I got in trouble for saying....nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.

Whatcha think?

Sheila22 - How wonderful!!! Congratulations on the 40lbs lost!!!! Enjoy wearing your bracelet - you deserve it!!

Sum38 - In trouble? By who, the quotation police? ;) Seriously though, I always found that quote to be very motivational and so true! However, I have heard the opinion expressed that it's a saying that's very big in the "pro-anorexia movement" and encourages people to starve themselves. I think people who are going to starve themselves into weight loss are going to twist things to their own distorted perspective regardless of the words or advice given. To me, the saying itself is not dangerous. I certainly never took its meaning to an extreme.

Well....exercise is pretty non existent these last few days. Eating is horrible. PMS is here with a vengeance. Kids are all home and I am trying to take them on day trips and give them a last week or so of fun before school begins. Hopefully, I'll get back on the wagon when things settle down. Not feeling great about myself or my waistline at the moment.

Good luck, everyone!

CONGRATULATIONS Sheila! You should celebrate your victory and know that you have the power in you to get to the 50 lb. mark in no time :)

I take such comfort in hearing all of your stories! It makes me feel less alone :p

Guac - YOU ROCK!!! Don't get too down - you got this. ;)

Well - I had the laser surgery on my gums this afternoon - and unfortunately, didn't get to eat a decent lunch, and I'm on a liquid diet for the next 24 hours...and THEN for the next week, I can only eat "mushy" foods - - :-(

So much for salad - - - just means I need to plan though - so right after I left the dentist I went to the health food store and stocked up on soy yogurt (can't eat it today, but can tomorrow afternoon), and also bought a vegan protein shake mix (had it for dinner - uh, NOT tasty...lol), and got some pureed soups - - butternut squash, zesty tomato...so - here's the plan for the next week - I leave for Florida next Thursday (thank goodness I can eat a bit more then!!) - but until then - - - protein shake for breakfast, soup for lunch, and then one of the following "mushy meals" for dinner - - veggie taco meat with a can of fat-free refried beans mixed in, or, flaky fish with steamed (really steamed) veggies that can melt in my mouth, lentil stew (that I can make in the crockpot with veggie crumbles) - - that should do it for the week between all three - then when I get to Florida I should be able to eat a SALAD again!!!!

Sheesh - I'm tired of laser surgeries this week. But 142.5 this morning! Maybe this "forced" diet for the week will throw me into the 130s! :-)

Well, liquid diet - 142 this morning. :-) I didn't run yesterday, but I'm feeling much better today. Kids and I have eye appointments this morning, my hope is that I can run the trail before noon.

I love weekends - sometimes it's hard to choose what to do with the time off - should I clean? Get a pedicure? Just kick back and relax? Hmmm....the kids are at their Dad's this weekend so it's just me - I really did have a rough week this week with two laser surgeries - my gums are feeling a little bit better this morning (at least I didn't wake up to headache and pain) - - working out is DEFINITELY on the YES list today! I also need to put together my elliptical (which is still sitting in the box in my exercise room)....lol

No real food choices this weekend - but I'm officially off of liquids and onto "mushy foods"...lol Think I'm going to start a crockpot of lentil stew for meals over the weekend...

I've been rewarding my weight loss via new clothes shopping. :) Need to stop though - it's getting expensive - and I have this scared feeling in my gut - am I going to gain weight again? Will I still be able to wear these clothes a year from now?? It's a horrible way to think, but nevertheless that doubt demon is in my head. :-/ I know I won't go back to my old ways though - it's totally not worth it - I'm fine with my diet long-term (now that I've successfully re-introduced wine in moderation ;) )...I'm nervous to re-introduce starchy carbs (even healthy whole grains) - but I'll watch it, allow myself one serving a day after I hit my goal and then monitor my weight closely and tweak if necessary. Exercise is also addictive, but it's one thing that I do need to actually make a concerted effort to do - if anything slips it will be that...which is why I really need to get my exercise room all set up before winter. It really is easy just to blow it off - but I just need to keep telling myself that it's my 30 minutes (or hour) - for ME. One hour out of 24 (or even just 30 minutes) - is a small price to pay for looking and feeling great!

Okay - so today - eye appointments, run the trail, and after I think I'm going to go and get a pedicure and manicure. :) The house is clean enough and I can tackle it tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Sheila, What is making you think you are going to gain weight back? Oh that is a slippery slope! I know we all have demons, but that one needs to be kicked to the curb. You know how powerful your mind is! Start using the "I AM" mentality when those thoughts occur.... "I am.... healthy, I am... powerful, I am... skinny, I am... less on the scale, and so on an so forth. Don't let the "I might" thoughts win!

