Yeah, I was thinking the same thing Jay. There are some mixed signals though - she typically brings up conversations with me about diet and weight loss and such just about every day, but since the new diet started she hasn't talked about it as much as she used to talk about other things. Now, she has brought the subject up herself since the new diet, just keeps it really vague, talking more about the types of foods she is eating than the program itself. I'll let it lie and see if she starts talking more again.
Shannon There are lots of people who talk about weight loss and dieting. But it's kind of a hobby to them, not a permanent lifestyle change like it is to us.
My DH has to talk and decided and plan for months before he actually starts doing something. Maybe your co-worker is like that and just has to find the right plan for herself.
I never give advice about weight loss any more. Everyone is different and has to find their own method.
Re: healthy foods... I started taking a bag of veggies to work. nothing special, raw broccoli & carrots. But it works wonders to keep me full and out of food trouble. I can sit behind my PC and mindlessly munch a carrot or broccoli stem instead of much worse stuff.
AND I lost 1 pound last week (HUGE for me)
Shannon - I agree with Jay & Mudpie. Possibly she is just daydreaming without being at the point where she'll pursue the dream.
I am SO glad that I am not the only one who avoids Walmart like the plague! For a long time the only place we could buy vacuum bags was Walmart--I sent my husband!!! (Now we own a Dyson.) I love Target and shop there as often as possible! I do admit that when DD was getting ready to go to college, she shopped at Walmart (being value conscious) and she dragged me in there once to help pick out dishes. I had to admit they had some good buys.
We're in Arezzo today in a very new and modern hotel. Very unlike the ancient ones we've been in so far. Some are so old it is as if the bathrooms were installed as an afterthought. And showers? Did anyone THINK that it was important to be able to turn around in them let alone lift your arms overhead to shampoo? I don't think so! Oh, and bidets...personally I think they just take up precious space.
I am just jumping in here like I am not terrified!
So, this morning I hit the 130s, which means, according to my plan, that I am now starting the transition into maintenance (range 130-135 I think). I want to lose the last few pounds more slowly so that I can make the transition less jarring emotionally for me.
I am upping my WW points by 4 today, and will do so for two weeks to see what happens (ToM starts at the end of this week, so next week's results will not be reliable to gauge results). If I continue to lose, I will add 2 more points and wait another 2 weeks.
Today is also my 8th wedding anniversary - what a nice present to give myself. Last year on my anniversary I was just starting my journey, and weighed 214 lbs (-14 lbs). Today, I weigh 138 lbs. Not too bad for a year's work.
Anyway, I am going to work hard to post regularly here (I am a pathological lurker ) to help myself make this transition as smooth as possible.
I look forward to chatting with all of you going forward.
BF and I are working things out so far. He has some "deal-breaker" issues that he's agreed to work on (initially he didn't want to work on them, and like I said, they're deal-breakers), and we're working on reconnecting. But we made it all of 1 night broken up, then all of 1 1/2 days "taking some space". We don't like to be apart for long, lol - we've never "broken up" in our 4 years together. As I said he's working on things still, and we are as a couple, so everything's not magically perfect but I'm doing a lot better and hopeful that we can work things out.
Between the emotional ups and down and the rainy tropical storm weather I've been tired, though! I'm going to try and get in a good energizing workout this afternoon. The only downside to us staying together is that my appetite is back, but oh well, that's my life. I did realize when I didn't have an appetite that I'm not listening to my hunger cues closely enough. I'm going to try and focus on really listening to my body.
Allison you're bringing back memories of my trip to Italy. Now I'm thinking of all the bathrooms that a group of high school kids from the U.S. were not thrilled about. Two footprints and a hole in the floor - are you kidding??? We thought the bidets were quite amusing too. I'm so used to the "new" plumbing we have here, seeing the older types in Europe was quite a shock at 16.
Rabbit and Dagmar, great job sticking with healthy foods and lots of veggies!
Shannon, it sounds like a tough situation. Of course you don't want to see your co-worker use some unhealthy super low-cal plan, but it sounds like you've tried to encourage her in healthy ways in the past and she's not ready for those methods. Just be ready to listen/give advice if she does ask you for it. In response to your hormone questions, I can say that I do think my BC pill makes me retain water a bit differently than I used to, maybe even retain a bit more water... but no more than 5 pounds of it. I've actually switched pills a few times thinking it could help me lose weight. I accepted that my extra 20 lbs is possibly 2-3 new pounds of muscle, 2-3 pounds of BC water weight (but probably not), and all the rest is because I eat too much! I don't have experience w/ other hormones, but for me, BC was an excuse.
Michele, great job getting the cruise weight off!
I also hate to shop at WalMart, but I'm a woman on a serious budget and they do have some deals and items I can't find elsewhere. However the nearest one is 60 miles away so that curtails my shopping there.
Got to run and get some work done. Have a great day everyone!
As soon as I set foot in WalMart, I become immediately aggrivated. I am not sure why, but my mood always changes the moment I enter through those automatic doors. I have heard all sorts of ethical reasons why not to shop there, but like Megan said, they DO have some good deals. I LOVE me some SUPER Wal Mart. Yes, my inner redneck is emerging!
Happy Wedding Anniversary, MrsWolf/Heather! and !
