Well all, I'm not off to a good start for losing that 10 lbs this month! Yesterday I know I ate too much birthday carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! It was my little son's second birthday, and before the cake part of the day even came, I was in trouble. We went to a Saturday Market and I had a polish hot dog for lunch. I tried to resist, but there wasn't anything else that seemed that much better and everyone else was having one! I ate it and it was delicious, but it cost me over 500 calories for just the hotdog alone--not even the bun, which I'm sure was another 200! UGH! So much for saving room for cake, which of course I ate anyway, and more than I planned! Doesn't look like any weight will be coming off this weeks! But at least I don't think I will have gained.

Paige, I hope your weigh-in went well. I think finding a WW center while on vacation sounds like a pretty good idea, as long as you don't find it too much to deal with (trying to get there with all the visiting and such going on). I'm sure you'll do fine, regardless, since you are so motivated and are doing so well. By the way, sounds like Friday was a really fun day at work--how nice for you after all the end of year businesss!

Busy Busy, congratulations on making the decision to post your weight! If it was important to you to be able to do that to help you with accountability, then how great that you were able to do that! I hope you find much support here and at home. We'll be rooting for you as you work on taking it off! Hope you were able to get some gardening in this weekend, and had a nice time. You may have answered this already, so I'm sorry if I'm forgetting, but what is your name?

Thanks Jean! I feel pretty good about losing 30 pounds, and I hope I can keep after it. It seems to be slowing up some now, so I need to gear down and work harder, I think, exercise-wise. I've slacked on my yoga, but have been walking a bit more. But walking with kids doesn't always really cut it, you know? Anyway, good luck on reaching your -160 goal this month, too!

Sarah, sounds like your having a tough time getting on track. That's hard. Sometimes things just don't seem to click the way you intend, huh? I don't do WW, so I can't offer any advice there, even though I know it to be a good program. I'm kind of doing this on my own, with the support I get here. I can tell you what worked for me getting started and maybe that will help you. Back in March, I decided that I was tired of being heavy and I thought that just maybe, I was ready to take control of at least that area of my life. Armed with what I thought was a good understanding of what I was doing wrong as far as getting to 200 lbs and also a good understanding of what I actually had to change in order to lose the weight, I started keeping an online journal with a friend of mine (who actually quit after a week or so). We both wrote our goals in our journal and mine included the following:

~Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
~Learn what a portion is and eat accordingly.
~No seconds!
~Eat whole grain cereals, breads, tortillas, pasta etc... as often as possible--and I was really strict about this in the beginning--still am for the most part, though I will very occasionally have some peasant bread or regular pasta with a meal. Whole grains really are the "weigh" to go, though!
~No eating after 7:30, except for tea and sometimes some fruit. Now I will eat late if my calories are low for the day, but I don't binge after the kids go to bed like I used to. I'm much more in control now.

Try starting out with something like what I did: make some lists of your problem times, problem foods and stuff like that. Find small things that you can change about your eating habits. If it helps, conquer only one at a time. Little steps add up! By changing your habits, whether all at once or a little at a time, you will find one day that you are just moving right along with new habits and a new body!

I found that journaling my food really helped me alot. Eventually I found www.fitday.com, which counts your calories and keeps track of your nutritional intake and your exercise, too. While it can be a bear, at first, finding the right food to enter, you can enter custom foods, and it gets easier as you get more of your regular foods in there and I've found it very motivational. It's free, too! I love using fitday.com, and even when I'm slacking about posting here or in my livejournal journal, I do enter my foods there. Keeps me honest and motivated. It has really helped me to be a better judge about what I can realistically fit into my eating plan for the day. I can look at most foods now, and know about how much I can eat and still be within my bounds for the day. Still, I keep journaling, because this weight-loss program is my project and I want records of what I did. Journaling your food works! Start with just a pad of paper and a pen if you don't want the trouble of logging on. I swear it will help you.

Up until the past couple of weeks I've been very good about doing yoga. I can't get out and work up a sweat at the gym or go running or even for long walks, because I have 3 small children and am living seperately from my husband for financial reasons. I have noone to leave them with. So, in order to get exercise in, I had to figure out something I could do at home--that I would actually do! I hate most aerobic videos I've ever seen, so I knew that wasn't the route for me. I've done yoga before and liked the deep toning and flexibility it offered and the serenity of practicing it, so I went with that. It's been wonderful. Don't know why I am not active with it right now, because I love it. I'm just sort of distracted. Anyway, my point is find something you like to do and start with doing just a little each day. It will become easier.

