LetHerOut - congrats on your 2 lb loss. Sorry to hear about your grandfather. I'm an emotional eater also and emphathize with you. With stress, it's not about whether you're hungry or not, it's about gaining comfort from whatever you're putting in your mouth. Unfortunately, that only lasts for a minute and you need something else. Stay strong!

ginpea - congrats on your 2.5 lb loss and inches lost. I am of the school of thought that sometimes our bodies need a shakeup. It's not a popular train of thought, but that is just my belief, especially when one is stuck at a certain place and doing things right. It shouldn't be a go-to often, but every once in a while. I absolutely LOVE getting on the scale and seeing a lower number! I also added my starting date under my name because I like to know how long people have been on program in regards to the success they've had.

simplytrying - Welcome and congrats on your lbs loss and inches lost thus far.

ConnieinColorado - last week, TOM beat me up. It was rough but I stayed the course and my weigh-in afterwards made up for the crappy one during.

cmmnsnsfml - first of all, congrats on your amazing loss! I am FLOORED that your consultant would discourage you from exercising and drinking lots of water - I would think that they'd want you to build healthy habits so that when you reach stabilization/maintenance you'll be successful. In the long run, we'll have to be active in some kind of way. That is wild. In this instance, I think you know what is BEST for your body.

Where do you guys buy diet cream soda from? I only find diet root beer which I am not a fan of.

Patzi - thanks for the great advice and encouragement. We all need it and need to hear how others deal with issues that come up. You are right - these boards are an awesome source of encouragement.

brandy8188 - This is a learning process. All we can do is make the best of any situation, learn from it, and get back on track as soon as possible.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, everyone!

luvs2read - Thank you for adding your start date! I'm going to go back and add my year, too. Also, we were posting at the same time, but I described in my post how I'd decided to cheat to give my body a jolt, so I agree with you!

Patzi - I hope everything is alright with your sister. This must be a stressful time for you.
I have been having problems getting back on track lately, but this week and last week have been really bad. I'm not sure what is going on but I would like some help getting through it. Though I'm not really sure what kind of help I need! A couple days last week I was just so hungry! It's not like the little hunger pains that makes your stomach growl...that I can deal with. I just felt weak and "starving" if you know what I mean. So I just ate!
I have talked to my consultants about it once, but I think I might bring it up to them again.

Luvs2read - 3.5 pounds in a week? That is amazing. Keep up the good work.

Little edie - I am hanging in there. It looks like you did well this week!

LetHerOut - I am scared of that very thing, losing motivation and gaining it back. I am not sure what is wrong with me, really. I may need some help. I am not yet at a healthy body fat. I wish I could just stop here, but that probably won't help me any. I just need to get my mind back in the game!
Sorry to hear about your grandpa. That must be really hard for you.

ginpea - congrats on the nice weight loss. I have had that happen before too when I went off program for a big meal!

Simplytrying - good luck to you and welcome!

ConnieInColorado - Good luck to you too. I know what it's like to have a rough week. You can do it though, just hang in there!

Cmmnsnsfml - I am concerned about your counselors being upset with you. They should be there for you, not the other way around. I hope it gets better for you there. You shouldn't have to put up with negativity. I don't blame you for going weigh in when it's convenient for you. If you lost weight, it will show up eventually so why does it matter if you had extra water weight one week?

Thanks for all the great advice about rewards. When I first started, I would reward myself with every 10 pounds...new earrings, clothes when necessary, but then I sort of forgot. And like Patzi said, I was just so happy to be a smaller size that I wasn't thinking about a reward.
Teacherlady - A Kindle sounds like a great reward. I have been wanting one!
I do need some new pieces (clothes) too. I really don't want to buy a whole new wardrobe right now thought, but a few extra pieces here and there are great.

I think this is one of the longest posts I have written. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to give me help and suggestions!

Patzi:
Yes, the cappuccino is a powder, creamy supplement, just like the hot chocolate. It's pretty good! I may try it with the cream soda!

Luvs2Read79: I get my A/W diet cream soda at Wal-Mart in a twelve pack. I have also bought the Shasta brand (which I like even better because it's made with Splenda instead of aspartame) at Harps-local grocer. If your stores don't carry it, maybe you could make a request?

