Awww user, I know how you feel, also had alot of comments off my mum. Like 'you do really well, trouble is you don't stick with it' and she's said this over and over until I snapped and said 'so what are you saying give up because you won't stick with it and are destined to fail?'

It made me think maybe she has something to do with my lack of confidence to begin with. When I look back I remember being super fit, healthy and slim just couldn't get my head round being that way. Thinking this isn't me, I won't be able to stay this way and a bit of stress, well alot knocked me straight off the wagon and down to the floor with an almighty thud. I think back to how great I felt and that feeling didn't last long enough :-(

I want to lose the weight and gain back that muscle and more, then maintain for life!

Fera: NICE work!! 17 pounds is awesome! Makes you look forward to the next month!

Uber: Sorry about the bad day. It is so frustrating!!! Some days you feel like you can conquer anything and then things like that bring us tumbling back!

Ginger: It is hard to overcome negativity from someone who is supposed to be on our side. Glad you are working to overcome it all!

I'm so glad it is Friday!! It's been a tough week. I think part of my problem, other than work, is that I've been doing that squat and abs challenge in addition to my regular workout. Well, you add more each day and it is getting really tough. I've been really sore lately, so I think my muscles are holding on to water. I'm afraid that I'm going to not see much of a loss, if at all, at Monday's weigh in. I had thought about quitting the challenges and going back to my regular routine... which was working. I do think I'm seeing some good results, with muscle tone. I'll try to stay with it and be a little more patient.

Ginger - My mom told me the same thing a month ago. That she didn't think I could do it and shouldn't waste the money on a few tools to help (like my FitBit). I ignored her, got my FitBit and have been basically on plan for over a month now. I have a 34 day log-in streak over at MFP, and I've been logging my food religiously. Mama knows I'm contrary enough to push harder if someone tells me I can't. heh.

Diane - Sore muscles definitely hold water. Almost any kind of pain brings some water retention with it. Are you doing measurements? They often tell the story that the scale isn't. I do mine at the end of every month. Pictures every 10 pounds, too. Though currently they make me cry. It's good to have other measures of progress, and not only the scale. I do weight, measurements, pictures, and I have a body fat analyzer that I also keep track of (monthly). I also track how I feel during exercise. I'm finding it easier and easier to get through 30 minutes of light cardio and will have to bump up the intensity... which, to me, is as awesome as seeing a good drop on the scale. :)

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On the home front here, this call process for my husband is driving me a little bonkers. I'm so anxious and nervous and my instinct is to snack away the stress. Normally the process goes:

1) first interview with call committee
2) second interview with call committee
3) call committee votes to submit candidate for council approval (requires a 2/3 majority)
4) interview with call committee
5) call committee vote (require 2/3 majority)
6) worship with and/or preach for congregation
7) congregation votes to issue a call

UGH. and a whole lot of waiting for phone calls in between. We are waiting, anxiously, for the phone call to set up step 4 (after a unanimous vote in step 3)... which is generally a good sign that things are moving forward. Then it's traveling to the church again. Oy.

Going nuts.

Diane: I'm sure that the frustration with your new workout will soon turn to pride in what you've accomplished. I think the really hard workouts pay off a ton in terms of how you look-- and I know myself that when I'm sore I definitely hold on to water and weight and also my weight loss slows as I build muscle-- you don't see the results on the scale, but certainly in the way you look and carry yourself!

Ginger: I hear you. I'm really sensitive and hate it when I feel as if people are expecting me to fail! But you are turning this around and you will have the satisfaction of proving her wrong.

Fera: I'm sure the whole waiting thing is very stressful! Good for you for doing so well when there is so much going on in your life. I like the idea that you are making all those measurements and notations.

As for me, today was a frustrating bump up-- I think it was water from eating salty food yesterday. Yesterday afternoon for the second day in a row I was feeling practically faint by 6 pm. Yesterday I thought I was getting sick or something. I was just dragging by dinner time and didn't even feel hungry. I made a really nice dinner of steelhead trout, brussel sprouts and portabella mushrooms. By the time I finished dinner, I felt fine. I decided that I'm simply not eating enough. Dropping 10 lbs in 2 weeks was awesome, but I can't feel like I'm going to faint by dinner time! So today, I added back a few calories at lunch.

