Mandy - A HUGE day for you. At this point of the day, you probably already know or are very close to knowing. I have been sending positive vibes your way all day, and am very optimistic about the news you'll receive. Hopefully, you'll have a chance to share your news at some point today with our little cyber-family here.
Jessica - You're so right about rest days. Every training program I have ever seen has mandatory rest days, and Sunday is a great day for it. And it's not like you're spending the day on the couch. You're doing a lot of moving with your cleaning. And, if you feel like it later, you can always avail yourself of the bug spray and go on another short jaunt. Or not. But it sounds like your mood is good, and for me, it's always much easier to stay on plan when I'm not confronting emotional demons.
Martini - ARGH! on the scale. I just turned 40 last year, and did nothing to celebrate it. Well, almost nothing. My birthday was the day after Mother's Day, and my ex, my kids, and I had a small combined Mother's Day/birthday dinner on the day before my birthday, and then I think I took my kids to a movie on my actual birthday. My now-husband/then-boyfriend was gone, though he did give me the coolest birthday present I had ever received. So many ways to celebrate a milestone birthday. Quietly, or with lots of friends. Hope you find the best way for you. As for the scale thing, I never think of scale numbers as solid information. I only think of them as useful relative to information provided by the exact same scale, on the exact same floor, at relatively the same time of day. So, if it were me, I would step on that scale the very first day back. If you're puffy and retaining water from air travel, that means the scale should drop fairly rapidly in the first couple of days. And even if I don't quite trust big drops in the scale, they still make me feel good. =)
Uber - Thinking about you and your upcoming vacation. It sounds like you're looking at doing a modified version of IF, sort of like I was doing before I decided to go the vegan route. It actually worked fairly well for me, but I would make one suggestion, FWIW. It sounds like you're already having a minimal breakfast, but I would consider modifying your eating to reflect your planned vacation eating for the couple of days before it goes. The first few days of eating almost no calories before a relatively big dinner were sort of miserable for me during the day, and it seems like you might want to confront that challenge before being on vacation so you don't feel totally deprived on vacation.
Diane - So excited that your new scale is working out for you! And I think it's cool that you're starting to run in preparation for your 5K. I don't know why running is stuck in my head as the holy grail of exercise -- it really isn't, and in many ways, it's one of the worst types of exercise for our bodies -- but I would like to be able to run at least a 5K. And in terms of functional fitness, running is way more important to be able to do than swimming, for example. My stepkids love to challenge me to races, and I love to play pick-up basketball or softball or kickball games, and running makes it possible to do those.
Jenjeangel - That bathing suit thing is tough. I took my stepkids to a waterpark last week, and even though I routinely wear a bathing suit in public when I swim, a waterpark is still a whole lot of public. But I took a deep breath, reminded myself that there was no one in the world who would look at me fully clothed and think, "That woman is sure skinny," sucked it up, and put the bathing suit on and enjoyed the waterpark. I was also doing the C25K, but put it on hold because my knee was being jenky. My knee is feeling better, though, so I'm looking to jump back on it. Just gotta figure out where to start. (I am still super thrilled that I managed to run an admittedly very slow 13-minute mile last Friday.)
223.4. Feeling good about the numbers. We'll see what the next few days bring. I went to breakfast with the hubby and ate pancakes (a lot of pancakes), and three strips of delicious bacon. Enjoyed the breakfast, and was full for hours after. The only other thing I ate yesterday was six egg whites after my work-out, and a few bites of ice cream. Very much a Twinkie-diet kind of day, but feeling good about it.
Martini How frustrating about the scale! But, on the other hand, the beauty of when your head is really in the game and you are not cheating at all is that you know it has to work no matter what! I wish I could see your face on the day that you actually do get to weigh in. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! Regarding celebrating your 40th by stepping on the scale? Honestly, I think it's a GREAT idea. Being overweight is something that you are moving beyond and I'll be the decade of your 40s will be spectacular!
Mandy Can't wait to hear your news. I'm just sure it will be good!
Jessica Sounds like your rest day was quite active and in my book you ARE an athlete and you do need a day of rest!
