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Huckle:
Congrats! A 2-pound loss is great!

Opheliaphoenix:
Wow - a 4-pound loss - Way to go!

Ready for the challenge
 

Greetings, everyone! This is my first outside attempt to join an online support group and be accountable for releasing my weight. I'm 220lbs. And ideally I would like to be 150 lbs. This month my goal is 4lbs. It'll be a slow climb for me. I'm not that confident. I'm working on my confidence level. Glad to be here. Thanks for the post Munchey. And a big thanks to the creators of the website.

I am in. Put in weights on last Sunday and today. I hope to be somewhere between 200 and 209 by the end of the year. Currently at 222.2 and based on average rate of 2.4lbs / week since the end of July, this is a realistic goal if I can get past the holiday obstacles.

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TaMry:
Good to see you join the challenge. You can do this! All steps in the right direction will add up. Let us know how we can help.

GrannyNancy:
Welcome! You have made great progress with your weight loss. Good to see that the Bright Line Eating Plan is working for you. I have read about it, but even though I don't eat much sugar and flour, I knew I couldn't live with the plan for the long run.

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the welcoming messages! I just logged my weight, a bit late, but I normally check in on Mondays, and forgot to do so earlier. Anyway, another week of crazy ups and downs on the scale, which i know is normal, but it can really mess with my brain... I had measurements 3.5 pounds apart just couple of days from each other :O

I'm solely relying on diet at the moment, which is not ideal, but been quite down the last few weeks and even thinking of exercise seems like too much effort :-/ My goal for the week is to do one proper exercise "session", swimming or maybe cycling. A bit of comfort yoga at home doesn't count! haha

Well done to everyone, including those who perhaps didn't have a great week, and those who didn't post. Hope you are all taking care of yourselves! :)

:@)

Better late than never
 

Just found this group and want to do the end of the year challenge. Lost 27 pounds on IP this year but fell off wagon and have gained 10 back. Need to get serious again.

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Balorbear1985:
Welcome. Best wishes with your goals. We ca do this!


Flying_unipig:
I'm sorry you are feeling down. I can empathize. Dark Fall/Winter months can be a challenge for many. Exercise can help. It can be hard to just do it, but it leads to improvement in mood. Hang in there.

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It wasn't my finest week, so I have a lot of improvement opportunities. I've had multiple evenings, where I ate a 5oz bag of Popchips. My brain is telling me that when the sun goes down, I can quit exercising.

I succeeded with my 12-hour fast, on a few days, then I failed on other days when I woke up with a significant appetite.

My mileage for the week was 21 miles, where I wanted 25 (ideally I want to adjust my goal upward to 30). I did make it to the gym twice and then once to volunteer at the Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center. I have a Whole Body Vibration Machine, that I stand on and do some exercises. My goal is 2 sessions a day, and I've only gotten in one.

Lots of improvement opportunities for me.

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Dealing with weight loss (food addiction?) can be similar to dealing with other addictions. We have to keep revisiting the tools to success and working them. it's so easy to evolve from good habits and slip back into old ways.

One thing I find helpful for me is to periodically revisit "What I Hate About Being Fat" and "What I Look Forward to With Weighing Less". Perhaps some of you want to join me with your own lists!

WHAT I HATE ABOUT BEING FAT:
I hate the way I look
I don't feel comfortable/confident in my clothes
I want to disappear in the background and not be noticed
I have less energy
My joints hurt more

WHAT I LOOK FORWARD TO WITH WEIGHING LESS:
Wearing clothes that I bought on sale, but haven't been able to wear
Getting rid of fat clothes once and for all
Feel good in outfits
More energy
Less joint pain
Quit wearing a cardigan in public to hide under (anything to mask my weight)







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Hey Everyone:
The chart below represents the stats for the 11-12-17 Weigh-In. Congrats to everyone for their accomplishments! Staying in the challenge is an accomplishment.

The new Weigh-In Sheet for 11-19-17 is up. I will post an update on the stats a day or two, after that date.

REMINDER:
If you choose NOT to weigh, please enter your last recorded weight onto the form for the new week. That keeps you mindful of the challenge. Also, posting a minimum of one weekly post (no matter how short), to keep in touch, keeps you mindful as well.

