Friends and Losers Nov 2-8
 

Morning Chickies. Well, here it is. Another Monday to get back on track and start eating better and exercising again. Atleast that is what it is in my house. The shred is done for this morning and now I am eating my ricotta cheese pancakes and planning on an op day. Hope you all had a great weekend. By the way only 24 days to turkey day!!

Eeks - 23 days to get to my goal :)

Still concentrating on that 5 lb thing so that I don't lose my mind and willpower.

Raked a ton of leaves this weekend, definitely counts as exercise!

Morning friends ;)

I am happy to report that I bought and did BL cardiomax Fri, Sat, and Sun, and it is a small miracle that I am alive to tell about it, and that I can walk to the bathroom. It is hard. wow. Bob is a gangsta, who knew. I thought I was going to die laughing at him.

I am not working out today as I have a cold and a sore throat. I am refusing to acknowledge that I could have the flu..........DH is out of town, AGAIN, and I need to fool myself into feeling better soon. Our anniversary is tomorrow, and I really want to feel right.

I am going to WI tomorrow, mabye....and face the music. I am scared, but I do feel a bit better about the whole body image thing and the sclae now that I am working out almost everyday. It really does help the mind as well as the body.

More later.
XOXO

Morning all. Too much candy on the weekend! I really dislike Halloween! Well sometimes it's fun but yeah, glad it's over...now it's time to get ready for Christmas! FH and I aren't doing presents for each other which takes some fun out of the holiday but we are buying a house and spending a week over the holidays in Toronto with his sister's family so those are better presents to each other really!

I am going to keep my scale out this month...for some reason when I put it away it is like a license to forget about weight loss...but I'm going to avoid the trap of weighing everyday too...couple times a week maybe..

Since getting back to exercising I find the number on the scale not mattering as much anyway...I agree Nicole...it really is good for the body and mind. I am a much happier person when I am working out...just some days I have to force myself to do it...always feels good to have it done though :)

I finally made a date to start dress shopping. only a few weeks away! I am totally nervous and just hope I find something...I'm scared it will be a stressful experience and it should be fun! And the fun with the house is happening too! Our lot has been cleared already so we have to get moving on the other stuff! I think I have siding and shingles picked...still need brick..have to pick flooring, paint, and kitchen/bathroom cabinets! I am struggling with this. I love a lot of the dark wood that is in style nowadays but I don't want my kitchen to be outdated in a few years either...I'm looking at a cherry oak as sort of a compromise but I really don't know! Our appliances will be stainless steel. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm a newbie at this!

Oh, I remember that particular stress, Kristin! It's like you sign the papers and WHAM! you need to pick every single thing possible in 5 minutes (that's what it felt like, LOL) My mother actually said to me at one point "oh Kim, aren't you going to get tired of all that almond color" !?!?! WTF - yeah mom, 'cuz there's no way I would ever get tired of having a blue bathtub and a yellow toilet! (seriously, that's what I grew up with....) Anyway, I tried to stay away from anything too trendy in favor of decorating around it in a trendy way. A classic cherry or medium dark-ish wood would be OK, I think. SIL built her house in the '80 and had dark wood which was OUT of style in the '90s but back in now, so what goes out eventually comes back in.

Have fun!

Class tonight - ugh. Plus our professor is teaching from our site tonight (normally we are web-casted) so I have to actually pay attention. Yuk.

Kristin, I tried to determine what was classic 14 years ago when we bought our current house, and all I can say is even "classic" shifts over time and your house will look dated after some time. So just pick what you really like right now and don't worrry about it. I was so sure that shiney brass was a classic look, but now it just screams 1995, and I was replacing stuff all over the house (plus it started to corrode and that was definitely not pretty). Hard to believe that was an "upgrade" now... So even your door knobs and faucets can become dated in no time.

My DD is seeming to get better, although not immediately. So I'm almost over my stress overload and am trying to get back to eating healthy. Halloween was not good for me... I did do 4 spin classes this week, and hopefully that offsets the candy somewhat... I had candy instead of dinner, but now I'm really over candy for a good long while.

Hey chicks!!!

Sorry I've been MIA recently. Going back to work and getting our house threw me for a loop! I have been so busy, and my down time is spent VEGGING OUT in front of the TV!

I am happy to report, Day #1 Shredded today! I am back!!! It wasn't bad, and I am not hurting like I did last time. Maybe after day 2 or 3 I will be! I am thinking that I will workout in the morning (Shred or another 30 minute workout OnDemand) then walk on mylunch break. There's a track nearby as well as my in-laws treadmill 5 minutes from my office.

