Support Groups - "Every-Day" 21-Day Challenge -- Time to crack down!

Shad is not thin. You and I are about neck and neck. It would seem that somewhere along the line we are getting out calories mixed.
I'm five 1 1/2 and around 80kilos now. My brain doesn't want to do the maths but I think it is about 180lbs. I use Allan Borushek's calorie and fat counter. I've tried others, but his is just more detailed with more of everything in it. I've also found that some books seem to work the calories different. I just wonder where yours are coming from. If you are mainly eating vegetarian, then you should have no problems eating at 1300. At 2000 and vege, I would imagine six huge meals per day. I can eat a massive plate of vegetables and not go over 200cals. Add meat to it and you are around the 550 mark. If you are cutting out sugar as well, you can't be doing anywhere near 2000. How about you give me a days menu and see if I can work it on my calorie counter. Then we can go have a look at your counter with a daily list from both me and you. I'm wondering about the miso and salt contents of your food. I hate measuring and counting but it has to be done. What I do now is to weigh everything when I get it back from the shop. I then pack it in containers and freeze it or put it in the fridge ready for use. That way I know where I am. Just have to pull out the package from the fridge and cook.

Okay - off the soapbox and back to cleaning.

Shad, I have done the calories and I feel highly uncomfortable going below 1500 calories and that's when I'm just sitting around! Shad, you must realize that I am very muscular and that makes a huge difference. That said, I don't know why people think a vegetarian diet means less calories. In fact, it means much more. It's not vegetables I eat in quantity (though it probably should be) it's grains, beans and lentils. Those are calorie-packed. My morning oatmeal racks up about 600-700 calories alone. It is much easier to eat fewer calories when you eat lean meat and fish. Anyhow, let's not worry about it. I know what I have to do. My problem is simply not being consistent. I can eat huge portions and do. Now that I've cut out the beer bingeing (sorry, Apple, for the mention) I think I can bring my consistency more into line. The scale is moving down, thank God. I knew it would. It was just horrible before that it wasn't. I am so, so glad to be free of the hated office! :dance:

Hi everyone =D

So today was definitely a hard day. My sister was downstairs while I was working out with the wii, watching and critiquing everything I did...and being a brat about it too. I was SO ready to just give up, but I didn't!

Exercise Daily - Day 2 (2 pauses left)

Hi everyone -

I met with my trainer last night, and he helped me figure out some do-able daily challenges. In addition to the things listed below, I'm committing to strength training twice a week.

Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 1 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 1 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 3 pauses - Day 1 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 3 pauses - Day 1 completed


****************

Apple - Good for you for realizing the challenge that can and will work for you now! YGG!

Red - Great to hear from you. I understand what you're saying about not focusing on challenges. It's easier for me to incorporate them and view them as part of my new healthy lifestyle rather than to view them as something I do for just 21 days...that's why I find myself repeating the basic ones (as you are) and adding new! :bravo: on the scale moving down! :woohoo: I can "hear" the ease and relief in your words about being free of that toxic job.

Shad - Sounds like you have a great plan and a way to stay successful! That's wonderful! Do you find it difficult to stay on plan when you travel for work? Of course, you're usually not living out of hotels..you've had apartments with kitchens so you can still stay OP. All your energy, dedication and determination is really inspiring!

DivineFidelity - Good for you for not letting your sister get to you!! :cp: :cp:

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!!! :celebrate: :bday2: :woo:

Good foods challenge -- Day 11 completed 1 pause taken
No sugar! -- Day 9 completed 3 pauses taken
No alcohol -- Day 19 completed 1 pause taken
No smoking -- Day 18 completed 3 pauses taken
Journal -- Day 21 completed Journal challenge completed!! :cp: :encore: :cp:
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 7 completed 0 pauses taken

Will write later! Hello everyone! :wave: Thanks, diyana! :yes: Good for you, Divine! :bravo:

My challenges are as follows (each are separate):
-Only eat 1200 calories --Day 22 (NO pauses left)
-NO fast food --Day 22 (NO pauses left)
-Exercise Daily--Day 23 (1 pauses left)

YAY I completed ALL challenges!!!!! :dancer:

I will come up with some new ones over the weekend. Best to you all!!!

My boyfriend came down to visit today, he'll be here till tuesday. He lives about an hour and a half or two hours away, and I don't have a car and he can't afford gas often so we don't get to see each other much...so It was really hard to find the motivation to take a break from spending time with him to go work out. He was too tired to work out with me =/

BUT, once again I did it anyways. =D

Exercise Daily - Day 3 (2 pauses left)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY Red! Hope it's a great one.

Everyone else, you're all so inspiring. If you guys can do this, well so can I!

Happy birthday Red Balloon. :hb: :gift: :balloons:

Day 3 done
1300 daily calorie limit - 3 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 3 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 3 pauses.

Bit light on the water, but I think I have it covered with the other fluids. Now I am off to have a glass of red for Red

I've been sick too, I thought mommies aren't allowed to catch things from the kids....

Day 4 done
1300 daily calorie limit - 3 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 3 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 3 pauses.

Up and at 'em. Time for the exercise

Day 5 done
1300 daily calorie limit - 3 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 3 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 3 pauses.

Must be the weekend again. Miriam - hope you get better soon.

Hi there, all. Sorry to be away but having more of those days where I just have my head down and am slogging forward, not enjoying it, just doing it and though I'm seeing positive results, I am NOT happy because it is such hard work. I feel extremely deprived.
My weight is down, but, heck, if should be. I have been working my arse off. This is what it takes for me. Super hard work. Damn, it is not fun.

Thanks to those who wished me a happy birthday. I did nothing special for the day, which in itself could be considered, if not special, then at least unusual. So be it. I had no booze and no sugar and, basically, I just got a lot of birthday wishes and one little present from my riding teacher. Still, I rode alone and felt I made some progress in a particular area of difficulty and someone else noticed and commented. So, that was a present from my horse! :)

Good foods challenge -- Day 13 completed 1 pause taken
No sugar! -- Day 11 completed 3 pauses taken

No alcohol -- Day 21 completed 1 pause taken No alcohol challenge completed and only 1 pause!! :cp: :encore: :cp:

No smoking -- Day 20 completed 3 pauses taken
Journal (2nd round) -- Day 2 completed
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 9 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

diyana -- Where are you hiding? It sounds like you and the trainer had a good talk. I hope you can follow those exercises and see them help you. You're seeing results on the scale too. It feels good, doesn't it? I wish I could feel good about things but it won't be a while. I have been through this ground SO many times, it just makes me sick to see it again and again. I feel no sense of accomplishment because I feel like I'll blow it again. It's not that I can't lose weight, it's that I can't keep it off. I know why and that's the problem. I enjoy my old ways too much. I do not enjoy the hard work involved in losing weight. Other people can simply not be doing this and yet all I see around me are thin people. You must realize fat women are very rare here. When I go to the States I am constantly motivated to outdo others, but not here. Is that sick or what? Yeah, it's a damn relief to be away from the office. It is dead to me now and thank God.

Shad -- It looks like you're sticking to your guns. I expect to see some results for your hard work, no? You and your ultra low calorie count! :mad:

Sara -- Congrats on your challenges! :cp: :cp: :cp: Wish you'd spend more time with us though so we can benefit from your resolve!

Divine -- That was quite an accomplishment you had, working out despite the visit from your boyfriend. It was a very meaningful one though! Good for you! :bravo:

miriam -- I hope you're feeling better. Aren't mommies the first to get sick after the kids are better always? Just when everyone else is up and about and too busy to take care of YOU! ;)

Apple -- Where are you? How's that no beer challenge coming along?

I was and still am just in a foul mood. It is so hot and I have no respite from the heat and the horrible humidity but to go to a store. Just sitting in my room has me reeking of sweat in a couple hours (yes, I know...TMI :barf: ). It's gross and I feel fat and ugly. I am fat and ugly. So, the weight loss is not lifting my spirits much BUT it is a bit and I just wanted to come in here and say that. Yes, it IS worth it, all the hard work. Heck, I am lazing around too much and that's why it feels so hard. :coach: Just get used to it, Red!

Oh, yes, my signature is from a while ago when I started on the Mary Lou Retton weight platform, which doesn't tell you your weight, just your progress. I forgot where I was when I started...well, it doesn't really matter. I'm still like a pound above. So, even though I've shown progress of recent, I'm still above wherever it was when I started on that platform. So, you'll see the little chickling moving when I get below that initial earlier weight. Got that? :crazy:

Wrapping up the day, folks.

Good foods challenge -- Day 14 completed 1 pause taken
No sugar! -- Day 12 completed 3 pauses taken
No alcohol (second round, first round completed with 1 pause) -- Day 1 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking -- Day 21 completed 3 pauses taken
No smoking challenge complete!! :cp: :encore: :cp: I did take three pauses though. :^:
Journal (2nd round) -- Day 3 completed
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 10 completed 0 pauses taken

Red - A very Happy Belated B'Day! :bday2you: :celebrate: Congrats on the weight loss! BTW, you are not fat nor ugly. You are a strong, beautiful woman (www.operationbeautiful.com), and you weigh A LOT less than I do. Good for you for working hard and striving to reach your goals! Is there anything you can do to make this journey more fun and not feel deprived? Are there any non-food/non-drink related rewards you can give yourself for your efforts? Maybe even more riding time? I'm sure your horse would LOVE that too. You want to know what's GREAT about the fact that I lost 40 lbs last year and gained it back again? It's great that I know that I can do this! You say you've been through this ground before...but the best part is you know now not to give up due to frustration or deprivation. You know you've had success and can have it again...you just have to stick with it. And I KNOW you can do that! You won't blow it because you've done SO well addressing the foods/drinks that cause you the most issues. And You're doing great! Look at how many days you've successfully completed your challenges! You rock, my sista! As for fat women being rare...I work for a major department store chain. and 90% of the women in this building look like they could be modeling for our commercials or printed advertisements. Believe me, I weigh approx. 90 lbs more than most of the women in the building and I'm at least 5" or 6" shorter. So I think I have an idea of what you're going through. I just tell myself that since I'm in my mid-40s, I may never get down to 115 or 120 again...and that's okay. My doc said if I can get to 150, he'd be thrilled. So would I! My goal weight is around 130-135, but since I've never been at that weight and had muscles, I don't know if it's do-able. You said yourself you're very muscular...are you sure 125 is a reasonable weight for someone with your muscular build? To me, the number on the scale isn't as important as how I feel. In terms of how I look, I'd love to get rid of my marsupial pouch of a stomach...but that will come with time. Hang in there, girlfriend. You are doing great!! And you are right, taking care of our bodies is DEFINITELY worth it! BTW, I'm SO PROUD OF YOU for completing the

Divine - Congrats on the exercising! You rock!

Shad - Sounds like you're doing great!!

Miriam - Hope you're feeling better!

Saramommy - Congrats on completing all the challenges!!


**********
As for me, we went to the State Fair on Saturday and I was able to walk around for hours with no back pain! :woohoo: And thanks to the weekly extra points, I didn't do too bad in terms of eating. :) Here are my results for the weekend:

Friday:
Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 2 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 2 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 3 pauses - Day 2 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 3 pauses - Day 2 completed

Saturday:
Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 3 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 3 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 2 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 2 completed

Sunday:
Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 4 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 4 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 3 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 3 completed

Big hugs to all!

Wow, diyana, it's 5 a.m. over here and I'm trying to get a move on it to go out to my horse. I read your post and was truly moved. Thanks for the birthday wishes too! But, really, you made me realize that it is SO much a matter of perspective, isn't it?

!!! Oh, yikes, we just had another earthquake. That's the second in two days. So scary. And the center was near Tokyo and there's tidal wave warnings on the TV. I hate these things. So, so scary. I am shaking and it's not just from the jolt of caffeine I just gave myself. :^: !!!

So, diyana, thanks so much. Your saying that having been through this ground before shows I can do it helps and I HAVE gotten rid of the worst foods, the booze and sugar. I was thinking of the beer and how many calories are in it and how much I can drink at a sitting. Every time I give it up I do lose weight. I don't eat that much and recently I find I'm not even that interested in eating. A lot of that, though, is because I don't have the work stress. Heck, I'm here at 5 a.m. singing along to Frank Sinatra "Come Fly With Me!" No, I don't usually listen to Sinatra, but early morning it's hard to listen to Marilyn Manson! :lol3:

As for my weight, I have no idea what 125 would look like with muscle. I'm not too bent on the goal anyhow. I will know when I have the body I want and I can lose muscle too. As it stands, I really don't know how much of me is muscle and how much is bone and how much is fat. I do have big bones for my height. I must, if you go by my shoe, glove and hat size, huge for just over 5 feet!

And, I think you DO know how I feel being around tiny people all the time. It's such a downer at times. It just makes you feel like such an outsider, doesn't it? Well, if you can deal with it, so can I! :yes:

Anyhow, I better get a move on it. Thanks so, so much, diyana for your support and encouragement. It has turned my thinking around. You are doing great as well and I'm glad to hear that you were able to walk so much without pain. :sunny:

Later! :wave:

Day 6 done
1300 daily calorie limit - 3 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 3 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 3 pauses.


__________________

Red - You're quite welcome! Weight loss and how you view yourself and your success/abilities is all about perspective. Glad to hear you are striving for feeling good and not necessarily a number on a scale that may or may not be healthy for your particular body. And yes, I definitely DO know what it's like to be around skinny people all the time. There are approx. 3000 people (at least) in my company. Figuring at least 50% are women, and 90% of those (at least) are tall and thin....being short and extremely obese around them is not easy. But I keep telling myself that every single day I have the opportunity to make choices that move me toward a healthy fit body. :) I hope there wasn't too much damage with the earthquake or tidal wave. Earthquakes definitely are scary. Having lived in CA for most of my life, the worst one I went through was the Loma Prieta (7.1 quake centered south of SF) in 1989. Here in WI, we just have tornados...and snow of course.

Shad - Good on ya'! You're doing great!


Yesterday, I went to the gym after work and did 45 minutes of cardio and 1/2 hour of strength training - it felt great!

Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 5 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 5 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 4 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 4 completed

A big :wave: to everyone! Here's to a great and successful day for all of us!

