Yay for vacations! I just decided spur of the moment last night that I'm going to the beach for the weekend with a friend. I can't wait. And... I'm wearing... GASP! A 2 piece bathing suit for the first time in YEARS! I ordered one from Victoria's Secret last night because, being a 34D (sorry if TMI, but let's face it... we all have them) I figure I can use as much support "up top" as I can get, especially if a bathing suit is all I'm wearing! :p The top is an underwire triangle top, so it's more revealing than I am used to, but I got a little more full coverage on the bottom. I'm nervous, but I know that this is a huge step in learning to love my body as I say goodbye to these last few pounds.

On that note, kind of off-topic, but I think I might fake tan (a little bit, not a lot) before going as my skin is WHITE, but I am kind of scared because I don't want my skin to end up matching my hair. I ordered some of the VS self tanner with my bathing suit, so wish me luck that it will work! Haha. Has anyone else that's really pale had experience with that?

Sorry for the novel. How's everyone doing today?

I'm back from vacation for a week & I am trying to get back OP. My weight is okay - 131.5 this morning - but I feel completely out of shape. My clothes are tight, so I think I've gained a bit more than what the scale is saying.

Philadelphia is in full summer season right now, which means that there are constant activities every night of the week. That's fun, but it's wreaking havoc on my exercise and sleep schedule. I didn't realize that it's easier to get in shape before Memorial Day than after. Even though I'm outdoors more, I have less time to get my running in.

For today, I commit to eating on plan and running. Unfortunately, I won't have time to run until after dark. I don't like doing that, but I am going to experiment with finding a loop that is well lit & has a lot of pedestrians.

I've had a few good and a few bad experiences with varying types of fake tans!

For me i prefer the gradual build up types that are mainly moisturiser with a hint of colour, so you have to put them on for 2-3 days before you see any change, but at the same time they're very natural if you apply it sensibly. I use this stuff most days. The olay one (cream bottle with a turquoise top is my fave cos it doesn't smell, and most others are pretty grim - not sure if it's got global distribution or not though).

If what you've ordered is a one-hit thing and you've not used it before, then i'd recommend trying it today, sparingly and see how it goes, then if you stuff up it'll have faded by the weekend and you'll have time to do a better job!!

Enjoy the beach!

Happy June ladies :wave:

Missed the end of May (reading and posting) due to my struggle to quit smoking. I've been on again, off again. I'm on again now, so hopefully I have this quit thing figured out; at least as much as you can figure it out :dizzy:.

Anyway, I have been eating like a pig and the scale is up to 146 lbs :o. I refuse to let it get any higher so I got back on track today and plan to stay there for awhile. I'm gonna wait til Friday to change my ticker. Hey, you never know - I could lose that weight :dunno:

bamagirl - I really have'nt tried any tanning lotions so I can't give you any advice about that, but if it's nice where you are maybe you could catch a few rays before the weekend. Just short intervals, maybe.

I've been walking and lifting some hand weights the last couple of days. Feels pretty good :yes:

I'm almost afraid to jinx myself by posting this, but I totally cleaned up my act food and exercise-wise this week, and at my weekly weigh in I was back at 125! Yippee! I was dealing with some major bloat I guess, because I was feeling so heavy last week. Seriously, my pants were not zipping and there was a definite extra layer of pudge around my midsection. It's so weird! Has anyone else experienced this? I was getting so mad at myself for making poor food choices, but after a few days of healthy choices it seems to be gone. Major water retention I guess?

I am really trying hard to do well now before my vacation. I want to walk into the vacation feeling confident and at goal. Summer can be easy and hard at the same time....grilling foods is easy, lots of fruit, lots of outdoor activities. But there are vacations, and picnics, and ice cream stands calling my name. And my kids are home, so I watch them snacking all the time and it makes me want to snack, too.

Come on, Feathers, let's stay on track this June!

Congrats, kellost! 80 pounds is a HUGE accomplishment!

I'm at 136.6 this morning... I might actually get out of the 130s by the end of June! :)

Was perfectly on plan yesterday and the scale said 129. That's down 2.5 pounds from the day before.

