I am just checking in here :) I am new to the board, and ideally have approx 120 pounds to lose. I need to set some goals, and get to work, but I wanted to say hey and introduce myself :)

My name is Amber, and I am 23. I am about 5'11" and 319 pounds.

Trying to get a routine
 

Hello Felicity, Sister Jen, Matt and Lynnette et al.,
I'm sorry to hear about your mum. I'll keep her in my prayers.
Sister Jen - Hope you find a job - your'e on the prayer list, too. Have you ever tried to sell your Christmas bakery to a restaurant?
I'm now at 276.4 and have lost only 2 pounds so far this month. My goal is to weigh at least 267 by the end of the month.

Well, my Mum is now in hospital being treated for Pneumonia and Pleurisy. We've been told it's very unlikely she'll be out before Christmas so it has been postponed in my house. I'm on babysitting duties while her partner is by her bed 24/7, so I'm unable to get to the gym or even leave the house with my little brother because of the snow. I'm thoroughly miserable!

Great to see you checking in. Losing nine pounds in 10 days is pretty aggressive. It CAN be done and I hope it works for you!

Have a great day.

Regards,
Michael

Felicity...I'm so sorry to hear about your mom and your situation. You're all in my thoughts. It sounds like you're really jumped in to do your best to take care of everyone. I hope you can find just a little time for you through the process. Even if it's just sitting in a quite place for a half hour while babysitting, or doing some in-home activity. Anything that makes you feel like you're taking a little care of yourself will help you get through the stressful time.

Scoop, best of luck with your goals. We're here for you if you have any questions.

Be well all,

Matt

Hi Everyone!
I hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent most of the weekend packing.. we're moving on December 29th! lots of lifting, moving, etc! Yay for exercise! hahaha

Weight in day was this morning.. I am down 3 lbs from last Monday morning :)
It feels great!!!
Thanks everyone for the support :)

3 lbs. a week is great! That's about what I average myself--of course, we wish it would come off faster, but I've learned that faster is not always better. Keep up the great works and hopefully the move goes smoothly.

Regards,
Michael

Good morning people ~

Sounds like lots going on with everyone. I hope those who are dealing with family and personal stuff can get some resolution and/or peace with it all. Amber! Welcome, glad you're here.

Heck, I'm glad we're all here! Look at us, hanging out here, doing the deal on a daily basis, and IT'S EATING SEASON! Is that commitment or what? Diet season doesn't even start until January 1, so something positive's going on with each of us, don't you think?

Here's a little inspiration for the morning.... -300 pounds, changed her life. I hope everyone has a great day, or if it can't be a good one, hang on to sane eating because there's no problem so bad that bingeing can't make it worse.

YouTube - Woman shed 300 pounds!

lynette

Great job, Lynette! Keep up the good work.

That life exercise can be the best exercise. I kicked my butt in the gym this weekend, but I have a long to-do list tonight, cleaning, laundry, etc, and I know it's going to be a better workout than I've had in days.

Wow- sounds like a difficult night...I relate a lot to what you said. I too have to abstain from desserts- I have pinky promised my husband that the only dessert I will eat is ice cream, because its the only one I don't go crazy on. Even then, I don't generally have it in the house. Its just how it has to be.

Good luck on your progress... sounds like you are doing really well!

Michael, you must be superman. I wouldn't even want to be around that cr@p and if they were pushing it on me, I might have had to smack someone. I get aggressive like that when I'm irritable about food :D Good for you for sticking to your plan.

Sister Jen,
I see what you mean. The willpower needed to cook those dainties in large amounts would be challenging as well.

Lynette, That was a great success story! Thanks for sharing those inspirational stories. I like reading them.

Michael,
You know you are absolutely right. I should of looked more closely at the calendar before making that decision. I'll try to get as close to 10 pounds weight loss as possible.
Thanks for helping me to stay accountable!

