Hi Everyone...

There's so many here now it's hard to keep up with personals, but it's nice to see so many people here too.

I didn't get to post here for the past few days because I'm still feeling the effects of the boils. I've luckily gotten them all to go away except for one. It has been very painful and uncomfortable. I've been having to urinate a lot this week so I am worried I may be getting UTI from the medicine I've been having to use...I sure hope not. It doesn't hurt or anything, but I know that's a sign.

Monday night I had a heart to heart with myself....I had a few drinks (which I never do) at home and looked at myself in the mirror and was disgusted with myself. I finally had gotten on the scale that morning and saw that I've gained 6 pounds. I'm back up to 250. I haven't been able to exercise because of the boil and that has really made me even more mad at myself. Anyway, back to the heart to heart....I have been making excuses to myself to why I am continuing to put junk in my mouth...I've told myself and others that it's a plateau...Which I'm sure some if it was a plateau but I know it has a lot to do with the things I have eaten. I probably don't look any different with the gaining of 6 pounds, but I don't want to slowly gain all of my weight back. I told myself enough is enough and I have to keep pushing with all my might to get this weight off. I now have 90 pounds I still need to lose and 50 I'd like to lose by the end of this year. I can't do that if I keep putting bread, candy, ice cream, cakes, cookies, chocolate milk, cheese burgers, etc in my mouth. I still do not eat near as bad as I was when I was 340 pounds, but it is a slippery slope and I don't want to do this to myself. I cried on the inside about it since DH was around when I had this realization it was all in my mind...I couldn't show signs of weakness...I didn't want him to see me like that. I really wanted to just smack myself in the face and says, What the **** is wrong with you girl? You've come so far!!

Since that day I've gone back to eating salads for my lunch each day. I had been eating turkey bacon and eggs for breakfast for the past two weeks and I know that isn't terrible, but I've picked back up with the oatmeal with chia seeds and fruit. I have to keep the bread and sweets out the house and try to get DH to eating right again as he's probably gained more weight than me. I'm trying to drink as much water as possible and need to work on quitting the diet drinks. Slowly but surely I'm going to be right back to where I need to be.

I haven't liked the fact that I'm missing excercising and do actually plan to get my living room in working order and will go back to doing Turbo Jam as that helped me out a lot and maybe I need something like that to get me back into busting butt in the gym.

Gotta cut this short but thank you guys for the love!

Fi: I've never heard of that. At least if it's that, they should be able to adjust your meds to fix it, I hope?

PJ: Gotta watch those shooting pains. Good thing that you got it all sorted before bedtime. Congrats on 6k steps!

Terra: Love the temperature to be in the 70's. It's dreary here today. It's supposed to rain all week.

Plucky: It's not weird that to worry about that. Most people have trouble understanding how difficult even a few extra pounds can be. They see people hitting the pavement on weight loss reality TV and think that everyone that is heavy can do that and are the ones who don't are lazy, which is just bs. Congrats on making plans to stay on plan. You can do this.

Toni: Hope that your son gets better soon. I always worry when my kids are sick. Make sure to get some help and rest as soon as you can. Sleep disturbances actually affect metabolism. Congrats for sticking with your plan.

Sam: Glad to see that your boil situation is improved and that you've had a heart to heart with yourself. I think that a key to success is reminding ourselves why we started to begin with. Sometimes when I look in the mirror it seems impossible because I'm still fat, and will probably never have a perfect body. I always have this wish that I could have a perfect body though, so it doesn't seem worth the effort at times, because I'll never be perfect. That's not why I started though. I don't want my kids to have my bad habits, and I don't want to get the ill health consequences that could happen from being obese.

Good morning everyone. Whacko sleep patterns last night so who knows if this will make any sense today. Of course, that is assuming that most of my posts make sense.......which some of you may debate!

Tootsie -- Just remember that anyone can post anything on the Internet. Some of it is true, some of it is partially true, and some of it is just bunk. Personally, I don't think enough research has been done into obesity and its causes and treatments because it was just recently recognized as a disease. Hate having it called a disease, but if that will get some real research done then so be it. And remember that for every study, the results usually conform to a bell curve and whatever is in the middle is what gets reported on. So there are a whole lot of people on each end who don't fit the pattern. You've got so much going on for you that is positive and good. Don't let reading what sounds like an unsubstantiated article get your down.