This has been an interesting week for me. My body is CRAZY. I saw 268 on the scale one day and now back to 271. And today I am about to hit my 5 mile walk/run which means the scale will be up tomorrow. I always retain water after long treks. I have tried lemon in my water, extra water, water pills and a million other remedies (asparagus, apple cider) none of it helps. I think I need to see my doctor about water retention. You would think that after a trek like that I would be less but that never happens.

Also I feel like I was "outed" at work yesterday. There was a company sponsored lunch for service anniversaries where everyone was praised for the time they have worked with the company. I didn't realize that they would be honoring one year employees (which I am) plus I did not want to eat the food they were serving. So instead I went to the pool and got in my laps at lunch like I always do. I guess when they called me name during the ceremonies one of my co-workers stood up and said "she is swimming - I will accept on her behalf". To her it was funny and sweet. When I found out about it I was a little bummed as I have been trying to keep my workouts and eating plan on the down low. I too hate when people ask me about my diet or exercise or how or why I am doing it. At any rate I guess it piqued a long drawn out conversation with multiple people in the office including the owner of the company. Everyone asked "whats she doing... where is she doing it... how long has she been doing it". When my co-workers answered the questions she also told them "yeah and we are training for a 1/2 marathon too" which sparked more "oh... i would quit after a mile" and "oh thats a lot of exercise" conversations. Part of me is GLAD that I was not there to take part in the conversations. Part of me wishes I coudl see the smirks on their faces. The funny thing is noone really knows me here. Noone knows that I have an athlete on the inside of me. Noone knows that I have worked out my entire life and I used to run 5 miles (with ease) noone knows I have done spin, bikram yoga, bootcamp and a million hikes up and down these crazy mountains. The only person they know is the girl that has been in their office for a year and who sits behind a desk and has been overweight since they met me. Thats the only person they know. So the side of me that wants to show off wishes she could have seen the smirks and raised eyebrows. But I have learned that actions speak louder than words so me being there would not have done any good. I just have to continue on the path that I am on and know that it doesn't matter that they all know. If they start in with questions I will answer them to the best of my ability without giving too much away.

Sept - thanks so much for your words of encouragement! And you are RIGHT!! I do need to start really focusing on my "self talk" and positive affirmations!

I know what you mean about being "outed" - - it was strange for me - I was bummed when no one noticed my 25 pound weight loss - but then when they DID start noticing, I felt this strange "pressure" to make sure I didn't backpedal at all - - it wasn't a good pressure either - - just felt like everyone was watching what I ate, whether or not I have three or four bracelets on, etc....then there are those who say "if you lose more weight you'll be too thin!" - - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? I know what my ideal weight is, how much fat I still have to lose - now I get criticized for losing too much??? Anyway - I've learned to just brush it all off - this is MY LIFE, MY BODY and I'm going to do and lose what feels good for ME! :)

Went to the eye doctor this morning with the kids - and kind of unprofessional, but he was seriously hitting on me! Asked me if I was married - told me he was divorced, asked me if I was dating anyone - - I swear I thought he was going to ask me for a date - but he didn't... LOL Still, it felt really good and was flattering - - I haven't felt "attractive" for a long time, and to feel that again was GREAT! (although I still think it was extremely unprofessional of him).

Then the kids and I went to the sporting goods store - my daughter is playing soccer this year (OUCH - SO EXPENSIVE!) - I treated myself and bought a new running shirt to wear for my 5K race and also a new pair of earbuds for my iPod - I can't wait to try them on the trail tonight! I also got a pedicure (red glitter! :)...so waiting for my toes to dry really well before I put on my running shoes.

Food - still on mush - lol Will have a protein shake before I hit the trail, then maybe some soy yogurt later on this evening for a snack.

Hope everyone has a nice Saturday! It's a beautiful day here - sunny and 80s...

Ran the trail - tomorrow morning I'm going to do it twice straight - it will be my first 5K off of the treadmill!!

Happy to report another 4# loss for this week! :carrot: This is especially amazing because we had to go out of town for a family funeral. :( The whole thing threw a wrench in my plans but I had been sick earlier in the week and didn't eat much because of that. So I guess it all evened out. Although I am proud of my accomplishment so far I was still embarresed that people at the funeral were seeing me so heavy. You know the ones, the ones you only see at weddings and funerals. Now they all have that picture of me in their head and will carry that with them until the next wedding or funeral. Which is depressing. My husband did let it slip to my Mom that we are doing WW. I would have preferred to keep that to myself but too late now...:shrug:

I keep promising myself that I need to get busy with the exercise portion of this program but I am less motivated about that. I still walk soooo slowly and am stiff and don't move easily. The extra weight is making it difficult. I am thinking of getting a treadmill off of craigslist so I can walk at home on an even surface and not have anyone see me (like at a gym).

