Hi Everyone,

Just a quick post before heading off to bed. I have finally realised that I have to face the truth and change my ticker. I have been sitting around 175lbs for long enough now and I can't keep kidding myself that it is just 'hormonal weight' any more. It goes down now and then, but it is up more than it is down. I don't care whether it was the depression earlier in the year when my dad died, or the depression meds (that I am currently decreasing, ready to stop) that caused the weight gain. I am pretty sure that it is probably due to the fact that I am simply eating just a little too much each day. Healthy stuff, but maybe bigger portions than I used to have. I know I am still exercising as much as I was, so I'm not really sure about the cause, but I am going to 'wear' it for now and work on getting it down again.

I increased my goal from 150lbs to 160lbs, as I have to account for all of the excess skin I have and I am not sure I should get down too low. I was going to make my goal 165lbs, as that is where most people say that I should be and where I look best at, as they said I looked too gaunt at 160lbs. I just want to aim a little lower to see how I go. If I end up at 165lbs and am happy there, then I will adjust my goal weight and simply say "I'M DONE!"

People say that they can't tell that I have put on any weight, and sometimes I get asked if I have lost more weight, if I am wearing something particularly flattering. But I can feel the extra pounds. I find this funny, because I couldn't feel an extra 30 or 40 pounds before, so it is interesting that I can notice an additional 5 or 10.

Well, there is my confession. I am still leading a VERY healthy lifestyle, but I obviously have to tweak a few things to get the scale heading down a little, rather than sneaking up.

Take care and I'll catch you with a longer post soon.

Zelma

Morning all - everyone feeling much better around here except for the leftover sodium from the Chinese. All the schools are cancelled due to the weather today which also means my cardio class is cancelled - I will come home and dust off the treadmill though and maybe even get the WATP video out.

Jeans seem to be a major NSV for a number of us recently - like Battle I had told others (mostly myself) that I wasn't a jeans kind of person. HA! One more storyline we feed ourselves. Great job moosegirl.

I had my own little NSV this week - my dress pants no longer need to be unzipped or unbuttoned to put them on. Yes - they are too long too. I seem to be whiny lately about not losing very fast but it seems not so very long ago that I was not so comfortable in these same pants.

Gotta run - may be a little longer drive (than the normal 4 minutes) to work this morning.

Move yourselves, drink your water AND smile!!!

Hugs,
Carol

Good Morning Everyone!

I am finally feeling back to myself today and will see the dentist tomorrow and hopefully he can fix it or just pull it. Anything not to have to go through that pain again . Thank everyone for your get well wishes.

I haven't felt like posting, but I have been lurking and keeping up with everyone. The board is moving so fast these days I'm not going to try to catch up to personals today, just suffice it to say cheers for all that have lost lbs or experienced NSVs, commiseration for all that are struggling (we are all there at one time or another) and sympathy for so many of you suffering TOM. The common theory is that women that work or live together eventually have the same cycle for TOM, I wonder if this applies to our board members too

I do have a question for you all though. Has anyone experienced lower back pain when walking at the outset of your program? I am trying to walk more to gain stamina and be able to exercise more, but after a few minutes I get severe pain in my lower back & have to sit for a few minutes before continuing. I thought it would get better as I lost weight and now that I have lost 60 lbs it has only gotten marginally better. Due to my rheumatoid arthritis I have had both knees and one hip totally replaced and the other hip needs to be done also since it is bone on bone. So it's hard for me to determine if my trouble comes from the RA and it's associated problems, the weight, or a combination of the two. Also, I am hunched over and cannot seem to stand up straight. I'm hoping that as I lose more of the bulk in my stomach area this will improve.

Has anyone had any of these problems? As I read the boards and see the amount of exercise most of you can do, it gets me a little depressed, even though I am aware that because I have RA and 20 - 30+ years on most of you, I cannot expect to do the same things or get the same results. I would really be interested in your feedback, since I'm trying to formulate some realistic goals for myself.

Thanks in advance for your advance & wishing everyone a great OP day!

Johnnie,

I started just over where you were, but I wasn't doing any regular exercise. At the time I had a job where I was on my feet everyday though, so I might have been more used to it. I'm a little higher than you are at the moment, and although sometimes I have a little ache in my lower back, there's no pain.

I'll make one suggestion, and if that isn't it, you might want to see your doctor about it. How are the shoes you're wearing when doing your walking? I ask, because I first started with generic runners and found I had lots of random pains. A friend suggested that I go get a proper pair, for walking. Around here we have a store called "The Running Room". I just looked, but they are mainly Canada and only a few stores in the US (mainly MN).

