Hello ladies...

Heather...I was going to say the same as Rhonda...everytime I come here, doesn't matter which thread I go to it always takes me to my last post. Funny I don't remember checking anything, lol. Hopefully Rhondas advice helps.

Nori...I've heard the asics are excellent shoes! One day I may try them, lol.

Sara...oh my goodness woman! You are doing GREAT! WTG on the 5.5 pounds this week!

Rhonda...so far so good this week. I probably could step it up some but still getting over the back thing so I have been taking it easy. Doing my walks for now, and very slow walks...walking nonetheless.

I'll have to get back to the why I am fat question. Out of time right now.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Ginger - That's the exact reason my Mom is heavy. When I was a toddler a friend of the the family (some friend) made a pass at her. She was thin and pretty, but by gaining weight she was able to avoid attention like that. She just had no other coping mechanism at the time. He died last year and I swear I think she went and spit on his grave.

That just makes me sad and pisses me off at the same time. What is it that we do to our girls that makes them think that they should protect themselves with fat instead of a palmstrike to the nose. Or a Glock. Whatever. I have no intention of allowing my daughter to believe that type of male CRAP is her fault at all. I was so fortunate to be raised by a mom who really instilled in us the idea that we are worth respect and that we don't have to take that type of behavior from anyone.

I am so sorry that your mom took that on herself. How much more fun to have stood outside his church or business with a sign saying, "NAME tries to screw his friends' wives."

Now I want to go spit on his grave.

dixiedieter - when you used the phrase coping mechanism - I realize now...I was just too young to know how to handle it.

onthetee - i agree with how angry it makes you. I never went to my mom and confided in her, so I don't blame my mom. She didn't know. It does make me angry that I didn't know how to deal with it.

Actually, not ALL the fat is related to being attractive and not knowing how to handle it. I do have to blame some of it on having my three precious boys. Carrying three - meant putting on over 90 lbs., being bed-rested for a large part of my pregnancy and the stress of dealing with three infants and less than 3 hours of non-consecutive sleep every day for at least the first year of their birth...led me to being this heavy too.

I was always heavy to the point where I was happy and able to do what I wanted, but I was still "protected" from the evil comments, flirty-ness and general sleazy-ness of the men around me (not trying to say ALL men are evil - I don't want Antares on our team to feel like I am attacking him). It wasn't until I had kids that the weight got so high, that now I struggle to tie my shoes or climb the stairs.

Ginger

Sara: :cp: 5.5 lbs is an awesome start!

Amber: I was the same way with binging for a long time. I couldn't wait for hubby to leave for the week, and the second he was out of the drive I'd run to the kitchen and stuff myself. I'd eat normal with the kids, but soon as they were in bed it was my time to eat, eat, eat. I have found there were reasons for this, and I did a lot of hard, hard work to get to the bottom of it. It still is not easy, but I don't binge the way I used to. This is my year to completely kick it out of my life...thus my little binge free day tracker in the siggy.

I'm not going to post why I am fat. Short version: this fat makes me uninteresting, undesirable to the rest of the world, and I have tried very hard to keep people out. There are reasons for it, reasons I have worked over the past year to understand and now am trying to overcome. It's hard, but I know I can pull through this. I know I can re-learn self-worth and wipe out the lies that were put in my brain as a child. I am determined!

It really pisses me off too. I didn't find this out until I was an adult, and I think there were other factors involved too. After she had me she suffered from severe depression or possibly a complete nervous breakdown, but being the 1970's in small town WV, it went undiagonosed and untreated. So I think that probably snowballed when the jerk made the pass at her.

I think she could lose weight now without much effort if she'd just remember to eat. That sounds weird, but I've tracked her eating for a couple of days (without her knowing) and she only eats about 800 calories a day. I called her on it, but she's almost never hungry, whereas I'm always starving. At least if she ever decides to put forth the effort, she knows where to start.

I will have to come back and really read everyone's posts but I have to do a quick run through because I really need to be leaving right now as I am typing.