Also, and this was KEY for me: don't beat yourself up so much! Know going into this, that you will slip up. You will have maybe whole days where you fall off plan. Acknowlege the fact that you've slipped up, re-focus on your goals and get right back with the plan you've set for yourself. Don't agonize over every slip-up. They are history. Move forward. Adopting new habits takes some time and there is a learning curve. Just see what you are doing, maybe think about why you are doing it and how you can change it, but then move on. It will click in time. It's so NOT WORTH being hard on yourself. You just won't get anywhere that way. Don't have an all or nothing mentality. I'm not saying don't TRY hard to stick with your plan, but I am saying that beating yourself up everytime you slip is unproductive and can lead to depression and an attitude that you can't do it. Sarah, you CAN do this! No matter how long it takes, you can do it if you make a plan and keep going back to it!

I don't know if anything I've said helps, but I hope something stands out as a good idea for you. Good luck with getting going! Think about what you want in your future and find your inner motivation. You can do it!

Well, I think I've just motivated myself to do my yoga, since I'm up early and the kids are still asleep! Whoo hoo!

Andrea - thanks so much for your words of encouragement. Sometimes it just helps to "write down" how I'm feeling it for others to see. I lost 15 pounds last spring (WW at home...) - and was feeling great - didn't need to lose anymore, and then thought I could do it on my own. That was my first mistake....again, I haven't gained a ton back, just feel myself slipping and it doesn't help that I KNOW I can do it. Ya know? Again, thanks for your words. It means a lot!

Wow this seems like a great group. I am a SAHM of 3. 2 girls and a boy ages 9, 4, and 1 1/2 respectively. I also have 2 cats, 1 dog, and a hubby to take care of . I have my plan, I have my goal, now all I have to do is implement. I am 28 (29 in Aug.) and dh is 41. We live in Virginia. This is my 2nd marriage, we've been together for over 7 years and married for 5 years this month. DH is very supportive but overly critical sometimes, but he's a wonderful man. When he gets irritating I just tell him he's suffering from a brain fart and to stop. Ihope to get the support from ya'll that help keep me motivated and I'll try to give the same. Have a great day ya'll and I'll check back later.

This has got to be quick today, I've got a ton of work to do.

Welcome newbies!! The more the merrier!!

I was so hoping to get to post that 185.6 lbs today but even though I weighed yesterday and it still said 185.6lbs this morning it was back to 187 so that is where I will keep my ticker. For now!! I will get back to my 3 mile walks this week, I only got to walk once all of last week. Next week my numbers will be down!

Hope everyone had a good weekend and a great Monday!

Val, I wonder if you ate more salt than usual, or if you didn't drink much water and are retaining water, Val. You certainly didn't gain 1.5 in fat overnight! You have such a great attitude about it, though. You'll probably post much lower next weigh-in. Have fun with your walks this week! I'm going to try to fit in my yoga and some other stuff (hopefully hikes) this week, too. I've been slacking.

Well, I was certain that I'd not post a loss, because I was fluctuating between 169.8 and 170.6 all week, but lo and behold, I hopped on the scale this morning, and it read 169 even! That's a one pound loss from last weigh-in, and I'll take it! I think I was retaining a bit of water, because of TOM, and TOM arrived this morning as well, so that may be why I dropped some. Body let go of some of that water. I wasn't perfect this week, but I wasn't really bad most days, either. I'm happy that I got to see the numbers be lower this morning. (Also glad to see TOM! I was a little nervous this time around! )

Sarah, I know you know what you need to do, and I'm rooting for you to find your way back into a program that starts clicking for you. Good luck!

Tim'sgirl, welcome! I think this is a good group, too. Some very motivating and friendly women here. Sounds like you're set up to get going on this journey! We'll be here to cheer you on and lift you up when you need it! We can do this!!!

Wow--so quiet in here! Where is everyone?

Hi chickies! I was playing around with my digital camera yesterday and I have a couple of pictures to share. I don't have any pictures of myself, other than close-ups of my face, because I keep forgetting to ask Ron to take some when he is here. But maybe you can compare the old face to the new one and see some change. I'm having trouble seeing it very well, myself--at least in photos.

Tell me what you think! (The one with my daughter is a new one, and so is the other one in that box. The other photo was taken in February when I was still at about 200 lbs)

I can certainly see a difference Andrea!! You have to be so proud of yourself! I am proud of you, you are doing such a great job, even with all of the stress that you face daily!! I need to take my measurements again and post them, hopefully there will be a difference. I'm really not worried about it though because I can so tell the difference in the way my clothes fit. I'm LOVIN' it!