Well, there's not much action around here. I hope everyone is doing OK nonetheless and merely having, like I had recently, days where writing just doesn't do it.
I got to the gym yesterday again after riding and did a treadmill workout I found in a magazine. It made use of the incline, something I never touch. I always just set it at 0.5 and keep it there. This was going up to 5 yesterday and it was incredibly hard. I had to tone it down a bit. I really felt it in my lower back. I am coming to realize how truly out of shape I am, or rather, that there is so, so much more I can be doing. What ever made me think that I was in shape? :dunno: No doubt it was the MEMORY of being in shape and somehow I confused the memory with reality. :lol3:
It's too early to tell but my skin is definitely better. Hallelujah!! :sunny:

Good foods challenge -- Day 15 completed 1 pause taken
No sugar! -- Day 13 completed 3 pauses taken
No alcohol (second round, first round completed with 1 pause) -- Day 2 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (2nd round) -- Day 1 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking challenge complete!! I did take three pauses though.
Journal (2nd round) -- Day 4 completed
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 11 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

Shad -- You're keeping right at it. Good for you! :bravo:

diyana -- Now that I'm starting to see some progress in my body changing I feel a whole lot better. This morning I tried on some breeches that I could not get buttoned before. Now, I can button them, although they are painfully tight (the material has no stretch and so it really hurts) and there is absolutely no way I could wear them but, still, it is definite progress. I find that nonstretchy material is the absolute best for gauging progress. The stretchy stuff, though I love it, just has way too much leeway.
Yes, numbers are only an estimate. Everyone has a different density (and I've been told often that I'm pretty dense. :rofl: ) When I like what I see and can wear the outfits that reflect my personality (tight black leather, spike heels, lace stockings, whip, spurs) then I will be happy. I think 125 isn't a bad weight that, but, yeah, it may be a bit low (she who hovers at 160 says).
Your workplace sounds like a psychological house of horrors for you. Great attitude you have. And you ARE making good choices and your weight IS coming down. What a powerhouse you are!! :flow1:
Someone was asking me about tornadoes in the States yesterday. I said the central states (such as Kansas) get them. I never really thought of Wisconsin as a tornado state. Interesting.
Your workout sounds tough. Excellent, YOU! :cp:

Hey Red- I'm checking in during the evening for a change. My workplace isn't too bad. I've gotten over the fact that all the women are twigs. I know I'll be fit someday - after all, I'm getting fitter every day! The company I work for, the team I work with and my boss are all really great! We're a pretty good group and have a lot of laughs amid the stress. It's so great to hear that you're seeing progress! Isn't it marvelous to be able to fit into smaller clothes (even if they are tight for now, they won't be for long!). Reading the type of clothes you like....I've never pictured you as a dense dominatrix! :rofl: But if you are, more power to ya' woman! Rock on, sista! I'm most comfortable in jeans (or jean shorts) and t-shirts. My work dress code is business casual so I take that as Dockers and a casual style top. My motto is...I don't care if I work in retail and everyone else is wearing the latest fashion...I'm ALL about comfort. Wisconsin doesn't get nearly as many tornadoes as Kansas or Iowa or Nebraska.

I went to the gym after work...and now it's time to get in the shower and relax and watch TV.

Shad - are you done with the DIY Home Improvement projects? Or is it a never ending list?

Here's my results for today:
Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 6 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 6 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 5 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 5 completed

I'll probably still check in with y'all tomorrow morning. I hope everyone is doing great!

Hugs,

Oh, God, diyana, those are most definitely NOT the kind of clothes I like!! :eek: I was just joking!!!! :rofl:

:crazy:

Red and Diyana, your recent posts are so inspiring to read. I love your enthusiasm and progress! Great job!!

My new challenges are as follows: (starting tomorrow)

1. Exercise Daily
2. Eat 1300 calories or less ;)
3. NO eating past 7pm
4. NO desserts

**I give myself 3 pauses for each, and all are separate challenges**

Red - I knew you were just jokin'. I just thought I'd play along. :rofl: I do own a leather biker jacket with fringe. It's just gorgeous. I got it during a Harley Davidson anniversary celebration (since Milwaukee is home to HD). It was a great price and I couldn't pass it up even though it was a size 14 and was very tight back then and I've weigh more now. Hopefully I'll fit into it soon though.

Saramommy - Those are great challenges! Good luck, girlfriend!

Great poem I stole from someone in the 100 lb club who stole from someone else who stole it from someone else. Don't know who the original author is.


When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down,
And you feel like the biggest failure in town.
When you want to give up just because you gave in,
and forget all about being healthy and thin.
So What! You went over your calories a bit,
It's your next move that counts...So don't you quit!
It's a moment of truth, it's an attitude change.
It's learning the skills to get back in your range.
It's telling yourself, "You've done great up till now.
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow."
It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.
You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.
To stumble and fall is not a disgrace,
If you summon the will to get back in the race.
But, often the struggle's, when loosing the grip,
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip.
And learn too late when the damage is done,
that the race wasn't over...they still could have won.
Lifestyle change can be awkward and slow,
but facing each challenge will help you grow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint in a cloud of doubt.
When you're pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit,
If you bite it, you write it....But don't you quit!

I rushed to the gym yesterday and only had time to work up a good sweat with a 30-min jog/walk workout on the treadmill. Better than nothing. I got a LOT of walking in after that as well. Feeling a bit ill now. Gotta take a rest I think before I overdo it. That's my downfall. Push, push, push, until I collapse.

I was rushing off to a piano lesson, my first since my teenage days. I think I insulted the teacher by repeatedly exclaiming how nice classical music could sound. She was giving me insights into the emotion of what to me had looked like a totally, totally mind-boggling boring piece of useless, repetitious finger exercises. She is a classic pianist, not jazz and I really wanted to learn jazz but I figured anything was OK for now. By awakening to what a good classical pianist can do I was really kind of saying, "well, I thought all along that this was totally boring stuff, but it's not??!?!" To me it seemed a nice thing to say, but on second thought, not really. :^:

Didn't have the best day on food choice, well, yes and no, a bit of junk snacking, so I'm calling it a standstill on that since I still have the days. Sugar is the hard one now with all my pauses used up. Another week on that? :^:

Good foods challenge -- Day 15 completed 2 pauses taken
No sugar! -- Day 14 completed 3 pauses taken
No alcohol (second round, first round completed with 1 pause) -- Day 3 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (2nd round) -- Day 2 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking challenge complete!! I did take three pauses though.
Journal (2nd round) -- Day 5 completed
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 12 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

diyana -- Love the poem, diyana. Sure glad you didn't believe I was into S&M! There was no way to know if you were kidding or not. :eek: A biker jacket? Hmm....my recent beer belly (thankfully disappearing along with the hated office) would have gone well with that. :^: I do like leather but as a vegetarian, I don't feel comfortable wearing much leather. Just as well. There's nothing that looks worse, I think, than leather clothes on an overweight, aging woman (or man for that matter). :lol: Don't tell any bikers that, OK?

Sara -- Thanks for the words, but "inspiring," me? Don't know about that, but, well, glad to be of help. :lol:
Three new challenges! Uh-oh, another ultra-low calorie person. Maybe I should give this a try.....nah, then I might actually lose weight! ;) Of course, just kidding. But did you ever have the feeling that you don't want to lose what has been part of you for so long? I do. And I truly think it is behind my sabotage whenever I start to see real progress. It's not a fear of success. It's more a fear of change or just an anxiety surrounding it, I think. Gotta get past that with some other way of looking at it, right? Perspective, again. Heck, there was a time when I was thinner, so why don't I feel worried about having lost that?! :shrug:

Hey Red - Good for you for all the exercise AND the piano lessons! I prefer jazz to classical as well, but I do like Ode to Joy and stuff like that. I am also one that has to constantly hold back the reigns on myself. I push, push, push and either collapse or get injured. You can do another week without sugar! And keep up with the good foods too! I can't do ultra low calorie diets. For my weight, WW allows me between 27 and 34 pts a day, which is approx. 1400-1700 calories. FitDay says I should get more based on my activity/exercise...but I'm following WW right now. Of course, with all the exercise points I'm earning, if I need a few extra pts in a day, I don't feel bad taking it. As for the biker jacket, it doesn't look good on me YET...but hopefully in about 20 or 25 lbs it'll fit and look good. I don't own anything else that's leather or suede, except for a couple pairs of shoes. As for the times when I was thinner....I think about when I weighed 130 and thought I was soooo fat. Now, even though WW says I should get down to the hgih 120s or low 130s for goal, I'll be thrilled when I finally get to 140 or 150. Heck, I'll be thrilled when I get to 199 or lower (hopefully by Christmas this year).

aargh - just not getting in here as often as I used to. Life gets pretty hectic for the non-working, non-caring-about-not-working person.

Day 7 and 8 are done. Although the exercise has been unorthodox and the fluid hasn't been pure H20 rather coffee, tea or juice flavoured. Other than that going all okay and the weather is getting hotter which is not good for the summer which is coming.

Shad - I know you're busy with your DIY projects and your gardening. Glad to hear you're still doing well on your challenges.

Red, Saramommy, and everyone - I hope you're all doing really well!

Quick post for me today...super busy at work. I'm going to take a break from the gym tonight...gonna be getting home later than usual due to a department team building meeting, so I think I'll just play with the dogs in the backyard or maybe take them for a walk. Besides yesterday I did 1/2 hour walk during lunch, plus 1/2 hour cardio and 20 min. strength training at the gym. A day off (but just one) will do me good.

Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 7 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 7 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 6 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 6 completed

i love it! im in!!!!
1) 1400 calories or less-2 pauses
2) drink 2 liters of water a day- 2 pauses
3) continue to run every other day. 1 PAUSE
:carrot::carrot::carrot:

Shad - I apologize in advance that you may be seeing this twice as I posted this on the Worldlies thread.

I'm sitting here at my desk after WW weigh in trying, unsuccessfully, to hold back the tears. I ate within my points EVERY DAY. I worked out at a high level of intensity EVERY DAY! and I'm up 1.8 lbs.

I'm noticing the difference in how my face looks and how my pants feel (they are looser), but I'm going up on the scale. I want to get to 199 by Christmas and I just wish the scale would reflect all the positive changes I'm making and all my hard work! My WW leader said it's just muscles retaining water from all the exercise, but dang it! I expected a 1 to 2 lb loss because of all my hard work not a nearly 2 lb gain! Heck, I'm staying within my points and exercising so much, I've been having low blood sugar episodes the past couple days...so how am I supposed to eat less and exercise more to get the scale to move in the right direction?!

I don't know why I give a stupid piece of electronic equipment so much power to allow it to bring me close to tears.

Thanks for listening to my rant. I'm sure I'll be my usual upbeat cheery self by tomorrow...or maybe even later today. But right now, I'm frustrated and p**sed off!

Any thoughts, suggestions, advice are greatly appreciated.

Hey Michelle - I've said it before and I'll say it again. THE SCALE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND (MORE LIKE A FIEND).
It could be any one of a number of reasons. Like...
1. Your period is due. We always retain at this time. I used to get so constipated I would be in pain for days.
2. Eating something with a little more than the normal salt in it. And combined with the above - instant weight gain.
3. You've built more muscle, but it has not yet eaten the fat.
4. Hot humid weather can do it.
5. More than normal fluid intake.
It is very annoying, but it maybe that next weeks weighin will show a bigger loss. If it continues next week then it is time to take a look at the calories and points. Let's think about where you were and what you ate last week. Is there something you ate at the fair which was at the very least a bit over the top. Or could the food intake need an adjustment? As we lose weight the body adjusts to the intake and every so often needs a bit of a shake up.
You are doing all the right things, it just is a small hiccup in the scheme of things. Annoying, dastardly, horrible hiccup, but it is there and the fight between your body and your brain is not going to stop just because of 1.8lb IS IT?

Day 9 is done. Had to chase after the rubbish truck this morning - can I count that as exercise?

Yeah, the cold has hit. Not badly, but enough for me to feel dead. I was dragging yesterday, bizarrely so and I was wondering what the heck could be wrong. But, I guess I am a bit sick from blowing the fan on me at night. It's so hot I have to and it doesn't allow me to sleep until it cools off a bit outside. By then I'm asleep and probably get a bit chilled.

Anyhow, I thought I could fill in my food journal afterward but realize I can't so I'm sitting out two days (well, I mean, I can't remember them). Instead of giving some half-A'd account of what I ate, I'm just going to skip them. I didn't have anything bad anyhow. I realize I have to keep the notebook handy at all times or I forget what I had.

Good foods challenge -- Day 16 completed 2 pauses taken
No sugar! -- Day 15 completed 3 pauses taken
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 4 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 3 completed 0 pauses taken
Journal (2nd round) -- Day 4 completed 2 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 13 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

diyana -- Well, I think Shad has just given you all the points and possibilities so I won't add the same.I don't know whether to be tough or tender because now you know exactly how I feel most of the time. It's an ugly mix of emotions, isn't it? And most of it means absolutely nothing because it is about absolutely nothing. You said it yourself, your face looks thinner, your clothes are looser, so get your head out of the dark place and see the light, kiddo!! :mad: You HAVE lost weight and the scale just hasn't registered it. Where do you think the fat goes when your body burns it? Into thin air? No, it does all kinds of things on its way out of the body but it always involves fluid, fluid that weighs a lot and often, for any number of reasons (such as Shad has mentioned) builds up a bit more before it is whooshed away. So, just wait a bit longer before you have a fit, because having a fit at this point is really, really stupid!
How do you think I feel? I've been beating myself into the ground nearly every day and the scale barely reflects it. Sure, I am enraged, but what's the point of a useless tantrum? Especially when it's not called for. Just take your mind off things and see if you're really made of the stuff you talk about when you're feeling good. Because unless you can do it now, at a time where it's about faith and perseverance, you're NOT made of it. You're going to see a LOT more of this the closer you get to goal. Two pounds is absolutely nothing. I weigh every day for this very reason. The weekly difference doesn't mean too much except over maybe three weeks. My weight can change as much as FOUR pounds in a day, even though I try to maintain the same factors at weigh-in.
So, don't you DARE go off your diet plan!! If anything, you absolutely must stick with it until you see a loss.

Shad -- thanks for the support for diyana. For once, I've taken on the mean persona! ;)

We can take it in turns Red!!!

Yeah, Shad, I think I did pretty good. We might really scare 'em away though. Ah, heck, if they can't take it....oops, there (you) go again.

I usually cringe when I see a post from you after I've been whining, but sometimes you turn out to be really nice and I think, "oh, heck, you can't let me go on like a stupid A there." Other times, you'll be so straight and I'll be like..."oh, mean, mean Shad!" Yeah, let's keep 'em guessing! Poor diyana.....:lol3:

MrsVegan -- Hi there! Sorry, I forgot about you with the diyana incident and all. Welcome! :welcome: Your last challenges doesn't really fit the parameters of this challenge and though people have cheated in the past, the real strength of this particular challenge is doing something EVERY, SINGLE day. So please just consider that a Extra Curricular and then ignore me, OK?
I know, I'm being tough. But I'm mad at diyana, because I'm mad at ME and the damn scale and the heat, and the fact that I have eaten myself into a blob and the fact that a girl at the riding club is starving herself to lose 2 more kilos and there is NO fat on her, and the fact that I have no clothes to wear and the fact that I feel that I will never have the body I want and the fact that ......oops, sorry about that!
Good luck, Vegan!!! Are you one, by the way?