Girlygirl--Love the update. Very motivating!

Why am I fat?
For several reasons, just as scgirl32--I am really sedentary and prefer to read, watch tv, listen to music, surf the internet, or talk on the phone, etc you get the point.

Also, I mentioned trauma/drama issues in my intro post and I was more specific about it in the all teams thread which is only part of the story. Basically these issues have affected my entire life in many ways and I really need to seek some help or I'm gonna be in trouble. Just like Mom2sweetpeas I've lost alot of weight (130 lbs) and gained almost all of it back. Also like Amberelise I am a binge eater. I enjoy the binges. I plan them, I look forward to them but feel really guilty afterwards.

The support on this forum has been tremendous and it has helped me many nights. Gotta go. I will check back later.

Marianne: Yep! I'm getting ready to work out after I shut down my work computer :)

Sara: Wow, 5 and a half pounds! Incredible!!

Anna: The way you make oatmeal sounds fantastic! I eat steel cut oatmeal every other day or so, I think it's McCann's or something, and it's basically just the oats and water, cooked for 5-7 minutes. Milk...cinnamon...honey...wow, I gotta try it that way!


So...Why am I fat?

I guess I've always been overweight, even in elementary and before. Growing up, we ordered a lot of pizza and the only time I had a home cooked meal was for the holidays. In high school, I moved in with my Grandma (who was an amazing cook!) and I fell in love with Mountain Biking and lost a lot of weight, just because I literally spent all day on my Trek 820, riding through the woods and the back roads. 20 miles a day was common.

After moving to the "big city" for my work, and spending more time sitting on my butt, I turned to pizza again for a quick food source. That got me over the 300's, but I truly believe that I would of stayed in the 315's if I hadn't became addicted to dieting.

Everytime I try to lose weight, I gain it back and more. The yo-yo diet rule. I can be the same weight for 2 years, but when I get fed up and try to lose it, and fail, I'm suddenly 50 pounds heavier than before in just a few months.

It scares me to death to think how I'll be if I end up 50+ pounds fatter because I failed again. That's kind of why I'm focusing more on exercise and when I do "eat right", it's more about fitting in a good healthy meal here and there, and less about denying myself.

And that's why I'm fat...yo-yo dieting and sitting on my butt a lot.

Ok, now it's time to go exercise. I'll be back later to post my times in the exercise thread(s).

Take care!

John

Write these seven affirmations on a card, and read them allowed to yourself every day. The affirmations are:


I am in the process of creative change.

I am becoming better every day in every way.

I am firmly on the success beam.

My own is coming to me now.

My personal God is guiding me and helping me daily.

I will be glad and rejoice in this day that the Lord has made.

I believe I can handle all the problems that will arise today.

Put them on your mirror or keep in your wallet - anywhere you'll see it every day. Whenever you think of it, say these phrases aloud. As you keep repeating these simple phrases, you'll begin to believe them; and when you believe them, they will happen.

Mine are written on an index card and taped onto my kitchen window where I wash dishes very often! I love reading them. If you decide to do the same, I hope they help you too. :hug:

Selina, thanks for the quotes. I'm claiming this one as mine. I do have to constantly remind myself that this is an ongoing process. Every day,I must strive to continue changing my life for the better and will continue to change even after I reach goal.

BTW...love the new picture!

And, Frozen Peach...guess who got snow today? Yep, there are a whole lotta frozen peaches around here today! We got about an inch. My girls have never seen snow and they're having a snow ball fight right now. :D

Wow, that's crazy - snow in Georgia! It's really cold here in Seattle as well. No snow for a couple weeks though.

I need more positive self-talk. I'm going to commit to writing 5 positive thoughts about myself every day in my blog for one week.

