Thanks Fera it's great to be here.

I know it's only 10:22 am but I'm so far doing good and feeling good about today. My mind is much clearer than yesterday. I have better focus. I got up this morning and had an awesome 5am workout with my trainer, ate a balanced breakfast and actually made myself look nice for work today (vs ties hair up, skips makeup and wears jeans and flip flops every day). I'm now enjoying my mid-morning snack - pineapple and grapes! Day 1 on plan, day 2 off alcohol. I'm probably going to be reading the boards all day taking it more hour to hour than day to day right now while I'm building myself back up...but that's ok :) you guys are inspirational and I'd really like to break my bad streak and get out of the 240s asap.

Welcome SunnyMac! So glad that you can join us! It is funny that even though it is so easy to get off track and gain the weight back, it really feels good to be on plan, exercising and eating right. I don't know why I forget that!! Good for you with your new plan!

Uber: Hope your weigh in is a good one! You're doing so well!

Fera: Good job on avoiding the Oreos. Those sound good!

Went to body pump this morning. It seemed harder than usual. I didn't go all last week, so that's a lot of it. And, I started the squat and abs challenge on Sunday, so that's been making me a little more sore. But, just need to push onward!

It was funny today. I had two people from the gym that I've seen, but I don't know them, mention that they think I look good and they can tell I've lost weight. While that is great, and I appreciate it, it also makes me a little uncomfortable. I have forced myself to just say thank you, rather than adding something like... Ya, but I have a long way to go. :) I just prefer my anti-social ways at the gym. But, I was nice... Ha!

Diane... Going to the gym is so hard for me. I'm always nervous people are gonna laugh at the fat girl dying and out of breath a low setting on the elliptical or something. I don't know what I'm gonna do when we leave the campus here and I don't get the "gym" to myself anymore. And I would definitely be a little uncomfortable with random people telling me they've noticed. So good job being gracious, you're stronger than I am!

Sunny... Good job taking it day by day! Too often people look at the end of the road and think it's too far to travel then get content where they are. I know, because I did this myself. One day at a time. :) If you want, over on the 300+ board I have a thread that you might like to join in with! It's "Today's Victory, Tomorrow's Battle" and I started it because I found that finding something I did today, no matter how small, worth celebrating. Yesterday it was not eating all those Oreos! And then something to strive for the next day, small or big, to keep me focused (more walking, because my dog-sitting duties are done).

For now though, I must get prepared to travel, as we'll be out of town the next several days. I'm not falling off, I promise! I will probably even use the hotel wifi to come post! :)

Hi Sunny, and welcome!

I know how hard it is to white knuckle through those first few days. I always feel like if I can stick with a plan for 3 days then it gets a lot easier. I like to check in here often as well. It helps keep my mind in the game.

Fera Fila-- Oreos are like crack for me. How awesome that you managed to resist. That is such a great feeling!

Diane--- your gym story is inspiring me. I used to work out all the time, and I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

So, my weigh in for today: Down 5.5 the first week! :-) So happy to be starting off with a bang. I know I won't be able to keep up that rate for long. I started off last week with a start weight of 280, on an analog scale. I noticed that the needle was sort of jumping around and I wasn't sure about it, so I switched to a digital scale and realized that I was actually starting at 285. :-( So at the end of the first week, I'm down 5.5 actual and .5 from where I set my ticker. My current mini-goal is 260. I last weighed that much back before Christmas, so it seems like a reasonable goal.

Hope ya'll have a great day!

YAY for first week big losses! :D Mine was about the same. Makes you want to keep going. I'm about 20 pounds away from my first mini-goal, too (get my butt back under 300 pounds. ugh).

And I hear you on the first few days. I felt like I was starving and about to die because I wanted to EAT for the entire first week. It was almost like a withdrawal from food. Still kinda hard because you *have* to eat. You can't just quit food cold turkey.

Okay. I'm headed out of town tomorrow so I weighed in this morning as an early weigh-in, not expecting to see much... Shocker, I'm down 2 pounds from Friday to 317.6, even after eating out twice on Sunday!

I'm assuming part of that is the new batteries in the scale, and not so much losing 2 pounds in 4 days. But it was still nice to see. 18 pounds til I see a 2 again! My goal is 299 by the end of July. I can SO do this!!

Especially if I don't go nuts while I'm out of town for the next few days.

