P.S. Diane--I just saw your post. Congratualtions! You continue to inspire me. I could use some of your mojo!

Just popping in real quick to tell you guys how much I love and appreciate being able to talk to you guys about anything - life, weight, whatever. You guys are rock stars! Also, 200 lbs on the scale this morning.

jenjenangel007: So sorry you and your little ones are feeling under the weather! Sending healing thoughts your way! 21 lbs and 20 inches in 2 months!!! Get it girl!!!!!!! You are awesome! Everything you say about this thread is soooo true! You guys are amazing!

Ubergirl: Lol. Hopefully we sufferers of HCISBSFitis will continue to raise awareness and understanding of our condition and one day find a cure. Or better yet, exercise for a cure. Or something. Congrats on 250! Can't wait for 240s to stick for you! And most importantly UBERYAY :CARROT: :CARROT: on formerly tight clothes now being looser. This is the thankless, slog part of weightloss where the scale changes don't always reflect as quickly as we want in clothing and you're sticking to it and winning! And that's awesome! Keep going!!!

Slashni: YAYYYY on 3.4lbs down this week! That's amazing! And 60lbs off too!!! Awesome!!!

I'm doing semi-okay on food so far, yes I've consumed 800 or so calories BUT it's already 7.30pm AND I only have lentil soup, salad and 3oz of steamed sole planned for dinner so 400-500 calories should be able to cover that. Exercise is what I'm not yet sure how I'll do that. I'm still at work which means I won't be home before 9.

In a broader sense, I have bigger concerns about my exercise life. Next month, my relatively relaxed work schedule changes because I was offered a raise to be more of a drudge-y, a-little-less-than-corporate worker bee and I'm weak and like the finer things in life like savings and travel and therefore can't say no to more money which means I'm going to have even less time to work on my own personal projects and less ability to workout after work because my work hours will be longer (earlier starts, later closings, everyday). I'm going to need to actually start getting up early to work out which considering I live on the snooze button till the last possible second I absolutely have to get up AND then crawl out of bed isn't an exciting prospect. Who works out early in the morning before life? What are your tips or tricks to get it done?

Good afternoon everyone! (this post is going to be difficult to type as I have a cat climbing all over me - the one in the picture to the left)

Laurie - SO glad to see your weight going back in the right direction, and that you're in better spirits about the process. Once I get this bench all set up how I want it (I think I need to buy a couple bolts), I'll start back with lifting. I'm pretty excited about that. I love the shaky-noodly feeling after the workout and the soreness the next day. Can't wait to get going with this!

Jessica - I LOATHED those early morning meetings (ours would happen at 5am, store opened at 6am, and attendance was required, even if it was your day off!). I was barely functional at them, because I always worked closing shifts, and was probably going on less than 4 hours of sleep. I always went straight home and passed out again Congrats on getting to 200! Onederland is just around the corner! Barring other issues, I'm hoping I can get to Onederland by next year's birthday. That is, if I don't end up taking a baby break...

Martini - I think it's an excellent idea to up your calories a little bit so you can get control of what works for you. Losing weight slowly is not a bad thing, and it's definitely better than not losing weight at all! I absolutely cannot restrict to the point of making a food 'forbidden' because in the end I will go nuts and binge on that food until there's none left. So, my plan has no forbidden foods, just proper portion control, which is what I really have trouble with, and need to learn so I don't regain again. My food scale has become my best friend in this fight.

Toasted - Thank you for your kind words! It's been a struggle, for sure. And I've definitely had my "off" days, but since moving is what caused me to regain what I'd lost previously (from 300 to about 247 or so, and then back up to 330!) I know I need to keep control of it this time, or I'll just regain again, and I don't think I could handle that again. 300 on the scale freaked me out, 330 almost caused me to have a break down. Hopefully I have managed to get rid of those 3s at the front FOREVER.

Uber - for you to see 240s again soon! 247 is the lowest I've seen as an adult, and that's where my regain started. So 240s are a scary decade for me... I'm hoping I can get there sometime after Christmas. I noticed your mini-goal of being halfway through your regain, and I realized I am at that point. Halfway through my regain, and halfway back to my previous low. I'm 13 pounds lower than my previous high, as well. I am definitely suffering from HCISBSFitis. I feel like I've been trying to lose this weight forever!

