Atalanta - I just realized your name is not Atlanta! HAHAHA Sorry!

and you are so righ about not thinking of food as a treat - i have decided on treats for when i reach goals but they are all NON FOOD related - because food is not a treat - food is fuel.

you just have to keep telling yourself that all the time.

weigh in did ok i suppose in that i didn't gain - but was exactly the same as yesterday. so hopefully a couple days away from those bars will put me back on track.

See y'all later lol That one is in my regular vocuabulary - most definitley a southern girl here! HA!

Jealous! I could never pull off a y'all, haha.

Why are you weighing yourself every day? That is a lot of pressure. With water weight, body changes... why do that to yourself?

What treats would you like for reaching your goals? I have so many things I want to do once I am healthy, but I need to find things to reward myself with in the meantime.

Ideas?

I agree that weighing daily is not usually the best practice! I've only been doing it while I"m getting started so that I can see if something isn't working and make adjustments instead of loosing an entire week.

Once I'm comfortable that I'm doing it correctly, then I'll go to just once a week. I know it probably doesn't sounds like I'm being honest - but truly, the flucations in the scale I can deal with b/c I know a lot of that is normal. But ny doing my daily weighs I have found 2x when things were an issue and were able to correct ASAP where as had I not been I would have lost valuable time.

Well I haevn't gotten a hair cut in a long time b/c I can't stand looking at myself in the mirror while they cut my hair lol but once I am down 30 lbs that is my first treat. Then when I've gone down 50 I'm getting a pedicure.

Then once I'm down 88lbs (halfway) I've thought about getting a massage! Always wanted to but too self concious - not sure if I'll be ready for that then or not. I thought about even getting pictures made - i always avoid them b/c i hate myself in them but would be nice to have a family pic.

Then 125, 150 and finaly goal of 175 i'll do something, but hadn't decided what yet.
At 175 I know I want to new pics too lol And some new clothes!

it doesn't have to be expensive or anything like that, just something simple to do for yourself - hair cut, facial, new make up, buy a song you've been wanting, work out clothes, a new album, go on a trip, take a day off work and relax, get your nails done, whatever

Hi everybody, today was a pretty bad day emotionally (think I flubbed my interview) - BUT I have managed not to eat my sad. I did have a big dinner, but it works into the plan because I missed lunch running around - so overall, just a bit low on veggies.

On the plus side, I walked 2 miles instead of 1 because of all the bus trips.

Will try to stay on plan this weekend, weekends are the worst for me, but I'm motivated - see y'all when I feel better...

Good morning all. The last few days have been nuts for me -- a rare event in the life of a retiree.

While I've been doing "ok" with sticking on plan, there are still times of eating off plan and it's usually mindless eating. I remember reading some place that if you wait for 10 minutes, a craving will pass. So, I'm going to try setting a timer for 15 minutes before I can even think about getting something to mitigate the craving. If I'm still going nuts at that point, then I'll have a piece of fruit -- it's always sugar or carbs! Anyone else use the delay tactic? Does it work?

Have a great day.

Hey everybody! feeling better today! and I didn't eat my sad - this morning, in fact, today I walked 2 miles already today, double my goal. Just have to get my cardio in before bedtime and I will be on track!

Atalanta, I copied and pasted your recent tough love post and put it on a page in my blog. I am gonna read it to myself pretty much everyday until it sinks in - them's good writin' words!

I've had a couple of good eating days. Today we ate Mexican. I had a few chips and then ate my grilled shrimp and 1/4 of the rice it was on. I came home and mowed our yard with a push mower, granted we have a small yard but it's still a good 30 min workout.
No plans for the holiday and I plan to enjoy it!!

So, I weighed in today and I have put on weight. I don't understand... I have stuck to the plan all week...
This is so disheartening.

Ata- is tom close? Or are you ovulating? I know for me I gain more half way thru my cycle than I gain when Tom arrives. Have you eaten more salt? Just increase your water a bit and it will be gone in a couple of days.

I'm taking the day off from cooking !! It's a find what you can kinda day.