Diane Glad to hear the new scale is working out with no unpleasant surprises! Regarding the 5K, you know, that was my big dream, to do a 5K, back when I was running. And at the time, I definitely could have completed it easily, as I was running a lot. But, it never worked out with my schedule, and then eventually, that was when I both quit running and regained. Sigh. But I REALLY want to run a 5K. I'm going to set that as a goal. I'm thinking I can reach my goal weight by next spring, in time for my daughter's HS graduation, and I should be ready to run a 5K by then too. I've NEVER felt or looked as good as during the year that I was running.
Laurie Look at you in the low 220s! You are rocking it!
Regarding my vacation plan, I think what I'm planning to do is pretty similar to what I'm already doing. I have coffee with about a cup to a cup and a half of 2% milk for breakfast every day and I try to keep lunch in the 350-400 range. That way, I've got up to 700 cals to play around with at dinner. So I think in terms of hunger management, I'll be okay. But, I've noticed that what seems to get to me more is that I feel out of control with my calorie counting when I'm eating food that I didn't prepare myself. Counting and logging give me a sense of security, and when I have to guesstimate the calorie counts of the foods, it makes me feel like I'm drifting off track-- or rather, departing the GOAL EXPRESS and getting left at the FATLAND station. However, we vacation at the same place every year-- so I know what to expect and there is no reason to think that I won't be able to manage it.
Okay. I know I just posted, but I am bringing this here to avoid starting a disastrous conversation with no potential positive outcome. So, this post is primarily intended to be therapeutic for me, and can very easily be ignored.
First, let me say that my hubby and I are getting along really well lately. (Thank goodness! My therapist assures me that we're just going through "learning to live together" growing pains.) We went to a comedy show last night with some friends, and it was lovely. The friends were a couple that have been dating seven months. I don't see these friends regularly, but the woman and I communicate on a regular basis. She had previously lost a lot of weight, and had mentioned to me on a few occasions that she had gained some of it back. When I saw her last night, it looked like she had probably put on 40 or 50 pounds and is probably in the same weight range as me now. (She's much taller, though.)
She has mentioned to me how her boyfriend has started commenting on her food intake. Before the comedy show, they had gone to dinner and her boyfriend had told her, "Wow, you're going to eat more of your food than I am of mine." We all went for pizza after the show (my husband's suggestion), and she ate two slices. (I didn't eat any. It was almost midnight, and I just genuinely don't enjoy eating that late, and they had ordered pizza with red peppers on it, so the pizza wasn't even slightly tempting to me, since I dislike red peppers.) After her first slice, she said that she was full, but the crust was the best she had ever tasted, so she was going to have another. Her boyfriend said, "If you're full, I don't know why you want another."
So, first, my heart goes out to her. She has maintained her weight loss for four years, and it makes me sad to see her struggle. Part of my proselytizing soul wants to encourage her back on the weight loss bandwagon, but the rest of my soul rejects that idea. When and if to work on weight issues is absolutely an individual decision, and her weight is none of my business, even if she shares with me her anger and frustration over her boyfriend's comments. If she wants or needs advice or help, that's when I'll step in. Until then, her weight is absolutely none of my business, and she continues to be a lovely person deserving of love. Also, for the record, I am offended on her behalf by her boyfriend's passive-aggressive comments, regardless of whether they are truly related to her weight or not.
My current personal dilemma, though, is that my husband and I were discussing the situation, and he said that when he discusses her food, he's clearly telling her that he has a weight threshold, and she's approaching it. She has said that he's told her that he has no problem with her weight, and when I said that to my husband, he said, "Every guy has a weight threshold."
I refrained from asking last night if he had a weight threshold for multiple reasons. First, my weight is none of his business. I told him on our fourth date that my weight fluctuates, so if he wants me fat, he may be disappointed, and if he wants me to not get fatter, he may be disappointed there as well. That's the only time we have discussed my weight, and it was really a warning to him that it's not a topic for discussion. The thing is, I wanted to talk about it to point out that I'm 15 pounds lighter than when we got married, and at almost the same weight as when we started dating. And I realized I would be asking for approval for my weight. That is a very slippery slope. I've been to this rodeo enough to know that my weight control efforts may not remain consistent, and if he tells me that 250 or 275 or 300 is his threshold and I get up to that point, I don't want to be angry and resentful of him. And I want to believe that he'll continue to love me for me regardless of what I weigh.
