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Hello all!

I went to the gym and worked out for 30 minutes. TOM is being a pita, but I went anyway. I exercised my sore pitiful quads and stretched.

Xena, wow, you make me tired just reading what you have to do! I know I have a ton of laundry to do today. That's about all that I'm going to do.

gggirls and Kamryn!!

Oh Story, I hope your back gets better soon. I know what it feels like to lose an entire weekend because of that pain. Yay for the scale loss!!

Debbie, just count the minutes you exercise, so all exercise counts (like yard work time, etc). When you reach 34hr and 28 min, you'll be in Mexico!! I didn't do much today because of TOM, but I managed to get out to the gym. Oh, happy anniv to your parents! Mine hit 50 a couple of years ago.. we had a big party. I swear, it was like planning a wedding. Send some of that rain EAST!

TTFU, stop lurking and tell us what's happening! Sorry your knee is bothering you.

Ulovlee, congrats on your loss!! W00H00 on the DDR. I have it for xbox. It's a hoot to do it with my little sister. I am bringing to our little family reunion over Tday in Nov (we go to the beach).

Donna, ut oh about Colton teething. My mom says my sister's kids are exhausting. I only have furkids.. hehe.

Sandy, I hope you are feeling better. I hate feeling cruddy. It's TOM's fault this time!! I think I'll take a nap today (since I'm off work today).

Heather, take time for you!! I see your view on food very similar to mine. It's a constant vigilance. My eating habits aren't just "habits", they are so ingrained into who I am that I have to constantly be aware of what I'm eating.

Hugs and Luv to all! Stop lurking and post! hehe

Luv,
Rat

Sorry I have been such a stranger. I am not sure what is going on with me, but I have been feeling very hermit-like recently.

I did want to share a little story concerning the whole people noticing thing. On Saturday I went to dim sum with my ex (he came over to help me with a wiring problem in my place). It was the place we had been going to for years, and so I know several of the wait staff. One of the women came up to me and mentioned that she could tell I had lost weight and wanted to know how much – like 20 pounds? When I told her yes I have lost, but no, it was closer to 100 pounds she kind of glazed over. She just couldn’t compute that someone could lose that amount of weight. She probably only weighs about 100 pounds herself, so it is little wonder. She then got kind of embarrassed and quickly left. I think this is a big part of why people don’t mention noticing our weight loss. Even if they do notice, they may not have any grasp on what they have noticed and are embarrassed by the possibility of saying something wrong.

One of the bonuses of my ex coming over was asking him to look at my scale since it hasn’t been working. It turns out that I bought the wrong size 3V battery, so hopefully if I go get the right one it will be ok. Why it needs both a 3V and a 9V I have no idea.

Confession time. I didn’t exercise at all this weekend. I was totally lazy. I am so tired of starting over and starting over. I wish I could get back on the wagon and stay there. At least I knew myself well enough not to let myself go shopping last night. I could tell if I went out I would buy something I would regret, so I postponed my grocery shopping until tonight.

I am at a mental roadblock and I feel rather stuck. I don’t even know what the block is at this point. I just know that I keep hitting up against something and being knocked backwards onto my butt. I need to spend some more time trying to find out what is going on. I hate being stuck here. It is especially tough because a few weeks ago I really felt like I was back on track and I was for just a little while, but it didn’t last long. Argh! I am feeling very frustrated.

Hugs to you Nancy! I got the SAME reaction when a co-worker at my other job asked how much weight I'd lost. He didn't guess, but at the time I was 70lbs down. I swear, his eyes bugged out and he just said WOW and keep up the good work. Normal sized people have no clue all around about the poundage we have carried and lost.

I hit that wall periodically as well. It hurts!! I don't want to exercise, don't wanna do anything and just wanna be a slug. Right now, my anti-slug remedy is to get on this website and read the motivational stuff in the exercise thread, and look at the people who have reached goal. I also like to go to other people's weight loss sites and see their success. Believe it or not, The Biggest Loser has some motivational stuff for me on it. Dang it, this mental aspect of weight loss drives me nuts! hehehe

It's hard to be UP all the time mentally in this journey. I just get so scared when I'm down that I'll stay that way because I have stayed down so long in the past. It's a scary place for me to be. Seems there's a lot of fear for me in this journey, huh? A good friend of mine said to me "Fear knocked, faith answered, and nothing was there". Since I seem to lack faith in myself, I have put it in you guys as a whole. I see you all fall and get up, dust off and keep going. THAT motivates me.

Again, hugs to you Nancy.

