Ups & Downs Support Group: August 2014
 

:welcome3: to the Ups & Downs Support Group! Here is our August 2014 thread. Everyone is welcome to join the group, as long as you are willing to give and receive support in your weight loss journey. We named the group Ups & Downs to reflect the many ups and downs in our weight loss journeys, in our life with depression and (for some) on meds, and in life in general. If you are a regular, please post to let us know you found the new thread. If you are new to the group, please tell us a little (or a lot) about yourself. This is OUR forum, so post away!!! :grouphug:

Still Low Carbing!
 

This was my 7th day eating low carb and I have done really, really well ~ especially the past 3-4 days!!! :carrot: As of this morning, I had lost 2 pounds..... which isn't much, but that dreaded scale FINALLY budged again and I think it is 2 "real" pounds! :D :carrot: I am hopeful once again and encouraged by the strength and willpower I've shown in resisting the bad carbs. Exercise has been pretty good, but I need to get more cardio days in on non-training days. I have stayed crazy busy with the kids lately, but have managed to get a good low carb week in under my belt, so I am feeling pretty good tonight! :broc:

Fi: You must be SO incredibly excited about getting your kittens this Sunday!!! Best of luck as you finish up the BERP and get your bedroom ready for the kitties! :hug:

Amy: Best of luck to you with your sinus surgery on Tuesday! I know you are dreading it, but thank God you will have it over with very soon now. And hopefully you won't have as many sinus problems anymore. I will definitely be praying for you. Please let us know how you are doing as soon as you are able. Good luck with your highlights, too, and finding the right hair stylist. You have had one heck of a time with stylists lately!

:wave: Waving HELLO to everyone else and wishing you all well!!! Sending :dust: to each of you! I actually have a little to spare tonight! ;)

Excited to be at the start of a thread instead of jumping in on page 10!

IBelieveInMe2: (I never caught your first name, or whether or not you share it) congrats on the great couple of days! I'm sure it feels really good to have your hard work pay off on the scale :)

Amy: When my stylist and I talked the last time, we discussed the Balayage mostly being a way to phase back into my natural blonde color. It's a pretty honey blonde when it's grown out, but right now it looks completely gray. At 22, I'm feeling a little too young for gray growout. So it's gonna be a transition from my natural blonde roots to the brown dye it is right now.
That sucks about the stylist, but good for you for realizing it's not somewhere you wanna be! I am sure that once you find the right one, she'll do wonderful things with your hair :)

I did really well today, which I was surprised about. I have been working on my water intake and reducing my late night snacking, and they were both successful today!

My goal is 80 oz. of water each day, but I got to almost 100 today :) and I've been struggling with getting home from work around 10 or midnight and grabbing unhealthy food and snacking (or more). But tonight, I got home and brushed my teeth within the first 10 minutes I was home, which kept me from eating anything I would regret. Plus I found things to keep me busy until I got tired--I cleaned up my bedroom and counted the change in my change jar, which got me sleepy enough that I don't feel like I need a snack :)

*Waves*

I'll jump in here, I guess. I'm Grace, I'm 33, and I struggle with depression issues around my weight, my relationship, and my son's disability.

Hi Chelaina,

Good luck with your Balayage, that sounds very pretty. I'm going more for a caramel or dark blonde look. I like the stylist who was late today, I may end up going back to her. I'm going to check out another salon today.

Sydney,

Welcome!! I hope that you find this group helpful!

Hi all. I'm a new member to the site and glad to see a depression support group. My depression is mild compared to most so I'm lucky in that regard but I've been having a low week and it's reflected in my diet, I'm eating a lot of rubbish and not taking care of myself.

:welcome: AryaStark & Sydney! We are so very glad to see you here!

Kathleen Woohoo!!! Way to go! :cp::cp::cheer3::cheer3::cheer2::cheer2: I am so glad to hear you are having such success! Keep it up! I know you can! :D

Amy I hope you find a stylist soon. A good stylist is hard to come by!

Chelaina - :yay::bravo: Yay avoiding the late night snacking. Brushing your teeth is such a good trick. :) It must be challenging to have to work that late. I admire your restraint. :)

Food has been ok. Exercise has been pretty consistent and daily (yay!!!) Weighed in at 191 at the doctor's yesterday. :D I also ate pretty moderately throughout the day. My biggest goals right now are cooking dinner and adding more veggies. I did well yesterday making a cheap pot of beans and rice, but it was seasoned pretty well and my non-veggie boyfriend enjoyed it. I bought some new tea, which I LOVE. I also finally purchased a scale, which I promptly put in the closet and will not get out except for once a week at most.

I hope everyone is well!

Welcome!!!
 

A very special :welcome: to Sydney_2009 and aryastark!!! So happy you both found the group and posted!

I will be busy this weekend with my (handicapped) daughter's sled hockey camp, so if someone would welcome any other newbies, I'd appreciate it. Will check in whenever possible (late night maybe).

Sydney, I have a 15-yr-old daughter who has Spina Bifida, which has its own set of stressors. I also get depressed about my weight and ~ at times ~ my hubby can be difficult to live with. So I can really relate!

