Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Jennifer— Welcome to the thread! Being a teacher is hard work: I know that because my mother was a teacher, and she got stressed out a lot. I bet you're really looking forward to when school is out!
Ubee— Of course you can count on us! You get major kudos for telling us your weight. Try to chill from the angry & bitter feelings and focus on being determined & positive about the project. You're doing this because you love yourself and you love your family. Remember self-control is like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. I've certainly found that to be true with abstaining from cookies, candy, and donuts. I've been exercising that muscle on nearly a daily basis for six months now—that's why it's so strong.
Dean— Hazelnut is one of Mother Nature's gifts to us, isn't? Such a lovely scent and taste... Watch out for those negative inner monologues: they undermine your efforts. Every time you notice you're being down on yourself, pull out of those thoughts immediately and replace them with self-love. If self-love is hard for you to do, think about your love for your dogs and for other people: they all deserve a healthy you! =smile=
Terra— I agree with Ubee: it would be so nice if you told us more about yourself. And could you please describe Clyde for me? I want to be able to visualize the two of you on your walks, to help me get motivated to walk more myself.
Jane— Your loose pants are the real story, not your water weight. You're exercising so much, maybe you should be taking your measurements. The scale can lie, but not the tape measure!
I want to encourage all of y'all to try that slow deep breathing I mentioned to Ubee last week. It's been shown in scientific studies to activate the part of your brain that governs "will" power & "won't" power. What you do is, lie down comfortably on your side or your back, and start by totally relaxing your belly muscles. Then imagine that your belly is a balloon that you slooooowly inflate when you breathe in. Hold it completely inflated for a count of 3, then slooooowly allow it to deflate. If it's deflating too fast, try exhaling through pursed lips. It may take a dozen breaths or so before you get the hang of it. Do that 50 times or more, or 10-15 minutes if you have a watch on or can see a clock. The best time to do this is shortly before you're going to be facing a willpower challenge: before dinner, for example, or before your tempted-to-nibble time in the evening. It's really working for me with my temptation to overdo it on the muesli or nuts I eat at night.
I'm a bit frustrated today because I desperately need to go grocery shopping, which means I can't just push-push-push on the BERP. I find that once I get into a rhythm with plowing through magazines for useful clippings, I don't want to stop. I'm an all-or-nothing person: it's something I always struggle with. =sigh= I guess it's a good thing that my right shoulder gets sore from wielding scissors for hours on end, because it forces me to take breaks!
Good morning from the weird weather capital of the world -- went from Sun through light rain to heavy rain to hail yesterday with snow in the foothills. What happened to Spring?
Dean Doughnut shop coffee sounds wonderful -- and I can only imagine the aroma. Yum!!! What a great way to get a treat. Maybe I need to be a little more flexible on the coffee beans and stop buying in the enormous Costco bag. Understand baseball on the AM radio. I sometimes watch the game on TV with the sound off, but listen with the radio on. Sometimes the delays in one or the other make for entertaining games! And thanks for the positive vibes -- they are much needed and appreciated! Ubee Of course you can count on us. In terms of tricks to help, I'm literally thinking of putting a hasp lock on the pantry door just so I'll have to think about going in there. And I have taped a mirror to my stainless refrigerator since magnets don't work. Not the most attractive décor, but I'm trying to get myself to look at my new chipmunk cheeks before opening the door out of habit. We can do this. And, since I've gained 17 pounds in just a few weeks, I completely understand all the emotions. Jennifer Welcome and we'd love to have your join our little group. Changed my ticker yesterday after leaving it the same for several months so you've come to the right place. What do you teach? Terra Hi. Hope you enjoy your walks today. Lori Ann Great start! You'll have to share your secrets with us. Please keep coming back and posting. Fi the BERP project must be coming along if you were able to do a collage -- which I loved and want to have legs shaped like that again. Love Ubee's suggestion of looking through a paper towel roll. Does that mean we only have to straighten that one area? Silent Arctic Hang in there. It will come back eventually. In the meantime, just posting here means that the desire is still there, just fighting to get to the surface. Jane Staying on plan with all you've got going on right now is amazing. Good for you. Hope the relationship issues can get resolved. One thing I found in doing the work for the co-op was that because I was retired the assumption was that anything that needed to be done I could do because I had the free time. You might have to be very forceful in just saying no. I can't believe how much freer I feel this morning.