Red are you having a nasty moment today???

I've put more info on the other thread. The scale is never your friend. Try measurements as well. Yep we are BIG girls. You are skinnier than me since you are in the 160s and I am not. But, I came to terms with my bone structure and body shape years back. I will never be skinny. However exercise makes us lose inches and not weight. Eat well, but don't neglect the exercise. Regardless of how many calories we take in, exercise will change the shape of the body with toning of the muscles. You can eat nothing but the exercise might guarantee the same weight because muscles weigh.
I can understand the frustration of the little Japanese lady who wants to lose 2 k she doesn't look like she has. I well remember the first time I went to a Japanese bathhouse. I was the biggest one there and it had nothing to do with height. But she is not you Red. Nothing that you can do to look like her - the genetics are all different. We each have to come to terms with our genetics.

Okay - time to get this show on the road. See ya all.

Shad, "a nasty MOMENT??!" No, it's more like an entire exasperating a.m. I am in a foul mood. The scale did not give it up and...and...I wanted it to. Looking at my chart where I fill in weight each morning, I am so tired of this whole thing. It's just moving around and around but it's barely going down. I am built like a brick, really. I am so solid, it's not funny. Sure, I know the girl at the riding club has different bone structure and all that but she has NO fat. I asked her where she was going to lose it from and she said her thighs. And her thighs have got to be half the size of mine. I'm just sick of these skewed ideas of size and having guys actually egging them on, telling these girls they are fat.

Yeah, OK, people look different without their clothes...oh, really?!? ..... and maybe she does have some fat, but it's not even that, it's that I am a mammoth in comparison to these people. And yes, I have tons of fat still (covering the brick) so what does that make me? I'm like the fat lady in the circus compared to these people. Even though I never ask it, what do they think of me? Oh heck, I'm not even making sense here, jumping all over the place. What would an editor say of my drool of a post?

I'm just ticked off and now that I've started piano lessons, I feel this constant guilt over not practicing. ...maybe I should practice. Heh, yeah, may...be....you should practice. :idea:

Why, oh why is it SO incredibly easy to put on weight and so incredibly hard to take it off? Huh?!?!?

Yesterday I was proud of myself for not eating sugar. Now, it's like I'm just tired of the slog. And here, my biggest supporter, diyana, has gone down in tears. Sigh.

Shad, I am SHORT, totally fit in with the Japanese there, but my hands, head and feet are huge in comparison. How can we lose inches but NOT weight? How is that possible? No, I used to weigh 60 kg but that was before I started weight training. Oh, damn it.

I feel like going out drinking tonight, and smoking up a storm, and eating tons of unmentionables and just....just...just...what, finding myself back where I started? Yeah, that's the way it goes, over and over and over again. I am so sick of it.

Heh, diyana, how's that for a rant?

Ok...I practiced the piano.... yet another thing to feel incompetent about.... :^: but... I did it! :cp: Could be an indirect nondiet challenge...?

Oh dear well here we go again.

Muscle weighs more than fat and it is smaller!! A toned muscle with heaps of blood rushing through it can weigh as much as 3 or 4 kg and only be 1 inch thick and 10 inches long (I'm talking women here - although if the description fits - uhhhh back to my post) 3 or 4kg of fat looks gross and is 5 times as big as the muscle. The tighter and harder the muscle the bigger it gets and the more it weighs. The more the fat is, the bigger it gets and the more it jiggles. Not a pretty sight. I'm only 5.2 myself. The Japanese annoy me because they are so tiny - some are taller than me but they don't weigh anywhere near as much as one of my thighs. Genetics is what it is. Live with it. Whatever we are, whatever size we get to has little or nothing to do with the person inside. Under the skin, we all want to be loved, cared for and admired.

Now you and I might be built like a brick. The only thing that is going to change that is the muscle tone to give us shape. So stop fart arsing around and just get on with it.

Oh yes and while I am at, get off the computer and practice the piano.

Oh and have you been reading my mind again??

Is it really hot in here or what? :dunno: .... "heaps of blood rushing through it ... The tighter and harder ... the bigger it gets " :faint:
Shad, what was that now you were saying? Something about muscles? This girl is cracking me up! :lol3: ("Watch your tenses, Red, you cracked up long ago")

I can just see her on a talk show panel, all serious-like, with others nodding their heads as she says... "The Japanese annoy me because they are so tiny." :rofl:

"Fart arsing??" :shrug: What's that and who is doing it? :?:

Oh, my God, what would I do without Shad popping in here for some comic relief! :love:
:dance:

It's a Kiwism. Like the geese from Upawapa who fly backwards to keep the dust out of their eyes. Our equivalent of the flying pig.

Fart arsing around is similar to dithering, wasting time or effort, blathering, shooting the breeze. Can't think of another explanation at the moment. Actually I'm amazed it got through the net nanny.

:celebrate: WELCOME!! It's the Shad and Red thread! :celebrate:

Ok, I got it. Actually, I pretty much had it figured out. I was just teasing ya. ;)

Oh, can I whine about something else, please, please, can I? I just noticed the skin is hanging on my arms and belly, as if maybe I had lost some fat and the skin now had nothing to fill it out and it was too old and tired to pop back into an earlier position.

Oh, sorry to gross you out. At least, at this age, I get part of the bargain (if not all). :^:

Aaah the apron is showing! Whine away

"Apron!??!?! My God, Shad, it's not THAT bad! :eek:

Get used to it, it may get that bad. I've got one too! Whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge.

I'm doing a lot better emotionally. My head is out of the dark place and I'm seeing the light. I think Red gave me your cold. I've had a horrible sore throat since last night, along with a fever. :( I'm going to spend a few hours at work, then go home and back to bed.

MrsVegan - A big :welcome: to you!

Shad - Thanks for the wonderful words of support. I loved your tough love for Red! Like you and Red, I'm probably more of a brick too - not as solid as you both...as I have much more jiggly fat than either of you, but I am strong. I'm with Red, I liked the description of heaps of blood rushing through...1" thick 10" long...good description of ... muscles, yeh, that's it...muscles. ;)

Red - Thanks for the tough love. My pity party and frustration fling is officially over. Sheesh, I didn't mean to make you MAD at me. I never said I'd quit or anything. I can't quit. It's just not an option this time. I'm in this for the long haul (until I get to goal). I was just venting some frustration. I, too, sometimes think back to why I didn't start this sooner. I went from 107 at age 17 to 135 during a rocky marriage. From 150 to 175 during a difficult divorce. I don't remember how I got to 200, but then 200 to current weight was from both parents passing away in the same year, followed by a back injury. I'm NOT making excuses. I should've caught this long ago, back when I thought I was "fat" at 135. But I'm doing it now. I'm taking back my life and these are lifetime changes. And whenever you feel like a fat blob, Red, Remember we are the same height and your CURRENT weight is in the range of my GOAL weight and the weight my doc said I should try to get to. Oh, and you ARE a much better ranter than I.

You two are so funny! Thanks for helping me get my head straight.

Almost forgot to post yesterday's results:

Journal and Stay within points - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 7 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 8 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 2 pauses taken - 1 pause left - Day 6 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 2 pauses taken - 1 pause left - Day 6 completed


Love and hugs,

Well, I was just too lax yesterday. I met a friend for dinner and because it was too late to have tea (I would have been unable to sleep) and because I wasn't drinking, I had a bit of a dessert. I knew I was causing my challenge to fall, but it was just too much. I needed an alternative other than to just sit there. I should have taken my pauses later in the game. Whatever, I'm back today without any days off, so here goes.
Also, I've been lax on the journaling as well so that's starting over.

The scale is WAY up and I'm disgusted with things as usual. I know I'm retaining water but it's still disheartening. Oh well, gotta keep my head in the light.

For some reason yesterday...ah, yes, I tried on some clothes and they fit better (meaning, I didn't see the unsightly bulges I had before).....I was feeling good about losing weight, no matter what it took (did I say that?). Of course, that didn't translate into any real work, but I was not pigging out. Why does getting sick or feeling under the weather translate into falling back into old ways? Stupid, I know.

Good foods challenge -- Day 17 completed 2 pauses taken
No sugar! -- FALLEN!!!! (starting over) :mad: Day 0 completed 0 pauses taken
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 5 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 4 completed 0 pauses taken
Journal (starting over) -- Day 0 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 14 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

diyana -- Good to see you back and in a productive mood. Good going! :bravo: And I know it's not easy. Yes, I'm sorry about going on and on when where I am is where you want to be. It's just that I've been here so long (and that's part of the reason...it's not so bad) but life is running away and I can't do the things I want because I can't feel the way I want to feel being overweight. And yet it's not that bad. Again and again, that's the problem. It's bad, but not bad enough. You'll get there and know what I mean. It's not, am I going to do it or not? Am I ever going to get where I keep saying I want to be? It's this constant feeling of not having done something that colors my entire life and I hate that...but not enough apparently to do something about it. Well, best of luck to you! You WILL see onederland by Christmas! :goodluck:

Oh dear, I hope I haven't frightened off all the other people - DivineFidelity, Saralsmommy or Mrsvegan with my twisting and pumping muscles and descriptions of fat and aprons yesterday. Seems they have all gone into hiding overnight. I would have liked to talk to Mrsvegan about veganism (?) if indeed she is one.

Red - sometimes the best weight loss comes when we cut ourselves a little slack - like laughing and being happy and having some fun. Laughter after all is the best medicine. I know when I was achieving the most, I was in a job I enjoyed with people I enjoyed being with and we always had at least one social day a week. One day where things just didn't matter like calories and a glass or two. Lets face it - at that time I was exercising 6 days a week at the gym, climbing cliffs, working hard, enjoying friends. Maybe if we could all get back to that place, the weight would drop off. Anyway to cut a long ramble short. Enjoy the time you had with the friend and just get on with the next day and plan for the one after that. One day, one step at a time.

Michelle - Life is what it is, and I will put money on the fact that your weight gain is something to do with the way you are feeling right now. Cold, sore throat, painful chest. Guess what, the body goes into overdrive and the blood rushes antibodies to various parts (like lungs, head and throats - get your mind off that muscle and get on with the post). Get over that and you will be on the downward trend once more.

As for me:

Day 10 is all done and dusted. Might have been somewhat light on exercise, but the rest is fine. I'm counting it.

HI everyone...it took me awhile to get caught up on everyone's post. If it makes you feel any better (Red, Diyana) I sometimes am sooo scared of the stupid scale that I don't weigh in for weeks! I try to weigh everyday...FOR SURE once a week. But then I have my "bad" weeks, and I just can't work up the courage to deal with reality...that I gained weight. And then it has to be SO sickening to step on the scale after a very good week (eating right, exercising), and see a gain. How discouraging. But like everyone else posted....THE LOSS WILL COME!!!

Red , It must be hard to see someone who DOESN'T need to lose weight, starving herself. I always think the same thing...if someone super skinny is complaining about their weight, they must think I'm a COW! That can't be encouraging to deal with...

Diyana and Red, try to ignore the scale's ups and downs. As long as you're making healthy choices, that's all that matters! The results will come. I always tell myself "It's a marathon, NOT a sprint!" ...now I'm going to go get a mirror so I can tell myself what I just wrote to you! haha!

On to my challenge:

1.Exercise Daily - DAY 2
2.Eat 1300 calories or less - DAY 2
3.NO eating past 7pm - DAY 2
4. NO desserts - DAY 2

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!! :cheer:

I am afraid I must admit to quite a sugar binge this afternoon/evening and now am feeling right disgusted with myself. You see, this is the vicious cycle, do well, then expect more and more, don't get it, throw it all away! Can I salvage the ground gained at this point?

:cry: Why do I do this? I felt sick and so I really try to make myself sick. The gym was closed. I big out, then got a package in the mail from my sister...more sweets. God, I hate myself.

:frypan:

Isn't it time you told your sister to stop the 'care' packages???? You had this same dilemma around Christmas I seem to remember.

One day isn't the end Red. I've had a bad eating day as well. So time to pull up the socks and just get on with it.

Hate will only give you a headache, so let it go.

Thanks, Shad. Maybe I can use this to stop the next binge. I can't tell my sister. It's the only present I get from anyone. :cry:

You too, eh? OK, must be something in the air.... let's hit the road again, ok, trooper?! :drill:

Well, I'm paying the consequences for my binge yesterday. It was awful and I feel awful. I am killing everything that hasn't fallen anyhow and just keeping the three I've stayed strong with, booze, smokes and caffeine. I'll regroup and be back with new challenges soon.

No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 6 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 5 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 15 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

Sara -- Thanks for your post. Unfortunately, as you can see, it preceded an imminent fall. This is what happens to me. I have no sticking power, no faith, all I do is come back time and time again. It's not enough. I can't be undoing all my work over and over again. True, it may keep me in the same place as opposed to my gaining more and more weight but it's undoubtedly just as disheartening, if not more. I try and fail and that eats away at my confidence more perhaps than not trying.

An interesting way of looking at things may be: NOT, why can't I lose weight, BUT, why am I so good at staying overweight? I feel awful, really, really awful, like there is NO hope.......

Where is everyone? miriam? Apple? Come back! :wave:

Day 10 I blew. Just a stupid rush of the blood to the head and the thought of hot dogs for lunch (but they were good - I just didn't have to eat so many)
So pause day all around. I did exercise, but it wasn't good stuff and after the day before I am not counting it.

1300 daily calorie limit - 2 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses.

And just because today is what is and because I can, I'm giving you all a rose for the Sunday good deed. I'm into good deeds today for some reason.

Oh and Red, ask the sister politely for t-shirts, caps or socks. I'd send you something but I don't know where you live. Red Balloon, Tokyo on the envelope just doesn't cut it somehow. I've never managed to work out how they organise addresses either. Here have another pic of the rose.

Ok, I'm feeling a LOT better now. As I was hoping (and mentioned yesterday) I think I can use yesterday's sugar binge to stop wanting to eat sugar. It was NOT worth it. It 1) stopped my weight loss 2) made me feel awful 3) made my health worse and 4) made me feel like a failure.
Do I need or desire ANY of the above. No! And yet, I got all four of them. How stupid are we? (that's me and my other personalities). Huh? How stupid? NOT stupid enough to keep doing this. So there! :nono:

Well, I got out riding and rode in incredible heat. Now back home and going to get this big A to the gym. You bet!

