Vortex_VVV - I am working towards becoming a nurse and because I have no experience in the medical field (my first college degree was art) I am trying to get a Patient Care Tech certification in a program that works directly with a hospital, to build up experience and confidence. PCT is like a CNA (certified nursing assistant) except PCTs can also draw blood and a couple other thing. However it is a 12 hr a day on your feet job (and I'll still be in school), and the program/certification itself requires a fitness test of which I know very little details except that I have to be able to lift 50lbs (I have to assume there is some walking or breathing or something too) - so I am trying to shape up to prepare for both the test and the job.

Your trips sound like fun, I love Chicago and doing walk abouts there! and I have enjoyed Wisconsin too, all though I have seen less of it

Ubee -- I was going to ask if you wanted some cheese with that whine, but figured a food reference was inappropriate!

Vortex -- First, enjoy your trips as both sound great. And good for you for thinking through the binge and wanting to stick with it. 99% of this effort is mental in my opinion.

Tex -- Welcome. Glad you're back and know that you're in company who has also lost and regained so we understand.

Lost -- Great in staying on your plan.

Deb -- I lost my sister 5 years ago. If you need to talk through what you're going through with someone who has been there, please feel free to send me a private message.

Atalanta -- Love your plan to increase steps slowly and in easy to manage ways -- like getting off the bus stop one stop earlier. Great idea.

Yard work is on schedule for today and evidently refilling the bird feeders. The grossbeaks are having a field day with the black sunflower seeds and the goldfinches are eating their thistle. Going to the gym and then try and get the yard to looking a LOT better! Have a good day all.

Ok gang. Time for some of that tough love.

The reason I joined this discussion was because I find a lot of the others in this forum are full of whingers complaining about the ramifications of their weight.

We're all in here for the same reason. We are fat. We don't want to be.

So, we've decided to do something about it. We're changing what we eat, how we move, how we live, to try and change who we are, how we look, how long we will live.

With change comes sacrifice and struggle. We all knew this coming into it.

If it were easy, we wouldn't be fat to begin with.

Time to suck it up, grow a pair, and recommit. Completely. Stick to the plan, because you WANT to. You CHOSE this. Nobody here is forcing you.

Stick to the plan, because you don't want to be fat anymore.

Life is never easy, we all have other things going on that make dieting a struggle, but we come in here to share our experiences and boost each other.

If you want love and hugs, this isn't the place. Tough love isn't about cuddles. But it is still about love.

I want to see everyone in here succeed. I want to succeed. Let's do this.

Let's lose weight. Let's eat healthily, exercise... live!

*rant over*

I had a good food and exercise day yesterday. I took dessert and church and took 2 small bites and threw it in the trash. I could have easily eaten it all but knew I didn't need it !
My stomach is still unsettled but started a probiotic hoping it will help.
Today will be spent walking with the kids. We have 2 construction sites close to my house and we walk and watch them work. The boys love the big trucks cranes ect.
Gardening is on my to do list today.

Hubby and I have walked the past few evenings.
Scales are down. Hoping for a good loss in the morning.

Atalanta83, thank you for the tough love rant - I needed that this morning.,

dgramie - sorry to hear about your tummy, after 20 years of IBS tummy upset I understand how debilitating it can be. Good job walking and sticking to eating plan.

Day 2 (yesterday) completed on plan! Today will be hard, have my first job interview in 4 years (and I really really need a job) and I am as nervous as a cat in a rocking chair factory!

Good day!
Lost good job on day 2 now I want to see day 3. Good luck on your job and remember stress is not an excuse to eat.
Deb stay focused. You are setting a great example!
Atalanta I am sick of being fat and looking like a sausage.
Betsy stay away from the popcorn or at least use portion control! Why did I read about this in another thread and not on here?????
Vortex good thing you realize you will have to go into giving things up mode. You will have to give up clothes that you wear because they fit and settle for clothes that look really nice on you. You will have to give up chemical gross foods and eat healthy foods. You will have to give up the fear of booths, plastic chairs, chairs with arms, and seat belt extenders. So yes time to get ready to give things up! Maybe take a little lunch tote with you and have picnics when you travel. Fill it with fruit, veggies, nuts, yogurt, cheese...

