that is great...I can't wait to dig into my fall wardrobe and see what still fits.....

Thanks...yes I know stress is playing a huge roll in all of this...

Welcome back to those that have been MIA! Good to see you alll.....

Working this afternoon so that will keep my hands out of the cookie jar so to speak LOL....WI yesterday was the same....still up those few pounds from vacation that I can't shake. I have decided I really do not like that coach at all...please pray mine finds a home soon LOL...

Sue, I do hope your coach finds a way soon.

Welcome all the restarters to our 2014 home

Alexandra yes those last 10 to 20 are a bear, thank you for continuing to show us your statistics, and realizations, as that reminds me of my own. These last 10 are hard. I had a very hard day yesterday. Calmer today. The body just doesn't want to let go of its survival stores

OMG Amber ... you are so right.

I read with great interest all the people struggling with their "end game" -- trying to learn something (anything) from everyone else's experiences. Trying to avoid their pitfalls and mistakes. So I am not alone with those feelings, I'm sure. It's a struggle for everybody.

It does seem like the early part of any diet is the easy part though. The losses are so rapid that one almost get motivation from the scale loss (it's almost exciting!) ... But when the losses slow to a crawl, it's so easy to lose ones edge. This is kind of a dangerous time for me in my journey.

I almost want to utter the mantra ... "The first 100 was a breeze" ... LOL. Well that's not really true either. It takes dedication and willpower throughout the journey ... and it's easy to fall off the wagon at any point. But for me at least, the slowness of the end game just seems torturous.

Maybe it's a testament to just how long I have been dieting and "watching it" (going on 13 months now) -- and a part of me is just sick of the whole thing. It's been 6 months since my last big cheat -- and all I've been thinking about lately is COOKIES! LOL

However the length of time I have needed to diet is my own fault -- I only have myself to blame. If I didn't let myself get so fat to begin with, I would not have to have been dieting for so long to get to a normal/healthy range. Now I am starting to feel like a whiner (please excuse that).

Its Been a long time since I've been on here or posted anything!!!

I restarted alternatives on Aug. 11th and I'm down 15lbs
I really hope this time around things go more smoothly with my health, and I don't have to quit. My BF is also doing it with me this time around but he is doing the Alternate Phase 1 for athletes. He's down 9lbs
I've been mixing old products with new products I've found and everything has seemed to be going very smoothly!! Hope the rest of the week goes well for all of us!

Congrats on your successful restart ShelbyLynn! It's so much easier when your S.O. is doing it with you. Keep up the great work. What happened with your health that forced you to quit previously (just curious).

TGIF y'all!

Welcome back Kira and ShelbyLynn!!!
Good to see you back and working on reboots, hope your week's going well.

Alexandra - you're not a whiner, you're a winner!
You inspire me and how hard you're working, day in and day out - your charts don't lie, you are a success story - hands down!

I have had a helluva week, lots of stress, not enough sleep - yesterday I snacked too much and felt gross (plus TOM on top of all isn't helping). Letting my body "relax" with a P1 day today, and might roll that over to tomorrow depending on how I'm feeling. Busy weekend ahead and first part of next week, so I may not post much but I will read when I can - please know I am rooting all of you on even when I don't have time to login!!

I had a bad UC flare that lasted for awhile, my doctor recommended me to stop till I healed up 😊

SL, Sorry to hear that. I have heard that can be really painful.

JJTx, your words are so heartfelt. And i always felt like it was you that inspired me!

LOL, this is soooo me!

Still fascinated by this answer by Briael. Sounds to me like what Briael is saying is ... if we can lose enough fat and hydrate well and give ourselves enough time, loose skin can improve on its own.

On another front, I finally hit ONEDERLAND this morning -- after over a year of effort and dedication! 199.75 !!! Gosh it feels great to be down at this level!

So I took this opportunity to move my official target from 200 down to 190 in my signature block to the left. I might eventually move my target down to 185 or 180, but I will see how it goes getting to 190.



Full Chart of past 1 year ...

Woot ..... she's a Onedergirl, Onedergirl. Congrats Alexandra, that is such awesome news.

I remember reading an article by a plastic surgeon, on the subject of loose skin and how it is always lined by a thin layer of fat cells. As women this is pretty much the last fat stronghold, because our bodies are designed to keep fat for fertility. He said that hydration and reducing the body fat percentage was the key, but many women preferred to have lipo and surgery rather than wait it out and let the body do its thing. I'm going back quite a few years now, 2010 from memory, but for some reason it stayed with me.

Thank you so much Briael!!

And thank you so much for sharing all the great info you have shared over the past year (I have learned a lot from you!)

On the fat layer thing. Do you have any notion/concept on how thin is "a thin layer of fat cells" actually is? Are we talking a few millimeters or something up to 1/2 an inch or so? I always think of a skin layer as being a very thin thing and when I grab my "roll" around my waistline (which would actually be a double layer when you pinch it), it's around an inch in total thickness ... so that would mean my skin + fat layer is about 1/2" in thickness. Most of that has to be fat, right? So I am guessing I have about 1/2" of fat stuck to the underside of my skin around my waistline. That's got to weigh at least 5 to 10 pounds. If it was just loose skin, the pinched thickness would be a lot less. So what you are saying makes empirical sense -- just based on visual/physical evidence on my own body.

Alexandra ~ Welcome to Onederland!! Its a magical place and I am so happy for you! Congrats Again...

Me I am struggling along. I had a really good day yesterday and blew it with a boredom pack in the late afternoon...I wasn't really even hungry but really more bored...Todays goal is to keep busy! I have sheets and blankets to wash and remake the beds. Promised the boys some french toast for breakfast, but amazingly that does not bother me. I need a Costco run today for this weeks staples (cucumbers, tomato and peppers) so I will do that after lunch. Gotta get back on track and get this last few pounds off....

Shelby good to see you back! I wish you much success and glad your feeling better..

Thank you SG!

Yes, I hear you on boredom eating -- I can relate.

Alexandra!!!!