Be back Monday night... y'all have fun and save my seat. :)

Fera: Yay you!!! Nice loss for you! Have fun while out of town. We'll be here waiting to hear how it all goes! I'm excited for you to reach the 2's! I know how you feel about the gym. I do think that at my gym, especially since I go early in the morning, that the people there are not judging. These are people just trying to get their own workout in before work. It may be different with the after 5:00 crowd. Sometimes it seems a little more of a social hour then, with younger people. But, if they are judging, then that is their problem!!!

Uber: NICE first loss! That's so great to start out that well. Now you know you can do it!! I'll tell you the hardest part of going to the gym is first starting out. But for me, the first week was all about walking through the door. If I made it there, it was a victory. I didn't really worry about what I did, just that I got there. Then, the next week, I had workout goals, like a set amount of time on the elliptical or bike. Finally, made it to where I felt I could start classes and at first, I just wanted to survive. After that, then I set new goals to improve what I was lifting or keeping it going on the bike in spin. I think it is just important to keep pushing yourself, even if just a little.

As you can tell, I love working out and what is offered at my gym. It has made such a difference in my life, how I feel and how my body is starting to shape up, I just hate it when I can't go. To me, the hardest part is keeping my calories down. I love good food, it isn't usually junk that gets to me. But I also love cakes, cookies, etc. That has taken the most discipline.

Anyway, went to Spin this morning. Someone had my favorite bike, so I went to a different one. Well, when the sun came up, it was shining in my eyes and for a moment I thought that I would need to move. But then it kind of was nice, not horribly blinding or anything. I guess because I work in an overly air-conditioned office, it felt kind of nice. :)

Fera: So happy for the 2 lbs. It's so motivating to see the scale drop! 18 lbs is really not much and I think you can make your goal! Have fun and see you when you get back!

Diane: I know what you mean about walking through the door! What's holding me back right now is that I moved recently and so I have to join a new gym and I'm just reluctant about the cost. I KNOW it's worth it, but it's still hard for me to convince myself to spend the money.

I needed a new digital food scale and I just got one: so, I discovered that I was so nervous about underestimating portion sizes that I was overestimating. So, 4 oz looked HUGE. (I must have been eating about 2 oz) No wonder I lost 5.5 pounds in a week. And no wonder I was SO STARVING. Ate 7 oz of steelhead trout with zucchini last night and it was AWESOME.

Did you know? NOTHING is 'free' at the Marriott. Seriously. You have to *pay* for wi-fi. $4 a day. We caved and ordered it for 3 days, but STILL. And breakfast's cheapest option?! 13 per person. THIRTEEN DOLLARS. At a cheap hotel at least you get a free bagel and wifi. I know we're at the Marriott, but we're still broke, and someone else is paying for the room because we *have* to be here. Lame. We'll be getting Subway flat bread sammiches for breakfast tomorrow heh.

What a long drive! 10+ hours in the car. We had Subway for lunch, and Arby's for dinner (and we're using the stairs to/from our 2nd floor room). It was nice to walk to the restaurant after spending 600+ miles worth of highway in the car. I told hubby "we're getting the wifi, I need my support network to keep myself in check" :D He didn't put up a fight. I love him much. Even with all the driving, the walking I've made sure to do, I still managed to get almost 2 miles of walking! :) (I'm sure most of that was this morning when I was running around like crazy making sure we had everything)

I'm dragging now though, so I think it's bed time. I'll check in tomorrow (if hubby let's me borrow his computer). :)

Hi Fera, glad you're enjoying your trip! It makes me nuts when hotels charge for wi-fi. Thirteen dollars is crazy. Sigh. At least your hubbie understood why you need support. I always end up forking over for the wi-fi when I'm traveling.

Today is day 10 for me, and I woke up this morning feeling slightly sick of it. Last day of school for the kids. Looking forward to the more relaxed schedule of summer. Love summer cooking and always eat less when it's hot (which it isn't, right now...) Hope you all have a great day.

I lied. There is a cheaper breakfast option. You can get a bowl of oatmeal.... For $8.50. Cup of coffee, just regular coffee, is $4.

Eff that. We went to subway and split a footlong breakfast flatbread sandwich for $7 lol

Also, a half liter bottle of water is $3.50... I can get a CASE of water for that. Stupid fancy hotels.

Okay. Aside from my rant about stupid, expensive, fancy hotels where I have no business being...

