Heres the new thread!!

10 DAY COUNTDOWN UNTIL THANKSGIVING!!! I cant believe it. I love this group and challenge!

Okay I know I posted a whiny message last night, but I thought I would let everyone know that I have a renewed sense of happiness and positive thinking.
I had two NSV's this weekend and I really wanted to share. I WORE MY SKINNY JEANS!!!! I have one pair left (my skinniest size 14's) I haven't tried them on yet. But I might be able to wear them to Thanksgiving Dinner! My second NSV is kind of silly, but I can look down and see my toes (and not just the tips) My boobs and belly have been so big since the babies I haven't been able to see my toes!

Tomorrow starts my 4th month of my life change. I have had some ups and downs but I cant complain My average wait loss for has been about 7.5 pounds per month. If I keep this up I will be at my ultimate goal in NO TIME!!!

Yay Jeni!!! You sound so good and positive today, I love it.
Skinny jeans, awesome. And toes. And less boobs and less belly. WTG!
Oh yeah, cute thread on the SO. Your story is just too cute.
Umm... you wrote October instead of November, in the title of the thread, but we knew it was you.

I had a really good weekend. Over 10 people asked me, yeah me if I'd lost weight and they asked me how I did it. I've dreamed of this day for years.
So when then asked how, I said "I just decided I didn't want to be fat anymore", but they wanted more details. People asking me for weightloss advice. It's still unfathomable to me.

And I smashed our Thanksgiving Challenge, I lost 5 pounds this past week so I'm 4 pounds, past goal. New goal til Thanksgiving: 4 more pounds, allright maybe 3.

Have a great day!!!

FEDUP YOU ARE AWSOME!!!!!You passed your goal, created a new one AND all those people coming up to you!!! What a great feeling! Thanks, Like I said I was feeling nostalgic and I just wanted to share.

Hey don't we all want to relive the days before Halloween??? SORRY LADIES! I better not start any new threads until AFTER my first cup of coffee.

Hey everyone... checking in!

I am so proud of you gals... Jeni and her skinny jeans, and FedUp shattering and surpassing her T-day goal... Awesome! You are both truly an inspiration, and it just affirms for me even more that we all can do this!! And we WILL. Everyone's positive attitude today is very contagious!

I love this group. I hope we can all get on board together for a New Year's Challenge once Thanksgiving's come and gone...

After being so happy on Saturday morning and moving my ticker, I must admit that I ate abysmally over the weekend. DH took me out to dinner - and I made mostly good choices... but some not-so-good. We went to a favorite Italian place and we had mussels in white wine broth as an appetizer which we split - not too unhealthy. I also made sure to eat every last bit of the house salad they gave me before the entree... which was veal in some kind of absolutely evil cream sauce. The portion was HUGE. In days past, I would have wolfed the entire thing down and felt horrible for the rest of the night, but I ended up only eating about a third of it and took the rest home in a box - a mini-victory! So - not the best choices made, but I handled them with a lot of discretion, so I think I'm still okay. Plus, I did a pretty thorough whipping of my own butt at the gym on Sunday, so I hope that offsets at least some of my bad choices!

This week, I'm back on track with my SlimFast/Lean Cuisine plan. I desperately need to take a day off from the gym because I am very sore from yesterday's session!

Suz~I love the feeling I get from a great workout! Great job on taking that meal home! That is one victory I love! You know the one when you do something that you never would have before?? Like eat only half or a third and taking the rest home?

What are some changes you have noticed when it comes to choices you make?? I think the biggest one I have noticed is I have a salad with lunch and dinner (which I eat first), then I eat my protein, then I go for the carb (rice or pasta) The order and speed of how I eat has drastically changed from my former self.

The choices that I make now are sooo different from those that I made just 10 short weeks ago. Saturday night I was at some community function and of course there was that big old buffet. My friend, who I wouldn't say is thin, but just a tad overweight, nothing much, piled on her plate high, with tons of pastas and rice and pepper steak and meatballs. I had 3 tortellini, 1 meatball, a drop of pepper steak and some honeydew and watermelon. And a 1/2 cookie. It really felt good to make that choice. And I was satisfied. I've yet to take home 1/2 meal from a restaurant, but Suz that's the way to do it. And that's what I intend to do. Jeni you're doing it the right way with the order of your meal, for sure, but I like to go back and forth with my different foods. I should definitely give that a try.

I also notice that when I finish my meal, if I'm not fully satisfied that within about 10 minutes the fullness hits me. Weird. But they do say it takes time for the stomach to catch up to the brain and I so believe it.

And yes Suz you deserve a well earned break from the gym.

We really are a great group, let's say we all meet for tea at my house -
I don't know pick a night. Just kidding.

Yes, I've noticed I've developed different ways of eating now. Supposedly, it takes twenty-one days of doing the same thing over and over again to make it a habit - so, if you consider that I've been at it since mid-September, that makes sense. Daily practice of the same behaviors really does make a difference.