You are all so so inspiring in the exercise dept. I love reading your experiences. Thanks for listening :dizzy:

syndehat - CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Well done!! I bought my first treadmill for $200 used - from a newspaper ad - when I first got on it, I only walked 5 minutes a day - JUST WALKING...then I increased the walking to 30 minutes a day, changed my diet and lost 60 pounds - never doing more than walking! :-) I think buying a treadmill off of Craigslist is a great idea! There are too many used ones out there that are "clothes racks" instead of serving their purpose - go rescue one!!!! :-)

Well - I just got back from running the trail - increased my distance and thought for SURE I had run a 5K (3.1 miles) - - then I got in my car, and measured it - only 2.2 miles! :dz: REALLY?!? I was DYING by the time I was done!

I can look at this in one of two ways - either as a failure, or as my PERSONAL BEST which it WAS!!! :D So I'm going to focus on that. I ran it in 22 minutes - I've NEVER ran straight without walking for that long, and a 10 minute mile positions me to do the 5K on September 8th in 30 minutes!!!

I found this FABULOUS running music on iTunes - it's called "Audio Fuel" - it has voiceover coaching by a guy with a really cute British accent - it's really awesome!

I'll see how hot it is this evening, but I may go back and try again tonight. It's only 10am - hmmm....what to do with my Sunday????

Definitely need to put that elliptical together - - I don't know how hard it's going to be (it's still in the box) --- and I know I'm procrastinating because I have ZERO mechanical aptitude. LOL But it's definitely on the "to do" list. That, and the grocery store - I need more mushy food...lol

I don't want to clean, but I will definitely do the first floor today....then I can chip away at the upstairs bedrooms throughout the week.

Now time for Starbucks! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Okay - I've finally been a member long enough to earn a "tracker"! Let's see if it works!!

Good morning everyone! Well, I got on the scale and it was back up to 145 this morning! I'm not worried though - it has to be water retention from a combination of things - my hard run yesterday morning, the salt I put on my lentil stew and maybe even the antibiotics I'm on from my gum surgery....

At any rate, I'm not going to let it bring me down!

It was one of those sleepless nights - I just googled my antibiotic on the internet and one of the side effects of amoxicillin is insomnia! (lovely)...I woke up at 2:30am laid in bed until 4, then decided just to give up trying to go back to sleep. I'm sure I'll hit the wall this afternoon.

It's 5am now - I'm trying to decide if I want to get on the treadmill this morning or hit the trail after work...Thursday is my "day off" from exercise this week (kids and I will fly to Florida for the weekend!)...:D

Today's meal plan - soy yogurt for breakfast, and lentil stew for lunch and dinner (mushy stuff - but very good!)....I'll be so glad to get off of these antibiotics and back onto a normal diet!

Hope everyone has a great day!

I know I am new here and I have barely posted but I wanted to say I am still here. August has been a bad bad month..it tricked me into thinking it was going to be good. On the weight loss side of the month I am doing good. WIth all the bad things that has happened this month I am still eating well..not as good as I should be but not emotional eating either which normally with all of this bad I would be doing. I am still going to the gym just not as much as I had hoped due to the stress just making me feel icky physically.

I did just get back from Water Aerobics and LOVED It...made me feel better physically and emotionally.

Just in case you didn't' see my posts about my bad month my dad fell off a ladder and had to be taken off life support at the beginning of the month...he died a few days later. Then what I have put on here is I get back to work and find out I was restructured out of a job. So fatherless and jobless...all in two weeks time period...This kinda sucks. My job loss I can get over quickly...I had been trying to find a new one anyway and now I have some time to do other things that make me happy..Plus I am going to start going back to school like I had talked about for a year. Just needed that push to say "do it!" and I got that push and sign loud and clear... :D

Down 10 lbs for the month so far...not bad with all this darn stress...

omi - woa.... that is a lot of stress to be under in such a short period of time! I am so sorry for your loss. I can not even imagine. I hope you have a good support system to help you through your rought time.

Good job on the other stuff (which I am sure seems secondary right now).

Glad your still around!

JO

Onmi - I have been thinking about you and how you were doing after your Dad's death. So sorry you have to go through all that. Now the job thing! :hug:

I say just get all the yucky stuff over in one month so that the coming months can all be good.

Glad to see you are back! :carrot: Post when you can!