her dress and gets crowned Miss Michigan, comes back in for a dress to wear to the Miss America pageant, and has the same moan and groan session. And I decided right then and there if she couldn't be happy with her figure, there wasn't any happy to have in the entirety of the female race. Stubborn woman that I am, I just plain old fashioned made up my mind to be at peace with my body and accept me at face value. By the way she was also crowned Miss America, so I got to see two of my gowns on TV, which was very cool.

christineval, welcome to the 100 pound club. Glad you found the thread. This is a great spot for when you need advice, a little pick-up, strength on a bad day or to crow in joy from the rafters.

pattialbert, great job on the 31 pounds!!!! Today I caught up with 2 of my fat girlfriends and both of them said that I was an inspiration and they are now both dieting. One of them asked me who my inspiration was and I said the ladies on the fitday 100 pound thread. You go girl!!! The pedometer challenge is just like the weigh-in thing, you just post your steps for the week. I have to fire it up again today, the end of April-week 3 was yesterday. My pedometer was pretty cheap, there are a ton of different ones out there. I have an Omron walking style, it was $20 on Amazon.com. I like mine because it stores the data for an entire week, so I don't have to write it down to track it for the challenge. It also records aerobic steps (faster than 60 steps/minute), kcal and miles. I'm trying to get to 10,000 steps each day. You might try the local health food store for low-sodium cold cuts. I know ours has some low-sodium, low-niacin hot dogs. I bought them when I was pregnant, and baby wanted hot dogs in the worst way.

montanacricket, my skinny bff doesn't understand, but clearly you do. The first time I realized that I was a carboholic was 6 years ago when I had to go on a gluten-free diet. I thought I was going to die the first week, and I wanted to. Of course the nutritionist couldn't meet with us right away, so I had to wing it. Went to the library and checked out some books on following a GF diet. One of them had a section on carboholism, and I was a CLASSIC case.

I do retain more water but I try to make up with drinking extra... it was getting to the point when I honestly couldn't bring myself to eat, I was throwing up after eating the same thing for a month solid, so I'll take it for now, then I switch back to something less salty.

hi all
 

I have been catching up reading the posts and you guys are so great- talking so openly and honestly. I feel so motivated.

Congrats almeeker on the 65 lbs

Thanks for posting the salami - I also try to stay away from too much sodium, but like you said you need a change every once in a while.

I've also been doing the scale dance-lol and been up and down this past week, but steadily it is going more down than up so that's the right direction.

I took your advice desertmountain and did bump up my protein and cut back on the carbs - tried to stay with mostly veggies and it has helped. I had more energy today and took the dog for another walk- I seem to also enjoy being more active without the extra pounds to carry around.

Fabulous 100 pound club
 

:) What is this club? I need to be a member it seems! How does it work?

Well, it's free and all you have to do is log-on, read and type. It's a really nice place to chit chat about the ups and downs of facing a 100+ pound weight loss. I think as a group we're particularly honest with each other. I've honestly posted my weight here, and until I did that I hadn't actually told another living soul just how high that number had gotten. It was actually quite refreshing to come clean. We come here to vent and cheer each other on, it's all good. You're absolutely welcome to join us.

welcome all the new friends
 

hi- just checking in and seeing how everyone's weekend has been- took my speedy for a walk both Fri & Sat and that's where I'm headed right now. I feel like I have so much energy lately- Maybe it's the extra protein - thanks desertmountain the carbs- even healthy veggie and fruits may have been the downfall.

I too like the zig-zag diet, I think it keeps you body of balance and I read that if you feed you body extra calories every so often and vary the calories it keeps you metabloism going. I might have 1700 calories one day a week and splurge on a treat - usually on a weekend when I can bump up my exercise and the cut back to 1200 for two days- right now I try to average 1400 calories a day.

thanks for the salami idea- checked with my local grocery and they carry a low-fat salami too- that and the new deli thin bread and it makes a great lunch with come baby carrots and a piece of fruit- maybe add some cottage cheese this week to keep up the protein and see how that goes

Hope everyone has a great and healthy day

Morning everyone
talking about zigzagging...this weekend was a high calorie one for sure...I got into some cookies saturday thats not on my plan? As I was eating them I was thinking to myself..you were so happy and proud to finally get into the new decade and look at what you are eating!! :mad: Back on track today
Im going to the grocery store to find some turkey stuff....

Erinn eating the same thing for a month is boring...even when I was on Phase 1 of South Beach I would look for new ways of reinventing my meals...I believe if I keep eating the same thing over and over it will set me up to fail...Im always trying new recipes. I like to eat different things on weekends as well..I normally have yogurt for breakfast during the week but weekends I will have cereal,,,that sort of thing.

Speedyfair I had to cut back on my newly introduced fruits on phase 2 of southbeach...I wasnt losing anything as soon as I started to eat them again. Now its back to an apple a day for a bit..and then try slowly to reintroduce them. Apples dont seem to affect my eating..bananas on the other hand , I just crave more and more bananas.

Almeeker I didnt get a pedometer yet, I do know how long I walk every day but just not how many steps. It would be interesting to see how many steps are in 3 miles. Thanks for the compliment about getting your inspiration here...thats so nice to hear!! There is no health food store here unfortunatly, but the grocery stores are pretty good for keeping low sodium products. Im always on the look out for them now. Im noticing a trend in canned tomatoes and some frozen veggies of not adding any sodium, YEAH!! its about time.

Desertmountain I dont know if you watch biggest loser but they gave that exact advice two weeks ago. They gave an example and I cant remember the exact plan but it was like 2 days of higher calorie eating,,3 days of lower calories, and 2 days of moderate calories...something like that. Now if your like me and tend to eat more on weekends this works perfectly! *IF* if works,,,havnt tried it but sounds doable.

I think Im going to make some of that good chili today..it was so hot here last week but has cooled right down and will be cooler this week so its a good time to make it. Its such a good go to meal when I dont feel like cooking.
have a great week everyone~~~ waving hi to everyone passing thru!!