In other words, this conversation is a horrible, horrible idea. He's sitting across from me in our living room, and the question -- Do you have a weight threshold? -- has been on my lips numerous times. So, I came here. And I am done spewing. Thanks for listening (or ignoring). =)
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 08-03-2014 at 01:59 PM.
So. The scale. Yeah, I saw as low as 217.6 lbs this morning. I think I about fell over. There was this moment where I saw it and my mind processed it as 227.6 lbs and then it realized it was in the teens. I officially recorded 221.6 lbs, however. This is because it was the average of the numbers I got and while I also saw a 224.0, my weight held at 221.4 lbs from last night's weigh-in through the first weigh-in this morning. I figure it's as close to true as I'm going to get so I might as well let myself have that victory. I need to hold it, or at least not go any higher, through Tuesday and I'll have maintained another 2+ lb loss.
In other news, poor Luna has some hot spots I was able to find after trimming and combing out a bunch of the tufts of fur that didn't want to come out with her shedding blade. Feeling much better about the slightly silly look around her semi-fluffy, semi-not fluffy bum now. If she wasn't looking slightly silly, I'd have no idea she was getting hot spots - probably from sweat getting caught in all that fur and bug bites on top of it. Thankfully, I do know now and while they're red, some slightly raw, none of them are infected yet so I'm going to get her some stuff to soothe the itchies until they can clear up. I also think I'm going to have to keep it on hand regularly until after summer's over and the mosquitoes start dying off to help avoid others.
Laurie: After letting myself rest last night and getting a full 8 hours of sleep, I'm feeling much more gung-ho again about walking Luna. Congrats on your numbers and sometimes we all just need to indulge a little.
Uber: I think I'm an athlete, or at least athletic, at heart but I'm not in an athlete's body yet. I can understand what you mean about not being able to really know how many calories are in something you didn't prepare yourself. As a fellow counter, it's taken me many many years to except that sometimes an estimate is as close as I'm going to get and that's okay.
Back to Laurie: First, the couple because the voice in my head wants to make observations. Either one of to things is implied by the boyfriends comments whether he even knows it or not. Either he is passive-aggressively warning her that she is approaching his weight threshold, as your husband put it. Or the comments are less directly attached to her weight and more attached to her habits. It may be that it is becoming clear to him on some level that how she is treating her body - ie eating when she has stated she's full - isn't something he's comfortable with. It speaks to a lack of control and a pattern of over-indulgence that may be a turn-off all on its own because if it is present in that aspect of her life, it may also be present in other aspects. While I don't approve of the subtle hits, I can't say that I know the man or have seen them together enough to know what the underlying issue is. All we have is what you saw last night and what she has said. As for reaching out to her to fix the problem, I fully agree with you. That has to be her decision, you can be there and be supportive, maybe make open ended invitations to do something physical together that are not directly related to the weight loss. But she must still have the desire to do it and she needs to have that desire for herself.
As for your husband that that conversation. (Deep, whistling, sucking inhale.) He's right and we all know it. And it's not just men. We all have thresholds both at the high and the low end that determines attractiveness. It's part of the human condition. We are, generally speaking, driven to find people who are within a certain range of health attractive as a means of ensuring the continuation of our species. You can't fault someone for that. At least when they're not being stupid about it. That being said, there is something that must also be attributed to the attractiveness of a person's mind and spirit. If we find someone to be attractive in those ways, we are much more likely to accept them at a weight on the outside of what our subconscious tells us is best for the species than if they were a jerk at the same weight. And different people place a different amount of weight on both of those measurements of attractiveness. Personally, I have discovered that it is the mind that I am most attracted to. I have an intellectual mind and an empathic personality. I want someone who can challenge my mind and someone who won't abuse my emotions. Ultimately, what he looks like is miniscule for me compared to how he treats others, how he treats himself, how he treats me, and how intelligent he is.
Last edited by garnetrising; 08-03-2014 at 04:08 PM.
Laurie Well, your post definitely pushed all of my buttons!
This made me really sad, "she said she was full but the crust was the best she had ever tasted, so she wanted another..."
Fat, thin, or in between, we should not have to apologize for what we're eating, or explain why we are eating. The fact that she felt she needed to explain says a lot to me.