I agree with you on those diet drinks. People say you can get used to the taste, but I just can't. My philosophy is "Don't Drink Your Calories." If I'm going to use up 160-180 calories on a regular soft drink, I'm going to eat something instead.
Back to diet drinks, someone told me that the aspartame and other stuff in it makes you more hungry. Also, some of the same ingredients in diet drinks are used in the stuff they use to prepare dead bodies. I don't know if that's true....but I usually drink water, cranberry juice or unsweetened tea. Besides a close relative of mine has kidney failure and his doctor says soft drinks, salt, and advil were contributing factors, along with high blood pressure. my rambling is over.

Hi Amber,
You can do it.

Hey Juliesaid,
There's nothing like moving to help burn calories.

Judith,
I'm on a sweets kick these days, but trying hard to sustain. I cut up an apple, peeled it springled some cinnamon on it and set it in the microwave for about 45 seconds, stirred it up sprinkled on more cinnamon, until the apples could be softer....and believe it or not I was satisfied. I may add half a scoop of ice cream next time.

Well, I like to keeps my mini goals realistic--personally I have seen 10 to 15 lbs drop off in two weeks, but I've also seen the scale not move for two weeks--sometimes our bodies don't behave in a linear fashion.

My Dad and sister both died of kidney failure (and the eventual complications of transplants). Best to avoid this problem if you can!

I've drank (drinked? drunk?) my share of diet soda but totally gave it up this summer. Now all I drink is water, black coffee and my once-a-month allotment of my favorite locally brewed ale. The only thing I eat that has aspartame is Dannon Light FF yogurt. I usually have three or so a week with my lunch.

As a reformed carb freak, I loved all sweets--especially ice cream. I've given it all up and it no longer bothers me. I can pass up desserts and candy with ease. About the only sweet things I eat now are the above-mentioned FF fruit yogurt w/lunch and my nightly dose of prunes.

Keep up the good work and have a great day!

Regards,
Michael

88 in 22
 

Was nosing around my stats and grabbed a quick screen shot of my weight-loss graph. Here's what 88 pounds in 22 weeks looks like:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...o/88_in_22.jpg

Hope to see graphs like this from everyone!

Regards,
Michael

So my Mum has potential swine flu. Which, if confirmed I will need to be checked for as well. For now I am actually being advised to stay in the house for the potential sake of others. I have Christmas shopping to do!!!! :mad:
Gives a whole new spin on the term 'got the trots'!

Felicity, take care of yourself--your health is the best present for your friends and family. Hope neither of you have the really nasty strain of flu and that you get well soon!

Regards,
Michael

Hi there Jen :)

I know that she follows an eating clean plan, and I would like to be down 100 pounds by Jan 1st of 2011. I am down nine pounds as of this morning. :) This trainer helped my aunt go from 250 to 135 in 8 months, and come in 2nd place in a national body transformation challenge. She also came in 1st in a body building competition that year :) So I have plenty of motivation and example that it can be done. lol

I hadn't noticed this thread before, but 100lbs is exactly my long term goal so that works out perfectly.

I started at 305lbs in mid-August, and my goal is 205lbs (no specific date yet, but hopefully mid-spring). That will take me from a BMI of 36.2 (severely obese) to 24.3 (normal). As of today I'm at 263lbs (31.2), so 58 more to go. :)

Thanks for the welcome. :)

The main thing is I am just eating less, which sounds simple but tracking it with fitday helps me stay accountable. I used to drink lots of sugar soda too (3-4 cans a day) and now I just drink water. That alone is 500-600 calories per day. I wouldn't say I'm eating completely healthy but I am at least eating better than I used to, and in much smaller quantities. :)

I started out just walking for exercise the first 2-3 months, but then I hit a bit of a plateau so the last month I've been doing some body-weight strength training (crunches, squats, pushups), and the weight is coming off again.

Today was a very hard day! I am so busy with work trying to get everything finished up before going on holidays for two weeks.. that I didn't take very much time to eat... I should be eating between 1600 and 1800 calories a day... and I only hit about 1000 today. I hope this doesn't impact my week too much!!

How is everyone doing? All set for the holidays? :)

Welcome Amber and Trav. Good to see you in the land of support and motivation. I wish you great success.

Hang in there, Julie. I know I have occasional days like that, but I really try to make sure I pack my snacks for work. I even have some stashed in my desk. Sometimes you just can't break away but you can throw something in your mouth.