Why am I fat:

I guess because I never learned how to entertain myself with anything other than TV and food. I played sports in school, but my summers were spent inside watching tv (mom and dad both worked days and mom didn't want me or my brother to be outside until one of them got home) and I'd eat whatever I could find and sneak snacks until one of them got home.
I also think it has a little to do with how poor my mom was growing up. I don't think they ever went hungry, but I think it was enough of a worry that she made sure to have an abundance of food in the house while we were growing up. I just re-read this, and it sounds like I'm blaming my parents. I'm not. It's my fault. They TOLD me not to eat so much junk, I just didn't listen.


I've gotten up every morning this week at 4:50 am and worked out for atleast 30 minutes. I'm really proud of myself!!

I'm so glad we have such an active blue team! It's a lot to keep up with, but it's very motivating!

Okay ladies. I adjusted my food for today and am still on plan despite the blueberries. I just can't eat anything for the rest of the night. This is not a problem, though, because it's already 8 pm and I *just* finished dinner. :)

Tonight I went to the gym and ran the stairclimber at level 8. I can do level 7 for 30 minutes with no problem. Okay, that's a lie. It's an effort, but at no point do I feel like I just can't go on. Level 8 is a different story. At about 18 minutes in I was really struggling. I finally had to hit the stop button at 22 minutes in. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get my 30 minutes of cardio, but at the same time I know that it was REALLY GOOD cardio. I felt it in my lungs. I'm going to try level 8 again tomorrow night. I'll just keep doing it until I can finish out the full 30 minutes.

I did upper body weights tonight. My fiance loves lifting weights (he has an upper body that would make any girl drool), so he is my lifting coach. Oh my gosh he pushes me. AND I AM SO WEAK! I just lift the bar on the chest exercises, no weights, haha. Then for triceps I only do 10 pounds each arm. Oh well, some day I'll see results and will be able to progress to higher weights.

I figure that if I build some muscle then I'll be able to eat a few more calories and still lose weight. ;) That would be good!

I was very honest with my fiance tonight about my binging. He found a luna bar wrapper that I hid in the nightstand. We talked a long time about my binging and at least I am being open and honest about it. Telling you girls about my problem helps a lot. At least I'm not hiding from myself.

So, tonight when he walks the dog I am very confident I won't binge. Tomorrow night will be very hard for me, though. He has poker tomorrow night. I will need a lot of help from you ladies! And, maybe I will call my mom again tomorrow night.

I also might go to the grocery store and buy a ton of vegetables now that I can eat them again. If I'm going to binge, I'm going to binge on green beans!!

Okay, I'm off to log my exercise minutes. At least I work out hard at the gym. I've got that going for me. :)

Selina - Your new picture is gorgeous!

Ladies - when I go get those green beans, I'm going to get steel cut oatmeal as well. I am VERY excited to try it.

Why am I fat? Good question. I was always a little bigger in elementary but never really fat. Looking back I remember in 5th grade being able to wear my aunt's size 0 jeans and thinking I was so cool. All the other girls were in little kids sizes still. I started going through puberty that summer and I remember having to buy size 12's to start school. My period also started the first day of sixth grade. I stayed about a 12-14 until about 9th grade when my period started getting wacky. Next thing I knew I was having to buy 18's. After I graduated I moved out on my own and ate what was cheap. Mac and cheese, ramen, frozen burritos, etc. There wasn't a vegetable in sight.

I also remember being in junior high and being friends with the skinny girls. We all ate the same amount, they just burned theirs off faster. And reading about all you girls who ate to hide from men also brings back memories. I think I was subconsciously doing the same thing. I few run ins with older men can do that to a girl.

When I met my husband I had been living with my mom and we were eating well and going for daily power walks. I was probably about 220 or so. I moved in with him and quickly gained 20 pounds thanks to Burger King. When we decided to start a family I came off the BC and was soon diagnosed with PCOS. Looking back that certainly explained my weight gains in Junior high and high school that corresponded with my periods being out of whack. In August of 2003 I joined Curves at 251 pounds and that September I started Metformin. By March I was down to 235 and pregnant. In April when I found out I was having twins I quit Curves. I delivered in September 2004 at 284. I did make it back down to 248 around March 05 due to breastfeeding and lack of time to eat. By Feb 06 I was back up to 274 and I joined the local gym. I did 2 hours 2-3 day a week plus the treadmill at home when I could and didn't lose an ounce in two months so I quit going.