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I'm experiencing some winter blues as well as I have a 21 year old son who is full of drama. This last week I managed to gain 1 1/2 pounds from poor food management, but thankfully am back to starting weight today and being more mindful. With my son, I'm sure things will change at some point, just feeling the need for a life ring at this point. Hard to focus on myself when he is punching my buttons, feeling frustrated. :frypan::kickbutt::frypan: (releasing tension!)

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I had a small success last night. I considered having either some Popchips or Skinny Pop popcorn. First, I picked up the 6 oz. bag of Popchips. I made myself look at the calorie count - 600 calories if I ate the whole bag. I told myself "no". Then, I picked up the bag of popcorn and it has close to the same number of calories. So, that was a double "no".

I considered the option of popping my own popcorn in a brown bag in the microwave, or having a few raw almonds/walnuts with a diet Dr. Pepper. I went with the raw nuts and the Dr. Pepper. This morning, I happy with my choice.

When I eat, without validating the calories, it's easy to not remember the amount of calories. Usually, it a matter of underestimating the calories or justifying that I got in extra exercise today.

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Hey Workinglikeadog:
I'm sorry about the difficulty you are having with your son. My parents both passed a couple of years ago, within 4 months of each other. My sister exhibited some strong traits of Boarderline Personality Disorder (BPD). I was and still am "split black" (all bad in her mind, the blame for various things and the one with a problem)

I learned a lot about communication strategies, setting my own boundaries and radical acceptance at a website called: BPDfamily.com

They have a "Workshop" section that addresses various strategies and skills to set boundaries (for your protection and for you to enforce), skills to avoid engaging in arguments and lots of other strategies. Many people don't have a personality disorder, but it's common to have a couple of the traits of a personality disorder (in varying degrees, and a various times/situations).

You can't change someone else, but you can change how you react to someone and how you interact with them.

Just sharing some thoughts. It's not easy to deal with a high-conflict person, who can't/won't admit they have a problem. The pattern of conflict/bad behavior keeps reoccurring: happens, no discussion and then carrying on as if nothing ever happened - only to repeat over and over.

After the same drama and conflict happens over and over again, you have to examine what personal boundaries you need to set/enforce for your own sanity. Until someone decides they have a behavioral problem to work on and seeks help, all you can do is radically accept the situation and protect yourself as best possible.

Week 2
 

Hi all - Another tough week for focusing! After having some late success last week, I have slacked off and am trying to get some focus back before Sunday. One day at a time, all! I will imagine some extra will power dust... :hug::hug::hug:

munchey, Thanks for your suggestion of a website that helps with communication strategies, setting my own boundaries and radical acceptance. That sounds good for many of life's relationship challenges. I'll check it out!

Never giving up...still fighting the good fight. I was struggling ever since returning from vacation on November 4. I just really got on board on November 15...I really want to meet my end of year goal!

Congratulations to all those remaining true to their commitment!

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Note: Sharing this article on splurging. Some of you may have read it before. I find that this is the type of article that I like to reread periodically. Hopefully you will find it helpful to read at this time

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THE SPLURGE: Written by: Greg Hottinger, MPH, RD,

Framing Your Splurge: The Pickle Jar Analogy
"The first step is to gain some perspective on holidays by considering the big picture. Imagine two large pickle jars, one that is empty and one that contains 365 pennies. Now imagine that you are told to remove a penny from the one pickle jar and put into the empty pickle jar for every time that you knew you’d blow your diet during the calendar year.

You might start with the obvious holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Plink, plink, plink, you put three pennies into the empty pickle jar. Then another penny for New Year’s day, your birthday, Valentine’s day, Mother’s day, Father’s Day, the 4th of July, and seven pennies for the week at the beach in August,. When you’ve come up with the obvious ones and you’re considering Arbor Day, stop and take a moment to take a look at your two jars.

In one jar you have 30 or so pennies and in the other, the remaining 335 pennies. The 30 or so pennies are the times each year that you KNOW that you’re going to splurge and “blow your diet”. The jar with 335 pennies, however, represents your healthy program, the one that has helped you lose weight, regain your health, look better, and feel great!

You can see that what you do on the 335 days of the year that you follow your program closely is much more important than what happens on those 30 splurge days. But as you know, it’s not that easy. The problem is that when we “fall off the wagon”, it may take us days and days to get back to our program. Our 30 splurge days turn in to 90 splurge day. Why does this happen? Use the following five strategies to help you enjoy your upcoming splurge and still keep your program intact.

Strategy #1: Give Yourself Permission
If ______ (fill in the blank) is a special time for you, plan to enjoy it. Make an agreement with yourself that it’s OK to not have a weight-loss day. You’ve worked hard thus far and your enjoying a special day is not going to ruin anything.

Strategy #2: Frame Your ______ (fill in the blank) Splurge
Keep your indulgences to just the day, not the entire weekend. A key to weight-loss success is learning how to keep your exercise program and eating structure healthy the day before and the day after your special day. This is called “framing” your splurge.

Strategy #3: Have a Plan
To make strategy #2 work, you’ll need to plan out the details so that you can stay on track. Where will you exercise? What will you be eating on the days before and after your______ (fill in the blank) splurge? Do you need to bring food or snacks to be able to stick with your diet? Do you need to explain to friends or family members that you’re on a healthy diet?

Strategy #4: The Splurge
Remember that ______ (fill in the blank) isn’t your last day of eating on planet Earth. How can you maximize your pleasure, fully enjoy the food that day, but still feel like you made good decisions? One strategy is to not come into the meal famished. Being too hungry will set you up for gorging yourself. The goal here is to have a great time and enjoy your company. Be selective with your choices. Focus on those foods that you love, eat slowly, and give yourself permission to savor them.

Strategy #5: Take Pride in Your Recovery
Now it’s time to get back on track. If you overate, don’t “beat yourself up” about it. If you did well with your choices, then congratulate yourself. Your overall success is in how quickly you recover. Tomorrow you’re back to the pickle jar that represents your healthy program."

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A great way of looking at those "special" days when food is
center stage.

This article certainly gives a concrete plan for the immediate recovery strategy...to prevent that one day splurge from lasting days and weeks!

Thank you, Munchey!

Thanks for the article Munchey! This is a hard time of the year and it's good to remember that a splurge isn't a problem if we can limit it to one meal.

Everyone did so great last week.

Congrats Gemini for making it to Onederland, good luck on your next goal!

:wave: everyone!

Munchey, great article and reminder especially for me who can find an excuse to derail almost any time. It's funny, I'm not a short cut taker in other areas of my life but am in my approach to food choices. Certainly not all the time, but enough to stall or sabotage my progress.

Weight is up 4 pounds this morning :eek: no doubt to the two meals out I had yesterday. A colleague and good friend took me out to a belated birthday lunch which was unexpected, and I had a previously arranged dinner out with a couple of friends prior to a meeting we all attended. I didn't stuff myself at either meal and left food on my plate and/or had leftovers but it was more food than I typically eat in a day. In addition, dinner was Chinese food and I know I'm holding on to a lot of sodium. Aye, yay yay...you live, you learn.

Hi! I need a jumpstart real bad... will check back later to weigh-in and think of some goals.

Hi, last Sunday I had weighed on a big bounce up and today I am weighing on a smaller bounce up but between the bounces I am down 4.4 lbs. Wow. Just goes to show how turbulent the ride can be and a good reason for me to graph with a trendline or I would go crazy weighing every day without that trendline.

Going to daughter's for Thanksgiving and goal is enjoying the grandkids instead of eating too much and getting stuffed and sleepy.

Munchey. You know I had a long talk with myself about sugar and flour and decided that the transient pleasure of some food thing or the other is far less than the joy and satisfaction of being in a leaner body and having real hope of getting to my goal weight again. A weight I have not seen for over 30 years. With 46lbs gone I can already tell a profound difference in moving around and doing everyday things. I used to be quite athletic and hope to go into my retirement years being able to do all the outdoor things. Also, you would think this is so restrictive but my taste buds have adjust and the flavor of all the vegetables and fruit is amazing. My diet is so much healthier and much more flavorful and cravings are few and far between. The few "cheats" I have had really have not been that satisfying................

Hey guys!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm still trying to get used to this "no-pressure/no-guilt" weight loss thing. I definitely do find weight loss communities to be beneficial to the process, but when real life stresses get in the way I do find it difficult to pop in here. Sorry about that :(.

However, I've been trying my best to keep on top of my 5K training, to varying results. I had one week where I didn't run ONCE which is baffling to me, since I'm usually quite diligent when it comes to training for a race. This has made the whole DON'T PANIC aspect to my weight loss a bit challenging, since I felt like I had already failed even though there's enough time to catch up. Even if I don't manage to catch up, I can always finish the training AFTER the 5K to appease my need to complete it ;).

Food habits have been getting better. I've definitely been listening to my body a lot more. One night I made dinner, sat down to eat, took a few bites but then felt full so I stopped and saved it as leftovers. Another night I just wasn't in the mood for dinner so I had a banana/yogurt instead. I think it's helped speed up my weight loss, honestly, since I'm definitely guilty of eating even when I'm not hungry just because it's such a ritual.

I'm currently 173.6 lbs, which is 1.8 lbs down for the challenge so I'm pretty happy about that! I'm trying not to get ahead of myself though and stay on track. I have a bad habit of letting my successes make me lazy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanskgiving if I don't check in before then! I'll be go to my boyfriend's godmothers who always puts on a feast. Since I'm British I tend to just treat it as a nice meal rather than a culturally acceptable time to stuff my face with food. Christmas on the other hand...well...I definitely get a little indulgent there!

:carrot: Awesome loss for the week, congrats!

You go Tefrey, Grannynancy and Chub! Way to stay focused, Congrats.

Munchey, I know you can turn that going the wrong way around, one day at a time! :jig: And thankYOU for the pickle jar article. I need to utilize #2 with the holidays coming up.

Not much, but am pleased with my 1/2 pound loss for the week. If I can continue with another small loss next week I will be ready for a high 5!:^:

New
 

Hi There!

I hope that you all are doing well and will have healthy habits this holiday.

I am new. I finally weighed in. :(

The road to my health club is blocked because a bridge is being replaced. That is not good. The detour is very long. Anyway, I did a little exercise here at home.

I've been eating more fruit. Need to eat more veggies. I eat too many desserts.

222

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Teri000:
Welcome! I'm so glad you have joined us.

Sorry to hear about the bridge. It has to be frustrating for you. How long will the replacement project last?

Circuit exercise at home can be an alternative. The website Popsugar has a lot of exercise videos, many of which appear on YouTube as well. Free weights and resistance bands can support a good workout.

sounds like a great goal :)

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Below is our chart for the 11-19-17 Weigh-In. Congrats to everyone for their accomplishments and for everyone who is still in the challenge! We haven't heard from some who signed up. I hope you are still with us!

I'm at the very bottom of the pack, but not for long!
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Per my official weigh-in, I gained a pound this week. Sometimes, I react to a bad weigh-in, that wasn't what I expected, by having "a splurge". So, I had a bit of an unfortunate splurge on Sunday. I got back on track on Monday, thankfully.

I had a stressful event yesterday evening. I was shopping at Sam's Club. When I went to back out of my parking space, I didn't see a car in a space behind be and bumped into his rear tail light. So, it broke the lense and bent a rubber moulding strip that is at the bottom of the light assy. This usually wouldn't be that big of a deal, but the car is af 1975 classic mercedes and is the owner's "baby".

The owner was very upset. Unlike some classic cars, like a 1966 Mustang, the parts aren't readily available. I'm trying to approach this by paying for it out of pocket, instead of going through insurance. With most vehicles, it would only be a couple of hundred dollars, but with hard to find parts, and a very fussy owner, this is going to be difficult.

If the owner gets too difficult, I'll just suck it up and turn it over to my insurance and deal with it that way. I hate to do that, when the deductible amount might pay for the repairs.

Usually, I'd overeat over a situation like this, but I managed to lose my appetite after I got home. I spent a couple of hours searching the internet for possible replacement parts.

For the moment, the scale smiled at me and I'm 2.5 pounds from Sunday. I suspect some of my Sunday weight was water weight. I know I'm better off not weighing too often, as scale fluctuations tend to have a negative effect on me. Sometime, I'd rather just celebrate my level of activity, healthy eating and calorie control and not peek at the scale for awhile.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Munchey ~ So sorry about the accident and glad you are handling it so well. Understandably the owner had a right to be upset (hopefully he reacted without too much anger). You are doing the best you can to rectify the mistake.

Unfortunately, my new car was hit on a Target parking lot Sunday afternoon and was a hit and run. I had Target loss prevention review the security tapes and they are following up with the police. It is a long shot, but I probably will have to end up paying the deductible if they don't find the driver. I was pretty upset, but did not eat my emotions away. It is only a car. No one was hurt. It is fixable.

Life goes on.

And kudos for getting back on track after an undeserved weigh in!!!:hug:

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MorningGlory1950:
I'm so sorry that someone hit your new car (hit & run). Hopefully the store video will be helpful and the police will make an effort if a car license can be made out. How much damage was there?

It's always painful to have your property damaged. The first damage to a new vehicle is always a painful experience, and it really doesn't get much easier. It's doubly painful when it wasn't your fault, then double that when the responsible person flees or doesn't have insurance and gives you false information.

The hit and run rate in California is high. Los Angeles has the current reputation of being the "hit and run" capital of the US. So many tragic news stories of fatality hit and runs on the news.

I need to get video surveillance for my home. It can shock you what the neighbors (or their contractors) are doing to your property, when you aren't home. My neighbor had a major home renovation and they used a forklift to move materials around. My 1966 Mustang ended up with a bashed in rear quarter panel. It was parked on my property, in an upper driveway area by the side of my garage and had a car cover on it. The only way it could have been damaged was from something coming from the neighbor's property. Things didn't go well, when I approached the neighbor. Of course the contractor, or his subs, aren't going to admit to anything unless you have a video of it. I had to continue a battle with the neighbor, or suck it up and have my insurance pay for it. So, I sucked it up.

This is my first "at fault" incident. Since I had the recent claim on my own insurance for the above damage from my neighbor's contractor, I'm probably going to pay out of pocket for my little fender bender. I need to weigh out what it will cost me more in the long run, higher insurance for a few years or paying out of pocket for this man's taillight repair.

Munchey, Morninglory - the very first week I got my truck, I backed into a post and put a significant dent in my bumper. Of course, it is a truck but it still smarted. I never did get it fixed because. It's a truck. :)

This week is challenging. I am eating according to plan and exercising and, even today, plan to be compliant but I have bounced up two days in a row and am now heavier than I was Sunday. GRRRRR.

Well, happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

HOPE YOU ENJOY/ARE ENJOYING YOUR DAY!

GrannyNancy:
I find with me, that the scale usually goes up and down before I can feel that I own a loss. I'm sure the scale will settle for you soon, with a downward number soon.

PS: Unfortunately, I'm the person who goes out of their way to avoid car damage. I see people with new vehicles who park up close (high potential for door dings and shopping cart mishaps), and cringe. Sometimes, I wish I could be one of them. I've seen so many people who push shopping cart into someone else's vehicle, or carelessly open doors into someone else's vehicle. Sometime, I think it can be liberating to drive a safe, but older vehicle with some character marks on it, LOL. Nothing stays new forever, even our bodies.

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Hi Everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. For those who aren't in the U.S., hope you had a great Thursday.

Today is a new day. You have opportunities to counter any "splurge" you may have had. Hope you have a good weigh-in ahead. Don't hesitate to coast on your weigh in, if it works better for you. If that's the case, don't forget to carry forward your last recorded weight to the new weigh-in sheet.

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Hi Everyone:
Hope we are all ready to put any splurges behind us and continue on with our goals.

It's been rather warn in California. It actually hit an all-time temperature high on Thanksgiving . I'm not sure how high it reached in my city, but at one point it did reach 96 degrees.

There aren't any lessons at the Horseback Riding Ctr., so my plan is to get in some walking at the park and/or go to the gym in the early evening. Although I generally like to get in gym visits over early in the day. This time of year, with shorter days, I try to get in activities that involve getting out in the sunshine before I lose the daylight.

I weighed in early at 208. That gives me a 2-pound loss for the challenge. Time to get more serious with exercise, portion control and resistance to Popchips. I need to maintain a 2 pound a week average loss to meet my goal for one-der-land. Actually, although I'd like to make the goal, I'll accept whatever loss I achieve.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and/or is having a good weekend!

Munchey
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