I grew up in a household where women had to apologize and explain every single bite we ate. When I was a teenager, my mom used to tell me that if I hadn't exercised at all that I had no reason whatsoever to be hungry and that I didn't need to eat meals at all. In my house, if you were eating anything except for rabbit food, you were "being bad" and if you ate anything that was actually indulgent, like a sweet or something fried, you were "being evil."
It's really hard to judge the quality of someone else's relationship from a single remark, but I respectfully disagree with the idea that all men have a weight threshold. Sure, at the initial attraction phase, people notice how others look, but once you're in a relationship?
I weighed 150 lbs when I met DH and he weighed 165. Twenty-five years later, I've weighed anywhere between 150 and 295 and he still weighs 165. In 25 years, I can't think of a single weight-related remark that hurt my feelings.
Don't get me wrong. No one has a perfect relationship, and I know that I'm lucky that dh doesn't have a particular hang up about weight, and some people do. But for those of us who suffer from severe obesity, the holy grail of getting to a normal weight and maintaining it indefinitely may turn out to be impossible. We can do what we are doing here, and work hard on losing it, but like Laurie said, it is likely to expect that at the very best,we'll be up and down. It seems like a real red flag to me that he is making that kind of comment. I don't hear it as worrying about her weight, I read it as being controlling.
As for you and your hubby, you were probably wise to keep your mouth shut. I agree that you really don't need to know what he would say.
As for your friend, I think you should leave her alone. When I got really thin back in 2009-2011 I had a dear friend who had always been very thin but had a lot of stress with financial problems and mental illness in the family and she gained a lot of weight. I could not help but notice that her husband was suddenly a lot more interested in and attentive to me than he had been when I was fat. Not really flirting with me, just friendlier and more interested in me as a person. I had already lost 110 lbs when she said she was inspired by me and she embarked on a weight loss plan of her own. I didn't see her for 2 years. By then, she had lost all of her excess weight and had gotten super thin, and I had gained back about 2/3 of my original loss. It was awkward, to say the least. I was afraid she was going to say something, but she didn't. Let's face it, nothing that anyone says can make a difference. Something has to click in our own minds. The only thing you could do, maybe, if you feel comfortable, is gently call her on it if she apologizes for eating in your presence, again.
As we all know, being fat doesn't magically make you not get hungry. And being fat doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to eat however much pizza you want without apologizing!
I think the thing that bothers me most about her explanation of why she was eating it though is connected to the comment made earlier this week - I think by you! - about hunger vs craving. I think the fact that she decided to eat another piece right than, rather than say taking the leftovers and enjoying it at another time, says something to her psyche. I'd say the same thing if it was a thin person doing it. That may be a reflection on my not understanding, the number of times I've had no appetite to the point that just thinking about eating something made my stomach upset, or some sort of equivalent to an inner food editor. I've been up and down so much in my life that in a situation like that, I would have asked myself: am I still hungry? If not, then why am I eating? I understand when something is delicious there is some sort of desire to keep eating it, but if you're full, is it worth the risk of over-stuffing your stomach and then feeling miserable because you've eaten too much. I've had to do that a few times since I made lemon crisp cookies the other day. I love just about anything lemon so I've stopped and stared at them a few times. If I'm not hungry, then I tell myself to walk away, they'll still be there when I am and then I can have one or two. It's been working well.
Also, I was plugging various goals into the Weight Grapher website. I'll likely be at 215 lbs by the end of the month - which I already figured - but if I keep my current rate, I could also be at 199 by the middle of October. I don't know how I feel about this. LOL
Last edited by garnetrising; 08-03-2014 at 06:18 PM.
Hi all!
Well, that was quite a day yesterday with new workouts. I decided to try some running on the treadmill rather than going to another spin class. I had talked to my husband about it and he thought that it might be good to add something else to the mix, and with running/walking being a little more impact to my feet and legs, it might be a good thing to add to start preparing for not only the 5K, but we also go elk/deer hunting in October, so lots of walking. So I was on the treadmill for about 40 minutes and I did some running, some walking. I have a lot to work on for stamina with running, but it seemed to go really well and I was very sweaty (just like spin, so I'm thinking it was a good workout). After that, I took about a 10 minute break and then went to Body Flow (the yoga/pilates/tai chi class). It was very challenging, but I thoroughly enjoyed it for how different it is from every thing else I do. Amazing workout and I was sweating after it, too. So all is good. Then I went on with the rest of my day. By night time, I was feeling really stiff and sore. This morning, I got up very stiff. But that's ok, because what it tells me is that I need to keep these workouts in my week.