No, ToM was 10 days ago. I had a fair amount of soda water over the last few days - must be the sodium in that. Will definitely drink more water. Hopefully that sorts it out.
It is just tough - this is the first time I have put on weight since starting and I have been at least 1000 calories under every day. I am feeling awful, because a small part of me just says 'why bother'.
I just need to get through this and get a win on the board...

I understand, I just had my first gain about a week ago and even though I know it is absolutely normal to have fluctuations and gains for a variety of reason it still left me emotionally upset as well. I felt pretty much the same way as you.

But here we go, you rescued me last week with your tough love, I even put it in my blog so I could read it every day, so I will try for the tough love part:

Gains and plateaus, for whatever reason, are part of our path - and we have to accept that - because we are in it for the long haul. What we did in the past was get angry at ourselves, get discouraged, feel like failures or why bother and maybe even give up. That led us to where we are today - heavy and miserable with being heavy.

Is that really the type of person we are now committed to being? Are we people who think healthy is only worth it if we get instant gratification from the scale too? Does every breath, that we can now take more easily matter? What about every step that we take, that is one more step than yesterday, is that important?

If the numbers on the scale are the only thing that can grant us happiness and peace - we should take some white out to the little window and then pencil in the numbers we want to see, because everyone deserves to be happy.

If getting fit and healthy is what we want then this is a challenge and an opportunity! If we know what we are doing is good for us then we need to "stick to our guns" - because this is our body's way of saying that what we are doing is great and it's ready for the next step! More veggies, more exercise, more hydration!

Shake off the sad! We need to love ourselves today, not just the future, perfect us! We have lumps and bumps and gains and sads and that is OK because WE WILL NOT STOP!


....... ok, that's all the tough love I have in me for now!

My plans for yesterday went out the window when I got a call my SIL was in the hospital. We went and ended up eating out. Calories were about 300 over my limit but carbs were way up. I should have tossed the bread that was on my sandwich.
Not sure what today holds. We need to do things here but may go back to our home town and hang out with family. Mom is having a cookout so we may end up there. Not sure yet.

It's ok, life gets in the way sometimes - but life has to come first. Sounds like you have a plan for next time - don't stress over the one time, learn, pick up and go on. A grill cookout (with the addition of a salad) can be a good meal.

They are running test on my SIL so we stayed home I spent well over 2 hours staining my outdoor glider and wishing well and bench. I am a bit sore today from it. I also got a lot of sun. I used sunscreen but didn't reapply.
I still have to paint our porch and then I will be done with outside painting for the yr.
Food was easy yesterday because we stayed home. I need to get todays meals lined out.

LOST – great job not giving in to emotional eating; huge hurdle! Sorry about the interview, in my experience you are usually much harsher on yourself than what the reality was. Best of luck!

BESTY – that does help me sometimes. Also drinking a glass of water. Read a study about how most people are dehydrated and don’t even know it and that our bodies can’t tell the difference between hunger and thirst pains. The water has really helped me – I chug 8oz when I feel hungry and know I shouldn’t be yet.
ATALANTA: Don’t be discouraged hun, fluctuations can be very normal! It could def be the sodium in the water. Also, are you working out? It could be even muscle gain since muscle is heavier than fat. Don’t let the scale defeat you because many times it is not a full depiction of what is going on. Have you taken your measurements? If not, do so – because you can also use that as a gauge for how you are doing. At times it could be you’re still losing even if the scale doesn’t show it.

And 100% DITTO to everything lost said. I had a gain this week too and the first thought is to be upset and discouraged. But look at what you have accomplished!! Those ups and downs are part of the process. Are you journaling your foods? If not – do so because you have something to review and see if you’ve found a problem food to avoid or if it’s just part of what your body is doing.

DGRAMIE – Hoping all goes well with your sister’s tests. Will be thinking of you all.

We spend the weekend at our families cabin, thought we ate all on plan and came to find out there was ingredients in things we were told would not be so that was a little disappointing. I’ve gained about 3 total lbs over a week ago so not real happy with that but on it today. Those pounds are heading out of here.