I've found that the number of calories is a factor but also how/when I eat. I'm no expert by any means, but a goal for me is to get my metabolism started early, as soon as I get up, and do my best to space my eating throughout my day in the hopes that it will keep working for me.

Health and happiness everyone!

Good morning everyone ~

Sorry to hear about the swine flu and being housebound. Boo. Bad time of year for that.

And mom needing surgery with 12 weeks off... is there a short term disability available for her? Most bigger companies have that. If not, that completely sucks. No one can predict when they're going to be sick/injured and need time off. It shouldn't cost someone their job.

Welcome to the new people ~ very happy you're here.

And here's what I know about me: all of that emotional eating I used to do that I thought I was cured of? Not.

New favorite bad feeling? Pi@@ed off. Angry. Full of Rage.

I lost it with the two guys who work for me (long story, but short version, they're like a couple of junior high kids, constantly gossiping back and forth, and MAKING STUFF UP to get the other one all riled up and irritable). Had a hollering, door slamming fit and was so angry I was shaking.

So what did I do? I ate at it. Makes sense, doesn't it? (no, I know it doesn't)

I rarely ever get angry like that, but it definitely triggers the urge to eat. So there's my confession of the morning and I feel better having said it. It's so crazy, it's hard to talk about it with anyone. Who gets mad and eats at it?

I'm not doing it today, and I'm going to have a good one. Hope all y'all do too.

Here's a little inspiration from a guy who's lost 300 pounds.

Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds – A weight loss blog

Enjoy the day, everyone.

Heya,
Just a quick update for those interested..
Well, my Mum definitely has swine flu. It was confirmed today.
And I have a massive inner ear infection. I'm in total agony, and bern told that the tablets won't stop the pain for up to 48 hours. So I'm basically spending all my time bursting into tears each time I sneeze/cough/burp etc. :( It's the most pain I've been in, ever! And truthfully, it's comfort food all the way.

Felicity, sorry to hear about your Mom--I hope both of you mend up quickly.

Jenn, hope your Mom heals up quickly as well and is able to retain her employment.

Lynette, I know you know better than to let other people control what you do and how you feel. I'll admit other people sometimes bother me as well, but this is too important a battle to let anyone interfere with it.

IDK what advice to offer about emotional/comfort eating--I've been there and done that. I guess just to remember that it's only a minor setback and just water under the bridge. I know you'll get back on plan as soon as things improve.

I'm on vacation 'till the 3rd. so need to keep busy--I find it much easier to avoid eating if my mind is occupied. The scale is still hovering around 300 lbs.--I'm hoping to see it dip permanently into the 200s this week. I do have my planned monthly "cheat day" coming up, but not until my mini goal is firmly met.

Regards,
Michael

Felicity, sounds awful. I wish you and your mom the speediest of complete recoveries.

Jen, I wish the best for your mom and hope she comes through well and can return to work.

I'm weighing in this morning because I'm hitting the road for about a week and will be away from my scale. Speaking of which, I had to replace it because I couldn't get a measure last week from the cheap thing I initially bought. I went out and got a higher quality scale and am back in business.

Low and behold, I got a beautiful 331lbs even. That seven pounds must be over the last two weeks because I gave myself a "stayed even" when I couldn't get a measure before. Maybe my old scale was off, or maybe it's just hard work :) I'm assuming I was at about 335 last week.

I'm thrilled to have met my first mini goal, and will be thrilled to keep even through the holidays when I'll reach that mini goal date.

I hope everyone and the ones they love have a happy and healthy holiday.

Matt

Merry Chirstmas, everyone. Hope you're all doing OK, even those who are under the weather.

Matt--great job--2011 is going to be a banner year for you, I know.

My scale rewarded me with a display of 299.5 lbs. this morning--was going to take a picture but every time I picked up the camera it put me back to 300 :mad:

Anyway, by next Saturday I hope to be a little more firmly in the "200s". :D

Have a great day, fellow Losers!

Regards,
Michael

Hi Jen--glad you checked in. Don't worry about a pound or two (or three), I've seen my scale jump up 5 lbs for a day, then be back where it should be the next day. It amazes me how much natural fluctuation there can be, especially if I've eaten more sodium than usual.

