Uber!!! Girl you should be proud of that one pound...you had a vaca and all that so now this month you can really rock it!

Mandy....congrats on getting in the 280's!!!! You rock....and I totally told the kit kats they were Hookers at the store the other day...LOL

Martini.....We all fall....binging is part of falling...but it is the getting back up that makes us strong. Don't let it conquer you but conquer it! I think someone already said rid the house of anything you might binge on. That is what I have done...what is really hard for me is I have small kids and teenagers...I created snack boxes for each of them so now in my head if I pull from one of the box I tell myself I am stealing from them! You CAN do this...remember that girl!

Diane...you are very consistent that is awesome. I feel pretty proud I haven't cheated except on my allotted cheat meal and I really don't go all out! We have a 3 month old shih Tzu and a maine coone cat he is 30 pounds...HUGE!!!!

Toasted...your so sweet! I hope I fly through the rest of the 230's!!!! You are doing great and you just need to realize it and rock it!!!! What part of Africa are you in??? I have always wanted to visit there!

JB....you have a great attitude! Stick with it and you will see results!!!

Jessica...I am so glad you saw some progress!!! Did you get a scale????

Laura...hope you are having fun camping!!!

Hubby got called back early so we didn't get to do what we wanted! I punched the punching bag and am SO sore today! Today is the first day I have really been having to gag my water down.....I think it will help that tomorrow is a low carb day! Have a great Labor day everyone!!!!

I didn't get to get a new scale yet. I'm probably going to stop by Walmart on the way home from work tomorrow (so Tuesday morning, really) and price some and go from there. In the meantime, I'll keep dealing with this one.

Hi All!

Well, we made it back from fishing yesterday, but after putting things away and doing a few things around the house, I didn't make it onto the computer. I was pretty tired, so I didn't get too far away from my couch. Thought I'd get on this morning before the day gets going. It's great to have a 3 day weekend!

We had a fun time fishing. We were successful, too, so we'll have some smoked fish tonight. Yum! It was just nice to get away. Had a lot of great NSV's from the trip. It gets pretty cold up there, so I got out my warmer clothes. I was pretty blown away at how loose they were. With it being so warm all summer here, I haven't even looked at them lately. There is this one flannel shirt that was really noticeably loose. I had it on with a sweatshirt and when I went to pull off the sweatshirt before bed, the flannel shirt came with it. Made me happy! Then, other things like when I went to sit on a rock that was pretty low to the ground, I was very careful, but I realized that I was trying to accommodate my weight and lack of muscle strength, but I don't really have to do that. And getting back up off the rock wasn't a major event. Good things! Today, I have to get a few things done around the house. It's kind of cluttered from my daughter moving back home. She had moved out for a while, but her roommate moved in with a boyfriend and so my daughter decided to move back home for a bit. And all of her stuff. They have limited classes at the gym, so I'm going to go for the 8:30 spin class. Oh, and here in a bit, I need to weigh myself. I'll probably come back later to report.

Jessica: Yep, I've heard that Brad Paisley song. It could happen here if I were to make him choose! Ha!

Jenny: I love Maine Coone cats. They are amazing! We don't have anything nearly that large! So pretty! Bet your Shih Tzu isn't quite that big either! Ha!

JB: Good job on the weight loss!!

Toasted: I'm hoping you were able to get some much needed sleep! Sometimes with a lack of sleep, it is hard to control emotions and things seem so much worse. Here's to a nice long rest for you!!

Martini: Sorry about the binge, and the rough feelings afterward. I think that you can look at it that while it did happen, you recognized it for what it was and you're not letting it throw you off track. Put it in the past now, and keep moving forward. You can do it!!!

Mandy: Hope the moving is going well. I don't envy you that! I meant to respond before that I grew up in an ELCA church and my parents still attend one. I now belong to a non-denominational church, but I have lots of memories and good thoughts from the ELCA.

Uber: I am backtracking some, but I wanted to give you support on the one pound loss. Sure, it isn't what we want to see, but you have to remember that you were on vacation for a lot of that month, so losing a pound is pretty spectacular!! September will probably show a lot, too, now that you're back on track!

Calluna: Hope all is going well!

LaurieDawn: How's it going with you?

So an awesome and unexpected morning for me!!!!! Stepped on the scale not expecting anything special, and WHOOSH, I was down to 255! First, that's THIRTY POUNDS OFF SINCE I STARTED (on May 29th) Second, before I left for vacation, I decided I wanted to hit the thirty-pound mark by Sept 1 and I did it. And FOURTH, just in the last few days, I've gotten some comments from family members who noticed the loss. And fifth, I just had my first clothing NSV when I put on a little short-sleeved sweater in size 1X that I had stopped wearing because it was too small. All in all, I'm feeling really proud of myself. For the first time I can remember, my vacation and off-plan sojourn didn't completely derail me!