We'll see if this afternoon goes better!

Have a good day everyone and stay strong!

Just popping in to say that today went much better because I upped my calories a little bit. I was so excited to be starting off with a quick loss, but I just wasn't eating enough-- yesterday and the day before I really crumped in the late afternoon. Today I ate a bit more at lunch and I was fine through the dinner hour. That's a relief. I didn't understand what on earth was wrong with me when I felt like I was going to keel over!

Hey everybody, Sorry to be a spambot. I seem to be the only one posting right now!

My mind is playing tricks with me right now, feeding me all kind of lines about why this isn't going to work. Here's a sampling:

1. What if your body just "refuses" to lose weight. (I know this sounds crazy, but I used to think this ALL THE TIME when I was losing the first time.)
2. What's the point? You gained it all back last time. It's destined to fail again this time.
3. What's the point? Do you really think a lifetime of restricting is going to work out?
4. What's the point? You're fat now. Is it really that bad?
5. Do you realize how hungry you are? Do you really think you can keep doing this every day for a whole year?
6. Why suffer? You're going to give up soon and this will all be for naught.

So if you guys have learned any good strategies for dealing with these negative thoughts (or if you have your own) I'm all ears.

Right now, I'm setting the one-month mark as a mini-goal. I think if I can make it into the second month, I won't feel so precarious. I DO remember that last time, after about the first 50 were gone, it really didn't seem that hard anymore. I was used to it.

Gah. I get all those same thoughts on a regular basis. Makes me a bit loony. But then my husband reminds me that I'm doing it so we can have a baby and I'm not getting any younger (he doesn't say that part, smart man that he is).

But then I let my logic answer them for me (these are arguments I have with myself daily).

1) Your body *will* lose weight if you use more calories than you consume. That's science. If you maintain a deficit, you will lose weight. Your body does not defy the laws of physics.

2) The greatest successes often come from repeated failures. I'm better prepared this time because now I know what *not* to do... and what works best. I'm armed and ready for my battle with fat this time, and I won't let it win.

3) I won't be restricting forever, and couple years of restricting will add years to my life that are not full of various medications. This is a learning scenario, and eventually practicing moderation and regular exercise will be habit.

4) Yes, I'm fat now. Yes, it's that bad. Do you remember how embarrassing it was to have to get off of the ride at the amusement park because the bar couldn't latch over your belly? How uncomfortable it was trying to squeeze into a seat on the plane? How out you just can't keep up when you are with a group of people? Yes, it is that bad.

5) Yes, I realize I think I'm hungry. I just ate. I will eat again soon. I will just chew gum or drink water until my scheduled feeding time. Stop whining, missing a meal won't kill me.

6) This is not suffering. This is being slightly uncomfortable with a change in your life to habits that will make your health much better in the long run. Giving up is not an option. People are depending on me to make this happen, and if I fail this time, I fail for them, too. I can't let them down.

It helps me to remember that when I'm feeling like I'm about to dive face first into a box of chocolate eclairs or something. I'm hard on myself, but it's the only thing that works.

I also keep a mini-goal outfit hanging on the back of my closet door so I see it every time I walk in to grab fat clothes. It's a pair of size 14 jeans I got at a Salvation Army store for 3 dollars, the other is a shirt my mother in law got for me... Size? Large. She thought I could fit into a large. Ha. Maybe one day. I'm determined to fit into that outfit some day.

Hey all!

Uber: I don't know how old you are, but I am 50, and the biggest thing to me to lose this weight is more about being healthy and not ruining the rest of my life by not being able to do things I want to do. Yes, I want to look better, but more so, I want to feel good and live healthy as I get older. I have been particularly inspired by my parents. They are 75 and both have stayed healthy and active. They still go boating and fishing. They can travel. They can maintain their house. They have wonderful, full lives! Then, I look at two of my cousins. One is older than I am, maybe 58, and she is terribly overweight. She uses a walker to get around. She actually lost her job because she is unable to get around the police department as a dispatcher. She gets help from her 80 year old mother, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to do anything outside of the house. My other cousin is a couple of years younger than me and is very heavy. She has had both knees replaced, but still can't walk through the mall. She uses one of those scooters.

