One more thing, Red, what do we do if we lose the bet????
Linda

Hey all. Derry, have a great vacation. Good luck with your bet.

Why do I want to lose weight? Good question. To be the best me I can be. To live life, and not hide out behind a wall of fat. To reduce the risk of health problems I am genetically programmed for - diabetes, arthritis, heart disease. That's why.

Jolly, you "hit the nail on the head" with your statement of why you want to lose weight! Now, if it's true that "If the mind can perceive it, the body can achieve it", you need to practice some visualization techniques.
I do think that that we all go through peeks and valleys with our weight loss efforts and there are times when we are strong and times when we are week. I'm hoping to be strong and that as I embark on my vacation that my will power will remain.
I was still trying to think of a thing that the loser needs to do if the other wins the bet.... nothing came to me. It must be something that the other person involved could get some tiny bit of satisfaction from knowing that they "won".
Maybe we should pledge that the loser donates their favorite food (or ingredients to make it) to a food pantry? That would be a good thing to come out of this! I presume that a local food pantry is in Japan???? Surely they have something like that? If the foods are perishable, one needs to calculate the approximate amount of money to donate and then buy substitute foods, I guess! Of course, with me, the ingredients would be easy - chocolate of some kind!!!!
Honesty is called for here as well! I just weighed myself first thing upon getting up on my own bathroom scale and was 152 in my nightgown. So, the day after I return from my vacation, I have to weigh myself in this exact same nightgown upon getting up to see where I am at. I won't count ww weigh in numbers or anything else as I need to be working with the entire vacation from start to finish. So, this "challenge" goes from today, Sunday, until Monday morning, a week from tomorrow! Red, you have to do that same thing!
I've not seen a post from Red saying she accepts my bet, but I think she will!
At any rate, this is it for me as I must finish packing, have a meager breakfast (not wishing to start off in a bad way!) and get rolling!
Talk to you guys in a week!
Linda

Hey all. Another lonely weekend here on the thread. I have to admit to feeling a bit discouraged right now. I hopped on the scale at the gym today, and it looks like I am only going to lose 1/2 a pound for the week. My exercise couldn't have been better, and my food was not bad. The food we were supposed to limit or eliminate for the week was chocolate, and I didn't have any. I didn't even have any candy or junk. So why only a half a pound? And why can't I just be happy that the scale went down???? Baby steps, Jolly, baby stesp.

Well, I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am off to make some marinara sauce, and then to bed. I will check in from third shift tonight.

Heh, flyby here. Am already late for work. Doesn't help that I was out drinking till 2:30 last night. Ever try to ride a bicycle home totally wasted? Dangerous stuff. But I'm alive and well and taking on the Derry Dare. Really liked the way you were going there, derry, before you got all supportive again. Just too sweet, aren't you? Ok, let's see who can lose more weight over the next week. You're on! Anyone else want to jump in?

I have HEADPHONES!!! Minor stumbling block with the adapter for my stereo disappearing, so I have to use the compact cd player, but I made sure it's all set up for tomorrow morning. I didn't get to walmart till late Sunday, too many other things to get done over the weekend, but at least I got the freaking headphones. Tomorrow, I hit that treadmill, even if it's only a 5 minute walk.

I will jump on to the Derry Dare. Anything extra to motivate me is good. Red, I haven't tried drunken biking. Since I shattered my nose while drunken walking, I think that may be too much. Stay safe! Raven, congrats on the headphones. I expect to see a workout in this morning.

Well,I am hear on 3rd shift. Any other night owls out there?? I had a tough time planning for tonight. I usually grab some trail mix. I find I do need something to munch on, to stay awake, and trail mix is not to fatty, and just enough sugar to do the trick. But, it has chocolate, and I should try to avoid chocolate for another two days (until my meeting Tuesday, when they pick another food for thought).So, I grabbed some Craisens. I thought that was pretty good. I know they are high in sugar too, just like raisens, but they are fruit. So, even though I am bummed the scale didn't go further down this week, I do feel good about most of my food choices. I made good choices, just need more work on portion control. Though, again, I do have a NSV to report. I made spaghetti tonight, and just had one plate. Did not finish off all the pasta I made, just saved it for tomorrow's meal and put the rest of the sauce in the freezer for later. Yeah.

Everyone else, hope we hear from you soon. Have a good one.

Hello to anybody out there. Kind of lonely here. Raven, Red, Chachee, Hippee, Happy, anyone??????? Feeling kind of lonely.

I got on the scale when I got to the gym this morning, and lost 2.5 pounds. Much better than I thought. Yeah. Also, have a major NSV to report. I was feeling very tired and frustrated this morning. I did the third shift, then one of my clients decided not to go to work. By the time I got her somewhere with daytime staff, I was ready to just skip the gym and go get a double supersized extra breakfast value meal from McDonalds. Did not get any food, and did make the gym, though I did not have time for weights.

Why is it so hard to unlearn that whole "food is comfort, food is love" thing??? Because my first reaction to any kind of stress or situation is "Let me shove some food in my mouth and get back to you." Why? I am not stupid. I know it doesn't solve or change anything. But I do it anyway. I just about cried on the phone yesterday. I was talking to my cousin and his wife. One of the twins started crying about something, and their response was "do you want a cookie?" They are great parents, and very loving, but I just want to cry thinking of another future woman traveling down this path.