I said, "Hey Scale, that's crazy talk." ;)

I hope I keep the clean eating and exercise up and then I can change my ticker. My motivation was blown after my binge fest on vacation, but I guess I'm back on track. Woo hoo. :)

ange82much 122.5lb for me. This is absolutely amazing. After 2 weeks of not daring to get on the scales and eating all sorts of stuff that isn't too healthy, i've lost about 0.5lb!
It is so funny how we celebrate 0.5 lose , I get exited Even whit 0.2 :)


Kellost : how are you feeling at 125 that is my goal weight , I am 5.1' too .


Bama girl : congrats


motived chick: my scale get crazy some time , in one week i saw 129 2 times I know 120's is just on the corner .


As for me well i was 130 this morning , hoping for 120's any time now.

Sounds like everyone is getting back on track :)

I'm hanging in there--down to 154 now and rededicating myself. My eating has been completely back on track (1500-1600 instead of 1700). I was hoping to hit goal weight by 4th of July, but now I'll be thrilled if I can just get there before we go on vacation at the end of July. That's 9 lbs. in 5 weeks--maybe a little unrealistic, but at least I should be CLOSE to goal by then! I'm also working up the courage to call for a consultation about Smart Lipo--I have a couple of little places that I'm still not happy with, and I just don't think they're gonna go away by the time I hit goal. I know my body looked different when I was this size before, so it's a little frustrating :(. Has anyone else thought about surgery?

AbbyIN, don't get discouraged by the on-again off-again. Unlike yo-yo dieting, multiple quitting attempts might be just what you need, according to this article. You can do it!

Kellost, I have totally noticed the bloat factor after just a day OP (esp if that day involves carbs and alcohol). I wonder if my body always did that, but I just didn't notice when I had the extra lbs, or if my body has become more sensitive since I've been eating better (for all of two months). I definitely eat fewer carbs like bread and pasta since I started calorie counting, though I eat tons of fruit. One benefit is that the insta-bloat motivates me to keep putting good things in my body rather than bad -- because the feedback is so immediate!

Bama Girl, I have used many types of self-tanners over the years. They are way better now than back in the day (orange splotchy "tan" anyone?). One of the keys is to exfoliate -- anywhere you have a build-up of old skin cells will come out darker. Think knees and ankles. If it's a quick-tanner, put on lotion first so your skin is evenly moisturized. Don't forget your feet, or you will look like you have a sock tan. :o Like Ange82much, I prefer the gradual ones that give you a build-up over a few days -- they are more forgiving if you miss a spot (since you're unlikely to miss it every day). Also, there are some that have an instant bronzer built in so you can see where you've applied it -- that helps with even application.

I'm at 124.8 today :carrot: Not expecting it to "stick," since I had a similar dip at the same time last month and then bounced back up, but I'll enjoy it while lasts! Not going to get to run (too many kids here today and it's raining and DH working late) so it'll have to be torture by Jillian instead. :devil:

I'm as white as they come, and destined to stay that way because 1) I don't want the health issues or aging that comes with sun exposure and 2) I can't stand fake tanners. Seriously. I've tried them, including the ones that take several applications over time. They started out nice and even, but I found that, as soon as you started sweating in the sun, they came off. I became mottled. My feet, especially, became a disturbing mix of colors. It just isn't worth it to me. I'm the palest person I know, but I have learned to embrace my lack of melanin. There aren't any better alternatives to my mind. :)

Well........I feel a heck of a lot better than I did at 205, that is for sure! I remind myself of that often. LOL. Seriously though, I do not feel perfect. Being so short, I feel like I still have the "junk in the trunk" if you know what I mean! I carry it in my hips and thighs mainly, and I still have some belly pudge. But it's okay. I don't have to be perfect.

I do not feel all that confident in a swimsuit. I still do the swim skirt thingy to kinda cover my thighs. I wear shorts now (NEVER in the past), but I prefer them to be longer, bermuda type shorts to cover up the thighs also. When I go out or wear a dress, I still feel like I need some support undergarments to kind of tame my tummy bulge. So those are my issues.

