Hi Ladies,

I think life is always busy. If it weren't, then what would be the point. You always have to have something to work on next. Hopefully there's fun stuff mixed in though.

Renne, how are you bored and busy at the same time? Are you busy at home or work or both? Congratulations on continued weight loss and taking new pictures! Although sometimes hard to remember, it is true that sometimes the body doesn't lose weight while it is changing shape and building muscle. I'm glad you got the boost since it can get so frustrating at times. I know that right now I'm looking at what I need to do and I'm overwhelmed. After this past winter I need to lose about 40 pounds! i can't even get started because I feel like there is no point and it'll never happen. I don't have the patience right now. I'm working on changing my thoughts but no luck so far - and it's almost May! You seem to have changed your habits and the weight is coming off. Slow is healthy. Keep going and you'll get to your goal soon enough. I'm sure softball will be a lot easier without the extra weight. I'm sure you will be a lot faster. What position do you play?

mette - as far as writing goes, there is no help or mentoring at work. A lot of the people here write worse than I do. My biggest problem is that writing is SO IMPORTANT to my job but I procrastinate and do other work because it is so stressful for me to write and agonize over the words. I'd rather edit or help a coauthor (which I've been doing the last couple of days). I guess I have no choice though.

I'm glad you get a chance to write and share your ideas with other people, mette. Renee, do you write at all? Even a journal? I doubt most people would want to read about my work, unless they are in the business. I am a scientist and mathematician, not a writer. Oh well.

I did run the other day - almost 30 minutes with only about 200 meters of walking (mostly needed a psychological break). If I can get running 3x a week I think I could get back to 4 miles within a couple of months. My foot is still sore but I think getting better so I'm good with that. I guess it takes a long time to heal when you keep using something.

The thing that gets me most about my mother being dead is that she is no longer here (I can't talk to her or see her ever again) and although I know it in my head, I can't believe the finality of it. I just miss being able to call her and talk to her about things with me or the house or work. It's not surprising but very hard. She provided me with a safety net and some stability so now I feel very much alone and a little scared.

Congratulations mette on your running! 5k is excellent. A pedometer is a really good idea. Walking that much is great! Are you going to track a couple of days that you don't go to work just for comparison?

Invite away! If we can bring in a couple of people that would be ideal, instead of joining some other group that is established. Maybe Jessica will come back at some point too. I wish I had more time to look around the site but alas my work keeps me too busy. Maybe when my house is 'done' I will rethink having internet at home and then I can chat more at night and on the weekends.

Speaking of work, gotta run. Enjoy your evenings. I have book club tonight. Haven't finished the book of course but it will still be nice to see my friends. Ciao!

Hi Ladies - how did the weekend treat you? I spent a lot of time working at my house. Some progress is being made. Work is as busy and stressful as ever. I've been trying to watch my food intake and not being great but definitely better than in the past. I bought these no sugar added fudge ice cream bars that I am using to satisfy my chocolate cravings. I know I don't need them but they're better than candy. I was hoping to get in some running this weekend but the weather didn't agree. It's May and still cold.

I was hoping to lose enough weight before my conference in June so I wouldn't have to buy a new suit and nice clothes. I have pretty much given up on that. At this point I am not losing anything and I doubt things will change enough that I could lose 20 pounds in 7 weeks. I just don't know what to do. I try to make good food choices but sometimes I wonder if I know what I'm doing. I'm sure I'm still eating too much (portion control) although I try to only eat until I'm not hungry anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to start over? Maybe a losing weight for Dummies book or something?

I hope you are all well and come back soon.

Heading out sleepy bed time hugs. Miss you gals!

I had my LEEP procedure yesterday and it went well. No pain or anything funky afterwards. I get the results back in a week, and from there if it is still confirmed as mild dysplasia, we wait until my next exam and see if it's all cleared up. The procedure also removed the not so hot areas.

Eating is going well. I am finding a big catch with Weight Watchers. Even when I eat my 20 daily points, plus eat my activity points that I earned, and dip into the Flex Points - I end up short on calories. I am trying a website called myfooddiary.com and it tracks all sorts of things, but like today: I ate 1400 calories, but at the gym, burned 600 = 800 net calories to survive the day on is below the minimum and is what the body would call starvation mode.

Gonna keep going WW style for a week, next weigh in, ask them what is up. Then try a week following MFD way.

So where did everyone go? We really need to get back to posting here or something.

-Renee

Ang, sorry you’re feeling depressed about losing weight, but good for you that you get out running. Running for 30 minutes is a very good run in my book. I find that the most important thing is to eat enough before I work out; I get light-headed when I run after doing weights, especially in the mornings when I only have a shake before I go to the gym (protein, milk, banana). I know it’s good (fat-burning-wise) to run on an empty stomach, but I think I need to eat a little more before I start running, maybe a fruit or protein bar. I want to burn fat when I do cardio so I aim for a 65% increase in heart rate. I like the treadmill, bike and elliptical machine these days, because I can program the machines to keep my HR stable and adjust the resistance while I focus on keeping alive (it’s boring!) for the whole 40-45 minutes.

