Trace, I believe that on May 14, you weighed something like 177.4, if I'm reading correctly. Today you weigh 174.6. :balloons: for you! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :dance: That's about a three pound drop-off over two weeks! That is smashing; remember we discussed that, *all of a sudden* :) you'd drop 2-3 lbs.! I am so happy for you, and just keep up the great work!

Lisa, you are getting close (within 20 or so lbs.?) of ideal weight for you, right? So it's going to be harder now; your body is saying, no, no, no, I want to keep THIS! :o If you could allow yourself 1200 to 1500 cals. of a healthy variety of food, and not push yourself so hard to do the skim milk/veggies/protein routine, I think it would be better for your body and mind. Of course, that sounds so easy, and it's not. I did approximately that (more like 1500 to 1800) a couple of years ago, and lost 45 lbs.

Honestly, we know the key is PATIENCE but we don't have much of that in reserve, do we? I know you'd probably like to get as many pounds off as possible before your trip, and our bodies don't always co-operate. Good luck, lady, with whatever plan you choose. :hug:

I've not been good enough to even brave the scale today ... I had a huge mug of tea before I thought about it anyway, but I know it wouldn't have been pretty so just as well. :dizzy:

All you ladies reading this ... have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Cheers,
Olivia

Tracy, Congratulations! You've been working hard for this and
you earned every ounce of it. CLAIM IT! You exercised and controlled
your diet for so many days, whether the scale showed anything or
not, and at some point the scale had to acknowledge it.
Way to go. :celebrate: Next time the scale has some time-delay
problem or weird fluctuations that don't reflect your diet and
exercise, you'll be able to blow it off and keep working. You know what
you're doing, you know how to get yourself to do what's necessary,
and you're all set for a long string of future successes.

Olivia, So sorry to hear about the Dairy Isle opening. Can you
will yourself to be allergic to it and just never darken its door?
I know the traditional advice for diets to succeed is not to outlaw
anything 100%, so I suppose most people should ignore my style
of doing things, but the "allergic" style of avoidance works much
better with my brain. I actually believe all my own brainwashing!

Olivia, I'm thinking about you and rooting for you as you go through
all the travels and hosting and other plans that will consume your
time until mid-July. I think being a houseguest is the hardest
for controlling diet and exercise. Good luck. If you have to take
a pause from your program, don't stop logging your food,
and don't stop posting to the group, because they might help
you keep a health-conscious mindset and help you stay mindful
about all the tiny opportunities for modest healthy decisions.
Mid-July will fly past you before you can blink.

My travels will be from early to mid August and I'll be eager to hear
any suggestions anybody comes up with for how to get through
everything.

Olivia, I think you hit the nail on the head about it being harder
now that I'm closer to my goal. When I was starting off, there
was tons of room for improvement. I had been very sedentary
and I had been eating badly. Now I'm healthier, I have
20 lbs less fat on my body, and especially when I exercise, each
improvement is a major stretch.

I had a really good day yesterday. I added some fat and cut my
carbs, and I didn't feel any longings. YAY. It's easy to buy really small
portions of decadent high-fat foods here, just because that's the
culture. At a food court, I bought one deep-fried wanton, which
is about 1 inch across, and costs ~25 cents. It's feels so good to
eat something fried, but it's not going to destroy my daily calories. I also
bought a half a breast of roast duck, with skin, which is a more
serious number of calories, but it does come with some protein and
nutrients. Anyway, my day was filled with treats but my total
calories were at weight loss level (just barely). Nutritionally I'm
not happy with having so much saturated fat, but it was just one day.

I'll have a low-calorie day today, and whether it's hard or easy, I'll still
treat myself again tomorrow, maybe an extra dish of salmon at
lunch. Slowing down my progress isn't so bad, as long as I'm going
in the right direction.

Taking it one day at a time!
Lisa

This weekend was hard - Too many temptations -Too little will power - So I am going to wait a couple of days before I weight. I just don't even want to know and I don't want to get discouraged. It looks like y'all are being dedicated - Congrats Tracy! - I did drop last week and kept it down for a few days (And Claimed it on my ticker) We'll see if I'm still down by Friday.