I weigh in on the Wii Fit each week, and it says that I should aim for a 119 weight. So maybe I'll do that. But I'm in no big hurry. Even at 119, I'm sure I'll be dealing with bigger thighs and tummy bulge. But I'm trying to just accept that and be okay with it. I'm healthier than before and it's okay not to be picture perfect. When I focus on health goals more than appearance goals, it makes me feel okay with it all. Hope that helps!

My goal is 125 or a few pounds lower to leave room for fluctuation :) Gah, I can't believe I'm in pretty much the home stretch! A few months ago I would NEVER have seen this happening! I want to get there by September :D

Stella, I'm thinking about having a little work done, but of the sort that adds a bit of weight, IYKWIM. I've always been flat-chested, but after 3 pregnancies and more than 40 months of breastfeeding, plus losing a few lbs, I'm less than an AA cup. Seriously training bra size. So I'm looking into a consult, too. Yikes! (and I am actually wondering how much weight it could add - anyone know how much their boobs weigh? ;))

Looking at everyone's posts, I am so incredibly impressed by what everyone here has done. We all know how hard it is to lose weight. Every day, probably millions of Americans are dissatisfied with their weight and I bet most of them think or even talk about doing something about it. But here on 3FC we're actually getting it done! Kudos, ladies! :cp:

Same7, I would think breasts could add a decent bit of weight depending on how big you go! I know if I drink 12oz glass of water, I gain almost a pound. So I'd say you could easily gain 2-5 lbs. from implants! But at least you'd know exactly where you gained THAT weight ;)

I'm so nervous about making the call. I'm off next Thursday and I have a friend to go with me. But I want this soooo bad.

Kellost: thanks for your reply, looking at it we carry our weight totally different , I am bigger at my aper body .

Right now I just want to be at 125 to star the maintenance work, it going to be 1 year and half , one pregnancy in the middle.

This are my measurement for may 21 :

arms - 10 inch
breast - 37
natural waist - 29
hips - 35.25
legs- 20

weight- 131.8

And about to get something done i will like my butt .

Well I hope every one it doing great.

Stayed on plan yesterday and was happy that the scale said 129 again. If I see that number tomorrow, I'll change my ticker. I can't believe I weigh under 130 pounds now. Because I weigh myself with clothes and shoes on, I am certain I'm in my 120s. This feels like a dream, but I can't get all misty-eyed over it. I must keep putting the work in to maintain my weight loss.

Tonight, I'm debating whether to go to NYC for a dance party or stay in Philly for a dance party. The responsible thing to do is skip NYC since I work on Friday. But I love dancing so much... Decisions, decisions. I love that my life is full of fun. A few years ago, I'd spend a Saturday night in front of my tv with junk food. Now, I'm going out most nights of the week. But my weight wasn't a factor in my decision to have fun. I started going out dancing when I was 40 pounds heavier and while I felt self conscious, I enjoyed myself immensely.

TS7lbs - you were right, and in my heart i knew it!
There's some sort of delayed reaction going on with me.
That weight loss i had by having two weeks of slack behaviour, has gone.
Now that i'm back to a good diet and still having plenty of exercise, i'm gradually creeping up on the scales each day.

This is all pretty annoying - be naughty and lose weight, or be good and gain weight. Where's the justice there??

Sigh.

Yeah, unfortunately you did gain weight while being naughty. So frustrating. As was posited, it just takes the scale time sometimes to show you the effects of your behavior. So, now that you are being good, you will soon see the numbers go down again. The delay can be maddening, but it really is true. You can't cheat the body. If you go off plan, the scale will show it eventually. The only time I find that not to be the case if if I have been restricting calories for quite some time and I let myself indulge just once. That seems to kick start weight loss for me.

It's been a strange couple of days around here... yesterday I went WAAAAAAY off plan. So far off plan I couldn't even see it from where I was. It's been a long time since I had a day like that and I am determined not to do it again.