Thanks to everyone for wishing me good thoughts on resigning from the Co-op board -- definitely the right decision for me. I got through the day yesterday on plan, but still struggled last night. The evening hours are definitely my bad time. But, I'm a pound down this morning, so hopefully we'll see more progress over the next few weeks. Have a great day.
Tried to post earlier today but got busy at work. Not much else going on today. Took today as a rest day for working out so I could relax and take some me time to chill.
Betsy So glad to hear you quit the co-op! I bet a weight has definitely been lifted off your shoulders!
Ubee I am starting to feel better, just gonna keep pushin! If you need the help I am here! Sometimes we all need a good kick to get us going again. You can do this!
Dean The coffee sounds awesome! Glad things are still going good for you!!
Silent Sorry to hear things are going rough, but remember you can and will do this! You are strong!
Jane Sending you big hugs through the computer!! DH and I have had our big problems over the years. There's times I question why I'm still with him, but I realize the good out weighs the bad and I can't see him out of my life. If you ever need to talk, I'm here.
Lori Welcome back love!! Sounds like you're off to a good start!! Glad to see you here!!
Jennifer Welcome to the group!! You will love everyone here! This place is so helpful and encouraging and definitely keeps you accountable if you post often!!
Fi Awesome job on the 4 lb loss!!! You are rockin it girl!!! I love that you share pictures on here!! You and the DH are so stinkin cute!!! And I lovee the new fur babies!!! And your newest collage kicks so much ***!!
I've been on plan 100% so far this week so despite being TOM I am hoping for a loss. I took my measurements last night because I forgot to do it on Sunday and I've gained a little bit there but it is probably from being bloated. I'm not going to worry too much about it since I know I'm doing things the right way. Well I think it's gonna be an early night for me guys. Take care!!!
I am going to lose this weight.
Good Morning! Sam glad to hear you are 100% on plan. I was worried when you had the mac n cheese... that always sets me off. Betsy life is short. Indulge in good coffee instead of crappy junk food. Do you like tea? Maybe you could try all different flavors at night to help with the snacking. So glad you dumped the co-op. Shed your bad stuff and you will shed weight. Fi I did a modified version of your deep breathing will power thing and it is helping as long as I remember to do it. Thanks. Any BERP updates? Sorry I find this stuff interesting. I think you also will shed weight as you work on BERP. Dean glad your take steps to help with stress. It is the death of many.
Come on gang lets get back to posting daily. We all know it is crucial to staying on plan.
Sorry if my new tone is offending anyone. I am so done with putting off losing weight. I meant it when I said I needed tough love. Now is my time. My home life is going well. I have figured out how to deal with some of my food issues and the family is all on board. Thanks for being here.
Morning all and thanks for the welcome. I teach Biology. not that I'm smart about my own biology, as in the weight I have been fighting since I was 14 years old!!!!
I am going to try the deep breathing technique Fiona mentioned. I definitely could use some help destressing! yesterday I got some unpleasant news from my landlady. one month ago she contacted me and asked me to start paying rent with a cashiers check instead of my personal check. it has something to do with her decision to put her mom into a nursing home. The house I rent from them is still owned by her mother, even tho she has had dementia for quite a while now. she assured me I did not have to move and that she had no intention of selling the house.
