Hi all. Quick check in. Calling it a rest day and probably tomorrow too. I was pretty tired today and my legs were awfully stiff, so no workout today. I don't think I'll have time tomorrow either. I think that's ok, I hit it pretty hard last week.

Have a good rest of the weekend!

Quick check-in here too. Really glad to see you posting, Jessica! Look forward to seeing you more here.

Yesterday was my non-strict day, and I was reasonable about it until 2:30 a.m. My kids started fighting, and I got up to address it, and found that I was really, really hungry. And I just started eating. Completely unnecessary. And I am up to 199.6 this morning. Oh well. Bumps are part of the process.

Going to the gym today. Will get in a good run. Don't want to bounce back into the 200s again.

I was hungry. Like all day. I've been going strong with the vegetarian thing - and loving it. But back to the hunger. I have no idea why I was so hungry today but I was. Oh well. Three days left of my six day work week. Yay.

In other news, Josh, Helen and I are officially going to Emerald City ComicCon together. Got the tickets last night. Pretty excited.

Good morning folks.

Well my little post-deadline mini-vacation is done now, and I have to get back to the real world this morning - back into work and getting the next 6-month cycle off the ground. It was an enjoyable few days off - I saw a couple of friends and got some writing done (not as much as I hoped but that is always the case) - and I'm starting to feel antsy so I guess heading back into work is not the worst thing in the world.

I was more or less on plan during the four days - I really only had one day where I was egregiously over, a day where I probably didn't even manage a deficit for the day. It's okay. It was due to one indulgent meal, not due to binging or other out-of-control behavior, so in the grand scheme of things it's not so bad.

The bounce continues, of course - maybe later in the week I'll find my way back into the 170s that I saw briefly on Thursday.

garnetstring - Does the hunger happen to you from time to time or do you think it's a matter of adjusting to the vegetarian thing? I do have days when I am just legit hungry, when it's not just munchies or desire for recreational eating, but actual hunger. When it happens to me, I eat. I eat 1-200 calories of something protein-rich, like yogurt or cheese or nuts. If I end up over my calories for the day, so be it; it's not going to make much of a difference in the long run.

LaurieDawn, I kept rereading that to make sure I wasn't misreading. 2:30AM? Yowch. Not an easy time to keep one's discipline around snacks, for sure.

Also thanks for what you said before, about thinking of my "not the last cookie" tactic when you were tempted by some goody. I have found it extremely useful to deal with the regular temptations that present themselves, such as the weekly office breakfast or cookies, the bakery that you walk by every day, the Costco sheetcake that gets served at an office baby shower. A lot of my thinking is around "eating opportunities" - many of them present themselves, and I have to remember that I need not take advantage of them all. Anyway I am glad my singing this refrain over the years has been useful.

Slashnl, I needed a bit of a rest day too, even though all I've done for the last four days, exercise-wise, is walk. When I went walking on Saturday I felt very sluggish, like my legs were very heavy, and I had a hard time waking my body up. Hope you're raring to go today.

ma26, don't worry about sending individual messages all the time - it's time consuming and no one minds if you skip it. As long as you check in - read and say hello. You might not think so but it really does help keep you on track - not a magic bullet but a useful tool in the quiver. There have been times that thinking "ugh, but then I'll either have to confess in the thread tomorrow or lie" has been a nonzero weight on the discipline side of the balance!

TooWicky, I hope your official weigh-in today does what you want it to.

Good luck and good strength, to all.

Good morning!

Carter - There's always something really great about starting a new project! At least I think so. Actually, I kind of have a problem with it. I have to fight back from starting new projects when I have other projects to complete. So - woot for clean slates and cool things to do on the horizon. I also love how you take things in stride. One decadent meal = one decadent meal, and that's it. May slow the weight loss a tiny bit, but that's the only impact it has to have. I tend to lose myself in the "screwed up, there's nothing that can save me" mindset. Glad you're not doing that.

Jessica - When I did low-fat vegan, I found myself needing to eat constantly. My food choices were consistently low-calorie, so I could eat as much as I wanted whenever I wanted. It was great to be able to eat volume, but hunger was definitely a problem. On the other hand, I was pretty sure that I was doing pretty well nutritionally speaking.

Diane - Yay for rest days! And for new weeks! Hope your eating is more on-track than you felt like it was last week, and that you keep all of us in awe of your gym determination.

Ma26 - What Carter said. We love hearing from you when you are able to post. And posting here is a great tool to have. I have snacking issues too. Yay for owning it, though, and moving on. You and I - we're going to conquer this eventually, or at least learn how to manage it at a healthy weight.

I went to my mother-in-law's retirement party last night. She served a vegetable tray, crackers and a cheeseball, and a TON of cake. I am back on my strict routine, so I had veggies. Lots of veggies, which is fairly atypical for me. Most of the time, I'll simply choose not to eat. And I didn't touch the cake. Yay, right? Then, I came home, did really well, and it was almost time for bed when my son came home from the store with Oreos. Just one won't hurt, right? But it did. I totally lost it.