Diane - YAY for 60 pounds off!! That's wonderful. I hope I can make the same claim at the end of next month.

Jenni - Welcome back from your trip! I hope you and your kiddos feel better soon! Congrats on your pounds and inches, though. That's good stuff!

Lotus - Hi and welcome back! You'll find your mojo soon... It's hard to focus on weight loss when there's so much else going on! I think Uber described it well when she mentioned something like our brains being like rooms in a house and you only have so many. They get full of things like family and work and weight loss. But you can only fill up so many before you have to empty one out and fill it with something else (like a crisis, or in my case moving), and the one that usually gets pushed to 'storage' is weight loss.

As for me... I have been MIA for a couple days because I got flattened by a migraine Saturday afternoon that hit pretty hard (I made hubby warm up leftovers for both of us) and lasted into Sunday. I couldn't even get out of bed for more than potty visits until mid afternoon. Thanks TOM for that. I was completely drained of energy, too, so hubby stuck a frozen pizza in the oven that we shared. So, I'm probably suffering a bit of a sodium bump from that. Considering I didn't eat much Saturday (just the leftovers for dinner) and Sunday (just the pizza) I'm going to assume my calories were okay, or at least close to okay.

I'm still a little bit low-energy and I'm not sure if that's TOM to blame or crappy eating to blame, but I'm feeling much better today. I even stepped on the scale and saw a little drop to 286.8. If that's including a sodium bloat from the frozen pizza (that had ham and bacon on it), then I'm probably going to get a nice little post-TOM whoosh in the next day or two.

Warning: TMI Alert... The good news here is, my period was only a day later than I expected it to be, which means the 40+ pounds I've lost have helped to regulate my cycle again. Another reason I've been trying to get the weight off is to help control the PCOS symptoms... the biggest one for me being long stretches without my period showing up (the most recent stretch was 3 months), but since really getting going with the weight loss and the addition of a little exercise, the longest I've gone between is 38 days. SO, it's getting back to a normal cycle (Normal, for me, is right at 30 days). I'm celebrating because this will make it easier to try for a baby starting in January. Yeah, we've decided not to wait any longer than that. Scary, exciting stuff!

ToastedOh yes, that is EXACTLY HOW I FEEL. I have been dreading the 240s, because I remember from last time... I feel as if I've come so far (last time I started at 295-- yikes!) ...and yet, the 240s are too high to really drop clothing sizes or elicit complements... it feels as if being thin is a foreign country and you're stuck in a long line at customs. But you're right, if I can stick with it for another 20 lbs I KNOW from past experience that I'll really start to see some tangible rewards.

Lotus I just want you to know that I understand what you are saying about feeling like you don't have enough work/life balance, and I really feel for you-- I know how hard that is. I've had moments in my life when I just felt completely and totally overwhelmed, and sometimes, it is extremely hard to figure out what can go to make life more bearable. Just remember that caring for yourself HAS to be pushed to the forefront or you simply won't have the endurance to make it through... my way, in the past, was to work all the time and deprive myself of all kinds of things, only to "reward" myself with a binge... it's no way to live. Hang in there!!!!

Mandy What is it about these weights that take on a magical feeling to them? I was imagining that 260 was kind of like a trampoline-- I would land on the 260 trampoline and immediately bounce back up... yet, luckily, it didn't happen. I'm sure you'll sail right past 247 and on down (unless you have a baby on board!!! How exciting that you are planning!!!!) Great news about the more regular cycles. Concrete proof that your healthy lifestyle is helping you!

Jessica We're going to have a party in here when you cross the line into onederland!!!!

I wanted to share with you guys something that I was thinking over recently. I was morbidly obese between 1991 and 2009. Never once during that time could I shop in a regular sized store. Then for a few glorious years, I was normal sized, and then, by the beginning of 2012, I was back in the plus sized department. All the time I was living as a morbidly obese person, the idea that I could somehow reach normal size seemed almost magical-- it didn't seem like something I could just choose to do. I envisioned "normal-size land" as something like the Land of Oz, where you could end up if something magical happened like you got whisked away by a tornado, but not a place you could just decide to go to. When I was maintaining, I used to think that I wished I had known how easy it was to get to normal-sized land, and how the distance between SUPER FAT and relatively normal wasn't actually all that far. Now that I'm fat again, I start to get the same feeling about being thin-- that it's not something that I can actually choose, but it's something that would have to be super lucky to get-- something to fantasize about, like suddenly getting rich and buying a Porsche, not something to actually plan and make happen. I don't know if anyone ever feels this way. But I keep telling myself that I was reasonably content and able to wear normal clothes when I weighed around 200, and that is now less than 50 lbs away, and if I just keep doing what I've been doing, I'll get there eventually-- but somehow, my head just doesn't quite believe it.