Uber, I hope things get easier for you. I noticed it was easier for me after the first week. Try the 10 pound mini goals! Get a new book, or DVD, or something small and inexpensive that you love to get for yourself... and you can't have it until you hit your mini goals. MOTIVATION! Totally gets rid of the "ugh, I hate this" feeling... at least it does for me!

What is bothering you most? What are you hating? Maybe there's a way around it, or at least a way to make it suck less. :)

Hi Fera, Thanks for asking. I think I'm doing ok and I appreciate your idea about rewards for mini-goals. This is absolutely something I've struggled with on my weight loss journey. I think I woke up this morning thinking ugh-- more days of not eating whatever I want. One of the things I've realized about myself is that I tend not to ever do nice things for myself-- new clothes, manicure, or small nice things-- I'm always denying myself, thinking "too expensive" (I have 4 kids, and it seems like somebody always needs something more than I need it) but then I "reward" myself with food, which is obviously TOTALLY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE. So I'm going to take your message to heart! Thanks!

Hello All
@Fera I travel for about 70% of my job - I HEAR you on the hotel expenses. Even though I'm traveling for work and it's a corporate expense it still comes out of my budget so I always eat off site if I can. I've been in hotels where the buffet breakfast is $50pp - I can't remember when I was a a property that had internet for less than $20 a day. It's insane. If I were traveling on my personal dime and not a corporate card there is no chance I'd ever eat at the hotel unless it was included. Some tricks - if you have an Iphone (or other smartphone) and you are traveling with a laptop you can use your phone as a wifi hotspot and jack into your service plan to check in (just be wary of data usage not to go over). I have an ipad that i just bundled in on my service plan since I'm on the road so much doing that made sense for me to do - now that is all I take with me when I travel so I can avoid the wifi charges. Also if you know your room is going to have a fridge or coffee pot take things with you! I very often bring hotel room food (or go to a store and buy stuff) when i get to my destination to keep me from the expense and calories of the hotel food at least some of the time. Also - I won't lie - hotel room coffee pot oatmeal....kind of the best :)

Today was a tough start for me - it's cold and rainy in fair New England today and both me and my BF slept through all of the alarms. I didn't go to the gym so now I'm struggling to keep to my 1200 calories - Those few earned exercise calories where i get to eat more like 1400-1500 a day and still balance at 1200 makes a HUGE difference. I'm aiming for a 10lb mini goal too - I need to break through this 10lb barrier that I've been stuck in for so long. Once I can get below 240 it will feel real and like progress and like I can do it. On that note I'm going to get my lunch out of the work fridge!!!

Uber: Steel head trout! Cool. I've never had it. We eat a lot of trout, but it is all lake type or river trout. Absolutely love it! I keep thinking I need to get a food scale. I estimate a lot. As long as it keeps working, I'm ok, but it would be nice to know for sure. Oh, and hang in there! You're doing great! Just push through the being sick of it!

Fera: Yeah, I think I'd be going for Subway, too! Glad that you are enjoying your time there! I'm glad you got the Wifi so that we can all stay in touch!

I had been walking some stairs here at work. Down 1 floor, then up 3 floors, then down 4 (to get ice from the freezer) and then back up 2. It was killing me (I thought), and I was sick of doing it, so I stopped. Yesterday someone I work with wanted me to go with her. We went down 2, up 4, and then back down 2. I hadn't done 4 before and it wasn't too bad! I guess it was getting better.

Have a good one!

SunnyMac: We posted at the same time, so just wanted to say hi. Sorry you didn't get to work out, I hate that! Then you have to watch your food so much more! But, if you go over, don't beat yourself up! It always starts over the next day!!

Thanks Slashnl! So far so good. I'm chugging through!!!! Keep up those stairs! It's raining today here in the lovely northeast - Maybe I will go do some myself! I work in a giant theatre - we have got NOTHING but stairs - what a good idea!!!! Thanks!!!!

Good morning all!

After paying for that fancy schmancy wifi package (okay, we got the $4/day vs the $12/day) couldn't get the laptop to connect.... fought with it last night, gave up and tried again. Woke up this morning and gave it a shot, still no dice. Hubby was running late, so he asked me to take care of it. Called the super helpful tech support (no sarcasm at all, she was really sweet) and they basically bypassed the hotel's log in stuff and put a timer on the connection. SO I have access again.

