Just wanted to say this thread is great! Keep it up guys, you are in a good place and have a great place to come to for support and advice. Good luck on your journey, I am going to keep reading!

Only lost .5lbs this week. :( It's gotten me down as I worked really hard in the gym, and during my classes. Really wanted to see something better.

Hang in there Felicity. I'm sure you've had weeks like this where the work didn't translate to the results. I'm also sure that women's bodies are more variable than men's. I suspect, like I just experienced, you'll have a better than usual result next week.

I thought my Sunday night weigh-in last week showing no loss was probably affected by weighing in at the end of the day versus my usual morning. To my pleasant surprise this morning, I think that was right. I show 5lbs down from Sunday night, but I really think half of that is attributable to last week. But, officially, as the scale goes, I'm taking the 338lbs and running with it:

DetroitBreakdown: 343; 338

Have a happy and healthy weekend and week everyone!

Felicity, don't despair--we all have weeks like that (sometimes more than one) where we've done everything "right" and the scale just refuses to move. I'll admit it briefly annoys me as well, but I have to remind myself that this is a game of averages.

I'll have a week or two where I stay the same or lose half a pound, then get surprised by a 7 lbs loss the next week. It all averages out to 3 lbs. a week, which is very comfortable for me.

Now you're getting down to "skinny" territory I'd expect the scale to more more slowly, which is also normal.

Keep up the fight, don't get depressed and find something to do to get your mind off it--that's my .02. :)

Have a nice, healthy weekend!

Regards,
Michael

Man, you're doing great--looks like you'll meet your next goal ahead of time. Keep it up and have a great weekend!

Regards,
Michael

I LOL'd at the "skinny" comment. ;) x

Don`t get yourself down Felicity! Look how far you have come! Wow, you have been doing amazing since June. I hope I can do half that...I`m 264lbs now trying to get down to 150ish eventually too. Since you have been doing so well in such a short period of time, have any helpful tips for me? It would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

I'm very serious--my wife is where you were at when you started (and she's only 5'2") and she'd be smokin' at 225.

Rejoice at your wonderful progress and get ready to hit the new year running!

Regards,
Michael

Hello, all!

I'm at 285 lbs.

I've been on and off diets for most of my life. Highest weight was 309, never normal weight or thin unless you count "at birth."

Nice to find this site and I hope I can pick up some inspiration and tips from y'all.

Aw, thank you so much for the kind words! :) You want some tips off of me? Well umm, I don't know what to say really.
I guess, don't expect miracles. It might look like I've easily loss 70lbs in 6 months but it's not been a walk in the park, and there have been many times that I've fallen off the wagon and had to pick myself back up. This is normal, don't be too hard on yourself! We're not infallible, and the experience of little failures is definitely useful on the journey.

Definitely find an exercise that you enjoy. So many people on here complain about their work outs, and it drives me nuts because I love mine! There's so many different things you can do to get in shape. Slogging it out on a treadmill in the gym is only one of them. (And a very bland option too I might add.) See what's available in your local area, maybe get yourself a Wii or rent some exercise DVDs from your local library. I've been considering adding some indoor rock climbing to my routine just for something different. The options really can be endless!

I don't really know what else to add I'm afraid. Though if you have any specific questions I'll be glad to try answer them. :)

Welcome! Glad to have you on board. I, too, have been overweight all my life, with two brief exceptions when I "lost all that weight". Now, I'm on serious weight loss trip number three.

285 is a great place to start--I'll rejoice when I'm down that small. I bet you'll find the weight just fall off if you work your plan.

Regards,
Michael

Michael I just noticed how close you are to getting under the 300 mark! How fantastic is that? A big well done to you! :)

Thank you very much--yes, I'm excited. Those "Century" milestones are the best. Have a great day!

Regards,
Michael

Welcom, teguqueen. I can absolutely relate to what you're saying. I too have been heavy as long as I can remember. I've seen pictures of a skinny me at 3 years old, but that's it. I also had a brief period in my early twenties when I was in better shape, but apart from that it's always been like this.

If anyone wants some advice from a noob, I can say, try not to think of losing weight as a diet, but a lifestyle change. It has to be something you really want to do, and something you want to do for you. You have to find your reasons and think in terms of the rewards of your success rather than scolding yourself into "doing what you should." Try to think in terms of making healthier food choices and getting some exercise. Start as slowly as feels right to you, but try to make goals and keep commitments to yourself.