We'll all hit the ground running in January when all the celebrating is done!

Regards,
Michael

Hey everyone,

Hope you're all having a joyous Christmas so far. :)
I was hoping to be able to weigh myself just to see if by a miracle I made my Christmas goal, but my scales are woefully inaccurate and I usually use the ones at the gym, so never mind! I just hope that I'm never this ill around Christmas time again..
Congrats to everyone on reaching their own personal Christmas goals! May your success continue into the New Year and beyond. I am raising a glass of orange squash your way. ;) x

Joining in if it is ok with everyone.

My scale said 330 yesterday morning. However, I know I am holding a little extra water weight right now because I can feel it in my fingers. It could be worse though.

My first big goal is pretty wide. 270 - 300 lbs by July 23.

I was asked to sign up to be a teen camp counselor and although the camp is not large, I need the stamina to endure a week of it. With good all terrain shoes, inserts and loose clothing I can handle the week of dust and sleep deprivation, but I am not sure about keeping up to 85 teenagers.

I would not usually consider starting a diet or fitness regime at this time of year, but I was just asked last week.

In a way I have already started. I began portion controlling the food that I put on the table. Everyone in the family is overweight but I can only do so much for the rest of them.

I will fix up my signature later.

Annette

Annette, I agree with Jen in that I think smaller goals are a good idea. There is something about our minds that look at a big goal as something unobtainable--like losing 100 (or 200+ in my case). I think our brains deal better with goals that can be reached more quickly (it's probably something to do with "instant gratification" that helped us get into this predicament in the first place).

I've been doing 10% of body weight goals lately with good success. Some folks count the "10s" with major goals of 50s and 100s. I'm currently working on my next 10% to get down to 270 by April 1st.

I find it really helps to decide on a calorie level and do the math to figure out how much weight you can reasonable expect to lose given your metabolism and lifestyle.

Anyway, welcome to our 100+ thread--we all know the challanges you're facing.

Regards,
Michael

Thank you Jen and Michael.

While I understand the concept of mini goals, I am not sure they are good for me. I believe I have to convince myself that I will never be finished because however I eat and move to begin losing, has to be longterm.
We do have to look at how we got this way to ensure that we do not go there again. I know my downfall is lack of scheduling. When my kids were young, I would get up in the morning and start my day, based on them. Their breakfast, their clothing, their homework, their bag lunch, laundry in, dishes out, to work on time. On the way home later that day, I would realize that I had skipped breakfast, worked through lunch and was about to grab a Timmy's donut to get me through until after whatever youth group was that night.

My allergies prevent me from picking up donuts anymore, so more often I just go without. But then I find myself grazing through the kitchen. My kitchen is not very grazable. Then best I can find is a handful of raisins.

So, today I start with just recording what I do eat. The only difference so far this morning, is I started with water instead of coffee.

Hopefully I have a plan of attack within the week.

Annette

Glad to hear you are working on your plan, Annette. Whether it's a big goal or a small one, it is the day-to-day success that is important.

I wholeheartedly agree about a permanent lifestyle change--like many here, this is not my first time at the major weight loss rodeo. I do hope to make it my last.

Like you, I am a creature of habit--I don't do so well with unstructured time (like right now, being on vacation) but I do find that journaling my food and thoughts here helps immensely.

Funny you mention Timmy's--I assume that's Tim Hortons? My daughter works at our local one. I don't do donuts, but I do get a sandwich and chili there every once in a while. Allergies aside, at least they do have some fairly calorie conscious choices.

Regards,
Michael

Michael,

Yes, it is Tim Horton's. We quit going there when soy became a ingredient in the donuts because it is too much of a temptation for my granddaughter, who is allergic to soy. For me, I can only go in when they are having a slow day. The more nut products being moved around, the more likely I will have hives just from standing in line.
Once my van broke down on the road, half blocking the local Timmy's. I had just had a fasting blood test, but I could not have breakfast until I got home. Now I carry nut/gluten free granola bars in my van, along with vermicelli and water for a quick lunch. As long as the van has power, I can heat water to cook it.
No, I am not gluten free, but my granddaughter is and I have her a lot when school is out.

Time to wake up the family.

Annette