Ubee -- First, get the treats out of the house NOW! Even if they're in the freezer, we both know a time will come when the siren call of something way the heck off plan will seem like it's worth it to risk breaking a tooth trying to eat frozen food. And I'm assuming that your DIL has added/changed her hours again. Ubee, you are a good person. You want to help your children and it's obvious you do so very much for everyone in your life. But you are not responsible for raising your grandson. And I doubt if there's been any offer to pay for child care. So, take a page from my mother's book who announced at age 72 that it was her turn. She was still a loving and nurturing person, but she was no longer at our beck and call. I resented it for awhile, but completely understand now and wonder why she didn't do it years earlier. It's ok to take care of yourself. Lots of advice for not even being sure that this is the problem, but then I've never let a little thing like the facts get in the way of spouting off, have I! Just want Ubee to have some time for Ubee!

Fi -- Oh, Fi. I've never heard of serotonin syndrome either, but I can't imagine that anything that has to do with changing your psych drugs is going to be an easy fix. Initially it sounded like you'd injured your knees when you fell, but your symptoms seem to be getting worse and spreading as well as increasingly impacting your mobility. So so so sorry you're having to deal with this. You and Bob both have a lot going on right now to deal with.

Pam -- Sounds like you've developed a very good pattern to eating and exercise. Send some of the healthy living fairy dust up this way please!

Terra -- Spring can be such a beautiful time of the year in Kansas. Temps in the 70s sound close to perfect. Glad you got caught up on your sleep.

Andrea -- There's no way I could walk 7 blocks with someone or a group either. Is there a person or two who might want to ride with you? If not, can you just tell them you'll meet them there and ask them to save you a seat? I found when I just announced in a bold and confident voice (that I frequently wasn't feeling) that I was going to drive or take mass trans that someone wanted to come with me. And, if all else fails, tell yourself you're going to meet someone new and just mingle with people you don't know already. As for furniture refinishing, I think the first pieces I ever did, I just asked someone how to do it (pre-Internet days) and for the chairs I just looked it up online and printed out the instructions.

Misstoni -- Hope your little boy is doing much better and that you get through the day ok. Hard to do on not enough sleep.

Sam -- I'm so glad that you had that heart to heart with yourself as I don't want you to make my mistake of having a serious backslide. It isn't worth it! You can do this. You are strong, intelligent, mature beyond your years and having a rooting section here. If need be, Ubee and I will put on the cheerleader outfits again for you. Just the belly laughing of that image of me in my mind should burn off a couple of hundred calories.

Nothing exciting planned for today. I'm going to strip the coffee table and do the first sanding today and definitely eat only what's on my plan. And, Ubee, I'm planning on a trip in the RV soon -- just waiting for it to warm up a little bit. I need to find out when the boys' spring break is so that I can take them camping with me. And Toby. And Bill.

Have a wonderful day.

HELP! I am eating non stop! I need to do a Sam and have a heart to heart with myself. I am backsliding and it is scaring me. The other part of me is saying "I knew you couldn't do it. Throw in the towel." I will not throw in the towel but I need to stop this.
Betsy thanks for the kind words. I love taking care of my grandson it is just that my DIL has to spend so much time here because she and my son car pool and he works many more hours then she does. There are a lot worse things in life and I need to suck it up and remember how grateful we are that no one was harmed in the fire. Wow, that put it in perspective. I am pleased to hear that we will be taking an RV trip. How should I pack? Will we be near woods, water or both?
Tootsie I remember hearing about a study that claimed obese people are more depressed. I thought maybe depressed people have a tendency to become obese. Ever since then I look at studies from all angles. Most of it is biased so I too am calling rubbish. Look at our group. All different levels of education and wealth. That study is RUBBISH!
Sam enough is enough for both of us!!! I hate keeping track of what I eat BUT starting right now I am writing it all down. We can do this and I hope to see you on here daily again.
Miss Toni I hope your little boy is better. Any chance of catching a power nap?
Andrea I feel for you with the walking bit. I wonder if someone else might want to take the street car with you. I think you should just be honest and say "I'm going to take the street car. Please save a seat for me." as was suggested. So many times we worry about these things and no one even really notices. Good luck.
Terra I think the temperature in heaven is in the 70's. What did you make in cooking class?
Pam 6000 steps is a lot. How many do you think you walked at your heaviest? Now you have me wondering how few I walk in a day...
All right ladies for the umpteenth time I am getting serious!
Have a peaceful day!