Gotta run, but wanted to send a quick WELCOME to you both! Best of luck on your weight loss journeys. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! :hug:

Thanks for the warm welcome :)

IBIM2, it's nice to have someone who can definitely relate!

Hi. I am new here and I too deal with depression issues. I've found that certain meds make it difficult to lose weight. Is this true for others or am I just imagining it. I hope to give support to others too.

Lauranya, :welcome:
I think it's definitely true for a lot of us that many aspects of depression (including meds) can make weight loss difficult. I'm not on any currently, but I know some here can share their experiences with those difficulties.

Also a big welcome to Aryastark (great username, btw), and Sydney_2009 :)

Amy: Yours sounds pretty too! I hope it works out with the stylist that you like, and I know we're all excited to see how it turns out :)

Kathleen: Have lots of fun with your daughter's camp!

Hannah: Thank you! :hug: I'm glad to see that it's going well for you. And my work shifts can be difficult, but when your only work for the day is from 7-midnight, it's not so bad.

Tomorrow, however, I start my second job. I work 8-5 there, and 7-12 at my other job. I'm really worried about not meeting the goals I have about food and water intake, and that it's going to wear me out. On top of that, I took my mom out to lunch today, and I am definitely feeling the sluggishness from the fried food we had. Trying to detox a bit with lots of water and some veggies, but I still feel crappy :(

Really excited to see how this new job goes, and I'll maybe have a chance to let you all know tomorrow night between shifts!

Hi...
 

Hi there...

Chelaina, I hope that your Balayage looks beautiful! I had an interesting consult today with a stylist who said that perhaps doing a few foils is more what I'm looking for because Balayage doesn't quite get to the root, so I'm considering that. I liked this stylist, I'm going to hopefully meet a few more stylists, then decide.

Ugh! My allergies have been terrible! I'm dreading my surgery but I'll be so glad when it's over. My Mom and I are going out to eat the night before my surgery. She's so sweet to come down to be with me.

I'm tired, I'm going to bed soon. I started tracking again on WW, I went to a good meeting last night.

Take care.

Amy

:wave: Hello, everyone. I've been focused on working out this week. I swear, this entire effort is a full-time job in itself. I started a 31-Day Squat Challenge and a 31-Day Crunch challenge today. Day 1 was 30 reps for each of the moves. Since I've been doing more than that at the gym, I actually upped the number I did tonight. My knees were crunching during the squats, though.

Fiona: Congratulations in the kittens arriving this weekend. I know you'll have bundles of fun with them. I love kittens (and cats). Enjoy their adventurous antics.

Hi, to everyone and welcome to all the new members of the group.

Lauranya
 

Lauranya: :welcome: to the group!!! You are not imagining things! I have been so incredibly weight loss resistant for a few years now. It is definitely due to my depression meds and I also recently found that I have a thyroid issue. Between the two things, I have been fighting a losing battle. :( It is REALLY frustrating, but I refuse to give up on myself. I keep telling my psychiatrist that my weight is the biggest source of my depression at this point. He actually alerted me to my thyroid condition after some routine bloodwork this year. Thank God, because my primary doc wasn't going to even put me on thyroid medication! :mad: Not that I want to be on yet another med, but (as my psychiatrist noted), our thyroid is what regulates our metabolism, which is obviously crucial to weight loss. I am now on a low dose of thyroid med, but it has just put me back up to within a normal healthy range. I wish my doc would take my dose a bit higher to kick my metabolism up a bit more, but since I am at least at the bottom of normal, he won't. :( I am considering getting a second opinion, but first I am committed to a pretty strict low carb diet and consistent exercise to see if I can finally lose a significant amount of weight now that I am on a thyroid med. I have done REALLY well for a week and lost 2 pounds, which may sound insignificant, but getting the daggone scale to budge down at all feels miraculous to me at this point. I know I CAN lose weight on these meds, though, because (prior to my thyroid issue), I lost over 35 pounds about 3-4 years ago (on Jenny Craig). Sadly, as soon as I started eating "regular" food again, I put all that weight and more back on. :cry: I am SO sick of feeling fat and ugly, and it has been way too long now that I've been significantly overweight. :( I am determined again to LOSE THIS WEIGHT and KEEP IT OFF! I need to and want to do it for myself AND for my family! Sorry to ramble, but I just want you to know that you are not alone in your struggle to lose weight on meds. It DOES make weight loss much more challenging and frustrating, but YOU CAN DO THIS!!! And I will be here cheering you on! :cheer2: Best of luck to you! I hope you will find the group to be helpful to you as you reach for your goals. :hug:

Chelainabear
 

Chelainabear: Good luck to you as you begin your second job tomorrow!!! I will be thinking of you and wishing you well. You are going to be a very busy lady working both jobs. Do you have a plan for taking food to your jobs with you? I am not big on planning, but realize the importance of it. "They" say that PLANNING is so crucial to success with weight loss, especially under more challenging circumstances (like working two jobs).