Luv,
Ratkity

I am so excited to be here! I am still trying to catch up on everbody's back story. But thanks for the welcome

Rat & Nancy, I lost 50lbs and then hurt my foot and gained it back....but in all honesty it was because I felt 50lbs lighter that I was walking around naked for all to see. People notice my weight loss and I am instantly uncomfortable. I dont get it......what's up w/that?!
(this is were i lay on the couch and wait for fixing )

I am trying to go at it this time w/the attitude that I will be uncomfortable but I will be brave and deal with being uncomfortable. It is okay to not want to talk numbers with people...I dont have a solution but i definately need to have some options so when it happens i wont be scared into a bag of cheetohs

Do you all want the secret? It's a three letter word... FLU!!

I feel horrible, but weight seems to be comes off. No energy, very nauseous, and honestly, I hope that this weight loss stops, because it's GROSS.

No exercise for me, as I am not even getting my butt out of bed to go to work.

Angie

ut oh Angie!! Just remember, FLUids (note the first few letters of that word is Flu.. hehe). Ok, you don't have to laugh if you are feeling that icky. Drink lots and take care of you.

Luv,
RK

Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians amoung us!

Rat – Thanks for your post. You know, I am not sure why I forget that this might be the single most difficult thing I will ever do in my life. No wonder it doesn’t come easy!!! If it was easy for me, I would never have gotten to be 350 pounds.

Kamryn – I think a lot of us let ourselves get big because we are trying to hide from the world, and having people see our weight loss and comment can really freak us out on that hiding instinct level.

Angie – I am so sorry you aren’t feeling well. Having the flu sucks.

One great thing about my new office is that I can watch the sun set as my window faces directly west. I have promised myself to always take a few minutes if I am still here at the office at this time of day to actually watch it and not let its beauty pass me by.

Wow - thank you all for the welcome - when I first read the posts here I was a little intimidated to be barging in to a group of old friends - I don't feel that way now. I too have lost weight multiple times - gaining it back - and then more - always "scared" of some number be it 100 lbs lost - size 12 clothes - or too many compliments (I think). What a crazy thought process that is!

I do my own kind of program - combination old time WW, low carb, but definetely cut out the triggers - one bite and it's out the window for 6 months.

I really want to start exercising but have been so inactive for so long except for gardening and swimming that I'm not sure where to start. I'd love some suggestions - right now I am dealing with a bum knee so walking isn't the best for me. I've entertained the notion of PUSH or belly dancing - DVD of course.

I will be 50 in December and my DH has planned a big trip to the Mexican Riviera to celebrate - he thinks I'm worried about the time away from home - if he only knew my biggest worry is fastening the seatbelt on the airplane.

I weigh myself each day - I have to or I can really deceive myself - but tomorrow is my official day - hoping for a new decade.

Thanks again for the terrific support

I don't have a lot of time, but just wanted to echo Nancy's post -- I am lower in weight than you but having the same "on and off' mentality. I feel like I'm getting back in the groove and am suddenly out of the groove just as fast. I have a feeling this is common because YES this IS HARD to do day after day after week after month after year. I think we sometimes need to cut ourselves some slack!!!

Hope you're all doing well. I have to get some grading done tonight!

Hello Folks

Well, this past week was a pretty bummer one for me. I went to the doctor last week and found out that not only have I not lost anything since I last saw him in June, but I've actually gained 9lbs. Turns out my assumed rebound from this summer was due to a broken scale. I replaced the battery but that didn't fix it, so now I'm shopping for a new one. I have no one to blame for the gain but myself, still, it's disheartening and made me want to just eat and eat. My doctor was visibly disappointed in me - I know he was expecting me to come back minus pounds, not plus. On top of the weight gain, I found out that the stomach pains I was having earlier in the summer were due to a bacterial infection called H Pylori, which can lead to ulcers and even an increased risk of stomach cancer. So now, as much as I hate taking antibiotics, I'm on a twice daily doses of three meds including 2 antibiotics for a week. Hopefully this will get rid of it but there's a chance it won't.

*sigh* I'm feeling frustrated and disappointed in myself. I told myself in early September that this was it, I'd wasted the summer without losing anything and it was time to get serious. And then each week, I start off great and by Thursday, I'm off track again and the weekend's are just a total writeoff. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I'm so happy to be in the 200s, and want to keep losing, but then I go and find myself eating things or quantities I shouldn't. Ugh! I haven't corrected my signature yet since I have no idea what my weight actually is, but some of those need to come off as does meeting my second mini-goal - since I never was in fact under 275.

Anyway, enough of my little pity party. I'm sorry, I know everyone goes through this and there's no magic words that will make me not do this, I just need to vent it out ...

