Good Afternoon!
Welcome Mulse! Good luck! 2014 is the year for all of us!
I'm in a "meh" mood so just checking in so no one sends the fat police to check up on me.
I'm glad everyone is doing so well. Betsy you did such a nice job in your last post. Can everyone reread it and pretend it was from me also?
I'm off to take a nap...

Hey all

Things are hectic and I am finding myself super hungry lately... it's a battle I don't think I'm winning.

We are busy at work with students writing ministry exams, and prepping for our exams next, end of semester 1 and report cards and I'm trying to figure out the Grade 12 Social Studies course which just got new curriculum and does not mesh into our planned course outlines.... I'm also trying to get my play into a more functional state with rehearsal, but students still don't know their lines.

I just really want to get my eating in control again, so much is just swirling around me and I feel that I'm losing my grip on weight loss... and I really don't want that.

Hope you are all doing better than I am at the moment.

302 => 299

Well I broke the 300 mark! Only a few months ago I was disappointed I was 282... Amazing how fast and easy you can gain weight and then to have to work hard at losing it. I didn't have a great eating or exercise week, hurt my shoulder and struggled with a cold, so I'll take 3 pounds happily!

I'm hoping for more by next Sunday.

Today after my breakfast AA meeting I went to the gym and did 40 minutes of stationary bike, then hit the pool to move/stretch out my shoulder as has been my near daily habit since hurting it Tuesday. Still having some pain on the front crawl so didn't swim laps, just did some treading water and used the hot tub. This evening over to my dad's house for dinner... They like to have me over on the weekend, last week I said "no" because they were having big steaks/mashed potatoes/ veg and I didn't have enough calorie room after my weekly Sunday morning breakfast. I told him why, so this week my step-mother lured me with promises of a "healthy meal".

Time - thanks for being so honest, accountability helps! Here's hoping you get back in the saddle.

Ubee - you posted just in time, I was getting ready to call the fat police! You dodged a bullet there.

Betsy - I am doing the same approach I guess... Not worrying so much "what" I eat, but that I stay under my myfitnesspal calorie goal daily... I have quickly learned which foods I enjoy I can still eat without cranking my calories with too little food. Working so far, and still enjoying some of the snacks I love.

Mulse - sorry we're full. Go find another forum please, there are lots to choose from.

Mulse part 2 - of course I am kidding! Welcome.

Larry - I think it's universal that women get irritated when their man crashes in front of the TV. I try not to but it happens sometimes. Especially when I work all night on call. Good thing I'm single!

Sam - American hustle was awesome! I saw anchorman 2 Christmas Day, that was funny too. Sens and the caps and about 4 other teams are all neck and neck for 2 wildcard playoff spots, so afraid I am cheering against the caps! . Ottawa actually seems to do quite well against them for some reason...

Fiona - welcome back to the track! How does one eat a whole jar of peanut butter? Crackers and milk??

Silent - I watched silver lining playbook last night (also really good) so looking for the silver lining may be a good strategy

Betsy - also a good strategy! Also, before you eat (when you are hungry) drink some water!

It is snowing like crazy here. Have a few things to do before dinner, happy Sunday all!

This post has been challenging with my kitten's fascination with my ipad... I changed my pic to give you a taste of what is going on over here!

Well the avatar option is upside down for some reason so I changed it back, here it is posted instead (it still wants to show it upside down for some reason!):

He also likes to nap on me sometimes...

Hey Everyone, I thought I'd check in this afternoon instead of the morning. Today has been a pretty lazy day around the house. DH and BIL have pretty much been sleeping all day lol...I've just been piddling around the house and did some prep work for my lunch next week. I already had my oatmeal breakfasts made from when I made a new batch earlier in the previous week. I decided to make the turkey taco salad I had last week because I was so good. Kinda hard to stay away from it! This morning DH put two crescent rolls that he had left over from making some late last night so I decided to eat them plain for breakfast. It's a little off of what I am trying to do, but I didn't make too much of a big deal about it. Lunch I had some left over lemon/rosemary chicken and some spaghetti squash and roasted tomatoes on top. I have no idea what I'm going to have for dinner. I'm thinking of maybe doing turkey taco lettuce cups. I don't have any avocado but that would be a nice pairing if I did. Still don't have a scale to weigh in, otherwise I would have done it this morning. Money is really tight until I get my paycheck on Wednesday so I will probably go out and get one then.