Find a calorie goal that you're comfortable with and use the resources here to log your food and activity. It will engage you in a way that for me has been miraculous. Also, rely on this great community of people who have been and are in your shoes when you have questions. They will come through with the information you need.

For me, eating five times a day instead of one or two huge binge meals has made a real difference for me. I never miss breakfast, have a mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. I'm over 340lbs, and am never hungry on 2,000 calories a day.

I can also say that I have greatly benefited from hugely increased water intake. I shoot for about 160oz a day, and I know it has a lot to do with how good I feel.

In the month I've been at this, and having lost only 12lbs in a 190lb journey, I can say that the benefits and rewards have been endless. Yes, it will be a long road, but it has already been full of rewards, from fitting into clothes that were too small just last month, to improved health markers at the doctor's, to my absolutely favorite part, energy that lasts all day. It's important to know there are rewards for doing this.

Best of luck to you and all new members. You deserve to feel better and will feel better if you stick with it.

That is great advice! There is no reason to starve to lose weight (and yes, in the past I have starved--30 day zero calorie fasts on two occasions, so I know about starving and many months on 1,000 cals).

The absolute key is to get a grasp on how many calories your body burns a day and how many calories you consume. If calories burned is greater than calories consumed, you must lose weight--period (and vice versa). Then, with this knowledge in mind, pick a calorie intake level that allows you (with good food choices) maintain a daily (again, on average) calorie deficeit w/o feeling hungry all the time (I think a little "hunger" between meals is "normal").

I truly think that a slower weight loss pace is a good thing--there is nothing wrong with 3 lbs a week (which is also my average). Having lost weight MUCH faster in the past, I now realize that that course of action has it's disadvantages.

Regards,
Michael

PS Only 3 lbs. to go for your mini goal, Detroit--awesome!

Thanks Michael. I can't believe that first goal is so close. I'm a little concerned about the holidays, but I was able to stay in control over Thanksgiving and going to try to do the same for Christmas.

You're absolutely right about simply maintaining a calorie deficit. We get so used to always gaining, or maintaining at our high weights that we don't realize what even a small deficit can do over time. We have a sick little advantage in the beginning that we burn significantly more calories just walking around than someone who is fit does. Maybe this is nature's way of allowing us to adjust into healthier behaviors while allowing us significant results along the way.

Good morning...
 

Hi people ~ I'm looking for inspiration this morning, and found this thread. Thank you. It's just what I needed. I hope it's okay to join you here. I really need to be around people who are succeeding in battling back the beast of obesity (BBBOO?) Whatev :)

This is me: 365 pounds this morning. I can't tell you how stunned I am. I knew I'd edged up there. Friday, at the heart clinic (yes), I estimated 350. When I first weighed this morning, my scale kept saying 318. I looked at the face in the mirror, catalogued my aches and pains, and thought "can't be."

Nope, can't be. I have now officially gained back every pound I lost in 2005, plus maybe 2 or 3. My relapse is complete. So where to go now?

I've fought this all my life and have lost 100+ pounds probably 8-10 times, 80 or so at least a dozen times. As I'm getting older, it's really taking a toll on my health. I hurt everywhere. My heart skips around. High blood pressure. High fasting glucose.

Lately, I've been asking my sister and my husband this question: What is it about me that makes me unable or unwilling to take care of myself? What is missing in my psychological makeup or whatever, that convinces me I can start tomorrow, that one more day of eating really doesn't make a difference?

I'm baffled, truly. Over and over and over again I've tried this experiment. I honestly don't understand what it is that I don't have that allows people to keep the weight off.

Anyway, that's me, where I'm at today. I am encouraged by your success here, and I know FitDay will work for me, because nothing happens without accountability, and there's no accountability like staring at those calories right on the screen.

My plan today is to cook and eat at home, and to go to the gym. Instead of running an hour on the elliptical as I was able to do four years ago, I'll be puffing along on the recumbent stepper thing used to rehab cardiac patients. Baby steps. It all starts with one step, one commitment, right?

Hasta luego ~ thanks for listing.

Welcome Lynette. Baby steps are the best way to start. Four weeks ago I was huffing and puffing after 15min on a slow treadmill and I can't even imagine that now.

You've lost weight before, so you know that your body will respond quickly if you start moving around. It sounds like you know how to make yourself do what you have to do, and maybe what you should consider is how to make yourself want to do it for you.