Funny about the reaction from people when they hear how much weight you've lost. I have gotten to be friends with the woman who sits across from me at work and as she is keen on nutrition/exercise, we talk about that some. It came out that I'd lost 50+ lbs and she was quite surprised and then she said the funniest thing: "So, you're just about done then, right?" I replied that I had a long way to go, and wasn't even halfway to my goal (which is only 165). Not knowing the figure, she asked if I was trying to get under a 100 lbs. I almost fell out of my chair laughing. I guess after a certain point it's hard to tell how much more poundage we're actually carrying around compared to those who appear to be a normal weight.

Sorry again that I went AWOL, but I was not feeling at all sociable or even up to being civil, so I figured it was best if I just stayed offline for a few days. Hopefully this week will be better.

Nancy, I just read your post and I think I'm in the same boat as you, going through those same feelings of frustration. I don't know what the solution is besides to keep getting back on the wagon and not giving up.

Rat, your post just emphasizes how much of this journey is a psychological one, it's not just a matter of eating less/moving more - if only it were that easy, and we could reprogram ourselves.

Kamryn, hello! Glad to meet you.

Angie, I hope you feel better soon.

gggirls, welcome!

I know how yall feel about the off again on again. I comitted to 200 min this month and I just started tonight! I could sit here and make excuses..but I am not going to.

I walked with Hubby around teh neighborhood and I swear I was sweating,huffing and puffing..and out of breath..is this normal??? I weigh 345 atleast and I dont know just seems so hard.

The last of the Thanksgiving guests left. We had 16. One older man from church who is a widower came at 12:30, and just left at 8pm. We watched parts 2 & 3 or the extended versions of Lord of the Rings. I'm exhausted and seem to have caught a cold. One of his friends was sick a few days ago. He said he got it from his parents that just got back from a long trip to China. That's kind of worrisome. At least I'm too old to die from bird flu. No one over 40 has died from it. I told people they didn't need to bring anything, and ended up with 7 pumpkin pies on the counter. How many would I have gotten if I had asked people to bring things.

I wanted to welcome the new ladies. I'm to sick and tired to do personals, but I'm sure I will be up to terrorizing you guys real soon.

I gave up telling people how much weight I lost, because I'm afraid that watching another person try to do the math in their head (if she's lost 200lbs. and she's still huge, how big was she to begin with?). I now say thanks, I'm about half way to where I want to be.

Cyn-I did want to say something to you about exercise. First, before starting any exercise program, you should okay it with your doctor. Second, at times, all the exercise I could do before becoming exhausted was 10 seconds of flutter kicks laying on my stomach in bed. When I began to walk again, all I could do was walk across the street. It was months before I could go more than a block or two. It takes time, so be patient. As long as you can do a little more every week, that's a victory.

Ratkity, ok I'll count my minutes, but how is it going to be a competition between us? I need that to get me going. Are you up for the challenge?? Is there a certain date we agree to be there? (in our minds...)
I agree with you, it is something really scary that we have to deal with. We don't know what we are going to look like when we get down to where we are supposed to be. Will I be wrinkly? How bad will my skin hang? How will people react to me? It's alot to think about. And it is so hard to be UP when other people are asking us what the hecks wrong with you? Just quit eating so much food...easier said than done.

Nancy, I feel your frustration. I think that has been what's been going on with me too. Thinking I have to get on the wagon....AGAIN. When does it all end??? Enjoy those beautiful sunsets!!

Angie, I hope you feel better soon. Just take care of yourself and get well.

gggirls, ooooo those terrible airplane seatbelts. That one of the reasons I started to lose weight too. We go next May to Kentucky and I just want to make sure I fit and can fasten the belt. Hopefully we will both accomplish this on our way to a better us!

Lesley, I'm so sorry to hear about your poor tummy. I hope the meds will get rid of it for you to where it doesn't develop into something else. It's so hard to lose weight as it is and then to have something like this happen. I'm sure it's pretty scary. Just hang in there.
I want that lady you sit across from at work to be my friend!!! How wonderful for her to think that you are almost at goal. Hug her for me!!!

Cyn, don't feel bad. I committed to 1000 and have only done about 180. I gotta get my butt moving!