The tough part about being here is all the mystery meals. Dinner last night, lunch today, and dinner tonight were all paid for as part of our registration for the event. Last night's mystery meal was beef bourguignon (spelled right?) and white chocolate raspberry cheese cake. I did not deny myself the cheesecake. My love of white chocolate, raspberry, and cream cheese based foods all combined into one delicious slice of heaven. It was a tiny slice though, so I did my best to log it.

Lunch is a mystery 'boxed' lunch, and dinner is another banquet style meal. FYI - this hotel's restaurant has food so good, I am able to forgive them the wi-fi hiccup. Their chef is a dream. I tried to be good, and walked to a convenience store and got 2 of those prepackaged bowls of cheerios and a pint of milk and 2 bananas to have as breakfasts, BUT I was a dummy and forgot to grab a spoon, so I have to hunt down a spoon to eat it. They'll probably charge me a $7 fee per day for borrowing a spoon.

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Uber -the rewards have been a *really* great help for me. New books at 10 pounds, and other such little 2-3 dollar rewards for staying on track for the week. Usually a nail polish thing. I love to do my nails and love to get different colors to play with. Incentive! And when we finally settle into our new place, I'm going to get involved with the "lose 10% in 6 months" challenge on dietbetter(dot)com and see if I can win some money for losing weight. It's a good premise, I think (6 months, with monthly challenges, plus an overall goal, and the pot is split by everyone who hits the final goal). The only way you can lose money is to not lose weight. NOT losing money would be a BIG motivator for me! Especially over the holidays when it's so easy to go off track. :P

Just sticking my nose in here....FeraFelia, I am such a bookworm, I think I would die if I had to lose 10 lbs before I could get a book! LOL

You are all doing so well! Keep up the good work!

Hi all! Made it to Friday! I've decided since I am going to weigh myself on Fridays anyway, I'm going to start recording it. I had been just recording my Monday weigh in, but still checked it on Friday to see where it was, heading into the weekend. Sometimes my rules need to be tweaked. :) So, lost a pound since Monday. I was hoping for a little more, but we'll see what it looks like on Monday.

Went to spin class today. The instructor had to fill in for some other instructors, so he was on his second class in a row. I'm impressed!

Fera: Glad you let yourself have that treat. I think it is just too hard to go with this journey unless you can occasionally have a treat. Enjoy!!

Have a good weekend!

Fera Fila- I agree that eating out on someone else's menu is extremely hard. At times I travel a lot and attend a lot of functions so I know just how that is. I have found that if I decide which parts of meals I'm going to eat ahead of time (for example, I'll think yes salad entree veggie, no dessert, or yes entree dessert no salad no bread...) it helps me. When I'm motivated I can usually maintain or even lose when traveling. You just have to guesstimate what you log.

Diane: I agree about tweaking rules! If you feel like it helps you to weigh and record twice-- why not? I like to weigh daily because I get super-attuned to the minute ups and downs and it helps me stress less about any individual day. BUT I know a lot of people hate to weigh daily.

I've decided I'm going to have my "official" weigh in day be Tuesday, i.e. change my ticker day, whereas before I used to always change my ticker each time I saw a loss. I do record my weight daily on fit day. One thing about me is I can weigh daily for a year or two, but when I'm in my see no evil, near no evil stage, (i.e. gaining) I never step on the scale. DUH. You'd think I'd see a connection.

Well chicks, I had a lapse.i did so good all week. Thursday when I didn't make it to the gym I struggled to keep to 1200 calories and didn't make it...but I'm not beating myself up because I only ate 1450, nothing was junk and I was actually hungry....I'm calling that day listening to my body and feeding it when it is hungry.

Yesterday on the other hand was a test and I feel like I failed. I forgot my Up band on its charger so was off counting my steps. It got stressful at work, I ate office smart food ( not awful for 100 cals just not on plan). I did have a win and made it to the gym before they closed after work and got in an hour of high intensity cardio. Them comes the big lose....I had a giant dish of pasta and wine for dinner. I don't even know what I was doing. It was like I was just going through the motions in a trance. To make things worse I got up this morning and weighed expecting to have consequences and realized this was the first day this week I've lost. I'm down 3 lbs so now I feel like I've been rewarded for bad behavior.

