Hi Corinna and Renee - Well so far it has just been a combination of diet and exercise and willpower. At first I was snacking and binging and that would drive my weight back up a couple of pounds and then of course I would have to re-lose that. But over the past 8 weeks I have been doing a lot better, just dealing with the inevitable hunger pangs and ignoring them and trying to stay on plan. It's going to be a very long haul from my current weight down to 100kg. 100 kg (220 lb) is still not ideal but I will work on that when I get there.

One of the hardest things to learn was exercise balance. It's too easy for me to overeat just a little and undo whatever gains I may have made from daily exercise. If I exercise too much, it really increases hunger. For me I think it's mostly in the diet, and exercising enough to keep moving and keep the metabolism up. The only thing I do is daily walking and some Kinect/Xbox weight/toning exercises 3/4 days a week.

Hello to the group - today is a small non-scale victory for me; it is my 11th anniversary since I stopped smoking on Dec 10th, 2002.

:congrat: Good for you, Darius...that's a wonderful milestone :bravo:

Darius, that is not a small victory. Eleven years is a big victory!!!! Congratulations. :cheer2:

Walking is a good exercise. I enjoy it. It helps relieve stress too. I like to do it after I get done eating. That way my stomach doesn't feel too full when I go to sleep.

Renee - how are you doing? Did you get a lot of snow?

I really need to get back on an exercise plan. I have some time before the New Year starts. Need to think about how I want to approach this effort to make it successful. Types of daily food/exercise. I think Darius is wise to think about the balance between them.

Corinna, I'm doing well, but my diet, not so much :) Too many parties and temptations around. I'm aiming for next year to really get going and drop this extra weight.

We only got a couple of inches of snow, but then it turned to sleet and we got an icy mess. It has melted some...I don't mind the snow, but ice can be treacherous.....I need to get out and do a little Christmas shopping today. We usually have a very small and quiet Christmas.. not much family left. Have a great rest of the week!

Hey folks!

Welcome darius! Congratulations on your progress.

I weighed-in a little early since of been slacking off and avoiding the scale. I'm hovering around the same weight - 153. We will see what Saturday brings.
Have we lost Jillie and Deelou? Hope not.

I am still here and staying the same, trying to get thyroid in check so I can add exercise, the last week was good but the last two days terrible fatigue again....

Hang in there Deelou. :)

Good job not gaining any weight Lizzie.

Renee, hope you have a good week too. I will be starting again with the New Year as well.

Hello everyone it is Friday weigh-in day.

Renee good luck in all of that snow and ice. I have never before heard of the 7 fishes even though I have been to Napoli and I thought I would have heard of it by now.
Corinna I agree with you about walking. I have to wait until I am down to about 120 kg before I can start jogging again. I don't want to hurt my knees. I know something about running from my marine corps days and I can't rush it. I was using the C25K about 2.5 years ago and it's a good program.
Crimzon thank you too for the words of support this week.

Goal: lose 30 lb
Start date: 6 Dec 2013
----------------------------------------------------
........................................LOSS pounds
12/06......138.6 kg...............0.0 lb.....Start
12/13......136.3 kg...............-5.1 lb
12/20...............kg.....................lb
12/27...............kg.....................lb
12/31...............kg.....................lb
........................................-5.1 lb TOTAL

Darius, you did really good this week :carrot:

Thank you Renee it was some kind of ridiculous water whoosh. I'm not fasting or anything. I average about 2 pounds a week.

Well, looks like we're in for another snow storm....expecting up to 6 inches. It sure will look pretty and make for a white Christmas :snow4: I have a Christmas luncheon today and will try to behave myself...have a great day everyone!

Wow Darius! That is great!! Your doing good.

Renee, travel safely in the snow.

We had our Christmas party at work today. I didn't attend because I knew I would eat too much and be mad at myself later. Now I am just sad because I didn't join in on the party. If only I had stronger will power.

Thank you Corinna!
Renee be careful traveling. It hasn't snowed here yet but last year our first big snow was on Dec 9th.

Oh...no worry about me traveling in the snow...I'll just stay in until the roads are cleared....

11 more days until Christmas. I love Christmas Eve. It always seems so enchanting.

My weigh in is the same for today. No changes, but as I said before, I will really be trying with the New Year. Just was curious about it, that's all.

Have a great weekend!

Me too I love Christmas. I always have. I volunteer as Santa Claus each year at a special education kids elementary school class, 2 kindergartens, a nursery school, and a small afternoon english class for elementary school kids.