Just from reading the posts, it seems that we are all in the same funk. Could it be the weather changing? The coming holidays that have got us all weirded out? Is there more stress in our lives than usual? I still can't figure it out. I got on the scale today and again, had readings from 300 to 311. I went and weighed on my Mom's scale, and it was clear up to 316. I don't know which one is right, all I know is that I'm thinking I'm somewhere in the middle and that's not where I want to be right now. I had started doing my tracking of what I ate on Fitday for the last month. Now although it's a great website, I didn't care much to keep having to get on the computer to track my calorie intake. So I went back to basics.....on EVERYTHING.
When I first started this journey, I ate pretty much meat, veggies and salads. I pretty much eliminated breads and pastas. I've noticed that I had started eating them again, and of course, the weight wasn't budging. So, like I said, back to basics. I went back to writing in my little notebook and my book of calories, carbs and fats is always with me. It's the only thing that makes me think before I eat because it is always in my face. I really need that to keep me accountable for my calorie intake. So today, after probably a month, I've stayed OP more than ever. I saw myself comsuming more and more calories a day. I wasn't saying no to the goodies that my husband kept wanting to bring into the house, but now I have my strength back to where I CAN and DO say no. I ate my cereal, milk and banana this morning, the only bread-like thing I allow myself to have, and then salad for lunch and a hamburger patty and veggies for dinner. I had a WW ice cream for a treat this evening. I gotta tell ya, I feel so much better and more in power again. I know I can do this!!! It just took seeing all those different numbers on the scale to make me realize I better get my but in gear if I'm going to make this work. So hopefully, this is a brand new start again, to a smaller and more in control, me.
Have a good night!
Debbie

Hi Everyone~~

I hope you’re all having a good OP day. I’m not at all! I’ve eaten nothing but carbs all day. For breakfast I had two eggs, homefries and WHITE toast. Not even whole wheat or the low carb bread I’ve been eating. Full carb, no good for you white toast. (I loved it because it’s so naughty .) For lunch I had macaroni salad. Then an hour later I had a bowl of Fruit Loops with yogurt covered cereal. Then for dinner I made chicken chow mein. Oh—and let’s not forget the brownie that I ate. Ugh! I feel horrible right now too. I never eat that many carbs in a day—well not for over two years anyway. I feel heavy and bloated and I have indigestion. Yuck! At least this makes me remember why I really do like following the low carb diet—it’s not just for weight loss it’s because my body actually likes it better.

I’ve had a very busy weekend. Saturday night Paul and I went out with Frank and Nancy to Waterfire in Providence, Rhode Island. They were having a big fundraiser for breast cancer awareness and if you bought anything there the proceeds go towards breast cancer charities and all of the money stays in this area. My goodness! There were so many people there. That’s a good and a bad thing. It’s good because they were able to raise a lot of money and awareness. It was bad because I abhor large crowds and because there were so many people it made it hard to appreciate the Waterfire. I’ll try to post some pictures of the Waterfire. A good thing is that Paul said that we can go again because it was so crowded. I think I would enjoy that.

We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and I am going to tell you all that I was very disappointed. I expected much better and I will not go there again. We had to wait 55-70 minutes for a table. When they finally beeped us, we then had to go up some stairs and wait for another almost 10 minutes for the hostess to seat us. We were in a bad spot but really—we couldn’t complain because they were so busy, right? Yeah, well this lady walked right up to the side of our booth and leaned over to talk to the hostesses to find out how long her wait was going to be. Our booth was kind of curved and there was a bench that wrapped around the wall so she was literally standing right near our friend Frank. Now Frank is funny as all get out and he says to the woman who is almost touching him, “Hi!” with a huge smile on his face. The lady says, “I know, I’m probably in your space but no one has any space tonight.” WTF? Are you kidding me? That was just plain rude if you ask me. The food came out at separate times and mine was cold. I did good with the dessert and only had 2 small bites of Kahulua cheesecake but I cheated and had French fries. As I said, I was very disappointed by the whole visit and I won’t waste my money there again.

On Sunday night we went to a friends house for a party. Kevin throws an end of season party for his employees and he invited Paul and I as well. Paul used to work for him so he knows most of the workers. I was asked to bring my tarot cards and I ended up reading cards for approximately 9 people. I was TIRED! Most people don’t realize how much personal energy you actually use reading cards. I had fun though and can you say cheated on my diet again?! I ate about 4 cookies and drank 2 bottles—yes I said 2 bottles of REGULAR Coca~Cola. I’m going to tell you ladies a secret—I would do it again. I can’t drink caffeine free sodas and that’s all they had in the diet coke which is why I drank the regular in the first place. Don’t worry—today I was back to my Diet Coke with the lovely after taste. I will not allow myself to get addicted to the Coke again.

But tomorrow I’ll be back OP and I’m really hoping my doctor says I can start walking on my treadmill. I know he’s not going to take my last drain out because I’m still draining about 40 ML a day—which is a lot. I wish that wasn’t so because if I didn’t have the drain I could go back to work for the bus company and I really need the money. I’m getting frustrated thinking about it, but in the long run, I still do not regret this operation at all.