I'm using this as an opportunity to identify the trigger. The big trigger was being home alone. BF had to go see his family 4 states away due to illness. I knew no one would be here to judge me accept myself and I took advantage of it. Looking at it a bit deeper this happens a lot of week nights. He has activities he does in the evenings and I do not. He goes out and I come home and clean, do laundry etc etc and eat and drink while doing that. He came home every night this week so It was easier to stay on plan knowing I wasn't alone. This is a difference from last time when I lost weight. I was single and living alone. I was between relationships and with no children I had to only take care of myself and my little apartment. Full focus. Now I'm running a house with a huge acre of land, taking care of someone, taking the role of lead domestic agent, commuting longer to work, running a staff....I need to concentrate on finding some balance to take care of myself. I need to find some evening activities to do during the week. I need to change my thinking so I'm ok when I'm alone not just when my other half is home.

We go away for vacation tomorrow for the week. I'm mobile so you are all coming with me. Trying to get in the mindset now. Today will be a better day. I know not every day will be perfect and that I'm gonna fall sometimes so the important thing is to get back up right away.

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FERA do the best you can with the mystery food. I travel too and am up against that often to and you are right it's the hardest part. The fact that you are being conscious of it is a win! I usually try to go no bread no desert... Easier said than done but that's what I try to do.

UBER I'm also weighing every day. I need to pick an 'official' day and I think I'm gonna go with Sunday. I do the same thing when I'm gaining... No scale....so I think it's better for me to daily weigh.

SLASH great work on getting to spin ! It's soooooo good for you! Tweak those rules if it helps you!!!

Sunny-- first ((hugs)) for slipping up and :carrot::carrot: for hopping right back on the board.

I was reading your comment about triggers and thinking about it a lot. Thinking over what you are doing and what gets in the way of success is an absolute necessity I think. I was thinking especially about the fact that you are so busy and need to find more time to take care of yourself. That is what derailed me the first time around. My own responsibility level kept ratcheting up and up and up and still I was able to keep going, and then it seemed like one day I had just had it-- something had to give, and what gave was my healthy new lifestyle.

Yesterday, I had a pretty big shock about something work related. I was really worried about it and couldn't get through to my boss to talk it through. I had all of the stress signals-- churning stomach, roaring in my ears, that I get. Usually I treat that feeling with food. Yesterday, I didn't, but it reminded me BIG TIME that I find losing weight easiest when 1. I'm feeling upbeat 2. I don't have too much stress 3. I don't have too much on my plate and 4. I can really prioritize by thinking about it all the time. But of course, life isn't always like that. When people say "it's a lifestyle change" I think the change for me to permanently be able to maintain a healthy weight isn't food, or exercise at all. I think I will need to be able to maintain a lifestyle where I can manage stress and don't over-commit past what I can actually manage and that I can weather the times when I'm not feeling upbeat because I'm good at managing stress.

So, let's support each other on this-- and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! Losing weight is the easy part, but trying to figure out why we don't always do what we are so sure we want to do-- that is the hard part!

Hang in there SunnyMac. It's ok! You saw what went wrong and you're not going to let it happen every day. That's the key. We can't slip into what was normal before!!!

Not much to say, just checking in for the weekend!

I am back :)
 

I have to confess I did this to myself no one else did. I lost all the weight I needed to lose a few years ago when I was coming to this site daily. I felt great. I forgot, I didn't do it alone. God gave me the strength to stick with a great eating plan and get the weight off. My own vanity derailed me from staying healthy. Sure the medications packed on the pounds when I was sick again. I can say that all I want and while it is true. CANDY, COOKIES AND DONUTS put far more weight on me than medications did.

I have to take responsibility for what I did to my body.

Now, I am back on track with eating well and exercising. I won't get to where I want to be in a day or a week or even a year. I will get there and With God's strength I will stay at a healthy weight.

Sometimes God doesn't whisper in our ear what he wants us to hear. Sometimes he jumps up and down screaming PUT DOWN THAT COOKIE. We just don't listen.

Hi Shy, welcome! I fully understand where you are coming from. There is nothing worse than getting down to where we want to be and then gaining again. It doesn't make any sense. I have never been prouder of any achievement than I was of losing 110 lbs. I was POSITIVE I was going to maintain-- and I did, for a while, and then it just stopped seeming so important... and here I am

You are completely right though. We did it once, we can do it again!

As for me, I had a good weekend. Keeping my calories low today as tomorrow is the big weigh in day.

