Oh and QOTD: I was 5 almost 6 and I don't have any memory of it.

Good morning everyone. I got this in my email and since some of us have been struggling with emotional eating, I thought it was perfect. How does she know I was strugglin? hehe

Jillian Michaels tip of the day....
Let Go of the Trigger
Okay, go get your journal or log in to your online Fitness Diary. As promised, I'm going to start showing you how to break the cycle of emotional eating. Below are two questions. For a week, before you eat anything, whether it's dinner or a small snack, I want you to answer these two questions in your journal. By doing this, you'll begin to distinguish between real hunger and emotional triggers.
1. Are you hungry?
Are you experiencing any physiological conditions that are signaling to you that you are hungry? Is your stomach growling? Do you feel weak or tired? Has it been longer than three or four hours since you last ate? If you concentrate on answering these questions, it will be very easy to determine whether you are genuinely, physically hungry or whether you are eating for a different reason. If you've determined that you are hungry, then it's time to eat. If not, it's time for the next question.

2. Are you depressed or anxious?
Did you just get into a fight? Are you anxious about a work-related deadline? Whatever it might be, write down what you're feeling and why you think you're feeling it. Getting in touch with your emotions here is critical. If you can't, you're going to have an incredibly difficult time reaching your weight loss goals. Dig deep, and get it in writing.

Sit tight — next Tuesday, I'll ask another question that will help you break the cycle of emotional eating once and for all.

Good morning ladies,

Feeling great ...woke up at 5:30am and did 31:00 on the bike...not much but its something...and I feel great...although my stomache is making all these strange noises....feed me. I guess it's right, but I won't get a chance to eat until about 9:00am.
Anyway, I just want to say thanks to everybody,especially Rennie, Diva, Counting (and anybody else...sorry I do have a terrible memory, but a large heart, amongst other things that I could do without, LOL!) for all the suggestions on the Linda Sansone videos...I made a list and I will view them later at lunch and hopefully order a couple. ALso a special thanks to Melissa...please do not be sorry as you have been nothing but helpful and wonderful...I do realize we all have lives either than here, although everybody here is starting to feel like family, LOL! I do have questions though about the exchange points...do you use them, save them??? If you don't use them by the end of the week do you just forget about them or do you add them to the following week? I guess that's the only downfall to not joing the meeting as I would have known the answers to questions such as this one.

Well gotta go to work now....hope we do well on the challenge...either way we rock!

More from my email & Jillian Michaels:

Emotional Triggers Behind Eating
You just got into a knockdown-dragout fight with your spouse. Or your kid. Or your mom. Or the guy behind you in the checkout line. Your reaction is to head for the kitchen to soothe yourself with something smooth, fattening, creamy, sugary, salty, or crunchy — pick your poison.
Sound familiar? If so, you're an emotional eater. But you've probably figured that out already. You've probably also figured out that unhealthy overeating leads not only to weight gain but to a destructive pattern of anxiety and self-loathing that's tough to break on your own. Want to break the cycle? I'm here to help.

You've got to start by facing the fact that there will never be a totally stress-free time in your life. There. That's as bad as it gets. Now on to the good news: You can stop emotional eating. The key is to identify the things that make you feel pressured, sad, angry, or anxious. Once you understand your triggers, you can break the cycle and start regaining control of when, why, and how you eat.

The best way to identify your emotional triggers is through self-examination. Face your issues. Bring them out of your subconscious and into your conscious reality. This is the most empowering thing you can do for yourself.

To change the present, you have to let go of your past. Forget about the times when you binged because you were upset, hurt, angry, or depressed. The past does not define you; the present does. Having a crystal clear vision of the future affects your behavior now. Let your daily actions be governed by your game plan for a new you. Keep that game plan in the forefront of your mind by writing about it and letting it become real. There's no deadline. Just commit to the process and take it day by day.

Diva - thanks for the posts from Jillian. I struggle with emotional eating and I appreciate the insight.