Hi ladies,
No good news to report :( I tried doing low carb this weekend but it back fired on me. I upped the fat then Dh went and filled the house with JUNK and the two together BAD NEWS. The scale doesn't show a gain though. I don't know if it coming later or I got really lucky. We will see in the next few days. I have to go to the store and get some real food back in this house. You wouldn't believe all the junk he bought....ice cream the chocolate topping that goes on the ice cream, candy bars 3 packs all include chocolate, snack cakes, chips. Tons of junk amd I caved. I haven't had stuff like that it high amounts in a very long time. I guess he was craving it not that I wasn't but it's really hard to stay away from that stuff when everywhere in the kitchen it's there in your face.
So far so good today. The junk is still here not as much of course but after feeling awful all weekend about eating it I'm not having a problem staying away from it ...AT LEAST NOT YET. Once I get some fruit back in the house I should be okay.


Tracy~ way to go on the weight loss. You really fought for that and I'm so glad that scale finally did move for you.

Maeming~ Hi welcome...I don't think I met you yet :hug:

Lisa- you sound like you got it together even with adding the fatter foods. I try to do once a week with fatter foods when I'm on plan. I just have to remind myself that I can have it again just not everyday. Your so close to the 140's Putting you even closer to your goal. Keep up the hard work I know you can do it :exercise:

Olivia~ How are you doing? Just jump on that scale and get it over with. I thought about not jumping on it either today but I knew not knowing would make trying to stay in control harder. Seeing that I didn't totally mess up my entire loss has gave me a little kick to get it together before I do.

I have to get dinner started or it will never be done by evening. Making a lean roast and veggies.

Hi ladies ...

Hope you've all had a good day. Not too much going on here except getting back to normal after the weekend. I did get three days of exercise at the pool but my food intake was miserable! :mad:

Lisa, it's actually Tracy with the ice cream store opening across the street, poor kid! :( I have to say, ice cream would not tempt me nearly as much as a sub shop or some such within walking distance, as I don't have that much of a sweet tooth now. But you have my sympathies, Trace ... I know it's not easy! :hug:

Losing and Maeminglea, so good to see both of you checking back in! :grouphug: I'm a bit of a disaster at the moment, although I will get with it again at some point.

Lisa, glad to hear you're hanging in there, and finding ways to cope with your hunger and your diet. We're all pulling for you!

Have a good day tomorrow, ladies! :flow2:

Maeminglea, Great to hear from you again. Every weekend is so hard. Now that
I'm dieting, I don't hate going back to work on Mondays quite as much as
I used to. (gasp!) Here's cheering for you.

Losing, Thanks for the words of encouragement. I can't wait to get into
the 140s. I can't believe I might actually see the 130s this year!
But one step at a time. I really do need to exercise more. Yesterday I
didn't do any and I'm not sure when I'll be able to fit it in today.

Tracy and Olivia, Sorry I got confused who had the Dairy Isle opening.
Ice cream is a serious threat to me. Not only do I have a sweet tooth, but
I get badly addicted to ice cream and it never makes me feel full.
Tracy, good luck dealing with your new neighbor. I bet you'll be able
to handle it better than I could.

Olivia, Some time could you tell me more about your story of losing 45 lbs
a while ago? What was your program? Were you tempted to quit after some
lesser milestone like 25 lbs? How did you do the transition to maintenance?
Did you find a "strict" diet was easier for losing but harder for the
maintenance transition? (If you don't feel like telling the story, I
apologize for asking so many nosy questions.)

Today was a very special celebration lunch that's been in the works for a long
time. Somehow I blocked it out of my mind that it was going to be today.
Two of us were treating our group to dim-sum to congratulate someone
who has been working half a year for the milestone he reached this week. So
I dove into the feast, without guilt, and we had a good time. It's a big step
backwards, whether the scale shows me it or not, because all those calories
are going to have to get burned before I can lose any more body fat. Or maybe
I'll gain bodyfat and lose it. Whatever. I've lengthened my diet by a
however many days, but I've survived months of it and I've got months to go.
These celebrations don't happen very often.