I've been doing well. My head is really in the game. I took my daughters out to buy dresses for an occasion. I had to sit right in front on the 3 way mirrors for half an hour, and I was wearing jeans and a tee-shirt that was just a touch too small. I HATE being this fat. I remember how much I used to like just feeling NORMAL. I looked in the mirror and I just looked average-- not super skinny and gorgeous, not morbidly obese... just an average lady. I want to get back there so much! I mentioned to my diet buddy that I was feeling really hungry. She told me that she tells herself that the feeling isn't hunger, it's the feel of fat melting off. I'm going to give it a try!

Hi everyone! :wave:

Made it home from the trip! So very much looking forward to food I've prepared myself and not loaded with sodium.

Kinda scared to see how much damage was done by the trip, but I've done my best to keep track of the food and while I may have gone over my 1800 calories a time or two, I was also walking around a great deal, and I never went over 2000... SO. I should still see a loss once I get rid of all the water bloat from eating nothing but sodium laden food for almost a week.

Hello everyone,

I began my weight loss journey back in spring 2011, I started at 203 and ended up being 153 by September 2012. I was very fit, with high muscle mass and was able to do things I have never been. Able to do my entire life. Then I moved, I had an awful bully of a landlord and my unhappy relationship was worse then ever. I began drinking and eating and stopped working out and went back up over my heaviest!!! 210lbs. I moved out andI finally broke from my relationship and discovered juice fasting. I done a 3 day juice and have been healthy eating/ walking with great enthusiasm and determination since last Thursday(not long I know) but I feel stronger I have since September 2012. And already lost 7lbs! Yay!

I just want to be able to find out how to control the relationship between my emotions and food!

:welcome: Ginger!

Same thing happened to me. Lost a bunch of weight in 2011-12, found out about a 1100 mile move got all depressed about the move, then stressed during the actual move, then the whole year out hated my life, and then stressed the move back.. I ate my way back up past my high weight, and am now working to get it back under control. Emotional eating is like a crutch for me to deal with things.

Need to figure that mess out! I've started coming on here to post when I feel the need to snack away my emotions.

Looking back at yesterday I had a nice " normal " day. I ate what I should have eaten and I got a bit of exercise. I did forget it takes me from the time I get up until I go to bed to eat enough lol. Have to work up to the exercise. Back then it took me 3 months to be able to do a 1 mile walking aerobic video when I first started lol. I will have to work up to it again since I have bad lungs. I get breathy just walking across the house lol. Funny to think I was doing 10 miles a day of Leslie Sansone's walking aerobic videos and now I can't walk across the house with out stopping to breath.

Ubergirl I recognize your name. I am sure many of us are back here again. This time we see what we did wrong. I had only ever tried to lose weight one time and while I did it I packed the pounds back on and an extra 30 for good measure. We can move forward and not make the same mistakes.

I got a new doc and this one really is encouraging. He said ok, how did you lose all the weight the first time. He even saw in my chart my old doc had written really in great physical shape. I told him what I had done. He said well I am not going to go on and on about your weight. You know the right way to lose it. This is what I am going to tell you. When you are on these darn medications they make you crave carbs. That is just how it is. SO when you have to be on the medications I want you to drop your carbs by 1/8. This isn't going to be easy but A. this will help you not pack on pounds and B this will help you stay more accountable to yourself with what you eat while you are craving those carbs. You will consciously be watching those numbers.

He said different people lose weight different ways. Everyone keeps it off the same way, dedication to eating correctly.

Because I love to be organized counting calories, fats and carbs is the way for me. I love the fitday site.

He asked me to be more specific about how I packed on the pounds. I said well that was pretty simple. First I was eating right but the weight came on. He said ok that is the medications. I said then I didn't just fall off the wagon. I let the darn thing run right over me. I got depressed, upset, felt down because I was putting on weight but not enjoying the eating process to do it lol.

He said ok well you know that now so what are you going to do about that. I said stay off that darn scale is what I am going to do about it when I am on medications. I will stick with my fitday. Know I am eating the required amounts of the 5 basic food groups and staying within my ranges of 1200 to 1400 calories, 30 to 35 fat and 180 to 210 carbs. If I put on weight I will know because of how my clothes feel and that I can't stop but if I obsess about the weight gain from the scale it will get me down. He said great plan but when on the medications and for 3 months afterwards take the carbs down to 158 to 184. I said ok will do that.