I got my 3 mile walk in yesterday, but don't know if I will be able to today. Our secretary's mom died and her funeral is today, so while everyone goes to that I will probably stay here at the office and hold down the fort. Then tonight we have counseling from 5-6 and Leiren has a ballgame at 7. I did actually get some stuff done last night after work. I cleaned out my kitchen cabinets. It is so funny how you don't realize what kind of stuff you gather in your cabinets. I threw away a bunch of old stuff, like seasoning packets and old bags of powdered sugar, YUK it just gathers at the back and you get so used of seeing it there that you don't notice it anymore. Then I went outside and dug up some more of the area that I want to use for my vegetable garden. I don't have a tiller so I'm doing it by hand with a shovel and hoe. Great exercise!! I was sweating like a big dog last night. I didn't get it finished, but did get quite a bit done. I will try to get it finished Wednesday night, as it is I will be planting my stuff late

Hope everyone is doing well and finds time to stop in and tell us HI!

Hey girls, Sorry I havn't checked in for a while. I ended up getting sick myself on saturday along with TOM so i've been poopy for a few days. The good news is that everyone is feeling better now so i'll be busy disinfecting the house for a couple days. (I'm going to follow everyone around with Lysol)

Welcome all newbies!! You've joined a great group of women!!!!

Andrea, you look great in your pictures. I can really see a difference. Your post on sunday to Sarah was so motivating. When i'm having a bad moment i'm going to go back and read it. I'm also going to start journaling on fitday. Thanks for the encouraging words.

I'm going to cut this short because I have SO much to do around the house. Laundry, Laundry , Laundry....

Have a good day everyone.
Marina

Hey everyone just a quick post. We just got home alittle while ago from DD's dance recital. I feel like I can breathe again...it has been insane and she is only 4. I had to rush from work and pick them up at 12:00 but I had to stop off at the store and get a few last minute things that she had to take with her and then order her flowers so that I could pick them up on the way. We got home and I had to get her costume on and her makeup!!! Putting makeup on a 4 year old is not an easy task...but it was accomplished and yes she looked like a hooker...but she fit in with all the others so I quess I did a good job. Then she had a hair appointment at 1:30 then we had to pick up her flowers...and then I had to drop her off at 2:30 for rehersal. And of course they were performing downtown where the Houston Ballet performs...I dropped her off and went and parked the car in the underground parking and got lost!!!! Felt like an idiot!!! Then we rushed over to Spagetti Warehouse for a quick dinner and then back to the theatre for the 7:00 show and we got home at 11:00!!!! What a day!!!! Anyway things should calm down alot now that this recital is over!!! I'm off to bed.

Hi all! I'm glad you can see a difference--it's hard for me to really see in pictures, even though I know there is a difference. The place the weight loss most shows on me is my waist, stomach and hips, I think. Today, I wore a pair of Gap khaki low rise pants I haven't been able to wear for like 5 years! Seriously! They were just too snug in the hips and thighs, and when Ron brought them to me from our storage shed a month or so ago, they were still a little too snug. I'm in a size 14 now (yay!), but these pants are a Gap 16A (whatever that means) and have always been a slim fitting pair of pants. Today they fit great! When I took Stella to ballet, I walked into the room where all the parents wait and visit, and two women I'm becoming friendly with immediately said, "Wow! You look great!" It was SO nice!

It helps to wear clothes that fit the new body, for sure, and besides the pants, I stopped at a thrift store on my way to the ballet class and found a couple of tops that fit me much better--in size Medium! They were freshly washed, so I wore one of them--a basic short-sleeved, light knit, peach-colored top with a v-neck. It made a big difference in how I look to not have the shoulders sloppily hanging and too much material in the midsection! I looked shapely! Whoo hoo! Can't wait till I can afford to buy some brand new clothes!

It was a beautiful day here today! Just glorious! Perfect weather--around 78 degrees with a slight breeze, just a few high clouds floating around looking pretty, and low humidity. So lovely. I'm so glad I got myself going early this morning. We were out and about having fun all day today. We left the house by 11:00 and went out to the nearby historic village of Oysterville to try to get some more information about a local play that I might help out with. One of the actors in it lives in Oysterville, and he told me they needed a prompter, so I went over to ask him if they still needed someone. He said they now they have someone to do that, but they still need some other kinds of help. He gave me the number of the director, and I will call that guy later tonight to see what they need and what the time commitment would be. If I can do it, it might be really fun, and I could meet some more people around here!

Anyway, after checking that out, I went to the elementary school in Long Beach to register Stella for school for this Fall. Her school will actually be here in Ocean Park, but they tore down the old school and the new one is still being built, so this year the kids from Ocean Park attended school in Long Beach, about 20 minutes away. I met the secretary for the Ocean Park school, and she was really nice and quite warm and friendly to Stella. Stella's so excited about going to the pretty new school they are building, and she met the teacher she will most probably have, and is happy about her as well. She's a very good teacher from what everyone tells me, and in fact, the speech therapist from the school in Long Beach, whose daughters take ballet with Stella, told me to request her. She also put in a word for Stella to be placed with her, because when she kept Stella for me to go get that mammogram the other day, she realized how articulate and intelligent she is. I know I sound like I'm just bragging about my daughter! hahaha Don't mean to sound that way; it's just that Stella is pretty advanced verbally--always has been--and people who are just getting to know her are always a little surprised by the kind of words she uses and also by her ability to converse intelligently. Anyway, I did request this teacher, and from the way they all sounded there, she will have her. Stella was pleased and a little proud that the secretary and some other people at the school, including her probable teacher, already heard about her and were so welcoming to her today. She was beaming!