In December 06 I was diagnosed as Hypothyroid and am finally getting that under control. So I blame many things on my fat. I really need to let go of that and realize that while some of it was unavoidable (PCOS and thyroid) there were some things I did have a part in. Those are the things that I can change now. I am funny, smart, a great wife, mother, friend and I am more than my weight. I need to get on a path to being healthier so I can continue to be all those things.

Ginger - I'm posting regarding your "junk food" post. You are a strong gal!!!! I feel like I would fall flat on my face if I baked right now. Maybe someday? I LOVE to bake. But, wouldn't my girls be OK if they grew up without a Mom who bakes?! Anyways, you mentioned how small your little guys are. My youngest suffered with FFT (failure to thrive) for a long time, and she's still sooo lean at almost 3. I do add butter to her oatmeal and give her an extra slice of cheese in her sandwich! She's so uninterested in eating/food - at least it's easier to get her to eat than when we had to use a syringe/tube and force feed her. My 4 year old, though - she's my daughter! Poor thing...asking at breakfast what we are having for lunch!

Thanks Momto2sweetpeas!! Yes, I am strong now, who knows how long it will last (my brain is saying it WILL last!!!).....I am trying. I do try not to have things around that are both really junk food that my kids don't need and food I know I crave, like stupid cheesies.

Yes, my little guys are 29 lbs each at 3 1/2 years old. To put it in perspective my nephew who is 4 months old is 22 lbs already and his sister who is 2 years old is 32 lbs. My kids can't afford to get a stomach flu or any other virus where they might lose pounds, because they just don't have any extra!

Cheers, Ginger

Yep, it'll last as long as you decide for it to last! Wow! Their cousins are HUGE?! Livi at just 4 is 36 pounds (but she's short) and Melina is 26 pounds (and long) and will be 3 in April.

Rhonda, Nori and Marianne - Thanks for your thoughts about my son - we were up every 2 hours, he seems fine today - I hope so because we are going down the coast for a week.

Sara - WTG on the 5.5 pounds!!!

Rhonda - I am in agreeance with you, a daily thread works for me too, because it keeps me motivated and holds me accountable, reading these posts give me something to do when I am feeling peckish.

Amberelise - my son is a blueberryaholic too. He could eat the whole punnet in one go.

Selina- Thank you for the affirmations - I am going to wrote them out and pin to my bathroom mirror.


Why am I fat?
Not an easy question to answer because it didnt just happen. I was always chubby as a kid, but before I met my husband I had slimmed down through a meal delivery program... it was great no thinking. When I met my husband I enjoyed going out for dinner with him and when we moved into together I experimented with cooking and loved good food... One of my problems because I never prepared my meals when I lost a LOT of weight previously was that I didnt know what I should be cooking, what better choices I could have made... I got pregnant, kept the baby fat on, husband left and I emotionally ate for comfort - I also get depressed. And here I am now bigger, fatter than I have ever been!!!!

Today I started the day with aquafitness, I usually cant get to exercise in the morning because it is too much of a hassle, getting ready for work, day care etc. but today I am waiting for carpet to be laid, and I thought if I dont get it in this morning - it just wont happen!!!

Are you a morning or evening exerciser?

Tonight I am off with my sister and my mother to see Billy Elliott the musical, we are having dinner out, and I WILL make healthy food choices!!! I am resisting grabbing the weightwatchers bar now to have something scrumptious tonight... tomorrow will be my last post for a week. My sister and her kids, Mum and Grandmother and Liam and I are all spending a week down the coast near the beach... I plan to do many beach walks and hopefully will not have a gain(fingers crossed). I will weigh in early tomorrow for next week... See you all later.

Rhonda and others who have read YOU on a DIET - Is it a book you would recommend? I saw it on the bookshelf at the local book shop and pondered whether to purchase it?