Okay, enough about me.

Hi Rat~~good for you. Just getting to the gym sometimes can be a pita never mind when you add TOM to that. 30 minutes is great and I hope you’re proud of yourself.

Hi Nancy~~ I know how tough it can be to feel like you’re back on track. I know that it takes me forever. Something to consider is if are you working out every day or trying to? If you are then maybe this “mental roadblock” is your body’s way of saying—“Hey! I’m tired and I need a little rest.” Seriously, we are supposed to have some rest periods in there or else we’re overworking ourselves and that’s not good either. When I am going to the gym I aim for 4 – 5 days a week and I never go on weekends (too many people for me). The gym manager told me that was a good schedule. With everything else that you have to do—housework, laundry, etc you don’t need to go to the gym every day. Housework is WORK so don’t forget to add it to your totals. Sweeping, washing counters, vacuuming, bending over to pick things up, washing dishes, cleaning toilets—goodness gracious I’m getting tired just typing all that stuff out. Plus all of the moving and stress at your job has to be considered as well. That’s extra moving and energy that you weren’t used to so maybe that’s why this weekend you’re not really into it. I’m hoping that it’s something simple like that for you which is why I’m saying it. Don’t you dare be frustrated with yourself either—this is one bump on the road and you WILL get over it—I have faith in you.

Now—your signature—I am wondering where you got that saying because the only G’Kar I know of is from Star Trek so I’m wondering. I’m actually copying it and putting it on my MySpace page.

Kamryn—I like your attitude! That is EXACTLY how you have to think and what you have to do. Well that and do all of this mental work on yourself to figure out why other people’s compliments make you uncomfortable. When you find out can you tell me because I have the same problem.

Angie-- I hope you’re feeling better soon. Having the flu sucks!

Hi gggirls~~ and good luck with your weigh in tomorrow.

Heather—I love, love, love what you said because I agree with you. Sometimes you have to cut yourself some slack. I’m glad someone else said it because I’ve felt like I’m being counterproductive by saying that sometimes.

Yes, it’s important to work out and eat right—but Chickies—thin people have days where they don’t get to exercise—thin people have days where they eat too much of the “wrong” things and what do they do? I can tell you they aren’t kicking themselves in the a**es for it—they just eat something better the next day and they add a little to their workouts. That is all you can do.

And everyone, I’m with you—I get so upset and frustrated with myself too and for the same exact reasons but logically I know better. Telling this to all of you actually helps me feel better too.

LitChick—all I can say is I’m sorry you’re so disappointed and sad. Don’t give up on yourself though, because you can do this.

Cyn—you weigh 345 lbs. and you were huffing and puffing? That sounds about right to me. Especially if you haven’t been exercising regularly at all. Trust me when I say that the more you exercise the easier it WILL get, it just takes doing it and then adding a little bit more when you can. Good luck and keep it up. You're doing good!

Catherine—as much as I love The Lord of the Rings Trilogy even I wouldn’t watch 2 of them on the same day. Just doing that is tiring. Paul and I watched a DVD that I bought of the Beverly Hillbillies and I fell asleep so I know how I am and how I get. I hope you’re feeling better soon and that you don’t have the bird flu. Feel free to send me a pumpkin pie by the way. I love pumpkin pie. It sounds like your Canadian Thanksgiving went well. Now you just have to get through the American one and you’ll be all set…until Christmas. The nerd patrol didn’t go chasing your female friends down the street did they? I didn’t hear anything about it on the news so…

Debbie—Yes! Back to the basics is good. It sounds like you’re also doing a low carb diet and it’s exactly what I have to do as well. Get back to the basics, I mean. I’ve been putting it off because I’m not sure if my body needs carbs to repair itself after the surgery, you know? Does anyone know? Anyway-- to you for feeling like you’re back in control.

Hi to everyone else—it’s almost midnight and I’m pooped. I actually started writing this before Catherine and Debbie posted so I’m going to say bye for now. I’ll try to come by after my doctor’s appointment to tell you all what he says about me walking on my treadmill. I would just do it myself, but I don’t want to make it harder for my insides to heal. It’s very frustrating to feel like I need his permission to start again, but I that’s how I feel. I walked 40 minutes on Friday and I walked for approximately 2-3 hours on Saturday—very slowly because of the crowds but I was doing it—and then the party on Sunday night where we got home after midnight…no wonder I was so tired today. Anyway—you all have a great day and I’ll tell you what my doctor says.


Vicki