Well yesterday she sends me an email telling me that she is probably going to have to sell the house and asked if I was interested in buying it
I spent all day with a sick-anxious feeling in my gut. I can't even begin to look for a new place to live until school gets out mid May, I've got way too many possessions to make moving an easy thing and the whole idea of moving just makes me ill! I have at least *thought* about buying this house, but its an OK rental, but needs a lot of work and I don't know if I am ready for a bunch of house remodeling, plus I don't really trust these people to negotiate buying it form them!!! arghhhh.
got to go to work now. thanks for letting me vent...
--Jennifer
Good morning all. It's still raining here, but at least it's just a consistent steady rain with no teasing sun breaks. Hope it lets up long enough for me to roll the recycling bin down to the end of the alley for pick up tomorrow.
Jennifer Oh my -- sounds like you've got way too much on your plate right now. Knowing what to do in a situation like this is so stressful because there are so many variables. Do you have friends who could maybe recommend someplace? Any special requirements like it must be a house because of pets? Can a real estate agent help with narrowing the choices? Are you even interested in buying a house even if it's not the one you're in? Lots of things to think through for you. Maybe the first step is to find out if there's a time line that your landlady has in mind. Ubee I love your tone. I envision us in warrior outfits (although I refuse to wear the helmut because I don't want helmut hair!) taking our swords and slashing at all the bad food choices that we can make in a day. I'm in the same frame of mind so let's slay us some calories. Sam 100% on plan. You are so awesome with being able to do that for stretches at a time. Hope you enjoyed the chill day -- it's something we all need to do once in a while. Fi I think we were posting at the same time yesterday. I'm going to try the deep breathing although I'm going to do it wherever I am when the urge hits. I'm also coupling it with an actual decision -- Do you want crackers or do you want to walk without panting? Do you want roasted pecans (eat those by the handful) or do you want to walk further than 20 feet? Do you want potato chips or do you want to be able to travel comfortably? My bad eating is almost always of the mindless variety so I need to switch that to being mindful.
Previous rules that are being re-implemented. 1) Eating will only be done at the table. 2) Unless it's been measured, it can't come to the table. 3) Everything that is eaten must be entered in the food journal. 4) No eating of anything after 8 PM. I do think that getting rid of the co-op stress will help. But a lot of this has to come from within and with Ubee leading the charge, we can all do this.
Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Oh y'all...I realized today that I am massively stressed out about the BERP (Big Entropy Reduction Project, for Jennifer & anyone else who's new). I don't need advice, though. I know how to deal with it, I think. I just need to write about it...and maybe some sympathy...
What happened was, I had to drive about half-an-hour's distance to the VW dealer to get the passenger side mirror on my Passat fixed. (Some time ago I screwed it up by driving it into a column in one of those tightly-packed underground garages.)
When I got to the service bay, there was a whole sequence of miscues: wrong place, wrong person, part missing, etc. Finally then, the work got underway. I was parked in a waiting area crowded with grumpy customers, where the loud television was nonstop annoying daytime talk shows and commercials for things like Premarin cream: nothing like hearing the words "painful intercourse" and "thin vaginal walls" at high volume to put one's nerves on high alert!
But you know what? Actually, I was not on high alert. From the moment I got en route to the dealer, I felt like I was swimming in a pleasant sea of calm and happiness. None of the miscues, none of the television gab, nothing whatsoever could faze me in the least. In the midst of all that din, I read a Harper's magazine I'd brought, thinking, "Gee, this predictable article on the evils of the current American brand of capitalism is one of the most well-written and insightful pieces I've ever read—I think I'll save it and mail it to a friend..." prompting another little voice in my head to say, "Are you high?"
In short, my friends, I was high. I was high on not having to worry about the BERP. I was so high, when I left the dealer I "accidentally" turned north toward Baltimore instead of south toward home, and I was absolutely delighted when I realized it, because it meant I'd get to drive around a little longer with my sunroof open, with my brand-new passenger side mirror so friendly & helpful in multilane traffic, and the world just bursting with blooming cherry trees and blooming dogwoods and blooming pear trees and those cute little lime-green baby leaves on all the other trees...oh man was I high...