I am angry today and it feels good! My life is going good. BUT I went clothes shopping yesterday. I do not look as good as I think I do. I have a ton of back fat! I have a pannus. I let myself get so big that I grew a new body part out of fat! My scale is up a little bit. I need to show a loss on Monday! I need to push myself!

dgramie - so sorry to hear about your sister. She'll be in my prayers and you as well.

tex - welcome back!

I've missed a lot while I was away on my trip Monday and been super busy since - between catching up at work and the last week of school activites for my daughter.

So I've stayed on plan - I did really well on my trip not eating things I'm not allowed on my plan. I recently had some Atkins breakfast bars Tue and Wed -- and now I'm showing a 3lbs gain. So I'm not sure if it's from those, or those and a combination of TOM.

But no excuses today - I'm watching everything carefully and definitley ditching those dang bars! lol

Vortex - you def shouldn't quit - holy cow look how far you've come!! girl you got this!

I'm with Atlanta totally - I am not a very touchy feely kinda person anyway lol Someone on another thread said they coudln't believe how well I did with not eating off plan on my trip Monday b/c lunch was provided as sandwhich, cookies, chips, fruit cup and I hate only waht I could have (meat from sandwhich and a few pieces of melon in the fruit cup) and at the pizza bar I ate just my toppings on a couple slices of veggie pizz and a salad.

But I did it because I made a decision when I started this that I have to decided what I love more --- food, or my health, my life, going places with my daughter, not stressing to the point of literally being sick worrying about fitting into seats, the great feeling of my pants becoming baggy when 3 weeks ago they literally cut me in half to the point I couldn't even sit down in them or bend over and tie my shoes, the fact that now that I'm eating more healthy so is my daughter and she has lost 8lbs and feels so much more confident and comfortable about herself (she only needed to loose 10-15lbs tops), the fact that because I'm doing well my husband is on board and loosing and this is a critical factor to him continuing to live, the fact that I no longer get out of breath walking.

Etc, etc, etc.

Food is fuel for our bodies --- that's it. We have to understand that, and treat it as such. If your gas tank is full you don't keep filling it - so stop doing it to ourselves. You also don't pour syrup or sugar in your gas tank so stop doing it to ourselves.

Put what is designed to go into your tank, not the junk! We are in the 300+ group, we don't have the luxuray of playing around with 10-20lbs -- our very lives are at risk by remaining this way and making excues and playing games.

Each and every one of us CAN do this. Like Atlanta said though you have to WANT it - and only you can do that.

We also have to learn that food is not there to comfort us because we are stressed or going through difficult times. Food is still just fuel. If we need comfort we need to find different outlets for that. If not, we'll stay on this destructive and vicious roller coaster all our lives.


So why am I doing this:
1. I am TIRED of being fat
2. I am TIRED of worrying about can I fit - that is horribly miserable
3. I am TIRED of pretending I don't like the water but knowing it's because I wouldn't be caught dead in a swim suit or shorts instead
4. I am TIRED of missing out on things because I'm worried about what others think, or of my daughter being teased over her fat mom, or because I'm worried I just physically can't do it.

I just want to live life and enjoy it and find enjoyment in more that just food!

Great post Ali! I am loving tough love! I need it!

Nicely said, Ali. I'm glad that my rant was useful.

How is everyone going today? Any slip ups to admit to the group?

I was stoked this afternoon - my meal plan allowed for me to have a small piece of chocolate cake (healthy, bran included, chocolate cake). I have been having such sugar cravings that it was exactly what I needed.