So, I learned a couple of things. First, the strictness thing is actually working for me right now, and I need to continue to embrace it. Secondly, I need to stop and back up the next time I slip. Eating one cookie does not mean I have to eat another cookie and two candy bars. It just doesn't. I intend to talk to my therapist about specific mechanisms to better control my addictive behavior while we're working through options to minimize the food addiction. Or something like that. I refuse to just accept that I am a forever victim of food addiction.

My mother-in-law called my husband this morning to request that I take the rest of the cake into work so she doesn't have to have it in her house. So now, I am that evil coworker who brings cake to work. And a TON of cake. Initially, I felt defeated. I was so frustrated from my out-of-control eating last night that I felt like I couldn't handle being around cake all day. But you know what? I can handle it. After I picked up the cake, I snacked on some Fiber One bran cereal to fill me up. I brought the cake inside to the downstairs kitchen, sliced some up to bring to the upstairs kitchen, and refused to even lick the frosting that got on my fingers (cuz I know what that will trigger). And I have a food and exercise plan for the day. I will send a note out telling people they are welcome to take any and all of it home. And if there's any left, I will trash it. Because evenings are my most vulnerable time.

I am committing to eight straight days of strictness. My kids are leaving on Thursday, and I am vulnerable to emotional eating. But I won't do it. If I win my Biggest Loser competition, it will be $360 in our honeymoon fund. I want to go on a honeymoon, don't I?

Carter - I've been on the vegetarian thing for about two months now and only find myself having those hungry days every once and a while. It was the same way prior to cutting out meat though, as well. There would just be days I felt like I was starving. It's always nice to have a little break. And I'm sure with time, the 170's will come back.

Laurie - Most days, I feel like I'm eating way less than I need to be. It's proven difficult to ensure that I'm getting three solid meals a day with work when your schedule changes from day to day. And then working six days in a row this week, it's not like I can go and make a big meal to eat over the week. So I eat something small, drink water, and usually end up doing two moderate meals a day and that's it. What I really need to do is get a chance to go by the store and stock up on all of the things to make my walnut cranberry salad and grab some Greek yogurt again. I'm out and it's making me sad.

Lyn - That's the most important part of this journey. Look at today as a new day. Take it a day at a time. That's all you can do.


I need to start logging all of my food again to ensure that I'm not cutting myself in any area of my diet. If I do that and can start walking Luna again as it starts to warm up - and the sun starts staying out longer - I think I'll be on track to see some major success rolling in again. I've still not gone back up above 190, but I do wish I was closer to the 170's.

That being said, I did see something yesterday when I did a little bit of taping that made me happy. While my front stomach is still larger than I'd like, my side love handles are pretty much gone. Like, literally gone. I suppose that's something to keep reminding myself about when I look at the scale and haven't seen it move as quickly as I'd like. My body is still changing, every day. And it's changing in the right direction!

Hey ladies!

I am back, after lovely holiday time with all the parents and travels and so much good food I could feel my pants getting tighter.

The 10 pounds I gained while in the presence of all that food and family and happiness and good times was TOTALLY WORTH IT, because I know I can get it back to where it was.

But now it's back to work, armed with my fancy schmancy new water bottle my hubby got me (it's one of those brita bottles with a filter in the straw, because I hate chlorine tasting water), my elliptical all assembled, and some new athletic shoes!

And guys, this elliptical machine has all kinds of bells and whistles. It's got heart rate sensors, speakers and a connector so you can hook up an MP3 player, a USB port so you can keep said MP3 player from draining, a fan, a bajillion settings, and it's quiet as can be. Definitely happy we spent the money on it, and my goal is to be on it at least 30 minutes 5x per week.

All the Christmas decor is down and put away, all the holiday junk is out of the kitchen (just have to make it through Super Bowl weekend!), all kinds of good, healthier options are stocked in the kitchen, and I'm ready to roll.

I feel happy and refreshed, and ready to work again... not miserable and burnt out like I was feeling slogging through October and November. If it takes 2 months off, and gaining 10 pounds to be able to lose another 55-60? I'd do it again in a heart beat.

Glad to be back, I missed you guys!

(Hello to the new people!)

Just jumped on here to share something that may be TMI, but something I wanted to share with someone, and this group seems to be an understanding kind of place.

First, though, to Lynn. Welcome! And I promise that my overshares are not all that common.

**WARNING** This is a poop post.

I started eating Fiber One bran cereal yesterday. Being strict is really hard for me, cuz I have part of my brain that likes to feel like I am not 100% goody-goody. So I bought the Fiber One cereal as a sort of "cheat" snack that I could eat. It's sweet and carby, but pretty low-cal, so it seemed like a good compromise. I ended up eating a lot of it yesterday, and I got the worst gas ever. Not just loud bad, like I get when I up my fruit and veggie intake, but eyes-watering, clear-the-room kind of bad. I resolved to eat less of it, but then with the cake in my car and in my sights, I decided that I should eat some of it today, but just not as much. (I carry it in my car for "emergencies.") And I did. I have not had the gas again, but man, am I cleaning out my colon with multiple, very high-volume, bathroom trips. I had no idea I had so much stored inside of me! So, now, I am concluding that I have not been eating enough fiber, and I think this cereal (and more fruits and veggies) will get a place in my regular diet.

