Hey girls! Glad to hear everyone is doing alright. I'm also glad you joined in Slinko.
I'm sorry to say I had a relapse a couple of days ago. It was my birthday and everyone decided to bake me cookies and casseroles so I wouldn't have to cook for a day or two. The thought was nice, but it blew my dieting and calorie watching. It's much easier to watch what you eat when you don't keep too much temptation in the house. Anyway, how's everyone else doing? Any more weight lost?

hey all

i know i've been missing in action... but had to go home and visit with the parents... yay me (slight sarcasm)... well went to the doc back home and was weighed.. and houston we have a problem... i am the largest.. or the heaviest i have ever been,,, and considering that i know i've lost some weight sinse christmas im scerrrrrrrrrrred!!! the weight is really starting to hold meback.. i am really starting to feel it.. so im not happy.. im 22 and feel like im 62!! so my doc prescribed some pills for me... to help me lose weight.. with the help of a proper diet.. but im depressed.. and i was feeling all proud of myself for little changes.. and now i feel all ... not proud...

well... best wishes to all those in this battle against the bulge... and congrats to all those doing well.

catch you all on the flip side!! im outie

Hey girls,

I've been doing really well. I have been strict with myself about eating and exercising. Last night all I wanted to do was go to bed, but I forced myself to go to the wellness center and once there it was great. If only my scale would start to move!!

PrincessPhoebe, I completely understand how you feel. When I first started this I didn't weigh myself for 2 weeks. I knew I lost weight in those weeks and when I finally weighed myself it said 250!! I was in shock. I never thought I actually weighed that much. But just keep telling yourself you CAN and WILL do this. It will take time so as hard as it is don't lose sight and don't get impatient. What helps me is to think it small weight loss goals of 10 pounds. I know when I started I thought "oh my god, I have close to 100 pounds to lose!!" Yes, I still have 50 pounds to my goal, but by thinking in smaller 10 pound increments you will get there. So please don't get discouraged. Let's help each other stay motivated and know we can get there.

Pixies, don't worry about a small relapse. Look at how far you've come. You are making better choices and that is what is important.

Slinko, tell me what you think of the Self challenge. I think it is great and really helps me keep myself accoutable.

twitchycat, I hear ya on the chocolate. I could give up anything else but that!! Way to go on staying away from it!!

keep going strong guys.

love and luck,
gina

250/210/160

I'm not sure if I submitting this correctly so please bear with my green self. Just wanted to introduce myself since I'm new to the group. I'm 28, unmarried-but my boyfriend and I live together in Chicago. I've been working out seriously for the past two years but it's as you all know a slow process. My problem started when I went off to college and lived in the dorms, the buffet style eating was my downfall. I continued to have problems with portion size and of course I wasn't exercising with any regularity so I continued to gain weight throughout college. When I graduated and went on to graduate school I met my boyfriend who was this big track star and in awesome physical shape. My size was never a problem until he started thinking about getting married. When we moved to Chicago the land of the beautiful people, it got worse. So I dedicated myself to looking better and started working out for him and for myself. Now I enjoy it so much I do it all for me. But I keep reaching plateaus as far as weight loss goes and I need encouragement to keep me going. I'm thinking this forum might be the answer. Thanks for listening.

hey gurls.. thanks for the support.

i came up with a 2 year plan.. i would like to be at my ideal weight by then.. give or take oh 50 lbs... i know its going to be a slow process.. i would rather opt for some magic potion that will do the work for me.. but that doesn't exist so... i guess the slow healthy way is the "weigh" to go... ha ha i kill me... i was thinking of trying yoga amongst other things... i mean... i don't know how benificial it will be.. but i figure any movement is better than no movement right.

well all my love and support to u girls..!!! and boys if your out there!

me

I joined the Self Challenge right before I stumbled upon this web site. I've already started a daily log of my meal intake. I feel liberated, I always like starting new things, like chatting with all of you. I also found a new fat free snack while grocery shopping, jolly rancher jellybeans, they're great. Keep smiling everybody!
Peace and life, chubs2

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone is having a great day. I am off to the gym in about 30 minutes. I am in a great mood as the sun is shining!! It has been a long winter. Just think in one week I will be in Sunny California.

