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.

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!

Hi Featherweight Chickies....

I'm finding it to be so hard to post in the summer. I don't know if it is the kids being off, extra activities or what, but I need to find more time. I continue to cycle through days eating off plan, days where I'm on plan. I gain a few, lose a few. It's tough. One day I am just "on my game" and nothing can derail me. The next day, I take one look at my kids' ice cream and I order myself a hot fudge sundae. LOL. I continue to run 3 times a week, and I've been swimming pretty often also. The clothes are still fitting, but they go from a bit snug to fitting just fine. I'm at a weird stage, where I swear I can see the pounds coming on and off by the way my clothes fit.

I think I'm going to struggle with food issues my whole life. Part of me was hoping this would get easier, but it's always a challenge. I can still gobble down food like there is no tomorrow, so I need to stay careful. I know the right things to do, and I do them most of the time. But lately, I have days where I just know I'm going to overeat. I need to watch it, and just stay focused. I REFUSE to gain the weight back. I never want to go there again!

Hope you feathers are having a great summer and stickin' to it maybe a little better than I am!

kellost - I hear you. I am having those same ups and downs - good day, bad day thing. Posting keeps me being honest with myself and not throwing in the towel.
Positive: at least they are not all bad days and looking back at the progress and certainly not wanting too go through losing it all again keeps me hanging in there.
hang in girl!

Shasha, did you enjoy the "wow you look greats" or were they a little embarrassing? Were you overweight for long?

I ask because my 30-pound weight gain was fairly recent and sudden--like the past two years--and is a big part of my embarrassment and why I've been hiding and less social lately. Like, what's wrong with Joan?

So far no one has said much. My mother offered a cautious, "Well, you have put on some weight...." The big thing I've noticed is that in the past when I'd complain about gaining a few pounds (back at 140, sigh), people would scoff, "oh stop it!" Well, now they don't say a word!

I'm almost embarrassed to lose the weight, because people would then openly acknowledge how fat I'd gotten. I want to pretend it never happened, that I never got that out of control. I know that sounds bizarre, but has anyone else had similar feelings? Sometimes I wonder if that's how I self-sabotage.....

Joan, yes the few compliments I got were lovely! No one hinted at the fact that I was big before; a few just said that I looked great. I'd lost about 20-25lbs since the'd last seen me, but it was like no one could quite put their finger on what was different about me.

I was (and still am, let's be honest) embarrassed about being overweight, despite having been such for almost 10 years. I was embarrassed when I first gained the weight, which was sudden like you, and because of that I didn't go out to see people socially. I even had a friend call me a bunch of times trying to see me, but I always made up an excuse to not get together. He died shortly after, and I've always regretted that. But I've remained embarrassed, trying in vain to pretend I don't see anything wrong with myself. I've literally said to myself and to others, "I'm fine, I don't really think I need to lose weight." My weight loss journey didn't officially begin until I owned up to what I'd secretly always known: I am not OK with how my body looks and feels. I want to lose weight and get healthy.

That being said, it still embarrasses me that I ever let it get so bad, and I'm still well aware that I have another 20lbs to lose. But I'm slowly getting better about it.

BamaGirl, I can't believe your cat passed away. I'm so sorry.

You mentioned willpower re: exercising on vacation. Often, for me exercise requires little willpower -- I really want to do it! Right now, I'm deriving a lot of self-esteem from running. I am proud of every mile I run, whether it is fast or slow. I find that being a SAHM provides very little positive reinforcement on a day-to-day basis -- no report cards (for me), no "job well done!" from the boss... I try to take pleasure in the little victories (children being polite without prompting or being kind even when no one is watching, little girls discovering a love of bugs), but setting running goals and achieving them is important for me and my sense of self right now. Also, my run/workout is often the only alone time I get all day; even if I'm pushing the stroller, at least my very curious/active toddler is strapped in and not destroying the house!

Then there are days like today when I really don't want to go... then I have to remind myself (many many times) that once I get out there, I will enjoy it, and once I'm done, I'll feel really proud of myself for doing it. And today, I also reminded myself that 4 of the last 5 days were really horribly off-plan. I don't mind if I don't lose weight while I'm on vacation, but I will be very disappointed if I gain.

I have to say, being in Ocean City is very motivating as well. You see both ends of the spectrum here -- people who are very fit and look so very fabulous in their bikinis, and people who are quite overweight and obese. In fact, I'm a little shocked at how many people are overweight. I heard the other day that 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese (i'm guessing based on BMI?) and I thought, that can't be right. Most of the people where I live seem to be pretty fit. But here, I see that statistic borne out. I guess where i live is not typical.

Back to 127.5 this morning. 2 days at the gym have helped. Will try to do some walking today and make good choices - I seem to be in a better frame of mind and that helps the will power/motivation thing!

We are looking at 99 degrees here in the South today - hot baby hot!

hi feathers i'm on track and doing well! eating within calories, and doing my back exercises. scale was even a little down today. woohoo!

Hey, ladies! Hope everyone's having a good day!

132.8 this morning... Ridiculous whoosh. Yay, even if it's water weight! I might actually get out of the 130's by the end of the month...

BamaGirl! Aren't whooshes the best?

Looking back at my last post, I just wanted to clarify that I am not judging/making fun of/looking down upon the overweight & obese people I am see here (or anywhere). It is just interesting to me, I guess from a sociological perspective (my major in college), how things vary by region, socioeconomic level, etc, and how that affects our expectations and experience.

I'm getting nervous about weighing in on Sunday. I normally weigh every day, so going a whole week would be strange anyway, but a week in which I've been eating horribly (and drinking liberally), well, that just adds to it. I also wrenched my back yesterday, so running is out of the question today. Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow but it is not looking promising.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

same7, no worries-- I don't think you were saying what you said in an offensive or judgemental manner-- I find the differences interesting as well. There's not even a huge distance geographically between my hometown and the town in which I am currently living, but there is a huge age difference as my current city is a college town. There are a LOT more active, healthy(?), thin people here than there are in my hometown.

And yes, whooshes are awesome! I had another one last night... 131.2 this morning!

Don't be too nervous. Even if you do have a bad weigh in this week, you can dust yourself off and get right back on track! It sounds like you know how you've been eating and whatnot, which means you know how to change that for next week.

How is everyone doing today?