So we are past the halfway point of our journey, and while we all have done a wonderful job so far, I feel like we are losing people because of either person issues or that people feel like they are having a hard time. I know personally it's been hard for me because of various reasons.
Because of this i have created this thread for both teams. Think of it as an online motivation board. You simply post anything you've had problems with since this challenge started but then you have to turn those things around by posting what you have done or will do to improve on those negative things.
Recommiting yourself at this point in the journey is almost essential. Studies show that more than half of the people that make a New Year's Resolution to lose weight give up within the first or second month. We started with over 40 people on each team and now we are at 23 on both teams. So we have lost half of our original challenge.
I know it's harder for some than others. But please let us know if something is bothering you. Who knows. Maybe just venting can help.
I've started eating while watching tv at night. It's baaaaad because I will sit there with a bag of chips intending to eat "only a few" but I end up eating quite a bit because I'm too preoccupied in watching tv. So from now on I will only eat at the table, if I am hungry I will eat at the table...not in front of the TV.
I'm pretty stuck with lunches. By lunch time the kids are usually getting pretty cranky because they need naps, so by the time I get the kids fed their lunch I only have about 5 minutes to prepare my lunch before the kids are wanting to be set loose. Needless to say I haven't been eating too healthy at lunch time. Yesterday it was leftover pizza from the night before. Starting tommorow I am going to prepare my lunch in the mornings when the kids are in a good mood so that my lunch is ready to go.
I've been a hermit lately. I only go outside when I need to because it's too cold for the kids to be outside long. Starting tonight I will walk, even if it's just a slow paced walk for 20 minutes a night. I need some quiet time to myself and a slow walk/medium paced walk would be ideal. I am going back to school next month and on my lunch breaks I am going to start walking as well because lunch break is 1 hour and I don't need 1 hour to eat.
I need to lose this weight because:
*while I am at school I am pretty much being scouted. My schooling and practicum takes place at nursing homes throughout our area. The people who hire keep a close eye on the students so they can pick and choose who they want to hire when the students are done. Since lifting is required, the employers look for the healthiest employees. They don't want to hire someone who is unhealthy because they pose a greater risk of having to file for disability leave when they hurt their back.
*I am on the waiting list to get a breast reduction. I have been on the list for just over a year and waiting list is just over 2 years so I have ideally 6 months to lose this weight and 6 months to maintain and just hope that some of the fat starts coming from my boobs
*my kids are getting busier and busier! It's getting harder and harder to keep up with them. My oldest son (3 1/2) wants to start playing soccer so I want to be one of those fit soccer moms who can run around the field with their kids practicing with them.
*I want/need to be healthy so that I live the longest life I can. I want to live to see my grandchildren, great granchildren, and maybe even great great grandchildren. I shouldn't cut my life short because I like to eat. I can still eat, but I need to make healthier choices. My life is in my hands and I am in control of it all.
I struggle on and off with food. I don't know what it is, but I can do the exercise. I will even make up for missed sessions, bc I can write it all down and check it off. Hate hate hate writing down food tho, so that's not a transferable option. So I will undo all the great exercise with bad food choices that are made bc I feel like I need a treat or a snack. That was last week, so I can go ahead and post my update. I have resaddled myself back onto the weight loss horse and am moving forward. I have caught up on missed exercise and have made a goal sheet for myself of weekly weight goals and where I need to be each morning to get there. If I don't achieve the weight for the day, I have a cut-back day where I am very careful about everything. Haven't had to do that yet, bc luckily my eating has been back on track enough that I have been making my daily goals.
Bottom line is, March is 6 days away, the start of spring, and I refuse to spend it the way I spent February - up and down, up and down.
I have really been struggling with a couple of things. First of all, I have had a tough time getting back into my exercise routine. I have planned out a workout schedule (mostly training for a March 31 5K), so that will hopefully help with my exercise.
The other major problem I have is sticking to my eating plan when I am out of town. I have a small child so we visit my parents and inlaws every few weeks or so for the weekend. It is really tough to stay on program when I am traveling. I also have a couple of out of town conferences coming up (one the first weekend of March), so these are going to be really challenging! I need to recommit 100% to my eating plan (I do weight watchers). I used to be ok to "cheat" every now and then, but recently these "cheat" sessions end up being much too long. I need to stick to the program 100% to keep myself on track! So, that is what I am going to commit to doing - which is going to be hardest when I am out of town!!
Hey everyone. I am right there with you all. I have been struggling big time. I have not lost a pound in weeks. And last night I ate and ate. I was way over my points. Soooooo having said that I too am going to recommit to my team and everyone who is in this game to loss weight.
I am off to let the red team know they can come here for support and motivation as well as recommit.
