I have some good news to share...Remember back when i was talking (okay typing ) about joining the gym and a few things had came up that was going to put that off...first it was the babysitting. I had said yes to my sister in law to babysit her kids for the summer. Well turns out she doesn't need me as much as I thought. At first she was talking 3 days a week until late into the evening. So far I've only had the kids once a week and this week not once. I also had problems finding a babysitter for my daughter (out of school for the summer) if I wanted to get to the gym more then one or twice a week. With the fee's I would be paying no way would I pay that amount for once or the MAYBE twice a week. Well much to may surprise the gym stays open way later than I had thought and also open on weekends. That means I don't even need a sitter ..my husband will be home with our daughter. She will soon have a friend that will be staying the summer with her and that would have been another problem finding someone to watch not one but two kids ....but with the late hours the gym stays open my husband can do ALL the sitting. All the worries of rushing home and will the sitter be able to sit with my kid and the extra child I will have are not longer an issue. I never told my husband about the problems I would have with the gym and how much I wanted to join again. This weekend we had the chance to talk about everything and he wants me to join too. He may be re -thinking this when he realizes he has Dd's friend too but hey as far as I see it he already signed the contract I'm so excited about joining again. I do have one more bump to over come though. My mom is having some problems in her neighborhood and needs some fence weave put up... shes on a very limited income so I will have to order that and put it up for her and a few other things to get her all set with the issues she is having ...then I'm finally free to join. I have a gym fund started so even if this fence project turns out to be more than I think .....I will still have the extra $$$ put away just for the gym enrollment fee and first month payment. YAY!!! This news has me on cloud nine. Not only will it help with the weight loss, my over all health improves, and I love it it is fun for me. So much to choose from and for the days I can hang out longer it has a spa I know I'm going to be so sore and it's going to kick my butt the first few weeks but I still CAN'T WAIT.

Lisa- If you don't feel right I wouldn't stay low carb. Instead of low carb what about sugar free ? Keep the good carbs and cut the sugar. THere are tons of sugar free products out there. I ordered sugar free products that I couldn't find in my local store.

Olivia~ Aww what fun your going to have this summer with your DGD. I have found they have free kids movies on tuesdays and wednesdays and free dinners and lunches on Mondays at a local steak house. I'm sure I will be able to find more stuff if I keep looking but that helps on the pocket book when trying to keep the kids entertained during the summer. Girl shopping is my favorite

Tracy~ Just keep jumping back on track ...then there is nothing to worry about. I'm working on getting the weight back off too. I didn't let dh buy all the junk this time. I went shopping when he was sleeping . Got him some junk to take to work and one thing for home. Bought chips it single serving bags so if I get a craving I only eat what is in the bag.

maeminlea~ weekends are hard for me too. How did you do this weekend with your plan of action? I could have done better but I think I did okay. We ordered pizza on Friday night had fast food on Saturday... so with what I could have done with those choices I did way better than I thought I would. With DD being out of school we have been eating more fast food with all the running from place to place keeping her busy. I have been ordering kids meals. I still get my favorites but smaller sizes. DD loves it too she gets two toys with her meals. I just ask for two different toys and between the two she usually ends up with something she wanted

Yeah - Losing - You sound so "pumped" about the gym! I am glad the hubby is backing you and I think it will be great. I have been contemplating about joining for a while - but just haven't done it yet.

Lisa, keep us posted on how it's going. I don't think I could ever maintain cutting out all carbs - but I have defiantly decreased them.

As for me -I ate a lot of fruit over the weekend - and had some left over for breakfast today and didn't feel deprived at all. I went to a movie with a good friend and there was no pressure to get the popcorn or junk candy. I stuck with my plan and got an hour exercise in both Friday evening and Sunday and I actually lost a pound over the weekend (I think that is a first for me). Today I am wearing a top that has hung in my closet for over a year because it was to small. I think I bought it last summer when I was in the 230's and now it fits great. It is a long sleeve knit (which I would never wear long sleeves in summer Alabama) - but I just couldn't resist.