I don't want to be that person!!!! So, if it takes awhile to lose this, then that's ok. Time will still pass. I have the option of giving up, or I can use this time to keep up with it and improve my life!

Remember! Motivation only takes you as far as getting started. Dedication will take you to your goal!

**** hope that helps!***

Feeling soooooo lazy. It's been such an effort trying to get up and move at all. And I just want to eat all the salty snacks in the kitchen. TOM must be coming and bringing all the yuck with it. :(

Hang in there Fera! Salty snacks won't change anything!

Mandy and Diane, thanks for the pep talk.

Diane, your post about people with health problems really got me thinking. I'm 52 and I can't imagine being immobilized... but the idea of your cousin being helped by her 80 year old mother really got to me. I have a 9 year old son (as well as some older kids) and I definitely don't want to show up at his high school graduation in a scooter.

My weight loss was ZIPPING ALONG but now I've been sitting at the same weight for almost a week. Reminding myself to be patient. I knew in my heart that my calories were unsustainably low, and so I've added some back and don't feel like I'm going to faint all the time.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Uber - I'm facing a stall right now, too. Wednesday thru Friday showed a whopping .2 loss, and then today it's the same as it was on Friday. Though I can barely spin my rings on my fingers, so I'm assuming it's TOM related water retention, and should disappear as soon as TOM shows up.

I had a bit of a melt down last night, and it makes me so happy that my husband is as wonderful as he is. I was all "I gained 80 pounds EIGHTY after losing FIFTY THREE. I'm so gross. How can you even look at me? I'm so stupid. How'd I let myself do this... If I hadn't gained all that weight, and just maintained until a month ago when I started I'd be almost 100 pounds smaller than I am now.... etc." He just rubbed my back and let me vent, then told me "ifs" don't matter because what's done is done and I'm doing a good job now and I'm definitely not gross and told me he'd find ways to help me exercise when we got to where we're going later this summer.

He's a doll. :)

I hope you're feeling better about things, Uber! :)

Mandy, he sounds like a real keeper!

I'm doing okay. Just went out to lunch for Father's Day. There were NO good choices on the menu. I had a turkey burger with no mayo or sauce, just lettuce, tomato, mustard and ketchup. Was planning to only eat half the bun, but then thought-- whatever, I'll eat the whole bun. Fit into my plan okay, but more calories than I like to spend on lunch-- my own turkey burgers have so many fewer calories-- mostly because the bun is half the size!

Weigh in is Tuesday, and I really want to see the scale move.

Hi all! Ok I'm back. Coastal vacation complete. I ended up really trying to unplug from technology so I didn't check in here at all. Overall it was a good week in Bar Harbor. The inn was great, very relaxing. Breakfast (provided) ran a little sugary so I was conscious of portions. Lunches and snacks we brought from home so that was good. Dinners were out every night so that was the overage ( lots of fish and chips). We stayed away from alcohol mostly. We moved a lot averaging about 20000 steps a day (up band) and also spend a day hiking. Not a huge mountain, 1530 feet, but I've been off the trails for about a year so it was a good hike to start training on. Took us 5 hours round trip including stops/lunch and was about 6 miles. All in all no loss but no gain.... I'll take maintaining on vacation.

We got back Saturday and yesterday I did the shopping and filled us up with healthy food and prepped for the week. Today I'm off to a good start. Got up and had a good workout and sticking back to my healthy eating plan and I'm back here. I'm feeling really good. Aiming for my new increased goal of 15000 steps a day.... I was hitting 10k very easily so I bumped up the goal..., see how that goes when I'm back at the office today. I'm aiming for a loss this week!

I've got a lot of reading in the threads to catch up so I'll save any individual comments for now... To everyone new welcome! To everyone not new I hope you all had a great week!

Oh and a little self confidence win... I braved a bathing suit in public and swam in the pool... The heated outdoor pool on the ocean.... I don't care how fat I am I decided not to compromise my vacation and not enjoy the relaxing pool. I'm calling that an NSV win!