**************

Shad, Stop standing on your head and the blood won't rush to it! I know you live Down Under and all, but you don't have to take it literally. And I thought Kiwis were a bit smarter anyhow, no? Hot dogs? You've got to go veg, Shad, think of the poor dogs! :eek:
Anyhow, joking aside, we're off the pauses, both of us, so let's make some tracks! Thanks for the rose, the TWO roses! I think Red Balloon, Tokyo would work. I'm quite well known, you know. And come on, I'm not going to ask my sister for T-shirts, caps and socks! :?: :dunno: :shrug: You are too, too funny. :rofl: You see, I LIKE the licorice and other unmentionable retro-style junk. :lol3: We've been through this. It didn't cause my binge, it only heightened it. (the after-effects were the same though :( ) Don't worry. There's certain things in life you just do NOT give up. ;)

OK, where is everyone??! :listen:

Sorry for your bad eating day, Red and Shad. But hey, we all have bad days, right?! As long as we have many good days, a bad day here and there shouldn't hurt.

Remember to take it one day at a time...one week at a time...slowly we will get there!

1.Exercise Daily - DAY 3
2.Eat 1300 calories or less - DAY 3
3.NO eating past 7pm - DAY 3
4. NO desserts - DAY 3

Tomorrow, I weigh in. I'm sooo nervous! :stress:

Not making any commitments right now. It's hard to believe that I've cut caffeine for nearly two months (well, it doesn't sound so long when I say it like that :^: ). It's been tough. Not only because it left me dragging but because so much of time out and about in the city or meeting friends means I want to "go for a coffee." I just can't justify paying a lot for a cup of hot water with a tea bag thrown in it but that's usually what it amounts to, or having to ask if the juice is 100 percent. Besides, I don't like drinking juice....
I was thinking about it the other day. The city is packed with places to 1) eat meat 2) drink alcohol 3) drink coffee 4) eat sweets. With all these things cut out of my life, I may as well not be here! :(
I'm looking for a good vegetarian place now and everything is SO pricey and it looks like they spend more time worrying about whether it's organic or not, or just serving up some little work of art that leaves you HUNGRY.
I remember eating in some veg place in Seattle, hearty meals of beans and rice. It was SO good and cheap! I wonder why this kind of place doesn't exist around here (or much of anywhere for that matter). Sigh. Feeling very left out these days.
And I'm also not finding the joy of being (I guess) healthier without the regular doses of booze, cigs and coffee. Perhaps it truly is time to get out of Tokyo.... :shrug:

No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 7 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 6 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 16 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

Sara -- Glad to see you're moving along. Yeah, bad days are a bummer. And I can't be allowing them. One bad day can easily cancel out THREE good days! :faint: Yesterday, I was thinking that too. I can and do work my butt off, but you wouldn't know it because I then cancel out my hard work but eating too much. What goes? Why can't I get this right?

1300 daily calorie limit - 2 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses.

Day 11 is done.

Red - it may well be time to get out of Tokyo. Are you thinking of getting out of Japan as well. Not wishing to tell you what to do, but you appear to have too much time on your own in the space you are in now. It may well be time for a complete change. My friend who used to live in Japan does a bit of translation work for a medical doctor over there. Don't know how well it pays but she is happy enough with it. Maybe you could find some translation work. I know you are not a country person, so staying in a city is probably a better option for you. But..... for what it is worth, thats my two cents worth

Sara- thanks for the kind words on my misdemeanours. Generally I am a fairly structured person, but for the moment I am at a crossroad and still trying to decide what is best for me and not all the other people who make money out of me.

Okay - on with my day.

so I am on day 5 yay all the days have been going
great! I haven't used any of my pause days so I think I'm doing alright
for the beginning of this. my start out
weight was200.5 and today I'm at 197.5 I am happy.
for todays goals I need to
drink more water and once I get home I need to do so e crunches like 80 of them LOL

Yesterday was a tough one. They all are. I seem to be retaining a ton of water (at least that's what I hope it is) and it is playing havoc with my mind and body. I am NOT happy.
I couldn't make it to the gym yesterday either. I was just too tired after a lot of walking with a heavy pack.

I am trying to notch up the journaling now and be more aware of how much is going in my mouth. Something seems to be definitely wrong with me, either my skewed perceptions of how much I'm eating or how much I'm exercising....something. Because if losing weight is this hard then I'm never going to be lean.

I am also going to look at the timing of my eating and try to see if changing that will help. I remember years ago, I used to walk into work, which was a fast 90-minute walk. I would always stop on the way and get a sweet pastry and eat that once I got to work. It didn't seem like much after all that work and yet it wasn't until I cut out that pastry that I started to lose fat. I think I am always overestimating effort with intake and cutting that out was not hard. I could have had an apple or something. So, I'm going to try to do the same and shake things up in this old bod! :yes:

No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 8 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 7 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 17 completed 0 pauses taken


Good work, Shad and Vegan! :cp:

1300 daily calorie limit - 2 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses.

Day 12 is done.

Nothing happening here.

Hey ladies -

Wow! I've missed a lot. I'm going to read everything tomorrow and catch up. A summer cold hit me hard. I've basically slept through every day since Friday...so no exercise, no journaling...just sleeping. I'm starting to feel almost human and like I can breathe again....I'm off tomorrow as well (had planned to go to an outdoor concert in Chicago tonight....but that didn't happen because both DH and I have been really sick, and it's supposed to rain most of the night down there. I'll start anew tomorrow (though it might be Wednesday for the exercise).

:hug: to all!

I just finished my first fresh vegetable juice in months. Hurrah! :dance: I'm back on track. Trying to get healthy again and really trying to push through the tough days.
Meeting a friend in my old stomping ground tonight. Let's see if I can keep my hand from the booze and cigs.... :^:

**************

Shad -- You're well along, aren't you? I hadn't realized it was already 12 days. Any signs of fat loss?

diyana -- Good to see you again? I was wondering what happened. Sorry to hear about the nasty cold. Summer colds are hard to shake, aren't they? I look forward to having you back here. Your inspiration and support is wonderful. Too bad about the concert! Later! :wave:

Home, sober, no cigs! Hurrah! :cp: I did it. I did it. I did it. :bravo:
:dancer:

Wow, Red! That's awesome! :bravo: :cp: :bravo: I'm soooo happy for you!!! You rock, girlfriend! I'm so very proud of you, and you should be very proud of yourself! You truly did it! :woohoo:

No exercise for this chick today...still coughing up junk out of my lungs. (sorry for the TMI). I am up and around a lot more - doing laundry and website work, and I'm eating on plan. Will start my challenges anew tomorrow...work days are easier anyway.

Again, Red, a big :congrat: to you!

1300 daily calorie limit - 2 pauses
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses.

Day 13 done.

It's moving along and no I am not losing anything but then again I am not gaining either so the forces are co-operating. I'm not doing enough to lose and the body is getting used to the exercise and the amount of food. I need to do some weights again to get the muscles pumping. It really does help to burn the body.

The best time I had with weightloss was when I was on the CSIRO diet and going to gym 4 times a week and climbing mountains or running the sea wall in Townsville for the other days. I'm having a problem justifying the price of the gym at the moment so there is conflict there

Red I'm proud of you going out and doing what you want to do and not overdoing it. You've passed the first test. Now to keep up the momentum.

Michelle - do not overdo that cold and if as you say TOM appeared, then I have no problems with you getting that flu. I'm certain that it attacks our immune systems as well.

Up, up and away. I have things to do, like commint mass murder on the ants around the joint. I've had it up to here with them.

1.Exercise Daily - DAY 6
2.Eat 1300 calories or less - DAY 6
3.NO eating past 7pm - DAY 5 ...1 pause taken
4. NO desserts - DAY 5 ...1 pause taken

Bad day yesterday...I ate a dessert past 7...

Yes, well, yesterday seemed like a great day because I not only didn't drink or smoke, I also didn't eat a thing after getting in at night. I just went to bed and, thus, stuck to my plan of not eating just before going to bed as I usually do.
I'm thinking that this may account for a lot of my not being able to lose weight despite what I consider (and I think anyone would agree) to be a LOT of exercise. It's great for being fit, which I think I am, but all I am doing is eating and wearing off the food, eating and wearing off the food, NOT going in and hitting the ample fat stores.
I am also thinking I have to cut down on carbs but am having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to do this. I absolutely HATE numbers and going in to Fitday and anything of the like has me nearly traumatized. I need some plans (for vegetarians) that say "Eat this!" and I'll eat it but a Web search turns up little.
I fear getting to the point of not being able to eat and then just giving up. I need some small steps, I guess. In any case, I don't think I can handle any big changes, even diet plans.
Ok, sorry about the monologue here..... :^:
I did have to take a pause on caffeine reduction. I was too tired but had to keep going and so I had more tea than usual....

No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 9 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 8 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 17 completed 1 pause taken

**************

Sara -- Too bad about the evening snacking. By the way, how does your plan seem to be affecting your weight? Have you noticed fat loss? I'm interested now that I'm thinking of cutting out the evening eating.

Shad -- I guess as long as you're not gaining then that is progress. Keep it up. Thanks for the praise. I don't know what it is but I do not feel good today, very anxious, very jittery, not at all happy with the fact that my weight is down (I just figure that's the empty stomach) and I wonder why I can't be happy with what look to be successes. I guess I'm just feeling quite overwhelmed. Change and I do not mix well.

diyana -- Thank you too. I don't know why I don't see this as huge and just be happy about it but I'm just in a bad way mentally, it seems, something very scary about all the exercise and the not eating and not doing the usual things that I guess I reached for to comfort me. Yes, I didn't reach but neither am I comforted. I suppose it's just because it is something new. Sigh, I really wish I wasn't so sensitive.

Ok, wrapping up Wednesday here. I was dragging something awful today so I didn't do too well. I will congratulate myself on not smoking, however. These days I am sorely tempted to just smoke and get some kind of hit off that, but I know that will be a very hard habit to break, so I am resisting the call.
Back to no sugar. I canNOT be trusted! :nono:
Took a pause on caffeine though I didn't really have much, just an extra cup of tea.... :^:
Good night, all. Sure hope I feel better soon. I don't know what's wrong with me. (little voices whisper, "oh, LOTS is wrong with you!") :?:

No sugar Day 0 completed
No eating after 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating) Day 2 completed
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 10 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 9 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 17 completed 2 pauses taken

Red - Congrats on not giving in to the temptation to smoke! For someone who says she doesn't get on well with change, you sure are making A LOT of changes - quitting smoking, quitting drinking, quitting sugar AND cutting back on caffeine - all are addictions that are hard to give up and YOU are doing it VERY SUCCESSFULLY, I might add! YGG! Be proud of all you're achieving, girlfriend.

Shad - I think a bit of weight training or shaking up your exercise routine may be just what you need to shed pounds. Is there any fun exercise you can add without adding the expense of a gym?

Sara - I don't think I could give up a sweet treat after dinner, so when I feel like "dessert", I try and make a healthier choice like fruit or yogurt. Frozen grapes are a yummy treat. I also don't keep my favorite desserts (cookies, cakes, brownies, ice cream, etc.) in the house. Is it possible to clear your big time temptations out of your house leaving you with only healthy after dinner options?

I'm not quite up to exercising yet...still got some chest congestion going on...as well as overall weakness. But I am eating OP.

diyana, there you are again, always making me feel better. Now, you must understand why I hate it so when you get down. I guess we all are harshest on ourselves, eh?
Yes, I am making a lot of changes, aren't I? I, strangely enough, hadn't really seen it that way. It was like, well, this is what I was supposed to be doing all again, so no praise forthcoming when I do it. (Must be the super-strict upbringing, there was NO praise ever, just scolding... :^: )
Also, maybe I somehow don't really see the not drinking and smoking as changes, because I still kind of (extreme understatement) WANT to do them. Hmmm.....whatever. Voluntary or not, I AM not doing them, so that constitutes change, right?
I just wish I could see some good things happening because of this. It's so hard to gauge.
I'm sorry to hear you're still under the weather, but it does sound like you're definitely out of the woods and on the mend. I think it's amazing that you can feel bad and still stay on plan. Kudos to you! :bravo: Hope you feel well enough to exercise soon. I know you're looking forward to it. ;)

Red - my dear, I still WANT to eat brownies, ice cream and pizza every day! I still WANT to drink lots of beer. I still WANT to eat tons of chocolate. Change doesn't mean we stop wanting, change means we stop doing. It means we stop ACTING on our desires - well, maybe not all of them. ;) Okay....not very eloquent, but hopefully you get the message.

I'm just about ready to head home. I'm pretty darn tired. I don't think I've been awake this long for days! :lol: Got a couple quick stops to make on the way home, and then it's relaxing time for this chick. And I'm skipping the exercise today...since I'm still hacking up a lung (not as often though) and really tired. BTW, did I mention I'm REALLY tired? :rofl:

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 13
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 14
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 14

Calling a pause on the food although I didn't actually track it yesterday. Even I know that fish and chips is not good for the calorie level.

One day at a time Red. All will be revealed in the course of time - if there is anything wrong with you. Sugar, I understand, is harder to break than cigs - so good luck with it.

Just a break in here after riding. I am home and in the midst of drinking another green drink, this one a pretty light green because of the asparagus (natural diuretic, hoping it will help).

**************

Shad -- You're right. I am always, always rushing things. Ah, you're right about sugar. I actually forgot I was doing the challenge this morning and ate some, so I won't have liftoff today...

diyana -- Ok, Ok, I stand corrected. You can see I was raised Catholic....even thinking evil thoughts is BAD! :devil: :rofl: Yeah, right. I KNOW what you're saying is true, it's just that my subconscious is skewed.
Hope your health continues to improve!

Shad - You are so correct...I know that for me, quitting smoking (19 years ago) was MUCH, MUCH easier than dieting/losing weight/cutting out sugar.

Red - My subconscious is skewed too...so sometimes my conscious/"rational" (yeah, right) mind has to kick it in the arse :kickbutt: to get it to think straight.

Sara - I hope you're having a good day.

Well, I'm still feeling pretty weak and coughing. It is a rainy morning here, and I overslept. All the rushing to get ready and the damp weather are doing a number on my lungs. I'm at work, but I'm tired already...Sheesh, this cold really kicked my butt!

Today is weigh in day. I have no idea what the scale will show and I don't know that I care. If I have a loss, I'll be thrilled...and if not, I know that I'm doing the best that I physically can do...since I can't exercise yet, all I can do is eat right, and I'm doing that.

Hugs,

Hi, I'm back. After catching up on some of the posts, I'm not sure if I want to with Shad and Red's meanness coming out, lol. I basically stayed away from 3fc for a few weeks, I needed a change I think.