-Mae

sounds like you all are doing fab! I'm doing ok, like I said, I had gotten a little sloppy but I am back on track today! I am still up a little (172) but hopefully I will see that 171 again this week!
I won't be around too much, although I will most likely check in here any way! I have to do my children's portfolio's done for school, and I've been procrastinating so badly!
well, better run!
hugs
tracyg

HELLO!

I'm happy to see so much good news from everybody.

Losing, You sound really excited about joining the gym and that
makes me so incredibly happy for you. It also makes me appreciate
my gym opportunities more, which is good because I usually dislike
going to the gym. Many thanks for that! Good luck with your
mother's fence situation. Fencing can be surprisingly
expensive, so I hope it's a simple job.

Maeminglea, Congratulations on your new pattern with fruit
on the weekends. It's great you have something you enjoy so
much.

Tracy, what sort of portfolios are you putting together?
Is it like artwork and photographs?

I'm feeling really great, much better than before! I was
re-reading the South Beach Diet book and I had forgotten some
of the advice about breaking a "carbohydrate addiction".
I definitely have a carbohydrate addiction. If I eat carbs,
I desperately need more of them after 45 or 60 minutes, and
then I need them desperately again after that, and in the end I
have tons of calories and I still feel deprived and hungry
all the time. It's horrible.
On my "low-everything diet", I still felt like I was going
through some version of that process, which I didn't understand,
because it was low-carb. Well, the problem was that I was
guzzling large amounts of skim milk! Even though skim milk
is a relatively good carb, having a pint at breakfast is
enough to trigger swings in my blood sugar, and then the
whole imbalance gets started fresh each day.
I'm removing ALL carbs from my diet for a week or hopefully for
two, including milk and carrots and tomatoes. The advice from
South Beach (which I'm going to try) is to cut all carbs
ruthlessly for just 2 weeks to give your body a chance
to re-set itself. Afterwards they recommend having good carbs
(like milk and whole grain and fruit) more freely, except
not so much for breakfast.
Well, all I can tell you is that I feel a LOT better today
than I have any day for the last week. WOW! I can't
believe the milk was triggering blood sugar swings, but
after feeling what it's like to have a chicken breast
and veggies for breakfast, I'm convinced. I'm not saying
it was pleasant to sit down to chicken and veggies for a
breakfast, but I feel so good now that I'll gladly try it
tomorrow. I don't suppose I'll keep feeling so good forever,
so this plan might not last 14 days, but I'll take what I
can get and I'll switch when I need to.

Determined and Happy,
Lisa

Lisa: portfolios are not so exciting as that lol! my kids are homeschooled and portfolios of their work and tests etc. have to be turned in at the end of the year to prove I am not turning them into ignorant savages.

I am hanging in there. I have the sinking, frustrating feeling that I am going to lose in spurts with long periods of staying the same....I would so rather lose slow and steady...sigh...so here I am, hanging out at 172....stilllllllll.....

well, I've procratinated enough even today, so I NEED to get to it!
hugs
tracyg

Tracy, Hang in there! You've made it 1/4 of the way to being skinny
and you're doing great. You can't control whether the loss hits the
scale gradually or in clumps. All you can control is your behavior,
which you can be really really proud of.

I'm on my second day of a lower-carb plan, with no milk, no carrot,
no tomato, and I'm still feeling better on this plan than I did
in previous weeks when I was having milk and the semi-carb veggies.
Yay. Another success is handling a social event last night. I belong
to a monthly "Bunco" group, and usually our gatherings are a big
pig-out. Earlier this year I couldn't bear to attend because of
my diet. Last month I hosted so I could control the food. This
month, I went armed with a huge tupperware of raw and steamed veggies
and I swear I was like a chain-smoker nonstop with sticks of
cucumber or asparagus or whatever. Sometimes I dipped them in a tiny
bit of melted cheese, but otherwise my jaw kept chewing nonstop.
It was a bit disgusting to eat such a massive quantity of vegetables
but something about my body, my chemistry, or my personality caused
me to keep chomping away. I'm ashamed of that habit, but it's a
good thing to know about myself. Luckily I only consumed about
200 calories the whole night.

