Happy November BFC chicks, and welcome Stephanie!

Don't you love the fact that each new day (and especially new month) gives us the opportunity to begin again with our health journey. November may have challenges because of Thanksgiving, but really, it's just one day. It's my goal to lose at least 1 pound per week this month, which is very doable.

I'm feeling bad that I caved last night to some of the halloween candy after the last kids left, but I felt so bad about it I know that won't happen again. The scale was ok this morning, so onward I go.

Have a good day!

Izzy, I agree that we have to be strong and be honest with ourselves about sticking with the program, but the part that bothers me is that these hormone fluctuations are going to be constantly fighting to keep the weight on and put it back on if we DO happen to get it off. We should be able to have that occasional candy or cake without having to berate ourselves and blame ourselves for being weak. It's just that most people who do succeed in losing weight do gain it back eventually and I have to think "What makes me think it will be different for me?" I lost weight in my 20's and did keep it off for 10 years. 10 YEARS! In my 40's I gained back 10 lbs. In my 50's it was all over. It's just depressing to me. I guess I'll get over it eventually.

Hi BFC Ladies,
Here we are heading into the holidays and if you are like me, starting to panic. I would love to have a total of a 30 pound loss for this year, so I had better get busy. Just like webwoam said"Don't you love the fact that each new day (and especially new month) gives us the opportunity to begin again with our health journey. November may have challenges because of Thanksgiving, but really, it's just one day."
I read post and see results of those who consistly lose weight and wonder what makes them different from me. What is their secret? How do they find that motivation to just keep going? What are they doing different than me?
I agree with Carol that harmones play a BIG part in weightloss and so does age. I did not mean to make it sound like it was a matter of being strong or just honest with ourselves. I know better than anyone what a struggle it is and I am in a battle for my life. I too at times feel like it is hopeless, and to often I just give in to whatever makes me happy...like cake. What I was trying to say was that #1 we must find what works for us to lose and how to deal with fluctuations in harmones & pitfalls. #2 how can we keep the weight off and still enjoy a treat every now and then. Got any secrets to success? Please share.

Good morning,

I read in a post somewhere else that the best part of any dessert or treat is that first bite. I also hear about those who use a baby spoon to eat things like dessert so they don't wolf it down so fast.

What works for me is to not eat the sweets at all - after all, at the end of a Thanksgiving meal, who has room for dessert? I will have a cup of gourmet coffee with cream and stevia.

Or if you must, you could bring a dessert that you make using Stevia to sweeten it. Here's a spice cake recipe with icing where you could substitute stevia for sucralose, I'll bet.

I've been having a good week so far with no evening cravings. For breakfast, I'll have two scrambled eggs mixed with bacon bits. Lunch is tuna salad with lots of lettuce and celery. Dinner is rotisserie chicken (easy to buy) and some kind of vegetable (broccoli last night). I do have a glass of wine or two in the evening.

I have found a new product that has been helpful - I've been taking two glucomannan capsules a day (one in am, one after work). It's a different kind of fiber that absorbs about 200x times it's weight, so drink plenty of water with it - it really make you feel full and has many other benefits. I just bought some capsules online and like them. Read about it here.

Have a good hump-day!

webwoman,
Thanks for the advise I will definitely try the baby spoon trick. I myself always eat out of a bowl, its about a 6"square. I put a little meat, and whatever veggies I am having. Sometimes a piece of fruit. Now more than ever I want to lose. Today on Dr.oz it was about breast cancer and it has been proven that being overweight causes breast cancer because it increases your estrogen. He said if you have gained 45lbs.+ you double your risk.Wow! I REALLY NEED TO LOSE!!!!! about 60lbs.

Good morning,

BCL, I have also heard that being overweight increases the chance for breast cancer in addition to several other life-threatening illnesses.

I've been very committed this week, and have lost the two pounds I had gained back, so my ticker is correct again. ;-) I'm really hoping to drop to under 160 pounds by Monday, as that is a milestone for me for 3 reasons: 1. it will be 25 lbs lost, which sounds like a lot. 2. I will have lost 10% of my body weight 3. I will be in the "Normal Weight" catagory in the BMI index.

I think ahead of how proud I'll be to accomplish this and it helps keep me on track.

Have a great day!

Webwoman,

Congrats on your 2lb loss, you have done it so wonderfully and I can't imagine how great it feels!!! YOU are true INSPIRATION!!! To be at ideal weight and BMI is a BIG DEAL!!! What was the one thing that kept you going?

Hugs

Izzy

Actually I'm not at ideal weight yet, but I hope to be at a Normal BMI by next week.

What seems to work is pre-planning and not varying meals very much. I get up in the morning and scramble a couple of eggs to take into work for breakfast. Then I make a BIG salad with Iceberg and Romaine lettuce, and add either tuna or chicken breast to it for lunch. I always keep a bag of cut-up vegetables at work to add to the salad (no carrots or peas), and I have some almonds in my drawer for a snack. I've been taking a glucomannan capsule in the morning and when I get home, so that's added a lot of fiber which keeps me full. Dinner is either lean meat or fish (I love salmon and cod) and more veggies, sometimes with rice. Last night was chicken with brown rice pilaf and turnip greens with bacon - DBF even liked it.

