Well I didn't lose the 2 pounds but I did lose, and the last 4-5 weeks I have only gained or maintained so just to be losing again has me looking on the brighter side of things.....

Welcome back Faux....

Tarapet, so glad to hear your son is OK.

I always had long hair cut off 10 inches about 3 years ago and have kept it short since, but now I think I am going to start growing it out again, just want a change

Melissa love your hair color, you do have very pretty eyes.....:) I have been toying around with coloring my hair as well, the grey is really starting to show, I even went and bought a few colors but chickened out and took them back.....Maybe this weekend.

Well better get going have an appt at 5:30 I will check back in later

:woohoo: under 200!!!! :woohoo:

Maybe we should all try to find someone who inspires us to keep going and proves it can be done. There are lots of people on these boards who have maintained huge weight losses...for me it is a friend in Ohio who has lost 168 pounds and kept it off. She is now pregnant and STILL keeping it off! She amazes me and is very inspriing to me. Lots of times when I want to give up I think about her think "It is possible, look at what she has done!"

YAY! I missed ya...glad you are back stronger than ever.



Okay, I am going to voice my opinion on the whole group pulling each other down thing...at the risk of being ex-communicated and hanged! I think we do influence one another and I have been thinking about something related but didnt' want to hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone feel I was picking on them or something. God knows I am far far from perfect myself, but we talked about not making excuses the other day and I think that is a huge problem for all of us here. We don't just post that we had a gain and need to work on X, Y, and Z, we post and say "but it's close to TOM" or "but I must be retaining water." These are excuses that are so quick to use and it lets us off the hook without really questioning why we aren't staying on plan.

I think the biggest excuse so many of us use is that we are busy and there is just so much going on in our lives. I have been guilty of this myself, but will be watching for it from now on. Think about it...when will there not be something going on in your life? THere is always going to be something, that is why we call it "living." If we can't stick to our plan while stressed out or very busy then maybe we haven't nailed the right plan for us just yet.

What will we do if life calms down and we drop all the weight...there will come another stressful time and what then? We gain it all back becuase we're just too busy to deal with it? I have realized this as just another excuse, and one that I will no longer allow msyelf to use. Life is life and if I am going to really lose the weight and keep it off then I will have to structure my lifestyle so that I just naturally do things, stressed out and feeling up to it or not.

I think that's the key. It has to become a lifestyle, something that we just do because it's what we do. The level of stress or other activities shouldn't matter if it's just how we live. That is my goal for the year now. To officially be able to say we just live healthy, these are the things we just do as a family. I have changed what my kids and hubby eat drastically but I am still far from perfect on my own diet.

I'm so so tired of losing the same pounds over and over again because I got to saying "There's just so much going on right now!" and let myself fall back to unhealthy behaviors. Who else is tired of losing the same weight over and over? I think it's time to start thinking in terms of lifestyle changes and making them just routine daily habits, ya know?

Anyway, this is not aimed at anyone and like I said I am the biggest one here in terms of excuses and letting myself off the hook when things get busy or stressful...but I will NEVER reach my goal if I back off everytime life gets heated in some way. Even if life slowed down to a halt long enough for me to lose it all, there will be stressful times after I'm thin and what will I do? Gain it all back everytime things get hard or busy in my life? I think not!

We can do this, girls! I think the fact that we can talk about this and really be honest is a sign we can make it to the end of the year stronger, healthier, and on our way to our goals if not there already.

All of this hit home for me the other night when I talked to my friend who has lost all the weight in Ohio. She is pregnant and I asked her without thinking if she was worried about gaining the weight back and she quickly said "no, that didn't even cross my mind. Why would I gain it back? I still live the same way pregnant as I did before...it's just how I live."

And I thought...That's why she's keeping off 168 pounds without struggling! It's become her lifestyle, plain and simple. It has changed how I live every second of my life. I'm not just on a diet, I am changing how my entire family lives every second of this life. That includes during busy times!

I'm down two pounds to 209, my St. Patrick's Day goal weight!

This week was a lot of work. There were times when I really wanted food that wasn't good for me, really wanted to not work out. I guess it came down to what I didn't want more. I wish I could say that my motivation was more positive. I do feel pretty great about losing 2 pounds, and it felt good to be finished with exercise. But I know that if I keep on not doing healthy things, I'm going to have to keep dealing with all of the problems that come with my weight. I love food, but I hate being on blood pressure medicine more. Not a big fan of working out, but I'm even less a fan of huffing and puffing along behind my friends, especially with spring and outdoor activities looming. I'm tired of giving people fuel for mocking me, even as I acknowledge that they're mean to do it. I'm not especially thrilled about the new lifestyle, but I know it's better than the one I've got.

Not especially inspiring, I know. Sorry.

melissa: you are looking gooood, woman!!! your hair is sooo dang shiney!!! im jealous!! I never got a maniure till i moved to asia a few years ago.. but it really does feel good.. its worth the money for the good i get after doing it.. s materialistic as it is.. feeling pretty feels good!!! hehe


Purple: you made a lot of good points in your above post. I really like wht you said about your friend that lost the weight. Its true.. making it a lifestyle is key.. i feel off the wagonby warping the good mindframe i was in to thinking mcondalds was aTREAT. thats the worst mind frame i could have had. its not a treat.. puming toxic foods into my body is not aTREAT! being healthy is. anyway.. very good points above :)

i think we should all start saying one positive thing we are doing for ourselves each day on here amoungst our posts... remebering the positives is totally going to help us... so here's my positive thing for the day.