One thing I wanted to ask anyone out there that's watching carbs...I recently downloaded my fitness pal just out of curiosity how many calories I roughly consumed one day. I think it was around 1100 which I don't know if it's bad or good. It told me I needed to consume 2200 to lose weight. I've been eating 5-6 small meals a day and have not felt starving from one meal to the next so I don't know if not making 2200 calories is a good or bad thing. But anyhow, my questions was on the carb intake. The only type of "breadie" type carbs I ate that day was some gluten free oatmeal (1/2 cup) and some brown rice (1/2 cup). When I looked at the totals for the day on how many carbs I had taken in it said 170 but I needed to consume 284. I don't know if 170 is bad or good or what? I had read in a PCOS forum here that I should try to stay under 30g carbs daily, but I haven't eaten anything other than fruits and veg, some turkey and some beans, which I know beans have carbs too. Do you guys think that 30g of carbs a day is dangerously low? I have been reading you do need to consume carbs as part of a good diet so I don't know where I stand with the amount of carb intake I am consuming. Any help would be much appreciated!!

Betsy I have already started monitoring the stove like crazy haha!

Mulse Welcome to the group! You'll love it here!

Ubee Glad you're still here and are doing alright!

Time I definitely understand how things can get frustrating when things are so busy you almost feel like you just can't make the time to make sure you are watching what you're eating. It has really been helping me to prep as much as I can one day a week so I am not stuck trying to figure out what to eat in a pinch because it would probably result in me running through the McDonald's drive thru.

merstopher Congrats on breaking the 300 mark! That is quite an accomplishment! I can understand how cats can get in the way of typing. One of my cats looks very similar to yours. She's not quite a year yet and has bugging me like crazy this weekend lol...I will definitely have to check out American Hustle!

Well I'm off to go wake up DH and see what we can come up with for dinner. Will try to check back in to see how everyone is doing. I'm constantly reading here even if I don't post, but you guys know I am not shy to post around here! It keeps me going! Have a great evening everyone!!

Hi everyone ... time for me to stop lurking and start posting lol ... I do pop in each day ... not just to catch up on my challenge but also see what else is happening ... Its a long weekend in my area of NZ as its our Anniversary weekend (in NZ the main centres have different Anniversary days so the long weekends aren't throughout NZ at the same time .. just the area of the Anniversary).

Restarted my challenge 2 weeks ago and so far just over 6 pound gone which I am happy with... even better .. finally passed the 100 pound mark I still don't know why the journey is working this time around ... its not like I haven't tried for decades to lose the weight ... but the last 6 months something seems to have clicked ... still want to know why though .. in reality I should just go with it lol .. but if I can work out why its working this time then it will hopefully keep me on track.

I have encouraged a lot of my friends with weight issues to join up here as it IS an incredible support network, and the honesty without judgement perspective does help a heck of a lot more than a once a week check in as so many other diet plans are ... but as yet .. none have signed up lol .. still .. maybe one day Would be nice to have a few more kiwis on here

I have tried a lot of different plans in the past in regards to losing weight but have finally found something I feel comfortable with and which doesn't feel like I have to change my life to fit the food in .. instead its the other way around. I fast for 12-16 hours each day, only have one main meal (which is mainly vegetables with some fruit and a little bit of meat), and 2-3 snacks. Calorie intake minimum 1200 .. max 1800 and I drink 2-3 litres of water each day, coffee only when Im out otherwise green tea & orange juice are my drinks.

My biggest challenge now is exercise ... Im ok once I get started .. but its the getting started that is the hardest part lol ... I had started to go to the gym at the end of last year, but then got too busy to fit it in ... soooo going to see if I can rework that back in this year ... I have signed up to 2 big walks (well for me its a big walk lol) .. one is 6.5km and the other one is 5km. Never done anything like it before .. but I have said for years "next year Im going to..." and never done it .. so I paid up entry and signed up for them without thinking about it or I probably would have come up with a reason not to do it again.

Anyway .. thats me .. HI! Will try to be as good about catching up as some of the rest of you are

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!!!!

It's going to be a beautiful day here in Texas!!! Welcome to Mulse and Terra!!! A quick shout out to everyone else... Ubee, Merstopher, Larry, Sam, Betsy, Fi, Silent, Jane, Time and Katt.

This has been a good weekend! I was able to go Saturday and pick up a few seeds and other goodies for my garden including some topsoil and pallets. We worked on the tree limbs and burned a big pile of debris (limbs, twigs, leaves) yesterday. Hopefully today the guys will come and get everything else they want out of my front yard. I refuse to complain about the mess because I was told that some people charge up to $2500 to remove a tree of the size that I lost. Besides the mess gives us something to work toward and we have ideas of what to do with what is left (the stump). I think we are going to plant morning glory around it and let it eventually cover the stump. Nevermind all the exercise involved in the process. YAY!!!

Today is a busy day but I will be able to write more this evening. I hope everyone has a splendid POP Perfect ON Plan day.