Ask around where you live. It's intimidating, at least for me it was, going to a store that seems to push running. However, they are great. When I bought my shoes I was asked to go in my stocking feet, roll up my trousers, and walk up and down the store. The guy asked if I would be walking inside, or outside, and eventually I tried on 5 or 6 different shoes. If I remember, they were expensive, but they are perfect.

I only mention the process for buying them because you want a store that does the same type of thing. I was amazed what a difference it made.

Carol, Ammi, Debbie, and Annie - Thanks for you warm thoughts about my niece. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders - and my sister is positively joyful.

Hugs to those of you who understood and supported my scale avoidance for the week. I have been OP all week.

Ammi - way to go avoiding temptation . I'm finding that I just can't go out to restaurants to eat right now. Even if the food is healthy, the portion sizes are so big. When the food is right in front of me, I have trouble resisting.

Carol, Donna, and Moosegirl (and I think I missed somebody) - Woo Hoo for shrinking bodies and clothes that suddenly fit - or are maybe now too big.

BattleAx - keep looking to those pants for inspiration. I have a whole dream box of clothes. Some of the items in that box are from the late 1980s - those fashions will probably have come around again by the time that they fit me again.

Angie - Celebrate those 4.5lbs.

Zelma - Being mindful of keeping the weight off really is a life long issue for most of us. When I lost so much weight a few years ago, I really thought that was it for me.

Heather - I so know how you feel. I lost over 80lbs a few years ago and then gained it all back plus some. When I lost that weight, I felt so empowered and was certain that I would never regain it. I try to tell myself that I am where I am and accept that in the present. And I am encouraged that if I did lose the weight once then I can do it again. I bet you can too. I try to keep my calories under 1500 even when I exercise - it's hard though - I keep hitting 1700-1800.

Johnnie - About your back, When I first started exercising, I felt a lot of lower back pain. Stretching my hamstrings and strengthening my abdominals solved my lower back problems. I do agree with Anne about the importance of good shoes and especially about checking in with a doctor.

Kimmie

Oh and how could I forget Catherine - I'm so happy to hear your news and so sorry to hear that you feel so rotten.

Kimmie

Morning peeps! Today is another day to be on plan. Let's shake it up and move around! Let's drink our water and eat healthy, nutritious foods.

Zelma: good luck on tweaking the program to take off the creeping weight. You are smart to acknowledge it now and take action before the scale creeps any further.

Carol: the first time my pants got too long I was surprised and confused. I couldn't figure out why they were dragging on the ground. Once I figured it out, I was amused...and happy. There is nothing like the headiness of going down in size.

Texark: I also think the lower back pain is related to stiff muscles and lack of core strength. I found that some stretching was a must in order to do the walking. I use a Pilates DVD, which has both stretching and core strengthening components. Only a little is needed to feel better. When I first started the DVD I could barely do any of it, but the little bit I could helped a lot with being able to move around comfortably. The DVD I have is Denise Austin and it has the pilates workout plus a yoga workout, which I never do. I still only do about 15-20 minutes of the pilates workout, but it's enough to make a huge difference.

Also, at my highest, I found that fitness walking was very hard on my body. As the weight came off, my legs and back were more able to handle the exercise.

As RealCdn said, the shoes are important as well. This is an area you just can't skimp on.

FitGirl: It is good that you know your limits about what kind of situations you can handle right now. For me, I can't avoid restaurants, banquets, big spreads of delectable foods because of my professional and social obligations, so have made it a goal to manage the best I can in those situations. Sometimes I'm more able to manage than others. But, there are other things I simply must avoid--like having certain foods in the house.

I was going to wait and do weigh ins on Fridays but the scale was taunting me. I was feeling all happy because I have exercised 4 days in a row. I never do that. I always have one day on one day off, etc etc.

The stupid scale first said 333, then 334 then 336... argh.. what is it? I don't know how I could possibly have gained. Calories have been watched for 2 weeks and the exercise this week.

Catherine, Happy Anniversary!!

Carol, Is the shock to your system of the chinese food or do you guys have food poisoning? I hope it's not that. Hope you feel better soon. Another great NSV. Seems quite a few of you are sharing those this week. Keep it up! I'm glad it was only the salt that was making you feel icky.

Angie, great news on the pounds lost!

Annie, I hope you have a great WI. I jumped on the scale today just to see if I've lost any since TOM is over, and I'm down to 299! Tomorrow I WI officially since I changed it from Tuesdays. Good luck to you!!

