Part of me, very selfishly, is glad that my pity party for one is now a pity party for two, but I'm sorry you had to deal with that same disappointment. After my weekend of wine, cheese and whine I'm looking at 250 now...but I really feel like I needed a weekend of 'forget this crap'. So now, today, I'm back on track...whatever track that might be. I'm interested to see if this 250actually sticks or if was mainly waterweight or what. And I'm curious to know if the 248.8 was the lowest I'd hit those 12 days. Oh scale, how I missed you.

I've read about the Rapid Weight Loss diet from a few other 3FCers. I've seriously considered it as well..let me know how it goes. I know it's more like a temporary jumpstart and not sustainable, but sometimes you need that jumpstart, you know? To get you out of a rut. I seem to need a drastic change up every 20-25 pounds or so, since for whatever reason it's then that I stall out. Glad we're in this together though, for sure!

I did also want to say thank you to the rest of you for the encouragement. I definitely need it!

Enjoynlife - Although my main motivation is for my own health and benefit, seeing my ex again gives me that extra push. He's in the military and has been deployed since June. He won't be back until March/April 2013. I think he'll be pretty surprised when he sees me again...I have not mentioned anything about me losing weight (although he talks about how he goes to the gym all the time and is losing and looking good). I stay silent lol. I wonder how much he'll drool when he sees me again :D

Pink Hurricane - So 30 Day Shred is pretty good eh? After this round of Insanity is done (I have 4 more weeks), I'm going to take my 2 week break (water fast/kundalini yoga, etc), and then move into a different exercise routine. I think I may consider 30 Day Shred. It sounds like it's pretty tough. Hang in there!

LaurieDawn & LebenAlles - Okay so you two ladies are not quite happy with the results of your weigh in. But....have you noticed changes in other arenas? Like...are your clothes fitting better/looser? Do you notice any non-scale changes in your body or how you feel? I ask this because this weekend I saw a picture online of two women. They both were the same height and they both weighed 150lbs. One of the women's body fat percentage was 18% and the other woman's was 30%. The difference was unbelievable in how they looked. The woman with less fat was at least 3 sizes smaller in appearance....way more lean and well developed muscles. I'm really starting to understand the importance of body composition rather than what weight the scales kicks out on any given day. The scale measures it all (muscle, water, fat, food, bones, anything in/on your body). If you lost 15 pounds, but more than half of it was muscle would you be happy with that? If the scale shows you lost only 2 pounds but in reality it's because you're developing lean muscle tissue (and holding on to water weight in the process), is that 2 pound loss a failure? It is impossible to step on the scale and interpret that gain/loss accurately. Please don't be sad/upset with your losses ladies. You are winners!!! :D

Hey everyone, I am just starting out again trying to lose my weight again, this time its a little more urgent as I'm getting married on january nineteenth and i really want to be under 200 lbs. I also want to commit for a year , or more as I don't want to gain it all back after the wedding . I read a few of your posts and find this thread to be quite inspirational , I know what you guys are feeling on not losing much. I'm on day 11 and have only lost 5 pounds then gained 2 back by eating foolishly with my big ego from losing 5 pounds! , I'm back on track today and really want to keep it up!

Welcome cheeriloos! I see on one of your tickers that there's a wedding coming up? Is it yours? Glad to have you here to hang out with the rest of us and lose some fat! :D

Thank you for putting this into perspective again. I was down to 227 last Monday. Then all of a sudden (water weight) last thursday I am up to 230. I am now trying to loose that get get back to where I was last week. I am getting there but its slow. In my head I know its just water but in my heart I am bummed. I increased my weights so know that is what is going on. I am trying to keep a postive attitude and stay on plan.

I totally agree that the scale number is a poor indicator of progress. And I am not upset over my loss per se either. It's a process, and I am headed in the right direction. But I don't take measurements (because I hate to), and it's a tool. I know it is temperamental, and I am glad I backed away from it, but I am glad to have the additional data. Clothes don't tell the whole story, either, and I am not good in detecting slight changes in how something fits. The scale gives immediate data. I LOVE that you are so successful doing it the way you have, Angie. I just don't want to count calories, and I don't have faith I can design a successful plan that does not include either calorie-counting or the scale.