Vanessa - I have not read the book but Dr. Roizen a co-author spoke at my law firm a month or two ago and I found what he had to say to be very fascinating. Based on the information he provided there, I would strongly reccomend the book.

Why don't you go back to level 7 to finish the half hour, instead of stopping when 8 gets too hard? That way you'd still get your full workout in. Even if you had to drop to 6 to get your breath back...keep moving! Get the full workout in. Or do intervals, do level 8 for 5 or 10 minutes then go back to seven, back and forth, moving the amount of time on level 8 up as you get stronger.

And on the binging...letting hubby in on the truth is a big step, congrats. YOU CAN DO IT tomorrow night, I just know you can! Start setting your mind to it now, telling yourself you WILL do it! I like to nibble on lettuce to avoid binges...it's a free food for me so even if I eat the whole head it never affects the scale :)

Rhonda--we might get some snow here tonight, but it might end up just a bit of ice, snow in the mountains...have to see! My kids have played in snow when we visit Ohio, but only once at home, and that was just a light dusting last year.

AmberD--Congrats on getting up that early to exercise! That takes committment..way too early for me :)

I have that bloated TOM feeling :( miserable! Should be better in a couple days, and I have decided not to step on the scale until I feel better...or Monday's weigh in, whichever comes first. I got an hour of cardio in tonight, but I struggled to get up the energy...did it anyway though :carrot:

hey if you want more - you can have all that we have!!! PLUS we are expecting more and - you'll love this - our highs are going to be below zero
that's this weekend
OMG
Glad I'm going to be knocked out recovering from my surgery :)

which, btw, I'm weighing in early (tomorrow) and I won't be around much after tomorrow night - surgery is 7 am Friday morning and I don't know how I'm going to do - it's relatively minor surgery but who knows right? It's jaw surgery - so yeah, liquids for me LOL!!!

Wish me luck - at least it'll help with weight loss!

Hi team
I hope everyone is doing well. I'm still trying to learn how to use the website so bare with me :) I can't add pictures because I don't have 25 messages yet :( but as soon as I get there I'll post my before pictures.

I'm pretty sure we are getting some snow tonight!

I agree, Theresa, interval training is the ticket!! I had a good chuckle just now. It has never in my 36 years even crossed my mind to nibble on lettuce! GL with the surgery. Minor or not, surgery is rough.

Vanessa - I'm normally a mid-morning exercise person. But the last few nights I've had to go to the gym when DH gets home since the girls have had colds. I *think* they are well enough to go tomorrow morning and get exposed to something else there! I just got home about 10 minutes ago actually. When I got there at 8:30, there was only 2 empty bikes for cardio machines! I'd never seen it that full. I hate the stationary bike. Luckily I was only on one for 10 minutes before an elliptical opened up! Sadly, my brand new BE Buxom Lips lipgloss must have fallen out of my sweatshirt pocket while on the bike. I did call the gym and ask them not to throw it out if they find it! Any other lipgloss and I wouldn't care!

Off to bed.

Peach, hoping all goes well with your surgery.

Good luck with your surgery Peach!

Good morning, Bluesers! Everyone ready for another great on-plan day?

The scales were smiling at me this morning with a little loss.:carrot: Looks like I will have some good news for our team with my official weigh-in on Monday. I weigh every morning, but only count Monday's weigh-in on my ticker. Also, the scales showed a drop in body fat percentage....from 51% to 50%...this usually means inches are coming off, which is very very exciting to me! Looks like the exercise is going to help me turn my metabolism back on. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm back on Southbeach and not straying off-plan, but I quit counting calories. However, I'm never hungry and I'm eating 3 meals and 3 snack a day and the scales are starting to move again, so I'm not too worried about how many calories I'm eating.

Peaches, we'll be thinking about you today and hoping everything goes well. Check-in when you can and let us know how you're doing. Until then, take it easy.

