Hi all...My name is Stephanie and I am also new to 3FC. I have 2 children...a son-10 and a daughter-8. I go to college full-time(approx. 13-16 hours a semester), work part time and take care of a house by myself since my husband is a long haul truck driver. I started my weight loss journey in March 2006 and have lost 49 lbsand 64 inches so far. Most of it was lost through nothing but a change in diet. In August I started working out at the gym and that was going well until October when I had mid-terms. Since then I have been unable to get motivated again. I need something or someone(a chat buddy) who can inspire me or give me motivation. Currently I am between semesters and would really like to get back into the gym. If any of you have any words of encouragement it would be great. Hope to chat with you more in the future. Good luck!!!

What kind of foods do you like? I like chili, taco salad(without chips) and such. What I have found is to cook them with lean ground turkey instead of red meat. And instead of using salt to season I use the Mrs. Dash seasonings. Or you could grill some chicken or fish and also get you some zucchini and slice it in half then add a light coating of extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkle with Mrs. Dash and throw it on the grill as well. I have lots of other ideas too. As for these things my kids love them too.

AUD Sorry to hear about your binge. I will not disregard your advice because it is great advice. Anything can set off a binge. It sounds like you were frustrated with your self for losing the gift cards. Turning to food for us bingers is like turning to a friend. Don't beat yourself up, keep up that positive self-talk you are so good at having with yourself and keep moving forward. Keep drinking that water to rid that binge.
I have terrible binges. To the point I pass out just like alcoholics. And when I wake up, I have no ideal where I am, what time it is or what day. But I am working on getting better and controlling the binges instead of letting them control me. We can beat these binges.

Collegebride Thanks for the info about your wedding. I am a wedding-holic, I love weddings. I use to get the Bridal books just to look at the beautiful wedding dresses and decorations.


SDM2477 Congratulations on losing 49 pounds that is wonderful. You are so close to your goal. You have to push yourself to go back to the gym and get in that exercise. Thanks for the recipe it sounds delicious.


Today wasn't as good as yesterday but it was a good day. I hope to do better tomorrow. I continue to struggle to kick the sugar beast out of my life. I did mindless eating of vanilla tootsie rolls today. I did not crave them, did not want them but they were there, so I shoved them in my mouth. I have to stop mindless eating. Especially of sugar.

Hello ladies,
I have finally pulled myself out of one of my many boxes. The good news is I have my Christmas stuff packed away again and am back to unpacking everything else. I finally finished my girls room. It is so cute. I am now in the process of hanging pics in my living room, and tomorrow I will pull out my precious moments.

Okay on to the whole diet thing. I have been a huge diet failure the last several days. I have been busy around the house and just munching on what ever is easy, which unfortunately is left over goodies. Well I made a concious decision to throw out the rest. I am going to the grocery store tomorrow to stock back up on the healthy foods I really need to have around the house.


Aud-sorry to hear about the gift cards, that has to be very frustrating.

Collegebride-I was a june bride. We will be celebrating our 7th ann. on the third.

Stephanie-welcome and congrats on the 49 pounds, that is great. My husband is a trucker too, he hauls cattle so I get to see him everyweekend.

littlebumblebee-I know what you mean about the mindless eating, I have been sitting at my computer and I will catch my self eating. I know I am not hungry, but I am eating anyway, almost like I don't realize I am eating. I hate that.

emjay-where are you we miss you. Hope to see you on here again soon. How was your weigh in??

Well ladies I must go, it seems as though no matter how much time I spend wiggling my nose this work just wont' do itself. Until next time,
Jen

emjay, emjay . . . wherefore art thou?? I've been wondering about your w/i as well. Just read a whole article on why not to trust the scale at a gym--which is where I always w/i @ work - prolly not calibrated right. The article did say at the end to always use the same scale - so have that part down. I always w/i on Fridays & Mondays but being off work has thrown a wrench in that - going to w/i Saturday on a similar scale at the Dr.'s office - hope its not tooooo different (unless on the waaaaay lowers side, right? ) Hope you're just busybusybusy emjay and not in a w/i funk!

I like reading about weddings too - also love those shows on WE about "bridezillas" and the other one about the lavish weddings - can't think of the name of it.

Hiya Steph! Congrats on making changes that worked so great for ya! My youngest daughter is near your daughters age - and is a LIVE WIRE - tried to keep up with her today and am bushed! Between the new puppy ("Ginger" in honor of my new cyber-bud jen!) - and a Strawberry Shortcake dance mat thingie - it's easy to see why this girl has no weight problem!