Back in 2005, when I got to goal for the first time, I didn't calorie count either. I designed an exercise plan, and I made the decision to eat healthier and cut my portions. You definitely don't have to calorie count to be successful, but you have to be mindful every step of the way, which I'm sure you are. :) And I'm also not trying to encourage you to do it my way, I just wanted to point out an example of something to keep in mind as we step on the scale...even for myself. It was a real eye opener. The scale may give immediate data, but how much value does it hold (given the example of both 150lb women looking completely different)? I just wanted to point it out...for myself included....so that maybe if any bad feelings arise from stepping on the scale, it may help to know it may not be as bad as we think. :)

I took measurements for awhile and then found that getting frustrating as well as apparently I have a hard time taking them in the same place every time. Or maybe sometimes I cheated so the next time i tried to do it right it looked like I had gained an inch or two. I did, however, update my measurements a month ago (hopefully consistently and without cheating) and I took them again over the weekend and it looks like I lost a few inches in my waist, hips and thighs. So that is definitely something. And my shopping trips have definitely been a lot more successfully lately. So all is certainly not lost, Angie, and thank you for that reminder!

And even though it seemed like I saw less results when I did any other exercise than walking, I think I'm going to pick up the kickboxing again. Even though I tend to have a predisposition of being 'hulky' when I gain muscle, I'd rather things be firmer than they are right now. And I liked being able to feel the new muscles taking over the fat, so yeah. Maybe I just won't go into it as hardcore as I did before.

I guess the frustrating part is just knowing that even after almost a year of this, I'm still a 250 lb girl. And in no way, shape or form is a 250lb girl healthy. So it's hard. But isn't everything worthwhile? Sometimes you just have to have your pity party for a few days and then pick yourself up again and carry on. I'd definitely rather be a 250lb girl than the 305lb person I was before. Definitely.

I don't know if its the weather changing or my lack of progress. I am getting a bit discouraged. I am not watching what I eat as closely. I am still around my goal calories but my macros suck. I am exercising but its hard to get excited about it when I am not seeing anything for my effort. I am sorry if this is a bummer post. Maybe I am getting close to TOM and that why I am in such a mood. I am not going to give up because I have made some progress. Its just hard when I see how much more I have to go. I just have to get past the plateau which will be one of many I am sure.

Sounds like a lot of frustration mixed with some hard-core determination. Can I just say how much I love that?

And venting (yay the healing power of venting!), theories, strategies, plans, challenges, goals. And SO MUCH SUPPORT. And that's at least part of the reason, I think, that we're still chugging along.

Cuz it gets better! And then harder. But we never quit.

So I did Day #2 of the RFL diet today. My morning weigh-in showed a 0.6 pound gain. But since I didn't sleep last night (so wasn't really a true morning weigh-in), I am considering it a win, if not a loss per se.

I get 2 cheat meals per week, and I planned on having one tonight. But I got stuck at work, and did not eat. So Day 2 protein intake was subpar. But what the heck? If I can have occasional high-cal or high-carb days without worrying, I will embrace my low-protein day and just do better tomorrow. :-)

The Winter Blues, as some would call it. I know how you are feeling. The changes are happening, it just may not be visible on a day to day basis. Sometimes, I'll want to see visible results every morning, but I know deep down that's not rational. You are awesome in that you are not giving up. What sucks about your macros?

Laurie - So far so good on RFL eh? That's great! I'm curious to know if the shaking up of your macros (with the higher carb days) will speed up your fat burning. What are the cheat meals like? Can you eat anything you want for those meals?

Reading your post made me cry so I know TOM is right around the corner :o I tend to get more sensitive if you know what I mean . My protein intake has sucked this week. I use MFP and try to keep my macros 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein. I just have not had the motivation to care. I need to drink my protein powder to keep it up. I also need to go shopping so I have better choices in the house. I will drink one for breakfast and get started with improving my protein for the day.