I decided I needed to workout some of the stiffness, so I mowed the lawn (my son usually does it). I feel better now. We'll see how spin class goes tomorrow! I'm hoping the scale is good to me, too!!
Martini: I'm not sure how my workouts will progress now. I have enjoyed going to my classes M-F, alternating Spin and Body pump. But I do feel like I'm going to need to find some time to run/walk other than just Saturday. Not sure what I'll do with that. And, I wouldn't mind adding another Body Flow class during the week, so I'm going to check the schedule and see what they have right after I get off work. I don't really want to go overboard, but on the other hand, my kids are college age and can take care of stuff for themselves now. And, I have made a commitment to put in a big effort to get this weight off and get to feeling more fit and healthy. So... work in progress. For you, I would just start slow, ease into it, with whatever sounds like fun to you!
Mandy: Just hoping that everything goes well for you today!!!
Garnet: Yep, rest days are a good thing. Your body was definitely telling you to knock it off!
LaurieDawn: First of all, yep... I agree. Running seems to have such an important place when it comes to exercise options. I can't say I like it, but I also agree that when I was running at one time, I really looked so much better. As for the discussion and your friend... that's a tough call. I don't think you can say anything to your friend unless she was to bring it up. She has to want your advice, or it will fall on deaf ears. As for your husband, I think that going down that road would not lead to peace of mind. It kind of is a no win conversation to have. But, if it continues to bother you, you might have to break down and have the conversation.
Uber: Oh boy, a high school graduation goal! Awesome! My son just graduated in May, so I get it! Exciting stuff and you want to be able to enjoy it.
Indeed it was, Diane. I went out today and got in all the laps that I ended up missing yesterday. I also think I've figured out the best way for me to go about improving my running. One thing I know for sure is that I want to improve both my speed and my stamina as I go along. I know that means it will likely take a little longer for me to get to a point where I can run a full mile, but I'd rather take a little extra time than to be able to run a mile but have it take longer than my mind thinks it should and end up feeling depressed. Additionally, I think it's the safest thing for me. I've noticed that my body seems to have a certain speed it wants to run at. That'd be great if it wasn't so damn fast compared to my fitness level, especially given that I'm running cross-country rather than on flat ground. So in order to work on pacing and slowly increasing my ability rather than completely wearing myself out again, I'm going to try and alternate days that I run and work on increasing the distance I can run each lap.
I, like you, know this running thing is going to take a while. I've got a long way to go. But I know it is also going to be oh so very worth it. I do have a joy in it, though. I like to think it's in my blood, lol. My sister ran track, my brother ran cross-country, I have the drive to run. Maybe it's the Indian in us. :P I'm so happy you're having as great a time with your workouts as I am with mine and I hope you find a way to squeeze in some more running and another Body Flow class if you can.
Do you ever get the feeling that when you eat more than you want it's just plain dumb?
Tonight, I made pasta with homemade tomato sauce, yum. We are up to our ears in zucchini right now, and I had recently seen a recipe for baked zucchini fritters-- they were supposedly just like fried zucchini fritters only healthier. So, I make the baked ones, and then I realize that I still have extra ingredients and way too much zucchini-- so I decide to fry some. In my mind, I'm frying them "for everyone else." Here's the problem. I just like fried things way too much, so there I am at the stove popping them into my mouth. Now, here's the pathetic thing-- they didn't turn out very well, and so nobody really ate them, and yet I manage to eat way too many, even though frankly, they really weren't very good-- not the fried ones or the baked ones.
I know it sounds silly, but this is a problem that I have sometimes. Instead of taking the calories and spending them on something I would really like, I overeat something that isn't that good, but doesn't seem that bad-- like zucchini fritters.
Luckily the rest of the day was good, and not very tasty fried zucchini can only do so much damage. Crossing that recipe off my list permanently!