40 points or less, 3 pauses allowed, Day Completed 0
24 oz water minimum, 3 pauses allowed, Day Completed 0
Go to bed by 12:30 p.m, 3 pauses allowed, Day completed 0
Crochet some during tv, 2 pauses allowed, Day Completed 0


For a couple of weeks I was eating 40 points or less, and was losing weight, and was actually sticking to it. So since it was working, I'm going back to it.

Crocheting keeps me from eating if my hands are busy, plus I'm going to work on Christmas gifts.:D

Peggy - Welcome Back! Those are great challenges! I wish I knew how to crochet! I'd love making crafts, but I'm not that talented at anything in particular...so I have to choose things to make that don't require a lot of skill/talent! :lol:

I'm so excited!! I had a great weigh in today!! :goodscale: I was down 6 lbs!! :woohoo: Now, I'm thrilled and all, but I wonder what's up...I find it hard to believe that just getting over TOM and having this cold and NOT being able to exercise would cause me to lose 6 lbs in one week. Hopefully, the scale doesn't "adjust" next week. I do know that as I lose more it will become harder to lose...because as they say...the more you have to lose the easier it is to lose it (yeah, right). Well, I'm gonna keep on it and hopefully get back to exercising eventually and we'll see what next week brings. In the meantime, YAY! :dancer:

Ok, another day. Friday here and I've shown a weight loss for the past three days! It corresponds to my not having eaten a thing after 5 or 6 p.m. the past three days, so I'm hoping this may be the key for me.

A lot of the eating in the evening has nothing to do with hunger. It was a habit, nothing more. Even yesterday, I was thinking, oh, I'll just reach for this and this and stick it in my mouth. Then I remembered that, no, :nono: I was doing a challenge. I could do it, no major problem. BUT, I have to think what I'm going to do when I DON'T see progress on the scale. After all, this is major discipline for me. When that's not rewarded, the lion roars! Let's see how lionhearted I can be then.

I realize I am not ready for a no sugar challenge right now. Not with the no eating in the evening challenge as well. I know I will cave after a day or two. So, I've decided to make it a sugar reduction challenge, which, like my caffeine cut challenge, will prevent overdoing it, but still allow me some. ;)

Last night, my last food was at 5 p.m., after which I cycled to the gym, worked out (jogging and weights), and cycled home. Of course, I had eaten a lot before all that, but some of the fat stores had to have come into play sometime during my slumbers, no? I've noticed the loose skin on the backs off my arms is gone. Hurrah! And I haven't been directly hitting my triceps, so it must reflect an overall tightening. :yay:

I had to do a lot of mind tricks to get me to the gym yesterday. I really wanted to just sit in my room, but pushed myself to get to the store (which would wake me up), got my bike out and my stuff ready, and then just went. Riding fast on the bike, the cool wind in my face, is a treat, so it helps get me on my way!

Sugar reduction
Day 0 completed
No eating after 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 3 completed
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 11 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 10 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) --
Day 18 completed 2 pauses taken

**************

diyana -- Hurrah!!! :cp: :cp: :cp: Fantastic!!! SIX POUNDS!! Is that like amazing or what? :cloud9: Remember, it's not 6 lbs in a week, it's 6 lbs in TWO weeks. How soon you forget your dramatics of last week, when the scale showed a false gain. Huh? Remember the tantrum? I don't know if you're dehydrated from being sick, which can happen, and you may not see a full six, but you are definitely down. Your sticking to the plan and not caving in did the trick. Good for you! :bravo:

Jazz -- Good to see you. But, what do you mean, you're seeing my "meanness" come out? :shrug: There's not a mean bone in my body...don't know about Shad though... :club:
Crochet doesn't require skill? :?: Who you trying to kid? :dunno:

miriam, Apple, where are you?! :listen:

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 14
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 15
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 15

Michelle - made comment on the weight loss on the other thread. But congratulations again.

Jazzy - My bark is worse than my bite. If I am mean, there is usually a reason - like Red not behaving again.

Red - think the sugar reduction is a good idea, as long as you keep a lid on it. But there are so few things in the store these days that are not sweetened in one form or another. Really need to check the labels - or don't they have those in Japan. Wow, cycling!!!! Haven't ridden a real bike since I don't know when. Wonder if I can still do it.

Gotta go sort out the rubbish, I can hear the garbo down the road.

Happy Friday -

I'm really tired. I guess my body is still fighting off this chest cold. The doc gave me some cough syrup, but since it has codeine in it, I can only take it at night. It was a short week for me, but it feels like it lasted forever. I hope this weekend will be relaxing. DH is saying he wants to go fishing both days since we only have about 6 weeks of decent weather left. The weather is already starting to cool down with highs in the upper 60s tomorrow and low 70s on Sunday. At least there's not supposed to be any rain this weekend (after today).

Red - Good for you for tackling not eating in the evening! That's a really rough time for me...but since I was having low blood sugar symptoms, I'm hesitant to cut off food too early. If you're trying to reduce sugars, definitely read labels...as they sneak sugars into so much nowadays. :bravo: on cycling to get to the store and to the gym!! And :bravo: :bravo: on getting to the gym for cardio and weights!! :woohoo: And :congrat: on the overall tightening/toning you're seeing!! YGG! As for how lionhearted you can be when the scale isn't friendly, I know what that's like...but I also know that you have it in you to stick with this through good times and difficult ones. Yes, I remember my dramatics last week; I'm sure the gain of last week was TOM. And I know that I really have to watch myself this week so I can maintain or even lose a little. I'm in the two teens now with no intention of allowing any upward scale movement.

Shad - Of course, you could still ride a bike. What is it they say...you never forget! You're doing great on your challenges! :cp: :cp:

As for me, I'm gonna start with three challenges today.

Journal and Stay Within Points, 3 pauses - Day 0 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 3 pauses - Day 0 completed
Walk 20 minutes daily, 3 pauses - Day 0 completed

For right now while I'm still sick and have a chest full of crud, the walking will have to be at a fairly low intensity...but I'll increase the time and intensity as I feel better.

Here's to a great day/weekend for all of us!

Hugs,

Early Saturday here. Yesterday was a go on all fronts. I'm changing the sugar challenge name to "Sugar limitation." The other name was misleading because I had been cutting all sugar out much of the time. What I want to do here is to just allow a bit but not allow overkill or, of course, any bingeing/ My absolute worst time for junk food (including sugar) was evenings, so the no eating in the evening challenge takes care of that problem.

I did it again yesterday. Quit eating at 4:30 p.m., which is early, but I was out of Tokyo for my piano lesson, stopped for a meal, then hopped the train back in to town and then went to the gym, where I ran (did the sprint routine) and did weights and walked the hour home. So, by the time I was through with the gym it was late. Oddly, the hunger is there and I am really in the habit of popping stuff in my mouth, but I was able to just say no and made it through. Of course, this is not so hard for me because I go to bed by 9 p.m. As long as I can sleep there is NO problem after that and I must say, I seem to be sleeping well! :yes: Hurrah!

Sugar limitation
Day 1 completed
No eating after 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 4 completed
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 12 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 11 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) --
Day 19 completed 2 pauses taken

**************

Shad -- Well, I haven't been "misbehaving" recently, but let's see how I react when the scale won't budge. Congrats on notching another day! :cp:

diyana -- I'm sorry to hear you're still sick. That cold is lasting a LONG time, isn't it? Do you often get lingering colds? I (knock on wood) almost never get colds. They say in Japan that doofs don't catch colds, so you know where that puts me, eh? ;)
Are you going to accompany your husband fishing or is he going alone? You're in Wisconsin. Do you fish on the Great Lakes?
I used to worry about low blood sugar and such and felt I couldn't go without food, but nowadays, I don't seem to have a problem as long as I've had a good breakfast and don't eat junk alone (namely sugar). I think a lot of it was in my head.
Yes, I am tightening I think, but I am shocked at how much fat there still is around my gut. I can't believe it's one, either not disappearing quickly, or two, I just had a LOT more than I realized. How is that? How can it seemingly remain hidden and then only come into the radar once it's massive (the gut, that is). Huh??!?!? You tell me! :shrug: :dunno: :?: I am baffled!
Good luck on your challenges. The walking should be OK even though you're still sick. In fact, it should help clear your chest. Take care! :getwell:

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 15
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 16
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 16

Weight is down 1.3kg in the last couple of days. Could it be something to do with the fluid retention tablets I started taking again? :chin:

Im going to Start THIS CHALLENGE!!!!!

thanks for getting something like this together. I think this is really going to get me motivated.

Day 2- Do not exceed 1200 calories-0 pauses
Day1-Drink at least 8 glasses/bottles of water a day-0 pauses
Day 1-Do not eat at least 2 hrs before bed time!-0 pauses


Im going to work at this REAL hard! Im a night shift worker which makes my eating schedule all out of WHACK!

Im trying to do this without any pauses at all

Hello, all. I am in the midst of drinking yet another green juice I whipped up -- komatsuna, spinach, celery, dark leaf lettuce, asparagus, soymilk, banana, almond extract.
I am attaching a photo for all those who have yet to have the privilege of seeing it! Yowzah!! Ain't it purty?

I am taking a break from the gym today. And, though my weight was up this morning and I figure it will be up again tomorrow, I have not whined yet!! Shad, are you listening? :listen:
:dance:
**************

Shad -- Hurrah, hurrah!! Weight is down 1.3 kg?!?!!? And you aren't falling over with joy?!?!? :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: Fluid, fat, whatever, it all LOOKS the same!! Go, Shad!!! :dancer: :dancer: :dancer:

One2ResqU -- Heh, there.... I need rescuing, so you've come to the RIGHT place!! Welcome!! :welcome:

Good for you for taking on the challenge and THREE of them! :cp: Oh, I know how bad night shifts are. I did them for years and years and I would just graze my way through them. No, it was more like a vacuum cleaner, just sucking up anything in sight. Yikes!! I quit my job the end of July and I am so glad to be back doing nothing! Well, it can't last for long, but I am SO enjoying it for now.
Good luck!! :goodluck:

Hey ladies! :wave:

Sorry, I've been a naughty little monkey AGAIN, going AWOL for a couple of weeks. Got sick, then no internet access, then vacation. Ah well.:nono::nono::nono:

Today is the first day of Ramadan in the Middle East, and even though I'm not observing, there is no better time to shut down, put the engine back in neutral, reflect, and be at one with yourself.:yoga:

So a new 21-day challenge is up for me! No eating after 9pm (which is going to be SO HARD as people here eat well into the night as they prepare to fast the next day). And also going to the gym, but focusing less on weight loss and more on mind-spirit connection - yoga, stretching, meditation, etc.

AND...the hardest, the worst: no gluten. I travel frequently and cheat myself into thinking I can eat wheat, when I really can't (gluten sensitivity). So a gluten-free Ramadan/fall for me!! I will be like this soon: :dizzy:

anyway, getting to it with you all, who are always inspiring. wohoo! :carrot:

I wasn't really thinking about just what would constitute "too much" for my sugar challenge but after I did start thinking about it, i.e., after I ate the junk, I realized that, no, I couldn't allow that. It's too early in the game to keep going, so I'm restarting sugar..... :^:
Otherwise, all was well. Last food was at 5 p.m.

Sugar limitation
Day 0 completed
No eating after 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 5 completed
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 13 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 12 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) --
Day 20 completed 2 pauses taken

**************

monkey -- Good to see you again. :yes: So, do you have two challenges, separate ones? They both sound quite difficult to me. Of course, I'm almost always in bed by 9 p.m. so eating wouldn't be a problem. But for a night owl, it'd be tough. Best of luck! :goodluck: By the way, how is that in Dubai with Ramadan? Are there still a lot of restaurants that cater to the non-Muslim or non-observing crowd and is that crowd big?

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 16
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 17
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 17

Days are moving past fast. I may have to up the challenges next time, although I know the water and the exercise are not a habit yet.

Oh, boy, bummed out time again.... :cry: My clothes are tight and the fat around my waist seems to be back in force. I really, really don't know what's wrong. I have been doing well. I absolutely can't do any better than this....
I looked back at a post on Aug. 12 and it said I could get my breeches on. Yes, I remember that i could. Now, there's a good 2 inches before I could get them fastened, let alone zipped. What goes? Can this be water retention yet again?
I was ready to go to the gym but I am so depressed. I mean, come on, why isn't the fat coming off? Sorry, but I am really bummed over this.

Shad, I'm misbehavin' again..... :nono:

Well, after writing that last whiny post, I sucked up and got my butt on the bike and to the gym, where I hung out a bit in the bookstore before getting disgusted with my procrastinating ways and finally got into the gym. I did some back and shoulders :lifter: and then the treadmill, jogging on an incline :tread: at alternating speeds. It was TOUGH, but I did it! :cp: How could I not, with the track championships on TV in front of me. :running:
And I did not eat after 5 p.m., BEFORE the gym! I am hungry, but going to bed hungry. I am going to scare this fat off me!

:trampo:

Where is everyone?!?! :?:
I made it through yesterday with a climatic ending! AND, the scale today is being good to me! :goodscale
I was able to update my current weight under my avatar. Hurrah! :bravo: It's 71.6 kg, my lowest weight recorded since Jan. 14 of this year! Is that like cool or what? :dance:

Sugar limitation
Day 1 completed -- We have liftoff!! :yes:
No eating after 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 6 completed
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 14 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 13 completed 0 pauses taken


Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) --
Day 21 completed 2 pauses taken

THIRD ROUND OF CAFFEINE CUT COMPLETED!!
:celebrate: :cp: :encore: :cp: :celebrate:

Red - I am really proud of you for picking yourself up and just getting on with it. Good on you for the finish of the caffeine challenge. See you can do this without us propping you up occasionally.
I am a bit interested in the sudden bloat. Unless you ate a gazillion calories there is no way that you could put on that much weight in one day. So it has to be something you ate, drank or somehow ingested that is fighting with your body. So the main culprits spring to mind. Salt - have you been having something with a high salt content. That green drink for instance. According to the ingredients you listed, no, but I don't know what all of them are. Sugar - ditto. Have you considered an allergy?
I don't know since I am not there
I just looked up my calorie book which has a sodium content section. It seems we should aim for less than 2500mg of sodium daily and most of that will be naturally occurring in our food and naturally fresh is best and lowest. 1/2 cup of cooked rice for example will provide 250mg of sodium and soy sauce bounces off the radar. So maybe a check of all that you have eaten over the past couple of days to see where the salt may be hidden. If you consider an allergy - again you will need to check on all that you have eaten and use the process of elimination.

