Mandy - So glad the little hooker reference popped up again! It's my favorite. The Super Run sounds like a lot of fun. I just talked to someone yesterday about doing the Color Run or the Bubble Run. I hadn't thought about doing other races this summer, but barring injury, I should be able to pop in and do a 5K any time I want, so long as I continue my training. That is something I have longed to say for years now! Most people say that you don't need to do a full 5K in training to be able to do the 5K in the race. The adrenaline and group energy will push you to finish. In fact, I've read advice that those prepping to do a full marathon never do more than a half-marathon in training. I actually struggled more in the middle of the program than at the end, though. What I'm saying is -- you have a lot of time to think about it. For me, though, it took actually determining a race date to give me the extra incentive to push through running sessions when I just didn't want to run, which I never had when I just told myself I was going to finish the C25K. Lots to think about, is what I'm saying, but I know you are gonna rock this. That little hooker never had a chance.
Diane - SO happy that you are able to do both spin and body pump now, and only have some stiffness to pay for it. I hope that the stiffness quickly becomes a thing of the past as well, and that you felt pumped and ready to take on Body Flow this morning. It sounds like the food is still going well, too. Not perfect (cuz who wants perfect?), but consistently good. That's why you're a rock star.
Carter - Hope you're enjoying your well-earned day off!
Today at work is gonna be crazy crazy. Just waiting to receive some stuff, and then it will be off to the races. I am debating whether to do a late run (before meeting some friends to do a kickboxing class) or to do my run tomorrow. I really, really like having two solid days off from running, so I may just fit it in before my kickboxing class. It's Pizza Friday anyway, and it will give me a chance to skip having to smell the deliciousness of the pizza and trying to fit it into my calorie budget, when I would be just as satisfied with a lower-caloric option.
Mandy: I think that sometimes if I push to do something when I'm not ready, the pressure makes me cranky. And then you don't enjoy it as much either. So good for you! You'll make this goal!!!!
Laurie: I did some kickboxing many years ago. I thought it was fun, so hope you have a good time with it! Kudos on the running commitment!
For me, I didn't go to Body Flow this morning. It was more that we got more snow last night and I wasn't sure how the roads would be. So, I just decided to wait one more week on doing it. The roads turned out to be pretty good, so not a horrible drive into work. The extra sleep was really nice, too.
I saw a little more of a loss today on the scale. That was good to see. I had gained so much over the holidays, I am grateful to see it going back down. It is getting easier to stay on track with food, and for that, I am also grateful. And.... yay!.... my back felt a lot better this morning. Maybe I'll get past this thing yet. I do hope to get back to running next week, so happy to have a little relief.
Hey Everybody! It's ubergirl here! So happy to see familiar faces--Carter, Diane, Mandy, Laurie! And hello to anyone I don't know. Hope you all remember me. :-)
I'm not sure how long it's been since I've been around, but a long time for sure!
So, where do I stand? Between 2014 and 2015 I had a pretty tumultuous time-- lost my dad, had to separate from my husband due to some issues he was having, and went through a period of financial difficulty. Had a pretty significant regain from my low of 180s in 2010-2011, and went up and down between high 270s and 250s about five times, but was still maintaining a loss of 10% from my original high weight of 295.
Happily, my life is back on an even keel. But unfortunately, 2016 saw me regain the last of the 30-40 lbs I had managed to keep off since 2009. As of the last couple of weeks, I'm actually back to within 3 lbs of the high weight that pushed me on the journey of weight loss in the first place.
One of the things I had been doing was avoiding going to the doctor-- kept thinking I could get some of the weight off first. When I finally went in, she referred me to the bariatric center-- I was told that I was being sent to "explore my options" but it's pretty clear that the bariatric center has a surgical focus-- but they also offer choices, like a medically supervised liquid diet. Fortunately, I'm still pretty healthy, but I'm 55, and my doctor pretty much said-- it's time to get that weight off. She told me that WLS has changed a lot and is getting better outcomes, but she didn't pressure me to do it-- just to consider it among several possibilities.
I almost did lap-band surgery in 2008, but after my insurance company turned me down, I lost the weight the old-fashioned way, and did have quite a bit of success keeping it off for a while. But it just felt as if I got mentally exhausted--and it gets harder and harder for me to restart. I don't know why. But I've always been really hesitant to consider WLS. I'm just not sure it's right for me. I'm wondering if trying a combo of the medically supervised diet and CBT for eating issues might work better.
