I'm so glad I could help!

Was just doing a little extra online research and found out my BMI puts me in the MORBIDLY OBESE category. Now if that ain't a **** of a motivator....

(going away to lick my wounds now)

Cafe, thanks for sharing that. I didn't realize that it could be that much either.. :0) Tiff, you have a plan you are doing great, keep with it!! I'm proud of ya.

As for me, I don't know what's going on this week. I saw the doctor on Wednesday morning for my diabetes and weighed 222, (yeah a loss of 1 since Sunday) and this morning just because I'm a scale hopper lol I weighed myself again and it says 219... wow!
My scale said 222 on Wednesday just like the doc's (I checked because I wanted to make sure it was right) So that means since last Sunday I've lost 4 lbs... that hasn't happened since January when I was diagnosed with this crap. I'm not complaining though as I'm eating the same and exercising the same. We'll see what Sunday's official weigh in says.. :0)

*Judy

P.S. Cafe I just noticed your morbidly obese comment, ain't it a kick in the pants? I know mine now says obese at BMI of 33 and that still ticks me off, motivater? you betcha!!

Hi everyone.
That was great info Cafe. I'm dreading the time when I hit a plateau. It just doesn't seem fair to be doing everything right and not see any difference. I guess I should go get a tape measure just in case. I guess lots of times if you aren't actually losing weight, you might still be losing inches. I know I'll need something to show me that I'm not working for nothing. Hang in there Tiff.
I have one of those dial scales too, but I always get on and off and move around until I get it as high as it will go. That's the weight I go with. I think it's pretty consistent.
My holiday was O.K. I ate light for breakfast and lunch, then went to my sister's for dinner and fireworks. I had a burger with lots of veggies, and a small piece of cake and some ice-cream. (It's also a celebration of my brother-in-law's mother's b-day). I got into the chips one time and had a very small handful then walked away from the table.
It's weird, but I'm beginning to feel panicky. I wonder if it's some kind of self-sabotage, or what, but there's a voice inside that's saying,"You can't possibly keep this up. Pretty soon you'll go back to the same old ways of eating everything in sight for weeks on end." I'm not depriving myself, so that shouldn't happen, right? I still have to really fight, though, not to just eat and eat and eat... I got to have pizza the other night. I got a large for me, my daughter and her friend. They each had 3 pieces, and I got 2. I sure wanted more, though!
Well, I'm really babbling! I better cut myself off before I fill up a whole page.

Jen
238/229/140

Hi Jen,
I used to think that I'd revert back too but I haven't. I think though that the reason I haven't is the total lifestyle change. I don't eat many of the foods I used to eat. Actually I saw a commercial for McDonald's today and it looked gross.. lol I've had to do this for my health though so that could be why it's working so well for me. I wanna live!! I'm not on a diet, this is just the way I eat and live now, it really helps to have that mind set going into it, that it's not just for a while this time. You start to incorporate the changes easier that way I think. I know it's different for everyone, because most of you are doing this for your looks and so you feel better about yourself, I'm doing it to just feel better and the looks and feeling better about myself are a nice side effect. :0) Just my take on it all, what ever works for you personally is the way to go!!

Oh, I'm glad you all liked what Bob had to say. I have to say that I'm a little annoyed at Bob at the moment because he's going to make me work so hard - but the time I spent at Spotlight Health has sent me in a friendlier direction toward him, LOL.

So today I hopped on the scale (nekkid! as they say) first thing in the morning and got on and off a couple of times and bounced and let the needle settle... and it said 210.

Now I'm not counting this as a loss because I have not weighed myself on the same scale at the same time of day, etc. etc. yet. BUT, if I take today as my official weigh in (was considering doing it Mondays?) Then I'm no longer "MORBIDLY" obese but merely "Obese II - very high risk." Now that sounds like a truly bad movie, doesn't it?!!

I've copied the BMI information, in case you want to know (they have an online calculator at the site.)

Less than 18.5
Underweight

18.5 to 24.9
Considered healthy and low-risk

25 to 29.9
Overweight, considered moderate-risk

30 to 34.9
Obese I, considered high-risk

35 to 39.9
Obese II, very high-risk

40 and over
Morbidly Obese, extremely high-risk

Of course I'm only 5'1" and I shouldn't complain- but I'll have to be 130 pounds again to be in the "considered healthy and low risk" range again. I guess in the back of my mind I was thinking, "you know, I'd look great back in those 6's and 8's but I'd be content with a 10 or 12, after all I'm not 23 anymore, I'm 31..." But maybe I'll have to set my sights higher - er, lower - if I want to avoid weight-related health complications. That's what the numbers are telling me.

