Updated pics



Dont mind the mess thats my office/parts room lol

you look great dria!

I've been MIA for about 2 weeks. But all is well. I am now down 13.25lbs!!

Keep on truckin' everyone

Dria, you look AWESOME!

WI and measurements was this morning. I'm so discouraged. I'm STILL 200lbs and I can't seem to move from there. My diet is PERFECT and I'm not drinking, and I'm exercising. Only thing I can think of is I'm on the tail end of my TOM but the bloating from that should be passed. Maybe my body is in shock. Good news is that I'm down 4 and 1/4 " so that's something. I've made a list of some tweaks I can make to my diet. We'll see how I do by next week. *sad*. I don't know what it is about being 200lbs that I can't seem to get below. It's my invisible mountain.

Anyhow, don't mean to sound cranky (come to think of it, I have been irritable for the last two days...) but things will get better.

Hope you are all doing well. Share your weigh in's...they are inspiring!

Sometimes with TOM it can be a week before you show a down. You are losing. But after TOM is gone and a few days after BOOM 5-6 lbs drop in some cases. Dont stress just keep on.
My only thought is your doing what happened to me. Creating more muscle then you think thus holding steady cause even though your losing weight your gaining muscle and by doing this it can take a bit longer (slower) to show on the scale.
Dont fret!!!!!

Thanks Dria, it helps to know that was your experience with TOM. I have to say that it in my case it really isn't muscle gain yet as I haven't been at it long enough and it is surprising how much muscle you have to gain to make a difference. Like I said, your words are encouraging and I won't give up even though right now I want to. After all, you must know what you're talking about, look where you are in your journey!

Well ladies, tomorrow is another day. Keep up the fight everyone!

I also weighed in today and I am down 1.8 pounds. I missed my measurements this week (I have't been in since Saturday) so I'll likely just do them next week.

cgy girl: One thing that I noticed when I first started exercising was when I was sore from my workouts I didn't lose anything...even gained a little. It was frustrating so I did some research and discovered that when muscles are sore from a workout, it means that there are actually little tiny tears inthe muscles that need to repair themselves. In order to do that, our bodies send fluid to the area...which translates into water weight retention/gain.

Once I got into the swing of my workouts, the muscle pain went away and the scale dropped like crazy!

So that means...keep at it...just don't OVER do it!

chunks: 13+ pounds!!! That's awesome!! Congrats!
Dria: you look great!!

cgy girl... I have some advice for you - take it or leave it...and please note it's not an HM advice. I really believe that your body gets used to burning the same amount of calories every single day...

If I were you, I would shock my body for a week.
What do I mean... I would eat maybe 100 cal more one day... 100 cal less the other... see how your body responds.

We have to remember that no one is the same... and the physiology of our body is much more than ONE diet that FITS all...

So you might want to give it a try

As momof5k said... and I agree 100% When we exercise if its not done properly we can actually initially cause damage and what happens when we do a bit of damage... water retention. It doesnt always have to do with the actual muscle itself...... and dont kid yourself you may not think you have been at it long enough but its coming along under the skin and you dont see it. I know mine is coming back too even with the 120 lbs I dont see any ripping abs and.... well Ive been at it for weeks.... but I know its there.
But yeah you could be filling with water Just keep at er!!!

Thanks ladies!

It's a new day and I'm ready to get back at it. When I get too tired I tend to get melodramatic and sad and that may have something to do with it. The theory of sore muscles needing fluid makes sense too, and my muscles, though not pulled, were sore.

Everyone's encouraging words and advice is appreciated. One of the perks of a forum like this is multiple points of view and there's value in each of them.

Like I said, it's a new day and I'm ready to 'slay some dragons'! I'm confident that Friday's WI will be down. Good luck to each of you today!

Chantal, just one more thing, I had to smile at what you said b/c I was thinking about that yesterday too. Have you ever 'behaved' for a few or several weeks on a diet then 'splurge' for a few days and have the weight actually come off during your splurge? That has happed to me several times and I agree with that theory. One of the 'Biggest Loser' trainers suggested to their participants that one day a week they increase their calories for the day with a treat or two so the body doesn't think it's being starved and it lets some of the weight go.

Of course, that being said, I just can't do that right now because it may cause me to 'go off the rails' altogether. I'll stay the course for a few more weeks yet. Vacation is coming up in two weeks and I'll be indulging my fair share during that time.

Anyhow, just wanted to share that with you. Everyone's advise made sense but yours struck a chord with me.

Thanks!

I was running out the door this am when I last wrote.
But I wanted to come back and say

CHUNKS MOMOF5K WOW!!!!!!!!!!1 Great job ladies!!!!! Weight loss is coming along nicely!!! Keep up the great work and stop being such strangers.........

Now where the heck is Witchie lol

Glad it did Cgy girl!! And I was a Biggest Loser Fan as well
But I've also read this in other books too.

Just a thought - you wouldn't need to go totally off track...even if you ate one extra FE one day (even if it's an extra fruit or Dairy)...and the next, don't eat your FE at all... See what I mean? No need for a real rampage day!

Just a thought - take it or leave it

Hi ladies, hope everyone had a successful day! I tried to go for a run at noon with the running group at work but my muscles were still too tight from Monday and Tuesday.

Hey Dria, did you lose that last .8lbs? Can you tell anything about the stabalization and maintenance stage?

I DID IT GOAL EXCEEDED!!!!!!!

119.6 lbs today.

Tomorrow I get one more starch and one more fruit. So
Ill have
2 Protein
3 Starch
3 Fruit
3 Veggies
1 Dairy
2 Fat
1 FE

SO MUCH FOOD

OMG Dria, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I am so excited for you! You were talking a while ago about going for 115...are you still going for it or staying put? YOU ROCK!! How does it feel?? lol...I want to tie you down and make you answer all my questions...I think I'm trying to live vicariously through you!

Hope you continue to share your stabalization and maintenance experience with us!