So, here I am, back with you guys-- just sharing my story, and wondering how you old-timers are feeling about things. 2017 marks six years since I decided to try to deal with my weight (after just going up and up for the previous seventeen years) and 2017 also finds me at my highest lifetime weight. Part of me thinks I'll never get the weight off and should consider surgical options, and part of me thinks that since I'm able to usually maintain a weight around 260, I should just focus on getting back there. I really don't have the confidence that I can drop back below 200 by my efforts alone.
Happy to see you all here! Kudos to all for all SVs and NSVs and for just hanging in there!
I was hoping we'd get an update from you soon. I am sorry about the regain, and the difficulties in life that had you put weight management on the back burner. But I am glad to see you posting again, and happy to hear (read?) that things have settled down a bit for you.
Ubergirl! - I am so excited to see you here again! Interestingly, Carter linked to one of your older posts about two weeks ago (January 9) on this thread -- if that gives you any indication of how much you've been missed and how much we continue to value your wisdom and perspective. You and I have somewhat of a similar history. I had gotten down to about 160 in 2008, but went to law school from 2009-2012 (plus a divorce, so I was a single mother of five kids for most of that), and bumped up to my highest weight of 278. You have been there for much of my subsequent journey, with included three significant losses followed by large gains. By last April, I was up to 263. And the last time I weighed (Wednesday morning, I think), the scale said 167. I am trying to compose my next sentence of encouragement, but I realize how much I have gleaned from your wisdom and am acutely aware that I will likely be parroting something I have internalized from you. Intellectually, you not only know that this can be done, but you know that you can do it. I would not discourage you from looking closely at the surgery option, but whether you have surgery or not, you have to start again. And the good thing? You don't need confidence to start. You just need to start. I am, fortunately, in a place where I have made significant progress and believe I will continue to make it. But, as you know, it is a fight, and will always be a fight. And, at least for me, it's a fight I cannot ignore. I want to be the grandmother who takes her grandkids on adventures, not the one who they have to come visit because I can't get out of the house. There's only so much I can control, and I acknowledge that. But I love that, right now, I can challenge my kids to a footrace or take them on a bike ride or school them in a game of one-on-one basketball. For me, that is worth the fight, even though I know I will never "win" the fight. Rather, because of my compulsive eating issues and genetically slow metabolism, it is a fight that I will have to engage in every day. Some days, that feels overwhelming. Other days, it's something I accept about myself. I am hoping more days will fit into the latter category than the former.
Diane - I am so thrilled that your back felt so much better this morning! The weather challenges are so much more temporary. And yay! on the scale continuing to move down. You are rocking 2017.
I came into work for just a little bit to catch up on stuff, and I am so glad I decided to check in. Getting Carter and Ubergirl back within a month is beyond incredible. And Trazey, too! And, of course, Diane and Mandy are always inspiring, and I hope Bookmark stays with us long-term. I may not always be winning this battle, but I have done a million times better because y'all have been in my corner.
I ran yesterday, as planned. I decided to do 5.0 instead of 5.2, and it was nice not to have to struggle every minute. The first 17-minute interval was fairly easy, and I didn't really start struggling until I was almost halfway done. Between warm-up, cool-down, and the two 1-minute walking intervals, I was on the treadmill for exactly 1 hour, and I covered 4.8 miles. At that pace, I'll finish the half-marathon in time. I went to the website again, and they had updated with an open date for registration, so I have that marked on my calendar. I am glad to have had a training session that was not as painful as the previous few have been. On Monday, I will do the steady-state again instead of the intervals, and I am going to try to run continuously for 4.75 miles. The weather is nice here, so I might find an outdoor track and do it tomorrow instead of Monday so that I don't have to do the treadmill. If I am able to run outside on a track in temperate weather, I will try to tackle five miles.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 01-21-2017 at 02:19 PM.