I hope the psychological benefit of joining a feast will help me keep
an even keel during maintenance phase. If I reach my true goal weight
(pardon me, I mean WHEN I reach it), my daily maintenance calories are
going to be frighteningly low.

I bet tomorrow I'll be able to keep on plan easily, because there's so
much extra in my system from the feast. Friday will be a challenging
day.

Determined,
Lisa

hey ladies, glad to hear from you all!
 

losing....yikes! I might have to murder dh if he did that to me lol! ugh! I told my dh he can have all the junk he wants as long as he doesn't bring it home lol!

Lisa, good attitude! you know that some celebrations are going to come, they are part of life, there will never be times that we don't have something to celebrate. You know that one celebration isn't the issue, it's days and weeks and months of eating like a continuous celebration that is the real problem!

Maeminlea! howdy! sorry you had a rough week, shake it off and move on!

yeah, it's me with the dairy isle opening ugh! i have a major sweet tooth, and ice cream in particular is my downfall. I used to microwave my ice cream till its was soft but not melty, then I could eat more lol! As for the person? who said they liked subshops and pizza...ummmm, did I mention that I OWN a subshop/pizzashop???? Luckily I don't work there any more lol, dh does. Thankfully It is far enough away that we can't have delivery here either lol or I'd never cook and be even roly-polier than I am now!
As for me, still hanging in there! I'm hanging out at 174 which makes me happy for now. I'd like to see it go down, but TOM is coming up any second now, I feel the bloat. So if I can just maintain, I'll be happy!

well, I must run and get something accomplished today!
hugs
tracyg:carrot:

Lisa~ Yes you said it right WHEN you get there. I think as long as we fear these celebrations we are doing good mentally..however when we start to look forward to them is when we need to watch out. I have my moms Birthday coming up next week but I will be in control of the food there. I'm scared of how I will do with the cake and ice cream but all the food will stay at her house so after the celebration is over I will not have to deal with the leftovers.

Tracy- OH yeah you can bet I wanted to murder him. I never take him shopping with me so he was shopping like a little kid grabbing all the junk. I did pretty good yesterday staying out of the junk and today I'm off to put some better foods back in the house. Can't forget my Weight watchers treats so that when I feel like snacking I have a lower calorie friendly snack that will not mess up my entire day with one slip up.

I seen another miracle of 242.5 on the scale this morning :D I really can't believe the weekend did put me at a gain at all. Do you all think it's still coming. Maybe in a few days it could creep back up? I'm scared :yikes:

my first response is always eating, ugh! i am still an
 

emotional eater. I thought I was doing ok, and while I haven't actually given in, it is such a struggle!:mad: Will it never stop? Will I always have to deal with this? ::( Long story short, and I KNOW, I KNOW this is soooo highschool, sheesh. I have a circle of friends, 5 couples. My best friend asked me to do something with her and I said I'd love to but can't, just can't afford it. Well, I'm the only one in this circle not going. I can't help feeling left out and jealous. I know I'd be welcome to join, but I just can't period...So my first response is to get depressed (um, yeah, got that part down) and eat...and eat...well, I haven't done THAT. I am studiously avoiding the fridge/kitchen.....sigh.....:( but I am seriously bummed....
ok, I need to go clean my living room and try and get my mind off this. There is no point in dwelling on it.
hugs
tracyg

Hugs To You, Tracy!
 

Isn't that a pain, when we want to do something so much, and we just can't manage it!!!! :( You're doing so well, and I know you're remembering that it won't make it hurt any less if you eat and gain weight back, right? :hug: This, too, shall pass!