Forgive the psychological interlude, but I'll share a personal story that may or may not sound familiar...

It was pointed out to me the day before I embarked on my new healthy lifestyle that I wasn't used to being taken care of, and I was very uncomfortable whenever people probed into how I was really doing beyond they "yeah, great, how are you?" On the other hand, I was very good at taking care of other people at the expense of taking care of myself. My unwillingness to allow people in cost me relationships over the years. I just never wanted to reveal how desperately unhappy I was.

I was reminded of what I've known intellectually forever, but could not internalize, which is that we can't begin to take care of others if our needs aren't met. Sometimes that means meeting our own needs. Sometimes it means letting someone help you meet your needs.

Today, and I hope forever, my motivation is coming from what I want for me, and the rewards that come with it, whatever those rewards are. Maybe it's being healthy enough to take adventure vacations, maybe it's being able to play with kids without your heart coming through your chest, maybe it's wanting to feel strong. Whatever it is, if it's a positive in your mind it will be motivation. What I know doesn't work is guilt and shame. Whether it's coming from others or ourselves.

You know you can do it because you've done it before. Find your reasons to do it for you and you will be a force!

Matt

Thanks Matt. That was pretty brilliant. No forgiveness needed for the wholly accurate long distance psychological diagnosis of me, which you somehow accomplished through the screen. Oh wait. You were talking about you. Isn't that weird. I think a lot of people share those same patterns of behavior. I certainly do, and appreciate your insight.

I love the way I feel when I'm eating healthy, working out, feeling strong, fit, and sassy. I just don't get why I'd throw that away for the temporary, too fleeting comfort of another hit off my personal sugary crack pipe. Even after fighting this food thing for most of my life, I don't understand it.

But not today. One day. Thanks for listening.

Lynette, welcome.

Kinda weird that we have identicle weight issues and history. I don't know what's up mentally with folks like us, but obviously there is something that's not quite right upstairs. Personally, I can be obsessive/compulsive and I am very much a creature of habit (be they good or bad). Why can we be otherwise "normal" but have this self-destructive streak?

I have a pretty good book about eating disorders that has helped me a bit. Especially the part about "all or nothing thinking". In the past, I had to be "perfect" in my diet--one slip and that was the end of it. I think I've finally adjusted to the fact that I need not be "perfect" to succeed in this.

My last big weight loss was in '01/'02--went from 400 or so down to 184 in less than a year by starting with a 30 day water fast, then 1,000 cals a day and daily exercise. Sadly, after reaching my "goal", whatever switch in my brain that flipped to the "weight loss" setting flipped back and every single pound came back and brought friends with them.

I think you may be like me in that I realize, like a recovering alcoholic, that I just can't be trusted to eat normally. I'm pretty sure I'll need to record my food intake indefinetly. I guess that's a small price to pay for a reprieve from living in the "fat body prison" and an early death.

Anyway, welcome--the help and support here is great and to one degree or another we understand the mental and physical pain of being very overweight.

Regards,
Michael

PS Upon re-reading this I sound like a bit of a Debbie Downer--I don't mean to--I'm really very optomistic for myself and everyone in this thread. :)

Thanks Michael, for the encouragement. I think we're fat kin, but then I'd hoped for that in this forum in particular. Not to denigrate the folks who have 10-20-30 pounds to lose, but there's something extra special super duper about having to lose half of yourself, more or less.

That "self destructive streak" is what keeps running through my mind. I've got a pretty good life and, like everyone, have done/accomplished/gotten through some tough things. How does this keep defeating me?

I have been in such terrible physical pain the last two months. I think that's when I put on the last 25 pounds. Not that everything was peachy before, but lately, I've been thinking it won't be long before I can't walk at all. How unbearably humiliating and horrible that would be. Didn't stop me. That's flat out crazy, but it took seeing the number on the scale this morning to convince me what my body's been trying to tell me for far too long.

Hope everyone's having a good day. I won't babble like this forever. Just happy and excited and feeling hopeful.

Today I am tired, cranky, and frankly rather sick of my lack of enthusiasm. I was going to go to a 10:15am class, but couldn't be bothered. So instead I'm going to wait a couple of hours until the gym empties a little and then attempt a 20 minute run and some elliptical, rowing machine and free weights.

Also, last night I was given a box of Jaffa cakes, and before I knew it I had munched my way through about 600 calories. Well done me... :mad:

So I'm not having the best of starts to the week, but I'm awake, I've eaten my breakfast and made a good start on my fluid intake for the day. So I suppose it could be worse.