Bella - my favorite WATP videos right now are: Walk & Kick and the 30 minute walk:weight loss series. Both are 2 miles (30 min).

There are several that I'm not fond of because I'm somewhat OCD and little things bug me. For instance, the WalkDiet was very confusing to follow due to some strange editing. Also, I got the 5 mile advanced. It's a good workout and she has several 3 mile workouts that you can do, but the 3 mile workouts don't seem to have a warm up or a cool down. (I need to start muting some of them also because I've done them so many times that I can talk right along with Leslie, but I'm not sure how to find music that will keep the same pace.)

Also, I ordered some off netflix to try before I bought them. That's how I found my 2 favorites. I wish I had done that on every one before I bought it. That may be an idea if you can find some to rent to try them out before you buy.

Sara....yes the flex points are disgarded at the end of the week if you end up not needing them. They are just there as like your safety net in case something comes up like dinner out, or drinks with the girls. Things like that. And then the exercise points you can use I believe it is up to 4 per day on the days you exercise. Another thing to keep in mind is that if by nighttime you see you've still got say 3 points left for the day, but you arent hungry, you dont HAVE to eat those. The key is to be satisfied, not eating just because there are points left to eat. Did you know that you can just subscribe to the WW etools? Its alot cheaper than the meetings. I like it for tracking points and they have an amazing recipe builder that I just love! But you can always just ask! If i dont have an answer I will ask for you! good luck!

Diva...excellent posts this morning!! I love journal questions like that, where I gotta think about why I'm fat!

Hey Karen...our Biggest Loser for the week!!! Way to go!! Thats the way to show us all how its done!!! Enjoy that crown I think I'm gonna have to steal it next week! LOL!!

cakses....weekends are the hardest for me, I dunno why I still get into that party mode and make bad choices. Just keep telling yourself, as you stick to plan you move further and further away from the 200s!! You are rocking the exercise!! Keep it up!!

Good morning ladies...I'm going to fly through personals. I'm not used to having a baby in the house Oh boy am I in for it today!:P

Jen- You'll get back with exercise, maybe your body just needed a break. That was a really cool lesson your husband taught his students!

Laura- A healthy potluck sounds like a great idea!

Cathy/Canada- I hope the snow clears for you soon!

Roni- I would take 61 degrees right now

Rennie- I love DOT..."it stops everything" that is great!

Melissa- Great job on pushing through the pain and finishing yesterday...that is awesome!

Kari- Are the kids excited about all the snow? Hey better to maintain then gain!

Yello- Glad the floor is coming along

Danielle- Great job on getting in a 2 mile walk...how do you like power sculpt!

Andi- I hope your feeling better now that TOM is here...I'm still dying for mine to come~

Emily- How cow -44 does not sound fun at all!!!!

Sara- Good luck with WW...I hope you like it

Counting Down- Yeah it would be no fun to ski without snow...glad you got out there when you did

Cat- Hello...have a great day~!

Cassie- I hope you feel better soon...go to the doctor girl

cakses- So your trainer means business..that is the kind I would need!

Karen- Good morning..

Okay this baby is screaming now...have a great day~

Thanks!

The crown will be up for grabs next week because like many many many of us, my TOM is on the way!

Good Morning my lovely Reds!!!!

It's so wonderful to come here and see you all and find motivation right away! I slept really well last night and actually found I had a hard time staying in bed til the alarm went off. That's 2 days in a row that I've felt that. I wake up thinking about what a great day I'm going to make it, by eating clean and working out and maintain a positive outlook NO MATTER what happens. It seems to be working as I've had 2 amazing days OP.

Cat, I am so proud of you. 1 mile running!! I wish!!!! Before ya know it you'll be running that 3 miles with ease! Good girl on the Quizno's. Good for you!

