Hi everyone! Okee .. its a new day for me .. and while I havent forgotten Im not going to let it get to me ..

Thank you ladies for your lovely words .. I do try to not let things get to me .. had a lot of years of experience lol .. but sometimes when your defences are down it just sort of catches you off side and usually I just shut up and suck it up and stuff it down somewhere to fester .. but Im learning to let it out so I can clear it out.

Wanna - Oh hun ... I HAVE told my mum .. not just for myself .. but defending my daughter when she did that to her too .. (and yes .. now my daughter has food issues too) ... when I went up yesterday I found out she has mentioned to my nephew (16) he needs to lose weight too (OMG!). Unfortunately I didnt find that out until my mother had gone otherwise I would have made comments about that too!! He is quiet and shy so it hits him badly.

I know my mother means well .. and I dont think she hears what she says .. or at least the way that she says it. Thats why my defences are usually up .. she has gotten better with me .. but occasionally it still have them down and the shots get through. My daughter wont really eat in front of her now so we tend to support each other when we see the comments hit (as she did last night when we got home before she left for home).

But as I said .. today is another day ...

Finally got my dress decided on ... Im actually getting it made to measure from the US (best deal for the one I want lol) ... and now the colour is sorted .. hunny wanted white (ick!) .. I wanted Ivory (hunny doesnt like that lol) .. so the only other colours were pink (I would look like a big candy floss lol) .. or the champagne (I call it old gold) .. soooo Champagne wins :) Got the dresses for my best friend and niece (were $225 .. got them for $30!! as they were last season!!) .. and my sister (matron of honor) has a lovely deep purple dress ... so that is a good thing sorted ...

My daughter is giving me away ... and from some of the hints said yesterday she is going to be in top hat & tails! My granddaughter will be scattering flowers .. and my grandson will stand up the front with my hunny as a pageboy :)

Wedding cakes (yes 2 lol) .. will be chocolate (my choice) .. and a buttery sultana cake (neither of us like traditional fruit cake .. but hunny loves this one lol) .. so the "fruit" one will be our main cake .. the other will be part of the dessert course ;) And one of my oldest friends will be decorating them for me.

So those are all of the positives from yesterday I forgot to remember .. Im excited again .. and while I am fighting the urges not to eat anything I have had a shake for breakfast .. we have plans to go up town for lunch ... and I have my stir-fry for dinner :) My hunny just has to remind me to eat it lol.

So tomorrows weigh in will be what it will be .. TOM is still with me .. just wont go away .. so I dont know what will happen at the weigh in .. but whatever does .. I just just roll with it and carry on :)

:hug: everyone!

Great day out with my hunny today .. had a little bit of a late start to leave.... but once we were out we had a lovely day. Went at looked at some rings (shortlisted 5 lol) .. and a couple of suits ... no luck with shoes cos my feet are so darn big!! grrr ... but I have also got some Green Coffee Bean tablets to take ... have been taking Mango Seed Extract so will see what these ones do :)

Just realised today we actually only have 13.5 weeks til the wedding lol .. sooo better start doing things for it :)

I had a nice dinner tonight (Pita Pit roll) with a grapefruit and some nuts ... Im still about 700 calories short of my daily target .. but Im honestly full! I did find a treat at the supermarket today too ... some sugar free lollies with a natural sweetener .. so I can have somethings sweet when I get the urge and its only 8 calories!

Does anyone else have any sweet treat that offers that fix without a heap of calories?? I know we dont have a huge range in NZ .. but Im curious about overseas ... never looked when I was travelling in 2004 (Europe/UK/Canada/US) but am curious ... if anyone wants to trade let me know lol ..

Hope everyone had a good weekend .. tomorrow starts the new weeks weigh ins .. hoping to maintain if nothing else .. and getting some focus in place for the countdown ... not as long as I thought I had to reach my first goal lol .. not giving up .. just means a little more of a challenge :)

Hiya nightkatt, sounds like things are gong well, congrats on finding your wedding dress!!

Rightiho my target is to lose 20lbs by xmas (maybe a bit ambitious but hey why not!

08/09/13 Week 1 - 159lbs

You're an an amazing person, so generous with your time and so supportive of others (look at this fantastic challenge)! It sounds like you have actually already "overcome" your mother in terms of not letting her get you down in practical terms (You wanted to over eat, or under eat, but didn't. You could totally see why and how her comments were so destructive and completely off base. You could articulate how you felt, what was the root, etc. . . so go you!). Unfortunately, you still have to deal/put up with the fact that she hasn't grown the way you have . . . I think it's fantastic how you're coping--and helping others in her path to be able to too.