Crazy-town: population 1.

Uber...I totally relate to you! As a teen I was never skinny I was in the middle borderline overweight, there was only a two year period I was normal weight. Then I had my first son, after him is the two year period. I got in a major car accident krept up to the 190's, then met my husband got pregnant with my first daughter left the hospital at 210. I probably got down to around the 200's when my daughter was a little over a year got pregnant with my 2nd daughter got into the 220's and down to 210 after she was only 5 months old when I got pregnant with my third daughter (I was breastfeeding and on the mini pill ....totally not expected) ended the third pregnancy in the 230s. Okay then moved to a different country which I found myself depressed being away from family and ended in the 250's!

The realization of looking at pictures of myself and in the mirror crushed me! I am so ready to live the rest of my life healthy. I have spent too dang long obese and overweight!!!!! I lived by so many excuses ...I have realized they are ALL excuses. I have little kids, I am too tired, how do I plan with 6 kids?, I work and have kids, I have no time to exercise, I can't do it.....all my excuses involve I can't I can't I can't.....well guess what I am doing it now and I know I CAN...I still have 6 kids, ....heck I live as a single mom 5 days out of the week because my hubby is retiring from the military! We CAN....and I think the sooner I realized I CAN...is the day I changed my life for good!

Toasted...you are so sweet thank you! You can do this! Just remember you can no matter what and you will conquer it!

Jessica...you go girl I cannot wait to celebrate Onderland with you! And guess what it's okay to flirt its okay to date! You continue to be you no matter what and the world will fall into your hands!

Laurie...so proud of you keep up that great work! You CAN do this!!!!

Diane...WOOOHOOOOO 60 lbs!!!! You rock! You are doing this and 60 lbs is awesome!!!!!

Lotus...Life sucks when it is so busy and sickness...I am there now my whole house of 8 is sick...bleh....you got this though!!!

Mandy....I am so happy for you...look at you shine....look at you go....

Martini...I am so glad you are back at it! We all have off days and it is the getting back and so glad you are doing this at your own pace that is what it takes at first we have to figure what works for us!

Still got sickies in this house ...its a lounge all day in pajamas kind of day At least it gives me the okay to relax...I needed that I am such a believer in a I CAN attitude....I know I have my down days too but I need to keep focusing on the fact that I CAN do this!!!!

Hi all!

Well, maybe a little calmer here at work today. It has just been crazy. It should be getting better now. Soon I'll be planning for vacation, which is about a week camping, with 5 days of hunting elk. I know that hunting isn't everyone's idea of a good time, but I am so looking forward to it! No phones, no computer, no TV, no kids, no work. Just husband, me, horses and our big wall tent... with the woodstove (because I hate being cold overnight). CANNOT WAIT until October 10th! I'm looking forward to it too, because I really think this time will be so much better than last year, just with being down in weight.

Went to Body Pump today. It was kind of an off day, I just wasn't feeling as strong, but I made it through. I think that some days are just like that.

Jenni: Ugh, I hate being sick! Hang in there and just keep relaxing. That's the only way to get over it! It probably is good for you to take that time.

Uber: I get it. It does seem like being normal sized is just a dream and that it can't really happen. But I also think that with the changes I've seen in my body, even just so far, it can be done. Step by step, and it will happen. Someone asked me how much farther I want to go. I don't even like to think about that right now. I have my goal, and once I get there, we'll see how that "looks/feels". Then, decide if there is more work to be done.

Mandy: You are doing so well! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating you getting out of the 300's, and look at you now! You are amazing!

Toasted: I am one of those who get up early to workout. I'm pretty much a morning person, so it isn't horrible for me. But when I first got started with it, I just forced myself to do it. I didn't give myself any option of just sleeping in and not working out. Now it isn't too hard. It is just part of the day. And now, I can't imagine not having that workout first thing and feeling so good starting the day.