Thank you all who weighed in (pun intended) on the subjectof cheat days. I thoroughly enjoyed mybirthday dinner and didn’t feel the least bit guilty about over-indulging. Today I am right back on plan.

I am somewhat of a control freak and try not to leaveanything to chance. I plan everythingand spur of the moment plans leave me all out of sorts. So, for me, like for many of you it seems,planning what you will be indulging in and when seems like the way to go forme.

Since this is not a diet that I’m on, and instead a way ofeating that I will be doing for most if not all of my life, there will beoccasions when I will indulge a little too much, and I am ok with that. This has always been my problem with “diets”in the past. There was always thatquestion –“But, what about…my birthday, this holiday, that party, the timeswhen we will want to eat a little more or something traditional that we thinkof as a no-no?’ Sure, they all seem tohave ways of handling those situations – “just have a taste, make it healthier,and if you really want that, whatever that is, then give up something elseinstead. I don’t think “real life” has ever worked that way for me. Ofcourse, I know, I can’t indulge in everything I want whenever I want it. That seems to be what has gotten me here inthe first place lol and I don’t want to go back to that. But, once in a while, something special, or aspecial occasion – I’m learning that I’m ok with that.

This is such a learning process, but at least I am learning something this time,

Misstoniemarie, welcome. I hope your little boy is feeling better.

Plucky, that sounds like something I would worry about too. However, I agree with others here - that just stating your intentions to take the streetcar and saying you will meet them there -is the best way to go.

Sam, glad your boils are healing and that your heart to heart has worked.

Ubee, backsliding is so easy, isn't it? Take a deep breath and try to remember why you want to lose weight. Sometimes it helps me to write things down, reasons for doing this, goals, even random thoughts and feelings. But I find it does help put things in perspective.

Terra, I love temps in the 70s. Here in the northeast it can get into the 90s and humid in the summer and I really don't care for that weather.

Fiona, I hope your health problems and meds get sorted out soon so you are able to experience some relief.

I hope everyone has a good on-plan day tomorrow. I could keep going here, but I need sleep and I have already been quite long winded here.

Good-night everyone.

Hi everyone. Just a really quick post as I don't have much time this morning, I had to do some online banking and organizing for my income taxes while at work this morning.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom and after work I will just say I am taking the streetcar and save me a seat.

I am planning on staying on plan.

Have a wonderful day all.

Hi everybody!
Good news.....I am finally feeling almost human!
I have had 3 days on plan and only have another 3 days on the IV's so I can get to swimming next week.
Thank you all for your advice about the ex. He is wallowing in a mess of his own making and I will not get sucked in.! I am doing so much better mentally without him.
Plucky...well done for seeing the sense in getting the street car....what's a street car??

Cindy.....I try to think "lifestyle" not diet! Otherwise you start to dread any special occasion and what kind of life is that?
Ubee....now listen to me.....you CAN do this! Do not....I repeat do not.....listen to that voice that puts self doubt in her head.
Tootsie.....everybody has an opinion!!! And most opinions are not helpful! Increased weight is not as simple as "fat people are dumb" we all know that for heaven's sake. It's complicated and different for each and every one of us.
Misstoni......how old is your little boy? It sounds like he is quite little....sleep deprivation is torture!!
Sam...I hope your boil gets better.......it is so frustrating that you can't get back to exercise when your mind clearly wants to....and needs to. Please don't give up on this journey. You have done amazingly to stay the course...you wouldn't be human if you didn't hit a few bumps in the road. You are my hero...you are so open about your difficulties and it makes me feel less alone.
Betsy...you will be so proud of me....I have achieved quite a bit with house chores today as I am feeling better BUT have paced myself...yes really!!
Have a great day chickens,
Donna

Good morning!
Today is Day1 on my journey to get below 250 pounds.
My water jug is filled, my journal is started. I've decided to keep track of my food with a good old pen and paper. I will also journal daily the things I am grateful for. One of the most important things I will do for myself is come on here the first chance I get. Our community is so important for my success. Thank you for being here. I have to run but will be back later.
Have a peaceful day.

Good morning all. I feel like I must be channeling Terra today as I woke up at 4:30 to go to the bathroom, and then couldn't get back to sleep so I just got up. Have had my shower, the coffee is brewing, and maybe I'll get a lot done today with an early start.

