1oftheLuvs - thanks for the pep talk. You're right - I'm right - it's all good. I'll get to where I want to be eventually, and will probably have a little bagginess, but that's better than a lot of fatness. You're doing a great job, Half way to goal is a huge accomplishment. Keep it up!
Goodness... I saw this and thought "yay! that sounds fun" and then see you all are on page 26! Wow. I'm going to jump in.
366 this morning. 8.5 weeks to go until Thanksgiving. I hope to hit 340.5 by Thanksgiving morning. I am in Overeater's Anonymous and been working the program for 5 days now, abstinent for 4 days. I will go back and scan the posts now and figure out how this is being run.
1oftheLuvs - congrats on halfway there!!! Too funny that you landed EXACTLY there this week!
Lin -you have made such amazing progress so quickly, it's no wonder that your head is kind of spinning right now and you are having to reassess where you want to be, both in terms of the scale and how you look and feel. I think taking some time to maintain and figure it all out is a really, really smart thing to do at this point.
OneLess - Welcome to the challenge! If you put the page your original post is on in your favorites, when you click it you should open up to that page. I made a folder in my favorites titled "Challenges." I enter the page where I first begin a challenge in there. Then you can go forward or back from there. Fantastic job so far. Keep up the great work. This 100 pound group is so supportive. I think you'll be happy in here.
What most of us have done is set up a little chart as our starting post. You can then go back to that one as described above to enter your data on a weekly basis. Then just post anything else you want at the end of the thread, because no one really goes back and looks at the original posts again. Then, in the new posts, you can say something like, "I'm down 2.2 this week for a total of x pounds since I started the challenge with y more to go." Or something similar.
If you want to go back as far as your current post each time (new current post every time) you probably have to re-save the page to favorites each time. If you check the thread every day, though, you'll easily see what has been going on since you last visited. I think that's what most of us do.
If you subscribe to the thread (see lower left corner) you can get an email when there is new activity in the thread.
Anyone else? Is there a better way?
April Snow - Thanks for the words of wisdom. I love reading your comments and getting someone else's perspective on things. I know it's all good right now. I'm moving along slowly. I've changed things a little at the gym. I've changed how I eat just a bit. It's all going well. I see you hit goal #2. Fantastic!
I've been wondering about how things will feel/look/live as I got closer to my goal. I estimate people will do the same things to me and that I'll experience a lot of the same things you're feeling. But YOU obviously know your body, live in it and with it, and really care for it better than anyone else. Trust yourself. People are kinda screwy with their attitudes... I think it makes them feel insecure or something.
This journey is such a trip. But we're on it for life. And you've changed your entire life to support your health and your habits of health. All the rest of the good, bad, and "ugly" just go with it. I think your focus is amazing. I think your success is inspiring. And I think people need to stop telling such a strong, independent, capable, and focused woman what to do.
Kiki - LOL at your comment "And I think people need to stop telling such a strong, independent, capable, and focused woman what to do." If you only knew my friends! We are about the most outspoken bunch that ever got together! And we love each other like sisters, and I guess after over 40 years of friendship, we earned the right to speak openly with each other.
I guess the thing that I find ironic, though, is the thin ones say positive things and the heavy ones don't. That speaks for itself. And I don't want anyone to comment that they're jealous. That's not the right word. I know how I felt when I saw a formerly heavy person lose a lot of weight. Guilty might be a better word than jealous. I think we all know we CAN do this. For years, I just WOULDN'T. There is a big difference between CAN'T and WON'T. The people who have decided they WON'T try to change are the ones who react negatively to change in others. And, I suppose it's their way of saying I look good, so I have to get thicker skin and just do what I want to do.
Another irony - while we might have joked in the past a bit about our weight, no one was critical of another. Out of a group of about 10 women, all but 3 were pretty chunky. Three are within or are close to normal weight for their height. A couple could take of 25 pounds and be in pretty good shape. And at least 5 of us could lose between 50 and 150 pounds to get to the normal weight range. I was in the middle of the fat ones. Now I'm in the thinnest group. Feels good to be me, but I know I'd feel guilty if it had been one of them doing the losing instead of me.
When 3 friends confronted me together, however, I was stunned at the criticism. The next day I had the opportunity to talk to the most reasonable one alone. I said they had hurt my feelings and she apologized and played the "jealousy" card. I accepted the apology but said, "If criticizing my progress simply based on how I look and not out of concern that I'm not eating in a healthy manner is OK, then it goes both ways. Next person who tells me that they think I LOOK unhealthy will get my opinion right back." I think that made my point. We never were critical of each others' weight before. No one deserves criticism now. That strikes me as ironic - we can be critical with each other about being thin, but not about being fat.