...until I got home and walked in the house. CRASH! All the mental pressure from the BERP came down on my head so hard and so fast, I staggered and almost fell down. I started clipping magazines. I was so jittery, I almost stabbed myself in the hand with the scissors. I can't bring myself to write about how I felt, that's how awful it was. Just imagine four-alarm stress levels and you'll know the rest of the story...
It's not what I'm doing, what I'm working on at any one moment, that's driving me nuts. It's what I'm not doing, all the problem areas I haven't even begun to tackle, that's crowding into my head and torturing me with guilt and elevating my stress hormones like nobody's business. And guess who's craving carbos like mad, all of a sudden? Even =gasp= cookies and candy and donuts!
Yes, I'm having a hard time doing what Ubee suggested, a hard time shrinking my awareness of the mess to the little window in the paper towel tube. =big sigh= I'm having a hard time maintaining my cool.
But I have some ideas about how to handle this situation. That's why I don't think that advice is what I need. Just sympathy, calming words, that sort of thing...if you've got any to spare...and thanks for listening, if you've made it this far.
oh Fiona--I can relate...my house is piles of stuff I need to deal with and I don't seem to deal with at all...
Want to come over for ice tea on the deck?
Do your clipping or whatever you need to. I'm about to head home from work for a lie down. I've discovered that lying on my bed listening to an audio book with my eyes closed and a cat napping at my side lets me shed some anxiety..and then get up to try to make a healthy dinner!
PS good for you dealing so well with the car place, and OMG those commercials, you had me laughing there!
Ubee I have to admit I was a little worried there that I was going to go into carb overload. Even though I was really strict with my portion control on things I got kind of scared at one point that this was it, this was where I was going to extremely mess up and I'll be at the point of no return. Then I stopped myself, took a deep breath and told myself, **** NO! You CAN do this! You've made it 3 months...what's another 3 months? Or another 3 months after that? That's when I snapped back into what I like to call beast mode and started eating 100% again. This week has been a bit tough because for some reason this TOM is making me want bread so freakin bad! But I am staying strong. You know how when someone is going into the military and you'll hear someone say, "Keep your head down", well I keep telling myself that...Just keep your head down and stay focused! Don't worry about what other people are eating, don't worry about what you can't or shouldn't eat...worry about what you CAN eat...That is what will make ALL the difference! Eating what you can or what you allow yourself will just make exercising (which I loathe) that much easier. Don't get me wrong, I will bust all kinds of *** working out, but I just hate exercising...but I know the pounds won't come off the right way just be eating and not exercising. Hope hearing about my mental struggle will help you some too! You're attitude is amazing right now! I just wanna give you a chest bump like a frat boy and get stuff done! GO GIRL!
Jennifer Sorry to hear about you having to find a new place to live. I hate moving. DH and I moved almost once a year up until 4 years ago because something always happened at the place we were staying...I'm now in a company managed apartment complex and I don't plan on moving until we get our micro house built on our own land. I hope everything works out for you and we're all here for support!
Betsy Thank you for the kind words. It definitely has been a mental fight for myself to stay 100% as much as I have, but I keep looking at how much I've lost in 3 months and how much of a beast I've become. It has helped a ton having you all here along with my journey.
Fi I can kinda relate to what you're going through. My house is practically always a disaster area and I dread coming home from work every day. I'm actually at a place where I actually love my job and the people I work with for once in my life and coming home to a messy house drives me nuts. I know I could always just clean it, but DH is here all day and I feel like if I'm gonna make the dough than he needs to help, though I know sometimes he can't. I have those same times where I feel high with the wind in my hair driving down the road...I'm sending you big love and hugs!! We're ALWAYS here for you when you needs us!