Ubee -- STOP! Stop approaching food right now! Actually I think that using a pen and paper will be a great tool if you write down what you want to eat BEFORE ingesting it. By the time you write it down, look up the calories and/or carbs, etc., you may forget that you want something to eat. Yes, it is very fortunate that your son and family weren't injured in the fire. And I know you love both helping and being able to spend time with your grandson. How does your DIL get to your house while waiting for your son to pick them up? Is there a way to set up a ride to get her on home? Of course, you didn't ask for problem solving help with this, but my little mind is racing. We will be going over the mountains to the "fruit side" of the Cascades. The trees are in bloom (lots and lots and lots of orchards) and there are several neat little cities and scenic roads I haven't seen yet.

Cindy -- So glad you had a wonderful birthday, and I think your approach is very healthy both physically and mentally. It sounds like you do a good job with allowing the occasional splurge, but then get back to eating healthy. That's where I seem to struggle, and I do think that when I eat sugar and/or salt rich foods that it triggers the reactors in my brain that crave those foods.

Andrea -- Glad that you decided to go with riding the street car to the event. Hope you have a good time.

Donna -- Yahoo! Wonderful news about the IV antibiotics doing their job. And staying on plan through all of this is no small accomplishment either. Good for you. And putting the ex on the back burner. And getting stuff done around the house. You are juggling a lot and doing it beautifully. Cudos to you. Oh -- a streetcar is built like a bus, but on rails sometimes with the power source coming from electrical wires running overhead. Sometimes they're called trolleys, too. Tennessee Williams had one named Desire (ok, that was a really bad joke.....maybe I should go back to sleep!).

Still working on the stripping and sanding on the coffee table. The thing is huge and just getting it ready to stain and varnish is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. Just finished laying out my meals for the day. I got a reminder of how many carbs bananas have in them -- yikes!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Good morning all! Another night of not much sleep. I'm on my 12th and last straight day at work (I am a team lead in a printing department for Citibank). Plus I had an early phone interview for a new position (we are being outsourced this year or next). My baby boy is feeling a little better today so I'm happy.

Mountain - My son is 4! He isn't a baby, but he's my baby!

Tootsieroll - I wish I could have taken a power nap yesterday! I work a second shift schedule, and my boyfriend works third shift, so when he gets home in the morning I'm up with the toddler. Surprisingly, I wasn't too tired at work yesterday even on only 3 hours of sleep. I think the changes in my diet are keeping me from that sluggish/tired feeling, and I'm loving it!

Ubee - I enjoy light cardio as a workout, but I of course struggle. My sisters and I are going to do our first 5K this summer!!

Hey, everybody!

The numbers at my official IP WI were so-so today; honestly, with TOM here and after forgetting about sodium and having two pickles last night, I was just happy to have any loss at all.

I've realized that I can save $200+ per month by using very similar foods to what IP sells, from other brands, and I told my husband, who said "If you think you can succeed..." (Have I told y'all about him? He's the BEST. He's not worried about me succeeding because he wants me to be thin -- healthy, yes, but he knows how weak the causal connection is between weight loss and health, and I know he'd like if I could go on hikes and camping trips with him -- but because I set a goal for myself, and he wants me to succeed in all of the goals I set. I am so in love with this man.) I assured him I could, while we were talking on the phone a couple nights ago, and then I had a minor freak-out yesterday, because I was worried that I need the accountability of someone looking at my food journal. (Oddly, I know I could lie on the journal, but I don't.) So I told my coach the situation today, figuring she'd say "Well, I understand, and I'll see you when you're employed again, OK?"

But she didn't!

She said, "Hey, why don't you keep logging your foods in MyFitnessPal, like you've been doing, and you can send me your food log and your weight once a week. No need to come in, because you're not buying anything, but I'll look it over and let you know if I see any issues, OK?"

Is that awesome, or what? I'm so happy! I can buy more affordable food and still get a bit of coaching from someone who has a lot of experience with IP! I lose the body composition monitoring and the biweekly tape measurements, and I had to buy a $20 scale (because my Aria is with my husband) but I can live without those things for a little while.

Good Evening Chicks!!!

I hope everyone is doing great today!!!