Justcuz, I think we ALL wanna look good but the fact is that we are fooling ourselves if we don't think we need to do it for our health. I was really thinking about this yesterday - this weight is going to KILL me if I don't get rid of it! Yow!

Gotta go - H is cleaning mold out of air conditioner and wants me to contribute a comparable nasty task to household maintenance. My joy!

Man, "obese" is such a horrible word to hear to begin with. Putting "morbidly" in front of it makes it sound so much worse. Cafe, good for you for making it a motivator instead of giving up!!

Tif, your exercise plan sounds good to me. Especially the lay like a slug part. If you need any help with that, I'm an expert!

Posting now from my slllooowww home 'puter. Hope this goes through. Rich (my "roomie") and I went to breakfast this morning but we WALKED to the local diner. I had an egg white omelet with onions and peppers and ate some of the potatoes and a little of the toast (no butter, just a little jelly). It's about a mile walk to the diner ... and about a 10 mile walk home!!!! Don't know why it just seems that way.

I ran over to the craft store for "one or two things" this morning and came home with about 30 bucks worth of stuff! I always do that. I'm not very good at "crafting" but the idea is to give me something to keep my hands busy so they're not reaching into the fridge. Not working so far..... . Haven't been to the gym since last Tuesday. Haven't gotten any exercise at all really. Uh, Tiffany, what's that exercise schedule again....?

Funny story (well, sorta funny ). I wanted to mail Rich's sister a birthday card. Of course, he didn't know her address (men! ) so I emailed his mom. Yes, she's a modern lady. And to prove it, when I asked for Chris's address, mom sent her EMAIL address! Just thought that was kinda cute. Huh, mail? What's that?

Better go. Just heard the truck in the driveway. Another successful (??) trip to the Home Depot. Have I mentioned we're renovating the kitchen. Have been for a million years or so. Maybe it'll be done by the time I'm old ... and skinny ... and quite insane.

Take care all!
Jo.

I'm fortunate that I'm 5' 9", I can weigh more and I don't look 'obese' (damn I hate that word too!) My goal weight is 168 to get me under the 25 BMI mark and to make it an even 110 lb loss. I have a long way to go but I'm a little more than half way there at 59 gone! (yes the scale still says 219 so I'm assuming it will tomorrow.. lol
I got in the habit of weighing myself every morning because my Mom does due to heart disease, they make her do that to see if she's retaining fluid. Her instructions are if there is a 3 lb gain or loss in one day she is to call the doctor. I'm trying to get out of the habit now because my heart checked out just fine but it's a hard one to break...
Have a happy Saturday everyone!

I'm learning so much on this site! Places to find calories burned for different activities. BMI and BMR info. And what a way to set a mini-goal! I'm in the OBESE II category. I need to lose 11 more pounds to get to the OBESE I category. My mini-goal is now 215 pounds! Only 11 pounds to go. That I can imagine. My ultimate goal of 140 is quite a ways off. From 215 I'll be able to see 199 and so on. I like this part, though. Since I'm so heavy I burn a lot more calories so weight loss is easier. I really need to get more excersize in, though. I do feel absolutely wonderful about how many vegetable servings I'm getting in these days, though. I used to go days without putting a vegetable in my body, unless you count the tomatoes in tomato sauce! Now I'm up to 3 to 4 servings a day. I think it's supposed to be 5 servings, or something. Does someone know! Silly question. I'm sure someone here will know.

Jen
238/226/215(140)

Fruit and vegetable servings combined should be a minimum of 5 servings a day. I tend to go for 5 vegetable and 2 fruit though. I'd eat more fruit but my diabetes won't handle it.(sends my blood sugar soaring not all fruits and not everytime I eat it either, this is a weird disease... lol) Fruit is low calorie and zero fat so enjoy it!!

*Judy

Good Morning!

I hope that you are all doing well and have had a pleasant holiday weekend.

Tiffany - in response to your lack of movement on the scales, try taking your measurements and see if your body is shrinking. You are doing everything right, just keep on doing it and you will see the results. I was on a plateau for a month and in the last 2 weeks the scales have moved down rapidly. It will happen for you too, just give it time.

Willbe - I have missed you! How in the world are you?

After reading your posts I checked my BMI and was horrified to find that it was 34.11. I was mortified........but I still don't get what the difference is between a BMI and height/weight charts, it seems to me that it is basically the same thing, just a different way to put it.

I read somewhere a long time ago that 15 lbs = 1 clothing size and was wondering if anyone else had heard that. If that is the case I'm thinking that I am going to break down my weight loss into mini-goals of 15 lbs at a time. I think this would be easier for me to achieve in the long term. I find it disheartening sometimes when I think about the large amount of weight that I need to lose. Besides, I have plenty of clothes in all sizes to look forward to and as I shrink out of them I am going to throw them away. I am pretty sick of the ones I have been wearing and am looking forward to going down a size, I probably only have 5 lbs to go before my 18's will fit.

