Hey All - Checking in...
 

Hey Everyone! How are you all doing?

Congrats to all who have lost! Keep up the good work.

I'm hanging in. The road to taking back my life is bumpy but not as bad as I had originally anticipated.

I had been on maintenance for about a month and now am on the 6 week challenge. So far...not much success. :( I've purchased an eliptical cross training machine to maybe help some. I've just started that doing 20 minutes a day 3x a week. I hope THAT will help.

Anyone have any ideas, that can maybe get me jump started. The COD is certainly not any help. I'm not giving up since I'm so close.

Hope someone out there who's been in this position has something to suggest that I can try to get past this.

Thanks guys.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL! HUGS. :hug:

Stargazer, Glad to hear from you again.

I think the only thing that I would say is to continue to be consistent. CONSISTENCY is key. You are so close and maybe that's the problem. Make sure that you are getting all of your food in and your water. Try addings some lemon to your water.

Exercise is very important, I don't think 3x a week for 20 minutes is too much, so just keep at it. You will see some results!

Hey Joan--good to see you!! I have no useful tips--you have done so great and we are all proud of your accomplishments--ALL--not just WL!

Hi Joan - Glad you checked in. Good to hear that rebuilding your life is going easier than you had thought. The only advice I would have is to pick the lower calorie things on your list and keep on keepin' on. You have done so well so far, and I know it will click when your body is ready.

Biz, Boo, thanks. As you guys know, I'm just stumped... its been six months at this weight. I want this other 20 off so bad and it's just not moving. :(

HI Joan, it is great to see you! Glad that you are doing well. As for the weight loss, I have no ideas. Have you tried things like hypnosis and positive thinking exercises?

I either need to try hypnosis (AGAIN) or get my jaws wired shut!! Right now that's the only feasible option.

Lea Ann - did you really do hypnosis...tell us about it!!

Joan - who set your goal weight at 135 and are you sure that's a good weight for you? I'm only 5'3 and if I were to get to my goal weight of 149 I'd be wearing size 8s and 10s and I'll be thrilled. Don't look at the big picture (20 lbs); try breaking it up into super manageable 5 lb victories; maybe that will help.

Joni--I am embarrassed to admit to TWICE! Once with the whole group thing--probably a traveling scam artist, he did weightloss and stop smoking groups. The second time one-on-one, probably did 3-4 sessions without luck. I think by nature I am just too hard headed, I never felt fully relaxed or like I "left". Weird. I have no doubt it's great for some.

I'm with you; I've never been able to get to that hypnotic state. I only tried it once at a Christmas party function with co-workers. But some of the people were totally under the guy's control...it was weird. I don't think hypnosis would work for me unless they kept me hypnotized throughout my entire weight loss journey.

Me too! I have a really hard time completely relaxing. We had some massage therapists here at school yesterday doing the 15 minute chair massage and I didn't feel tense but when she started working on my I realized I am a bundle of nerves. I need to go monthly for the full hour--when I go I feel so great. I swear I am an inch taller after they get my neck pulled off my shoulders!

Repo, I'm at the point where liposuction is starting to look GOOD! ;)

Joni, I set that 135 goal. Its where I've always felt the best. I've tried breaking this thing down into Mini goals and no luck. Its been since July and I'm not moving. I was suppose to take off 4 pounds by Tomorrow (started this mini goal 2 weeks ago), and I'm at a point now were its actually FIVE pounds that need to come off. I just don't know what to DO anymore.

We tried doing maintenance for a bit to take the pressure off, and while I maintained... I've been two weeks now on the 6 Week Challenge and Nothing... except a gain. Sigh.

I hate the thought that this last 20 pounds of fat is going to stick with me for life... I really hate the idea of "Settling" for 155.

How about doing some weight training, even if it is at home? It really is amazing how much higher the metabolism gets when there is muscle involved, plus the changes just from that added toning may please you too!

Hmmm weight training... packing around a 50+ pound telescope on a pretty regular basis doesn't count?

I do exercise on the eliptical cross trainer, plus chasing around 14 yorkies, and all the astronomy club stuff I do...

Stargazer - well, I, too, will be anxious to shed those last 10 lbs (going to try really hard after Jan 1). Here's some stuff I've come across and think it's going to help me;

Exercise is key: The Biggest Loser taught me a lot about my exercise routine - I do too much of the same thing and need to incorporate variety...big time. In order to loose the last 10 lbs, I need to do at least 60 minutes total per day of exercise and vigorous activity. My cardio has to faster; this will burn more calories and boost my metabolic rate (increase metabolism). I have to change up my exercise routine every couple of weeks. Yeah, I love the Thursday Body Works (weights) class, but I need to try the step class or the other person's class and just change things up. I'm also going to aim for one yoga class a week, because I stress a lot and stress probably prevents me from losing (I know it keeps me from sleeping). Stargazer - lifting your telescope is a good thing, but I don't think it qualifies as focused weight training.

I need to eat my heavier meals early in the day and try, try, try not to eat after 7 PM (a few hours before bedtime).

Make sure I get all my water in (half my weight in ounces....so right now that means 9.75 cups of water per day).

Limit alcohol to one drink per week (I may as well just give it up!)

Try and eat whole foods vs frozen, fast-food, etc. I recently gave up the LA Lites due to the bad stuff in them (I loved my peanut butter bar, so this was not easy to do!). Some folks suggest upping metabolism-boosting foods: peppers, green tea, and grapefruit; another tip I read said give yourself a "cheat" day once a week or once every 10 days. Not an absolute food blow out, but up your food intake; give your body some mixed signals.

Stargazer - you can do this. Keep coming here for support and encouragement and show us your progress.

Joni, Thanks for the tips. I'll see about getting some of this incorporated into my schedule. Particularly the "cheat" day. This is good especially with the Holidays coming on... I'm just waiting for the power comes back... ;) We've been without since Thursday last week due to a BIG windstorm. I had forgotten how cold it can get on those clear nights when I'm NOT out with the scope. LOL

Talk to you soon!