So, I am in for the 5 lb goal! When i exercise I lose inches first, not lbs, so I need to set a smaller goal.

I am thinking, all this talk of 100 lbs, why don't we make a group goal! We ALL seem to do better with a support system... Why don't we see if we can lose 100lbs between all of us by Christmas? We could starta thread. Each time you post a loss, add it to the total from the person before!! YEY!!

No time for personals, but hey to MJ, Amy, Barbara, Kim, Kristin, and Michelle!!

Hey all

Had an uneventful Monday so far...we had a cold day here...-11.C.First time it went below -10.c this year.

Amy- 100 lbs challenge...I'm in!!!!

I am close to my mini-goal but i still wanna go down 30+ lbs.I am having a "fat" day today...you know one of those days when you feel "fat"...nothing looks good on you!I don't know if anyone else ever experience this but I get my "fat" days sometimes.

Hope tomorrow will be a better day!take care everyone and have a nice evening.

JerseyAmy, what a great idea!!!! I love the group goal......like we are a team on the biggest loser!!!! I will WI tomorrow.

Barbara, so glad to hear DD is seeming to get better. Did they ever come up with a diagnosis? Maybe ruling out everything awful was enough for her to have a tiny spark of hope to heal.

oops, I hit send too quick....lol.........anyway, I was saying, the mind body connection is a pretty amazing thing. It is so hard to concentrate on yourself when your kids are needing you.

My DD is making me insane. I think I should just kidnap her baby and send DD out of the country. Is that wrong? ha ha ha.

Ok, kids are going crazy, DH is out of town, and I have to get my act together. I will check in with my WI in the a.m. I am sure JerseyAmy will come up with some fantastic thread for us all to report on :) I would like to suggest an official WI day. Ok, really have to go now.....
XOXO

Oh, I almost forgot, Target has the biggest loser cardiomax and bootcamp and the shred for 10 bucks right now.

Amy - I like the group goal thing. I need something to get my a$$ in gear and this might just be it. I know I can't do it by myself or I would have one it already.

This past weekend was a write off. I had ex-MIL here for the weekend with me. That's ok - she is more a mom to me than my own mom has ever been so I didn't mind her being here. It just threw everything for a loop that's all. This week I am doing more painting, or at least thats the plan. Bathroom turned out well so now I need to tackle the main part of the house.

Here's to a good week for everyone...including me!

Good Morning Chickies

I'm still around, just been busy the last few weeks. AND I have not been following LAWL. Funds are tight so I cannot follow the food plan. I hope to get back on the wagon within a few weeks and not gain during that time.

Glad to see everyone is doing well.

I did not get to post or check in yesterday. I was so slammed at work I did not even get a lunch break or a chance to log on to the internet. I got home and had 2 sick boys and time got away from me.

I have not been to motivated to exercise lately. Saturday I did walk the entire time the kids trick or treated. I even walked when they road in the car. So I hope that helps some. I must admit I did eat some carmel popcorn and some peanuts. I did not eat any candy though. I have not been eating to bad lately just not getting enough veggies. I need veggies to fill me up and keep me from going for the sweets. I did make some chicken last night and added some brocoli to it. I do not particularly like brocoli but I ate it anyway.

I am worried about weight gain and the next 2 months. My 9 year olds bday is Saturday,then thanksgiving, my 6 year olds bday,my 13 year olds bday, all kinds of christmas dinners/parties. I am not sure what I am going to do. The birthdays I can control because they are in my home, but the rest will be a big test of my will power. It also seems that as gifts we get an enormous amount of candy/treats all through the month of Decemeber. SO what are you ladies going to do to get though the holidays?? Any suggestions would help. I am looking for healthy eating options and cooking options.

I am in for any challenge. I need accountability. I have some new pants that I bought I need to loose about 5 pounds and they will fit great. I really have to get motivated to get back on track.

Nicole- thanks for the target tip. I have TBL cardio max and it is a great work out. I actually lost more pounds doing that than I did the shred. But who knows? I also like Bob he seems to motivate me and I like listening to him better than Jillian. I also find that I stay more focused seeing people bigger than me doing better than me. Like Jillian says in the shred 350 pound people can do jumping jacks!!! So I most certainly can too. I also have TBL body sculpt or something like that, it is BOB,Jillian and Kim on the DVD and it is great too. I think alternating the cardio and weights would be the best way to go. They also say that on the DVD as well..