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 17
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 18
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 18

Coming to the end of this challenge. It seems to be working at the moment - scale is down again this morning. Today is supposed to be very hot (33C) and we are not even at the end of August yet. I have a fair amount to do today so will disappear now and be back later when the heat drives me back inside - if today is anything like yesterday, I will be turning on the aircon today. No need to suffer needlessly.

Right onto the paint brush.

Thanks, Shad, for the kind praise. I'm glad I can show you at times just what I am capable of doing...though I rarely do it.
Seeing the "ones" again, even if they are above 70, is a great boost to me, the inverse of what those "threes" and even "fours" were as my weight once again crept toward 75 kg. It was really driving a nail in the self-hate coffin.
Now, through a LOT of hard work, I am out of those woods. It doesn't look like much on paper, a few pounds, but I know it's pure fat because I've been adding a lot of strength at the gym and I can see the increase in muscle.
Talking to the guys at the gym, I find myself saying how the weight training is a reward and that's why I do the running beforehand. I know the other way is better for burning fat but it is HARDER and I run the risk of NOT doing it at all. Get the hard stuff out of the way first and leave the fun till last. Odd, but weight training is fun. There are so many breaks and you can do a lot sitting or lying down. How easy is that. I can take a little exertion, in fact, that kind of blind, forward stampede of concentration is what I excel at. Some call it stubborn....or even stupid.... :lol3:
Anyhow, as for the weight gain or bloat, or whatever it was, I think it must have been a combination of pms and extra salt and sugar. Normally, I would know the limits of water retention before my period, but at my age, I seem to be having much more of a problem with water retention than ever before and it really feels like fat. It also seems to concentrate in my abdomen, but that may just because I notice it there more easily.
Too, it could have been those days of high sugar. When I eat sugar, it acts like an allergy of sorts and I am always bloated the next day. I did have some nuts too, which I hadn't had in a long time. Also, since now that the regular dehydration brought on by nights out on the town accompanied by, naturally, massive amounts of booze, are totally absent, I probably wasn't knocking excess fluid out of my body like I used to. That had to have the same effect as a diuretic pill, no?
The green juice is a help for sure. Yesterday I added cucumber, which is a natural diuretic apparently, so it all may have helped.
So, anyhow, there you have it, at length!

And look at you!! :celebrate: Another loss! Congratulations!!

Happy painting!

Red - Congrats for getting to the gym and for the wonderful weight loss!! You rock, girlfriend!! :bravo: As for bloat and PMS, as I've gotten older my PMS has become very different...very bloated, lots of water retention, and worse mood swings. I didn't know cucumber was a diuretic...that's cool! I love cukes.

Shad - Thanks for the info about sodium. Who knew rice contained sodium?! How crazy is that! Congrats on your weight loss too. :woohoo:

I journaled and drank water over the weekend, but I think I'm gonna temporarily suspend the walking until the junk clears out of my lungs. I'm so fed up with being sick. But I know this will eventually clear out...just gotta do what I can.

Journal and Stay Within Points, 3 pauses - Day 3 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 3 pauses - Day 3 completed

Here's to a great day for all of us!

Well, I'm hungry, but again refusing to put any food in my mouth! I was not the best today but I am calling it clear. Last food was a bit late but still OK (she says) ;)
I got to the gym and though after doing weights, I could have run, I decided to take a break from that. I'll probably not be able to get to the gym for the next couple of days but at least I forced myself to go today! :cp:
Sugar limitation
Day 2 completed --
No eating after 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 7 completed
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 15 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 14 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 1 completed 0 pauses taken

.....is it really only five weeks off booze? Well, I have lost SEVEN pounds since then... :cloud9:

**************

diyana -- Thank you! The weight loss really felt good. I at last felt like something was actually working. I was really starting to feel that things were crazy. My body is pretty messed up. I have water retention when it seemingly has nothing to do with pms, though this time may have been. I'm glad to hear that I'm not that only one that is having problems with this. Yes, I read in many places that cucumbers are a diuretic. Here's a link that is perhaps too good to be true, but if you're into cukes, according to this, I would indulge!
http://www.viruz.com/cucumber-and-weight-loss/
Good going on your challenges! Yes, no sense doing exercise as one now, not until you're 100 percent better! :getwell:

Red - I'm so proud of you for getting to the gym again! I so wish I could go too. I'll be back at it soon (she says hopefully). Congrats on losing the 7 lbs in the last 5 weeks! See, girlfriend, these challenges are helping you achieve your goals! With your healthy lifestyle changes, your body is starting to right itself. It won't be "messed up" for much longer. Water retention is a problem for me because I don't enjoy cooking and eat lots of frozen foods and canned soups, all of which are through the roof in terms of sodium content. Thanks for the get well wishes, my friend!

Morning here. Forcing myself up and out.
My weight-loss happiness was very short-lived as my weight is up THREE pounds this morning. It's so depressing. It makes the low weight seem like something false, something taunting me and saying I can never be thin. Too much sugar? Too much salt? Was the low number just dehydration? I really just want to cry when I see the same old, same old numbers again and again. It's as if my body is absolutely set in this spot and refuses to budge.
On top of that, I tried on some pants yesterday in the hopes of getting out of the rags I wear and I couldn't even get them over my butt. WTF??!? I mean, they were in my usual, just-too-tight, but still-wearable size. It seems the world is out to just not let me feel good for long. :cry:
I did NOT eat that much yesterday. True, I didn't kill myself at the gym, but I walked a lot and did do weights. Yes, yes, all the reasons....but THREE pounds!! Come on....

**************

diyana -- You see, things just don't want to go my way. I am so tired of everything being so hard for me. :( What can I say? I guess there's nothing to do but just try to accept the fact that fat loss for me is incredibly hard.

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 18
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 19
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 19

No loss for me this morning either despite all the sweating through yesterdays hottest August day in history and a Hot August Night (with apologies to Neil Diamond)

Red - I am not sure what to suggest apart from patience. It's not going to work overnight - didn't get there overnight did it?? Up three pounds, maybe your body is a bit like Melbournes weather. Don't like what you have now - wait 5minutes, it'll get worse.
Maybe it is time to get off the scales and put them away for a month - no there is a challenge for you. Forget about the beast and just do the best you can. Maybe you could also try publishing a menu and let us all have a pick at what you are eating and how. We promise not to be too nasty - or in my case nice.

Time for getting into my wardrobe and chucking some bits out of it.

Shad -- It DID get there overnight. I swear it did! One morning I realized that I couldn't get any of my clothes on and I grabbed the fat around my waist with both hands and I went, "Oh, my God!!! Where did this come from?!?!?" :eek: It was totally Kafkaesque.

There I was just going through the everyday routine without a care in the world and all of a sudden I realized this Mac truck tire of lard had attached itself to my midsection. And my butt, my God, my butt hadn't been this BIG before, no way? No, it was always pretty nice, muscular with a nice shape. I always got compliments on it. But this wasn't my butt anymore. And, jeez, there was fat under my arms where I also had muscles. How did that get there? Call in Poirot! I mean, this isn't something I can figure out on my own. All I wanted to do was scream, call an ambulance, call in sick to work until it would go away. Where did all this come from??!?! HOW did it get there? I have NO idea.

I mean, look, I felt fine, really, really fine all along. I was enjoying myself, eating when I felt like it, listening to my inner child and giving her what she wanted when she asked for it. I was going easy on myself, being NICE to myself, not beating myself up, thinking of ME first. When I was tired, I rested. No beating myself up at the gym. No, come on, you have to give yourself the REST you need. And, I was going out with friends, a lot. We were socializing and talking about work. Sure, we were thirsty, but it was a healthy thirst. The hot weather makes you so tired. You just HAVE to knock down those beers, by the pint, and quickly because no one likes to be with someone who can't drink properly. Boy, did they ever taste and feel great. And I ate a lot of food, whatever sounded good. I was having fun and being generous and in general magnanimous to myself. You gotta live it up, right? You only go around once, right? I mean, nothing wrong with that, right? So, what happened. WHO did this to me? I am baffled. :shrug: :dunno: :?:

I mean it, by golly, I'm a GOOD person. I don't deserve this. I was doing NOTHING wrong and all this just hit me, all at once! SMACK! BANG! OUT OF THE BLUE!! :faint:

Ummm I don't think I am allowed to say it here!!! :censored:

Hello ladies -

I had a great day yesterday...got lots of errands done after work, and still had time to sit outside and play frisbee/ball with my doggies! I still have crud in my lungs that sent me into a coughing fit/asthma attack yesterday at work which scared my co-workers. A couple puffs on the rescue inhaler and I was doing a little better. Stupid lung crud.

Red - This is why I only weigh myself once a week...because daily fluctuations happen. Now stop all the negative talk! Of course you can be thin and you will be thin! You are doing ALL the right things! The extra weight is probably just water retention of your muscles holding on the fluids to help them heal after weight training. You said yourself, you did a lot of weights. Weights will, of course, help you tone and sculpt your muscular (by your own words) physique...but the muscles do take time and water to heal. Again, you can expect to see a weight gain right after weight training....that's why my weigh in 2 weeks ago was UP even though I did everything right...it was because of weight training. You said you're feeling better now that you're eating right and exercising. Let that be your reward! While I love to see the scale go down, my goals aren't so much number related (though I would like to be under 200 by Xmas), they are related to strength, stamina and energy...how I feel...and being healthier in general (i.e., being able to fight off nasty colds. As for your pants...are they pants that had previously fit? Are they the same brand as the still wearable clothes you typically wear? I know from my own experience, as well as working for a clothing retailer that ALL brands have different specs when it comes to sizes. What one brand calls a 14, another calls a 16. It depends on cut and the "give" of the material. I like the pants that have a little "give" in the waist. STICK WITH IT, GIRLFRIEND! You can do this and you are doing this. Don't let a stupid piece of electronic equipment have that much power over your moods (I know, I know...I did have my own scale melt-down 2 weeks ago), but I recognized how ridiculous it was to give the scale that much power. I agree with Shad - put the scale away for a month. Hang in there and keep up the GREAT work! And eat more cukes!! I hope to be as strong and thin as you some day. What I wouldn't give to be in the 150s or even 160s. BTW, great story about how the weight mysteriously appeared. Agatha Christie, eat your heart out!

Shad - You're doing SO great on your challenges! Good on ya'! I hope today is cooler so you can enjoy the gardening or loo tiling or whatever is on the agenda for today.

Here's where I'm at:

Journal and Stay Within Points, 3 pauses - Day 4 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 3 pauses - Day 4 completed

Hugs,

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 19
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 20
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 20

Been to the doc this morning to pick up a repeat of the fluid prescription. He did the blood pressure thingy and tells me that my blood pressure is up - right arm more than left. What's with that. I asked but didn't get a good response. I guess that has something to do with overhead painting as I am predominantly right armed but can use the left reasonably well to do everything as well. Cholestrol is up too and although I can't do anything about that - genetics have a lot to answer for - it would certainly help if I lost another 4 - 5kgs. Is that all. Right away doc. No problem :rofl: Now I should do a grande dame whine here like Red. How am I going to lose 4 or 5kg? Well I guess it is going to be a head down and bum up scenario. Up the exercise and cut the food. Whatever I am doing now seems to be working slowly. So to work out a plan.

Michelle - welcome back to the land of the living. You'll be back on track in no time.

Red - shove those scales under the futon and take yourself off for a walk in the park and smell the flowers. You can not exercise every day of the week as ferociously as you do and not get some pain, swelling and disappointment. Take a day off and go to the Imperial Gardens and smell the clean air and freshness.

I'm off to finish the wardrobe.

Just got in from an overnighter. I DO hope you all knew I was kidding with my fake rant there.... I at first put in some laughing smilies and then thought, nah, they'll HAVE to get it. But, from the messages I just glanced at it, I'm not so sure....
Please tell me you knew I was joking.

I thought about it for at least 2 sentences and then said that the lady was bullsh*tting us.

Of course it goes on overnight. We go from being reed thin to redwood trees in a matter of minutes. But that is only because we are getting old and time goes faster when you age. Everyone knows that.

Red, how the **** do you manage to not eat until after 4.30? I'm clawing my way back from 11pm as it is! :bravo:

And to answer your question, the UAE is still quite traditional when it comes to Ramadan; supermarkets and restaurants are open, but there is little or no music in night clubs and no alcohol anywhere. Dubai is much more open than Abu Dhabi (I shuttle back and forth), but still restrictive.

Shad, how are your goals? Diyana?



Me = Day 4 No Eating After 9, 0 pauses
Day 4, Gym Activity is OK, but needs to be ramped up!

I was up at the training center for racehorses. Had taken the bus up in the evening, stayed over and then hung out there for the morning today. Back home now and thinking I have to rethink my relationship with sugar and what I want from a challenge, if anything. I do not feel right with any sugar now and yet, when I allow it, I eat way too much. I don't feel right cutting it out totally either, as I really love eating it. I am afraid I am a true addict, which means I probably can't deal with it ever and am best getting rid of it. Alcoholics feel happy about drinking too. :^:

Sugar limitation -- Let me rethink this one again...

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 8 completed, 1 pause taken
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 17 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 16 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 3 completed 0 pauses taken

Other than that, I was good, although being at the training center and realizing just how fat I'd gotten was extremely disheartening. I am very glad that I believe I have lost some weight in the past few weeks. If I hadn't I probably would have thrown myself in front of a galloping horse.
:(

And, there's no way I can stash the scale. That's what I've done everytime I then went about gaining 5 kg!
No, unfortunately, I'm just going to have to learn to deal with the stubbornness of my fat. At least, if I'm b:tching about things, I don't have quite as much time to stick stuff in my mouth.

**************

monkey -- How do I manage to "not eat until after 4:30?!" I think you got it wrong or it was a typo. I eat UNTIL 4:30 p.m. and then stop till when I get up in the morning, which is around 4 a.m. I eat around 5:30 but have coffee in me shortly after 4:30 a.m. So, in those cases, it's 12 hours, much of them spent sleeping. It's not hard now because I can go to bed when I want. When I was working (and hating it) it would have been incredibly difficult if not impossible.
Night clubs with "little or no music" and "no alcohol!?" How can they call that a night club? That's like the racing there. No betting. :shrug: What do they do in the night clubs then?