Have SO MUCH fun planning your wedding! Put any and all negativity behind--and good grief, if you want cake on your wedding day, have cake! Perhaps you could toast your mom with it, hee hee. :) :) :)

I know you were already starting to feel better, so maybe my post isn't timely, but I relate so much to toxic family stuff . . . I had to chime into to say, it really isn't you (or us!), it's them with the problem.

It's nice to be back . . . Although I've been feeling a bit guilty. My last weigh in was a gain, and I suspect the next one will be too (I keep bouncing back and forth). Are you sure you want me here? LOL! I have to confess that I usually stay away from contests/challenges for that reason--the pressure that I might let people down.

Ah, my head, such a wonderful and crazy place to live!

Aww hun .. you know what .. you shouldnt worry about how what you are doing will affect anyone else .. you have to live with your choices and frankly ... while I love everyone achieving their goals .. its really not what Im basically interested in .. its more empowering each of us to accept who we are .. no matter if the scales move up or down .. clothes get baggy or tight ... youre a couch potato or a exercise guru ... What I hoped to achieve with this challenge (other than me fitting into a smaller dress lol) was to hopefully make others feel good about themselves, regardless of the results at the end of it :)

I was reading a story just this morning in a magazine and boy did it remind me of my friend ... this lovely woman had surgery to enable her to lose weight .. and she lost 58kg! (about 128 lbs). She did it to be healthier for her little daughter .. so she went from a size 26 down to a 14 .. she looks lovely in her pics .. and while she is pleased she is healthier and fitter than she ever was .. because of such weight loss so rapidly she has a lot of loose skin .. so she doesnt feel good about herself and her body ... after the surgery the focus was so much on foods she put into her body and exercise and her child that she didnt really do the mental weight loss. It IS different being 5-6 dress sizes smaller than you are used to .. and while the external may be more acceptable to everyone else .. you need to be internally at peace and happy with who you are regardless of the external.

I dont think my mother has ever been happy with her body .. and she is a little woman ... she got that baby pooch when she had her 3 kids and never got rid of it and its been the bane of her life .. not mentioning the stretch marks lol .. but she is about half my weight and still she is permanently on some sort of weight loss journey and definitely comments on what people eat and do all the time (not always to their face in a way fortunately). Im also not sure if she is happy with her lot in life either .. I know she has regrets and wishes she had taken different paths etc ... but to me .. I don't understand people doing that.

As I said before .. regrets dont change things .. they dont improve situations .. all they do is help you miss what you have .. what you've achieved .. and where you could go on the path you are on ... its the possibilities of the unknown ... it the knowledge that you have taken control of your life and whatever it throws at you which makes you grow ... which makes you embrace with and open mind and heart all that life has to throw at you .. good or bad. I have no regrets ... I wouldnt be who I am today if I went down a different road ... would I like that person?? Who knows .. I know I like the one I am now ... so why wish for something that may be worse than what I have ....

Life has no guarantees that the decisions you make will be the right ones in the long run ... but it does guarantee that you are the one that makes them ... and you are the one that will have to live with them. I try not to live by a lot of rules .. I try not to judge a person for their actions or appearance, because I havent walked in their shoes, I dont know their story, I dont know their challenges ... and I sure as eggs dont like someone judging me for those reasons. I try to be honest .. mainly with myself lol .. white lies to make a person feel good isnt a problem either .. I dont like to make others unhappy (probably why I dont defend myself because I know I could easily hurt those that hurt me) ... its all about karma ... I truly believe in it .. I believe in positive thinking about others and myself (as much as I can lol) ... negativity brings negativity ... and the best time is when you really seem to have everything against you .. just finding that spark of positive can help you get through the worst .. thats why I promote a positive thought each day.... even if its just "I got out of bed this morning".

Sooo .. Im sending out LOVE .. LAUGHTER .. OPEN MIND & HEART .. to each of you .. and please know that if you ever need to vent or rant Im just at the other end of the keyboard ... you can PM me if you want :) But please .. dont give up on yourself if you are having a bad day .. week .. month ... in the big picture its a blip of time .. nothing stops you starting again other than you .. and I believe in each one of you to achieve a peace within yourself to be happy with YOU .. not just your body :) :hug:

NightKatt, Oh for fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely agree on the Karma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EvieBaby, . You hit the nail on the head with this!!!!