Howdy y'all! I'm up before dawn, which always pleases me, even though I'm retired. Something about that extra time before the sun comes up really makes ya feel like ya gotta jump on the day. I'm pleased to report I finally have my correspondence with my Belgian friend beat back into its comfortable container of twice-a-week emails: for a while there we were having such intense daily contact back and forth I could imagine this one giant storm system stretching all the way 'cross the Atlantic! At this point she's definitely not coming to visit me—which takes away something to look forward to (& lose weight for) but also takes away something to worry about. Now my future focus is on kittens—specifically, oriental shorthair kittens, which have such enormous ears in proportion to their head size they look a bit like bats. They should arrive in our home some time in late summer, if all goes according to plan.

Chris—Speaking of kittens, you sure do have a cutie! I like his name, too, which I assume is in honor of the late great guitarist Django Reinhart. And I love how dark his points are—that's going to make for one gorgeous cat. Say, congrats on crossing back into the 200's! Oh, and how does one eat a whole jar of peanut butter? Simple, man, with a spoon! =grin=

Terra— DH means Dear (or Damn, depending on one's mood) Husband and DW is similar for Dear Wife. And there's DD for Dear Daughter and so on. Welcome to the thread!!! I like your purple italic font. I've been meaning to get around to playing with fonts, one of these days...Tell us more about yourself, as you feel so inclined...

Nightkatt— Wow, 6.5 and 5 km. walks are impressive. If I could walk that far without passing out I'd be impressed with myself. My current dilemma is that my legs are in decent shape because of nightly exercises I do, so I want to walk faster than my cardiovascular fitness can handle. I need to learn to pace myself...

Sam— I don't think 30 g. of carbs is dangerously low, but then I'm sort of a convert to the whole Atkins/Paleo way of thinking. But the important thing is not the exact numbers, but that you work out a plan you can live with for a long time. I'm lucky in that I have local, humanely raised meat, so a meat-n-eggs-n-cheese diet, with occasional nuts & muesli, works just fine for me. But I'm not picky about food, and my husband & I eat separately, so I only have one person to worry about. And I adore getting to have real cream in my coffee!

Melissa— Do you have a rough plan for your eating? I find that when the stress mounts, it really helps to have a reasonable plan that gives you enough fuel for your busy life, but no more than. Good luck, girl!

Ubee— How's that teenage drama coming along? I'm a big fan of naps, myself: I always have been because my diurnal rhythm is that I'm a big morning person and a big nightime person but emphatically not an afternoon person. Even when I was in my medical training, I used to sprawl out for an afternoon nap on the nearest gurney...or later, when I had a tiny office of my own, on the floor. Now that I can nap on the couch whenever I like, I use naps as punctuation, between bouts of activity. "When in doubt, take a short nap" is my motto. =laugh=

Betsy— Did you survive the Co-op retreat? Are you still thinking seriously about not doing it next year? One thing I've noticed on these forum threads is that people with minimal stress in their lives are more successful at weight loss. You may want to put your health ahead of the Co-op's health. Just a thought...

Mulse— Welcome on board! Tell us more about yourself, when you get a chance...Oh and don't worry: you're still allowed to stick around after you drop below 300. =smile=

Larry— Good for you with all that activity in the cold! Yes, it does make a significant difference in the calories you burn. When I was a teenager and first becoming aware of calories, we used to spend one month each summer on a lake in Canada: for a large proportion of every day, we were swimming around, hard, in 65 degree water. I was amazed at how I could eat pancakes and my grandmother's pie and just about everything I wanted, and still lose weght that month.

Pam, Andrea, Donna, Silent, Jane— I'm afraid I've run out of words: amazing, but it actually happens. I'm wishing you well, and I'll say more the next time!

And now that the sun has come up, it's time to write some postcards—as in, decorate and write on the backs of my 6" x 9" collages, complete with vintage stamps. I relish making the back of the postcard an artwork in its own right, but it sure takes a lot of supplies—rubber stamps, stickers, fineline markers, you name it.

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Now that I've committed to this Ideal Protein, I just want to get started. Seeing as I don't live close to a clinic, I have to get the food sent via courier.

I've been eating as cleanly as possible in the meantime, trying to keep my motivation up.

What do y'all do to keep yourself motivated? Any little tips or quirks?

Thanks, again.

I'm 33 years old and from the east coast of Canada. I've been up and down with my weight all my life. The smallest I've been in my adult life is 217lbs, which I managed with the Weight Watchers program. Then I met my now husband, got comfortable, and regained all the weight, plus an extra 25 or so lbs.

We've been trying to have a child for over three years and it's just not happening for us. The fertility clinic is saying that they cannot find a reason why and my gut, head, and heart tells me my weight is a major contributing factor.

I'd like to feel better about myself from a vanity standpoint, but my real driving force in being here is to hopefully make our vision of being parents a reality.