Ah - I "heard" about the 100lb thing last night on FB (from a birdie named Nicole). SOUNDS GREAT!

I guess today is the official face the music weigh-in day, so I will hang my head and slink into the nurses office to do the deed later. Scarier than halloween, my friends.....

I did have a yummy egg white sandwich on a half of a flat out wrap this morning, so thats something in the "positives" column. Soup for lunch and then leftover roasted turkey for dinny. Since we are going to Florida for Thanksgiving, I made "thanksgiving dinner" on Sunday per DH's request (all on plan - no marshmallow topped sweet potatoes,:( no stuffing...) so we get top eat leftover turkey for the rest of the week :dizzy: and then turkey soup next week. He'll be sorry he asked!

Getting a cord of wood delivered tonight, so stacking that is my exercise for the week! (LOL - I just realized that I typed "a cord of weed"!... uh, no!)

OK, just weighed in for the 100 lb thing - and I realized that since I joined 3Fc 3 yrs ago, I have GAINED 5lbs total! Holy C(&*^, that's so lame! I am inappropriately laughing hysterically right now. Who does that? I need to go Bit@h slap myself.

LOL, Kim, a cord of weed....making early plans for your Jamaca trip? You are not alone. When I first joined LAWL, I weighed 222.8. Today, I weighed 225. How do you like that?

morning all. sorry i haven't been checking in like i usually do. life has me pretty busy.

i joined LAWL after i had Julia..and i think my highest WI was 270. (my highest weight was when i delivered Julia--i was 320lbs.) now i'm 213. so i guess that's good. when i started posting on 3fc back in feb 2007 when i started LAWL for the 3rd time i was 247.

anyways. i hope everyone has a good day. sorry i don't have time to say more!

Hey Jillian - I hope that things are going a little better for you today. Hang in there - even if it doesn't always feel like it, you are strong enough to handle anything that gets thrown your way!

Nicole - Well, I was hoping that it was just me in this predicament, but if someone else has to be in this boat, I'm glad it's you! Needless to say, my first 5lb goal is also to get down to where I started, LOL.

I am so in for the new challenge.I have really been slacking.Money has been tight so that means less fresh veggies and fruit.Our saving grace is that we had a buffalo butchered last year so there is a little bit of that left.The pants are getting a bit snug and I refuse to buy a bigger size.My sister gave me some smaller sized Levi jeans in 10s and 12s.The bummer of it is I can't fit into them yet.I am very nervous about the upcoming holidays.My major downfall is all of the desserts.Need to find some recipes for sugar free pies.Would really like one for Pecan Pie as that is my favorite.We will see.Have a great day.

Hmm I remember I used to make this low fat cheescake and it was delicious..I need to find that recipe for the holidays!

HI Everyone, well I am on day 14 of my cold and I am getting sick and tired of being sick and tired!!! Yesterday I went to the doctor and got some medicine. I waited for two and a half hours to get it so it better work!
Last night I sat on my couch and cried. I don't know if it was because I feel terrible or if its because I miss my husband. He was gone all last week and he came home for a night and left again for another week. I always thought men were babies when they were sick but maybe I am a baby too.....
Well I am at the office today so I need to get a few things done and then maybe I will go home and get some rest again.
Bye for now,

Joan

I was 218 at my highest, when I originally started LAWL in 2004, and I am no 249, I have you all beat!! HAHA!!

I am so back in the game, exercising and ALL!!

Oh yeah? I was 218 when I started too, now I am 263. My all time low was 149. What is this telling us about LAWL, or dieting in general?

Katie, I think it is a brain disorder. I really do......kind of like the same reason smokers smoke. What is it in our brain that tells us it is ok for us to hurt our bodies with too much food? We are slowly killing ourselves.... I find it very sad. When I quit smoking, I talked to my doc, and he told me that he would presecribe me anything I wanted to help me quit, but the only way I would stay quit is if I figured out what made me do that to my body in the first place. Interesting, huh? So, mabe we should all give that some serious thought and talk about it.

And Dan.......WTF?

Ok, have to sleep now..........my cold is not going to go away without rest :)
XOXO

Nicole- i believe you are right.