Yes, we will always have to battle Mr. Food! :devil: It's a burden that we all share, I guess. Sometimes (after I'd lost the 45 lbs. and thought I was well on my way to getting down to 165 lbs.), my mind told me I'd found the secret, the true mind-set needed to conquer obesity ... but I hadn't! :dizzy: I will always have to fight the fight ... (sigh ........ :^: )

Losing, I don't think you have to worry about the food *getting you* if it hasn't by now. You probably didn't get as many calories as you thought, in your little weekend eating adventure, so don't worry about it, and just try to get back to business now. :)

Lisa, glad you enjoyed your Dim Sum!!! Some of it is so yummy, some of it is so not-for-me! :D (Chicken feet, turnip cake ... NOT! :o ) We'll always have to deal with special meals ... guess it's called life!!! I say enjoy, then get back on the wagon. (I will be glad to tell you more about my 45 lb. loss when I have a little more time!)

Well, ladies, I've tried to take your advice and just be moderate if not on program, really. I've had about 1600 calories today, and exercised in the pool ... which is so much better than pigging out and no exercise, right? I am determined to walk in the early a.m. tomorrow ... Thank you all for being there; I think I love you!:D :grouphug: It is easier knowing I will stop in here to discuss it with you.

Maeminglea, good luck this week! Hope that scale stayed down for you!

Okay, ladies, for us all ... :cheer:

Have a good night!

Olivia

well I struggled all last evening and I did give in a little
 

but not very much, and I am still holding steady this am at 174. So, I am going to go exercise now, will check in with you all later maybe!
hugs and have a great day!
tracyg

Just checking in briefly here, ladies, to say that I did do that long walk this morning, plus some working out in the pool this afternoon. Also, I've kept my calories below 1800 today so at least I'm practicing a little moderation! :^:

Hope to see more posts on here tomorrow ... good for you, Tracy, that you're hanging in there! :hug:

Hello friends,

Somebody I knew from a previous job in the USA is visiting Asia and I bumped into
her in the hall this morning. I hadn't kept in touch with her, but we had
worked in the same building for years. I spoke to her and she never recognized
who I was. She had not a clue why I was saying hello to her or who I was.

I get really sad when I find out my appearance has changed so much.
I DON'T WANT this struggle with food to be written on the surface of my
appearance for the world to see. I don't want each failure to be
public and each success to be on view for random comments from strangers.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have my midsection change, but having
my face change is a jolt to my sense of identity.
It's really embarrassing and painful to realize that my old appearance
was so unrecognizably fat by comparison with my current self. I'm the exact
same person. When people have a strong reaction to my thinner body,
it reveals their true thoughts about my previous shape, which they had
been too polite to tell me in the past. When I talk to somebody
and they don't recognize me, it shows me that my voice and my words
and my mannerisms are all secondary to my outward appearance.

Each revelation like this makes me go through mourning for the loss
of opportunity and 'social status' and everything else that I suffered
when I was fat. All the things I'll never know for sure, but I really
suspect were hurting me. How many people assumed I was lazy or sloppy
because I was fat? How many people saw nothing but my size?

There were fat friends in my social circle who accepted me in part
because of my fat, not despite it, and that's also painful. When I go
back to the USA, there's one "friend" from my social circle who is going
to complain to the rest of our friends that my fitness program has made me
uptight and unpleasant. Yeah, well, I have ALWAYS been uptight and
unpleasant, but it's only going to bother her if I decline to participate
in a pig out. :p

Of course she was never much of a friend to begin with, and I've known
that about her for a long time, but she's part of a social circle that
matters a lot to me, and she does a lot of the organization and the
"picking up the phone." Without her initiative, our group would
never get together. She is a close friend to many of my close friends.
I just want to avoid that whole social group for fear of her judgment,
but I can't let myself throw out the baby with the bathwater.

I'm taking down my photo. When I see a real photo of somebody
on the forum, I feel like I know them better and can connect with them
more easily, and I want other people to feel that way about me.
But then I realize how thin-skinned I am about privacy, and how
horrified I would be if some jerks at my workplace found my posts
and judged me by them, even if it's their problem and not my problem.
I should probably be safe instead of sorry.

