Here's our new thread!

Yay! A shiny new thread. <3 Just popping in to say how proud of myself I feel for taking Luna on a 4 mile walk today. If it hadn't been about 8pm, I would have probably kept going until we hit 5 miles, but I didn't want to get stuck walking in the dark.

Thanks for starting the thread, Martini! So excited that you've almost blown through the solidarity challenge, too. That boy doesn't know the positive-energy-fury he unleashed!

Jessica - Look at you and your long walks! I bet Luna just loves the exercise.

212.6 this morning. After being stuck FOREVER at 220/219, it seems I am blowing through this decade. I hope that I can get down to 210 before getting stuck again.

Busy, busy day at work. Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Hi all! Love to see the new thread!

Well, went up by .2 pounds, I'm at 239.6. Since it is the end of the month, I keep record of total pounds lost for the month, and new BMI, etc. Which typically I feel like I'm overanalyzing most of the time, but this time, it helped me remember that I lost a bunch of weight at the beginning of the month and have slowed down at the end, but overall, it is right in line with what I've lost other months. So, not unhappy at all. I went to spin today. A lady who I see in the locker room all the time said I was amazing to be able to do all of that. That was nice to hear.

I also looked at my food record and I think I've been letting myself slip up a little bit. It isn't horrible, but I've been relaxing just a bit too much. So, back on track. That's why I have to put everything down into MFP, so I can be honest with myself! I'll modify and move on.

I wouldn't mind being my birthday weight. It might even be a little low, at 127. December 7th.

LaurieDawn: How nice that you are seeing so much weight loss! You deserve it!

Martini: Nice, you only have 2 pounds to lose for your challenge!

Jessica: Yay for you and your walks!! So impressive!

Another manic Monday...LOL I have to take all three teens to change their schedules with the high school today and register my Brooklyn in Kindergarten ....oh my I remember the first time I did that with my now 15 year old son....it is so sad but she is so EXCITED!!!! Back to normal with eating last night we had a big BBQ It was my reward meal day so I don't really keep track of calories. Hoping this week brings me a good loss!

Laurie.....Great job you are doing fantastic...can I tell my body to follow yours?

Jessica...awesome job with the walks!!!!!

Diane...hang in there ....this month hasn't shown that great for me either!

Hi Everybody nice to have a new thread to join when I'm ready to buckle down again.

Diane 239 is just fantastic! You are doing great!

Jessica Didn't get a chance to comment on your "live at the barn" possibility-- just wanted to let you know that I'm a hard-core horse girl too! I don't ride anymore, but I did a bit of riding when I was down in the 190s-200s and one of my big goals is to get back in the saddle again!

Laurie 212!! That is just unbelievable!

Martini Thanks for starting the new thread, and you are doing great!

So, let's see. Back from vacation on Thursday, and I've been eating generally healthy since I got back, but I slipped back into the nighttime eating that has caused problems for me in the past. Generally, it's a pretty easy habit for me to break since I'm not an entrenched nighttime eater. I have a book that was recommended on another part of the forum called "brain over binge". I read it once and it seemed helpful and i'm going to read it again.

This is a REALLY BIG STEP for me. Even though I lost KRYPTONITE during vacation, I made a plan to get back on track the day my kids went back to school (today) The last ten days cost me 3 pounds, but I also know that sometimes I bounce 3 pounds just from water. I'm also hoping that after taking a break, buckling back down will shock my metabolism into dropping faster. I took a nice 15 minute walk this morning-- I'm joining the gym so that I can start swimming which is usually the best way for me to click with exercise.

I met my first mini-goal, which was 260 by vacation. I'm setting a new mini-goal, which is 230 by Christmas. And a mini-mini goal of 3 days of KRYPTONITE which is normally what it takes to get me back in the groove.