If in fact we are addicted to food, we will always be addicted to food. That part of us will never go away, we just have to figure out how to control it. I am an emotional/stress eater. So I believe that I need to recognize when I am eating to make myself "feel" better. I think I Have been having a secret love affair with chocolate for about 10 years now. I have convinced myself that if I eat just a little something sweet it will make everything better. It is deeply instilled in me from my early childhood. When I excelled in school or sports my mother rewarded us with cakes,cookies and ice cream. So just like a dog/cat I associated good behavior with sweets. Pavlov's theory that when the bell rings (something good happens) EAT A COOKIE automatic response. So when I eat chocolate I get an emotional high that seems to get me through what ever is bothering me at that time.

When someone has an addiction they need support from friends and family members and they must figure out when the addiction began, why it continues and if they truly want to quit. They must quit for themselves and their own emotional and physical well being. Any other reasons lead to relapses. The longer you have been addicted the longer it takes to gert under control. Scientist believe there is a part of the brain that makes some people more prone to addictive behavior whether it is with drugs/alcohol or food. At least that is all true for drug addiction or any addiction in my humble(non-professional) opinion. I have a co-worker who used to be an alcohlic he says he wants to drink every single day and he has been sober for 20 years. I think what I have to realize is that when I lose weight it is not a free pass to then start eating what I want. That I can and will gain back what I have lost if I do not make an effort every single day to continue to loose and to keep off what I have lost.

So My name is Amy and I am addicted to food.(this is where I would hear you all say Hi Amy!!!) I began over eating when I was about 10 years old. I have been in long periods of remission and in long periods of food addiction. I need help everyday to keep my eating problems under control. I am going to start of with a 2 pound goal of weight loss. I would like to loose it by 12-25-09 but if not I am not giving in to food temptations to make myself feel better!!!!

Ok, so this shows that diets work to get you to lose weight, but that there is very little success in maintenance of effort. I think that it has been instilled into all of us that the "diet" is the cure, and that just is not true. The real work starts at maintenance.

It really comes down to a lifestyle change, a change of attitude. I need to re-train myself that eating 10 hershey miniatures in 2 minutes is NOT OK, and really - what enjoyment did that give me beyond what the 1st one did? Nothing, except wasting 1minute 50 seconds more.

When I had the most success was when I stopped going to Weight Watchers. I lost more on my own and ended up keeping it off for awhile...however I have no idea how I did it! I know my mindset had changed during that time...I somehow got into a mindset of eating to live rather than living to eat and I was going out a lot dancing (and drinking) and exercise was a part of my life in some form. I would compete with myself to run farther, last longer....I just don't know how I got myself into that mindset in the first place...however....while my relationship with food and exercise at that time was good...my personal relationships caused me misery....now I'm in a happy relationship and unfortunately this relationship was built on good eatins! LOL

I totally agree with Nicole and Amy M.It is true that many of us have a disorder or addiction to food.

Amy has pointed out beautifully. We associate good food( not healthy!) with good times. Good food means holidays, festivals,get together with friends and family so when we are lonely,depressed.worried or stressed...food becomes a source of comfort...anchor to those good times spent.

You might have a great job,great house,great family,great future...but you might be still depressed about your dress size...and that leads to more emotional eating!!!

Diets don't work in the long run because we sometimes do not accept the responsibility. LAWL or other diets can show us the way...but they can't force food down our throat or stop us from reaching for the second helpings. We have to discipline ourselves...mend the broken pieces and put ourselves together...NO ONE CAN DO IT BUT US.

My words might come out a bit harsh...but trust me I am on the same boat with everyone here...so all this applies to me as well.Don't kid yourself that you are happy with a few extra pounds and you love yourself as long as you are beautiful inside. YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH YOURSELF...that is the REASON you are on 3FC site reading this message...not on some social network site.

If you have an addiction to food...divert yourself to something else to stop your hands from reaching for that candy bowl. I usually go out window shopping or browsing for lingerie etc. on the internet , or play xbox to keep me focused if I need comfort food.It takes effort, will power...every bit of us...but in the end we will make it...that is all what matters.

My lunch is up...cheers everyone and have a nice Wednesday!

Oooooo, I like this....I love this kind of talk. We need Barbara, she always has such good things to add :)

I am in a rush, but wanted to share this link with all fo you. My DD brought it home from school. Really rather cool!
http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/planner/launchPage.aspx

You guys rock!

Right on MJ. No one makes the choice of our food but us. Sometimes I feel I trick myself and say that I can just cheat a little and it won't matter. That depends on what I am eating of course but everything counts . I love LA because it forces me to be aware of everything I put in my mouth and journaling drives it home. Writing down what I eat always makes me think more about my choices. I think I needed to get to the point where I was sick of being fat and that is what drove me to change. Everyday and every meal is a challenge to see if I am going to choose well or not. Nothing worth having in this life is easy to obtain. Hang in there everyone and don't give up on yourselves.