I've had that situation come up a lot in my life. I'm thankful that it doesn't happen near as much now as it has when I'm letting my depression take control. That being said I have this huge hankering lately for vegetables. All the vegetables. I tried really hard this weekend to not eat both of the squash that were left in the fridge. I picked up a thing of mushrooms Thursday night and they were gone after breakfast this morning. I was the only one who ate them and I was popping those suckers raw. If I'd thought about it, I would have looked to see if we still had onions... I should have! I'm out of my mixed greens and if we'd had any tomatoes (yes, I know they're a fruit) I'd have eaten all of those, too. I probably could have polished off berries if we'd had them. Or oranges. Peaches... Okay, so maybe this isn't just a vegetable problem. It's not really a problem, but it was so bad I seriously debated opening a can of green beans and eating the whole thing. If they'd been fresh, I would have eaten them, but the sodium in a can of green beans is just outrageous and I wanted them roasted, not well, canned.
Mandy - We are anxiously awaiting to hear your news. If it's good news (which is by far the most likely scenario), we want to celebrate with you. If it's not good news, we want to commiserate and support you.
Uber - Yes! I absolutely agree with you. Fat women have the right to eat. Good choices. Bad choices. None of them are anyone's business. I also hate how my size zero friend declares loudly that she loves to eat and eats so much (which is a complete lie, BTW), but normal or plus-size people aren't supposed to eat at all. How Joey on Friends was glorified for his gluttony, but fat Monica was completely ridiculed. It's a button-pusher for me too.
Sorry you wasted your calories on sucky zucchini. I have done that way too many times. Glad they didn't derail your calories for the day. But if you have way too much zucchini, you might consider just eating it raw. ;-)
Have a great vacation!
Martini - Exciting that you're returning! Can't wait until you get your scale back and can use that as a tool (assuming that's what you continue to want to do). And I love the way you phrase things. "I could have better used my time trying to squeeze blood from a rock." But I hear that some men choose fat women as partners, get them "trapped," then try to make them over.
Jessica - The whole "attractiveness" issue is one I've considered a lot. I actually don't believe the whole "you're physically attracted to some people, but not others" myth, at least not the way it's presented in our culture today. We are told by the media what we should look like, and then in turn, we are told what we should find attractive. Body hair was in, now it's out, but it appears to be coming back in. My husband has tons of coarse, unattractive hair all over his body (except his head ;-) ). It shocked me at first. Now I don't even notice it, even when I am touching it. He also has muscular shoulders and arms and back and carries most of his excess weight in his stomach. When all is right with us, I stare at his biceps or broad shoulders or muscular calves with lust in my heart. When things are off, he is far less attractive to me. When things got really bad and I was stuck in my depression, I looked at his gut and it repulsed me, and I found myself shocked by that.
It's no accident that painters of a certain period virtually all idealized fat (Rubenesque) women. Is that because there was a biological imperative at that time pushing their "attraction" to fat women? Or was it driven by media and culture, just like it is now? Why do men seem to fairly universally be okay with having sex with fat women, but are more reluctant to date them?
Okay. It's not like I believe that there's no "attracted to" aspect of this. I just think that, too often, people pick out partners for the way that partner makes them look to friends, and then blame the "attractiveness" myth.
Too ranty. Sorry. Super excited at the prospect of you being halfway through the 2-teens at the end of the month and Onederland by October. You are killing this thing!
Diane - Speaking of "killing" it - WOW! You are so rocking the gym. Body Flow after 40 minutes on the treadmill is hard-core. And I love that you're incorporating a mix into your routine. I don't know how much the Body Flow class burns calories (though it may burn tons), but when I did yoga, I just accepted the fact that I wasn't going to burn very many because of the class I chose. I just loved focusing on my body and the calming aspects of it. It was lovely. And you're totally going to rock that 5K (or maybe 10K) next summer!
222.4. For some reason, I don't really feel like it's "real weight loss" until I get below that 220 mark. I have seen that number way too often, and it almost inevitably means that I will be going back on the upswing. Not this time, though. I will conquer it! Also, only 3 pounds remaining on my Trainer Boy challenge. I may yet blow that boy's hair back when I do my check-in, and he has to admit that, while I may not always have great form on all of my lifts, I know enough about losing weight and hitting the gym to get good results. And I love that he's also going to be able to measure muscle. I am losing fast enough that I am almost certainly losing some muscle mass too, but I am hitting the weights hard enough that I am hopeful that I am preserving more than would be typical for this loss rate.