Yes it can be a little boring, but I'm satisfied and I don't have cravings. If I didn't pre-plan, I'd be tempted to grab lunch with co-workers that I also like to drink hot coffee throughout the day which is filling. Weekends are a little looser, but I'll be back on plan on Monday.

We all have to find menus that we can live with, but I can eat well with the choices on the BFC plan. (Not that I don't think of ice cream now and then ;-)

WebWoman - You are now at the weight I have for my goal. If I ever reach it, I might try to go lower, but I will see how I feel at that weight. I want to reach a BMI of overweight instead of obese.

I like your eating plan. Boring isn't always so bad. If it's food that you like and it keeps you on plan, then go for it! It's working.

A woman on another board just posted a picture showing her progress so far. Man, she looks good! It's inspiring to me. Reading these boards and hearing and seeing other people's progress helps to give me hope.

Good Morning Ladies,
Its great to see that BFC really works, and you both have proven it. I can see you progress through your tickers and I want to be there with you. I was doing good until around August. I just can't seem to get myself back on track and I feel so down! My number ONE problem is that I do not have any POSITIVE people to be around. I am surrounded with depressed and angry people. I can get up in a great mood and call my best friend and by the time I hangup; she has put me in the WORSE MOOD. Then family is the same way. Then when I go to work I deal with the elderly and 90% of them say they wish they would just die! If I could find just one positive person in my area that I could talk to or hangout with. Man! It would be such a fresh breath of air. Never the less, it is ultimately up to me to find away and start planning just as you have done. I am the only one who can
change the things that do not work for me. But it REALLY helps to at least check in with you ladies. Thanks so much.

BCL I'm sorry to hear about the negative vibes coming from those around you... it's tough to stay positive when you're the only one. Do you have a DH or co-worker who you get along well with who is a positive person? Maybe you could reach out to her and get to know her better. I'm lucky in that my BF is a positive person and we talk every night on the phone and I see him 3-4 times a week. One of my sisters is very positive and she is also losing weight and working out so we cheer each other on.

You can do get back on track - I remember when I first joined you had already lost 20 pounds!!! The time to commit is now - why wait? Mentally plan what you'll have for dinner tonight and stick to it! Saturday's a good day to work out or do something physical, so plan a walk or something - I will be in an excercise class or working out for about 45 minutes tomorrow am.

And you can always count on you friends here for support. :-)

Izzy - Other than my recent rant about the books I read, I am usually a very positive person. Now that I'm retired, I pretty much only have my DH around. Sometimes he will make a comment when I eat something he thinks I should not be eating, but if he wants to eat, he wants me to eat with him whether I'm hungry or not. If he wants to stop for icecream and I say I don't want any he will say "I'm not going to stop just for me." Then I feel bad that he's not getting the ice cream he wants, so I get some." When I lived alone I weighed 130 lbs, because I only ate when and what I wanted. One time he said "If you would eat what I eat, you'd be thin." I said "NO, if I eat what you eat, I will weigh what you weigh!!" He is not a big eater, but he can eat whatever and whenever he wants and not gain. Someone who never had a weight problem doesn't understand.

WebWoman - I also have heard the relationship between overweight and breast cancer. It is the same with Diabetes which was diagnosed in 2008. I'm not sure about heart disease. It is very very prevalent in my family on my mother's side. She was overweight most of her adult life. I wonder if I still would have developed it if I had stayed thin. I had to work at staying thin, but was derailed by a lifestyle change that got me out of control. I think because of my family history, I would have developed the heart disease anyway. There are members of my mother's family who had heart disease who never had a weight problem in their life. Along that line, I do know women who have never had a weight problem who developed breast cancer. I think it just raises your risk. It's the same as people who never smoked who get lung cancer. I think family history is the strongest factor. Both my parents and my 2 brothers passed away before age 65. I will be 66 in January. I think the fact that I keep all my follow up visits with my doctors and am always getting tests done is why I'm still here. None of them went to the doctors. They never knew what was wrong with them until they had let it get so bad that it killed them. I have a half sister who is from my father's side of the family, not my mother's. She is still alive at age 82. She does not have the bad genes from my mother's family. She also goes to the doctors all the time and keeps up with her health problems. I may seem like a hypochondriac because I'm always going to the doctors, but I'm alive and I thank God for each day.

Thanks Ladies for the advice,
I too have alot of family history of heart trouble, lung cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure,high cholestrol, thyroid desease and obesity.
The underline is my problems and my mother died at the age of 59. Dad died two days prior to 96 and was buried on his 96th birthday.I have two brothers who died in their mid 50's.Talking about odds being stacked. I have alot of reasons to lose the weight and that should be the motivation.

I hear ya, Izzy. We really have a lot in common.