I decided over the weekend that I'd like to work towards running the 2012 London marathon. It may be a crazy goal, but it's still a goal nonetheless, and I do seem to do better when I've got something to aim for.

Lynette, glad to hear you're excited and upbeat--so am I!

I hear ya' about the humiliation--I started this particular weight loss venture in May during a stressful incident and some very bad back pain. I ended up in the hospital--I had to call my wife to pick me up in her vehicle as I was physically unable to get into my Jeep.

At the hospital, we had to request the "big" wheelchair that barely fits through the doors and have the burly security guard come out to extract me from the vehicle and wheel me in. Talk about a humiliating experience!

Perhaps that is what turned on my weight-loss switch, I don't know. I do know that I've wanted the switch to turn back on for years--as I mentioned, the last time it did I got down to 184 pounds. Now my switch is on, but it scares me to think it might someday turn off. But, I think that bridge is pretty far into the future and I'll have a plan in place to deal with it when the time comes.

Please, "babble" all you like--I think this is theraputic for us--there is some comfort in sharing and co-miserating, especially with anonymous friends.

Now, do you have an eating/exercise plan? I know you've been down this road before and if you're like me, it is SO important to log and keep track of this stuff. It is really the only way I can keep in control. Do keep us posted as to your progress.

Regards,
Michael

A marathon! :eek:

What a super goal--I can't imagine myself ever doing one but good for you! Now a 5K, maybe....

Forget those snacks--they are ancient history (probably poo by now) :p
Anyway, I know you're smarter that I used to be with that all-or-nothing thinking BS. Log the cals and move on, sister! ;)

And good for you hitting the gym--I don't know that I particularly LIKE exercising, but I always feel great afterwards. Keep that (single) chin up and Carpe Diem!

Regards,
Michael

Small Victories
 

Yesterday I had to lie down of the floor to fix something--and was able to get up on my own.

This morning, had to cinch the old belt in another notch.

Nothing earth-shattering, I know, but I do like it when little things like that happen. :)

Have a great Monday, everyone.

Regards,
Michael

Thank you Michael. Awesome news on the belt tightening! It's so exciting when you're at the last hole and then have to get a new on!!! :D

So I beat myself up this morning, and when I went to the gym I smashed through one of my major fitness targets. I will go and post it on the Success board so that I'm not flooding every board with my achievement. Feel free to head over and have a read. :D

Oh, and I'm down a lb since Saturday! Today is turning out to be a good day!!! :D

Boo ~ Sorry you're not feeling all that hot. I can't count the times I've let a bag/box/order-of whatever turn a substantial weight loss into a full blown relapse. I think I saw this somewhere in FitDay last night: "If you drop one egg, you don't say oh hell, and drop them all." Made sense to me, but I know slipping up can be deadly depending on how I think about it. I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY. I love the elliptical and can't wait until I can use it again without needing the cardiac crash cart.

"At the hospital, we had to request the "big" wheelchair that barely fits through the doors and have the burly security guard come out to extract me from the vehicle and wheel me in. Talk about a humiliating experience!

Please, "babble" all you like--I think this is theraputic for us--there is some comfort in sharing and co-miserating, especially with anonymous friends.

Now, do you have an eating/exercise plan? I know you've been down this road before and if you're like me, it is SO important to log and keep track of this stuff. It is really the only way I can keep in control. Do keep us posted as to your progress."

It is humiliating, Michael. Having to have the big guy wheelchair and a special extra strong escort. I don't know about you, but it makes me want to keep a typewritten page of all of my weight loss efforts, a brief summary of the hundreds and hundreds of pounds I've lost and what happened thereafter. I can hand copies out like advertising flyers to everyone who gets that look when they're dealing with me. Somehow, in my mind, if everyone knows I'VE TRIED!!! it makes it better. I haven't just been sitting around eating twinkies to get to this point. I've always wondered if the higher incidences of cancer and some other problems in overweight people is actually due to the weight, or if it's just that fat people will put off going to the doc to avoid that judgment.

The only really acceptable prejudice in this country is against fat people. It's hard not to internalize that living in this world.

When I was at the clinic Friday, the guy checking me in said "what do you weigh." I estimated "350 by now" (little did I know, 365)...he said "Hmmm, we may have to do you in two days."