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Patzi - I hope everything is alright with your sister. This must be a stressful time for you.
I have been having problems getting back on track lately, but this week and last week have been really bad. I'm not sure what is going on but I would like some help getting through it. Though I'm not really sure what kind of help I need! A couple days last week I was just so hungry! It's not like the little hunger pains that makes your stomach growl...that I can deal with. I just felt weak and "starving" if you know what I mean. So I just ate!
I have talked to my consultants about it once, but I think I might bring it up to them again.

Junie.. yes, by all means talk to your consultant and bring in your eating journal with you.. Make sure you journal, as if you do not you go astray. When I was like that,they changed the menu on me twice adding certain things taking away other things. This was done twice and it worked. I know what you mean, you were so hungry.. One time it happened to me, I could have eaten everything in the house.. The one thing that stopped it was fat. I had a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter and that stopped my cravings. Consultant told me to add more good fats to diet, like more salmon, etc.. and that worked for that time.. Other time, it was I added protein in large doses and hunger curbed, so they added more protein to my diet.. So, do talk to them and hang in there. You have come too far to go back or give up.
Keep me informed..
Patzi

Hi everyone, I just wanted to write a quick note to congratulate everyone's progress and encourage those with struggles. I can't take the time at the moment to write everyone individually, but I'm here for you all and reading your posts!

My Doxie had surgery Friday so I'm busy taking care of her this weekend. (She broke her leg in Dec. and they put 3 pins in her leg. They were bugging her, so she had them taken out. She's doing much better today then yesterday. She's the one in the purple: http://rosieanddaisy.files.wordpress...falls-2041.jpg)

I added my start date too, great idea Luvs2Read! Thanks everyone for all the great support you bring this forum.

I have a question for all of you. I started TOM yesterday and have weigh in tomorrow. What time during TOM do you usually notice the water weight come on/off? I wonder if I will be carrying come extra weight tomorrow...

I'm sure everyone is different, but I hold water before I start, and then a day or two after I start, I start dropping it. I can tell because I start going to the bathroom almost twice as often.

If I were you, I would not expect much of a loss. If you do have one, then it will be a great surprise!

Hi ladies! Congrats on all the losses. I went totally off program tonite for my son's 8th birthday party. I've never done the "completely off" program thing, and now I feel bloated and full. Oh well, it's his birthday and it only happens once. Maybe it will give me the jump-start that you all have written about? I hope so! I'm hoping to sign the 30 lb board this week. I hope I didn't just ruin my chances.

I've been AWOL for a few days. Not only from the board, but from the program too. We've been out on a river trip and two days friends made lunches for us...ham & cheese sandwiches...they KNOW I'm on this diet, so I couldn't really say - no thanks I'm dieting and that's not allowed. Ugh - salt. And dang it, I just reach the 10 pound point - I'm scared to get on the scale in the morning.

Anyway - I've had to catch up on lots of posts. Congrads to those still keeping OP and losing that weight. To those struggling, I'm right there with you, but we will overcome! I'm told by my very supportive husband, just take one craving at a time. That's what I would tell him when he quit smoking :-)

Thanks Everyone for the congrates on the halfway mark.
Ok really frustrated today. Not looking forward to going to MRC up a pound today on my scales at home and I haven't eatin more then I should and even added excercise whats the deal. Changed from the balance to the slim menu today hope it helps.

Well, a bit frustrated again, but I'll deal with it. WI at lunch and on their scales, I stayed the same from last Wednesday. However, on my scales this morning, I was down a half a pound. Their scales kept bouncing back and forth between 164.0 & 164.5. It finally landed on 164.5. I guess I'll have a bigger loss on Wednesday, but dang!

Wow - I really need to try to read this everyday!

I went shopping on Saturday. I was a little upset because I drove down to Fayetteville to go to Catherine's - they were having a sale on Clearance and before my diet, I would drive down there and they would never have size 4x or 5x's in the shirts. So I'm thinking I'm going to get lucky... NOPE! All they had were 4 & 5x's!!! I did find ONE Liz & Me Tshirt that was a 2x and it fits perfectly. And I bought a pair of jeans.. 16!!! They are a little loose but they didn't have 14's in stock and I didn't want to order them and have them not fit.

So then I headed to Fashion Bug. I found a pair of 14/16 capri pants and went for the 3x (because usually fashion bug clothes run a little smaller).. ended up getting the 4x. The 3x was ok but just didn't feel comfortable in it.