I focused on water today... and drank a lot of it. I feel cleansed and want to a;ways remember how good a sufficient amount of water makes me feel. yay water!

purple--- well said i completely agree. excuses are not the way to go. we need to honest with ourselves.

To all the people who lost...no matter how much....Congrats!

Purple - AMEN! You said it girl....it is amazing how I tell myself i don't have time and yet I can have time to watch all my television shows....LOL!

Hello!

Welcome back abby! You lived in Asia? How cool is that!

Ufi- Congrats the goal!

Congrats to everyone that lost weight even if it wasnt the 2 pds.

Hi lovely ladies! Only down 1/2 a lb this week... but, it's a loss so I'll take it! I'm hoping to make up for it in the upcoming week.

Right now, I'm doing some packing to head out of town for the weekend to see my family in WV. I'll probably catch back up with you guys on Sunday night.

Have a great weekend! And be good!!! :p

PS. Was it Melissa who said she got a mini trampoline? Hey, there's a smileybug just for you: :trampo: <---ha! cute eh?

Hey all, big sniffles from across the sea, I have a cold, and if i was a man it would really be serious, I mean Manflu is going around big time, and i just feel terrible, but moreso because no-one cares when a girl has a cold, but hubby or dad gets and and bam, please look after me, im soooo poorly, hehe, i got 1 hours sleep last night and feel sooooo tired.

I maintained this week, pretty happy with that, as not exercised due to long shifts. Next week though I will be rocking to jillian and billy, i am hoping to lost this week, mainly because when I have a cold i dont really eat alot, as i cant taste so i eat all the manky healthy stuff that i dont normally like bacause it tastes bad, i guess kinda like a detox, i dont use cold remedies after going to sw before and realising how much sugar and calories are in them lovely throat numbing sweets.

so hot fruit juice and awful tasting vegies here we come.

Congrats to everyone, UFI welldone on goal, what did you do this last week to lose??

Heya Fauxichick, great to see you back, where in asia did u live??? i'd love to visit malaysia and china but am really scared about the food, my friends just came back from hongkong and thats not bad for food they have english menu's but really scared ill order chicken and its really cockroach thigh or something, eugh

Purple, thanks for a thorough telling off, makes you realise just how many excuses we make for ourselves, we come here for encouragement and friendly banter and sometimes it doesn't happen, everyone has something bad in there lives, i know this all to well, and at work I was told off for letting my own health slide and getting ill pushing myself too much for other people, they said i will be no use to anyone if i dont think of me 1st. kinda makes sense, jsut a shame some one else had to enlighten me :mad:

anyway Here's to a new week, new mini challenge???? and new weight losses that are going to stay off, :carrot:

Guess what? I did all that posting last night and forgot to send Eny my weight :stress: I will blame no one but my own rotten brain...sorry ladies. I am down 1 solid pound though, and happy for that one little pound! It may be all I get but I still worked for it.

I did slack just a bit this week so I know what to do if I want more than 1 pound next week. I missed a couple exercise sessions...and I was just about to say "but it was raining out" but that would be an exuse! I have other options to work out inside, so not being able to get to the outdoor track is just an excuse I use a lot...okay, catching myself is becoming a game :D

Kosh- Like the new pic, lookin good girl! You crack me up...cockroach thigh..LOL. I hope you start feel better.

Purple and whoever else wants to read this
- You are right, life isnt always gonna be perfect and theres gonna be ups and downs and we all are just gonna have to figure out how to keep our weight in tact during these times. We all make excuses wether we know it or not or mean it or not. I know im one that said I was retaining water. Your right its an excuse but it was the only logical explanation that I could come up with for gaining 5 pds in one week. I dont know why this weight loss has to be so darn hard. Ya know? Skinny people are like whats the problem? Its alot easier said than done. I actually just had the conversation with someone the other day. You would think a person wants to lose the the weight so bad they would just do it. But alot of us cant. Its so frustrating. One of my biggest excuses is I just dont feel like it. Im so freakin lazy sometimes. Ok alot of times. I hate working out. Im not one that likes to feel the burn. Its like a chore to me. Ive been at this for almost a year now and I havent lost hardly anything. I just cant get in the right mind set.

Happy Saturday Chicks!

Today was 75 minutes of step class this morning. Since I missed exercising the last two days to attend events with my daughter, it felt wonderful to get back to the Y.

It will be a crazy day getting DD to all her appointments since we are down to one car for three of us today. She has a nail appointment, a hair appointment and then later off to the picture party for the prom. It will be fun.

Be strong today girls. Avoid the "white" goodies and be sure to get some nice exercise in too! You'll thank yourself at the end of the day.

Heather-You sound stressed. I am jealous of skinny people myself. There are so darn many of them and I really believe it is virtually effortless for them. My middle son is very overweight and when he was a child, he used to cry about how other kids could eat and not get fat. I really dislike having to focus all my energy to just lose maybe half a pound a week. Oh well. That's the breaks. Like I said, I am glad I am at least maintaining right now. Believe me I can put on 15 pounds fast! I've already told you my philosophy on exercise. It's just something I try to do everyday. I know some people stay slim without it but whatever. It does use up some calories and it is good for your mental well being. You are not lazy. You take care of yourself, work real hard at your job. Don't you also take care of your nephew on weekends also? You are doing the right things. Just hang in there. Keep trying. It will work.

Good morning girls! Ok first of all - Purple and Alex's mom - since I :love: my girls I included your weigh ins that you posted here even though you didn't IM me. :D this week's weigh ins were much better then last weeks... I'm proud of all of you. I'll post the results for week #4 in a few minutes.