I have been in an amazing mood for some reason today. I think it's because I remembered my B-12 today after forgetting for 2 days. I don't know, maybe I'm just naturally happy haha....DH is even like, are you really my wife? Not that I'm always in a bad mood but I get irritated easily and this birth control I've been on has kinda put me on edge lately too. Gotta love hormones! I had another OP day. Had my gluten free oatmeal for breakfast with berries in it and some pineapple for a snack...I had my usual salad for lunch...this time with chicken, a little bit of crumbled habanero cheese, raw sunflower seeds, romaine, cukes, tomatoes and my home made balsamic dressing. It is so good! I think next week I'm going to have my taco salad without the shell...It's been awhile since I've had that and it is probably my favorite. Tonight I think I'm going to do some cardio and work on legs. One of the cats poked a hole in my balance ball so I can't use that for abs until I get it patched. I've found a few ways to fix it online so I don't have to get a new one.
I also agree with Ubee that we all need to get in the habit of posting every day. It really does keep us all accountable for what we know we need to do, plus it has been a tremendous help for us all I would say, when we need the extra encouragement from others, when we may not always get it when we want it from our families and loved ones. I'm going to make a point to post every day again, even if it's just HEY! I'M ALIVE! WORK IT! LOL!! I love all of you to death and you've been a huge help in my weight loss progress. If it weren't for you guys I don't know if I would have made it as far as I have. I have a LONG way to go still, but this group has made it a lot easier, and I hope that one day I'll be posting that I weighed in at my goal weight and be able to show you guys pictures!! I'll probably be bawling like a baby, but I want you ALL there with me when it happens, and believe me, it WILL happen.
Anyway, I'm off to change out of these work close and get ready to work out. Have a great evening everyone!
Good Morning! Sam I love your 3 months at a time attitude. I did that when I was losing. Going back to taking it slow, steady, and moving my weight down. Thanks. Chest bump back at you!!! Jennifer I have an orange long haired kitty. What do you have? I'm sorry about your housing situation. Sounds like an opportunity to down size and make a fresh start. Fi I believe in you. Betsy my calorie slaying friend, how do manage to eat only at the table? If I could do that I would be a size 12.
I have decided to take my tough love and start a new thread. This chat thread is for love, understanding and encouragement. I love this place. It is my soft landing. You guys are the best and I need this daily dose of love.
Sorry guys, still sick, and ergo still grumpy and not feeling up to working out. (just going up a flight of stairs seems like a chore at this point since I am having trouble breathing). So not feeling all happy shiny motivated... The scale is hovering around 300... it was 305 yesterday, 300 today, it likes to be bouncy I guess. Sorry not really the best company weight loss wise right now.
Good morning. No rain!!!!! Cloudy, overcast, gloomy, but not raining. Which is good since Becky is over for a play date with Toby (yes, I arrange play dates for my oversized puppy -- otherwise he tends to use me as a large exercise vehicle).
SilentArctic So glad you're still posting with us. Wish you felt a lot better. And give yourself some credit for not having a massive regain like I did. It will come back and in the meantime, we're here for you. Ubee Eating only at the table is one of those rules I'm imposing on myself because I swear most of my weight gain in my life has come about while eating in the recliner, at night, while mindlessly watching TV (which usually isn't worth watching in the first place!). I'm on a streak with it......one day and counting! What's the name of your new thread and which heading is it under? I need some seriousness in this and will join you. Sam Totally get your short term mentality of saying stick with it for 3 months and then the next 3 and the next 3. Mine, right now, is more in the stick with it for 3 MINUTES, and the next 3 etc. And you're always in a positive frame of mind which I find incredible when trying to change one's eating habits. JzBelle The resting with your eyes closed while listening to a book and snuggling with your cat sounds so peaceful. And since I tend to eat off plan when I'm tired and stressed, I imagine this approach would help all of us to then have a healthy supper. Great idea. Fi Loved your post and totally understand the BERP stress. I do the same thing in terms of self-imposed stress -- but it's real. And love the car ride freedom -- totally get that, too.