What? Two days? Why? It seems that "bigger people" can't lie flat for 22 minutes without moving. They have to do the test in sections. I assured him I could, actually did (thank goodness), but realized that not too many more pounds and I wouldn't be able to lie down on that little 18" wide table at all.

My doctor's office now has installed special chairs for big people. There are 3-4 normal chairs in a row, then the jumbo double wide.

I am sick of being the double wide, the one for whom special accommodations have to be made. I detest having to look around at the seating and figure out what will hold me up. Folding chairs. Good grief, will they collapse under me? How humiliating would that be? We spend a lot of time in Yucatan and all of the restaurants have those little plastic Coke/Sol chairs. The chairs with arms are extremely uncomfortable. I have to perch halfway on/off the chair. Horrible. The Sol chairs don't have arms and they're far sturdier. I've been subtly guiding the decisions about where we go based on what seating is available. Can't tell anyone, of course, but I just happen to not like this restaurant, while that one over there is very nice. Crazy.

I do have a plan: lower carbohydrates, writing down every morsel that I eat, eating as much fresh/unprocessed/cooked at home food as possible, drinking lots and lots of water, and moving my body every day, no matter what. Yesterday's "movement" was pretty minimal. It's been so long since I've gone to the gym I forgot you had to check in an hour before they close, but I will get there today.

The last 6-8 months or so, I've been having a terrible time at night. That's when I want to eat everything in the house. So I figured I'd go to the gym late and do my thing, get past that munchy time. My goal is to get back on that elliptical for 45 minutes/hour at a time, and back to lifting fairly heavy weights w/no trouble.

What do you do about food?

I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

I'm glad you're perkier, Boo. And lost weight too. That's fantastic. And Michael, are you kidding? Being able to get up off the floor without a crane? That's fantastic. It is a good day.

Lynette--don't get me started on chairs! LOL

I am so thankful to fit (more or less) into most of them now and not have to perch one butt cheek or the other on the edge.

And folding chairs--yikes! Some of the metal ones are OK, but I attended a meeting where all they had were shaky little ones with plastic seats--I kept both legs under it the whole time to try and keep some weight off it so I wouldn't end up on the floor in front of a couple hundred people.

How many movies, concerts, etc. have we skipped due to the constrictive seats? More than one, in my case anyway.

I though I was the only one with "favorite" restaurants becasue they had regular chairs instead of booths. Even McDonald's, king of Fat Food has seats fat people can't get into (in this case, probably not a totally bad thing).

Yup, I've probably lost at least half a ton, for real. Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Hilton Head, Cabbage Soup (ewwww!), you name it, I've done it, includng starvation. The only thing that has really worked is counting cals on FitDay. It worked last time, and is working this time. Only this time I'll not give it up when I reach my "goal".

And you are right--political correctness has passed folks like us by. Make a joke or rude comment about a person's age, race, religion, etc. and at the very least you'll get a dirty look--at the worst, prison time. Make a joke or comment about a fat person, and it's just fine (and of course, the fat person laughs along too--what else can they do?).

Now, as to my plan:

1. Stay around 1500 calories. 1550 is OK, but always under 1600 unless it is a planned "day off" (which I do have once in a while, usually at my friend's camp) and even then, try to minimize the "damage" and get right back to normal.

2. Try to keep a good mix of carbs, protein and fat. I've heard that 40/30/30 percent of cals is reasonable. You'll see I try to eat "real" food. About the only "diet" stuff I use is salad dressing/mayo and low-cal/FF yogurt. I'm sure some of my choices could be better (man, I love bacon!) but if you can't enjoy what you eat, what's the point?

3. Minimize simple carbs--I am a carb freak--I've been known in the past to eat a pint of Ben and Jerrys ice cream followed by a few candy bars (Butter Fingers!) just to get that awesome head-throbbing, heart-pounding sugar rush (sorta sick, I know).

4. Eat a fairly high protein breakfast every day--300 cals keeps me pretty well 'till my mid-morning 9:00 am snack (usually a banana).

5. Drink lots of water--I bring three 24 oz. bottles to work every day and make sure they're gone before quitting time.

6. Eat a huge salad most nights--I pile up the lettuce, tomatos, usually some shaved ham/turkey and some part-skim mozzarella and low-fat/cal dressing. This fills me up so it's easier to have a reasonable supper. Also, like you, evenings are dangerous so this helps a lot.