He also told me, at my age, the requirements for the 5 basic food groups is a little off. two meats, 2 fruits, 3 veggies, 2 dairy is great but I do not need 6 bread/cereal. He said I could go with 3 bread/cereal and I would be fine. I said oh that is great because I could never get all 6 of those in and stay within my ranges lol.

My goal is to lose 52 pounds in the next year.

Mandy, don't let it get you down. We didn't gain the weight in a week and we aren't going to destroy all our dedication to eating right in a week. Just pull yourself back on that wagon seat and roll forward.

gingergeorgie, we all have our story how we let life get us down and didn't deal with it well. All we can do, and I see you are doing it, is take control of the reigns and move forward. Sounds like you have some plans to get the weight off again.

Welcome to Shy and Ginger! We're all on your side and totally understand, so we're here to support each other!

Fera: It sounds like you did what you could, so you hopefully won't have too much of a setback after being gone. I'm betting that you won't since you were being mindful!

Uber: It feels good when you are staying on track! It won't be long and you'll be back to where you want to be!

I've been doing pretty well. These challenges I'm doing this month are getting tiresome, but I'm going to keep with them. I guess I don't mind the squat workout too much, but the ab one is going to kill me. Situps are not my friend. I have been able to hold on with the plank, but it is getting harder as the time limit is increased. Hard to believe it has only been 10 days. Seems like forever. The squat workout is tough too. I went to Body Pump this morning and I had trouble doing the squat workout in there. My legs were still sore from last night's squat challenge.

What an athlete I am....

Hi All,

Welcome Shy and Ginger!

Shy: it sounds as if your doctor is really great-- supportive and understanding. Lucky you.

Ginger and Fera: Wow. I'm astonished to find out that we all have the same issue behind our regains! Starting in June 2009 I lost 110, reaching an all-time low weight of 186. I moved in 2010, which was the beginning of a big huge roller coaster of simultaneous stressful events. I held onto the loss until the very end of 2011 but in early 2012 I zoomed back up. Since then, I've managed to shed 10-15 about 3 or 4 times, but I've never gotten into the groove. For me, I have something figured out: I can focus on weight loss only when the rest of my life is on more or less of an even keel-- if I start getting some combination of work, money, or family problems at the same time, at some point, it seems like I just can't maintain the focus and I revert back to my old dysfunctional ways.

If we can get the stressed out and still able to lose or maintain then we should have the battle won! Ginger, so glad you're giving it another try. Fera: yay you for losing on your trip! Moral of the story: don't move in early maintenance (if possible, LOL)

Diane So inspired by your awesome workout routine. i'm still focusing on food, but hope to start incorporating exercise soon!

Today was my two-week weigh in and get this. Fourteen days: 9.8 pounds!:D Obviously some of that must be water weight, but still and all I'll take it. I'm actually already starting to feel a bit of the difference! Seems like it's coming right off my belly.

Keep strong everyone!

Hey guys, thanks so much for the warm welcome done a workout yesterday and feel muscles aching today, will have a long walk later and workout again tomorrow. Going ease myself back in gently. Still feel very strong where diets concerns, just hope it lasts!! Xx

Uber!!! Nice weight loss! That is so great to have such a good start. I'll bet you feel so good. It can be so motivating to have some success like that! Way to go!

Ginger: Ooo. Aching muscles! I know it can hurt, but in a good way! That's smart to ease into it. You've got a great start!

I had a rough day yesterday. I felt really worn out all day. Then, I went out to eat with my daughter and ate too much. But it was really tasty. I didn't have much for dinner, so although I went over my calorie goal, it wasn't too far over. I didn't do my challenge exercises last night because my legs felt so tired and sore. (pity party for me!) But, today seems better. I went to spin class and I feel much better.

Diane sorry you had a rough day, but glad you're feeling better now. I can't stand it when eating out makes me go over calories-- but that's part of life too. Once the achy soreness leaves your muscles you'll probably see a whoosh. I think inflammation makes you weigh more.

Ginger glad you're off to a good start. I know what you mean about that feeling of "hoping" that diet stays strong. Sometimes it seems almost effortless and other times it feels impossible. Sigh. Keeping the head on plan is for sure the hardest thing.