Have a great week everyone. Haven't weighed in yet, so I have no comment there. Whatever it is, it's ok!
Lin
Last edited by linJber; 09-28-2011 at 08:08 AM.
Reason: because my fingers don't work
Aug 01 260
Aug 04 254
Aug 11 252.8
Aug 19 251.4
Aug 25 249.2
Sept 01 247.4
Sept 08 245.2
Sept 15 244.4 This next week I have to up my exercise.
Sept 22 242
Sept 29
Oct 06
Oct 13
Oct 20
Oct 27
Nov 03
Nov 10
Nov 17
Nov 24 226 Goal
I am late posting - have had trouble getting on this site.
I think your distinction between guilt and jealousy is interesting. I do agree that it creates a LOT of feelings when someone makes a dramatic change like this, and it's going to affect the dynamic of long term relationships.
I also think that people's perceptions are not always accurate when you start off big - not that BMI is completely accurate but I do find it ironic when people who are still considered clinically overweight are regularly told they are "too thin." But I think it's hard for people to let go of the mental baseline of 250. Chance are if someone who had been maintaining a weight of 160-170 all along decided to take off that 25 lbs to be firmly in the normal weight range, most people would think they looked good afterwards, but it's just too much of a shock when the starting point is 250.
In any case, you are the one who has to live in your body and who has to be the one comfortable and happy with how you both look and feel, and your friends will adjust in time to wherever you decide that is.
Lin, thanks for the explanation... I am going to read through it again and try to figure it out. I also wanted to add that for myself when I see someone that has lost a lot of weight I do feel guilt but mainly I feel ashamed that I haven't done something myself and honestly, I do feel quite jealous. Really, I do. I'm working on it cause that's my problem but yes, I do feel jealous.
OneLess - we all feel many different emotions when we see someone attain a goal we also wish we could attain. I try to curb feelings of jealousy because they get you nowhere. And I think guilt and shame come in when you know it's something you could do for yourself if you tried. We have to stop feeling ashamed of what we did in the past. It is done. Over. Starting today, we make changes for the better and then the sense of guilt is replaced with one of pride and accomplishment. That's what keeps me going.
April Snow - you hit my nail right on the head! NO ONE ever told me I was too thin when I weighed 150 pounds. It is a matter of perspective. I look just like my mom and her sisters. And most of my cousins. It's a big family and I was probably the heaviest one. Now when I look in the mirror, I see a face that looks like the rest of my family rather than one that looks like a balloon version of my family. My friends don't have that perspective, so they think my face looks too thin. It will all get better in time and our friendships will remain intact. Thanks for putting a different angle on it.
Lin - I love that you're analyzing all those conflicting thoughts that have been creeping in. Good job staying true to you and doing what makes sense for YOU! What a shame about your friends. It's amazing to me how judgemental folks can be when someone is achieving something they'd like to achieve. Unfortunately I've seen example recently where one women in a group of female friends is losing weight and the others struggle with the reality that they may soon be "the heavy friend." I think it's a real issue for some women. Unfortunately, when someone usually tells you you're too thin. It think it really means that you're too thin for them. Again, good for you for listening to your heart!
April -- Woo hoo! Another great loss last week! You are doing amazing through this challenge!
1oftheLuvs -- Congrats on making it to your halfway point! That's amazing!!
Thank you everyone for the welcomes. I'm not really good at personals until I am following along a bit more.
Anyway, until then I am just rambling about myself.
I weigh in daily and for the last 2 days I have consistently weighed 364.8-365.2 so I am going to say I am officially there and can't wait to see the next couple numbers down. YAY!
I love this eating only 3 meals a day. grazing does not work for me as a compulsive overeater. I am so happy to have found this way of life. I feel great.
I'm just checking in quickly - down from 165.4 to 164.0 today. That leaves 12.0 to go. I'm staying in here, (you can't get rid of me!) but that has returned to being my goal for Christmas instead of Thanksgiving. About a pound a week till Christmas should be good.
OneLess - don't feel bad about personals. We all do them when the spirit moves us and time allows. Ramble about yourself as much as you want!
JamieSue - I'm OK with everything now. I came to a second realization. It's hard for me - the control freak - to understand why everyone isn't jumping on the weight loss band wagon with me! How egocentric is that? LOL. I just want my friends to get healthy, too.
What a shame about your friends. It's amazing to me how judgemental folks can be when someone is achieving something they'd like to achieve. Unfortunately I've seen example recently where one women in a group of female friends is losing weight and the others struggle with the reality that they may soon be "the heavy friend." I think it's a real issue for some women. 
Unfortunately, when someone usually tells you you're too thin. It think it really means that you're too thin for them. Again, good for you for listening to your heart!
YAY! 