Anyway. I hope everyone is having a super day, and that I hear from more of you later.

Just wanted to pop in quickly and say hello to everyone. I might be a little MIA the next few days as work is crazy and my mom gets here on Thursday.

The fence is almost done. One little section and a gate. Feels good to have it done almost

Organized and moved furniture around this weekend. One more room then the house will be "mother ready" and I can relax.

Hubby's banquet is Thursday. Big night for him. Oh, where is the time going?

Okay, gotta scoot. I'll try to write more later.

Chach

Hello there. Been too busy to write. Still just making this a quickie. After my mega beer night I've been fair with the eating. Am still wavering with the idea of actually trying moderation instead of the ultra strict absolute-not type of regime I do for a while before falling off the wagon. I'm thinking maybe I can do this now. I mean, after all, although I say I'm a sugarholic it's not really the same thing as actually being an alcoholic. I don't think it's that bad, AS LONG AS I do eat good food as well and try to make that the main meal. It would be great if I could actually allow myself bits and pieces of sweets, which I do love, and not have it turn into a binge. Maybe I could actually have something to look forward to then. Hmm..

****

Derry -- I'm having trouble thinking which weight to use as it really fluctuated around the beginning of the week. I'm going to say go with 71.6 kg as that's where it tends to return to. And my weigh-in will be my Monday morning, which will still be Sunday night with you. So, I want to show a loss from 71.6 (will figure it in pounds later but I think it's 158, jeez, when I say it in pounds it sounds horrible. I had my weight down to 148 for a long time and then it went up and has stayed up here. Oh, well, guess I just have to make changes. I'm just eating too, too much still.)

Raven -- Have you used the headphones yet? Have you hit the treadmill? It's a mental thing too so do your 5 minutes. Maybe it'll kick that rear into gear!

Jolly -- hi there. Sorry you were lonely over the weekend. I always am too but as there's rarely anything going on I've more or less given up on expecting posts. Thanks for the caution on the drunk biking. I only realized today that I hadn't even put my light on. It's a good thing it was Sunday night as there were few cars even for Tokyo. Of course, they do expect a lot of drunks in this town so I'm told most cars would have steered clear of me. Just glad the cops didn't stop me. That was the only alcohol I'd had in a month so don't start thinking I'm some kind of lush. There's a drink culture here like in Germany though and Americans usually get the wrong idea.

Ok, jolly, so welcome to the Derry Dare. What's your starting weight? I see you're at 246. Was that it? Congrats on the weight loss and the save. McDonald's is horrible, horrible stuff. Really. It's so packed with fat, so high in calories. You did yourself a big favor by steering clear. And you made the gym. You're doing great. Keep it up.

I hear you on wanting to cry when you hear the parents pacifying with cookies. It is sad, isn't it? Have hope that you'll get out of the shove-food-in-your-mouth-as-comfort mode. I still do it to some extent but nothing like before. Rememer the good food in. Food can be comforting but make it good food and you probably won't even want it. I've been trying to think of other things I can do to recondition myself to. Trying to think of things I do enjoy doing. I've realized that I don't know because I've never bothered to think of things. I've always just eaten or not eaten. I think it's like a ritual. We just have to make up something and learn to enjoy it and then we'll find solace in the ritual. Let's try to think of things together and come back with a list here.
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OK, gotta go. Hi Chachee, happy, hippy, lucky, sassy, derry, are you out there? Derry, hope you're enjoying your vacation. I'm going to beat you on the Dare! Jolly too.

I'm sorry I was MIA, chicks! I started getting sick on Sunday, missed work yesterday, and I'm feeling somewhat less puny today, but hey - my period picked today to start so add that into the mix. *sigh* Stomach virus of some sort. Richard is coming down with it, Nick hasn't been feeling well... yay.

So, no... no treadmill work. I actually got the headphones semi set up, too. Of course I had to run into another glitch. The stereo jack adapter seems to have been eaten by the dog, as well. I have a mono adapter, but I can't stand sound only coming in one ear. Eh. So I set up my new headphones with my little diskman, and that would have worked. If I'm able to sleep tonight and feeling a bit better tomorrow, I'm gonna get on that darn thing. Payday I'll get another jack adapter. Right now I just want to go back to bed. I did make it into work, but I feel like I've been beaten with sticks. I may leave early if I get enough done and get some sleep.

Hope everyone is hanging in.

Hellos to all.
Honestly, I am just not in the mood for this diet stuff. Sometimes it just gets to be a bit too much when there are too many things going on. Trying to juggle 5 balls at once, dropping them all and not succeeding at anything is the perfect recipe for total frustration. So, from past experience, I know enough that sometimes you just have to step back / scale back, decide a priority or two to focus on and set your mind to that.