Laurie Something that you said while I was on vacation really stuck with me. You said that it would be hard to get back on track but that I should just plan to white knuckle my way through it and post here a lot and that is what I'm going to try to do. Why should it be any harder to get back on track after a mini-break than it was when I started back in May, right? No reason! I'm still 28 lbs lighter than I was when I started and I DO NOT WANT to go back there AT ALL.

Laurie - Look at you! We can definitely say your body follows a pattern. It likes to stall a little and then it's just like BAM, the beast has been unleashed! I love that you've caught up to me, too. And you know what? I think we might just smash 210.0 without giving it a chance to put up a fight.

Diane - I've always said you're both impressive and an inspiration the way you workout. I wouldn't say the way you add things up at the end of the month is over-analyzing. I do the same thing. I keep a running tally of how many pounds and inches I lose each week AND each month and I'm constantly analyzing my numbers to look for patterns, etc.

Jenni - I can imagine the first day of school for any little one is going to be a bit bittersweet. I know the scale didn't show any change this week for you, but do you tape and, if so, did it have any weekly progress for you?

Uber - Yeah, I'm an avid horse girl. Well, an avid animal lover, really. I know there are people who feel that given my circumstances I should have sold Will by now (and I've considered it several times) but I also feel that as long as I can make it work, there is no reason for me to give up something that makes me feel good and happy and loved. I don't get to see him as often as I'd like - another huge plus to possibly moving out there - but every time I make it out, the love I get when I lean my head into his just melts the doubts away. So as long as I can scrap by each month, I'm going to. Not because of materialism (my brother seems to think keeping my horse makes me more materialistic than him which is bull, but that's a whole other argument) but because of love. Emotionally, Will is something I need right now. Just like Luna. <3

But now to address you, I'm proud of you for being prepared to get back on track. I know that it's a little intimidating but I think you've set up some great motivational goals for yourself and I know that you can accomplish them. Look how much you've accomplished already! You got this and we're here if you need us.


The scale, the jerkface that it is, decided to be all over the place crazy today. I saw numbers from 211.0 - 214+ and everywhere in between. I'm so glad that I've had steady scale readings the last two days. I hadn't realized how nice a feeling that was. Lol. So I'm just going to stick with the 212.6 lbs from yesterday and cross anything crossable that tomorrow comes in at the same. I know Tuesday's my weight likes to spike and I'm just really, really hoping it doesn't. We'll see how it goes, I suppose.

Debating whether or not to head out and see Will today. I'd really like to and while I might get a call offering me to come in early (we ended the week on Friday with 5 trucks worth of stuff that hadn't even been unloaded yet), I'd also really like to see my handsome boy and maybe get a chance to follow up with the possibility of moving out there.

I am restarting after a few month hiatus. I too am a horse chick. I have two QH"S that I don't ride, my daughter rides and waiting for her mom to get back in the saddle. Its been at least 10 years. I am bound and determined to get there by Christmas. The lady I board just started giving me free lessons on her oldenburgh who is huge, 17 hands and 1400 lbs. We started bare back riding, and boy do I feel off balance compared to my fit riding days. I have lost 40 lbs but it is creeping back so I am determined to continue.
Weight today 242

Jessica...I do tape but only once a month. Too much to keep up with LOL...I am not worried it was my high carb week and expected...I know I am retaining water also so it probably is that too!

Uber - I am so glad to see you back! Your voice was most definitely missed. I understand all too well how getting back into an on-plan routine can be hard, but I'm still happy you're choosing this kind of hard instead of the being overweight kind of hard.

Laurie - I was really hoping my Monday weigh-in would give me reason to celebrate a triumph over trainer boy, but it wasn't in the stars. That's ok, though. There's a bit of time left. It's so awesome that you've not only proved trainer boy wrong but really are blowing through the 210s.

Diane - I like data a lot and I tend to lose perspective when I'm stuck or tired, so your approach to looking at weight loss over the entire month really resonates. I also got a chuckle out of your birthday weight. Very cute.

Jenni - I also hope your week goes well!