Vanessa, I really enjoyed the book. For those of us who've struggled with our weight for years, we tend to have a lot of "dieting" knowledge. There were some new things for me to learn in this book. The doctors do a great job of explaining why our body pulls us back to overeating the same junk over and over again. Also, they give some really practical information on how to change these tendencies. But, the book also goes into some detail about the physiological reactions in our body, which can get a little boring if you're not into this kind of stuff. Personally, I love it! I find the human body to be a miraculous creation.

Definitely not morning! I am not a morning person and I do good to get out of bed, get the kids off to school, pour a cup of coffee and sit down at the computer to start working. I'm trying to establish a routine of jumping on the treadmill right after I finish my workday....around 4ish. That way, I don't get involved in doing something else and "forget" to exercise.

Amberelise, we are here for you. You can do this!

I hope everyone has a great on-plan day!

:cheer::cheer::cheer: GO BLUE! :cheer::cheer::cheer:

Hi again, Bluesers! How about another question of the day? I really think it sparks some great discussion for our team. What do all of you think? Of course, please chime in if you have a great question for everyone.

Yesterday, we shared about the reasons we are fat...pretty heavy stuff, huh? But, I really think it is invaluable to each of us to really think about these kind of things so we can implement real changes in how we view ourselves and our overeating. This time, how about a lighter subject? Yesterday, Selina shared some great quotes with us. What are some of your favorite quotes that keep you going on this journey?

My favorite quote...'Quitters never win and winners never quit.'

It has taken me over a year to lose 30 pounds. I don't care how long it takes me to get to goal, I refuse to quit.

This is what I get for reading too fast... I thought you said you are firmly on the success team!

But of course, you are that, too! :)

I have to admit, I ate 2 honey buns last night. :( I don't know why really... I shouldn't have done it. I feel cruddy this morning. Luckily I have some red peppers already cut up and hummus in the fridge so I've planned ahead. Oh... the dinner I made last night was atrocious, so that probably didn't help when the honey buns were whispering my name at 9pm!

My period also started today. I'm totally bummed because I have an appt to have a cervical & uterine biopsy done on Monday and now I have to reschedule. Which means DH has to reschedule time off work... it's so annoying. I really want to get this taken care of so I can stop worrying about it.

We got snow last night, so I'm going to bundle the kiddos and go out for a winter wonderland walk.

Have a great, ON PLAN day Blue Team. :)

Good morning ladies!

I slept like a log last night. That stair climbing really took something out of me. When I jumped off of it I considered going to the treadmill and setting it at an incline for the last 8 minutes of my cardio, but I lazied out. I'll make sure I get my full 30 minutes of cardio in tonight - whatever that may be. Dropping it down a level is a good idea, really. I think my fear is that I will use the level 7 as a crutch, though, and never push myself to complete it at level 8. Why in the world am I not good at pushing myself?

We're doing abs and lower back exercises tonight after the cardio. You know, I've read that doing weights after cardio is good because your muscles are warmed up. But then, I read someone else say that it is NOT a good idea. What has everyone here heard?

I'm an after work exerciser (around 5 pm). If we do not drive to the gym DIRECTLY after work and if I go home first that's it for the night. I will not leave home to go to the gym.

I'm so proud that I kept it under my calorie limit last night. This is especially after I ate those chocolate covered blueberries during the day. Yesterday's success gives me a little more incentive to be very on plan today. I still know I'm going to have issues tonight. When it's starting to look grim I'll hop on here and see if there will be anyone on to talk me down from the ledge. ;) Also, I've picked up a Grisham book to read and I'm hoping that I'll get absorbed into it tonight and won't think about food.

Rhonda - my favorite quote is one I've seen here on 3FC. Someone has it in their signature. "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." I tell this to myself some nights when I have the binge urge. Of course, the way I've been binging lately I don't think it's been very successful, haha.

My weigh in day was Fridays, but I'm thinking about moving it to Mondays during this challenge. If anything, it will give me 2 extra days to be sure and be on plan and try to put together a loss. That should be some good motivation to get me through the weekend binge free.

