Jill -- You don't want that carrot cake. I heard there are maggots in the cake and the frosting was made with curdled milk! It's gross!

Did that help? Or just turn everyone off?

Ammi -- WTG on the Weigh In!!

Sharon -- Actually, I think I am just coming to terms with the fact that, for now, I may be eating a little more than I like and maintaining. For now, I'm okay with that. I'm not out of control anymore, but I'm not as on my game as I would like.


That's the right way to think of it. YOU have to change -- none of the rest of us can do it for you. And the changes ARE required. But they are SO worth it! I really do believe my life is different now that I am no longer obese!

Heather, I am gob smacked at your weight loss. How did your journey start? What made u think you've had enough? You are right I need to change, I wonder why I can be so resistant to change when the change would enrich my life? Why is it so hard to change> or does it FEEL harder to do than it actually is if you get on with it>> So much is a mental battle, or at least that's how it feels.

Oh, and Jill, the high you will get from not having a single SNIFF of that cake will by FAR outway the 3 minute yumminess of having the temporary high of the sugary taste. Hope u are feeling centred and strong enough to say no. Good luck!

jill have you tried the weight watchers carrot cakes... they are yummy

Hello everyone

Its been a while since I posted. Its a busy time of the year. Its december..my favourite month. Having b-day, christmas spirit, everything is jolly lol. Hope you're all doing well. Im back on track, am glad to say, ok am toying with the same two pounds over and over again, but no problem, I'll get them off eventually hehehe.

Everyone have a great time and enjoy *hugs*

ha, if nothing else, it made me laugh!

I have successfully avoided the cake. I had my yogurt and am now eating the sandwich I packed...no carrot cake required.

Patti--yes, the WW carrot cakes ARE good! My problem is that if they are there, I will eat them whether I need to or not, and I will likely eat both of them instead of just 1. This is why I can't even keep diet junk food in my house

Thanks for the support, guys, in what I was afraid might turn into a moment of weakness. But emilymay was exactly right--I feel better having NOT had the cake and can feel that pride all day as opposed to the few seconds of yumminess followed by guilt the cake would have provided

I was at a recent low this morning of 291 on the scale. This slow and steady thing might actually be working for me I have probably had fewer weekends than I can count on a single hand where I weighed less on Monday morning than on the previous Friday morning, so ti felt REALLY good!

Hello my chickies!

Just a quick pop-in to say hello! I wasn't good this weekend, but I knew I wouldn't be since I was going out. Girls night turned into couples night, but that didn't stop me from drinking too many margaritas - in fact it probably contributed to it since DH was driving! But I was happy to see only a minor gain on the scale today and I expected that.

I have yet another party to go to tonight, and I'll attempt to be good, making the party food my dinner, which may actually help. I'm taking Buffalo chicken dip, which is chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese and ranch dressing topped with cheese. Sounds gross, but tastes good. I used all low-fat ingredients in it to attempt to lighten it up. Won't be TOO fattening with celery sticks. I also made banana bread, in my attempt to do Xmas baking without gaining a metric ton. I posted the recipe on the recipe thread. I made some changes to lighten it up from the original, which already wasn't too fattening. (substituted applesauce for oil, Splenda for part of the honey and egg beaters for eggs) It's REALLY good. No one can tell it's healthy!

Well ladies, I'm off! Hope your holidays are shaping up - and so are you!

minor NSV .. i am no longer wearing size 14 unmentionables... i am in a 11 ..thought everyone could use a good laugh today!

I'm sooooo happy for you Way to go Girl.

Elaine

TOLD YOU YOU'D GET THERE BEFORE ME!!!

AMMI! Go Ammi Go!

I am goofing off at work when I should be finishing my closing. Sometimes it is so hard to concentrate.

Michelle – Have you ever sat down and made a list of what you are getting from being fat? There are definitely reasons we have chosen to be this way for so long. If you really look at the benefits maybe you can discover the sabotage. I find it is important for me not to dismiss the fears that I have about being thin, but to try to work with myself to reassure myself that I will work to take care of the issues (if that made any sense at all).

Deb – I am finally feeling like I can handle housework again without getting totally exhausted. It is so different for us than for people who aren’t carrying around all this extra weight. Blood Diamond looks really good, and I will definitely make sure to see it. I don’t get to the movies much and I am such a sci-fi/fantasy buff that I really want to see Eragon even though it looks kind of cheesy. It has dragons in it – how bad can it be?

Sandy – I am glad your DH got checked out. That must have been scary! Hopefully now you can work together on getting healthier.

Alison – Welcome back!

Annie – I am sorry to hear you are sick. I hope you can get all the rest you need to feel better soon.

Melissa – Congrats on getting your new puppy! She looks like a total sweetie.

Ammi – Way to go on another 3 pounds down. You are so close!!!!

EmilyMay – That is great that you remember being slim and loving exercise. When I started exercising I could not remember ever enjoying it before in my life. I have since found that I really enjoy it, but I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to discover that.

Jill – Good for you on resisting the carrot cake. Heck, if you are going to indulge in carrot cake, don’t you want to do it somewhere you can really enjoy it, like in a lovely café sitting outside in the spring time? Why not save it for then? (this is how I always talk myself out of these things).