Little hooker in my head was being really loud and mean yesterday. Telling me I was getting nowhere. Telling me this whole thing was pointless. She was particularly loud when I walked out of the shoe store without shoes. She didn't care that they didn't have the color I wanted. She didn't care that I tried them on, walked around and jogged around in them. She didn't even care that I ordered them in the color I wanted when I walked out of the store. She was just happily telling me "I knew you'd chicken out! You can't do this. Why did you even come in here?!" She was loud enough that I bought a couple boxes of pop tarts in a flavor I've been craving. When I got home and was putting groceries away I looked at those stupid boxes and was really tempted to dig into them (It didn't help I was shopping hungry).
Instead I went and found an old picture of my face from July 2016 when I was 315 pounds. And I used an app on my phone to put it side by side with a picture I took yesterday, at 277. Almost 40 pounds. I needed to see that there was a difference.
That little hooker voice won, temporarily. But what I am doing is working. And I will be keeping those stupid pop tarts, and I will be finding a way to fit them into my calories for the day. I'll have one for dessert or something every now and then. Hubby will help. It'll be fine, and I won't feel bad for wasting food or money.
Hello everyone! <-- it's late in the day, so we'll call that decaf. 2222222222222222222222qa <-- that was one of the cats.
First things first: UBERGIRL. Such a treat to see you back here. I look forward to more of your insight and humor.
Mandy: Congratulations on ordering those running shoes! You underplayed that fact in your post, but you have been talking about it for a while and stuff kept getting in the way so it's pretty darn great that you've ordered them.
Laurie: Thanks for sharing your story, though I am sure you have shared it before. It's always interesting to hear people's ups and downs, the challenges that are similar to and different from my own, and the way they reflect on their own peregrinations. When is the half-marathon? I don't think I will ever have the attention span to run that distance.
Diane: A little loss, the back a little better, and a little easier to stay on track with food - sounds like a terrific week!
As for me, I had a pretty nice weekend. I went to NYC to see family. I also saw a college friend and went to the march with her and her teenage son, which was a thrill for me. Then I ran (literally) across town to meet my mother, sister-in-law, and niece for a show, and then dinner with the rest of the family. I ate pretty carefully, probably drank a bit more than ideal, but I don't mind it. I haven't weighed since Friday so I'll see tomorrow where the numbers are.
Mandy - Yay on the shoes! And the progress pics! And on telling that (way too loud) hooker to shut up. Also, you continue to be too adorable for words in all of the pictures you post.
Carter - A weekend trip to NYC sounds fantastic. I, too, went to a march on Saturday with my daughter, and I was very glad I did. The way that you handled this weekend smells a lot to me like someone who is very good at integrating events with a healthy lifestyle. Not always ideal, but good enough that it doesn't sabotage your progress, but does not make you miserable. Your ability to do this is probably why your gain was about 20 pounds, whereas mine was about 70.
I have a super busy day at work, and I need to figure out how to fit five miles of running into it somewhere. I almost decided to run yesterday instead, but I decided instead to work for a few hours. I also have a doctor's appointment today, so that makes today even more challenging. But I am going to opt for working as though I am under serious deadline pressure (I'm not, but things can get out of hand if I don't get some of it cleared) and/or getting less work done than I otherwise might instead of skipping my run.
hi Ubergirl I remember you too!!! I'm back after a small gain but trying to get a handle on it early. It's always inspiring hearing everyone's struggles - you seem to have had your fair share! but good for you for coming back and trying again we can do it!
Uber: So glad you are back!! You have been missed!!! Boy, this weight loss thing is really tough, isn't it? I'm glad you're taking time to assess your options. If I may, I'd like to encourage you to try all options before doing the surgery. If it turns out that surgery is the best option, then you know you have exhausted all other efforts. I am 53, so I understand how tiring it gets after a lifetime of battles. But I also know too many people who have had surgery and it just isn't the answer either. The most recent one, my cousin, has actually done fairly well with losing the weight after surgery about a year ago. But some of what she tells me about what she has to give up in her life to avoid pain is just beyond what I would want to do. I feel bad for her in that she still can't be active physically even after losing weight, because of her lack of energy.
No matter what you decide though, just know that I'm glad you are here!! You are a valued cyber friend!!
Mandy: Good for you on ordering the shoes! You will win this one, for sure. And, definitely, you can see a big difference in your side by side photos. You look so good!!
Laurie: Wow, 167! That's so awesome!!! Very proud of you!
Carter: I love that you left your cat's typing in the post. I'm sure he/she had something quite profound to add!!!