Still determined,
Lisa

wow, Lisa, sounds like you are having a rough
 

time with this emotionally. I am sorry to hear that. I guess for me the emotional end comes in in that I know I let my weight hold me back. I know I feel self conscious because of my weight.. I also think I have accepted the bias against weight as something I can't change so it doesn't bother me as much...the unfairness of it I mean.....
Why did you decide to lose weight in the first place? It almost sounds like you resent the **** out of the fact that you should 'have' to....and each time someone compliments you or notices it makes you mad all over again...I'm not sure that I believe it's worth the effort or will even stay off if you are doing it for any reason other than your own happiness....just some thoughts.

I am finally doing it for myself. I don't like the way I look, or feel and I am not getting any younger. I hate feeling inadequate and 'less' than other people due to my size. I wish that were not the criteria I am judged on, but that's like howling at the moon, it just IS, and anyone who says different is lying to you and themselves. I can sit here and moan about the injustice or I can make changes in myself to contribute to my happiness. One thing that has been like a double whammy for me, I came from NYC and moved to rural western PA. The culture is entirely different. We moved here and worked and sweated getting our restaurant off the ground for 9 years. In NY, seeing moms in their 40's is no biggie, out here, a lot of people I know (my age) have grown kids. When I bring my youngest to preschool, I can see the hesitation, is that her daugher or grandaughter...so, I am already the 'old' mom, and the fat mom on top of it. When I bring my middle child to gymnastics and I see all these cute little cheerleaders, and realize oh wait, those are the moms! ugh, I don't want to be an embarrassment to my kids or to myself. I can't change my age, but I can at least be the best healthiest me that I can and part of that is losing some weight.

I really hope that you are able to put some of the angst aside and have a fantatstic visit to the US. You are a capable career woman, would you be offended if your boss told you 'hey, great job!'? Try to look at it that way, you set yourself a goal and are fulfilling it! you deserve some kudos! As for your 'friend', let her moan if she needs to. Ignore it! How often do you have to see her? I know that I am ashamed to say that I have been insanely jealous when my friends have lost weight and I haven't. I am not 'big' enough to be happy for their successes in this area. Their success somehow showboats my failure, because if so and so can lose weight, why can't I???
You have to know that in all her moaning there is a certain amount of dissatisfaction with herself and if you were her food cohort, then even more so!

Hope things start looking up for you, that you feel better!
Hugs,
tracyg

on another note, I am happy to report a 1 lb loss
 

tee hee! I'm pretty happy with that, and feeling the need for encouragement so I claimed it!!! lol! 4 more lbs and I will be down in the 160's! YIPEE!!!!:carrot: Most of my clothes are way too loose! which is good and bad as I can't afford new anything right now. The 16's in capris I bought a few weeks ago just because they were 16's, are still not comfortable to actually wear, I am hoping in a few more pounds they will be! I was joking with dh that I have to be really careful as we are getting to the dangerous weight, one more pound lol, that's what I weighed when all my kids were conceived lol!:o And i am way too old for that nonsense now!;)
Hoping i will be able to maintain over the evil weekend. We have 2 barbques to attend.
Anyone get the hungry girl emails? I get her stuff and she recommended Hebrew National Hotdogs (97% fat free...50c a dog, and wonder light buns).
So, I bit the bullet and bought some for the bbq's for me. I hope they are ok, they don't have to be great just as long as they aren't horrible lol!:smug: I figure I can add enough condiments to make them edible, I hope any way!
I am such a cheapskate lol, I hate to spend so much money on something, especially if I haven't tried it before, because then i am out a lot if I don't like it. That is why I have hesitate to try any of the 'vegie burger' options out there. But then I look at the cals on a regular burger and bun, and haven't been able to make myself do it. What is worse for me is our church does these summer fellowships every sunday evening for the entire summer and we really enjoy them and enjoy going. Staying away from the 'stuff' everyone else brings will be the hard part. I need to get online and find some yummy lo cal stuff that will be so good that I won't feel deprived!:D
well, I should go, apparently, I have been in a talkative mood lol!
Hugs to you, have a great weekend!
tracyg