Lotus: Boy, you are so right about finding the balance. The stress you have when you are overwhelmed at work can be so tough! And, unfortunately, our bodies tend to buckle under the pressure. Hang in there and feel better!

Jenni Oh boy, a house full of sick children is never fun. I hope that you are all on the mend soon!

Diane Having you up ahead of me definitely is inspiring. I remember when you were fighting to drop below 250 and now here you are in the low 230s! It doesn't seem possible, but I know it IS possible... for the longest time after I regained, I was in a state of shock. I could NOT believe I had gotten fat again. I feel very confident that I will not go back down the regain road again.

As for me-- I have been STARVING for the last few days. Usually that means I'm going to see the scale move, but this morning, I had bounced up to 251. I am GOING to be patient this time. I realize that I have a definite cycle: I stick for a long time then I whoosh, then stick, then whoosh. I know that if I'm patient, the whoosh will come. Not much else going on in my life. All is well.

Toasted, I'm going to find myself having to shift things, too, if/when I start the job at Verizon. Freight has been so great for me in terms of being a kick-*** workout that I'm going to have to make sure I maintain a good exercise level.

Mandy, funny story - I've found the same thing happening especially in the last three months since I started taking supplements. It's been started, like clockwork on the 7th of every month for 3mo running now.

Uber, I can relate. Believe me, I can relate! The last few weeks, the scale has been especially good to me. It has put me at a place I never - NEVER - thought I'd be able to say I was at. But I'm here. I'm down 60 lbs in 5 months. Yes, that average loss per week might be an exception, but I have every faith that if I could get to where I am, you can get here, too. <3

In regards to the hunger. I find that the week and a half surrounding (so a few days before to a few days after) the start of tom, I tend to feel ravenous. I try to compensate by upping both my protein and fiber but even then I usually feel like I'm starving.

Jenni, a can-do attitude can open so many doors and make so many things suddenly seem possible. It's why I try so hard to maintain one.

Diane, color me jealous.


.... Alright ladies..... Uber promised a party and it's time to bust out the booze! I hit Onederland. <3

JESSICA - I was hoping I would see that news today. I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR YOU!!! Uber, if you bring the booze, I'll provide the music. Cuz there's gonna be some dancing up in here!

Trying to catch up at work after taking a half-day yesterday and part of the morning off to hang with kids and then get them to the airport. Off to Russia for them. Trying to cloak my emptiness with super-productivity, both at work and at the gym. It'll catch up to me soon enough. No need to wallow quite yet. And even typing that makes me want to cry, so moving on... =)

Uber - I have actually found the same thing. When i feel really hungry and I don't give in to it by overfeeding, I generally see a whoosh the next day (or at least the day after). Can't wait until you're in the lower side of the 200 century! And thanks for the encouragement on my "weight parabola." I only posted it because I couldn't believe how elastic my weight really has been this month. Ridiculous. =)

I also totally relate to your feelings about thin being a distant land, and it's almost impossible to get there. I asked my super-even-keel husband last night if he ever deals with the "I'm a terrible father/employee/son/husband" who deserves to "have his kids removed/get fired/be cut off/be divorced" feelings, and his response was "Sure. Everyone has bad days." No. Not a bad day. But the absolute surety in your head that you deserve the worst possible outcomes because you're the worst possible person. He has never experienced that. And then I realized. I'm talking about depression, and he has never dealt with depression. And yay for him. But what you're describing has some of the elements of depressive thinking, and I absolutely relate to what you're saying. As regainers, we know we can make the scale cooperate. And your insightful posts show that you know it better than most people-- certainly better than Trainer Boy and his cohorts--who have never experienced weight struggles. But we also have the advantage of knowing that the "this is impossible" thoughts are wrong, and we just have to wait them out sometimes. (Sorry to get all ranty on you, but it did strike a chord with me.)

Diane - These are the moments that really hit home why we're doing this. When weight and unfitness hamper things we really want to do, that really does impact our daily lives. I am so excited for your vacation and so proud that you have worked so hard to increase your ability to enjoy it!

Jenni - I loved reading your comments to Uber. While I don't necessarily agree with your characterization that all your obstacles are no more than "excuses," (which to me, means you are saying something that's not true to justify not doing what you know you should), but you are dealing well with your obstacles to accomplish something really difficult. Hooray for you!