Snuck on the scale this morning, and I dropped another pound!:carrot::carrot::carrot: I'm down ten from my start! Ten more and I'll be back to where I was a year ago!

Uber - YAY for half way to mini goals! I like to peek at the scale on non-weigh days (Tuesday and Friday are weigh days), too, sometimes, just out of curiosity. Crazy how stress eating (well, emotional eating in general for me) can be such a contributor to gaining weight! Guess we all need to find healthier nervous habits.

Diane - Good job getting back to the exercise! I hate those blah don't-wanna-move days. I had one yesterday, too. But I think it was just a "please stop making me do things" recovery kind of day from my trip that both brain and body needed. Meals out with family are always worth the calories, in my opinion. :)

Ginger - If it's not the "so sore you can't move" kinda pain, I find that to be a sign that I did something good for my body. Stretch and feel the twinges and smile at the 'good' pain. (That sounds kind of awful, but you know what I mean!). One day at a time. Easing in is the best way to go... keeps you from burning out really quickly.


Well... Today will be a lot of fidgeting and twitching and nervousness because the call committee from the church we visited on our trip is having a meeting this evening to talk about my hubby's interview to become their pastor... hoping it goes well. I really loved the church and the people and the house. Walking in the front door of that place felt like home.

Also, a pretty significant water-drop this morning. Out of curiosity I stepped on the scale and saw another 2.2 pounds gone. Amazing how a lot of salt, not enough water, and no exercise can hold that water right in!

Fera: Great! More weight gone for you! I hope you hear about the call soon! Quite the adventure. My cousin is a pastor and he's been through that a time or two. So, good luck!!

Uber: Nice! It's good to get the regain weight off and start working on new weight. I need about 2 more pounds and the regain will be gone.

I have a doctor's appointment today, just a check up. I know I'm down a lot of weight from the last time I was there, so it will be a little more fun than last time. Just glad to get it done so I don't have to think about it again for awhile.

Yesterday was 1 month back at it. In that 1 month I had several graduation parties, my anniversary, my husband's birthday, graduation itself, and a week-long trip out of town with nothing but restaurant and fast food.

In that month I also tracked my food every day to the best of my ability, got a little exercise, and generally behaved like one should regarding food.

The result: I've lost 17 pounds. I know that's a lot, but the first week was 7 pounds alone because of the water drop. And at 300+ I can afford to lose a little quicker, I guess.

If I can lose 17 pounds in a month where I feel like I was eating out more than eating at home, and eating more junk than healthy stuff simply because of the nature of the gatherings... Then I think I can manage to keep losing weight in the coming months.

To quote one of my favorite songs "Seems like every choice I made would somehow leave me second-guessing about the green grass I was passing racing toward the other side. I thank God for the blessing that I finally learned this lesson: One step in the right direction's worth a wasted mile behind."

Diane Your doctor will be so proud of all of the hard work you've done!

Fera Seventeen pounds in one month while eating out! That is absolutely fantastically amazingly amazing! I'm so happy for you! ::congrat::congrat::congrat: It just goes to show that when we really focus none of the external factors matter as much as we think they do.

I'm having little bit of a bad day so far although I'm haven't strayed off my food plan. I just feel a little discouraged.

First, I got woken up by a phone call in the middle of the night, so I'm a little tired. Yesterday, I went with my two girls to visit a college. I was stupid and I wore uncomfortable flip flops and black jeans even thought it was a little bit hot. Within a few minutes, my feet started hurting-- blisters from the durn shoes. But then, I started feeling like I was going to pass out. I didn't of course, but I swear it was like I was so hungry I was faint. That is not normal for me! Usually I have lots of energy for walking around. We went to a restaurant where I drank a big tumbler of water and two tumblers of ice tea, then I ate shrimp fajitas-- didn't touch any of the cheese, guacamole, sour cream-- just shrimp veggies and a corn tortilla. I couldn't finish it. Felt uncomfortably full no doubt because of the three big glasses of fluids before I started eating. By bedtime I was starving again. I feel okay today, but kind of discouraged.

It's like I'm just remembering that losing weight can be really hard. And I just can't believe that I have to do this again after having already done it once. It's the most frustrating thing in the world.

I wish I could post links! I have a motivational image I made a while back. It's a beautiful relaxing image, with the quote of "Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward"...

As long as you pick yourself up and keep going, instead of turning around and going backwards, you'll still get to the finish line. You've got this. :)