Tx so much for the encouragement & wisdom lilbbee! This latest binge was different in that I was so AWARE that I was making myself literally sick. Hoping that awareness will lead to avoidance-ultimately.

Got my water in and had a super day/evening. Managed 20 minutes of Pilates and a lot of walking - stayed OP eating-wise and managed to cut waaaay back w/o feeling hungry.

Hi girls, Bet you thought I fell off the face of the earth huh? Well the holidays just never quit for me, not only am I back to work all week but I still have cooking and get togethers going on. Will it ever end. Still have'nt made it to the gym, I could kick myself, my work schedule got all screwed up because of a sick employee. I weighed in officially yesterday. So this is my starting point, my day to weigh in is going to be Mondays from here on out though. I will post my progress every week, good or bad, it keeps me accountable.

Aud, I feel so bad for you. But the GC thing, totally something I would do. Hope you found them but it sounds like you didn't.

Jen, Glad the girls had a great Christmas, but thank goodness it's over, right? I'm so jealous that you have your Christmas crap (I know not very nice terminology) taken down and put away. I don't know when I will find time to do mine.

Stephanie, Wow, you are my hero, 49 lbs!! I hope you chat w/ us often we could use your wisdom. Glad you are here!

LBB, OMG, I had no idea that binge eating could be that extreme. Have you sought medical help (I'm sure you have). But w/ all they have done in the pharmaceutical world haven't they come up with something for this condition??? I'm sure therapy could be helpful as well though. Well I hope you are having a good day today.

Zandria, Still haven't picked up the book yet. I could not find it in paperback yet, and it is too expensive in hard cover. I'll keep you posted if I get it.

Yoshi and Changeinlife, Welcome!

Hello everyone. I hope you don't mind if I jump in and join your group. I posted on introductions and recognize a few of your names. I need to lose about 50 pounds and haven't decided how I am going to do it. The 1st grade teacher at my school has the You on a Diet book. I am going to see if I can borrow it and see if it will work for me.

You all sound like a fun and supportive group and that is what I am looking for. Wishing you all a great day.

Hi Ho Gals! Getting ready to take the "Pups" for a long walk - Our mini-shnauz is ancient-but the young pup has certainly livened her up! (9 week old W.H. Terrier) My 9 yr old Tess puts Young Pup in the stroller and off we go! LOL!

Used my Circuit City Gift card for a Pilates & Fat Burn dvd's - will report back later - can't even think of the names of them right now.

Can't remember where you thought you were at before emjay - is 219 good? So glad you made it back here - wonder when we'll be moved?

Hiya Tahoemom! Jump on in!

Welcome Step and Tahoemom!! We are glad to have you here! I must admit, this thread is getting popular!!

Emjay, don't feel bad about the book. I am thinking that I will probably by it at the mid-end of Jan anyways, there are other things I want to read first that I already own!

As far as the wedding goes, I am more excited just to be married to the man I love. I mean, I am excited for the wedding..it will be fun..but it will be a large headache too. See, we are both about 22, full time students, I am a part time worker and he works way over full time. His parents may throw in a few bucks here and my dad will prob. give me about $1000, but the rest of the money we have to come up with. I also am planning a wedding for a city that I do not live in (I will in a few years) and I am not familiar with everything there. That will make it a little bit more difficult. I'm sure it will be lots of fun though, you know us divorced kids love having our parents together..lol...no really..it will be fun.

Lastly, I want to share with you all a recipe idea that my friend told me. My friend loves to substitute anything she can in brownies and cake. She has used apple sauce and other things that I can't remember. She now says that you can use diet pop as a substitute in cake. If you have a white cake use sprite. She said its some kind of ww thing. Has anyone ever done that? It seems hard to believe that you can use this substitute whether the cake calls for eggs and water or just water. Let me know if anyone has tried this! I probably will in the future! Thanks.

Well, I just finished my subway...mmmMMmm. Now its time to get back to work!

*~Zandria

gingerjen I did the same thing, I threw out the junk food that I was mindless eating. That was one of many steps for me to be successful with my diet for the new year.

AUD Congrats on staying OP. I didn't have an OP day today. I was mindless eating but didn't binge. I drank all of my water to help me feel that I was still in control. Every day is a struggle but we can use each struggle to make us more aware of our behavior and work hard to change it for the better.

emjay71 I have been in and out of therapy, on antidepressants that were supposed to help control compulsive behavior. But nada, no help for me. But I refuse to give up. The problem with being a binge eater is that we need food to live unlike alcoholics who can live without alcohol. It's a struggle but a struggle I am determine to win for the sake of my health.

