Well you wouldn't know it today but summer is just around the corner and another winter has passed. Every year I tell myself this is the summer I'll be thinner by. Well...wrong again. I've managed to let almost another whole year go by and I'm not any thiner...in fact I've gained weight.

I have a trip coming up soon...about 2 months away. I'm going with friends and they are all thin of course. Able to buy great looking outfits....able to wear those short "SOME" like to wear in the summer. I know....WAAH WAAH WAAH...right? Oh believe me I know it. I also know you would think when something bothers you so much you would just finally BUCK up and and do it right?

Well....the good thing is I guess is that I haven't stopped trying. I try until my scale flies magically through the window..hehe!!! No flying scales yet this time, but I am in the early stages. Guess I am hoping I might find an extra boost here and this might actually be "IT"!!!

"IT" being I lose this silly weight...get myself healthy in body and mind. Feel more confident in myself and maybe FIND ME A MAN!!! hehe OH did I also mention I am the single one of my little group. HMMMMMMM......Plump or not....FELLAS you might just be missing out on some darn good ladies!!!

Well as you can see I do try to laugh at some of this because its not do or die......or is it? Right now I don't feel very healthy and thats what is most important to me right now.

God Bless and thank you for letting me vent!! Michelle

Hi Michelle~another Michelle here!

I know how you feel about thinking "this summer is THE summer" I get myself all up in a twist, in the summer I think, Oh I'm just going to relax and enjoy the summer and work on my body ALL winter long and come out next summer my hot self.....then all winter, I hole up in the house, it's too cold to workout, excuse, excuse, if I just WAIT until the summer, I can walk outside, swim, go to the park, etc....I always had a plan for what I'd do in the off season! LOL

But sometimes I think of getting motivated and losing weight might be seasonal for some people.....I get lazier in the wintertime and totally motivated sometime around this month. You just have to find what your breaking point is and just jump on board.

I like what others say, 2008 will be here either way, why not lose weight? If you wait, when (whatever date you choose) rolls around, you'll wish you started TODAY. Keep checking in this board, keep posting, come back OFTEN, browse ALL the threads, really commit yourself to YOU and you'll make it. Lots of luck.

On a side note, pop on over to The Chicks up for a Challenge, WOW girls Mother's day challenge....it might help jump start your journey!

Thanks so much for your kind words. It looks as though you have been doing pretty well. How are you doing it? What are you following?

So what are you going to do differently to get your results?

What plan are you on? If you fail to plan you plan to fail. I say this as an ex - dieter and a change of life eater. I have changed my thought process and what I buy at the shops. I plan out my meals (not easy for me) everyday. I know what I will be eating.

I had also kept some of my thinner clothes. These were what I would take out every now and then and say (oh I wish I could wear this). It wasn't until I made a plan to do it that it started to happen.

Have a great time loosing.
Success is just making correct choices. You can do this.

oh I so understand what you are saying about summer!...and I am going to meet my friends in 2 months too which I saw pre weight gain and yesss they are all also a size 2...if not less...so michelle ... I am feeling you...I also just got serious about a couple of days ago and am fighting with commiting to this diet.. BUT you are right...it is time to get healthy! so no icecream for me
Sara

Sara....wow!!! It does seem like we are on the same page right now. But I guess we do have the 2 months to really work on this. Wanna team up...maybe we could be vacation weight loss buddies!!! Its going to go by fast and it really is a must start today and kick butt for 2 months to get us feeling better for vacation. Good Mini goal to start on a much longer journey!!!

Michelle:

Welcome. Boy did you find a great place! I came here in November 2005, I had just decided a month prior to do something once and for all. I had tried countless diets and "plans". None of that worked for me. I needed to find something I could do for the long haul. And so do you. Don't start a diet, take a pill, join a plan, just to eventually stop it all. Find a way to be healthier, the healthiest you can be, for life. I found the food pyramid to be most helpful for me. Reason being, it's limitless. I love to eat anything I want. And I can. Now that's not to say that I haven't scaled down my portions quite a bit. I have. And curtailed my calories, I have. You need to monitor calories to make sure you are getting enough when you are in weight loss mode. Now quick fixes are not my thing and they never will be. It did take me 18 months to lose this weight. However it took me the better part of 12 years to put it on, so, fair trade-off I say. Dedication is key, but finding the will and confidence inside of you to deem yourself worthy of changing your life is the first and best step. I found it on October 10, 2005. Actually the day before, but I started the next day.

Best of luck, you've come to the right place. I've found great resources and people here to help me, encourage me, and listen to me.

Take care.

I started WW on 12/27/06, a mere seven weeks before I went on a cruise. I lost 33 pounds by the time the cruise rolled around. I looked better, felt better and most people were trying to keep up with me! So, the time is ticking - are you going to do something about it or just be upset with yourself when your trip comes around?

I've done the "be upset with myself" for far too long. I've done the "I'll start tomorrow.....next week....etc. thing too. I am guilty of eating for the wrong reasons for sure. Prime example just yesterday I went to possibly buy a couple new outfits for spring. Long story short..... I ended up walking out of the store in tears. ISNT THAT THE CRAZIEST THING YOU'VE EVER HEARD???? How can something have that kind of emotion behind it and how can I let something that upsets me so still control me. There are so many reasons to lose weight but we all struggle. After all that I ended up coming home and eating not so good stuff...... THATS JUST CRAZY TALK!!!

I guess its time I finally realize that I am the only one who can make this work. I am doing this to myself and that its just not worth it anymore. Its time to take control. I guess for so long I just felt that nobody really knew how it felt to be me.....My true friends love me for me....have faith that I can lose weight for ME....But they don't truly understand how it feels to struggle with your weight.

Coming here... I realize that I am not alone.... I read some of these posts and finally realize that there are others like me who want a better life for themselves.

Today was a good day.....thanks for all your support.

Hooray! Good for you Michelle! Just take it at your own pace and you can't go wrong!

It might not be do or die right now, but you could be setting yourself for serious health problems that will shorten your life later. Part of losing weight is to follow a good food plan and get support. Another part that is often overlooked is to figure out why you eat - eating for emotional reasons, comfort, out of lonliness, etc. is not acceptable - you need to come up with other ways to deal with these occasions - and don't have foods you shouldn't be eating in the house!

WOW...you've done so well. You are right on all counts and I am realizing that.

My mom just recently had a pretty bad health scare. In fact I almost lost her. As usual..stress eating it was.....but then I realized how bad that was. With every thing else that was going on they feel she has the early signs of diabetes too.

So.....you guessed it....it raised some big flags for me. I really need to do this now for health reasons and for myself. I'm so used to worrying about what other people think of me that I really never thought of myself.

I let myself get to the point I am now.... and I am the only one that can do anything about it. To put my mind on other things is becoming easier and coming here was the greatest start ever.

So thanks to all of you who are here..... You just say what needs said and it helps alot. SOO.....GIVE IT TO ME>>>The good, the bad, and the ugly....hehe

Mo