Is everyone on a different school schedule than me? I don't have finals until the end of April/Early May. I really like being able to look at everyone's pictures and charts and sites and everything. I want to do one of my own, but I have to lose some weight first. I guess I'm down 30 from when I graduated high school in '98. The sad part is that I was down 60 pounds up until 6 months ago. I have pictures of me last summer in a swimsuit and I don't hate how I look. Now, I'm scared to even try on my swimsuit. :(

I have a box of "skinny jeans" in my closet that I fear I'll never wear again. I just have lost that spark that kept me going for the first 2-3 weeks of my dieting attempt. I'm back to eating bad and not getting off my butt. I wish I had someone that has the same schedule as me to come and drag me out of my home and take me to the gym. My boyfriend was great at it until we both switched jobs. I suppose, I should quit whining and just do something about it. I should do a video before I start in on work again.

Thanks for letting me vent. I'm not always this mopey, I'm usually kind of fun. Maybe if I work out for an hour and come back, I'll be giddy and positive. :p

Meredith - I too have a perpetual stash of "skinny jeans" in my closet. And I remember feeling the same way you do now - will I ever fit into those again? But you know what? I fit into all of those jeans now - and half of them are too big to wear outside the house. You WILL get into those jeans and out of them, too, if that's what you want! I even just went shopping 3 weeks ago to get new jeans and the ones I bought are already a bit loose!

As far a college schedules go, I know both Jamie & I are on the quarter system - you must be on a semester system. My friend in Cali is on a semester system and she just started up and will finish in May too. I prefer our system for the most part.

Maybe you could try to find a buddy on this site that can help motivate you as a one-on-one buddy, even if they can't drag you to gym physically? Don't get too down on yourself, remember that you've lost 32 - 32! - lbs.! You're more than halfway there! And if you get there this time, just promise yourself that you'll maintain it and you won't ever have to feel like a failure for losing lbs. that you've lost and gained time after time.

As far as photos go - I finally saw a picture of me last August. Oh my god! I had already lost about 10 lbs. then but I look so flippin' chubby (sorry, fat is just an ugly word, and I won't do it!). I think it made me see that I really HAVE lost a lot of weight! I just need to get a new photo taken soon so that I can see what I look like a bit more objectively! I WILL post them as well! Obviously, I'm stilll overweight (actually, moderately obese still, but not for long) but I feel NORMAL now, well, everywhere except for campus where normal is a size 4, not 16. I don't feel like the lone chubby chick anymore! It really boosts my confidence.

Thank you Jenicra! I just finished a one hour ballet workout and I feel great. I always do when I exercise, but for some reason its so hard to get going. I know I'll make my goal, I just need to set a realistic time frame. Most of the time when I needed to lose weight, I did it the unhealthiest way possible and I always got quick results, but looked like ****. This time, I'm eating right and exercising and its a lot slower of a process. At least I look healthy, I have color in my face, I'm not exhausted, over-stressed and I'm not hurting my body. That alone should be enough to make me feel good about myself. I just get down on myself and I know the one thing that can get me out of a rut is just tackling a workout. Now, if I could remind myself that everyday, I'd be losing and happy.

Meredith...you are doing great! You have started about where I am right now and I would be so happy to be down to 153 right now! You have done a great job of taking the weight off! Keep yourself up and remember that you have come this far, and you have just a short way to go :-) You are healthy and I am sure you look fabulous!

As for the "skinny jeans" I too have them and I can't wait to fit into them!! :-) I will get there too! I understand the rut...I am have been doing this for 3 months now and have only lost 2lbs but 4 inches. I am pushing myself to work out and lose that way as well, I have done the route of diet pills, I will lose weight quick, but it doens't feel good nor does the weight stay off... this way will work!!

Good Job!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! I guess perhaps I'm more into the spirit of minor holidays because I teach preschool, and we find a way to celebrate EVERYTHING. (-; Today is ALL green at school!
Anyway, I hope you all are having a great week--I sure am! Ladies, those "skinny jeans" will be yours!!! One day, we'll all get there. I don't even *have* any skinny jeans anymore, because it'd been so long since I'd last lost weight & been smaller. I guess I'll just be forced to buy new ones! In about 20 more pounds, that's what I'll be doing.
Well, off to get ready for work....hope you all have a great day! (-; Keep smilin'.

Jen: those -20 lbs. jeans won't be skinny jeans - they'll be YOUR jeans until you wear them out - or have a big, bulging belly for a completely different reason! ;)
Happy St. Paddy's Day everybody! Gosh - do I own ANY green clothing? Hah - my Nalgene water bottle is green and I take that with me EVERYWHERE - does that count? Weigh in was good this morning, but still showed me a 2--! So close! Oh well, I'll be past that evil little 199 next Wednesday, and we still have two more weeks 'til April 1.

You don't have to be Irish or a preschool teacher to celebrate today! I have a busy day today. Just thought I would pop in to say hi! Have a great day.

I forgot that we have a parade today! I get to watch it from my living room since I live downtown. I'm so excited! I feel like a little kid. Except for the fact that the parade ends at the bar accross the street and I get to drink green beer. :D

You've got to love small town parades. The entire town shuts down for stuff like this. Its funny living in a town that is a capitol since half of the work force is state workers and they take any excuse to call it an early day. :lol:

i wore green today! green is my favorite color so i really like to deck out. :)

got the new car yesterday! it's a 99 saturn wagon with only 22k miles on it! amazing!

AND i lost 1 more this week. only 2 more to get back to virgin pounds! :lol:

Jenicra, thanks for your sweet words re: "skinny jeans"--you're right, those suckers'll be MINE!!! (-; It's going to be a thrill, for sure!
Holly, CONGRATS on the car, and on your 1-lb. loss! That's great news!
I weigh-in Saturday, and am not sure what to expect (especially since I skipped weighing last week)....but whatever the result, I'm not worried, because I've got a renewed sense of focus & drive to work hard the next few months and GET TO GOAL already! It is SO within reach--I just need to continue to keep my focus where it needs to be (on God) so I can get there! It will be wonderful to be there by sometime in early summer. (-;
I hope ya'll have a GREAT Friday & a fun weekend too!

i went to my 3rd OA meeting tonight, and it was much, much better than the other two. i really enjoyed listening and i even spoke up. i know it's not making earth shattering changes in me quite yet, but i'm going to keep going.

Holly, OA sounds like just the right thing for you right now. I hope it gets better & better! You'll have to keep us updated. Also, I just now read your diaryland journal entries & enjoyed all your insights of the past month or so. (-; I hadn't looked at yours in awhile!
Fun news--DH & I finally picked our digital camera & have been enjoying learning how to use it. It's a Olympus C-740 & is pretty easy to use! So soon I will be posting PHOTOS for the first time--very exciting! I've not gotten to do that yet.
I hope ya'll are having a great weekend--the weather is SO gorgeous here in SC.

jen - ooh, yay, i love pictures!

so i had a bad eating day yesterday. basically, chinese food at lunchtime and i went a little overboard, which could have been saved if i didn't go overboard at a party last night. argh. but today will be a low calorie day and a hard workout for good measure.

the count restarts. today is day 1.

I'm with you Holly - back to Day 1 - but this time you're one day ahead of me!