This morning my DH and I were going to take our dog (pictured at left) to be put to sleep. She is old, blind, incontinent, riddled with cancer, unable to take medication for her arthritis, etc, etc... but when we put the leash on her to go to the vet, she pranced around, tail wagging, so excited for a walk. We stood there in the kitchen, watching her dance around, and decided to cancel the vet appointment and go for a walk instead. :) (Monty Python fans, think, "I'm not dead yet! I feel happy!")

Anyways, due to my awful day yesterday, I'm up a bit today but hoping a nice low-carb day will get me back on track. I bought two bathing suits today, under fluorescent lights and all, and it wasn't even that horrible!

Happy Friday, everyone!

PS -- Stella, I'm thinking just a nice pair of B-cups... hopefully only 2 lbs! :o

Awwwww. Same7, i'm really sorry to hear about your dog and all the anguish you must be going through. Sad. Great that she lived to wag a little bit longer though. Your avatar is gorgeous.

Hello my quiet Feathers! Where is everyone? Hunkered down with those new Breyers low-cal Caramel Chip ice cream bars (delish, by the way! Just had one.)

I am still hanging at 125.4. Hoping to see some movement after a lot of running this weekend and then a weight training workout with a trainer today. It was a free session I got for enrolling at my gym (last year) and I asked him to show me a short weight training routine. He proceeded to kick my butt! I'm going to be hurting tomorrow for sure.

After reading a thread on the Weight Loss Support forum where several members sang the praises of cottage cheese, I decided to give it a try. I found 1% fat, low-sodium type. Wow, if you don't get the low-sodium, it can be really high! Anyway, with just a tiny bit of truvia and a few sprinkles of cinnamon, it's actually really good! I was pleasantly surprised. I've been looking for a high-protein snack and I think I've found one.

I'm trying to cut back on diet soda. For the past several years, I've had it only occasionally. Recently, I ramped up to one a day, sometimes two. Not good. Too many chemicals, too much bloat. After a week of soda every day, I definitely feel "not great." So I'm going to go cold turkey this week and then go back to maybe one or two per week, see how that goes. For purposes of my vacation next week, diet tonic (with gin) does not count! ;)

So how's everyone doing out there?!?!??!

Edited to add: Ange, thanks for the kind words about my Shelby dog. We've had her for more than 8 years, and even though she's a little squirrely and a lot gassy, we do love her so!

Same 7 -- that is such a tough, tough decision... I'm happy you went for the walk and you enjoyed your time with her, although you know her time is limited...:hug:... On acompletely different subject, breast implants, I could use a bit more too... I'm a A.5 :lol: a B is too big an A is too small :rolleyes: So I wear a padded bra and there's always a lot of room to spare...

MChickie -- Did you do NYC or Philly? Both would be great calorie burners :carrot:

I'm pretty quiet, nothing going on in my neck of the woods, ho hum, ho hum... I'm maintaining my weight scale wise but I'm losing inches... I'm following the same plan as SusanB, Primal Blueprint, I'm getting used to it and loving the lifesyle a lot...

Ugh, scale woes for me. Last week I was down 3 lbs, this week I am up 4 lbs! What??? I hate the scale! My eating patterns and the scale are not matching up. I think this maintaining thing is really hard. I am trying to drop a few pounds, but i have basically been at goal lately. Now I'm up to 129, but I don't truly believe it is real. I try not to fixate on numbers, but it gets frustrating.

I'm trying to keep the weight down before my trip, but so many things come up, which makes it hard to stay on plan. No excuses now for me. I have to do well these next few weeks. I need to ignore the scale because it's making me really mad. And when I get mad, I sometimes feel powerless, like I want to give up. But I'm not a quitter. I need to stick with the plan.

*bangs head against the wall*

I weighed 136.6 Sunday night and then the next morning, within like 8 hours, I weighed 138.0. GAHHHHHHHHH!!!:mad:

I have been afraid to get back on the scale since then... I have tried a bunch of the suggestions given for getting out of this plateau, but I'm not really getting much of anywhere. I am so frustrated and so tired of sitting on this weight.