Jeni, I do something very similar - I try to eat a ton of fresh veggies (usually in a salad) along with my meal, but much like FedUp, I like to bounce around between everything. Luckily, I really like veggies and usually finish them before everything else... but where I really tend to mess up is with portion control. I grew up in a very poor home where not a scrap of food was wasted and we were disciplined to eat every last thing on our plates. In fact, I remember sitting for hours and staring at a bowl of cold vegetable soup because I was not permitted to leave the table until I finished it. When I cook, I usually make a lot (it's hard to cook for just two people), so I have to be extra careful to only give myself exactly what I need and not a bit more because I really will eat whatever is on that plate if I'm not careful. That is why being able to take that food home from the restaurant the other night was a huge step for me - I have NEVER done that.

So yeah - changes have been made. It's incredible how we have had to sort of be amateur psychologists and really examine how we feel about food and eating... but it's a necessary part of what we're trying to do... it's life change versus temporary diet. Lasting life change starts from the inside out, and we are all much healthier for having done that difficult self-examination and readjusting our thinking, reprogramming ourselves to make choices that are good for us. It's SO worth it!

FedUp, I will have tea with you and Jeni any day - be sure to have plenty of Splenda available.

Well girls - my butt hurts from sitting here, and 5:45 a.m. will be here before you know it, so I'd better get to bed!

Happy, healthy day tomorrow!!

Good morning fine ladies.

We were talking about choices, and yes I've been making real good ones as of late, no doubt about it, as we all have. It was 10 weeks for me yesterday since I "changed my eating habits" and boy oh boy have I changed them. And it really has become much easier, almost as if this "new" way is what's right and comfortable and like I've been doing it forever, well almost. But these last couple of days, I can't seem to get out of my head, what if I go back to the old ways. Are those days really over. And I am truly commited to doing this for life, but lately I've had these icky feelings. Can I really do this for life. I mean it sure feels like I can. Like you said Suz it takes 21 days to reprogram yourself, and I think I have, but it just keeps creeping back in my head, what if I go back, could I go back? I was NEVER a yo-yo dieter, my weight just kept on climbing up and up and up, so I've got no prior experiences to go by. I don't know just these little evil thoughts lately.

Going to the oral surgeon later today for my $250 consult, can hardly wait.

Thanks for listening to me. Have a great day girls and let's just keep on making the right choices. Okay? Okay.

Good morning friends!

I had a bad day yesterday!! Went shopping with a friend, my 2yr old DD and her 3 yr old twin boys....My DD was an angel but wow those boys were tiresome! LOL...my respect to you moms of twins. And we decided to go to CiCi's Pizza for the kids and I chowed down! Started with a nice salad but, well I won't go into details. So I went on not to eat the rest of the day, out of guilt, but also I never did get hungry again. Bad bad bad but maybe this morning the weight evened out. I know not eating again was probably not a great choice, but.

I signed up/weighed in for the big loser contest at the gym yesterday. Didn't work out, mind you LOL. So local businesses are donating for prizes, restaurant gc, workout clothes, t-shirts, etc. I think the rules are still being chiseled out. I hope being part of a contest like this will motivate me to jump start good wt loss, esp going into the holidays.

Fed!!!! You are past your T-Day goal!?!?!?! WOW you are a rockstar! I knew you could do it!

Jeni, the skinny jeans!?!?! I am so jealous! You are awesome!!!! LOL about the toes and feet. You're working so hard, you deserve it!!!

Suze, you are killing it with your workouts!! I admit, I haven't been pushing myself so much lately. I think because my asthma inhaler prescriptions ran out and I have yet to refill them, and working out kind of grips me in my chest, so I know I'm holding myself back a bit. But I got them refilled last night so maybe I'll kick it up tomorrow. (besides the motivation of the contest) Also I have to confess, when I first started losing weight, I was taking some kind of diet pill, and it made me just bounce off the walls, and I was killing it at the gym, bursting with energy. But I found it made it hard to sleep, and I think it made me moody, psychotic mood swings. So I haven't taken it since summer and feel like myself again. Not so much a maniac at the gym, but a nicer person

Work tonight, Thursday night, Friday night. So can get to gym tomorrow, friday and saturday. Maybe I'll do a ball and band workout on DVD today. I'm not much to work out at home. But its cute when Rachel (2yr DD) tries to do the exercises too.