Diane, I'm so happy about all of your exciting NSVs! I can really relate to the sitting thing-- one of my pet peeves is that when I'm fat I can't get out of a beach chair. Your increases in strength and agility are so exciting, and they're only going to keep getting better! And realizing that old clothes are loose helps too!

Jessica: Darn that scale! Glad you're keeping a level head about it. Nothing harder than having a scale that moves all over the place!

Jenny: I lose your snack box idea. I'm really good about not touching the kids' snacks too. I have a shelf where I keep lunch box items, and I psychologically they're just off limits to me.

JB: Glad to see that your weight is going down!

Toasted: I want you to know that I completely understand the cake thing! Some of my earliest memories involve being at birthday parties and HOPING that I would get the frosting roses. (I know, most kids are lucky enough to think frosting is gross, but not me.) Cake is one of the things it's hardest for me to say no to, and that I'm most likely to head for in a binge. So KUDOS TO YOU!!! You did it!!!

Martini: Hope you're hanging in there!

Mandy: Hope the move is going well.

Calluna and LaurieDawn: I hope you're both enjoying the long weekend!

Good morning, all! Crazy weekend.

Uber - I do think a lot about weight loss express versus fat land. I
don't want to necessarily feel like I need to be on the weight loss express to lose weight, but I have not found a medium point yet where I can just lose slowly and still stay committed to plan. My current plan is to tear through as quickly as possible to 190, then to try to chill out and lose more slowly. But I also sometimes feel as if I've wasted years trying to lose slowly. I'm good at losing fast. Who knows? But I did go to bed at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening and sleep until 8 a.m. the next morning, and took both Friday and Saturday off from intense exercise. And I'm feeling pretty okay today. It's TOM, so I have some of that related weakness, but I feel like I might be back to "normal."

Jessica - So glad you're getting a scale! I also saw 209.0 this morning, so our weight twinness continues. =)

Diane - Fishing is AWESOME! As are smoked fish.

Martini - I still don't get those weird binges. And I kind of hate them, cuz they don't even seem to scratch the "really want ____" itches. But you really pulled it together. You walked with the tiger and put her back in the cage before she did you any real damage. Amazing accomplishment.

Toasted - I'm so glad you had a good Saturday! Hope Sunday was great too. I really don't want to have to connect with Momzilla if I can avoid it. ;-)

Jb1975 - Water aerobics is the best!

I am incredibly irritable today. TOM. Still not feeling 100%. And I lost my cell phone and am having to deal with my ex. Gonna go running today. I'm a little stressed about it, though, because I need my music when I run, and without my phone, I have no music.

Laurie...I have to really apologize....I keep calling you Laura...when I know it is Laurie!!! I don't know why I want to call you Laura...I am sorry!!! I totally know how it feels too. My name is Jenni and I get Jennifer all the time when that is NOT my name! I am so sorry! BTW I hope you find your cell phone!

Diane...so glad you had fun fishing and I am crossing my fingers for a great weigh in!!!!

Uber...OMG WOOOHOOOOO to you girl!!!! That is SO awesome 30 pounds in 3 months is so VERY fantastic...you rock!

Hey y'all!! I am joining this thread as I have definitely been a regainer and am currently facing the battle of relosing for good (not counting weight gain/loss from future regnancies). I am excited to be around others who know what this is like!

I am not wanting to get skinny but I want to really tone up my curves!!

Yay! 1.6 down for this weigh in. That's better. Now to keep going. I just noticed that if I lose 1.2 more, I'll be exactly half way. That kind of freaks me out because it hasn't exactly been easy to get this far, I hope it isn't leaps and bounds harder to get the rest of the way. But, I've also made if farther than ever before, so I'm pleased.

I went to spin this morning and it was challenging, as usual. This is the one with the heart rate monitor. But I also noticed that I'm doing better than before, being able to get my heart rate up to the levels that they want, meaning I'm using lots of resistance on the bike. So, feeling good!!

Pink Hurricane: Welcome!!!! Glad you're joining us!

Uber: Wow!!!! Really nice weigh in for you! I'm very impressed! You've worked so hard and it is really showing on the scale, so good for you! Awesome job on making your goal and I'm so happy to hear about the clothes NSV. That's always nice to have happen!!