7. Do some sort of exercise every day. Work days I walk a mile durng lunch time. On weekends it is the WiiFit, or some outdoors activity. Just "something" to get moving. I also park further away, take the stairs, that sort of thing just to burn a few more calories.

8. Log every bite of food into Fitday, good, bad or ugly.

I've made my food and weight journal public, if you want to check it out. There ARE the occasional "bad" days in there, especially if beer is involved (which I have cut back to only once a month, at most).

Here's the link: http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJour...Owner=mecompco

This is what works for me. I am very rarely overly hungry and usually full enough that I can resist cravings brought on by boredom. Also, my weight loss has been a pretty consistant 3lbs. a week average--sometimes less, sometimes more, but the average remains about the same. In the past, as I mentioned, I've lost much quicker and, I think, paid the price. I'm hoping that a more gradual loss this time mitigate the old excess skin problem as well as the slipping back into old habits trap. Of course, you'll have to find what works best for you, but I think these are some guidelines to think about.

Regards,
Michael

SisterJen ~ at least you're making yourself walk to the bus stop. Good for you. The thing that's been scaring the tar out of me lately is that I'm finding ways and choosing things that minimize activity, because walking hurts. I know absolutely that's how you get to used the motorized shopping cart, by quitting. If you're forcing yourself to walk to the bus stop, even with an old knee injury, I admire you.

Michael ~ The chair thing. I absolutely hate it. I resent all of the head time I give to monitoring myself out in the world. Will I fit in that booth? that seat? Will that seat hold me? How many stairs are there? Is there a ramp instead?

We drove down to Mexico last November (year ago) and got lost in a little town called Telchac Puerto. We finally found an internet cafe so I could look up the phone # of the woman we were meeting.

I started to sit down on the cheap little office chair in front of the terminal, and a woman came rushing from the back room. Wait! Wait! and she and her son hustled over with my nemesis, the plastic Coke chair. Of course I understand their concern. They'd invested some big $$ in those chairs in that dusty little town, and they didn't want some biga@@ gal buying 20 cents worth of time AND breaking that chair. Fortunately, my skinny husband was unfazed. The concept of someone being to fat for a chair never occurs to him, so he thought nothing of the swap.

While I've been overweight much of my life, I've usually been pretty fit and strong, and never ever worried about breaking anything until I topped 300 pounds.

But those plastic chairs? perching on the edge? Wow, is that a muscle workout ~ ha! By the time I'm done with dinner, my bottom's fast asleep and my thigh muscles are exhausted.

Torture!! Being fat is torture!!! :p So why the struggle? Crazy.

Good day. Hope everyone's having one. Hasta luego ~

Michael,

I just checked out your log, I only went back to Dec 10, are you always that low on protein? Oh... your pie chart on Dec 11 got my attention. ;) Great job on being able to stick to 1500 calories, that takes so will power! Your progress is truly amazing! :eek:

Yeah, I had a Christmas party Potluck dinner I had to attend on the 11th. Had a few pepperoni/cheese crackers and went for the turkey shepard's pie (instead of the beef). We were all called back to the table after doing the gift swap to find big plates of homemade cherry cheesecake at the table. Of course, I declined to eat mine (small victories). Did the best I could give the circumstances :)

But I do usually average close to 40/30/30 in carbs/fat/protien. I know I should get even more protien. On the weekends I tend to get more fat as we usually do a big brunch w/bacon, eggs, toast--the whole deal.

If you check my 1 or 2 month pie chart I think the averages will look better. I really find 1500 to 1600 pretty comfortable and not requring much "willpower". Now, back years ago when I did 1,000 cals a day, and under 10 grams of fat, that took a bit of willpower.

Thanks for you input--sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees.

Regards,
Michael

Good morning people ~

Can't sleep, might as well work. I just wanted to say hello, and I hope everyone has a great day.

My nights are getting away from me. If I don't get to the gym this evening, I'll have to reconsider going at the crack of dawn.

Hate the cold. Love not going to bed at night thinking "how could I eat like that? and when is it going to stop?"

Is anyone watching Biggest Loser? I don't know if it's actually on right now or not, but I watched the "Where Are They Now" segment on the web. There's some inspiration. And some cautionary tales.

Hope everybody has a great day ~

Lynette, I was actually going to post something about the "when is thing going to stop" thought process. The last time I lost weight, I was SO thankful that whatever switch in my head got flipped so that this thought no longer ran in my head every night and every morning. Before that, I must have thought several thousand times "TODAY, I'll be in control and eat right". Some days that thought actually lasted until after lunch time, but usually not. Then, the switch went off. I've prayed and hoped and thought about it until this May, when the switch went back on.