Oh yes and last week at bowling I had 204-178-177!!!! I was so excited! My average is up to 166! Last year (and verrrry overweight), I barely got my average up over 140s, and I've been bowling since I was in bumpers! I was pretty good in my thinner days, before having kids, but never this good! Its so much more fun when you bowl good! LOL

Will check in again soon. xoxoxoxxo

fedup: I know how you feel, after working so hard and losing so much weight and eating healthy, the fear of gaining it all back is real because so many people lose alot, then gain it all back. After I had Makenna I went down about 40 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. I gained 30 of it back. It is a real fear of mine now too. I now know alot more about losing weight and maintaining thanks to 3fc. I know that I cant lose weight that eat like I did at 187 because I was maintaining there, If I eat that, I will gain it back.

Michelle: good luck in the biggest loser contest!! What a great motivator!! My 3yo love to do pilates with me!! She gets those chubby legs in the air and grunts and groans. She is so funny!! Wow your average has improved a lot then! I am not much of a bowler (last time I played I got a 97 with bumpers )


I did great yesterday. MY GOAL: NO hot fudge sundae!! and I did it!! I didn't even give myself the option. I almost gave in and ate at work because we were SO busy and I got so hungry, but I just heated the dinner I brought from home and it filled me up. (my new fave mixture: chicken diced up, broccoli diced up, carrots diced up; a couple of squirts of lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic, when it is done cooking I add a couple of slices of Tomatoes!! MMMM) for my night time snack I had a banana with a tbl spoon of peanut butter. Today is the same goal: NOT SUNDAE, eat a banana.

Good morning, ladies!

It is so good to come here and read the great news.

"fed"up, congrats on meeting and shattering your goal! That is awesome! And even better, people noticing your hard work and asking how you did it. So happy for you!

Jeni, congrats on the skinny jeans and being able to see your toes! And good job on avoiding that hot fudge sundae!

Suz, congrats on taking home leftovers from the restaurant; portion control and not "cleaning your plate" is a huge step (I grew up the same way and still feel guilty about leaving behind restaurant food).

Michelle, the contest at your gym sounds terrific and I hope it motivates you to lose tons!

Oh, I'm at work and have to go now; will post more later!

Fed up- I forgot you posted that yesterday was your 10th week. Today starts my 4th month!! I have never stuck with a "diet" for this long. That is how I know this is a life change for me!

Sherry its good to here from you how are you doing??

Glad to hear everyone sounding so well and so happy!

Michelle - I wish MY gym had a "biggest loser" contest! I would SO sign up for it!! How does it work... just weigh-ins every week, or what? Does it go by percentage weight loss or by actual pounds lost?

Jeni - ice cream is one of my biggest weaknesses. DH bought some kind of sinful stuff the other night at the store, and I regret even trying a mouthful of it because it is so good that it ought to be illegal!! (it actually has bits of cake in it!) So you REALLY have my respect for turning down the sundae.

Sherry - nice to see you! Looking forward to an update from you!

FedUp - if it makes you feel any better, I have that fear, too... reverting to the old ways would be so easy, never having to think about calories or scheduling exercise time, or worrying about hitting a plateau, and just buying bigger clothes when our current ones are too tight.

But you know - we are learning so much about ourselves here in addition to learning a lot from each other about how little changes all add up to a bigger, healthier picture. After all this learning and celebrating victories and figuring out what makes us "tick" when it comes to food, I honestly don't think we could ever go back to the way things were!

Personally, I find it comforting that I'm not so deeply engrained in my own former bad habits and that I have the power within me to change them to good ones. We all have that power, and we should all be proud of ourselves for that. Nobody is forcing us to do this; we're doing it on our own, and that takes a lot of moxie and a lot of discipline! You GO, girls!!

*~*~*~*

A good day thus far. I climbed my big butt out of bed this morning and hit the gym, although this pack of obnoxious guys was monopolizing the cardio machines (which they didn't sign up for, which is against club rules!), so I only managed to get 35 minutes of cardio in after bouncing from machine to machine. Really, though, that's not a bad thing - because I got to try some different machines and work some different muscle groups. My gym is getting some kind of new cardio machine that looks awfully scary - some kind of stepper/eliptical/crosstrainer hybrid... but I will try it to see just how bad it is!

Had my SlimFast for breakfast, ate a 260-calorie lowfat frozen lunchie, and I live in fear of this evening's meal because tonight I am getting together with my girlfriends for knitting, wine and probably Chinese food. And we all know what most Chinese take-out food is like... fried, fried, fried. I will have to REALLY scour that menu for healthy alternatives...

ARGHH.. You know I slept almost all night last night, Tommy was only up twice but I am so beat today. I think my body just wants more and more sleep. And NO ONE Is home so I cant talk on the phone. I have already eaten (dum da dum dum) 2 twinkies. I hate them, but I am bored. Finally I told myself I don't want them and made myself a cup of rasberry herbal tea. It is sweet and I think it will will get me through the day with no more slip ups.

Suz you are so inspirational! I got on because I am so bored and avoiding working out (my knee is killing me ) there was your post. It made me feel so much better, and as soon as Tommy falls asleep I am going to get on my bike and do a slow and steady workout.