Morning Everyone!

I'm back at the office today. A lot of our companies we work with are closed today because of MLK day so I was hoping to have off, but alas I am here. I am thinking it will be a long, and very slow day today. But the boss is off today for her birthday this week (we all get to choose a day off for our bday) so if I feel inclined to play on the computer when I'm not busy I won't have to feel too bad lol...

Nightkatt Glad you decided to post! I think everyone here is very lovely and very encouraging. I am right there with you when it comes to exercise. I have been on my journey for a week now and I haven't exercised at all yet. My excuse is its too cold outside lol...But I know I can do some inside. I am planning on looking for my resistance bands and working with them some this week.

TerraWelcome!!! Glad to add another person to the group here! The more the merrier!! Good luck on your journey and if you ever need anything we're here!

PJ The mourning glories sound like they would look so pretty around the stump of the tree. You've got some work cut out for you in removing the debris, but sounds like a good workout!

Fiona I don't think 30g is dangerously low either. I need to look more into it and get some feedback from my PCOS girls. I might have to eliminate all oatmeal, rice and possibly beans to get around there. I don't know if I can do that though It's definitely something I need to work on. I'm trying to find a new doctor when I get health insurance so that I can talk to them and find out the information I need that my other DR failed to give me.

Mulse Posting in here definitely will keep you motivated. I post once or twice a day and this is the main thread I go to. I also have PCOS so I will sometimes post in there to get some information from other girls but this place is the most hoppin for me . I also go on Pinterest all the time to look for meals that are good for me to try and inspirational quotes, exercise routines to try, etc. I'm keeping this weightloss deal mainly to myself so that way if I screw up I don't have the peanut gallery up my rear. For instance last night, I messed up and ate a big mac from McDonalds. I know I shouldn't have eaten it, but I didn't beat myself up about it, I just told myself it's ok and this morning I moved back on plan. I think it was easier to do that then to beat myself up about it because then I end up getting emotional and end up eating more foods that I shouldn't eat. If you ever need anything feel free to PM me

So as you guys read, I ate a Big Mac last night. I took off some of the extra bread but honestly it wasn't like, OMG this is so good. It made me satisfied because I ate. But I have to admit I had eaten some turkey with beans and corn and a little rice earlier. I didn't eat as much as I usually do at a meal so maybe that's why I ended up craving the Big Mac, because I wasn't satisfied. I'm not beating myself up about it because I've moved on, but honestly I don't feel like I want another Big Mac anytime soon, which I think is a plus and a good lesson learned that I really don't want or need it. This week I want to focus on doing some exercise in my home. It is supposed to be pretty cold her in Myrtle Beach...down to the 20s, which is freezing for us haha! I'm going to dig out my resistance bands and try some exercises with that, and maybe try some squats, even though it might bother my knees. I'm just not going to over do it. What kind of exercises do you guys like to do that has been effective? I don't have a gym membership anymore and there's not an indoor pool anywhere that I can go to, even though I'd love to swim . I think I can do some good exercises inside my house and once it starts to warm up a bit I'll start walking. I hope everyone has POP day!

Merstopher- Thanks. One thing I am really trying to do is be honest and accountable. Balancing a life of living on my own and spening time living with my parents I had sometimes 'hidden' food, so as to not be judged. Therefore gaining the mentality, if no one knows it doesn't count. But I am trying to stop that now.

SamIam- thanks. Luckily there are no food places NEAR my house, but in Egypt almost everything delivers (including McDonalds)... trying to balance stress with control these days.

Fi- I have a rough plan, I really do... then I ate my planned dinner and was still hungry... My problem is I am doing what I did before I went home, and it was enough then... so I'm trying to find that balance to satisfy my hunger and not snack my calories to death. I also keep my planning a couple hundred calories under what myfitnesspal tells me, in case I need to add, plus they are giving me a lot of calories at the moment.

pjvw- so glad you are having a good day!


So I am trying to focus on the positives today, and feel I had a better hunger control day. I think I need to get some protein other than nuts for lunch at work, because today I had a dissected turkey sandwhich with cheese (ate the turkey, cheese, some of the veg and about 1 slice of bread) and it helped. So I am going to get some meat and cheese to bring for lunch.

Welcome to the new posters, and Nightkatt, nice to see you jump in here!!

Finally, Merstopher I heart your cat

Thanks for the welcomes everyone

Fiona ~ Thanks for telling me what DH and DW means, Now I'll answer your question about telling everyone more about myself, My name is Terra, Im from Kansas and Im 29 years old, I started gaining weight after high school,In high school and before high school I was always at a normal weight. Im really bummed about being 300 now but I know all I have to do to change that is exercise and cut back on my eating so thats what Im gonna do.