Well, getncontrol, I'm glad I'm not alone. I know that I should never say "never" but I just feel so very confident that I have my eating habits and my weight under control for good. I know I will not reagain the weight I've lost (I give myself a 5 pound cushion but I don't think I've gained more than 2 REAL pounds before doing something about it). For some reason, that gives me an attitude of "there's always tomorrow." But, I really, really, want (and need) to lose another 20 pounds. I go back an forth - one day I'm gung ho and the next, well, not so much. Here I am, having been losing weight steadily for more than a year and I feel completely lost - like I have no idea what to do. I said it in the post above but I think I need to stop trying to control myself so much. I need to relax and just do the things that are mostly natural now - eat less, move more - and stop overthinking these last few pounds. I know these will be harder to lose than the others but, surely, it can't be THIS complicated!

Arrgh, I'm in the same place you are. Earlier today I was thinking about where I was a year ago in terms of exercise and eating, and I must admit that I'm not quite as vigilant about either. I was going to the gym six or seven times a week without fail, taking a belly dance class, and walking more than I do now. Now I'm lucky if I go 4-5 times a week and don't stay as long or work as hard. No wonder I'm not losing as much or as quickly!

Yeah, the fire is gone, and I don't know how to get it back. It's not so much that I'm terrified of gaining at this point - it's more that I fear I'll never lose the last little bit. On the other hand, what I see in the mirror is starting to bug me more and more...

I'm so glad I've found you guys.

Atchoo!

I'm sick. I feel sick thinking about eating... I MUST be ill! :rofl: I hope I'm better for the weekend, I'm going away.

Hellooooo dawlings!
Well, I've made some unwise lifestyle choices in the last few weeks, had some family things dumped on and well just poorly conflicted with shtit in general. So I'm a little further from 'there' ... I don't know how much cuz my scale croaked.
All I really have to do today is run some errands while the house is being shown, so I should be able to exercise and eat better (two restaurant meals yesterday).
I'm keeping an eye on all of you for motivations :)

Welcome back Susan. I wondered where you had been.

2frus, I hear ya. I have managed to contract pink eye and I am miserable. I haven't lost my appetite though. I just can't see what I'm eating! Hope you are feeling better soon.

Well, I woke up this morning feeling really good about keeping my head screwed on straight. I had talked to my sister yesterday (a perky little 115 pound soaking wet thing - and OLDER than me to boot!). I have been on her back lately because she has been ordering phentermine over the internet. Something about having gained 7 pounds since she went back to work. She had taken it once before not long after her daughter was born to lose her pregnancy weight and it worked for her. Other than that, though, she's never had to lose weight before in her life. Now, I'm not totally against the use of diet aids but they aren't for me. Still, if someone needs them as a jumpstart or something I certainly don't judge their decision. In her case, I am especially concerned because she suffers from high blood pressure. It reaches stroke levels if she is not on medication. Plus, two years ago she had a heart attack and needed bypass surgery. She was only 38 at the time.
She is NOT a good candidate for speed. Anyway, after I'd given her a good fussing at I hung up the phone and started thinking. She has lost weight - and I do only have 20 pounds to go - I wouldn't be on it for long, blah, blah, blah. I even went to the website she orders from. I must have known deep down it would be a mistake to order it because I told my DH I was thinking about it. I knew he'd tell me what a bad idea it was. So, I woke up this morning feeling a lot less desperate and *gasp* the scale had even moved down a pound. Whew, just in time.

That attitude was a real wake up call. If I want to lose this weight I have to do the work. I have to commit to exercising on a regular basis again (my eating is still mostly okay) if I really want to reach 115-120. My commitment has been coming and going on a regular basis. It isn't about motivation, or desire, it is about commitment. I either have to make one or learn to like weighing 140. And while I might not mind weighing 138-140 and wearing a size 8 I do not think I will ever LIKE it. So, I have my answer. I fully expect to feel complacent again before this is all over but feeling it doesn't mean I have to give in to it. Remind me I said that, will ya?

Have a great day!

Welcome back Susan. We missed you!!

Wow, lucky, you hit the nail on the head! I was toying with the idea of going back on Atkins just to lose the last 15. I successfully lost on Atkins in 2001 with not much problem but the diet is not maintainable long term for me and I gained back most of what I had lost when I went off of it. So there I was toying with the idea of going back on it for a month or so when I realized that I'm looking for a quick fix again. When did my brain come back to that way of thinking?? When I committed to counting calories and exercising it was for a lifestyle change and to get away from all the fad diets and other tricks. Now that I've hit a bump in the road all of a sudden I'm looking to the quick fixes again that I KNOW don't work. Not long term anyway. So my new mantra, thanks to a very insightful lady is Thanks Lucky!!

I was also down 1 lb this morning. 1 more to go to get back to my ticker being correct.

Have a wonderful day ladies!!

2frus Hope you feel better by the weekend!