Had a good "food" weekend but have worried about eating tonight as it will show on the scale in the morning...THEN I told myself to "shape up" because this is a long term learning process so I am consistently eat healthy. (sounds good, huh?);) I am in training - :)

Going to retry again... start tomorrow. Been a rough weekend.

Good on you hun .. I think its another tough week for a few of us .. but there is always a new week :) A couple of hours til my weigh in ... I was up from yesterday when I did it at home this morning .. but we will see ... will be ok with anything other than a 5 pound gain lol ... then I might have a fit rofl ... jk ...

I hope I can still join this challenge. I just came across it. My weekly weigh ins are on Monday.

Okee .. weigh in for me this week .. not as bad as I thought it was going to be .. so pleased to finally hit 2-town .. been YEARS!! ... only just .. but determined to pull away from that this week :)

TARGET - 53 pounds

WEEK 1 - 12/8 - 317.3 lb Difference - 0 START
WEEK 2 - 19/8 - 312.4 lb Difference = -4.9 Total loss = 4.9
WEEK 3 - 26/8 - 304.0 lb Difference =-8.4 Total loss = 13.3
WEEK 4 - 02/9 - 301.2 lb Difference = -2.8 Total loss = 16.1
WEEK 5 - 09/9 - 299.8 lb Difference = -1.4 Total loss = 17.5 Remaining = 35.5 (TOM all week)
WEEK 6 - 16/9 -
WEEK 7 - 23/9 -
WEEK 8 - 30/9 -
WEEK 9 - 07/10 -
WEEK 10 - 14/10 -
WEEK 11 - 21/10 -
WEEK 12 - 28/10 -
WEEK 13 - 04/11 -
WEEK 14 - 11/11 -
WEEK 15 - 18/11 -
WEEK 16 - 25/11 -
WEEK 17 - 02/12 -
WEEK 18 - 09/12 -

Hmmm .. so now I have the challenge of hitting 2.7 pounds a week ... okee .. I can do this ... determined to do exercise every day this week .. and get no lower than 1500 calories a day ... just have to work out how where they arent empty calories lol .. there are only so many nuts I can handle eating hehehe. A positive to this weeks loss .. first time I can remember losing anything when TOM is here :)

Looking forward to seeing EVERYONES results this week ... you are all doing great!

Of course you can :) Still over 3 months to go :) I post team results on Friday after I compile everyones updates .. so go ahead and post on up :) Happy to have you on board this craaaaaazy journey :)

Hey Sheena .. I think its a very realistic goal .. esp if you do what you did this week .. lol .. from when you first signed up you have gone down over 2 pounds! Well done :) :carrot:

My goal: 29lbs by Christmas!
WEEK 4 - 9/2 - 327.8
WEEK 5 - 9/9 - 320.8 -7lbs!!
WEEK 6 - 9/16 -
WEEK 7 - 9/23 -
WEEK 8 - 9/30 -
WEEK 9 - 10/7 -
WEEK 10 - 10/14 -
WEEK 11 - 10/21 -
WEEK 12 - 10/28 -
WEEK 13 - 11/4 -
WEEK 14 - 11/11 -
WEEK 15 - 11/18 -
WEEK 16 - 11/25 -
WEEK 17 - 12/2 -
WEEK 18 - 12/9 -
WEEK 19 - 12/16 -
WEEK 20 - 12/23

Yeah I lost this week!! Was worried since I don't have a "plan" and Im just making changes to my habits. :)

Bounced back up :( oh well

WEEK 1 - 8/12 248.5 START
WEEK 2 - 8/19 - 246 (-2.5)
WEEK 3 - 8/26 - 243.5 (-2.5) total(-5)
WEEK 4 - 9/02 - 243.0 (-.5) total (-5.5)
WEEK 5 - 9/09 - 244.5 (+1.5) total (-4)
WEEK 6 - 9/16 -
WEEK 7 - 9/23 -
WEEK 8 - 9/30 -
WEEK 9 - 10/07 -
WEEK 10 -10/14 -
WEEK 11 -10/21 -
WEEK 12 -10/28 -
WEEK 13 -11/04 -
WEEK 14 -11/11 -
WEEK 15 -11/18 -
WEEK 16 -11/25 -
WEEK 17 -12/02 -
WEEK 18 -12/09 -
WEEK 19 -12/16 -
WEEK 20 -12/23 - Christmas Eve Eve Goal 210