Ang, what kind of books do your book club read?

My suggestions on how to start over with weight loss is to start writing down what you eat: what, how much, and when.
Write down everything for a couple of weeks, see where you can make changes easily and start changing that, and do it slowly. You could get another diet book if you want to, they’re always good for inspiration, but you already know how to lose weight. You’ve already done that – now it’s about getting re-started. And my best suggestion is to start a food journal, count whatever you want (potion size, grams of protein, grams of fat, calories, points, or whatever), but start looking at what you’re doing right now.

I think my biggest challenge in losing and maintaining weight is to move out of the all or nothing thinking where the ‘eat-everything-mode’ or ‘eat-100%-on-plan-mode’ alternate, and I never could be bothered to change the first because that wasn’t really me, or it wasn’t really something I wanted to look at. I used to think that if I just could get into the second mode, I could forget about the me that ate everything in sight. It’s the all or nothing, and black or white thinking that a lot of us struggle with. How to deal with the black, and use it as a starting point (not deny that it’s there), treat it as a reality and not an aberration, and work on how to get some structure, clarity, good habits, etc. into the black (make it grey!). We don’t want black or white; we want many shades of grey!
(OK, crappy metaphor, but you guys get my point, right?)

Renee – what is the MFD like compared to WW? Different strategies? More food? Different food?

I started my new weight lifting program a couple of weeks ago, and it’s always a real boost to change things around a bit. I already lifted more on the squats (I did a whole set of 135lbs, the goal is somewhere around 160-165 by the end of the year, so I’m doing well). I really like that I get stronger while losing weight (OK slowly, but still! Losing weight. At least in theory! ), which to me means that I do it right. I eat enough (average around 1500-1600 calories a day), and I eat correctly (enough protein).

I don’t read other threads in the Support Group Forum, but we talked about checking out some sometimes (to see if we found someone we liked). I just noticed the thread that came up behind “The Pact” after my last post: I kind of liked their name. The thread is “Back to Basics – May”
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57219
It seems to be 3-4 women, and they talk about losing weight, head-stuff, exercise, eating, food, etc. It looks as if they’re of different ages and with different amounts of weight to lose (just like we are). There’s even some horseback riding, weight lifting and running mentioned…
I think I kind of liked this thread, what do you guys think?

If not, maybe we should look into creating a new thread, since this one is getting a bit long? Is it perhaps time for “The Pact #3”?

I'm here and have been here - glad to hear from you two.

Renee - I'm so glad your LEEP procedure went well. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it clears up and you don't have any problems. In the meantime, congratulations on continued good eating. What types of food are you eating to get to your 20 points? If I remember correctly, you can eat lots of veggies for few points.

mette - I agree with you that cardio machines are awfully boring. That is the main reason that I don't use them with any regularity. I have been trying to walk and run once in a while but nothing regular. I know it's not cardio but I also am getting out in the yard. I think I just need a new job that doesn't require me to sit on my a*s all day. Although it may be better to run on an empty stomach (not sure I have heard that one), I can't imagine that a protein bar would make that much difference. If it stops you from becoming lightheaded I think that's more important and safer.

My book club reads whatever we decide. We don't have a focus, like mysetery. We are reading "The Great Gatsby" this month because one woman wanted to read a classic. The last one was a historic romance novel with some adventure. We've also read some heavier stuff like "Middlesex". I do it to socialize. I'd rather read Stephen King.

Thanks for the advice about starting to 'diet' again. I know where the problems are but I agree that I need to start keeping track of food. If nothing else it is something different that may help break some habits. I know I HAVE TO exercise to lose weight. That's the only thing that has worked in the past. The problem is that I have not been able to get into any routing with exercise since I started work. It was so much easier as a student.

mette - Have you found any new ways to get protein in your diet? I envy your success and consistency. What was the main change with your new lifting program?

mette - are you thinking of us joining this other group? At the very least we can start "The Pact #3" but I'll check out this new thread some and see if I have an opinion. Renee?

I'm glad it's Friday. I have no motivation to do anymore work today so I probably won't. I get to leave early to bring a friend to the bus. Unfortunately it's in the opposite direction of my house so I'll hit a lot of traffic getting home. Keep your fingers crossed that I stay motivated and run or do something active when I get home. The original plan was to run but the realistic goal is to get out in the yard for at least an hour or two.

Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?

OK – so I’ve created a new thread for us:The Pact #3. Follow the link: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57638