Hi all. Looks like this thread is just what I needed. I've been moaning about not being motivated to lose more weight. It's not that I lost so much either, it's just that I lost some and it was hard and then I put some of it back on sooo easily. I don't think there's any fear of maintenance. It's more simply not wanting to put in the work. (is that the same thing?) I mean, it's not that hard to dig in and do the needed work to lose the weight, but to keep doing the work, ah, there's the catch. I'm short and it is all the harder. I have a huge appetite, for food and drink and for the socializing that goes with that. No, I can't go to a bar with coworkers and NOT drink. That's what it's about. And, no, the people who don't drink are not my buddies. So, I've tried to just make the times I do go out with them fewer and fewer. I think that's all it's about and being super vigilant when I can be. But yeah, that's the problem. Work, life is unbelievably hectic, exhausting etc. etc. I need a feeling of not having to be so disciplined, not having to be so vigilant. Is that possible? I suppose it is only when the discipline, the vigilance become second nature and simply don't FEEL so difficult. I hate it. I really do. For now....at least...sigh, sigh, sigh.

I guess the only way to get through this successfully is to really celebrate any weight loss (in non-caloric ways!!) and carry on, eh?

Btw, for those not familiar with metric...let's see, I guess I'm about 153 lbs now. I'm only 5 feet 1.5 inches and I have my goal set at 128 lbs. I now that seems awful heavy for my height but to me even that seems impossible. It's all I can muster for now. Last night, I pressed down on something while standing on the scale just to see what it felt like to see the numbers go down to my goal. Wow, I had to press pretty hard!

Ok, people, you've shamed me into it! I just went in and changed my profile, made my goal 55 kg, which is 120 lbs, made a weight tracker and am going to go for!! Wish me luck! Maybe I'll join a thread or start one up. I already do the 21-day challenge over on support groups but my resolve has been dissipating....

Hi there! What about those planning threads in Support? make a plan for one day and stick to it! It does wonders for your self esteem to have one good day under your belt.

What have you been doing? Can we help you tweak something?

Hi Susan! Thanks for the reply. Actually, since I am in charge of the 21-day challenge, it's all I can muster since I'm so busy with work. And even with that thread I can't reply to posts like I used to and would like to. I've just been trying to do what little I can in order to not let everything go down the drain and I guess I've been doing OK considering. I get so down on myself for not doing even more!

What I need is simply resolve. I know what I have to do. I think this forum is what I need to get that kick in the A that I've been needing. It's just too easy to slack off and endlessly sit around on my duff so to speak.

I'm starting up a new 21-day challenge since my last one just finished and will make that tough enough but doable with my packed days in the hopes/expectations of getting more weight off. I get discouraged so easily. I don't look at what I have done, what I have accomplished. It seems, the closer I get to goal, any progress toward it whatsoever, the more self-critical I get because I am no longer looking at where I've come from. I'm looking at how far away from goal I still am. It's like the perspective has changed. It's no longer...I was fat and am better. It's "I am not thin." It seems I can at last picture actually being lean, whereas before I couldn't. Being able to do this has thrown my view of my present self into negativity, into a kind of self-admonishment instead of praise. Am I making sense?

Of course that makes sense. I hang around with a bunch of "Almost There's". We're not bad ... not yet real good ... it's sort of a never never land ... where we could actually get to be too comfortable.
And then we start kicking ourselves for being comfortable.

Susan, you're taller than me and already a good 20 lbs less...I'm envious. I wish I had the group of "almost-theres" to at least feel good with. Instead, I live in the land of tiny women and though my height fits in, my width doesn't. And...my bones aren't like toothpicks. I guess the fact that I'll never be a stick (don't want to be though) adds to the feelings of non-accomplishment. I just have to do my own thing, get my picture of what I want firmly in mind and go for it, eh? I am comfortable where I am but it's only comfortable in my skin. I always feel people are looking at me as second-rate because I'm not a stick figure like everyone else...

In any case, sorry for waffling on about things not really pertinent to this thread. If you'll have me, I think I'd like to join your weekly challenge thread. Yes, things are tough and all that but I feel I really want to make a renewed push toward the untrodden ground of lower numbers! The problem with me is the time difference. I'll be into Monday when you start the Sunday thread...oh well, no great problem there, right?

Honey, honey ... come on in! Ya know the Featherweights? Join any thread! Join them all!

Sorry, I was eating ... now for a real answer .... There's no Almost There's in my real world

We started a thread for "Almost There"s
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99154

Then we were given the Featherweights Forum and now the chitty chatty thread is in the Tea Room
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99154

In the Weekly Thread, we think on what we did over the last week and work on any part of the puzzle that seems weak.

Thanks, Susan, I'll check them out. You're a doll!

Redballon: I am also 5 1/2 and I used to ("used to" being the operative words..) be 128 lbs, but I looked pretty good at that weight because I had some muscle mass from weight lifting. I've also never been "thin" but in the early 90's I discovered weight lifting and how that could make my shape look toned/curvy rather than flabby/curvy. And yes, those heavy squats I was doing (a few hundred pounds but with lots of help from the smith machine) did make my butt bigger, but in a sexy way (so dont worry about lifting heavy!). You could feel the muscle on my hips along with the meat (aka "fat") and my boobs look much more uplifted and probably larger too because I have muscle under there. It sure felt and looked much better than just plain fat. The point is, having extra muscle made me look MORE feminine (by increasing my curves but in a nice way) while allowing me to eat much more and still maintain (which is necessary because I have a huge appetite). I would expend my huge appetite on mostly healthy foods (but really not overly healthy at all), with unhealthy ones thrown in regularly, and not gain any weight. You can accomplish this going to the gym maybe 3 times per week. Once you build up, when you stop for a while (as I have continuously done for 5 months or so over the years) and then restart, your muscles come right back within 1-3 months (they have a "memory"). This will keep your body youthful. I stopped lifting for about a year while pregnant and recovery, and what a difference in my shape after a few months back at it. I've only lost 10 pounds in 5 months (eating too much) but I must say, I look so much better already. Highly recommended to all.

Totally agree with those last few pounds. I've been balancing between 118 and 120 since Thanksgiving. I have not been exercising (preferably running) the past couple of weeks, and feel flabbier even though I weigh less than I did a month or two ago.

I'm still doing a daily weigh in check and trying to watch my portions and choices, but decided to back off my journaling until after the holidays due to eating out, etc. I can be an obsessive calorie counter, so I'm using this time to practice eating without the obsession, using my body signals and habits that I've learned over the almost year that it has taken to lose the 43 pounds. So I guess I'm doggy paddling through maintenance until I pull my bootstraps up and finish losing the final couple.

BUT, won't we always have that battle? I know my weight fluctuates continually depending on eats (ie salt etc) or TOM. I would like to remove about two more pounds just to allow a better cushion for those fluctuations. The best maintenance advice that I've heard and am using currently is recognizing that individual "whoa nelly" scale number - mine is 120. If I hit 120, I get stricter with my eats and H2O intake. I do need to work exercise back into my lifestyle though!!!