Mandy - PCOS would be the worst! It is such an enemy to weight control. You and your hubby would make fantastic parents. And, you would teach your children the proper use of the word "hooker," a lesson that I had to wait until I was an adult to learn. I am so glad that the weight loss is having such fantastic results on your health. And I think it was Toasted who said how amazing you were to stick with your plan throughout your move. I absolutely second that.

Toasted - Ah! The draw of the coin. I feel you there. So, I may get ranty again, but I will share my thoughts on the subject that have been ruminating in my brain for a few weeks now. I have been trying to get my gym time down to 45 minutes, but it feels ridiculous. How can I expect 45 minutes to be enough? So, I have actually been trying to incorporate movement into my work life, since I spend so much time here. I am trying to do strength training movements periodically. I already have a standing desk, and I stand about 90% of my time at my desk, so I will sometimes do calf raises or squats as I stand here. I also like to drop to the floor and do push-ups occasionally. I also try to take a longer stroll when I go to the bathroom, etc. Maybe it's not an entire solution for your time to exercise issue, but it seems like it might be a workable solution?

LotusMama - My standing desk compatriot! I love when you find time to pop in and update us! It sounds like too much work is becoming an issue for lots of us right now. Hope you find a balance. As I described to Toasted above, I am trying to find ways to incorporate exercise into my "non-gym" life. But I also LOVE getting to the gym. The "noodly" feeling followed by soreness that Mandy describes is something I crave.

My kids are gone. I miss them so much. Much more than two weeks before they got here, when I had grown accustomed to not seeing them regularly. =/ My inclination right now is to allow the "super productive" me that existed in law school to make a comeback for the next few days, or weeks. That me rarely did anything that was purely for my leisure. I would schedule time to do leisure activities with kids, but if it was a movie, for example, I would probably sleep through 3/4s of it so that I could stay up later that night to get stuff done. She was a terrible person in some ways. But burying myself in work and the gym and ignoring the hubby and stepkids sounds like a good way to allow the shock to wear off and ease myself into readjusting myself to their absence again. (Seeing my hubby with his kids will be really hard, and responding to his kids in a pseudo-parental role will initially be painful.) We'll see. But right now, I'm fragile. And cranking out some work and some reps will help move me to a place where I feel better in general, and then I can deal with the stuff that I know I will eventually need to handle.

Also, I'm down to 210.8. I officially gained 13 pounds and dropped 9 back off during my kids' 2.5-week stay. I will be more prepared next time they are here. Or I won't be, and will hopefully have a more "normal person" blip than this time. Who knows? But I am going to dominate my "Trainer Boy #2" challenge in the interim!

Diane...I have never been hunting...but the sounds of no phones, TV's, electronics sound so nice!!!!

Uber...thank you...and I hate the starving parts of eating healthy....do you like warm tea? That always seems to take the edge off for me!

Jessica...WOOOOOTOOOTHEHECKYEAHHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Okay Uber has the booze, Laurie has the music, I will bring the healthy food!!!!! Let's party!!!!!

Laurie...my heart hurts for you right now I totally understand about step kids verses birth kids...I am so so sorry I could not imagine having to send off my kids on an airplane that far I guess where I am coming from with the excuses comment is I have been overweight or obese nearly my whole life...if I am finally continuing to loose,....why didn't I before? I feel if I lived in those ways all that time it was sort of an excuse...does that make sense? On another note I am so proud of you with your rebound and everything but still I just wanna hug you ((hug))!!!!

Also found this really great quote wanted to share it!

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Unknown.

:dance :: dancer::ba lloons:

YAY! DRINKS ALL AROUND!

CONGRATS JESSICA!!!!!!





I figure, there can't be too much booze.

I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH! Okay. I admit I don't know how to upload and post pictures here, and I'm way too lazy to learn. I found some sheet music I wanted to post, but it didn't work out. (See the way too lazy to learn explanation above.) But I can post lyrics!

I was dreamin' when I wrote this
So sue me if I go too fast
But life is just a party
And parties weren't meant to last

They say two thousand zero zero
Party over, oops out of time
We're runnin' outta time
So tonight, we gonna, we gonna (tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999)

Say it one more time
Two thousand zero zero
Party over, oops out of time
Yeah, yeah
So tonight we gonna, we gonna (tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999)