For me, I had a little step backward on my back/neck. It is very stiff today. I didn't go to the gym this morning, but I think I might try going after work, just to get a little work in yet today. I have PT tomorrow, so I won't be able to go in the morning either...
That's pretty much all I have for today. I'm hoping my new goodies will give me the push I need to get out of this mood I've been in the last few days.
My husband agreed to adding a treadmill to our home gym!
I can order it in 2 pounds! It has a max weight of 275 (which I know has a huge safety cushion built in, so 2 pounds probably doesn't matter BUT STILL), and once I get below that, I'm ordering it. Hubby said it was okay to order it whenever I wanted, but maybe that little extra motivation will help me get back on track.
Mandy - WOOT! You are totally ready to go now. Exciting about adding a treadmill to your basement gym too. Bye-bye, pounds 277 and 276!
Diane - Ugh! This injury is the one that does not just stahp. already. Hope you were able to sneak in a post-work gym visit, and that PT goes well today.
Trazey - Just seeing your avatar makes me smile. You have always been an inspiration.
I missed posting yesterday because of work commitments. I had a really rough day with food, and for the first time, I just completely blew off a scheduled training day for my half-marathon. I am really getting into work lately. I have a government job, which means that I am asked to do way more than I could possibly handle. It takes discipline to walk away when I want to just do "one more thing." I've done well about making sure I work out, but it's hard. I need to recommit myself to being able to walk away and take care of myself. I also went way overboard on food, and bypassed the skirt I had planned to wear and put on some baggy pants with an elastic waistband. And, of course, I didn't want to come back here. So many signs of the apocalypse. So many indications I'm heading for a serious relapse.
The way back, for me, is hour by hour, choice by choice. I am going for my morning walk at 10. I am going to run today, Friday, and Saturday to get back on track with my running schedule. I will hydrate consistently, and if I am tempted to eat something stupid, I will read an article or will read some of the posts on this board.
I picture all y'all reading my never-ending "This is my plan to get back my mojo" posts and rolling your eyes. I really struggled to make myself come here this morning. But it's just the hooker in my head trying to sabotage me. I think my posts can get to be super annoying. I know I annoy myself. But my only alternative is to try to fight my relapses and almost-relapses without posting, and that has not proved to be a winning strategy for me ever.
Mandy: Oooo! A treadmill and new shoes. You'll be really hitting it now!! Way to go!
Laurie: I am pretty sure that I can speak for all of us that we do not roll our eyes with your posts. It isn't easy. This is a daily/hourly struggle for all of us, so we know what you're going through. I'm just glad you came back and posted today!!!
For me, I just keep struggling with back issues. PT was so painful. We've decided to try "dry needling", which is basically acupuncture. If that doesn't work, then I'll start going in to PT twice a week. I have not been to the gym this week, just struggling with pain again. Today seems slightly better, so maybe it will start to improve again. It makes me so frustrated because I had such great plans for this year. I just want to get back to doing what I want to do. I guess the good thing is that it is still winter. At least I'm not yet missing out on summer activities.
Hello folks <-- we can all pretend that is a martini.
Very jammed up week at work so I haven't had a chance to stop in here. Food has been fine so far this week, and I can't really complain about the numbers - though I want to . I got to see 194 yesterday but was back up to 195 today. Still, it's all good.
Diane: I'm so sorry the back issues haven't resolved yet. Don't worry too much about your long term plans - they will come together. I hope you can focus on getting better.
Laurie: You did a great thing for yourself by staying here with us. There is nothing wrong with your posts - to the contrary, it's so helpful for all of us to be reminded that other people struggle with the same problems we do. I think it's shame that makes it hard to come back to the board when we've slipped up or had a rough patch. Your courage in coming back will help us when it's our turn to struggle back in from a setback!
Mandy: Between the shoes and the treadmill you are set up. Enjoy them.
I am sorry about the regain, and the difficulties in life that had you put weight management on the back burner. But I am glad to see you posting again, and happy to hear (read?) that things have settled down a bit for you.
<-- it's late in the day, so we'll call that decaf. 2222222222222222222222qa <-- that was one of the cats. 
. I got to see 194 yesterday but was back up to 195 today. Still, it's all good. 
Enjoy them.