It is SO much of a relief to KNOW what your day will be like--how much you will eat, and what exercise you will do. Of course, there will be days that interrupt this routine and the difference is that THIS time, I accept that and can deal with it.

Here's to keeping the "switch" flipped for all of us!

Have a great day.

Regards,
Michael

PS Not sure where you're from, but here in Maine it is wet, cold and pretty miserable--can't wait for spring! (Already have plans to get my bicycle out of mothballs, do some hiking and camping and other outdoors activities).

You did much better than I did on December 11th, Michael. I was at a get together and decided I would allow myself one piece of pizza, which I hadn't had in five weeks. I also had a couple of little treats, but passed on the wonderful looking home made lemon cake or any more pizza (which did take willpower)

I'm really curious on this protein thing. I feel much better when I avoid meat, and I'm not very good about preparing fish at home. I do drink protein shakes at least once a day, but it may not be high enough in protein.

I know that people say we should get much more protein than I'm getting. I'm usually around a 50/25/25 split, or even 60/20/20. I feel pretty good on what I'm doing, but would be happy to have any tips.

Reading back, ooof...don't get me started on chairs and avoiding restaurants with booths!

Be well everyone!

Jen, I don't there is anything wrong with exploring different nutritional mixes. We are all different and I'm sure different bodies respond to foods differently in some cases.

This whole eating for weight loss process is pretty much trail and error, I think. Now, eating for nutritional well being can be an entirely different thing.

Take for instance the fellow who lost 25 pounds eating Twinkies and Hostess Cupcakes for a month. His hypothesis was that if calories eaten, no matter their source is less than calories expended, then weight loss will occur. How can it not, if you think about it?

Now, of course, we want weight loss WITH at least a sembelance of good nutrition and that is a little tougher. Oh, and while we're at it, make it taste GOOD and keep us FULL so we're less apt to stray. Easier said than done!

I think we each need to figure this out and fine-tune it ourselves. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to eating plans.

Regards,
Michael

PS Matt, if what you're doing is working, I don't guess I'd worry too much about it.

"TODAY, I'll be in control and eat right". Some days that thought actually lasted until after lunch time, but usually not. Then, the switch went off. I've prayed and hoped and thought about it until this May, when the switch went back on."


Yeah, that switch. I don't know how to make the switch flip. It just seems like there are certain points in my life where everything's come together into a single crystalline moment of possibility. If I miss it, I can't predict when it's going to come around again. The times I've seized that moment, I've been able to do something about this @#$%@#%@ plague.

"Today, I'll be in control and eat right".... that's something I imagine 90% of the people in the world don't understand about their fat fellows. Most of us have dieted every day of our lives.

Why it doesn't work over the long haul is another story. I'll tell you, I'm laying in the books and articles and everything I can find from people who've lost it and kept it off. I'm clearly clueless, never having done it for any significant period of time.

I won't say it's easy to lose it, but keeping it off is a whole other beast.

Michael, I'm in Tulsa, but I've spent three months of the last year in a house on the beach in Yucatan. Sunshine and sea breezes. I think it ruined me for winter. My husband's been down there over a year, just came back. He was standing in the hall last night with his coat on saying "I want to go home!" :p I just couldn't do Maine. You're a hardy soul.

Wow, I love how this thread has grown so popular so quickly! It's great to read about all of your successes, and to see everyone support each other.

Maybe that's the answer Lynette. The diet industry has a lot to answer for. Maybe taking it into your hands instead is what will work for you.:)

Anyway, not here to preach, just to say I am so pleased to see this thread thriving, and the very best of luck to each and every one of you. And, where was this thread last year, hmm???;)

hey Gallus(Skinny)Gal ~

I do think the diet industry has a lot to answer for. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be if I'd never started on that first diet ~ when I had about 5 pounds to lose. Oh well, water under (or is it over) the bridge now. I had a great family and they were absolutely obsessed with weight and appearances, so my rounded body composition next to my bony sister looked fat. I know now it wasn't, but that softer look got me put on a diet in 2d grade, and then it was on. One diet after another after another after another.

Congrats on your great success. It's wonderful to have such inspiration.

100+
 

Please count me in for this 100+ weight loss group. I am ready to be slim and trim!