You definitely spread the holiday spirit then. That is so nice.

I transitioned below 300 lbs today.
135.9 kg = 299.6 pounds
I really feel like I accomplished something!
I started at 325 lb about 8 weeks ago.

Darius, you are an inspiration! Thank you so much for joining our group! Have a wonderful week everyone!!!!!

Renee thank you very much! I hope you have a terrific week too.

Way to go Darius!!! 25 lbs in 8 weeks. :bravo: You are moving right along. I will have to try the same in the very near future. I hope I will be just as successful as you are. Renee, we can do this too. Darius truly is an inspiration. Keep at it lady, your doing great.

Thank you Corinna! Oh I'm sorry I should have mentioned it..I'm a guy. King Darius of Persia? Not my real name. I didn't want to use my real name because I don't want my coworkers to recognize me.

Darius, I had a feeling you were a male.....have you always lived in Japan? You are doing really, really good on your journey...I will be joining you on January 1

Renee I've lived here for 10 years.
Yep let's do it in January; I'm excited about next year because I will complete my entire diet program next year and be well into maintenance; if all goes well.

Darius, what diet program are you following? Seems like it really works for you...
Getting more snow here today, but it's supposed to be near 60 degrees by Sunday..strange weather for December

Darius-no problem. I understand completely.

Well I haven't really fine-tuned my diet yet. It's something I am going to work on between now and when I finally reach the maintenance part. I need more variety and I don't eat enough vegetables. I like bread and I can't participate in a diet that says you have to eliminate things that are white like bread, rice etc. I have no idea what gluten is and it's just too much information. I'm eating less, almost no sweets, no snack food, no pancakes and syrup. I like toast and eggs and chicken sandwiches etc. I drink a lot of green tea and coffee. I don't know what the heck I am doing, but over the next 6 months I hope to fine tune my diet so that it works well. I am not counting calories except just rough estimations. I weigh every day. I fast one day a week just because I love the feeling of being completely empty (when I am as heavy as I am) - I like that feeling.

Darius, I think that is the secret....eat what you want in moderation. If you have to give up all that you love or go crazy counting calories, you won't stick with it. It's more about a lifestyle change.....

It's one week until Christmas!!!! Then it will be the New Year! A new year for you and me. A new year to see the start of a new beginning for the all of us. We are like the fat woolly caterpillar, who will soon be turning into the beautiful trim butterfly. Our transformation to something new and wonderful!!

:wreath:

Perfectly said, Corinna....2014 starts a new beginning for us :xcheer:

Yes well said; next year is going to be a good year with profound changes.

Here are some words of wisdom I ran across today and thought you may enjoy them too.

“If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution.” ~Unknown

“Bigger snacks mean bigger slacks.” ~Unknown

“If food is your best friend, it’s also your worst enemy.” ~Edward “Grandpa” Jones

“Can it be a mistake that ‘STRESSED’ is ‘DESSERTS’ spelled backwards?” ~Unknown

“A moment on the lips, forever on the hips.” ~Unknown

“What you eat in private will show up in public.” ~Unknown

“Processed foods not only extend the shelf life, but they extend the waistline as well.” ~Karen Sessions

“Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin feels.” ~Unknown

“Don’t dig your grave with your own knife and fork.” ~English Proverb

“Don’t eat anything your great-great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” ~Michael Pollan

“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.” ~Spanish Proverb

“Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.” ~Hippocrates

Hope you all have a great day!

:rudolph:

Those were great, Corinna...words to ponder for sure and so true!

Those are all good quotes Corinna.
Thank you Corinna and Renee for the words of encouragement this week.
Today is Friday weigh-in day.

I went as low as 135.1 earlier this week but it went back up yesterday and this morning..

Goal: 30 lb
Start date: 6 Dec 2013

12/06...138.6 kg ....start
12/13...136.3 kg ....-5.1 lb
12/20...135.9 kg ....-0.9 lb

-6.0 lb TOTAL

Darius, I think maybe it's better to weigh just once a week...but, you are doing great!

Still a loss, and that is what counts. No matter how great or small, you are moving in the right direction.

I think I will stay far, far, away from the scale tomorrow....I feel like a beached whale. All I've been doing is :eating2: :cookie:

Renee and Corinna thank you for the kind words. Renee I know what you mean, I was off plan yesterday even though I was so busy, going to two schools. I weight this morning and didn't want to - I was half a kilogram high.
The best thing about this is that's possible to recover from it and just have a light day or two and we're back on track.