Gaylyn

Yep, a quick fix is what I was looking for too! I have to keep reminding myself that every minute I spend working towards my goal serves a purpose and plays and important part in my keeping this weight off. Even the couple of extra pounds that have snuck up on me here and there were a lesson waiting to be learned. I wouldn't be doing myself any favors if I found a way to quickly lose these 20 pounds only to gain them right back. The last thing I want to do is fight these last pounds TWICE! I think I'll just roll with the punches and deal with them one pound at a time. One ounce at a time if I have to!

I'm back at work but I'm still feeling a bit iffy. It's snowing like billy-o here! YIKES! It's a good job I can get a lift home :D

:wave: I'm BETTER :hyper: BOING! Tigger's back! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

Hooray I'm better :D And I'm excited because I'm going to visit my friend tonight who lives up north and I'm going to go back to my old school to do a careers day thingy. Tell small children that it's good to get a career rather than going on the dole! And I get to see my parents WOOOOO! And I get presents (late birthday and Christmas ones :chin: ) and we get to eat out for Sunday lunch and try on pretty WEDDING DRESSES :eek:

Oh and another exciting thing... I was my highest weight when I left school :o so THAT will be fun! :rofl:

Oh and I've got my eating under control a bit. I've decided on a 50% carbs minimum regime, then the rest either 25/25 or 30/20 however it works out. I'm feeling like I have more energy already. I think I needed carbs :yes:

Oh and I have the greatest lunch with me, caramelised pork and apple with wild and brown rice. :T I bunged it on last night because I had some pork medallions to use up.

Oh AND I get to leave work early today. :carrot: (sorry Susan ;) ) We've got an assessment to do at 2pm, so we are going straight home from there. I convinced them since I do have a train to catch :yes:

Oh AND... everybody have a GREAT WEEKEND :spin:

Thank you all for the welcomes and lovely comments.

Lucky – I am just like you in thinking that I may need to lower the calorie intake for a while. I’m sitting around the 1600/1700 mark at the moment and exercising for 25 mins twice a day, with 10/15 mins of weight training every other day. Only just started the weight training, so only doing a little.

I’ve only recently even started to look at calories. Up until now I have just eaten well and exercised. I started to check calories at Fitday simply out of curiosity. I’m not sure I like the pressure calorie counting puts on me, but it may be how I’ve got to go for a while. I, too, am looking at lowering my intake to around 1300, but I feel exactly as you do and don’t think I would be comfortable there. I’ll have to see how I go.

I’m hoping that the cause of my plateau (and to be truthful, a recent 1lb or so gain) isn’t that my drive has gone. It doesn’t feel like it, but you never know what is going on INSIDE my head. It is often scary to try and work out what I am REALLY thinking.

My dietitian friend has told me to just forget about losing weight for a while. I have decided to try and get my brain into ‘maintenance’ mode for a while and see what happens. My weight may go down, but if not, I’ll deal with it a little later. I can cope with where I am at the moment for a while I think.

I am SO glad you decided not to take the pills to help you. I’m not sure about you, but I know that I get a wonderful sense of power when I make a decision like that.

SusanB – I hope you had the great day you had planned. I haven’t had a ‘messed up’ day for over a year, but I’m sure there will be one coming up some day. I’m hoping that I will not kick myself over it and will simply get up, brush myself off and get back on track. It sounds as though you have done exactly that.

2frustrated – It is SO good to see that you are better, and looking forward to a wonderful weekend by the sound of it. It is also great to hear that your appetite is back. Your dinner sounds delicious!

getncontrol – Well done on deciding to just keep working on this yourself. You have to find something you can live with for the rest of your life… as we all know that this isn’t a short-term thing… and some of those plans can be very hard for the long haul.

Well, it’s been a long Friday for me. I’m just off to bed. I’ll try to post more tomorrow. We have a long weekend this weekend, so I should have no excuses not to get lots of catching up done.

Take care all,:hug:

Zelma

Yesterday was much better. Not really emotionally but my exercise and food were good. So when I checked back this morning .... I feel more ooomph for today.
I'm going grocery shopping and I'll stop by later to see what's up.
Have a good sleep Zelma ... that's important too.

Well I'm happy to say that I'm finally back down to my ticker weight! Now onto new lows!! Hopefully. ;)

zelma~~Enjoy your long weekend. Our next one isn't until Easter. :(

2frus~~Enjoy your weekend also and bask in all the wonderful compliments you're going to receive!!

Susan~~Good for you on having a good food day and exercising. Grocery shopping fun, fun.

Have a great weekend ladies!!

Gaylyn

I did not know about this thread until now. I thought I knew everything on this site.lol. Wow, I know what you guys mean. Its been drag for me to lose the last few pounds. I feel like it will never happen. But that doesn't mean I am ready to give up. I will do my best to reach that goal hopefully its sooner than later. I am at the same place since November, and I will give in for food on some of the days and it goes up a couple of pounds. And then it comes down to where I was but never less than that.

Hi Tsots!

Hi to you too SusanB.