Like Peach, we've got some COLD weather coming in through Chicago this weekend. I don't think anyone will be able to drag me outside. It would be a good weekend for WoW wouldn't it, Chelle?

I echo the well wishes for your surgery, Peach.

Again - sorry for all the typing. I type a little over 100 wpm (comes with the job territory) and I can be quite windy in person, too. ;)

Okay, quick clear up: I am not having surgery...thankfully :) That is peach I think...I am the lettuce muncher but dont' get credit for surgery :lol:

We got SNOW and I am more excited then my kids...that's how it goes I guess. They are into the hot chocolate though, that's about it. My daughter is actually upset she doesn't get to go to school.

I only got an hour of exercise last night, and that was forcing myself, but today I feel better, TOM is on his way out, and the cramping is gone. I am going to get in at least 2 hours today, hopefully more. I am just craving yoga and pilates today, it's like my body just wants to stretch out and get strong, so I think I will start with cardio yoga and go from there.

Hey there! Nice to see you on here...just keep reading here and you'll have those posts soon enough. They like to talk here :lol:

Good morning Team!

It's cold here in Florida this morning. It's supposed to be down to 20 degrees tomorrow morning. I AM NOT AMUSED. Ya'll can keep your snow, I had enough of that in WV my first 28 years. The only white stuff I want to see on the ground is sand.

Vanessa - I checked YOU on a diet out of our library. I really enjoyed it and I've incorporated a lot of the knowledge into my South Beach plan. I've also toyed with calorie counting on the SBD, so my diet plan is really a composite of the things that make sense to me, I guess. I'm a morning exerciser. 6am every morning M-F I'm at the track for a 60 minute cardio session. We swicthed gyms this week to a closer one, so hopefully in the evenings I can get some strength training in too.


My current favorite quote comes from "Meet the Robinsons" - Keep moving forward. My progress is slow, but as long as I keep going I'll get there eventually.

Peach - Good luck with that surgery. Liquid diets can be a good boost. I once had such a severe sinus infection that I could only tolerate liquids, I lost 15 pounds in one week.

Time to go clean off my desk, I'm sure I'll be back shortly. ;)

Absolutely!!! It has helped me read my body so well. I can think "OK, CCK should be kicking in about now. How do I feel?" It also reminds me what I am doing to my body when I eat sugars or fats or alcohol and that our bodies are equipped to handle small amounts, but not screaming tons of the stuff. After I read John's post, I was going to recommend it to him because he mentioned yo-yo dieting, and this book explains very well why that is so hard on a body and how to avoid it. Definite must read.


That's weird. We got nothing up here. I have to ask...what was the atrocious dinner you made. Don't you hate it when you put forth the effort and it turns to crap!?

I also have heard both, and it comes down to this for me. Every study is flawed; every researcher comes with his or her own bias; rarely do we see the actual study. We get a blurb in a newspaper; we get one inch of text in Shape or Fitness; editors start the short article with, "A new study from blah blah blah..." Unless I can read all of the controls, the participant variables and parameters, I will likely blow it off as a fad. To answer your question, I think both were right at the time that they did the study under the conditions which they controlled.

Personally, I would be miserable if I just started lifting without doing my cardio first. For ME, I prefer to be all sweaty and warm when I lift. If someone else says that they would rather lift and then do cardio, I assume that works for them.

Anna: I'll check out that book YOU: on a DIET when I can. Thanks!


I had a weird experience last night. I finished up 60 minutes on my recumbent bike and sat on the recliner to rest up. That was at about 8:30 to 9pm'ish. I then passed out and woke up around 1am, drug myself to bed and slept like a rock until 8am. I don't know if I was just majorly fatigued or what, but I actually feel really good today!

Regarding being a morning or evening exerciser...I'm much more of an evening person. I usually workout anytime from 7pm to midnight. The later I do it, the worse I feel in the morning, mainly because I have to be up around 8am, and if I exercise at midnight, I'm not getting to sleep until 2am or so. I really want to be a morning (and evening!) exerciser, but getting up early for work isn't something I can do. I've tried and I just hit the snooze button until it's time to get ready for work.