I've found that I've started to let myself snack WAY too much lately. My solution to that is to preplan my meals even days ahead of time. If it's already written down, all I have to do is look to see "what's for dinner". Easy, easy, and it's one less thing for me to think about each day.
Babygrant - wow, I'd love to get a breast reduction, too...please PM me if you'd be willing to entertain a bit of conversation about it and how you went about selecting a doctor!
Hi everyone~
I"m struggling right now. I know what I need to do, it's just putting me first before everything else and doing it. I can't let stress take hold and me abandon myself. So here I am, admitting & recommiting to sticking to my workout schedule, staying on plan with my meals and getting in all my water. No more excuses! I will do this for myself and for my team.
I have a horrible time with this site freezing up my computer (this is the only site that I visit that does this). I do not visit here but once a week, to enter my weight, because of the frustration factor. I was not going to enter my weight this week, but guilt on letting down the team, got to me, so I did do it this week. I do not know if I will be back again, it all depends on the 'frustration factor' and if I'm willing to grit my teeth and deal with it.
If I do not return, I do want to wish you all well.
For me, the site slows down due to pop ups, I think. I have my pop-up blocker turned on, and I think the site just keeps trying to push pop-up after pop-up at me until it finally gives up and then loads the site. I see that both at work as well as at home.
babygrant, I've been watching too much tv, too...and it does make me feel nibbley. I've trained myself not to eat while I read, drive, or work on the computer, so it's just that crazy television set!
I just read a book that really brought my problem to my attention. Julia Havey, in The Vice-Busting Diet: A 12-Week Plan to Break Your Worst Food Habits and Change Your Life Forever picks the three top impediments to a healthy weight as soft drinks, fast food and TELEVISION! Of course, she suggests replacing these unhealthy habits with healthy ones, and her way of dealing with tv is to not watch it until you've done your exercise for the day, or are doing it while you watch.
Anyway. What I'm letting get in the way for me right now is work is strenuous and demanding lots of computer time, and I'm taking two online classes. That means the last thing I want to do is spend more time on the computer, unfortunately, so I haven't been checking in at all during the weeks for the last 2 or 3 weeks. I think that hurts, because what drives me sometimes is the team, and knowing I want to contribute. But then, all I want to do is veg in front of the tv. Yuck. YUCK! TV keeps me from writing, from reading, from leaving the house ...oh, gosh, this is pathetic...what's so important that I have to watch? RERUNS! I don't even watch the new stuff. Ugh. I really am a mess. Forgive me, Losers, for I have sinned.... what an awful confession.
I also have alot to gain by dropping at least 20 pounds...I'm at a point in my career where I could be moving up. I have the education and the experience, I am emotionally and mentally suited to manage and lead in this, my second federal career, like I did in the first. However, I believe my weight is holding me back. It's just not as easy for people to hear what I'm saying when I look like this. And I'm not comfortable with this body...this isn't my body! My body is smaller and sportier!
I spent last weekend with my "little" (younger - she's 47) sister, in Virginia. Over the last few years she's lost 70 pounds. Last year at this time she was losing the last of it, and has kept it all off since. How does she do it? She exercises EVERY morning, an hour cardio. She does strength training in front of the tv at night. She eats 1200-1500 calories a day. Every day. And, she's like us...busy. She owns a thriving large animal practice and works 60 hour weeks herself...along with 7 other women vets. She has kids and pets and a husband and she has a romance reading addiction that won't quit.
What she doesn't do is watch much tv, maybe an hour or two a day, and most of that she's working out. Just being with her I lost 2.5 pounds! I couldn't help myself...we walked, we jogged, we played, we shopped, but I didn't sit in front of the tv, eating. I actually fit in jeans I couldn't fit before we started this challenge, and before I left for the long weekend.
I think I'm letting my Tivo make me lazy and fat!
chellez, thanks for starting this thread. Just writing all this down, knowing I won't be judged for how I feel has already helped. I've been listening to The Four Day Win on my Zen, and Martha Beck talks about why we know what to do but we're just not doing it. She makes alot of sense to me, and this thread is a reminder to recommit...small steps add up to big changes, after all. I think I'm going to set a tv limiting goal to get myself started again.
Thank you, to everyone for being so forthcoming about our shared issues. It helps to know we are all in it together, and I'm not alone in these struggles, even if our specifics are different.
choosewell.
Last edited by choosewell; 02-25-2007 at 02:36 PM.
Well it's time for me to admit... I've been dragging my feet about it and now I need to get it done.... for my team's sake and my own.
When I was in the biggest loser challenge before this one I was so frustrated. I just couldn't fathom how all of the rules and time was set aside to make the challenge and someone could just up and walk away from it. I was new to the dieting stuff and being on South Beach and dropping weight like crazy made me cocky. I felt like I could just shed this weight with minimum effort and contribute to my team. I took over the challenge host position mid way through and loved it. My team won and I was still loosing.