Tahoemom Welcome! Join us and enjoy.

Collegebride Planning a wedding can be stressful but when you look back at the beautiful pictures you will only remember the happiness you shared with the love of your life, your husband.
I never tried using pop as a substitute but I have heard of it being a good alternative to sugar. Maybe if I would take the time to bake desserts using substitutes instead of mindless eating sale item cookies and candies I could have more control and stop binge eating sugar.

Today was not good. I used myself as a human trash can. Instead of throwing all of the junk food candy in the trash I wanted to eat as much as possible. I didn't binge eat, I simply was a stupid eater today. I really need to stay focus on my eating, and plan every meal. Preplan meals help me a lot to stay in control and not binge. If only I preplan daily instead of thinking I can wing it when I am simply too lazy to plan.

Hey All!

Yesterdays walk was a riot . . . DD put Pup in her rolling backpack and Ginger loved it - just a lil head popping in and out as we walked all over downtown! The Pilates dvd was GREAT . . . not so with the 10 minute Fat Blaster Cardio one - waaaay too complicated (dance steps) for this ole chick. My older DD couldn't quite get them either - but wants to practice so I'll hang in there with her and just keep moving.

I'm loving the Pilates 'cause its so slow and controlled - and at the time I'm thinking "Gosh, this is easy" and then the next day I really FEEL IT! DO feel longer and leaner - can tell my posture is better already--PLUS abs exist now--even tho' I'm just "dabbling" in the practice. Highly recommend.

*Tumbleweed rolls thru Thread . . . . *



Hey Gang - got the wide-awakes. Sitting here thankful that cravings aren't part of the late at night equation anymore - used to be RAVENOUS late at night on vacays/weekends.

Hope everyone is doing good - just read a whole article on binge/compulsive eating - mini meals are supposed to be the way to go lilbbee.

Hi all,

Sorry I have been MIA for a few days, I was flat down on the couch w/ the flu or some version of it yesterday. Not much better today but I have to go to work so I'm popping pills to get thru. It's gonna be a long day. Tomorrow is new years eve, was supposed to have a bunch of people over, not sure if that is gonna happen. Obviously haven't been to the gym yet. I know the owner is gonna give me so much crap when I finally do show up. It is a small gym and the owner is there always (very dedicated), it's nice because he helps out almost as much as a personal trainer but he knows when you are there and when you aren't. That accountability is kind of good for me cuz I know when I do get back, probably Monday or Tuesday, I will feel guilted into going frequently.

Aud, The puppy sounds adorable. You sound like you are doing great w/ the excercise thing, good for you, keep it up. Wish I could say the same.

LBB, Glad your attitude is staying positive about conquering the food issues. I got rid of a bunch of holiday junk food too but have more hanging around that should go. My husband is a business owner so he gets alot of baskets filled w/ goodies over the holidays, yuck. There should be a law against giving food as a gift... Do you work outside of the home?

Tahoemom, Welcome. Reading your post instantly made me think of my visit to Lake Tahoe. It was so beautiful, can't imagine living there. Hope you can join us often.

Zandria, We'll get to that book eventually. If you get to the library soon look for "Stop the Insanity". It really is great. Wow sounds like you and your fiance are busy, makes it hard to diet and excercise doesn't it. p.s. never used the diet pop but I have used the applesauce many times.

Jen and Steph, Hope you are doing well.

MJ

Aud, I almost forgot. When I stopped coming to this site earlier in the year I was at 216 (I was 232 when I started in 11/05 and stuck to it till about 5/06). That is what my tracker still said. So I only gained 3 lbs. not too bad I guess. My goal weight is 170 but my short term goal right now is to get under 200. I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but I really plan on getting serious next week. I'm just so thankfull to get back into this site w/ such a great bunch of supporters. Thanks.

MJ

Hi all. I am just trying to get through this vacation thing. As much as I want my husband and kids to go back toschool I am not sure I am ready to head back myself. We are starting to drive each other crazy. The first week of vacation was to bad, prpping for Christmas and being able to ski. This past week our ski passes have blacked out and we are stuck at home. Went tubing yesterday. It was fun but I get nervous because I weigh more than the recommended weight for the tube. It didn't pop so I guess that said something.
I have decide to be like most of the nation and start my diet, no change of life on the 1st. It is just an excuse to stall a little bit longer I know. But I am going with it. Take care everyone.