Alison, those are great mags! Yes, I think you made a good choice on mags over food. Keep it up! Great job on the NSV too!

Zelma, you should have that off in no time! You've done so well. I bet you look smashing!

Johnnie, I've had a lot of lower back pain when I start an exercise regimen. When I first started doing the DDR, I was down for a week because of the pain in my back. Ratkity says it could be from our hamstrings, or hamhocks.... that aren't stretched properly. So make sure you stretch before and after your exercises. I don't know it that's what it could be for you, but it sure did make a difference for me once I started stretching.

Heather dw, are you sure you're getting enough water in? I drink about 4 liters a day. I'm using the bathroom alot, but I just think of it as the pounds being flushed away. What kinds of foods are you eating? Do they contain alot of fat? You can still stay under the calorie limit and still eat alot of fat. That's what I found I was doing when I wasn't losing. Have you had your thyroid checked? If it's underactive, that could put a dent in your weight loss. Hope this helped some.

I tried on my size 24 jeans and they fit. Not even tight. I guess I need to let go of the 28's as they are able to take off without unzipping now. I hate to see them go. I also have a coat that is huge on me now, so I guess I'd better get rid of it too. Time to start another bag of "too big" clothes. Feels good and scary all at the same time.
Have a good day!
Debbie

Heather - step away from the scale! I know it can be hard to do. Make sure you're tracking your calories well. When I cook something I either measure or weigh everything. No eyeballing allowed. Things that can kill you are salad dressings (ie. is it really a Tbsp), and oils/butters. First, ensure that what you think you are eating is what you are. Then keep track of how much exercise you are doing. Debbie made an excellent point (water, water, water). If you aren't drinking enough your body will retain it. I've just recently started tracking my intake and it's 11 cups a day (and this doesn't count water from protein shakes).

So, make sure your calorie tracking is accurate. Keep exercising, and don't get on the scale until NEXT Friday. ;-)

Oops - I meant to add - pat yourself on the back for 4 days of exercising in a row!

I'm getting about 48-70 ounces of water a day and I'm low low on fat. Hubby thinks the scale is just crap since it gives you different numbers each time.

Heather - your husband could be right. With a good scale you should be able to get the same weight most of the time, no matter where you stand. With a mediocre scale you need to make sure you're standing in exactly the same place.

If you can't recreate the same weight (ie. stepping on and off say two or three times) you might solve your problems with a new scale. One warning - don't freak out if the new scale weighs higher!

I'm heading out soon to a great Vietnamese restaurant. I have a fair amount of calories left for the day, so with careful choices I can make this work. I have an additional incentive today because I can feel that my system wants to go into an allergic response, and will take very little encouragement to do that. Overeating, or eating certain trigger foods, will guarantee that I'm going to have a problem. Additionally, the benadryl I'll take as a precaution will decrease my appetite.

I hate that I'm at the point where everyone sees the weight loss, knows I'm trying, and is watching what I eat. Oh well, this is one of the things that happen along the way.


Debbie, WOO HOO on fitting comfortably into size 24. Wow! Also, big WOW on reaching that all-important milestone of 299. YAY!

Hi all,

Kayley: Thanks for letting me know. I have been thinking about you and starting your new job.

Moosegirl: I myself know just what you are feeling about wearing jeans. I just wore them for the first time in 19 years last weekend. It was a great feeling.

Zelma: Sorry that you had to change your ticker to the plus. Don't under estimate the weight of extra skin! No amount of exercise will get rid of that extra weight. Hugs.

Carol: on the smaller pants. Great NSV.

Johnnie: I used to have such bad back pain when I first started walking. I weighed a lot more than you but, it was the initial start of exercise that took quite a while for my back to get better and stronger.

HeatherDW: I think maybe you are weighing too much. Just a tiny bit of water can make your weight change. Maybe try to only weigh once a week for a while. I have jumped on the scale a few times a week and it can get discouraging to see it climb when you know you are doing everything right. If you wait a week and are doing everything right I'm sure it will change.

Debbie: :c ongrat: So proud of you for gettin out of the 300's forever! You rock. Size 24 aint too shabby either.

Okay. For my official weigh in today I also reached 299 pounds. I am thrilled with that weigh in and it just seems so unreal. It has been over 19 years at least since I was at this weight. I am going to set my next goal at 10% of what I weigh right now I think. That would be about 29 pounds. I think my next goal will be 270. I have to think about it but I am pretty sure that is what I'm aiming towards.

I hope you are all doing well.

Blessings,
Annie

A huge cheer for you, Annie! I've been watching your ticker drop.

Kimmie