The very few times I have exercised in the morning, I've noticed that I sweat a lot more, and quicker, during the day. Even a small walk to my car will have me sweating or if I just stand for a minute or two I start feeling those pores opening.

Later!

John

Hello to all,
I am terrible at this posting thing. The rest of you are definately "on your game" in that area.

Rhonda- my favorite quote is the same as Amberelise's..."Nothing will taste as good as feeling thin feels" I actually said it out loud when we were at my DH's company party. Everyone was ordering desert and I didn't want any but my husband kept apologizing. I told him the quote.
2 more I really like are:
"Never trade what you want most for what you want at the moment"
"A year from now you may wish you had started today"

Nori- Good idea with the positive thinking! It's amazing what a difference our mindset has on our lives.

Amberelise- way to go with keeping up on your workouts! I have to hand it to you...you are definately motivated. Being honest with yourself and others is hard.

Vanessa- How was Billy Elliott? I am so jealous of you talking about your beach walks. I wish.

Frozen Peach- So sorry to hear about your surgery. I hope it all went well.

Cristina- I can relate to your snow induced frazzle...I also live in the icebox! -6 here today. Thank god for treadmills...

As far as why I'm fat,
I guess the quick answer would be that I put myself last. I make sure that my DH and kids have everything they need in life before I take care of me. That all changed on the first. This is my year. I still feel guilty though. It is expensive to be thin. Spaghetti and chips are so much cheaper and easier than fruits and veggies. I keep telling myself I'm worth it and I deserve it. Not only that, who will take care of them when I'm having that heartattack I'm bound to have if I don't change?

Morning or evening excercise?
Since the first I have done a little at both times. 9am is my first workout either on the treadmill or DVD and evening after dinner I do whichever I didn't do in the morning. In my mind I think it keeps my metabolism moving. I'm not sure if my theory is correct though.

gotta go for now,
Bren

Okay ladies/John. . . I know I'm chatty but work is slow again today. I just finished off my last big project. Mr. Man seems to be really crabby today. He's holed up in his office with the door shut. My other guys usually keep to themselves anyway, so all of my work always depends on Mr. Man. I hate days when Mr. Man is crabby - which lately has been 4 out of the 5 work days.

ANYHOO -

I'm putting together a plan of attack for tonight to battle the binge. Yes, folks, it's my own personal BATTLE OF THE BINGE. Anyway, I'm making a list of things to do when I feel like binging tonight while my fiance is at poker.

1.) I will be going to the gym directly after work. Usually a VERY HARD workout makes me less hungry afterwards. So, I will begin my binge battle by getting some hard core cardio in.

2.) I will read my book The Last Juror. I got the intro chapters out of the way last night so the good stuff should be kicking in tonight. Hopefully I will get absorbed in the book and it will take my mind off of munchies.

3.) If I start to get the munchies I will log on to 3FC and check in here. Then I'll run to the goals thread and get a little inspiration.

4.) If I must, I'll call my mom. I've called her every day this week, though, and I'm probably getting on her nerves.

5.) If Mom doesn't answer or I've run out of things to talk to her about - very possible - I will write my god mother a letter. I'm sure she would like to hear from me.

6.) If I do decide to eat a snack I will eat it. In order to avoid the binge I will take a shower directly after eating that one snack. That will give the binge urge time to pass. I will also brush my teeth.

7.) I will come back to 3FC if I'm still fighting the urge. I will re-read this post. I will remind myself how proud I was of my success yesterday.

8.) I will go to sleep early.

Okay, that is the plan. Yes, I feel good about this plan. Good stuff.

Amber - Try painting your nails. Hard to munch with wet polish. I've also been known to play video games that require both hands to keep from eating out of boredom. Unfortunately they frown on both of those things here at work, so that's when I tend to overeat most.