I'm sorry this has been so long, I have been too busy recently to post and quite honestly had lost my motivation for a while there.

LJ
225/205/150

Oh My God!!! I don't know what to think... giddy with delight.
I did my official weekly weighin today and I've lost 5 lbs since last Sunday!! 218 as of this morning... 60 lbs total. What a grand feeling. I haven't been doing anything different the last week so I don't know what to attribute it to but I'll take it.. 50 lbs to go!!

Huntress you are right, we all get along at a pound a week or so and then all of a sudden it goes off rapidly for no apparent reason..

Good luck everyone!
*Judy
278/218/168

Congratulations Justcuz! 5 lbs is fantastic! 60 lbs is awsome, that is like 1/2 of a person! You go girl! You are an inspiration to us all. WOW, keep up the good work. It sounds to me like you need a great big reward, maybe a new outfit or a manicure/pedicure. Do you you give yourself rewards like that for your achievements?

I haven't been giving myself rewards, never thought of it.. hmmm maybe I should do that huh? I'll have to give it some thought. Just the pleasure I get from being in a smaller size than I was in high school has been reward enough so far! lol I don't want to buy too many new clothes because they keep getting too big and I can't wear them (who'd a ever thunk I'd say that... lol) but right now the size 18's are getting kinda big on me so I might have to 'shop' soon regardless. hehe I can't imagine what size I will need when I lose 50 more lbs. The day I can try on a size 10 and it fits I'll probably faint!!! lol
Thanks for the encouraging words and the 'inspiration' comment. Makes me feel good to know that you feel that way.

Hi everyone -

Way to go Justcuz and Huntress on your losses! And a Right On! to everyone for your admirable self-discipline.

Getting ready to go back to work tomorrow - and thinking about ways to add new discipline to my structured routine as I go back. I've been working my mind around to greater change and greater self-control with my "go to work" date in the back of my mind...

I feel ready and even eager for this weight loss and all the attention required to accomplish it. I've been thinking about the changes that I need to make and they no longer seem overwhelming.

I'm also moving cubicles this week and I will no longer be a mere 5 feet from the unmarked file drawer that is always stocked with big 2 or 3 pound bags of M&M's - peanut, crispy whatever you want. Can I just say how much it sucks when I'm trying to be good to continually hear any one of the 30+ people on the floor walk by, slip the drawer open and scoop up a handful? And when they have to break down and open a new bag, well they bring it right over to my desk to use my scissors and pour some into my hand. I kid you not. So I'm rejoicing that I'll have one day only and then I'll be FAR away. I'll be by the coffee maker instead, that will get me moving, LOL!

So I'll be checking in often for encouragement. I think I'm really ready to say that I'm on a diet - except that I don't plan to quit so I'm not going to limit it by saying that. A big part of this resolve has come from everyone here - reading and being accountable as a part of such a great group. Thanks, everyone!
__

Lastly, Huntress, you're totally right about the BMI being just another way to measure. I guess what really got to me about that one is that it's the yardstick used by the doctors to measure the health risk of being overweight. Morbid obesity qualifies you for weight loss surgery (if other factors line up) because it is a very serious health risk. (!)

So I'm thinking: at 31 (young still!), my pattern of intake and minimal exertion has ALREADY manifested itself in my body to an extent that should be setting alarm bells off. There's no need for me to start eating more - I've already got enough pounds on me to wreck my health - as sure as smoking! (but I don't smoke) Now that's scary.

I guess, you know, these past 7 years of slow gain (okay 4 years of fast gain and 3 years of 5 pounds a year) I've always thought of it as primarily an appearance issue. It's a paradigm shift. I feel like I woke up yesterday to discover I was a heroin addict and I'm thinking - what the heck happened? I guess that's why I was ranting.

I am also taking my weight loss journey 1 small goal at a time. on monday I am kind of doing a 1 week challenge. I am going to try to lose 3 pounds in one week. easy to do i think since I never drink water and I am restricting myself to only that! I may lose more because of water weight!

let me introduce myself! My name is karen and I am 25 years old. My goal is to be 130 pounds. I am 5'3" I weigh 215-220. tomorrow I am going to have an official weigh in so I can start my 1 week blast off! lol.

I wear a size 20/22 but mainly a 22. depending on the brand of jeans! lol And I am just getting impatient. I want to fit into my size 18's but everytime I try I fail!

I have a big problem and its called PIZZA I eat it once and I all the sudden have to eat everything in site! I dont know if I am a binge eater or if pizza is a trigger food! How many pounds does it take to lose one dress size?
*karen*