I'm also curious to see how much of an impact all this off-loading will have on the scale.

Mandy - You Ninja'd me on your first post back! Great to see you here! And I totally agree with you about the (small) weight gain. We've got this!

Laurie - Your TMI post is something I can relate to. It happened to me when I started eating the Fiber Plus bars (Kellogs brand, I think they taste better). Your system will get used to it after a while and the gas issue will go away. There's even a warning on the Kellog's box! Generally speaking, you're supposed to up your fiber intake gradually. But the poo situation is just different from person to person. It doesn't matter how much fiber I eat, I still only have a decent poo every 2-3 days. It's always been like that, unless I drink a lot of coffee.

Hi all! Back to MOI spin class today. It was so hard! Each week they do a different type of workout (Intervals, Endurance, Strength, and Race Day). Well, this week is Endurance. So, this workout was non-stop, with no breaks. There were a couple of times that I took a few seconds to wipe sweat off my face or to take a drink of water, but other than that, I made the entire time, all48 minutes. Whew. That was killer, but such a good workout. Tomorrow is Body Pump.

I weighed in today. No real changes, just up .4 lbs. I know that the workouts are going awesome, but I think my problem is with food diligence. So, I need to buckle down and get back my discipline. I am not in the holidays anymore. I need to quit acting like it is ok to keep eating like that.

Laurie: So, I'm joining your strictness challenge. I'll probably go with 7 days, for now, just to round out to the next weigh in. I think that if I do that much, I can get in better control. Or, may have to keep with it indefinitely. That's what I did starting last year, and might need to do it again.

Lyn77: Welcome! Good that you are catching the regain now, before it gets too out of control! Glad you are with us!

Mandy!!!: You are back! I'm so happy! I really missed your posts. I'm so glad you had a great holiday and your attitude is wonderful, getting back to it with the elliptical! So cool!

Jessica: Good job with recognizing that your body is changing, and in a good way. Sometimes we just have to remember that part!

Carter: Sounds like you're doing well overall. I hope the scale starts cooperating soon.

Hi Diane.

I just tried using the elliptical for the first time.

Oh. My. Gosh.

This thing is like 100x harder than any of the ones I've used at the gym. I could barely do 10 minutes at the lowest setting before I had to get off because my HRM was yelling at me, my face was super hot, my legs were protesting, and I was a little dizzy.

I'm going to enjoy kicking it's butt.

Hi everyone and welcome FeraFilia!

I just got out of the hospital; I had to have emergency surgery D: I woke up Sunday morning with terrible stomach pain and vomiting. I assumed it was the stomach flu. Nope. It was a ventral hernia with an obstructed bowel D: They said it was a medical emergency so I had the operation Sunday. It really hard to do anything now except walk a few feet.I am off plan and just trying to heal. I have hardly eaten anything since Sunday morning.

My goal is to start eating normal, easy to digest foods. Im feeling great, though, under the circumstances. I'm back home. Will weigh myself and get back on plan soon, but in the interim I'll be reading everyone's updates and sending out willpower to all the retainers

Good morning folks

LaurieDawn, your story reminded me of the days when Phil Hartman was on Saturday Night Live and they did the commercial for Colon Blow cereal.



TooWicky that sounds terrifying! I'm glad you got yourself to the doctor and got it taken care of promptly. Do not worry at all about your plan and let yourself heal. Abdominal surgery is serious business! Healing properly is most important.

I overslept a little this morning so I have to rush off without comments for everyone else - let me just say I am glad to see folks I don't know, both new to the thread and returning. Welcome Let's kick these regains.

As for me, well, I overate yesterday - not by a lot, maybe 300 calories, and all in protein snacks - nuts, cheese. But still, not quite sure what was going on there. At any rate, as if to prove that what you weigh one day is not a direct result of what you did the day before, I dropped back down to 179 this morning, so I can't complain too much.

Carter...OMG that is TOO funny!!! I had laughed so hard while drinking my coffee it went out my nose....LOL

TooWicky....I hope you feel better. I know that feeling, I had that done with my appendix awhile back! Get better!!!

Laurie...Ummmm yes do not I repeat do not eat fiber one cereal. They must put something different in it than the bars. I can eat the bars but not the cereal!

Mandy...Your back yay! And I am glad your elliptical is awesome!!!!

Jessica...really glad to see your posts

Hey to all the new people!

I have a lot of things to be proud of. I have been sticking to things. Last night Oregon was in the college football playoffs and my sis had a really big party. I walked away with only eating one small cookie! I felt proud because usually I would have ate my brains out and just said theres tomorrow.

I have really been thinking about things and realized that I will not change unless I allow myself too and really just change instead of saying I will.

I really want to try to work up to an hour of exercise a day but I think I need to start with a half hour so I stick with it.