I sincerely hope that this is my last "I'm back" post!
I recognize many of the names in this group - Laurie Dawn, Ubergirl, Sandy and others. I joined this community years ago or so and it's been very helpful. At some point in the past few months I hit a new high weight. About 15 years ago I lost over 100 pounds, put it all back on over the past few years and now this summer I have a new urgency to get this done. It might not be fast or pretty, but it must be done. I'm 43 and I know the odds are stacked against me. But, I don't care. I have dug my heels in now. One bad choice simple means that. It doesn't mean a day full of bad choices. Or waiting until next Monday to have a good start. In my 30's being obese wasn't that hard, I was still pretty active and healthy, hiking, doing whatever I wanted... I hit 40 and boy, that changed. My back hurts, my feet hurt, I have low energy, I have gotten "soft". My husband is quite healthy, goes to the gym everyday and is totally supportive of me - he's seen me at 160 and at over 300 and has never once hurt my feelings about it. But he knows it is a burden, and that I am weak around certain foods, so it is really nice that he isn't bringing crap into the house. I have two girls, ages 9 & 10. Which brings me to a serious point. We are taking them to Disney World in November and there is no way at this point that I can walk around for 4 days straight. I'd love to be below 250 by then.
Looking forward to being a contributing member here again!
-Nora
Hi All! Well, I seem to be starting with a good relationship with this new scale! I am down 3.4 from last week, so I’m pretty happy today. I had gone up a little last week because I had been at my parents’ house, but that came off plus a little more. I had a pretty active weekend, so that probably contributed to it, too. Feeling happy!
I had an interesting conversation with my husband this weekend. It kind of relates to the discussion of having a weight threshold, so thought I’d share. We’ve been married a really long time, 27 years, and we’ve been through a lot over the years. Lots of good times, but there were also some not so good times. Prior to this year, looking back a few years, our intimacy had somewhat cooled. I just felt that he didn’t find me attractive since I was so overweight. He never said anything about it, but I just knew in my heart that all he saw was fat, because that’s pretty much all I saw. Anyway, fast forward to this weekend… I had warned him that I had something to discuss and I didn’t know how he would feel about it. Then I told him that I thought we should ramp things up a little bit and asked how he would feel about that. After he got past the deer in the headlights look, he said that he was just really glad that I was so interested. He felt like over the past years, intimacy was the last thing on my mind. He said that he realizes that I have lost a lot of weight, but more important than that was that my attitude about everything has improved. He could tell I am excited about workouts, that I have more energy and my interest in doing things in general has improved. It really brought it home that while I thought he was the issue, it was more about how I felt about myself and what I projected onto him. So, does that mean he has a weight threshold? I don’t know. But evidently, I am the one with the weight threshold… and I have been way over whatever number that is that causes me to lose my confidence and my self-esteem! Gosh…. I learned something about myself.
LaurieDawn: Thanks for the support on the gym work! Oh, and on the Body Flow class, I agree... it does not burn a lot of calories, but I like the flexibility work and the strength work. I found that the only other class during the week is at 6:40 pm on Wednesday. Hmm. That's not really convenient, but I'll have to see what I can do. Also, YOU are so close to that 220 mark! Nice!!
Martini: Good luck with traveling, that's always a special challenge!!
Garnet: Good for you with the extra work today! We'll just have to be patient with our running and just build up to that better level. I'm pretty excited about it. I went to spin this morning and it was a great workout, but I'm looking for a time to put in a little more running, before Saturday.
Uber: Love fried stuff! So, yep, I've been there! I think that if you can work it into your calorie goal, that it should be ok to have it occasionally. With the zucchini, I have some that I want to try roasting. I've never done that, and I'm thinking it would be good. I normally pan fry it!
Wow!!! I didn't realize how active this was on the weekends I don't know if I can catch up with you all LOL.....
I am taking a little break from the scales. I had my cheat meal last night and well I didn't like what I saw this morning so I will weigh in Wednesday. I am just tired of feeling like I need to weigh in at morning and at night....uggggg need a break! I went to the river again and am so sore...I love the water.
Good job everyone on your accomplishments. I did read through everything....I love the support in this group you all truly do rock!!!
It's been working well.