Shad -- Ok, good, it was because of your censored smilie that I was worried. You seemed mad at me and I thought you had believed me. And you see, you DO know about the redwoods and the time warp of middle/late middle age. Things speed up as IQ levels drop. I am currently nearing the double digits. How's that "pure stuff" you're drinking these days? Every time I see that I think of some sort of moonshine, wood alcohol or something akin to vodka or gin. "Grande dame whine like Red?!?!?" Since when do I ever whine? :dunno: I think you're confusing me with diyana.

diyana -- (speaking of whom...) After I read your message thoroughly, I figured you were in on my joke. I just wanted to be sure. I thought it was pretty obvious, but then, you never know. You all would be thinking this woman has totally lost it, when I haven't. (only about 74 percent). "Kafkaesque?!" :lol3: Just call me Gregor....or roach. :^:
Thanks as always for the encouragement. As I wrote above, I just can't put the scales away. I NEED the ritual of daily self-flagellation ... and then some.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g195/darksecret59/cute%20graphics/banginghead.gif
The pants I spoke of were just some in the store with a label that said the same size as what I can squeeze into. I guess they weren't stretch. I went back to my clothes check file and see that the pants I own that I couldn't get on, just fit when I was a good 3 lbs less than my recent low. So, yeah, that would do it. As I said, I should just be glad I got this far in the past month. Otherwise, I truly would have been devastated. It was bad enough as it was, with NO one commenting on me looking good, which means I look like ....well, I won't go into it.
Still can't shake that congestion, eh? Be glad you're not here, with the next flu virus spreading panic down in Okinawa.

Shad - That is officially weird that your two arms have different BP's. I've never heard of such a thing. How odd! As for cutting the food calories...are you sure that's wise? Can you increase the time and/or intensity of your exercise?

Red - Of course we knew you were joking! Seriously though...I firmly believe that we have to learn to love ourselves in whatever shape we are currently in. We are where we are, and getting smaller. And if you can't ditch the scale, can you change to weekly weigh ins? Same day/time each week? That would ease some of the day to day fluctuations. And you ARE right - you have a lot to be proud of. You've done tremendously well in the last month or so! :bravo: I definitely want to get better before the flu and the H1N1 flu come around. I should be all good to go soon. I may even get to the gym tomorrow.

Monkey - I'm not sure what all the Ramadan customs/observances are. Guess I need a lesson in other cultures.

As for me, I got lots of unplanned exercise in last night. I went down to the basement to do some laundry and found that one of our windows apparently had a leaky seal and let in a lot of rain water. Parts of the basement were flooded 1" deep...not as bad flooding as many people get...but bad enough. DH and I had to move stuff around and mop up all the water, which took nearly an hour. After that, we let a fan run all night and thankfully it's all dry today. DH will seal the window better so we won't have this leaking problem anymore. Tomorrow is weigh in and with no exercise for 2 weeks, I don't know what to expect, but I'm keeping my fingers :crossed: :)

Journal and Stay Within Points, 3 pauses - Day 5 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 3 pauses - Day 5 completed

1300 daily calorie limit - 1 pauses Day 20
Exercise - 30 per day - 2 pauses Day 21
Water - 1 litre of the pure stuff per day - 2 pauses Day 21

Well apart from one thing I have finished the challenge. I'll give it a rest over the weekend and be back on Monday with the new ones.

Weight is up slightly today, but that's okay. I can't lose everyday. It just doesn't happen like that. It'll be gone again tomorrow or the next day.

Right, I am off t have lunch with the niece who turns 21 tomorrow. How time flies.

Shad - Congrats on completing the challenges! Good on ya!! :bravo: :cp:

My weight is up today too. At this week's WW weigh in, I was up 1.6 lbs. I expected it...2 weeks without exercising and all. No problemo. I think my lungs are doing a little better, so I'll start easing back into moving with gentle exercise. :)

I hope everyone else is doing well!

Well, I just can't call 7:30 a "around 6 p.m." I think I have to try to eat earlier in the day. There is a huge gap between breakfast and lunch and then by the time I want dinner it's past 6 p.m., but I'm still going to bed at 9, so there's just not enough time in between to be burning off food sitting in my stomach. Problem is that I'm out and about, on the trains and walking at 11 a.m., when I actually should be eating lunch, so it's hard. Then at 5 p.m. I'm usually in the gym. I have to try to remake my schedule.
So, that's a pause on the no evening eating challenge again. Hmm, wonder if I should restart this one... :chin:

I am going to declare a Green Jeans Challenge. It's really a goal, not a 21-day challenge. The goal is to:

GOAL -- Fit into my stretchy green jeans with NO fat hanging over the top and to be able to move around with ease, meaning I could actually be squeezing into the size below them although that size would not be comfortable.

CURRENT -- I can just get them buttoned on an empty stomach (did that this morning!) but I can only do that (this is gross) if I pull all the skin and fat above the top. They are in danger of breaking (the top button and the zipper). Did I gross you all out? :barf:

As for the other challenges, the drinking era seems long ago, but it's only a bit over a month. The cigarettes are tempting but I know I would feel sick for the first couple and then get into it. So, I think, why subject myself to that initial sick feeling? :dunno: So far, good sense has won out.
:^:

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 8 completed, 2 pauses taken
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 18 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 17 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 4 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

Shad -- Wow, Shad, how did you pull off those challenges so quickly. Good for you! And three cheers!! :cp: :cp: :cp: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: I think this round has brought some weight loss too, hasn't it? Great!! :sunny:

diyana -- You didn't weigh in last week, did you? I (as you can guess) would find it very hard to not be devastated by a gain over a period of two weeks. Then again, are you trying to change your eating habits as well? You are, aren't you? You've stayed within your points, right? Well, don't mean to make you feel like I would, heaven forbid, but is it not possible to lose fat without exercising? Maybe not, huh? Maybe the idea is to maintain weight and then dig into the stores of fat with exercise so as to not lose muscle.
I think I have long been used to losing even when I didn't exercise because I had so much muscle. But recently, I haven't been maintaining the muscle so my fat-burning capabilities were compromised. Sigh. Let's see how it goes. I am hoping I can be more patient with things AS LONG as I know I haven't been pigging out. The lack of beer binges just HAS to be helping, don't you think?

All challenges complete. I'll have a break until Monday and look at new challenges then start again.

Yes I have lost weight on this one. From 83.2 to 81.7 this morning. So that is 1.5kg in 3 weeks more or less. I'll take it - it's about 3lbs I guess.

Red - like you I need to eat earlier in the evening since I am definitely a day fowl and not a night owl. I usually eat at 7.00am then 12.00 have either soup or a lightweight sandwich or a small salad with some protein of some sorts. I try not to snack between then and dinner at 6ish. Beds about 9.30 or 10. Cutting out the carbs in the evening seems to help as well. Goals are good. I've got some clothes that nearly cut me in half to just get into them. My goal will be to get back to them again.

Michelle - it's not a huge gain but I know it is annoying. Just keep going. We will get there.

Seem to have mislaid all the other posts. Sara, Naughty Monkey, how you going with your challenges.

Shad, if you are losing ONLY fat, which I think you are since you're exercising, then 1.5 kg in three weeks is a LOT and it surely must be showing. GOOD to hear. If you can do it, then I guess I can (and have). This constant attention to weight and food and exercise is extremely tedious, BUT I am feeling...at long last....GOOD about things. I think I can learn to be patient AS LONG as I am being consistent. SO, that is what I need to focus on and if I'm going to whine I need to whine about my inconsistencies.
Do I hear a collective sigh of relief from the audience (always on the stage, this one... :^: )

Odd isn't it? I'm a "day fowl" too but I tend to be a night eater. Maybe this comes from years of not wanting to eat in front of people back when I topped 80 kg and had NO muscle in my late teens, early 20s. That's when I started drinking too and I think the drinking habit, well, late-hour socializing habit changed my habits. Heck, dayover I'd be recuperating.

I'm usually eating at 5:30 a.m. this days, so 10:30 or 11 is the time for me to eat, isn't it? That way I could have my last meal from 5 p.m. and be fully off food by 6. I'm going to try for that. Ok, time for lunch! Wow, too weird. I'm hungry but it just seems weird to pay attention to it early in the day. No wonder I then want to suck up anything in sight in the evening.

"Clothes that nearly cut me in half!" :lol3: Yup, I know the feeling. It's painful...in more ways than one. What don't you pick one thing and let's do this goal thing together? :idea:

Welcome to do it together if you wish. Doc wants me to lose 4 or 5 kilos, so I want to be able to get into a pair of trousers I bought in Singapore a year or so back. So there is my goal. I'll check tomorrow to see how far I have to go!

Great. Let's do a week blow-by-blow. So, every week we post a detailed and graphic description of the state of things, like I did for the green jeans. Ok?

Red - I go to sleep around 9:30, and I ALWAYS like a little something (grapes, chocolate milk, yogurt, pretzels, whatever) around 8 or 8:30 pm. I would find it VERY difficult if not impossible to not eat after 6 pm, especially since I'm usually at the gym (when I'm not sick) around 6 pm and haven't eaten dinner yet. I like the green jeans goal! That's awesome! Congrats for being able to button them (no matter how you did it!). It won't be long until they are comfortable! YGG! You're doing so well on your not drinking/smoking! Your success is SO inspiring!! As for my weight gain this past week, I expected it since I've been sick and not exercising. And thankfully, I didn't gain 2 weeks in a row. Two weeks ago, I was up 1.8 lbs after working my arse off at the gym and eating perfectly. Last week, I was down 6 pounds!! This week, I'm up 1.6, which was expected. So still a net loss of 2.6 lbs over the three weeks, and I'll be back to the gym this week...so I know it'll come back off. No worries. I'm not upset, frustrated or even annoyed. And, yes, I have been staying within my points...I just haven't been moving as much as I was - which will change starting this today/this weekend! I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling GOOD about things! You are doing great, and the results are happening for you!!

Shad - Congrats on completing all challenges and on the great weight loss!! :bravo: :bravo: Hope you had a nice time with your niece.

As for me, I did not get to the gym yesterday...was feeling exhausted after two very long very stressful days at work...so I played in the yard with my dogs, and they gave me a pretty good workout. I'd like to do the clothing goal thing too, if you don't mind...I'll have to find a pair of too tight pants (which won't be hard) and work on making them fit.

Journal and Stay Within Points, 3 pauses - Day 7 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 3 pauses - Day 7 completed

It was hard getting out of the house yesterday. It's nicer to be out because it's so hot inside and there was a nice wind blowing outside, BUT I stayed in doing other stuff till late and then finally got my butt to the gym. When I think about it, I am only exercising for that bit. My exercise is always so concentrated. Whatever. Other days it's not.
I did 30 min of jogging and walking after cycling to the gym, then did some weights, chest and arms and abs.
I am calling my no evening eating clear though it was a bit late. I did manage to get to the gym, though late, still earlier than some days and that was because I was aiming to have dinner in time for the cutoff. So, those efforts deserve recognition, even if I was a bit late. ;)
The second round of no booze is almost over. I was saying it had only been a month since my drinking era was over, but it's more like six weeks because I only had the one night out (as a pause) in there. It does feel like longer though, which just goes to show how much of a lifestyle it had become. Well, that was easy to change since I no longer go into the office. It is horrible how much of myself I lost while working there. I am only realizing it now, over and over again as I slowly come back to life. I don't know what this means. I hope it doesn't mean I can't work because I will soon HAVE to, but I think I simply cannot and must not do an office thing. I truly hate it so I have to think of other ways to support myself. :chin:

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 9 completed, 2 pauses taken
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 19 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 18 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 5 completed 0 pauses taken

**************

diyana -- Thanks again for your kind words. I don't know how inspiring I've been not drinking or smoking as you and Shad don't seem to have a problem with either and our usual no booze challenger Apple isn't around these days. Oh well, maybe the challenges are transferable to similar ones.

Cutting the two out completely has been far easier than cutting down. I think it's even harder to cut down on smoking or drinking because of the addictive qualities. Well, addictive of nicotine. But, with drinking, it's similar because as you get intoxicated you just don't care about things and keep going...at least I do. I must say I would think not drinking would account for a faster weight loss than I am experiencing, but it doesn't seem to. Perhaps it will be small, yet more consistent though. I have never given up drinking for longer than three months in recent years, so we will see.

I was thinking your 6-lb weight loss came two weeks ago. I looked back on the posts but didn't see it last week. Well, I'm glad to hear it was only a week ago, in which case, the little upward movement is probably not even reflective of what's going on. You surely have lost weight if you've been sticking to your point plan, even without exercising.

Glad to hear that you're able to work and seem to be slowly on the mend. I can surely understand your wanting to eat something shortly before bed. If you are at the gym, then when was the last time you actually ate. If you are eating things like pretzels and such late then the salt will surely register a water gain the next morning, so there you go!

YES, glad to have you do a clothes goal. I am going to post my progress (or current state :^: ) every Friday, but you can pick whatever day you like, of course. I am going to keep a separate file on my computer and post both the previous week's and then the new week's description. Occasionally, I will post the first description too to remember just how far I have come...positive thinking here!

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g195/darksecret59/sun1.gif

Had to meet someone and things got messed up with the caffeine. I just had to much....and am now paying the price by not having been able to sleep....

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 10 completed, 2 pauses taken
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 20 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 19 completed 0 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 5 completed 1 pauses taken

Red, I am going to have to change my GOAL because I put the pants on last night and they fit well. No trouble doing things up or bulging over the top etc So on my wardrobe rampage today I will find some more things that I can't fit into. I know I will find something that doesn't fit at all or is a problem to get done up.
I'll be back to report later.

Wow, nice surprise, eh Shad? I'm jealous.

I'm just plain surprised. But I have remembered my gardening denim shorts. Now these are delapidated, paint stained and disreputable, but they are horribly tight and I have to lie on the bed to get the zip to close. So they will be the challenge. I can get them on, I can get the button done up, but the zip is a horror and sometimes doesn't stay done up and they don't look to grand on either. There's my goal. Fit into them and then I can get a new pair of gardening shorts.

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 11 completed, 2 pauses taken

No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) --
Day 21 completed 0 pauses taken -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED!!! :celebrate: :cp: :encore: :cp: :celebrate:

No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) --
Day 20 completed 0 pauses taken

Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 5 completed 1 pauses taken

Well done Red. 1 down, another to finish today. You are doing well.

Haven't decided on my challenges yet. I'm working on it.

As you may have noticed from my last entry, I couldn't sleep through the night and got up around 2 and came here to post that. It was actually a matter of being ABLE to sleep but having had gone to bed so early that there was no way I'd sleep the night through. I had something hot to drink and proceeded to go back to bed until quite late in the morning.

Now, I've been practicing the piano (I really must learn to do this on a regular basis.) Like everything with me, I do things in spurts of concentrated effort with long intervals of nothing in between. I am classic hare.