I will say that I was shocked today to see my shoulder/back muscles in the mirror today. I know my shoulder muscles are big because I don't have any fat covering them but to see the back muscle connecting to my neck from the front was suprising. Hopefully that NSV will keep me for a bit.

Another victory or loss of motivation I have not decided which. I did not weight today. I lifted yesterday and got dressed before getting on the scale. I just decided not to get undressed to weigh. My rings are tight so I know I am retaining water. I think this might be a transition point for me. I have been on the weight loss journey for almost 4 months. I have lost that intial enthusiasm/motivation. I just need to figure out how to keep this up for the long haul. How to do this as a way of life. Heathier eating and exercise. I guess this is like a relationship with ups/downs.

Lauriedawn. Cheat days sound fun. I sort of had one yesterday. I ate a chicken sandwich and a chicken salad from Mcd for lunch and then went out for mexican last night. I ate as many chips as I wanted but ordered a very good fish.

You are right we will not quit. Because I am a stubborn *****. LOL I am a taurus and this bull is stubborn when pressed to the wall.

Hi everyone - I posted earlier in the thread and then disappeared. I fell off the wagon big-time when I was going through some health issues (lots of tests for pelvic pain) and then stopped focusing on my diet. I'm now recommitting to my one-year focus. However, this brings to light one of my major issues - whenever 'something' is going on, and I've got to focus more acutely on something other than the diet, then the diet goes out the window. So as long as the diet can be my biggest concern, I'm ok, otherwise 'poof' I drop it like a hot-potato. I must change this behavior pattern because in life, stuff happens.

Anyhow, I hope you ladies have had more success than I have!

Coffeelover - I think you're not alone with that 'major issue' as most all of us have fallen off the wagon at one point or the other, usually due to life things that come up and need our attention. 3FC is certainly a good place to go to get advice, encouragement, tips, etc when those times come up, so I encourage you to use it to its full capacity!

Congrats on your new committment! Just remind yourself that you CAN do this this time, and you WILL. You've got this!

Thanks so much LebenAlles! :)

What I've decided to do is to make a 'idiot proof daily menu' for when I'm going through something stressful or I'm just too busy to plan everything out.

Oh wow, I was getting so discouraged until I found this post. I started my journey on March 27, 2012 after my yearly visit to the doctor. At that time she asked me, "Why are you this over weight". I burst into tear without an answer. I have been heavy all my life and take care of everyone else but myself. So I decided that I was gonna lose 100 pounds before I went back to see the doctor March 2013. So far I am down 84 pounds. But its so easy to get discouraged. I joined a daily exercise class in the morning, follow the weight watchers plan and have lots of support. But every time I feel like I am accomplishing my goals I self sabotage. Its like I am so afraid of something. I am now 3.6 pounds from being under 200 (its been over 20 years since I have been under 200) and it scares me to death. The trainer I work with thinks I am nuts. He has no idea what it is like. I do so good then I relapse. Does anyone else feel this way? Will it go away? I fear more than anything reaching my goal and gaining it back. How do you stay focused and committed?

I think that is an EXCELLENT idea. Having a plan keeps you one step ahead. I can also relate to having stress make me turn to overeating and non-ideal food choices (I went through a painful divorce earlier this year and all I did was eat and eat). I had to learn to truly love myself...in every way..in every aspect of my life. Loving myself included taking care of my body...inside and out.

Kimbo - :hug: to you. I'm reading your post and I'm in complete awe of how much progress you've made since the end of March. You should be absolutely proud of yourself. You ask how to stay focused and committed? By continuing to do what you're doing. You have proved to yourself that you can! Take a moment to look back and see how far you've come. 84 pounds!!! YOU did that. That says a lot about your power, your control, your focus. Keep that as you slide your way under 200 pounds and to your ultimate goal. You have everything you need already. You have absolutely nothing to fear. Know that it's okay to love yourself. You've taken care of others....but you MUST have a place in there for you too. Don't be afraid...be proud. And you won't gain the weight back as long as you continue to stay in control. Do you have to eat perfectly for the rest of your life to stay in control? HECK NO! LOL! Moderation is what keeps us balanced. I feel like you are doing WONDERFUL! Just work on embracing yourself and loving yourself every step of the way. :)

The meals are not free-for-alls. They are just opportunities to be a little less strict. My stats are so janked because of my sleep schedule, I hesitate to draw conclusions from them. But the scale has dropped steadly (as all low-carb diets tend to cause water weight reduction initially), and I m feeling both good and satisfied. But it's only day 4 still.