LaurieDawn: I'm sorry you're having an irritable day. I can relate, though, I get those during TOM. Add to that not being able to find your phone. Not good. Hang in there.

Jenni: Does it bother you if someone spells your name wrong, as in Jenny? I think I might have done that. oops.

Pink...welcome!!!

Diane....congrats on the weightloss. Woohoo scale keep moving! No it doesn't Lol I'm so used to that. I was just referring to getting called a different name!

I'm going to write a quick post to commit to being on plan today. It's been a rough couple of days on/off plan and I'm trying to do what I can to make sure those rough couple of days don't morph into a self-punishing few weeks.

I'm trying to remember that how I feel (bloated, anxious) isn't necessarily the reality of the world, but man oh man. Some days sure are easier than others when it comes to managing food issues.

Diane Half-way there? Hoo-boy! That is just a HUGE accomplishment! It hasn't been easy to get this far, but you have been rock solid. If you can just do what you've already done one more time you will be posting goal pictures!

Pink Hurricane Welcome!

Jenni Lol. Yup. I spelled your name wrong last time! Sorry!

LaurieSorry you're having a bad day. Regarding fast or slow weight loss-- hey there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The Goal Express is MY issue. I am slowly realizing that my ALL-OR-NOTHING approach is holding me back. But I also think that losing fast is highly motivating. I hope I wasn't projecting my own issues onto you. There is simply no right or wrong way to approach this, and yours seems to be working!

Martini HANG IN THERE! I repeat: HANG IN THERE! You definitely can do this! Bad days are hard to get through, but it is possible to get through them!

Good morning, all! Some really good news to celebrate with this group this morning!

PinkHurricane - Glad you could join us here!

Uber - I am so excited for your great losses! Especially because they represent overcoming your back-from-vacation hurdle. And super cool that you snuck it in by the Sept. 1st deadline! And I don't think you were projecting. I think maybe I relate to your mindset so much that I was maybe looking for your approval. My fast weight loss scares me sometimes because so many people warn about it. But then I look at all the successful Medifast or Optifast users or weight loss surgery patients. Who knows? I haven't yet stumbled across the formula for forever success, but I do know that it hasn't been trying to lose slowly. At least not for me. Yet.

Diane - Yay for great scale news! I am so excited for you. You have such persistence. And new lows are even more exciting.

Martini - As always, you speak with such wisdom. I have days where I feel the world is against me, and I will never <be successful in my job> <be able to have a good relationship> <be a good mother> <lose weight>. Pick your poison. But if I just hang in there for a few days, I am usually able to see more clearly and know that the feeling is just temporary.

Jenni - You are such a positive light here. And Laura doesn't actually bother me at all. I hadn't even noticed you did it. Hope all is going well on the job search front.

ToastedSmoke - Been thinking about you a lot this weekend. Hope this was the weekend that you defeated the lapse monster. I also absolutely believe, like you, that a half-assed work-out is way better than none at all.

207.4 this morning. I'm quickly approaching the number where I gave up all hope last time because I just couldn't get the number to go below 200. I believe I was at 203 or 204. I just need to stay the course for now. Having good losses. Feeling good about the gym. In fact, I ran for 30 minutes straight yesterday. Only covered 2.1 miles, but that's a personal best in the last 5 years. And I can finally do push-ups again. It is easier to do push-ups when I weigh 210 than when I weighed 240, though. =)

I also cleaned out my closet yesterday. I gave away everything that was over a size 18, and many of my size 18s. It feels a little foolish, but I have been known to wear my size 22 black pants when I was "feeling fat," even though I knew they were too big, and then regretted it when I had to keep pulling them up at work. I feel good having an organized closet with clothes that mostly fit. I also put my "goal clothes" in a small area. I don't have a lot of those, but I have everything from a size 10 to a size 16 that just don't fit, and it was becoming demoralizing looking at them.

Here's to a great week on plan!

Good for you for giving up the clothes, LaurieDawn! No safety nets and no rebuys has helped me numerous times to get back on plan.

Don't give up! Some days ARE hard. Heck, some months and years are just plain hard. But if you quit, you will never succeed. You have the right idea with getting back on track immediately.

Focus on today, one meal at a time if necessary.

Uber....the miss spelling doesn't bother me I was only referring to saying a name wrong...like Laura instead of Laurie!

Martini...hang in there girl you can do this!!!!

Laurie ....congrats on the weight falling off!!!! I have clothes ranging from 14-8's!!!!! I so hope to be in those 8's!!!!