That's about it! I probably need a new bra but going to wait at least another month before I reinvest in that.

Happy to see all the weight loss - keep up the great work! Welcome to all the newbies.

Oh - and the rewards - I've been rewarding myself throughout the program; massages (which I had one on Sunday) and pedicures. But the BIG reward at the end of all this... Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH! I'm a HUGE roller coaster fan and have always wanted to go to Cedar Point. I hope to be at my goal wait in December, which the park is closed during the winter months - so I will be planning a trip probably in April/May to ride ALL the roller coasters at Cedar Point!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Hi all - sorry I've been MIA - we homeschool and I'm trying to get lesson plans, schedules, physicals, dental appoints, eye exams . . . etc all taken care of and it means my computer time is a bit limited. I do check in, but may be a bit more quiet than usual for the next month or so. . .

About water intake - there is such a thing as too much because it can completely depleate your electrolytes and make you very sick - that said - it takes a ton of water to do this. I was told when I weighed 240 lbs not to exceed 160 oz of water per day unless I was using some type of electroyte replacment product. (If you weigh less this numer would be lower- if you weigh more it could be higher)

I have had a rotton day! I refuse to go off plan, but right now the rebel inside me wants to eat anything and everything off plan, just to rebel against the plan. I'm not hungry. I have no cravings. I just want to "be naughty"! I refuse to give in and after my OP dinner I am going to go work out until the rebel either the rebel is too tired to bother me or my body is too tired to listen to it!

WI today and I was up 5 lbs - (only reason we could think of was being out in the heat all weekend) - I have been totally OP. On top of that this is 1 lb heavier than 6/25. Then this afternoon I went to my endocrinologist (took 3 months to get in to see him) and despite my lower BP, better pulse rate and 20 lb weight loss since I last saw him all he had to say was my thyroid level is very high (overactive/ this is a bad thing for me) and that when I start the lower dose of medication it will probably be harder for me to lose weight! Let me tell you, that does not encourage me to take the new lower dose! He has always been very "matter of fact" but I really would have liked to hear something positive - maybe praise for losing weight. . . I think he needs to work on his bedside manner. . unfortunately he is the only Endocrinologist for over 90 miles.

In the past he has actually been wrong about my ability to lose weight and the methods that would help me lose weight so I actually think the new dose will help, but I was very fustrated when I left his office - though I went straight home without stopping for icecream somewhere like I wanted to.

Sorry for the ranting - but it is very difficult to type and eat junk food at the same time! On the upside - the parade was a lot of fun last week, and after sharing my plan to walk the 1/2 marathon this year, one of the consultants is putting together an MRC Team / walking club which should be a lot of fun.

Mariah

Mariah:
Kudos to you for staying strong in spite of all the strikes you've faced today! My mom has thyroid problems and I know how hard it can be to regulate. I hope your new dose gets you straightened out! Hopefully the scale will be kinder at the next WI.

tkdtara84 Thanks for the info. At WI today she said I was down 1.5 lb, but if I remember correctly, I'm the same. At any rate, I am not too stressed and hope next week will be better when I'm past the extra water. I have been going potty a lot today! LOL

RaRaF Today is a new day and you can start all over. Just get back OP and don't look back!

coarkkayaker What I said to RaRaF.

lostcause Hang in there. Everyone seems to have a week here or there where they don't progress. (This week I am). I plan on trying the MediQuick menu for a week if I don't loose this week.

JenB That's when I start taking off jewelry, LOL Looks like a lot of us are stuck this week. Maybe we will all have a great week next time.

Rzrbackcandi Ask the center for your measurements and shop online. I love shopping all those stores online because I wait for a good sale, then shop clearance by size and price. I have gotten some great deals on clothes from Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug. Catherines is part of the same site also. Their selection is awesome, and with your measurements, you can find the right size!

momoffour Nice to see you back and I hope you tamed the rebel inside you! At any rate, a lot of us are having a rough week. Maybe you are right and it is the hot weather. Of course I can't use that excuse as it's been much cooler in Oregon. I have an under active thyroid (never been over active) and it's hard for me to loose weight, but if I stay OP I can do it. You should be okay if you are currently over active and have to adjust down. Good for you for staying OP despite your frustration!