LebenAlles - thought of you when I walked into a table piled super high with carby goodies at work this morning. Generates the 'I could have eaten 6000 calories, but stayed at 500, so my body will give me credit for forgoing those 5500 calories' response. But I am really shocked at how little I want any of it today. Gotta like the super-low-carb cravings reduction thing. Likely short-term, but I will definitely ride it out!

Louise - I have been thinking about you. So glad you are back. Totally into the simplified menu concept. Not always nutritionally ideal, but coupled with a multi vitamin, infinitely better than the standard American diet.

Angieand2girls, thank you so much. I will try and work on loving myself. Its just hard to think about myself when others need to be taken care of. Love this thread and being able to get encouragement from others.

I am working my way out of this funk. I am finally back down to 227 which was my low from a week ago Monday. I walked/ran last night and kept having to make deals with myself to keep going. At first it was 15min then 20,30 and finally I walked/ran 3 miles in 50min. It reminded me of how hard I had to work to keep going when I first started. I think I am going to stop running for now. The side of my knee is hurting. I may just be too big to start. Too much stress on my knee.

kimbo720 It was a big revalation for me to take care of myself for a change.

Lauriedawn congrats on your good choices. I have had a few temptations with muffins/donuts.

angieand2girls Don't you think learning to love yourself helps with being sucessful with the weight loss. Feeling like you are worth the effort that it takes to get the weight off. Not sabotaging youself when you get a certain amount of weight loss.

kimbo720 congratulations on your weight loss so far. Sometimes it takes a moment to spark us to get motivated. For me it was seeing a picture of myself in my daughters yearbook. I was the fat unhappy woman in all the pictures. I did not want to be that fat unhappy woman anymore.

Coffeelover64 I think its a good idea to keep planned meals or snack on hand. I find when I need to go shopping I make poor choices because of the limited foods on hand.

Lishar - Wow! You ran 3 miles? That is mega impressive! It sucks that your knee had to start giving you problems, but at least you now know you can do it! I'm not sure how much I weighed when I started running on the treadmill but I started at 5 minutes at a time. Then the next week I'd increase the time by one minute. Each week I increased it by one minute so now I jog 1.25 miles very comfortably in 15 minutes. You may not have to give up the running completely...maybe just a little bit at a time and build it up? That's awesome that you are back at your low! You stuck with it and didn't give up so you shall see your rewards. :)

I've been eating on the high end of my calorie range this week and what do ya know? I've been hungrier! Huh? What sense does that make? My body is loving the additional food, but it wants more LOL.

Are there any Twilight fans here? I'm looking forward to seeing the new one this weekend. :)

Angie Oh no I can only jog for about 5min at a time. I alternated walking/jogging for 3 miles and it took me 50min. I am wondering now if it might be from a lifting I did last week. I have had pain each time I have tried it since. Its the lying leg curl. It kills the side of my knee's so I have not been doing it. I figure sharp pain is bad. Burning pain is doable.

Oooooh okay. I still think those 3 miles are awesome! :D I'd like to work my way up to 3 miles slowly. Sharp pain sounds like a potential injury ready to surface. I'd definitley take it easy on the knees for several days. I had a back muscle pull on me about a month ago and it drove me crazy that I couldn't workout..but it was worth not injuring it anymore.

I see from your ticker that you're over 100 days into your 1 year commitment. Doesn't that feel awesome?! :)

Kimbo! I missed welcoming you the last post. I didn't even see this last page before I posted. What you have done is AWESOME. And it seems pretty common for lots of people to stumble when they hit or are about to hit milestones. I don't know why. I hit 50 pounds lost on 10/10, and made almost no additional progress for almost three weeks. Just hang on. Hopefully, you'll adjust mentally very quickly.