It's a day I wanted to hit the gym but with a typhoon approaching, the rain is pouring down and I don't like getting drenched.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g195/darksecret59/rain.gif

I have to think what else I can do to move the weight loss along. My weight is up and though I don't think it's true fat, it's not making me feel good. Maybe though, just like I mentioned, I should allow for this style as it seems to suit me, hard work at the gym and less eating and then sitting back for a few days before hitting it again. This 21-day challenge doesn't allow for that so maybe I have to do some extracurriculars. I just can't handle the traffic of doing more than one thread.
Ok, enough of me....

**************

Shad, Ok, so you have your gardening shorts in the clothes challenge. What day will you post your next description? I'm doing mine on Friday, since that's a week from when I started. Good description, by the way. It's important I think to do the next test under the same circumstances or note them too. I have found there is quite a difference between, say, a full stomach reading and one on an empty stomach. One problem I can foresee is trying my jeans on so often at this stage that I will break the zipper! :eek: Better keep it to just once a week! :yes:

Well, hope to see you back with some new challenges soon.

diyana, where are you? :listen:

And our others, miriam, Jazz, Apple, monkey, One? Where are you??!?!? :dunno:

Red - Congrats on completing Round 2 of no booze! :bravo: :bravo: Good for you for practicing the piano. I hope you didn't get hit hard with the typhoon.

Shad - Congrats on getting into those trousers. And that sounds like the perfect goal...new gardening shorts when you can get into your old ones! I know I have a pair of way too small pants or shorts that I would love to get into...just didn't have time to look this weekend.

************
Sorry for not posting...I wasn't on the computer at all this weekend. Too much to get done so we can play on Labor Day weekend. I'm feeling better, except when a coughing fit or an asthma attack hits. And I sure do get tired out easily.

I took a pause on both my challenges yesterday. I didn't get the water in, and since I was doing a lot of cooking...there were quite a fews BLTs (bites, licks, tastes). So here's where I'm at after the weekend:

Journal and Stay Within Points, 2 pauses left - Day 8 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 2 pauses left - Day 8 completed

Well, yesterday was a wash of a day, literally and figuratively. I stayed home all day expecting the winds and rain to get worse and they never did. The typhoon didn't make a direct hit on Tokyo. So, I never got to the gym, but I did practice the piano, much needed, with tomorrow a lesson.

I also, I must admit, binged on sugar and I am very unhappy about that. Must do something. Will see today. :mad:

Anyhow, the smoking challenge is done as well. Tonight, if I meet my old drinking buddies, I may be sorely tempted to do one or the other (drink or smoke) or both. I am very depressed these days, just see no light at the end of the tunnel and even things like riding and weight loss seem to have lost any meaning for me. I'm really in a bad way. All these changes are not helping for now. Keep pushing on, is all I know how to do, so I will... :^:

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. (exceptions for dinner dates, but no late eating)
Day 12 completed, 2 pauses taken

No alcohol (round 3, 1 pause on round 1, no pauses on round 2) --
Day 0 0 pauses taken

No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 21 completed 0 pauses taken -- SMOKING CHALLENGE COMPLETED!!! :bravo: Hurrah to me!!!

Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 6 completed 1 pauses taken

**************

diyana -- Good to see you and thanks for the congratulations. Yes, I did it, a full three weeks without a sip. That makes six weeks with only one night out. I wish I could say I feel great and that my skin were better but neither is the case. I will say that it is nice knowing I will not feel too awful in the morning after a drinking session. As I wrote above, the temptation will be there tonight (if I go..I may not). Let's hope I don't think I need to "mark" anything with a toast. :^:

Yes, I missed you over the weekend. Too bad you had to take a pause. I hope the nibbles were so big as to play havoc with your weight loss. Are you a member of some club, like Weight Watchers, or are you just doing this on your own? You speak of "weigh-ins" so I was wondering.

Well, good luck!


I've decided to try to get the sugar and the calories under control. I am so tired of sabotaging my hard work constantly. Why, oh why do I do this? :cry: I also think it is much easier to eat sugar calories than drink booze calories. If I could just learn to only eat VALUABLE calories, maybe I could make progress. I feel so happy thinking of eating sugar and then I keep going and going and I'm enjoying it but not really because as I'm doing it I am hating myself. What goes? http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g195/darksecret59/scream.gif
I guess this is classic addiction behavior. But I believe it's a mental addiction. Trying to fill a hole that can't be filled with food or drink and knowing that but not knowing what else to do.... why is life so hard?

Wow, where is everyone?
I'm afraid I decided to break my no-drinking, no-smoking streak and went whole hog last night out with the old mates.
I feel pretty bad today. I am not going to do this again for quite a while. Fine. Enough said. Thus, the pause on liftoff.
However, I DID notch a sugar-free day and that is quite an accomplishment considering my recent mindset. :cp: All through the day I caught myself about to reach for sugar, but I just said no.
So, that's a new challenge. Wish me luck.

Hope we see some action around here. :?:

No sugar -- Day 1 completed 0 pauses taken

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. -- Day 12 completed, 3 pauses taken

No alcohol (round 3, 1 pause on round 1, no pauses on round 2) --
Day 0 1 pause taken

No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 0 completed 1 pause taken

Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 7 completed 1 pause taken

Sorry I haven't got back here. The days have gone a bit weird and it's been somewhat busy.

Haven't yet worked out the challenges as such. I think I might stick with the 4 I have been using for the next round. I'll have to add things as we go I think so.......

1300 (about) daily calorie limit
Exercise daily
Portion control
Water - 1 litre at least.
3 pause days for each.

Red - so you went off the rails for a day. I guess you will be back into it tomorrow again. We are here, just not always available - although I always read. Depends on how busy I get as to how much I get to write. So having done all that, its time to go back to stirring the meatballs.
Pity none of you are closer or you would be getting some of the produce from my garden which is going berserk at the moment.

Dang it, I posted yesterday but somehow it was lost. :(

Red - I'm glad the typhoon didn't directly hit Tokyo. When my dad and step-mom lived in Hong Kong many years ago, they said that typhoons could be fierce. Are they the same thing as hurricanes? There's a bad one of those barreling up the Mexican/Califonria coast. Here in WI, we have tornadoes and, of course, snow. So you binged on sugar on 8/31 and then went out and drank and smoked? You were doing so well on your challenges. Oh well, it's just a pause...but please don't let this be the start of backsliding. By feeling bad, your body is telling you that stuff isn't good for you. I sensed the depression in your post from 8/31. :hug: Riding has no meaning? Now you have me REALLY worried. You love your horse and your horse loves you. The kind of unconditional love we get from animals is so heartwarming and uplifting. As for your question of my club...I do Weight Watchers at Work and our weekly weigh in is on Thursdays during the lunch hour. Good for you for the sugar free day. I'm not sure I could do that. As Shad says, we are here, and I did actually post yesterday...of course, some how it got lost in cyberspace.

Shad - I'd love some of your produce and your meatballs. Wish I lived closer!

I walked for 1/2 hour at lunch yesterday, then went to the gym for 1/2 hour of cardio and 1/2 hour of weights. Because of my lungs, I kept the intensity down a bit. Of course now, my legs and back are saying I may have done too much. Why can't they tell me that at the time? :dunno:

Next week, we're going away for Labor Day and my birthday, and it may be difficult to make healthy eating choices...but we should be getting A LOT of walking in. :)

Journal and Stay Within Points, 2 pauses left - Day 10 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 2 pauses left - Day 10 completed

I was able to stay away from the sugar, though I had a lot of other junk yesterday. Still, it's a victory.
I have to get back being serious about the gym. It seems to be the only thing that actually makes a difference.
The other night I was able to wear a shirt I never have before because it just showed my fat too much and I actually got a compliment on it. Wow, I NEVER get compliments, especially lately. No one commented that I had lost weight though, so I was bummed. But, since they did comment on the shirt, which I couldn't have worn before, I guess there was something noticeable. That noticeable part is disappearing again, I fear.
Why do I hate to count calories so much? There has to be a better way.

No sugar -- Day 2 completed 0 pauses taken

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. -- Day 13 completed, 3 pauses taken

No alcohol (round 3, 1 pause on round 1, no pauses on round 2) --
Day 1 completed 1 pause taken

No smoking (round 3, 3 pauses on round 1, no pauses on round 2) -- Day 1 completed 1 pause taken

Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 8 completed 1 pause taken

diyana, Shad, I have to run. Let me talk later... :wave:

Day one over and done with. Weigh in this morning was 81.1 which is a drop of 2.1 from the beginning of two challenges ago. It's not the greatest weightloss in town, but it is better than what I have been doing in recent times.

Can't see the loss yet, apart from the odd dimple in the fat! Mind you I think the chine and shoulders are losing. That's usually the first place I lose. Now to get back to the 70's

Gotta run. Running late for today already. I'll be back later

Site looked to have been down...I couldn't post. Now, no time to write. Here's the tally. Good day. Sugar was hard. Out of the habit. But, did it. :yes:
I also had to walk all over town to find some caffeine-free beans. Finally got some, so I can have some decent coffee tomorrow morning. Yum. I was making a full pot on one lousy scoop of regular. It was like drinking weak tea.

No sugar -- Day 3 completed 0 pauses taken

No eating after (around) 6 p.m. -- Day 14 completed, 3 pauses taken

No alcohol (round 3, 1 pause on round 1, no pauses on round 2) --
Day 2 completed 1 pause taken

No smoking (round 3, 3 pauses on round 1, no pauses on round 2) -- Day 2 completed 1 pause taken

Caffeine Cut (Round 4, 2 pauses on round 3) --
Day 9 completed 1 pause taken

I weighed myself this morning in advance of my official WW weigh in at lunch time. I'm kind of expecting to be the same weight or have gained a little. We'll see. I was so exhausted yesterday, I just needed to rest...so no gym or walking for me. But tonight, I've got an appointment with my coach/trainer...so I'll go to the gym for cardio, weights and to meet with him. I ordered a couple pairs of pants in Misses sizes...a 16 Misses and a 14 Misses. And even though now, I'm a 16 Womans I know that's not the same as a 16 Misses. They were on sale and I figure I'll get down there sooner or later - hopefully sooner! :)

I am way excited! This weekend is Labor Day weekend here in the States. And in addition to having Monday off, my company is closing down tomorrow afternoon, so we get an extra 1/2 day. AND my DH and I are taking Tuesday and Wednesday (my birthday) off, so we have a very nice LONG weekend!! :woohoo: We are going out of town to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (which is attached to Northern Wisconsin). We leave on Sunday morning and come home on Wednesday! We found a great place to stay that is okay with us bringing our doggies and it's very reasonably priced! I can't wait! :woohoo: Since we're going to a place that's even less populated than the country town we live in, I'm not sure what our eating out options will be. We do have a small frig, microwave and stove in the cabin. I'll make the best possible food choices, making sure to have lots of fruits and veggies for snacks, and drink LOTS of water. And I know we'll be getting A LOT of walking in and some "weight lifting" as we plan to do some serious rock collecting while we're up there. I'm sooo looking forward to this!!

Journal and Stay Within Points, 2 pauses left - Day 11 completed
Drink 55 ounces of water a day, 2 pauses left - Day 11 completed

*************
Red - Congrats on wearing a shirt you haven't been able to wear before AND getting complimented on it! That's wonderful! Sometimes, people who don't know you're trying to lose weight don't dare comment on weight...so don't take that to heart. You're doing really well with your challenges! Keep up the great work!

Shad - Congrats on losing 2.1kg! YGG! That's wonderful!! My little bit of weight loss is showing up in my chins (there are fewer - LOL).

Well, it's Friday and I had completely forgotten about it being my Clothes Check day. Here is the reading and last week's. I don't think there is much difference. I hadn't expected one, in light of the fact that this week has been...well, not the best. However, I have had a few days off sugar, which means some bloat will be down and I have been good about not eating late. In any case, it doesn't seem WORSE, which is GOOD. :yes:

**********

CLOTHES CHECK Friday reading

THIS WEEK
Sept. 4
I don't think there is much difference from last week but I do think I can get them buttoned and zipped without having to necessarily pull the fat and skin above the waistline. I can't be sure there is a difference but I think there is a slight one. I still think they are in grave danger of breaking. Weight was 72.8, which is 400 gms higher than last week.
This was on a very empty stomach.

(LAST WEEK --Aug. 28)
I can get them buttoned but only by pulling all the fat above the top and even then they are in extreme danger of breaking (I would think). This was done in the morning on an empty stomach. Weight was 72.4.

**************

diyana -- I am thrilled that you are thrilled. It certainly sounds like a much-needed vacation for you. Wow, Labor Day already. Brings back memories, mostly of having to head back to school. I didn't hate it as there was still nothing to do. Here the school year starts in April, by the way, so there is none of that to remind me. There is a summer vacation, but the kids aren't changing school years.

Well, that was an irrelevant tangent....yes, diyana it sounds like you're doing well, thinking ahead of how you can make your vacation NOT sabotage your weight loss. Good for you.

Being able to wear the shirt was nice. I really wish people would comment on my weight. Most older Japanese men will, and I am glad for it, even if it is painful and annoying at times. I NEED to be reminded to stop porking up. But, these were youngish Brits and yeah, I guess they wouldn't say much. The one guy was proud of losing his beer gut and I was very complimentary about it, but the others weren't. They may not have noticed or, more likely, didn't care. The other guy, who certainly had noticed, was probably quiet because he is concerned about his own burgeoning gut. I've noticed that guys say less because they are actually really self-conscious about themselves, whereas women are more used to diets and such and can talk about it. I find that guys only talk when they are really losing quickly (usually leading up to a massive rebound). :lol:

And my sugar bingeing was inexcusable, but the night out was a conscious decision on my part. For my last post prior to that I wasn't sure, but sometime during the day I just decided to have some fun. Sitting in a bar (four of them actually) is NO fun when you have to drink tea or juice. I had had enough of the straight and narrow. I never intended (seriously) to give up alcohol totally. I think the smoking will peter out on its own. The drinking is too much of a social thing and I enjoy it. That said, it is no longer a habit and that is a HUGE difference. The days and months I have abstained from drinking over the past year have given me new habits, new insights and, in general, a freedom to choose, no matter where I go or whom I hang out with. That is major change for me. :yes:

diyana, have a great time out on the peninsula. I hope the weather is perfect! :sunny: And goodbye, chins, eh?!! :bravo:

Shad -- Was it a drop of kilos? If so, wow! You ARE losing weight. You're so understated, I can never tell what you're doing. In any case, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! :cp:
And yes, my night out was just a blip. I'm back doing what I had been for the past month. Here's to another spurt of good stuff.

Do NOT post here! The new thread is up!! Please click the link below and we'll see you there!! :sunny:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/support-groups/180946-every-day-21-day-challenge-small-things-feel-good-about-wn.html#post2909209

:dancer: :crazy: :dancer: :crazy: :dancer: