ObviousChild - glad you liked that. Actually, since I've started calling my mini-muscles "fatterpillars" as sort of a term of endearment, I've begun to really pay attention to them so I get to be that butterfly next spring. And I LOVE your name... such a cool song! Probably be humming it to myself all day now.
"fed"up... and all the other people who had such lovely things to say... you're gonna make me blush... but seriously, one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned is that effecting change in oneself is a lot easier and more successful if you can get your mind in the right spot. That saying about "success = 1% inspiration + 99% perspiration" doesn't quite cut it with me. When it comes to something as dramatic as making a LIFE CHANGE in order to live well at a healthy weight, all the sweat in the world isn't going to make it happen unless your brain's on board. Yeah, you might lose the weight in the short term... but unless we learn healthy habits and get ourselves in the right frame of mind to maintain them, it won't last and we'll be right back where we were. And I, for one, am desperately tired of the yo-yo thing!!
Let me ask you all this - and please, share your answers if you feel moved to: why are YOU here? What brought you to this forum? What made you decide to get proactive about your lifestyle? Are you just on a diet, or are you seeking to change from the ground up? Speaking purely for myself, I finally got to a point where I hit rock-bottom. I was completely and utterly frustrated and angry... the weight really snuck up on me and before I knew it, I was heavier than I'd ever been in my whole life. I knew from hard experience that quick-fixes, crash diets and unhealthy ideas about my body do not work and only make things worse. I knew... deep down inside... that in order for me to get to a place where I could be happy again, I needed to adjust my mind, body and spirit to attack the WHOLE problem, not just the physical part. And I did NOT figure that overnight... only through self-searching for a long time did I learn that. And THAT is why I seek inspiration. THAT is why I try to find new things to think about every day, new ways to gain insight and encouragement and strength... and that is why I have come here. I knew I couldn't do it alone, and I knew I needed comrades, friends like you fine folks to be on the same journey with.
It's a long, tough row to hoe... but you know, as long as we're doing everything we can to be healthy, we are the best possible selves we can be at this very moment. And that's the truth! Because I am making good choices, I am the best possible Suz I can be right now on October 31, 2006 at 3:42 p.m. EST!! And the really cool thing is that if we continue to be the best possible selves we can be, in our own time and on our own terms, we will conquer our obstacles and reach all of our wonderful goals - our own way. And that, dear ones, is the miracle. A long miracle - because it won't happen overnight - but a miracle nonetheless. And hey, we get to enjoy each other's company along the way! Can't complain about that!
Hope I didn't scare anyone off with yesterday's post... I don't mean to. I just get excited, that's all, and when I get super-motivated, it's hard for me to keep it all inside...
Anyway, I ended up NOT going to the gym last night because DH wanted to take me to dinner... he said I've been working so hard lately and that I deserved a break. I couldn't refuse... and I really did not make very wise choices at the restaurant, either. I'm not too happy about that... but it was one of those days where I just sort of shrugged and said "today will be a day to relax a little with my regimen, and tomorrow I will be extra, EXTRA good." After all, I couldn't very well refuse DH and say "no, honey, I really don't want you to treat me to dinner tonight."
And so today I will be extra good to my body with better food choices and a nice, long workout.
Good morning everyone. Hope ya'll survived Halloween without too much trouble. For me it was pretty easy, but am dreading Thanksgiving, although I already have some healthy recipes in mind.
Okay Rowdybliss you asked and here it is: I also hit rock bottom. I am not your typical obese person. I never yo-yoed. I just went up...... and up.....and, yeah you guessed it - up. I was very skinny as a little girl, used to get teased, all the kids called me pickle. After looking back at my school pictures I noticed that in 5th grade I was a pickle no more, not exactly a pumpkin or an eggplant , maybe a mediuim zuchinni. After going through a traumatic experience in 5th grade I put on some weight and it stayed with me. I did diet all through high school, was about 20 lbs overweight, but still looked pretty darn good, it was definitely in the right places. When I met my husband is when I really started packing on the pounds, met him when I was about 21, got married at 23, had 3 kids pretty quickly, suffered from a little boredom, a lot of stress, probably some depression and just stopped caring about myself, I'm supposing.
Well the past year I even packed on more weight, was even more sedantary, could barely walk, never mind climb a flight of stairs. My knees are just ruined for life I am sure. Anyway, I was getting more and more down and realized that I just might have to live this way my whole life. All this time I never really made an attempt to lose the weight, I know it sounds crazy, but I never gave dieting a really good chance. And diet is just the word that I am using, I really don't look at this as a diet, I most certainly do look at it a complete life change.
Zoom ahead to about 6 months ago and I'm in a Chinese restaurant with my hubby and 14 year old and in walks an acquaintance of mine who had just lost 170 pounds through lap-band surgery and it just hit me - I really can lose this weight, she was exactly 2 lbs heavier then me. And then I looked into the surgery, was completely gung-ho, went through all the proper procedures and got a surgery date of Sept. 18, 2006. Started my liquid diet on September 4, as instructed by my surgeron, loved it, hemmed and hawed over whether or not to continue on my own, cancelled my suregery Sept 11 and haven't looked back since. I just decided that I absolutely CAN do this on my own. Up until I made the decision to have the surgery I never really seriously thought about even attempting to lose the weight. For me it was absolutely the "deciscion" to lose the weight and that's that. I know I have a loooong way to go, and I'm not sure why I never attempted it before, because when I set my mind to something I usually can do it. And I have every intention of doing it. That's that , no turning back. I will not live the way that I was living. I was truly not living, I miss out on so many things because of my weight. And if I really wasn't living well then I surely must have been dieing. Although I know in some ways I will not recover and that is my knees, I don't think they will ever be pain free and that will stop me from doing certain things, but anything has got to be better then being 287 pounds.
And the funniest thing is these past 2 months have not even been that hard, the will power is amazing when the brain has been programmed correctly.
Getting back to finding this forum, I had actually found a forum strictly for lap-band surgery and I was enjoying that for just a couple of weeks when I decided against the surgery. They wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with me anymore once I decided against the surgery, so I kept looking and then I found this place and the rest as they say is history. It is an absolute godsend for me.
I thank you all for reading this and for every single day you help me keep my "brain programmed".
Okay Rowdybliss whatcha got for us today? Hmm?
And Jcatron I know you'll be around to support me, but umm yeah, you'll be over at the "maintainers forum" and I won't be sad - I'll be real, real happy for you.
Hey Rowdybliss you snuck in there with a post as I was typing MY long-winded post. And you most certainly DID NOT scare me off, I hope I don't scare YOU off with my "whatcha got for us today". Keep it coming, keep it coming.
fedup: I will be around though, there are PM and Email that we can talk too.
3fc has been such a great place for me. If it wasn't for everyone here and the challenges I don't think I could even come close to getting my goal. I have a couple of friends who would like to lose weight and we all pretty well started together, they both go to curves 3-4 days per week which is great! but neither is willing to give the junk food up. They are proud of me! At this point food and exercise is still a concious choice, and they get tired of listening to me about it. I know everyone here understands.
My story is a little on the long side, but I will try to shorten it. When I was a kid I was the one people would always say "we cant all be skinny a Jeni" Then when I was 17 (135 pounds) my aunt told me how thick and fat I was. She was my favorite aunt so I lost weight on an unhealthy diet. I went to 105, I saw a picture of myself, I looked like death and quit the unhealthy diet. But I also put on 40 pounds (145lbs) I stayed here for most of my college years, but then I got married and had kids I went up to 199 pounds at my highest. I have done some dieting in the past but I have always gained it back. Then Iwas trying on my interview clothes and I truly saw my body for the first time. It was almost like a bolt of lightning and I thought "is that how I look naked?"
I also had Gestational Diabetes with my two pregnancies and I have a greater risk of developing diabetes and I dont want that!!! I was insulin dependent with my GD and I had to give myself 5 shots per day!! So I want to be healthy for my self and kids!!
Jeni: I can really relate to your story. When I was in high school, my mom did the same thing... told me I was fat (I was about 140, which is not horrible for my build seeing as I actually have boobs and hips!) and commenced putting me on a diet consisting of 800 - 1000 calories a day. She actually sat down and made a list of what I should eat every day and made me stick to it until I was the waif she thought I should be. And I wonder why I've struggled with eating disorders over the years...
"fed"up: It takes a LOT to scare me off. Nope, I'm still here, still around, and still motivated! Some days it's a real effort, but making that effort is so worth it! And can I tell you how impressed I am with you for making the decision to lose the weight without the surgery? Granted, some folks really do need that surgery because they are in imminent danger, but the fact that you put your mind to it and you're focused on doing the weight loss yourself... I am so awed by that, awed by the fact that you had the strength and the grit to make that decision. You truly are incredible...
Today's Inspiration:
Again, I draw today's inspiration from a song.
I have become somewhat obsessed with my workout music, to the point where I keep a pad and pen in my purse to jot down music that I hear that I think would be good for my workout so I can download it to my mp3 player later. (Am I a freak or what?)
Anyway - one such occasion happened recently. In the spirit of Halloween, I was watching "Shaun of the Dead" (spoof of zombie movies, very funny if you're into that sort of thing, and a little twisted) At one point towards the end of the film, there is a scene in a pub where the main characters are fighting off zombies while the jukebox in the corner plays "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. As I listened to it, I discovered myself subconsciously bopping around to it in my seat, and I got so excited! Another workout tune! I quickly jotted it down on my list, and I downloaded it last night. I gave it a good, hard listening-to last night... and I have decided that it's going to be my new motivation, my "theme song." The words are very empowering to me, and when I listen to it, I feel unstoppable! (I'd post lyrics here, but I don't know what the rules are about that.)
Anyone else here want to have a "theme song" for yourself? Share it with the class!
I have a confession I ate Halloween candy. I got rid of it, but I ate some, more than some.
Well I have more resolve not to eat any. I have done 60 minutes of cardio so far today and I will go for a 45 minute walk tonight. It won't make up for it, but it makes me feel a little better.
I am going to have a baked chicken salad for dinner tonight.
I just thought I would confess to make myself feel better.
I have a favorite saying that I use on my kids sometimes, Jeni: "All we can do is the best we can do." Learn from this and move on. And enjoy that salad! *hugs*
I'm so embarassed. I think I joined this challenge a week or so ago but this site is still confusing to me and I'm still trying to figure everything out. If I haven't joined this challenge is it ok if we join more than one? Or are there certain rules around here...
Reading through all the posts is so encouraging and uplifting. This is probably the main reason why I'm on a diet at this point. I was in Yahoo playing a game of cansta and usually I just play with people I don't know. That day I was feeling so miserable that I just blurted out in the room that I was so bummed because I was so fat! My partner told me about this website and I have become so inspired and encouraged to lose weight just reading other people's comments and inspirations, etc. Just seeing so many people be able to lose and really DO IT makes me realize that I can too.
Hi Sugarbaby. I've never seen any rules about how many challenges you can join; they're just for fun and to keep us motivated/give us more opportunity to support each other. I say join as many as you feel comfortable with!
I'm also having a blah day. My husband has not been feeling well for almost 4 weeks now and I've just about had it. Between worrying about him and taking care of him - whatever.
Jeni: You are human, that's it, enough said. DON'T beat yourself up. You did great with the exercise. We can't be perfect all the time, we just can't.
Rowdybliss: I'm sorry your scale didn't move. It will, hang in there and TOM should be called PITA (Pain In The A**).
I wish I had something more profound and motivating to say but ..... refer to above. I'm sorry ladies. I'm kinda useless today.
Hi everyone!
Suz have you ever heard that it takes 3 days show up? I was going to ask this on the support forum but I heard somewhere around here that the effects of good/bad behaviors take 3 days to show up physically. I don't know if there is any truth to that, but It sounds good to me. I hope you aren't hitting a plateau, are you mixing up your workouts? Is it time to drop a little in calories? Those are about the main ways to break a plateau.
My salad was so good last night!!!
And I am so happy to have the temptation out of my house!!!
Okay friends, we have 3 weeks left until our challenge is up! Lets all try to do the best we can! I have 8 pounds left to go. To get there I will increase my cardio workouts by 10 minutes (to give me a total of 50 minuites ) plus I will do pilates when Tommy is nappingat least 4 times per week. And I will do my strength training 3 times per week! I will average my calories at 1350 or so. And I will remember my multi- vitamin!
and the rest as they say is history. It is an absolute godsend for me. 
(I'd post lyrics here, but I don't know what the rules are about that.)
I have a confession I ate Halloween candy. 
everything is a challange
Okay friends, we have 3 weeks left until our challenge is up! Lets all try to do the best we can! I have 8 pounds left to go. To get there I will increase my cardio workouts by 10 minutes (to give me a total of 50 minuites ) plus I will do pilates when Tommy is nappingat least 4 times per week. And I will do my strength training 3 times per week! I will average my calories at 1350 or so. And I will remember my multi- vitamin!