So apparently all I have to do is complain about my weight not going anywhere and I lose overnight. =P 136.2 this morning. I'll take it! I think my water is just fluctuating all over the place. How is everyone this lovely Wednesday?

Good morning. I just want to say.....I really need to lose this #$%^&^ weight. I really do. I've been carrying it for two years now and it's really dragging me down and impeding life. Hope I can find the strength.

Joan, you can find the strength! Each pound you lose will make you feel stronger!

And Kellost, you are not powerless. Look how much you've done! It's incredible. Surely you're at the point where you have to fight or every pound. Your body is not going to give em up easily... but you are going to win!

That said, I am feeling rather weak today :o... because I am so sore from my short intro to weight training on Monday. When I first got out of bed, I could feel every muscle in my body -- and all of them were moaning, groaning, wailing! My hip has been bothering me (tendonitis) so I went on a short run. Tomorrow is kickboxing and maybe some more of that weight training. That soreness must mean it's working -- can't wait to see the results!

And hurrah for you bama girl -- glad to see that scale cooperated! :smug:

Ilene, I dream of A.5! I finally discovered that I can basically mostly fill an A-cup push-up bra (b/c I think they are about 1/2 size smaller). I don't get any push-up effect, of course... but all that padding helps!

Thanks, same7. (I used to have that same7, by the way, just a few short years ago. Now it's same30!)

Seriously, though, I think I'm reaching a point where I must lose weight to change things up, because my sense of self-disgust is completely shaping my attitude and getting in the way of everything else. I know losing this weight won't transform life magically, but it will enable me to make the changes I need to make.

Ok, so! With that, good luck today, ladies. My challenge is twofold: one, kids now done with school and hanging around, snacking. Two, tonight a guest at a family member's swanky club for a fabulous outdoor buffet, guests including my beautiful, naturally whippet-thin sister-in-law. Whee.

Joan, you can do it! :)

Good luck with being around your snacking children and your event tonight. You'll be just fine.

136.2 again today. I guess it's not just water weight! :)

Bama girl, you were where I am now. And right now you're where I want to be!

It's so interesting to see how many people are similar to us on this forum, because for the longest time, I thought my proportions were weird.

How is everyone today?

136.2 again for the 3rd day in a row. Normally I would be bothered by that, but it makes me happy to know that the little losses I have been having aren't just flukes or TOM related. :)

I bought a size 4 pair of pants last night!! And they almost fit! They are very tight in the thighs, but I can zip them up and there's basically no muffin top. I am going to use them as my goal jeans. I can't wait for them to be slightly loose. :)

Bama Girl, congrats on those size 4's! You'll be in them before you know it.

Bad day here... we put our dog to sleep this afternoon. Emotional overeating followed immediately. I was literally crying while eating pizza. How pathetic is that? (not the crying part; the part where I couldn't wait until I stopped crying to start eating).

BUT I will not beat myself up about it. That is some rough stuff. Thank goodness you get many years of love to balance out having to go through that.

We are headed out tomorrow for a week at the beach (Ocean City, MD).:cool: I will be eating mostly on plan but with a few treats here and there. I should get to run a bit but I am scaling back to hopefully let my hip heal up before I start training for September's half marathon. I am bringing a food scale but not a person scale so I will be interested to see what my numbers look like when I get home.

Everyone have a great week! I will probably check in from time to time. And if you have a special pet, give him or her an extra hug and a pat today. :cry:

Same7 - Really sorry for you, and i know what i'm talking about.
Totally out of the blue our 10year old staffie-cross had a huge heart attack on the beach on monday and died. It was such a shock, but on the other hand an enviable way to go.

I was very teary for the first 3 days but am getting a bit better now. It was all tears for myself really because of how much i'll miss him, but no guilt no regrets, and we didn't have any decisions to make like you did. The boy had a great life.

I'm sure your's had a great life too. You loved her. You can't do more.
Sending hugs your way.

Hi Feathers

Not been around for a bit. Crept back up to 140 almost two weeks ago. No real excuse other than that I have just moved in with my fiancé and, with several weeks of stressful preparation and packing I found it hard to eat healthily. I kind of hoped that stress and moving migh magially mke me lose a few pounds but I guess all the cookies I ate counteracted anything like that.