Tina, good luck with the little one! Hope he doesn't eatcha alive! lol I LOVE the power sculpt dvd. Yesterday was my first crack at it and I only did the warmup/jillian's portion which was 20min./ and her cool-down. I have yet to get Kim's side or Bob's on that one! Frankly, I'm a little scared! LOL

Karen, a BIG congrat's on being our BIGGEST LOSER! You're a star!!!!!

Sara, I'm so glad you decided to try WW. This is my 3rd time attempting it but I have to say this is the first time I've actually stuck to it for more than a week at a time. lol I love it! I do it at home online, I refuse to pay for meetings as I never got anything out of them in the past. but that's just me! I love the online stuff you get and it's very inexpensive. I think its like $16 a month for everything. LMK if I can help you in any way too, we all have different incite it seems! Good luck, I know you can do this! Oh, and WTG on that bike ride! 31 min. is NOTHING to sneeze at! I can barely do 30 on my elliptical or my legs feel like jello. Be very proud!

Roni, thanks for sharing the stuff from Jillian. She has amazing incite on things and seems to really hit at the core. I know that I've had to implement alot of the things she's mentioned, like really questioning myself before each meal and yes, it does work! Saved myself from alot of extra calories that way!

Cassie, let us know what the doc says. I hope you get to feeling better very soon, we miss you around here!

Karen: Congrats!!!!

Diva: Thanks for Jillian's post.

HuneB: Thanks for all the time spent heading the Red Team!!!!!!


I did lose another pound, which made me meet my personal goal this month. I am trying to loose at least 5 pounds a month, and I had to loose my 5.5 pounds from last month (darn the holiday treats) and 5 pounds this month. So that made a total of 10.5 pounds for me for this month. Yeah!!!!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Good morning ladies!!! I am horrible with personals, so please forgive me!
Karen~ Way to go being the biggest loser of the week! That is awesome.
Tina~ Oh my daughter was in her room watching movies and on the phone all day....lol and my son went to the mall and spent the day there. They don't want to go outside and play when they can hang out with friends. Teenagers!...lol Can't take the youngest one out to play cause he has a cast on his foot and can't get it wet. He has a week and a half to go, hopefully there will be some snow left to take him out to play in.
Well it's snowing here today. Supposed to snow most of the week and some next week. I am so done with the snow and winter! I want summer time!

I need to get more water in today, and get back on track journaling. I do so well when I am focused, just need to get my rump in gear!

Hi Everyone

What a week! Sorry to have dropped out of contact, but I had a rough week and a half with the entire family sick and a cousin (28 yr) admitted to the hospital with an AVM rupture. He is in a coma and not expected to wake up for 2-6 months. There is no assessment at this point on brain damage, but things don't look good. It is a very touch and go situation.

Things are getting better. My family is about 85% over the cold and my cousin is stable (now it is just waiting.)

I am most definately an emotional eater and needless to say I have been hitting the chocolate too much this week.

Diva - your post was just what I needed. Thank you so much!

I am motivated and ready to push forward. Last week's .8 lb loss was great, but this week I am aiming for a bigger number. I need to get past my bumper 190!

I hope you all have a great week and we will see some big losses coming.

Cat, good job just getting a salad for dinner! I am never able to be that good at restaurants... gotta work on it.

Sara - just to make it easier for you to find them, it's Leslie Sansone, not Linda

Karen, congratulations! Great job

As far as "Dot" goes (I've never heard that before but I absolutely love it and will use it from now on), you know how there have been studies that women who spend a lot of time together (roommates, best friends, etc) tend to get on the same cycle? I wonder if there have been any studies done to see whether the women have to physically spend a lot of time together or whether chatting online can do it. I'm on birth control, so mine is pretty set, but it's interesting that so many of us are due for it at the same time.

Also, I weighed myself this morning (I do it every day, but only count it once/week), and I'm down 0.6 from yesterday, which means a pound exactly in the last week! Make sense, since I had lots of Gatorade on Sunday after my race, which would probably make me retain a lot of water. Too bad my official weigh-in wasn't today, but hopefully I can keep it down and lose even more for next Monday.