Patti – That is so cool that you went down so many sizes in your “unmentionables”

Lilion – That banana bread sounds fantastic. Thanks for posting the recipe. I might just have to try that one!

In a few minutes I am off to the gym and then I need to head to the grocery store to pick up a few things. When I didn’t eat all these fruits and vegetables I could go for weeks and then do a big stock up, but now I need to go several times a week to get all my stuff. But it is a small price to pay for being healthy and eating so much better.

Emily -- You are so right that this is a mental battle. For me, I think it's mostly a mental battle.

I don't know why it's so hard to change, but I know that it is. I don't know how many times I said "I need to lose weight" and then did nothing about it. And then, I DID try a number of times, lost some weight and always gained it back. And there I was, staring 300 pounds in the face. And doing nothing.

But, yes, in some ways, once I got started it was easier than I thought. Well, some of the time anyway. Again, it is a mental battle. Some days are hard but now I have lots of evidence that I CAN do this. And that's not a belief I had 117 pounds ago.

I honestly can't tell you what turned it around for me, but I had a "click" from, I think, a series of events.
- A fall on the stairs that hurt (really hurt) my coccyx and bad pain.
- The inability to fit into size 28s ("I can't even shop!")
- A lightbulb moment as a 39 year old ("I want to be fitter when I'm 50 than I am when I turn 40.").
- A conversation with my husband, in which I say "Why bother trying, I'll only gain it back." And he says "Well, with that attitude, you certainly will!" [oh, that pissed me off, but he was right].

So, I started. Portion control. Moving more. Baby steps. At the time I started I think I wasn't committed to the process. I didn't really believe in it. My husband, also obese, was not on board, and felt a little threatened in that what-does-this-mean-for-me way...which made things more difficult.

But, I tried. We'd go to Bob Evans and instead of the eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and panckakes, I'd just get 2 eggs and an English muffin. It was hard at first, on the one hand, but I realized that it was possible to go out and eat less! At home, more veggies in the food , lighter preparation, and the food was good! I became committed very quickly, at least to the eating, and ended up losing over 10 pounds that first month, before I started seriously calorie counting and exercising...

I don't know why I didn't give up this time (well, not yet!). But I do know I kept saying in my head things like "I want to be fitter when I'm 50, and eating that cookie isn't worth it." I tried to keep that long term goal in my head, rather than the short term "want". And every day I was successful was another place to turn for inspiration "You said no to that cookie yesterday, so you can do it today." I started to turn the feelings of deprivation into feelings of success -- choosing health over short term desire.

The marker of this is the basket of candy on our secretary's desk. I used to eat from it every day. And before I started I wondered how I would avoid its siren call. At first, I swear the candy in the basket taunted me. But I resisted. And after a while I realized that not only was I okay without the candy, but that the fact that I didn't eat from the basket was not something to be mourned, but celebrated. It's been 17 months and I still haven't eaten anything from that basket (not that I haven't eaten any candy, or even eaten sweets at work.). That basket is now my "victory basket".

So, how do you be successful? I think you play a lot of games in your head. IIt's mental, right?? Honestly, this time just wasn't as hard as other times I tried, when I always felt at war with myself every single day about what I couldn't eat. This time I feel I make better choices and am more comfortable walking away from foods. I had a long term goal, and I knew I didn't want to be hostage to the pain and suffering I was likely to encounter if I continued. I didn't think I had a choice.

So I have no amazing advice, but to say that I never thought I could do it and here I am.

Good luck!

Hey girls! Sounds like everyone has been doing really well, congrats to all!

I have similar problems with keeping diet junk food around as well, Jilly It's all about having control and, well, I lack that completely.

Which brings me to one of my biggest aha moments of the weekend....I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL! My boyfriend's house (he is living at his mom's while his house is being remodeled) is COVERED with junk food! I MEAN COVERED! IF there aren't king size candy bars lying on the counter (yes, just lying there calling my name, luckily, I have NEVER EVEN TOUCHED A BITE OF ONE OF THOSE SUCKERS and we've been together for over a year! YAY ME!) I can't help resist the candy bowl on the kitchen table filled with yummy peanut m&m's. I made a serious decision about three months ago, because I cannot control myself when I'm around that stuff I have DRASTICALLY cut the time that I spend in that house. I used to be there three-four nights a week, now, it's mostly on weekends (but I still grab a few candies as I pass the table, EVERY TIME!). I need to somehow avoid that stuff like the plauge. I think my best bet is to tell myself that those candy dishes are a cesspool of disease and germs...that might actually be the only thing that will keep me FAR away from that stuff! Wish me luck!

How do you girls deal with those types of temptations?

Also, I am finding as I am working on eating healthier that I am getting major headaches in the afternoon. Did anyone else notice this and what did you do to deal with it. I had one this afternoon and it seems that after I eat chocolate (I usually grab something chocolatey to deal) they go away. I'm scared as to what this may mean. Can anyone shed some light?

Toni -- I mentioned my "victory basket" in the post above yours. I don't rule out all candy -- but I HAVE NOT EATEN from that basket. It was very hard at first but has become a point of pride. I tell myself that I am stronger than that stupid basket.

Of course, that has set up some interesting conflicts. Around Halloween, I avoided the tiny candies in the basket, but really wanted something sweet. I nearly ended up buying a BIG candy bar to avoid the SMALL ones in the basket. I ended up just not having candy that day...