So I was back at 140 and decided to go for it. I'm getting married at the end of July and, although the dress fits, I dowant to be at 133, so I fgured it was time to get serious. As of yesterday, in 12 days I had managed to get down to 135.6 - so 4.4 in 12 days which is not bad.

Then I managed to ruin it.

We are having a housewarming party tonight. I managed to buy shedloads of food and never touched any of it. Then my lovely OH went out to buy the booze and came back with Bailey for me and some huge bars of Toblerone "bevause they were halfprice so I bought two!"

So I ended up having two rather large glasses of Baileys and four chunks of Toblerone last night and was back up to 136.6 today.

And I have the party tonight to contend with. I will just have to be super good during the day and only allow myself a few treats tonight and then back OP tomorrow.

But I still have 6 weeks to get to 133 so even with tonight, and my hen nght coming up, I can do it if I am really good the rest of the time.

So sorry, same. I'm glad you let yourself cry and have the pizza both.


It's mid-morning, a trouble time for me. I had a nice breakfast of granola and berries at 8, but now my stomach is rumbling and I'm HUNGREEEEEEEEE!

This is so hard. Chewing gum like a maniac. Any other good tips or mantras for those "frantically hungry/on the brink" moments?

Hi Feathers,
Back from my 2 week trip to Texas. Came back with a new camper
and a few extra pounds. I knew I would - so it is not such a big
shock. So starting this journey again at 130 this morning.
It always takes me a few days to get back on track completely.

the same - so sorry about your dog. We have a dachaund that is
16 years old and know that her time is coming one day. They become so
big a part of our lives.

Hi ladies! Just a quick check-in from Ocean City, MD. We are here for a week.

Ange, I am so sorry about your dog. That must have been a terrible shock. We had to make a hard decision; you didn't have a chance for a goodbye. I don't know which is worse. :hug:

Danni, I thought of you as we drove through Salisbury. Have you been to OC? We are staying in a funny old townhouse but just steps from the beach and boardwalk. It is Senior Week, so the town is overrun with High School seniors. Makes me feel a little old. I went for a run on the boardwalk at 5:45 am yesterday (baby was up EARLY) and I saw lots of people who clearly hadn't gone to sleep yet.

Will be hard to stay on plan. Last night we had incredible steamed crabs I picked up straight from the crabber who caught them. Luckily, it is hard to really overeat crabs because it is so much work to get the meat out.

Tomorrow we are going to Chincoteague and Assateague, VA. My daughter has just devoured all four Misty books so we are going to try to spot some of the wild ponies and maybe go for a pony ride.

And why yes, I did bring my 30DS DVD and two sets of handweights! What is vacation without Jillian?

Wishing everyone a great week!

same 7 - I hope you enjoy your trip! I am so impressed that you are able to keep working out on vacation. That is a lot of willpower. :)

I've been thinking of you and Ange and your sweet puppies lately. My family just lost our 18 year old cat over the last weekend, so I know it can be very hard. They are like children.

I lost another pound, finally. 135.2 this morning... I probably will not be out of the 130s by July, but I WILL get out of them soon! I have really slacked off on workouts, but I'm starting again TONIGHT.

HI FEATHERS!!!!!

I had a glorious time on vacation/at the weddings, and got lots of "WOW you look great!" which is awesome bc I was expecting ppl to ask how much I've lost, etc, which embarrasses me! Buuut needless to say, vacation threw my normal routine way off; then once I got back, i had a lot of catching up to do, AND THEN my old back injury flared up with a vengeance. Not a lot of mindful weightloss going on in my world recently. I haven't been on the forum for about a month and a half now! I know, soo bad...The good news is that I've maintained at about 150 with pretty much NO effort.

So, I have another 20lbs to lose to hit my goal weight, plus PT for the back, and general toning and strength training. I'm hoping to hit goal around October/November. Back on track today!

It's so nice to *see* all your lovely faces (or avatars), encouraging each other with every post. I'm glad to be back! :)