Chubs2 ......glad you joined us. I too have been struck by the big plateau. I haven't lost any weight since November. If I do it is a few here that I gain back. UGH!! So I am really hoping the Self Challenge gets me off this plateau. It seems no matter how hard I work I don't get anywhere. I basically had decided to do something similar to the Self Challenge even before I received the magazine. It should help keep me in check. I have started to notice a few new muscles!! And you will find tons of support on this board. We can do this together. Oh.......I have a candy dish full of those jelly beans right now. Aren't they great!! Very flavorful.

Princess Phoebe, I think your goal is very reasonable. How much weight do you want to lose and how much have you lost so far?? I have lost weight SOOOOOO MANY times in the past but always so quickly it came back. So I am a firm believer the slower the better. Or more permanent anyway. I want to be at my goal weight by next summer. I think that is reasonable. Oh...I love your quote at the end!!

Well, keep going strong girls. We can do this together.

thanx i like the quote too... which is probably why i chose it... anyway.. wll sinse christmas i'd say i lost about 10 - 15 lbs.... mostly... clotrhes fit better and.. are not as tight.. and all my underwear got to big (sorry had to share) (they keep falling off...) which i am going to take as a good sign.
well.. i am 5'0 if that... and i weigh... gulp... 252 lbs... which lets face it.. thats pretty darn traumatizing!!! so i definietley want to lose about a hundred lbs... i mean a 150 at 5'0.. still leaves u with some meat on your bones.. and thats ok by me!
so that is my goal. what scares me.. is that i was at 260.... which is a little too close to 300 lbs for me.i mean. for my hieght... im nearly what 3 people weigh... talk about drama!!

thanks for all ur support people!
keep posting!!!

Hi all! I used to come to this site about 2 years ago when I was in the middle of losing my weight. I lost about 50 pounds altogether and went from a size 16 down to a 6/8 and kept it off for 1 yr+. I even ran the Chicago Marathon this past October (awesome experience!). However, while I was training I began to think I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight - WRONG! It started creeping back up on me until I was back in a size 10 right after the marathon.

In December I had to have jaw surgery (not for weight reasons but for ortho) and I was on a liquid diet for 6 weeks - easiest way in the world to drop back down to a size 6! It felt great, my clothes were hanging perfectly - but of course I didn't keep it off, and I'm gaining again. I work two jobs (trying to move out of financial planning to become a high school teacher!) so I am using the stress and lack of time/sleep as an excuse to eat fast food and not exercise. Gaining weight is the WORST feeling in the world, I feel so out of control. I need to get off my a** and start doing something so I'm here again.

All I want to do is lose about 15 pounds and KEEP it off this time - and start getting myself back into shape again. I used to run a good 20 miles per week and do Taebo, but lately I have been a MAJOR slacker. Even just 3 workouts a week would be something, right? What do you all do for exercise?

Thanks for letting me vent- oh and by the way I am 24 and single!

Krista
200/158/140 (5'9")

Well, the exercise thing has been getting better, but as soon as I start reigning that in my eating habits get off track! ARGH!! I did advanced Tae-Bo (the slow, keep-going-but-cant-keep-up version) this weekend, and got in a basic Tae-bo workout before work a few days ago. I haven't had much food in the house though so I haven't been able to be very choosey about what I've been eating, just making the best of it. But I got paid today, so that means groceries!! Yay!!! After a gain of about 5 pounds (from not doing anything most of February) I've taken 2 back off, so I guess I'm back on the right track for now!!