Angie - You are a rock. So glad you're here supporting and working your plan.

Lisha - Glad you're coming out of the funk. Hope the scale is kind to you and your efforts. And I agree with Angie about the sharp pain. So not worth it to risk the injury!

I ended up falling for the workroom sweets in the late afternoon. Darn hubris! But I just called it my first cheat meal, and the scale still registered a very slight (.2 pounds) drop this morning. And back to plan today. Hopefully, my next cheat meal will be both planned and something I REALLY want. =)

Hi Ladies! Sorry I disapeared (spelling?) I chalk it up to Lo carb brain fog:dizzy:

I started the MRC diet on my own on the first of nov, and on the 12th I started the RFL I have yet to weigh in but today is only day 3 I'm excited and hopeful that I will get to my goal by January!
Cofee welcome back! :)

Angie thank you Yes Its my wedding, my Fi and I have been together 4 years and we're finally tying the knot. Yay!

Laurie! We're in this RFL thing together! and nearly same stats too :)

enjoy: Thank You! Its really nice to read it! :)

Hope you're all having a great day~

So glad to have a fellow RFL'er, Victoria! I plan on doing it through the New Year, then trying to transition back to a less extreme plan. So far, though, I am loving it. Super easy to follow, keeps me full, and while I do feel deprived sometimes, I feel deprived sometimes anyway. =) And I love the scale feedback I am getting.

Look at you Laurie!!! You are almost in the 2'single-digits! That is awesome! That plan looks like it really gave you the push you needed. Wow. Do I see Onederland before New years? :D

I am cautiously optimistic, Angie. :-) Five pounds in five days, and I did do a free meal in there. For the record, every time I see your signature, I wonder how you can stand not having confirmation that you are, indeed, in Onederland. :-P

Ha! I know, I'm crazy right? :D I haven't confirmed it but I can feeeeel it LOL! I think I'm more excited to see how far into Onederland I can be by the next time I step on the scale. :) I'm not expecting the crazy numbers I pulled the first time (especially now that I'm heavy lifting), but it's kind of fun not knowing and wondering what it will be when the time comes. :dizzy:

Laurie, I did RFL from tuesday to friday then friday night some friends came over and I planned on following the plan but a good friend really wanted me to drink, (we always drink togther) I resisted for a good hour and a half but finally gave in, I only had 2 shots but then I felt guilty and ate some fried plantains, handful of doritos and a glass of milk, weird combo I know I was looking for stuff to binge on Like I used to. So the next morning which was yesterday I went to weigh in and I had not lost one pound on Rfl which really made me sad, NO CARBS for nearly 5 whole days and nothing? Or maybe I ruined it with 2 shots and the carbs fom the chips? and then gained back what I lost instantly? idk so saturday I went to a friends and had thanksgiving, then today my family is coming and we're eating thanksgiving here . Monday I'll give it another 4 days but if I don't see some progress I thnk I'll give it up and go back to my other method which is still a PMSF but less drastic, you can have 80 cals of carbs idk how many grams that is as I slept terribly last night . I can't wait til this is all over I feel obligated to eat Thanksgiving food and sacrifice my way of eating. Idk whats wrong with me but i'm still pretty sad about doing RFL for that long I know it wasnt a month but I had very high hopes.
-crushed really

II have mixed feelings about Dr. Phil, but one of the things he said either in his weight-loss book or on one of his shows about weight-loss was something like 'what are you going to do when your diet is no longer the biggest focus' because that's what he's seen happen so many times. People start off with a real bang, are totally committed, the diet is front and center but then something else becomes more important and the diet goes poof. He was suggesting that we need to find a way to make the diet totally automatic and habit-like so that these habits will carry on even when we have more important things to deal with than the diet itself. This is just common sense but I think many of us (myself!) tend to almost over-focus on the diet instead of making it just another habit. Most of us still brush our teeth and take a shower during times of stress becuase it's such an ingrained habit.