Then the reality set in about my weight. I was stalling and cheating on South Beach. I started to think I just can't do this anymore, I wanted another challenge so I decided to host one of my own for the New Year because i knew a lot of people would be thrilled to do it with me. I'd jump back on the wagon no problem and everything would be fine.
Boy was I wrong.
I started this challenge off with a good run. I was doing South Beach again and lost like 5 or 6 pounds. Then I fell back into my ways of cheating. No so much because I wanted to cheat, but because of lack of money. I could not afford to make the correct choices because we were spending so much money on bills and some nights it was just easier to eat fast food. I know you're probably thinking the same thing I am. With all the money we spent on fast food we could have at least bought some groceries right? The problem with me dieting is that my fiance Daniel does not diet as well. He should, but choses not to. So I end up spending tons of money on my groceries and very little on his. And like every man that has a garbage disposal stomach, he'll eat anything he could get his hands on.
I also started to go back to class, thus making it harder for us to eat right and for me to exercise. I'm also planning a wedding with less than helpful parents and the stress is phenomenal.
All rolled into this is my loathing of exercise. I just really feel like I have ten thousand other things I'd rather be doing than getting on a treadmill or toning and twisting. Don't get me wrong, I can get on a treadmill and power walk 3 miles. I just can't stand what I consider a hassle to goto the gym at my apartment and wait for whoever to finish with it and then just walk. It's too cold outside to do anything most days and walking around my apartment complex is just not far enough.
So for me to recommit I plan to:
Schedule my day better
Find out my stress points in life
Find a diet that works for me!
Set aside a better amount of money for good groceries
Not resort to fast food so much
Work out in my apartment with my push dvd
Walk outside when it gets warmer
A lot of my problem is that I'm a procrastinator. You all may not see this online, but in the next few weeks I'm going to catch up a lot of things that need to be done. Anything from school work to house cleaning to wedding stuff. And while this may raise my stress level, I'd rather get it all out of the way now then to sit back and let it get to me later. I have 24 weeks before my wedding and I need to get this stuff past me.
Ok so now that I've vented in typing i'm probably going to bookmark this page so i can remember all of the things I've said when I look back months from now.
Michelle, I can understand what you are saying. I, too, was a member of the last round of TBL. I started with Weight Watchers for the third time in September. I was losing weight rapidly. I thought I can do this and forgot all about the other 2 failed attempts. I belonged to several Weight Watcher Yahoo Groups. I didn't have the troubles staying on plan like others did. I thought this is going to be a piece of cake. I have got this weight loss under control and I will win.
Then I hit a plateau. Something I thought I would never do. It happens to other people, not me. SURPRISE. I got thescales moving in the right direction. Soon after I slacked off on the good eating. I never went over my points but my choices weren't good ones. I ate to much junky food. And I have been doing it for weeks. Guess what I have plateau again. I don't think it is really a plateau. It is my poor eating choices. Sure the 100 calorie packs of cookies, cakes, and popcorm are great and you can stay within your points eating them. But my body isn't getting the protein it needs.
Sooo I vow to only eat TWO junky items a day. I have a problem in the evening while watching tv. I junk out big time. New plan...fruit. I have to get the scales moving in the right direciton again. For me team and FOR ME.
I was doing really well when my husband was in basic training (airforce), partly because the stress of being apart kept me from over-eating and partly because I was living with my mom and she's good about only keeping "good" food in the house and keeping me busy (and active).
Now that I've moved out to texas to be with my husband in tech school, I've hit a major plateau that I would love to blame my body for, but it's really MY fault because I've been eating like crap, drinking soda everyday, not getting enough water, getting NO exercise at all...etc etc and so on. And not that it's his fault, but my husband is a HUGE enabler. He knows I need to watch what I eat but then he brings cheesecake over and suggests pizza/fastfood/desert when we're trying to figure out what to have at meal time :/ I think he honestly would rather I stay fat I'm okay when left to my own devices, but I would usually LOVE to order pizza and just a tiny string of self control keeps me from doing it, and he knows that it's what I really want, so he suggests it because he thinks it will make me happy. He's not intentionally trying to sabotage me, and I know he just thinks he's being nice when he brings home cheesecake, but he honestly makes things 100% harder for me...
The worst part is I'm not sure how to overcome this. Every night I promise myself that tomorrow is a new day and I'll have more self control, and blah blah blah, but I crumble as soon as he enables me to eat the way I really want to. He and I have talked about it, but he's not intentionally enabling, so he's not sure how to stop himself either.
If anyone had any suggestions/advice I'd really appreciate it.
Both Teams! - Admit Yourself....Recommit Yourself
My life is in my hands and I am in control of it all.
I wonder if it's because of all of the signatures and stuff that makes it freeze. Can you turn off signatures on this site?