Lisa

maeminlea~ if you can join....JOIN I'm glad dh is backing me up too since he will be doing tons of babysitting. I'm sure there will be a complain or two down the road but I really don't care What plan of action do you have for this weekend?

Tracy- How are you? Your usually posting away on here. I hope your just busy and still pluggin away.

Lisa- How is the lower carb plan going? Friends and family have been wanting to go eat out and I've just been packing on the pounds. Supposed to go again tonight but I think I'm going to pass.

I'm still PUMPED on getting to the gym. Yes my Mom's fence is going to be expensive, it's a 6ft fence so it's a lot fence. I'm still putting away for my gym memebership fund though and even if the fence isn't done I'm still going to start my memebership so that the money doesn't get spent somewhere else. It's hard to stay away from cash just sitting in the house.

on my portfolios lol! I homeschool and happen to live in Pa which is one of the tougher/est states on homeschoolers. We have to jump through hoops! I worked on portfolios on monday and got my log done (daily log of instructional hours) and got most of my forms caught up, but that is it! yikes!
I still have to organize, finish grading, and pull out sample work from the year for both kids. My dd is 8 and is basically in workbooks, so she should go together easier. My ds is a whole 'nother story . He is 12 and has tougher stuff to do. sigh... so that is why I have been MIA. Thanx for thinking of me though! I am back down to 171.2 today, but I've been playing here for about 2 weeks, meaning that I've been up/down between 171 and 172....
So, I am still holding strong, but I really wish I would whoosh off those few pounds that would bring me in under 170. Oh well, if wishes were horses....
Well, I really have to go and get to work!
Hugs to you all, hope you're all hanging in and doing well! Hopefully within the next week or 2 I'll be more active here again!
hugs
tracyg

I found this tread today, and I was AMAZED at how great and supporting you all are! I'd love to be a part of this!! I'm am a professional yo-yo dieter, and I think that staying involved in this site (which is great!) will probably help me to stick to it!! SO I am making it a goal to log in EVERY WEEKDAY, and attempt to log in on the weekends so I can get/give support and STAY motivated!!

Here's my story:
I'm 24, and was at my heaviest In January @ 232 lbs! I'm glad to say that Since January, I have dropped down to a steady 214 (actually 208 was my lowest, but I gained some back so I count 214) by just making small changes in my life. Like, bring home lunch with me to work, usually salads, and not eating fast food as much!! But since MONDAY 6/11- I have actually decided to start my plan and STICK to it!! I am doing the 6 Week Body Makeover- Modified somewhat, because it's very restricted.... and as a long term thing I just don't think I could DO IT! I don't know how familiar you all are with the plan... But it definatly takes some effort!

I have REAL motivation to get this weight OFF! I'm getting married to a GREAT guy in NOVEMBER!! And I want to look GOOD in my Pictures!! We are doing a simple beach wedding (We are in Hawaii) and his family coming down from CA. So Yesterday while I was at the G-Y-M I remebered I had a white dress from a Military Ball that I used a few years back when I was around 155-160. I looked great!! It's a strapless form fitting white dress that would be perfect for a beach wedding. So when I got home from the gym I tried it on (to see how realistic using this dress in 5 months would really be... HA!) and lo-and behold. IT WENT ON!!! Yessss! Hahaha. I got it zipped up half way on my own, I didn't want to stress it out!! So this is a realistic goal! And I have a physical gauge on how I'm doing too! Great motivator!!

Here's somethings that I'm doing right now to reach that goal. Let me know what you all think!:

Gym- as much as I can stomach! Haha. Trying for 4xs a week. elliptical/weights
Diet- 6 WBMO - modified and LOTS of WATER
Motivation- Wedding Dress, and 3FC...and hopefully YOU ALL!!
Weigh-ins- Daily! If I ignore the scale it's easier for me to ignore my DIET!! And know where I need to maybe adjust
Suppliments: Hydroxycut (for energy), GNC vitamins

So what do you all think??