Jessica - I'll keep my fingers crossed you got a chance to go see Will today!

Jayne - Hello and welcome!

I'm going to get a lot of practice being out of my comfort zone and eating out this week. I'm glad because all of that eating out is for good, happy reasons, but it's definitely going to force me to work that muscle in my head that deals with my relationship with food.

I'm trying to plan ahead and shift calories around so that I'm not starving by the time the meal arrives but also have enough room in my plan that I can eat with some flexibility. I'll let the scale be the judge of how well that goes next week!

Hey y'all!

Back in SC after my trip to VA and MD... Hubby is all ordained, and now it's on to the packing and moving up to IN. The service was lovely even if the events that transpired during the reception are still upsetting me. Silver lining: I didn't eat any of the food at the reception after the ordination because I was too irritated to go in the room.

Anyway.

I just got back about 2 hours ago. Went potty and stepped on the scale to prepare myself for the awfulness tomorrow morning, and after 10 days of restaurants, fast food/pizza, cook outs, and the occasional boozy drink... I was only up a pound. That's an afternoon weight, too, with all the food and water from the day still in my system. I'm thinking with the water weight that should come off fairly quickly (I've had several heavy sodium days in a row), I will actually see a pretty good loss from my vacation.

I still need to go back and read the end of the other thread, but I am glad to be back and I missed interacting with you all during my time away!

Fera Glad you're back! I was "out" for a while too and stepping on that scale is hard, but only up one? I'm sure that's water weight! You're doing awesome.

Jenni Sorry I ninja'd you this morning. My kids are really spread out in age too-- my oldest is 23 and my youngest just started 3rd grade. I get weepy over every single child-related transition!

Jayne Welcome to another horse lover! I really don't feel right riding unless I'm close to 200 or below-- it's a big motivator!

Just checking in to say that I achieved my first "back-on-plan" day. I was having some problems with the late night eating, but tonight, I am not tempted.

Martini You are so right about "choosing the right kind of hard." I thought about the fact that I had careened all the way up to 285 and how much that sucked. I DO NOT want to go back there AT ALL. Plus, I really don't enjoy the out of control feeling I get when I'm in eating free fall-- it's unpleasant and uncomfortable and stressful. I'm a lot happier here at 260 than I was at 285 and I'll be happier at 230 than I am here, and that is a fact.

Uber - Glad you're back! Your comment to Martini reminded me of a quote I remember seeing floating around these boards a few years ago.

"Being fat is hard. Losing weight is hard. Maintaining is hard. Pick your hard."

Just a quote I remember. It's stuck with me.

Hello, all. I've been working on relosing since March but stepped away for a few months over the summer as I transitioned to a new position that is pretty demanding. That transition is complete - and work is still pretty demanding, but this is important to me too.

Hi all!

Shout out to all of the horse people out there. I am one, as well. We have two right now, no special breed or anything, just great trail horses. We don't ride nearly as much as we would like to, but we do ride around our place, and we also take them up into the mountains for trail rides. For hunting, they are with us all the time. Love my girl, Dakota. She is older and she is just so sweet. I've had her for a very long time and I think she is thrilled that I lost weight. I was so very pleased to get back in the saddle and have it be so much more comfortable!

Went to body pump today. It is the second time with this new program. Dang it is hard. I had to laugh at one of the women in the locker room after class. She said, "I can't raise my arms to dry my hair." Ha! It was definitely tough.

Calluna: Good to see you again!

Mandy: Good job on the past couple of weeks! One pound is nothing! Good for you!

Martini: Good luck with your new plan. I think it is good to tweak things every now and then. Hope it works well for you!

Jayne: Hope you can get back to riding soon. It's such a great thing to do!

Uber: Love your attitude about getting back on plan. Very impressive to come back after vacation and break through the off plan days!

Jenni: So exciting for the little ones to go to school! I think it is fun to watch how much they learn and how they experience so many new things!

Jessica: Stupid scale!!!!