I am doing the happy dance today! The kids are back to school after a 10 day fall break! We had lots of fun, but ready to get some projects going and back to exercise.
Buzzing from the high of the start of another diet - it always feel so good to lose the first little bit, but somehow the feeling never lasts and I end up sabotaging myself! Shocked to see the scales down 8 lbs since Sunday – but I know it is mostly H2O.

It is so great to find a group who understands the struggles with food addictions. But, I have made many enjoyable memories while putting on some of this weight – and I wouldn’t trade them!

Kristen – you have so many exciting things happening – the wedding and building the house. I agree with the advice of pick what you really like, but realize it will either eventually be dated or your tastes may change over time. If you pick a good quality cabinet with good lines, you should be able to re-paint and change the hardware as you need to. The trend over in Europe is for laminate type cabinets which are a little shiny. I love dark cherry, but you won’t find it here (wood is very expensive).

Barbara – WTG on 4 spin classes! I miss spin class – I use to love my instructor, she was so motivating!

Amy – I love the combined goal of 100lbs by Christmas! How does it work? I find parties to be my biggest stumbling point – all it takes is a slipup and then I over-indulge. Try to go full to the parties and find a satisfying drink.

Kim – “cord of wood” my back is sore just thinking of it. That is a lot of exercise!

Lori – if you find a recipe for sugar free pies... please share!

Gotta run and get the kids off to school......

Kim- A cord of weed. I am giggling just thinking about it, LOL.

Glad to provide the humor.

Just another service I provide!

Hi to all,

Glad to hear all of you are doing so well on the 100 lbs challenge already.
The challenge is really a brilliant idea...just what I needed at this time.

Lately, I am feeling my weight loss is a bit slow...that might be because I am down from "obese" to "overweight" zone...but now I have to struggle harder. I spoke to the people at COD past Tuesday and found out that I have to move to a different plan after the next 8-9 lbs. That will be a Plan 1 with lites or Plan-2 without lites. Too little food...I don't know how I am going to handle it.

Anyways...at this stage I need support+truth rather than support+sympathy. Honestly, it is the sympathy that got me those extra 40-50lbs.When those lbs slowly crept up and I got to 198 lbs just before summer of 2008...I wanted to kick myself.I was angry because my husband always called me "beautiful" instead of pointing out the weight gain.
Bottom line...I know most people are kind...but I have to be truthful to myself and be my own critic...as long as the criticism is constructive...not self-loathing.

in the end ....whatever works for you...as long as you get to your ideal body:cool:.....I just wanted to share that "198 lb" moment with you all :)

Someone else has any thing to share? Funny,angry or sweet memories of weight gain or weight loss?

MJ I am having the same exact problem, still following the plan and trying to exercise but the weight is just not falling off like it did the first few months. Most people I believe would agree that this tends to happen. I am still trying to adjust my plan(exercise and food) to figure out how to loose. I am 11 pounds from my intial goal(i need to loose more but that was my first goal) and it has taken me longer to loose 11 pounds than it did to loost 40. How is that possible????

Hope everyone is doing well and have a great weekend!!!!

It is for sure harder to lose once you get closer to goal...just enjoy how far you have come and don't stress too much about it! I remember when i made it to 185...for the life of me I could not get below that...and all i could focus on was getting to my goal...it was like losing the 60lbs before it meant nothing if I didn't reach my goal...so when i couldn't get there I just gave up and now...here I am again...

Nothing wrong with pushing yourself harder to lose as you have to if you want to get there...just don't forget how far you have come! You have both lost a lot of weight and have done amazing!

Being closer to goal does mean that they clothing sizes come down faster, which is an awesome thing!

It is such an awesome thing, you are so right, Katie. IT is sooo nice getting dressed in the a.m. when your clothes fit nice, or, ARE TOO BIG!!!! Thinking about that makes me want this back soooo bad. I need this cold to go away so I can work out HARD. I am thinking of doubling up on my workouts. I watched TBL at 2 o clock this morning when I couldn't sleep cuz I kept coughing, and they work out A LOT! Do you think that is the key to the big losses? Cuz I could find the time if I tried to get more exercise in. I am a better exerciser than a dieter, I have found out. Hmmmmmm