Here's what's been happening SO FAR. Weighed in on Saturday @ 214.5, Started diet Monday, weighed in again Tuesday was 210.5, Yesterday 208.5, This morning 207.5. So I know I dropped A LOT of water weight. I know that the amount of weight drop will taper off soon. I need to mentally prepare for that!!

So every one... It's great to meet you all! I can't wait for us to help each other all get to our goals!!

During the weekday's I'll probably be on quite a lot during the days- So PM me if you need the instant support!! LOL! Good Luck ALL! Can't wait to hear your progress!!

I just finished reading the ENTIRE thread- and I just wanted to comment on how GREAT everyone is doing and how far you all have come!!! Not just on actual weight loss, BUT also on the mental/emotional battles you've overcome!! Weight affects alot of things besides physical appearance, and I've noticed so many over all positive attitudes from you all- even on the bad days!! And I commend you on NOT giving up!
I want to offer these thoughts...

When you are getting discouraged about the SMALL goals, and the scale just isn't moving... Don't forget about the BIG Goal- and what you've already accomplished!! Maybe that will motivate you to keep going!! Remember how grrreat it felt to get into the smaller size pants... and now focus on STAYING in them first and formost. haha. That way you don't get over whelmed with the struggle of getting into the smaller ones!!

I might want to suggest also, not just using the scale... but also a tape measurer... Because everyone is working out- so you are changing the composition of your body. I read somewhere awhile ago, that 6lbs of fat = The volume of a Gallon milk jug!!! WOW. I think those improvements are worth celebrating too! So 4 lbs is more than HALF a GALLON JUG! WOW!

Ok. Now somebody remind me of all this when I'm down in the dumps about the scale NOT Moving!

to you all!

wedding and welcome to our little group!!!
hugs
tracyg

to our newest thread member! I am not on much at the moment, though I started The New Beginning ... You will be beautiful for your wedding, and your beach affair sounds wonderful! I love Hawaii ...

I'm rarely here at the moment, mainly because I have company and am traveling over the next month but I am thinking of you all and keeping my fingers crossed for good luck with the scale for all of you! Tracy, Lisa, Losing, Maeminglea ... you go, girls!!!



Olivia

4thebigday, Hello and welcome!

Great to meet you. I'm very motivated and enthusiastic to hear what
you're doing, and it all sounds great.

I had a glance at the web site for the 6 Week Body Makeover, but
I can't really tell anything specific about the diet and exercise plan,
just the stuff about body types. Will your eating plan emphasize
low calorie or low fat or low sugar or anything like that in particular?
Are you counting anything like calories or grams or ounces, or are the
portion sizes supposed to be determined by your body's appetite?

What is Hydroxycut?

I never knew that about the gallon jug for 6 lbs. Wow.

Lisa

Thanks for all the warm welcomes!! Hope everyone is doing good today!

babenwaiting: I know how hard it is to stick to ANYTHING when you have so much going on and your "routine" is disrupted! I just got back from Sacramento, and my fiance andI pigged OUT! LOL. He wanted to show me all his favorite restaurants! LOL. He's from there originally. They way I see it-- have fun enjoy yourself!! Just don't Over do it! LOL. Keep healthy subsitutions in mind, and choose them when possible! Hopefully that will make it easier to get back in the swing of things. But goooossshhhh I know how tempting it is!! I think I put on 5 lbs in just the 4 days we were there. Although I'm sure most of it was water weight. I dropped them pretty quick.