Here is a question for you all... does anyone here do yoga... if so is there a particular program you do? I have really been thinking about trying to learn some yoga moves for flexibility... please chime in... what do you think?

Toni - glad your son is better
Sam - so glad you had a heart to heart with yourself... I know you can get back with it... you already are... so proud of you!!!
Ubee - I am very proud of you too... you are back with it... a new day! a new attitude!!! You inspire me!!!
Magpie - congrats on your win-win with your IP advisor... I know you can do this!!
Mountain - you go girl!!! do it all!!! you have a new energy that is absolutely contagious!!! thank you for sharing!!!
Plucky - I am so glad you decided to take the street car... no need to punish yourself like that... but remember one day you will be beating them there!!!
Cindy - I enjoyed the input on cheat days... as I said thanks for asking our opinion!
Tootsie - thanks... I have been doing 6000-7000 consistently for a few days now... and it seems to help not to go up too fast...
Betsy - really thinking about doing some furniture refinishing this fall... I have a table that needs it pretty bad...

I had a dr. appt this morning and was down 11 pounds from last month... my dr. was happy, happier than me as I thought it should be more but hey... it is still a loss and 11 pounds is not shabby at all... He did did mention that my thyroid is low and suggested that I take vitamin supplements and do blood work again in May to see if it has improved any... he said if it has not then he would like to put me on some thyroid meds... I really want to try to treat it with just vitamins and have been taking them every since I got the results in the mail... so we will see...

he was also telling me that when you keep your magnesium level up to about 2.8 you reduce your chances of diabetes by 40%... have any of you ever heard that... I know he really pushes the magnesium... and mine is way low... I did start taking a supplement as he suggested... he says many overweight people have low magnesium levels... if nothing else something to research and certainly think about...

since I got my test results in the mail a couple of weeks ago I have been doing some thyroid research... and have started taking a multivitamin rich in zinc, selenium and have been taking iodine (kelp supplements)... if it doesnt improve in May then I may start taking thyroid meds

I have been getting between 6000-7000 steps daily for a while now... I am pretty sure that at my heaviest I probably did not get in but 2000 or less... some days I bet I got less than 1000... but after the spring break episode of my foot hurting so bad for two consistent days of over 10,000... I pretty well stop if it goes to hurting... I sure do need to mow the yard again though... LOL.. this may be an all weekend job...

I hope you all have a wonderful night!!!

Hi everyone.
I had a pretty good day. Well, better then I have been... The thing is that I now feel like I do this.
Pam magnesium is so good for you. I swear by it. It really helps my anxiety.
Mag Pie good husbands are a blessing. happy for you with all your good news today.
Toni 4 or 24 they will always be our babies.
Betsy I always want your advice. My DIL drops DS off at work then comes to our house. Our trip sounds lovely. I love spring blossoms.
Donna yippee for improved health! Anytime you start feeling sorry for the ex come on here. We are full of good advice like, don't fall for his BS.
Andrea how did it go?
Cindy a diet to me just refers to what I am eating. I used to have a diet of sweets... I want you to know your other thread really did motivate me. Thank you.
Sweet dreams everyone or have a peaceful day!

PJ: I haven't tried yoga. I looked it up, and there are videos called, "Yoga For Big Bellies" or something like that. I want to try, but I'm not certain that I can do it.

Thanks, Ubee! I'm glad your day is going well! Let us know how the pen-and-paper journaling goes for you, OK? I'll be interested to hear!

11 pounds in a month is really good! That's better than 2lbs/week! Good work!

I haven't heard about magnesium and diabetes, specifically, but IP has magnesium-calcium supplements they have us take, and those were the first thing I ran out of (before today's appointment, lol). So instead I've been taking Calm. It's sweetened with stevia, which is a sweetener I can live with, and the flavor is fairly sweet but with a little tang. I know not everyone likes it, but I think it's a tasty bedtime treat. And it may be all placebo effect, but I swear it seems to help me sleep. So that's a thought. (I do NOT recommend starting with a 2tsp serving right away. I built up from 1/2 a teaspoon, I think, when I was drinking it before IP, and I don't think I ever made it to a full 2tsp. I'm doing 1 big tsp now. )

ALSO really good! I've made it to 5000ish (my tracker gives me more points for some activities than others, and my goal is 500 points) a lot of days, the past two weeks, but I think I've only made it as far as 6k or 7k, like, twice. Nice work!