Thanks for the warm welcome back everyone! Now I'm catching up and seeing where everyone;s at!

Victoria - I am so sorry to hear you didn't see a good scale result. I don't know how many extra calories you consumed in that single meal, but it's hard to believe it would wipe out your entire deficit. I have had really good success on RFL. I weigh daily on it, and that really keeps me motivated. Today will be day 7, and as of my morning weigh-in, I am down 6.4 pounds. So, a little over a pound per day. Maybe you just are struggling with short-term water weight from your unplanned meal? Regardless of whether you stick with RFL or not, glad that you are maintaining your focus.

Thanks Laurie ;) My family celebrated our Thanksgiving today as we're a blended family and our kids will be going to their dads for thanksgiving, I plan on giving RFL another untainted shot this week to see if I will get results this time. I start again tomorrow am. I am going to weigh in and see what damage all the turkey, pie, etc did. I'm glad its all over. I've only got a few dishes left! I hope I have a good loss this week because I already scheduled massages and I want to "earn" them :)

How is everything going for u guys?

Good Morning ladies,

I woke up and the only thing I wanted to do was go back to sleep. I'm giving myself the pep talk already because I had feelings of not wanting to exercise. It's helping. Gotta get my daughter off to school and then knock out the morning exercise.

It's Thanksgiving Week! I hope it's a great one for you all! :D

Laurie and Cheeriloos,
I've been looking around for info on the RFL diet and I see that the book is seriously expensive in the few places I could find it. Did you guys buy the book or did you find free information online on the specifics of what to eat and so forth?

Angie,
I hear you about wanting to stay in bed. I bet you rock it on the exercise this morning...hope the rest of your day goes well!

I lost what I gained from my binge plus a tiny bit more this past week, so that's good at least. My weight predictor app still has me in 2014 for reaching my goals, haha, but that's better than the 2020 it was saying a week ago. Funny stuff. I'm just at a lull right now, but I have no doubt that itll pick up.
I did decide to participate on my office's thanksgiving on friday, but I feel like I was really successful. I got one bite of all the things I wanted. Just one. It made me not feel deprived but also not guilty. I think my coworkers were surprised to actually see me eating on a food day for once!

Hope everyone is well this Monday

Hello ladies. I have been more than a bit out of sorts this last week. I think hormones were kicking my but last week. Depressed to angry and everything in between. I think I am getting perimenopausal. UGH.

I was very depressed and down this weekend. My oldest was sick so no gym. So I sat on my butt and watched movies all weekend. Looking back this might have been good to give my knee a break. I kept on my diet. Mostly because we are broke and we have not goodies in the house.

I lost weight and am down to 225lbs. 40lbs down which I am so happy about. I hope this will spark my mojo back. I also hope it stays. I seem to be a jumping jack with my weight the last month or so. My next goal is 50lbs lost and fingers crossed I will lose it by New Years. So 10lbs in 6wks is achievable.

Day 23 of 365

Things have been so crazy busy that I barely have time to sleep. All of the ceremony plans are coming together, hubby and I have to go to a marriage course tomorrow which is going to take almost all day and of course Thanksgiving, on top of a very busy week of finalizing everything for the wedding. Family will start coming in starting next Monday and we will have hubby's best friend and his wife staying with us. Gotta finish detail cleaning our house too.

SO MUCH TO DO!!!! I have not been able to do the 30 Day Shred which makes me sad, but luckily while at work I have been able to fit in time to run or walk while the boys are playing at the park. So I am still getting in my exercise, still staying on plan and trying to make sure I stay on top of everything. As soon as everything is settled back down I will be back on 30 Day Shred and moving forward.

In the midst of all of this, I am back down to 225.6 and hoping to be at 224.6 before my wedding. If not, it's no big deal, I love the way my dress looks. I am terribly insecure about my arms but I realize that is just silly and I should enjoy this day without those insecurities.

Anyways, I am going to come back on here later today or tomorrow and catch up on everyone. I have missed checking in everyday!