Lisa: LOL. As far as LO-Cal, LO-Carb, and all that stuff- It's pretty much LOW EVERYTHING!!! HAHA. I have never been one to count calories, but I AM a BIG CARB COUNTER!!! I've done Atkins before- and had success. I noticed that my body does not process carbs very well. Which sucks because I LOVE bread and Potatoes!!!! So I am always pretty aware of those. But with atkins- I didn't need to count calories, and I lost weight. With 6wbmo it basically works on the principle that everyone's body is different. It will react different to different types of food. Some can handle carbs, other's can't. Some have more Lean Muscle, other's don't. So not all diets will work for everyone. I thought that made sense!! So your fist step is to find out what you body type is. I am a type B. Which Basically means I have muscle tone, but its covered in a layer of fat. AND I have a slow Metabolism. After you figure out your body type, it gives you the plan specific for your body type. Tells what kind of foods to eat, what to stay away from. And another key factor is you eat more frequently, but small meals. You stay away from added fats, and you watch your sodium intake too. Drink lots of water. Think of the foods you eat being "clean and lean" so that it's easy for your body to burn, and the frequent meals are ment to keep you metabolism going, so it works through out the day. So when you cook, no oil, no butter, no fats, no salt!! So you really need to get creative. and that's they key to sticking with it! I've done it before- but got so BORED- I just couldn't do it anymore. But my boss stuck with it, and let me tell you- she looked GREAT, and it seam like it happend in no time at all!! I tried a new thing last night. I made a soup out of Chicken breast and added stir fry veggies. I figured it would be easy to eat quickly, and less obvious at my desk. I work in an office, and I can't be bringing meals to my desk every 2 hours!! This plan is very specific- but I do modify it a little to be able to do it. When my friend bought it- the whole box of stuff was $400! There is a work out too- If you are interested... he has books that give you the basis of the plan. He also has a 6 day version- which is a lot stricter- but it promises a drop in pant size in just that short time. Basiclly I go off the 6 day plan format, and jsut switch the types of food I eat so I don't get really bored. But I know what to stay away from. It's a lot of learning and theory...but it's interesting. And I have seen it work. I hope I explained it well enough to give you an idea....

Hydroxycut is a weight loss supplement. You can buy it online or at GNC. It's not a miracle pill- but it helps with giving you energy. It's not right for every one. If your body is sensitive to stimulants- I wouldn't suggest it. My body is used to diet pills! So it doesn't affect me. My fiance swears buy it! LOL. Here's a story for you guys!! My fiance lost 50-60 lbs in just 4 months. It was before we met. He had just broken up with his ex that he was with for 7 yrs! She cheated on him, so it wasn't a good break up. But that motivated him to better himself. He had just gotten a new job doing construction work, so he was active during the days, THEN he would go to the gym for 2 hours almost EVERY DAY of the week. He basically lived off Lean pockets, and Sandwiches that entire time. I don't think that was the heathiest way to do it- but he did it! Crazy huh!! I couldn't do it! but he also took Hydroxycut, and he says that really helped him.

Tracy- How'd those protfolios/grading go?? Ever get around to them?

So as far as me- The drastic weight loss has stopped. I think I got rid of the extra fluids and what not and now it's time to drop fat. I lost 2 ounces since yesterday. Hehehe. So now I'm at 207.3! I guess those 30 mins at the gym I forced my self to do really did it for me yesterday!! yeay .2!! So since I weighed myself Saturday- That was a 7.2 lb drop with just 5 diet days. How much of that do you think was water weight? Today is Friday tough... and the weekend is coming up. So I wouldn't be surprised if I gain a few back on Monday. But I am not going to totally stop my diet... I'm just not going to be as strict! And I will probably still go to the gym 1 day out of the weekend. But Definatly back on track for MONDAY.

Best of luck to you all over the weekend! Keep going!

I'm about half way done with my dd's portfolio and then have to do ds's. ugh! I only have another week or so before they have to be evaluated and turned in.
I'm still hanging out here ant 171.2. Sigh....ugh!
Other than that, not much going on here.
Hope you all are d oing well. Miss you guys, but I MUST! FINISH!
hope you have a great weekend. Will check back in on monday. I just realized that I didn't make my vacation challenge goal of 20 by June 15th...wahhhh! I only made 15. Oh well, upward and onward!
hugs
tracyg