Well, so much for no rain. Just looked out the window and realized it was raining so I went to get the dogs in. I will be shampooing the carpet on the steps sometime in the near future! Got my meals all planned out for today. Goind for a string of 2 days in a row on plan. I'm down another pound this morning but wonder at the science behind being able to gain 16 pounds over the course of 7 days and knowing it will take between 6-8 weeks to get it off. Do you think it has anything to do with why I'm posting in 300+ group? Have a great day.
Yipee Silent showed up! We don't care if you are grumpy. (Besides if you think that is grumpy we gotta talk.) Hope you feel better and shiny soon! Betsy and I miss having a social life. Betsy my new thread is 300+ Tough Love. I am so upset with whomever invented the recliner. (Which I am in now.) I really do not like eating at the table. I'm taking it one day at a time, one bite at a time, and one step at a time.
You guys are all so awesme!
Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Well, I'm bearing up better today under the BERP pressure than I was yesterday. I've decided to give myself every afternoon off between 1 and 5, since the times when I was freaking out were all in the mid- to late afternoon. That really seemed to help today. I'm also giving myself every Sunday off, all day long.
I'm also working hard to make sure I get the right nutrition, at the right times, and that I stay hydrated. Yesterday I realized I had gotten through the whole long sweaty day on only one liter of water—oops! It's easy to get caught up in my clipping and forget to eat & drink, so I'm striving to not do that anymore. I want to make a collage, and I gathered the ingredients for it this afternoon, but I'll just have to see whether I have a chance to do it before Sunday.
Anyway, I'm charging into the evening full-steam here, so I gotta go...take care, folks, and thanks for the sympathy & the votes of confidence!
Yep, I'm in rare form tonight! Last night was very rough on me, not eating wise, but mentally. I can't believe I'm going to publicly admit this, but I have separation anxiety when it comes to DH. I wasn't always like this...well, not this bad. About 3-4 years ago DH was in a traveling band so he would be gone 3 months at a time. The first week sleeping without him would be hard, but I'd eventually get used to it, even though I would miss him. But within the past 2 years some things have happened between us where if he isn't back within a certain amount of time, I very irrational, freak out, cry, hyperventilate, and have all out panic attacks. Last night was one of those nights. He went to go record some bass tracks for a friend of ours. It's for a rap group so he thought it would only be about an hour or two. Things ended up getting out of hand there from what I ended up finding out, but he was gone 6 hours! I didn't get to bed till he got home shortly after 2 AM. It's like when he's out there I my mind automatically goes to the worst possible thing that could happen, car accident, doing something stupid and getting arrested (this has happened before), getting killed, drinking and driving, any possible thing that can happen comes to mind. He is a recovering addict so my mind automatically goes to a dark place and worry. I'm sure he would NOT want me to put this on blast, but I feel I can vent here without judgement. We were in contact with eachother but once I get going I can't sleep, I can't think rationally, it gets really bad. He gets upset with me but I feel like he just doesn't understand. I DON'T want to feel like this, I don't WANT to be like this...I wanted to go to sleep but my body just would not let me!! A friend of mine thinks that I may have had this as a child when I lost my father at such a young age, but maybe I just don't remember it? And with some of the battles we've gone through in recent years has just brought it back as an adult? I don't know, but it's something I have do deal with from time to time.
ANYWAY!!! Sorry to rant about the bad stuff....However, I am in a pretty good mood tonight. My legs are absolutely killing me tonight from last night's leg work out. I did end up doing some cardio and working my arms tonight...which now feel like jello! There's days where I feel like total poop after I work out, but other days, like tonight, I feel great! I don't get it...Maybe my body just wants to give me the middle finger some days.
Tomorrow I have to run a booth for work at this festival tomorrow for a few hours...hopefully the weather is nice outside. Going to try and get some cardio in at some point tomorrow.
I won't do personals tonight but will make a point to do it tomorrow. Trying to keep my word at posting something every day!
I believe in you. 
What's the name of your new thread and which heading is it under? I need some seriousness in this and will join you.
Have a great day.