Hello all i'm Brandy and i'm married & 26 i hope you all don't mind me posting i weigh 182 and want to get down to 130 or a size 10 i'm a size 20 now which stinks lol. Anyways Please help me = ) i know i can do this but a little motivation goes a long way for me. I do Karate now 2 times a week i just started so i think after a few weeks i will be losing some of this weight what do you all think?

Hi girls,

Hope everyone's day is going well. I did really good yesterday ......that is until last night and my husband decides we need to go to a high school basketball game 2 hours away. The game was fun but that meant we ate dinner at 10:00!! So this morning I woke up starving. That always happens to me when I eat late the night before.

Wishmeluck (Brandy) I think you have made a wonderful first step by taking on a new sport which it sounds like you enjoy. Definately if you eat well you will start shedding pounds, but don't forget the water also. Water is so important. I'm glad you joined us!!

Krista, big congrats on the weight you have lost!! I would love to run a marathon someday. If you've been to this site before you know how great it is for support! I tend to do the same thing as you when I get stressed out with school, make excuses for eating terribly. But it sounds like you know what you have to do just need to do it and we will help you all we can!!

Twitchycat, I would love to do Tae Bo cause I have heard it is an awesome workout, but I am not sure I can handle it. Is it hard??

PrincessPhoebe, Congrats on the weight lost to date since Christmas. That is no small feat so you are well on your way!! I remember the day I stepped on the scale and it said 250. I could see the end of the scale and thought , is that what is in my future? Getting too big to even weigh myself. I didn't want that , and made a lifestyle change forever.

Well take care guys, let's keep this going strong and help each other through this!!

love and luck,
gina

250/210/160

Thanks for the encouragement Gina. Of course as I write this I just finished up a very unhealthy snack of a cookie and some goldfish crackers - I wasn't even hungry but I am running on 3 hours sleep and the cafeteria at work burned the coffee so of course I convinced myself that I needed some brain food to make it through 4 more hours of work! I have an excuse for everything. But I did have a salad for lunch so at least I got some veggies in.

I don't know about twitchycat but I LOVE taebo. Nothing makes me sweat as much, not even all my training for the marathon. It is hard at first, but if you start out with the basic version and are good about it, in a month or two you will be ready for the advanced which kicks serious butt. If only I could drag myself out to do it - I live upstairs in an apartment so I usually go to grandma's house to do it so I don't end up stomping on my downstairs neighbors' ceiling!

My goal for tomorrow is to do taebo. My goal for the rest of the day is to drink more water - think I will run out in the beautiful sunshine to my car to get my water bottle right now! Stay strong

Hi everyone!
I'm new to this place, was just cruising the net looking for a little support.
Just decided today that I am definitely going to start losing all the pounds I've put on.
I'm 29, married for 7 years, mom to two boys 6 and 3. I've been carrying around 25 lbs. of extra weight since my last son was born. Kept telling myself it was just extra baby fat...that excuse gets a little old after 3 years! It's just plain old FAT!
So starting now, I have a lot of bad habits to break.
Fast food with the kids a couple times a week, a bag of chips and a coke every night...that sort of stuff.
And I never exercise! Not that I don't like it, I'm just not sure where to fit it in my schedule. My husband works opposite hours from me, so when I get home from an 11 hour shift, he's off to work, and I've got the boys. What do I do when I have them? I'm totally broke these days, so going to a gym is out of the question.
What can I do to get going?
Went and bought veggies to snack on tonight instead of my regular chips.
Help!

Well it looks like you are getting there at least half way hey look what you bought to eat for tonight veggies instead of greasy chips lol. Also you can exercise at home with your boys there are alot of exercises that they can do with you and they can help you with. My brother uses my youngest as a weight sometimes and curls him lol. It's pretty funny and they both benefit from it they get to spend time together and my brothers arms get stronger and my son laughs about it. But anyways you can do like leg lifts with your youngest or something. I hope i helped out at least a little bit = ) sorry if i didn't talk to you later Brandy