Megan - I am glad to hear your BF is willing to work on his issues. I hope these deal breaker issues are not core parts of his personality. I hope he is willing to not only change them for you, but for himself, as well. Bidet... oh... yes, THOSE! The first time I saw one of them, I was a kid. I was very confused and thought it was just a fancy water fountain, so I started drinking out of it. Once I found out what it was REALLY for, I was less than thrilled.
I took a 4-6 month hiatus from life to dive into bodybuilding h-e-double-toothpicks, but I'm done with that. I doubt I will do another competition again; the tactics one must use to get down to such low body fat percentages are not physically or emotionally healthy. However, I did well, placing first in my weight class and second overall. I have two trophies in my living room -- and one of them has my name on it. I was going to do another competition, but I decided I had enough after one. It is not for me. I followed a VERY restrictive diet, eating nothing but chicken, egg whites, almonds, olive oil, and green veggies, then worked out way more than any human should. I had no time for anything or anyone else, so I became quite anti-social without meaning to be.
Once I stopped contest dieting, I was SO hungry. I was like an Ethiopian child who just got rescued to America. I once learned how to have a sensor in my brain that said "JUST STOP EATING" but bodybuilding demolished it. After a month of treating my body like a DUMPSTER in a downtown dive(junk food, alcohol, drugs, you name it, if it was unhealthy, I did it), I'm slowly getting my life back and finding balance. I don't ever plan on being so obsessed. EUGH! There is SO much more to life.
Oh. Today is my birthday. And I'm slightly sick. I caught a cold that I probably would not have caught if I was living healthy this month. I'm at a bizarre moment of transition in my life (you know, I'm returning to the real world ), but I know this will pass and soon, I will be happy and healthy again. And I can't wait.
Shane, happy birthday!!! Congrats on the bodybuilding trophy, that is amazing! Also, welcome back! (enough exclamation points for you yet?)
Megan, I am so glad your BF agreed to work on things with you. DH and I almost broke up once in college (we'd been together about 2.5 years at that point) but we didn't even manage to actually do it. Hopefully your relationship will become stronger for going through these trials together.
Heather, welcome! It sounds like you have a great plan for transitioning into maintenance. Happy anniversary!
Dagmar, 6 lbs is awesome!
I am laughing at myself today. You guys know that I have never been low-carb, and I am a total carb fiend. My two staple foods are rice and pasta and I have at least one of those two every day. Yet somehow, today's lunch looks like it came straight off the Atkins diet! Leftover flank steak with a corn and tomato relish. And that's all. I just think it is hilarious because I really never eat meals like this.
In other news I jumped back into NRLW today after a brief (2-week) hiatus for triathlon training. Today was the first workout of stage 3. I only did one rep of the body weight matrix, but man, that workout kicked my butt! And it took *forever*. I'm going to have to see if I can do this one all at home with dumbbells because I just don't have time for an hour and a half workout at lunchtime. (I skipped the second body weight matrix in the interest of time, but I admit I slacked on the squat jumps.) Mostly the reason it takes so long is the 105 second rest between sets. When you do three sets with that long of a break, that adds up to about 35 minutes *just of resting*.
Meanwhile work is launching a no-holds-barred attack on my weight maintenance. Yesterday it was the unannounced dessert buffet at the company-wide meeting, today they just sent out an email saying there's an ice cream social this afternoon. (And did I mention leftover desserts from yesterday are still in all the break rooms?) Next week they are taking me out to dinner (and this one I really can't get out of) to celebrate our project being almost done. Oh, and I get fed lunch at our weekly project meeting.
Thanks for all the advice on my coworker. I'm going to just hang back, let her lead any conversations about general diet issues, offer no opinion.
Shane - welcome back! And happy birthday!
Megan - I'm glad things are working out with BF.
Heather - welcome, and happy anniversary! It is a great gift for yourself!
Allison - the bathrooms in France really freaked me out... Like Megan, I had a hard time with the foot grooves and holes in the floor in some of the older public areas...
Dagmar - I'm glad your body is responding to the healthy food! Six pounds rocks!
Rabbit - high five on the pound lost!
Jessica - I would have a hard time with all those desserts lying around... Be strong!
I did a good job with the food yesterday and drank a lot of water to try to flush out some of the sodium from the baseball game. This is the last week before TOM next week, so I'm going to be a little squishy this week anyway.... Blah...
Good day everyone!
Last edited by Shannon in ATL; 08-18-2009 at 01:33 PM.
Hi Heather - congratulations on your success! Awesome job!
Megan - glad to hear you guys are working it out.
I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and 1> they don't seem to carry my preferred sports bra any more, and 2> there were no snack size Zone Perfect bars, either! A 20 minute drive to **** and back for nothing! (Although I still managed to spend almost $100. How does that happen?) Oh well - at least I know that I have absolutely no reason to return, ever.
healthy vs junk foods
) to help myself make this transition as smooth as possible.
As soon as I set foot in WalMart, I become immediately aggrivated. I am not sure why, but my mood always changes the moment I enter through those automatic doors. I have heard all sorts of ethical reasons why not to shop there, but like Megan said, they DO have some good deals. I LOVE me some SUPER Wal Mart. Yes, my inner redneck is emerging!
and 
!
I just think it is hilarious because I really never eat meals like this.
Happy Birthday Shane