Which is what I'm doing. I am trying to de-sugar myself. I should probably rephase that to de-bad-carb myself. Sunday the hubby and I bought new bicycles. I had been thinking about a bike for several months now and Sunday I just had to have one. Now it's up to me to get these weak old legs strengthened up and then there's always the story of getting your butt in "condition" for sitting on a bike seat. Why is it that no matter how much padding you have between you and the gel pack bike seats, they are always so uncomfortable for the first 3 years until you get used to riding again? At the bike shop I saw those padded bike shorts people use for spin class. How interesting. I imagine you must walk funny in them but heck, if it makes you more comfortable, who cares? Was glancing through the old Sunday newspapers I had sitting on a chair (why is that such a terrible habit - buy the paper and save them for 2 or 3 weeks because you didn't have a chance to read them?) Anyway, there was a review of a guy who lost 70 pounds when he took up biking. Of course he did admit to being a maniac extremist. He started out as a heavy drinker, smoker and snacker and gave that all up. His end result is a pic with the tight bike shorts, shirt and helmet - looks like a Lance Armstrong type. I'm not going that route, just getting some fresh air and exercise is fine for me.

I'm glad that I read your posts - no drunken bicycling Gosh, on the bike frame it says that night riding is dangerous and you should always wear a helmet but it neglected to say "don't drink and drive" Never even entered my mind to tell you the truth.

Gotta run and start the work day now. Will catch up with you later. Good luck on your challenges with each other. My challenge is to not wobble - either on the bike or just walking along the road.

Happy - I think you are very not alone in the juggling routine. Right now my whole focus is just to get back into some sort of regular exercise. Even that has been a huge challenge with one stumble after another. I hope you have a great time on the bike, because after all, that's what will keep you going back for more!

Hey all. Glad to see you. Happy, have fun with the bike. I need to get a new one, too. I don't have one right now. But, this summer I really don't have the time to bike like i would want to anyway, so I am not going to kill the budget for THAT. Raven, I hope you are feeling better soon, and get back to posting. We need our drill sargeant Red, glad you are feeling back on track. Yes, 246 will be my start weight for the Derry Dare. I am going to beat you.

Actually, the need to win is something I was really thinking about this morning. I am so overtired from picking up third shifts that I almost didn't make it to the gym this morning. I did go, but was in spin class feeling like I had lead in my legs. I almost left. But I was realizing, I have this compulsion to "beat" everyone else. I feel like a failure if I don't "win." Whether it is an actually competition, spinning in class, or even deciding on a restaurant to go to. If I, or my opinion, or whatever does not come out ahead, I feel like a complete failure.

I know where this comes from. An incident with my dad, when I was in third grade, where he told me "if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all." Since then, I am so focused on coming out ahead, so he would always have something good to say. But, this has turned into a perfectionism that is harmful, because I feel so bad about myself if I feel I have failed, or stop myself from trying by hiding behind my weight. And then blaming perceived losses on others stereotypes against fat people.

I need to focus on a different concept. In running, they talk about "personal best." Your best time for that particular distance. YOu can only have one WINNER of anything, but everyone can have a personal best. I need to focus on that. That to be a success, I need to think about doing my personal best, instead of on what others are doing. HEalthier, don't ya think?

Have a great day all.

Whew, finally have a minute to breathe, and thought I would try to catch up with you all.

First, the Derry Dare--I'm not going to join in on this yet. I have my mom coming in two days, surgery in two weeks from tomorrow, and just too much dang stuff going on. Plus, I have no idea how my weight is going to fluctuate after the surgery.

My dare to myself is to hopefully get to the official 40 pounds gone on WW by surgery time. That is 6 more pounds and I think I can do it, but I am not going to put any stress on myself to get there. If it happens before surgery, then great. My other big goal is to be under 200 by my bday in November. I can also do that.

Happy: I hear you on the not wanting to diet thing. My brain had a meltdown this weekend and the only thing that cured it was the homemade brownies I made and pizza. I told myself it was okay, as I was working out so much with the fence, etc, but I know in my heart it wasn't. Just felt like being a rebel. I have been back on my bike. I did a 4 mile ride the other morning before work and it felt great.

Raven: Hope you are feeling better. I hate it when I get sick, because then it makes it's rounds in the house. You almost had yourself another dog last night. Peanut decided she liked roast and jumped up on our recliner, then over to the kitchen table and chowed down on my son's leftovers. My hubby was so mad--he can't stand animals on the tables where we eat. I thought Peanut was just going to sprint down to your house! She's a bit timid today!

Red: Loved that bike story. I, along with Happy, don't have that little warning about drinking and biking! Hmmm....

Derry: Hope you have a great vacation!

Okay, off to work for me. WW tomorrow night, then hubby's banquet in my new black little dress and heels, then my mom is here Thursday night. Friday night is dinner out with Mom, then Toys R Us to finish bday shopping for my son, then home to make Shrek cupcakes for party. Saturday is bday party at Chuck E Cheese, and Sunday is a trip to Seward to the Sea Life Center. (About 2 hours away.) Can anyone ship me some caffeine!!!!

So, I guess what I am going to say is bear with me the next month or so as I am going to be doing fly-bys on the posting. I will try to get hubby on here or mom to post how surgery went. I should be okay for posting up until the end of next week. Whew! How time flies!

Chach