I need things like that to remind me that I can have treats, but they need to be healthy treats that are on plan. Cake included, I have had 853 calories so far (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea) and I think that is pretty bloody good. I've had:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, fat free bacon, two pieces of multigrain toast (385 calories)
Morning tea: peaches and pears in juice (76 calories) and a fresh mandarin (37 calories)
Lunch: chicken salad with asian dressing and a small packet of crunchy noodles (104 calories)
Afternoon tea: Chocolate cake (tiny piece, 128 calories) and a packet of roasted almonds (123 calories)

I am learning that it is totally possible to have plenty to eat throughout the day, so long as it is the RIGHT STUFF.

Being a Friday, I am about to leave work, go home, have a dinner that is about 400 calories and then have a few end-of-the-week vodka sodas. Fitbit allows me up to 2,300 calories a day, to lose weight, and I don't think I will go anywhere near that.

Hey... maybe diet/healthy eating this thing is possible after all!

Bloody - I sincerley love that word!! HA I wish I had the accent to get away with saying it lol!

Nice job Atlanta! And you are so right - you don't have to starve to diet. I personally am staying away from even allowed treats right now b/c I don't want to trigger myself into craving desserts - that was a major down fall for me. But there will come a time when I do include them and it's good knowing it's not a liftetime ban because that's unrealitic.

The important thing when you diet it that it can't be a diet - it's not temporary. It's a new way of eating and a new lifestyle because the old way was not working. You have to choose something that you know you can keep up from here on out.

And finding ways to still statisfy that sweet tooth is great, just like you said, with the right stuff.

No slip ups for me :) I'm going to weigh in just a bit and see if these extra 3 lbs are going away. I won't call the bars a slip up per say b/c they are 'allowed' but they obviously don't work for me :)

Scales are down 2lbs. That makes 12 in 6 wks. I was expecting more because if how little I have eaten because if my stomach being off. I think it is a nervous stomach. I'm working on dealing better and I know I can't go on like this.

Exercise has increased so much and I plan to continue to increase it.

Who has big plans for the weekend ?? We have none. I'm looking forward to just hubby and I being here and eating right!!

Hi Everyone!
I will be off line until June 2.
All is good!
Stay strong. Ubee

Yesterday was a super crazy day - with school ending and 3 kids it's nearly impossible to make every event and activity that is crammed I to the last 3 weeks!

I planned for yesterday to be my high cal day (calorie cycling). I still managed to stay in the alloyed calories - just made better lunch choices. Today is a low cal day, but I'm good so far. I've already exercised (which I hate) and now I'm ready to face the day!

dgramie - 2lbs a week is typical and succesful - that's great work!!!

We are actually leaving in the morning to go to our family cabin in the woods - most of the extended family will be there as well so going to enjoy some time around the camp fire, doing some fishing, and just relaxing! I am SO looking forward to it!

I'll be back on Tuesday :)

Tex - I hear ya, today is last day for ours, and with just one child i was having a hard time keeping up! HA! :)

Trust me, Ali, those of us who can get away with saying 'bloody' in that context have accent envy too. I'd love to be able to slip out a 'y'all' every once in a while. Unfortunately, it sounds stupid in an Australian accent. Oh well! We all have our crosses to bear.
I think I need to stop looking at unhealthy and fattening food as 'treats'. I walked past a crepe restaurant today and my immediate thought was 'Ooh, maybe after loosing 50lbs, I'll reward myself with an Aussie crepe'. (I won't say what is in that because none of us can eat it anyway.)
That was BAD THINKING, Atalanta.
Eating eggs, cream, cheese and all of the other bad things isn't rewarding myself. It is punishing my body and making me fat. If only my cravings and stomach would listen to my brain.
Good luck with the weigh in, Ali. I hope it goes well!
Congrats on the loss, dgramie. What are you eating on a normal day? If you are exercising more and eating less, maybe it is more about the balance of everything? I really feel for you right now. I know the universe is throwing you some shite. Please remember - all of this tough love comes with mostly love. We all care about you and want to help you through this time. We just also want to make sure that your body helps you through it too.
Have a good break, Ubee. Be healthy, hun.
What is this calorie cycling business you speak of, Tex?