After registering Stella for school, we went to a playground and the kids played for about an hour there while I threw the ball for our dog, Molly. It was so nice out. Then we went to the thrift store where they were having a 1/2 price bag sale. I got 3 summer tops in really great shape and a pretty ecru cotton sweater that will come in handy even in the summer here at the beach. I also got a practically brand new winter coat! It was the perfect color and style and I had to have it. I also got Annie a dolly, that was in perfect shape, and is a doll just like one Stella has that has brushable hair and is perfect for pretend tea parties. The only difference is the hair color and style. Same brand doll. All of this cost me a whopping $2.70!!! Have to love that price!

Stella had fun at ballet, and I had fun visiting the other mothers there. After, we headed home and are enjoying a nice. breezy evening.

Oh, and I stayed on plan to day eating-wise. Yesterday, too! Feeling good. Hope you are all in a good place today, too!

Hi again! There were some other posts I wanted to respond to, but my last post was getting L O N G!

First off, GO VAL! You are getting so much walking in! That's great! I want to go walking with you SO much. I love walking--and going 3 miles at a good clip (as opposed to what I call "Annie's Pace") with someone fun sounds great to me! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I wish we lived closer! Thanks, too, for the positive comments about the pictures I posted. I appreciate the encouragement! I was starting to feel like I might be petering out a bit, and since I posted those pics, I'm feeling re-motivated to go the rest of the distance.

Sarah, thank you too for the nice comments. Good to get positive feedback from others who are working at it too! I really hope you're feeling more motivated and focused these days. It's so much easier when things are clicking for you mentally. Did you find your scale? I have to ask...how'd ya lose it?? Are you sure you didn't just drop kick it somewhere like I'd like to do to mine sometime!? Hee hee!

Thank you also Marina for the feedback on my pics. I'm glad it's noticeable, for sure. I'm sorry you've been sick. Ick. I was able to beat some bug recently before I started feeling too badly. All I got was some slightly swollen glands in my throat. That's gone now, thank goodness.

Also, Marina, I'm so pleased that you were able to find motivation in something I've said. That's super! That's why we're here, right? For that bit of extra support that can only come from others who are trying to do the same thing. Coming here has been key to making this journey easier and more fun for me, that's for sure! Good luck with fitday.com; I know it's a bit difficult to use at first, but it does get easier.

Well, I have to get Evan to bed. He's terrorizing my girls while they try to watch a movie. A sure sign that he's tired. Little stinker!

Take care all!

I did get my 3 mile walk in on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. I forgot my tennis shoes Tuesday and wore a pair of slip on tennis shoes that I had laying around at work and wore a huge blister on the bottom of my foot because the inner lining of the shoes bunched up as I was walking. That didn't stop me from walking on Wednesday though! I can't wait to get out there today!
I've been doing ok eating wise but have been so busy lately that I've slacked on getting as many vegetables as I should and probably have eaten too many whole grains in their place. I've got to work on that and I did better yesterday except Jacob's dad came in town (he lives about a 45 min. drive away) to see his new vehicle and hang out with him and they brought me a small dairy queen blizzard by work. At first I thought I would just take a few bites and throw the rest away but I ate the whole thing. Oh well, I don't allow myself that kind of treat often so I'm really not concerned about it. However I think maybe it would help me if I began posting my meals again too.
Yesterday:
Breakfast-vanilla yogurt, blueberries, w/crunchy nugget cereal.
Lunch-lettuce salad w/shredded cheddar cheese and light ranch dressing
snack-small german chocolate blizzard
Supper- Bean and Chicken Burrito (whole wheat tortilla)

Today so far:
Breakfast-vanilla yogurt w/walnuts

Hope everyone is doing well, I'll check in again later!

Andrea, I too SO wish you could go walking with me. That's it you need to move here!! My kids could even watch your kids while we walked. The park that is about a 5 min. (if that) drive from my house has a really nice paved walking trail that goes around the park, about a quarter of a mile round, so the playground equipment is in the middle of it, although kinda at one end. So you can walk, your kids can play and you can keep a pretty good eye on them and then with my kids there playing and helping it would be a breeze for us to get a nice looong walk in. Plus when you have someone to chat with while your walking you don't even realize how quickly it goes and how far you've went.
I'm really glad you had a nice fun day with your kids yesterday!