I can't remember if I ever recommended it to you, but Brandy there is a great book which may help with your new attitude to losing weight.

When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair: 50 Ways to Feel Thin, Gorgeous, and Happy (When You Feel Anything But) by Geneen Roth.

It's well worth a read, and may help if you're putting eating into perspective. Good luck!!!

Lorraine, lovely to see you again!!! Enjoy the wedding and start afresh on Monday!!!

Jo, thanks for the rec. I'm looking it up on amazon right now!

I'm still not counting and only eating when I'm hungry - I've lost a little and I don't feel as super-obsessed with food. Fingers crossed.

B

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I've not been around for a few days ... had a bit of a busy week. Wasn't feeling too well last week either ... struck down with a tummy bug and then feeling under the weather due to having a rotton cold & sore throat!! Consequently, I didn't feel much like throwing myself into my new eating plan, but am feeling much better now so I'm hoping to have a good week this week.

TOM is due to arrive in couple of days and I'm feeling really bloated ... hopped on the scales this morning and they are up even further than the last time I weighed myself!! I know some of it is probably fluid retention, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it!! Anyway, decided to update my weight loss record and start afresh from today, because right now I feel like I'm getting nowhere fast ... I said I wasn't going to alter it because I was determined to get back to where I was, but doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon. Over the past few weeks I've lost and gained the same few pounds so many times it's getting embarrassing!!

It's half-term holiday here this week, so no school for the kids, and no work for me ... YIPEEE!! Tom is taking part in a swimming competition today so I had to take him to school really early this morning as he had to be on the school bus at 7.30am. When we were driving down the road, we passed quite a few women out walking ... a couple of them were rather large ladies and Tom made some comment about the size of them, but I said at least they were making an effort to do something about it, and I felt quite ashamed that I do absolutely nothing. Seeing them has given me the urge to get out there and do it. The weather here now is perfect for walking ... it's the best time of the year as the humidity level has dropped and the temperatures are around the mid 20's, so I've got no excuses for not doing it.

It's great to see so many of you posting again ... hope everyone's doing well.

I'm off to brush the dust off my trainers now ... don't know how far I'll get, but anything is better than nothing ... Little baby steps, right?

Nichola

PS - I've decided to give myself a little mini challenge to keep me motivated ... It's Nicks company's Christmas 'do' on 4 December and I would like to feel more comfortable in my clothes by then, so I'm challenging myself to lose 10lbs by then ... I know it's not a lot, but every bit helps, right?

Nichola, hope you are feeling much better by now. Enjoy your break! Fall break isn't something that's caught on well here - which is too bad. There is such a long stretch between starting school in August (I think they start later here in NJ, but at home they always start mid-Aug) and T-giving in the end of November. It's bad enough as a student, but as a teacher I'd be ready to pull my hair out!

It's a sore point with me when people feel compelled to criticize someone for being fat, then make fun of them when they decided to do something about it (like walking). This kind of thing is what keeps a LOT of women from even trying. If they're going to get snide comments for being fat, and more for trying to exercise - what's the point. So frustrating. A fat girl can't win.

I think tend pounds is a great goal! Nice even number, not so big that you have to kill yourself to get there, not so small that there's no challenge to it - I KNOW you can do it.

I was just thinking this morning - if I can just lose 2 pounds a week between now and going home for Christmas, think how much more comfortable that airline seat will be.

Hope you all are doing well. I'm still not counting and slooooowly losing. Hope it keeps up.

Take care,
B

Brandy, I'm feeling much better now thanks Managed to get out for a walk yesterday and felt really pleased with myself for doing it ... although the old muscles are a bit sore this morning ... It's been so long since they were last used!! I must confess though, that I almost didn't go ... I kept putting it off all day, pretending that I was too busy. Then at 7.00pm I finally decided, it's now or never, so I put on my trainers, grabbed the dog (who was in shock ... she rarely gets walked by me!), and off we went. We walked at quite a pace and I really felt as though I'd done something when I got home ... the dog lay on the floor exhausted for the rest of the evening!!

I couldn't agree with you more about people critizising fat people for having the guts to do something about it. It's partially the reason why I've always been so reluctant to exercise ... the thought of other (skinny) people seeing me and making comments about my size just fills me with horror. Some people say it's our own fault for being the way we are because we don't do anything to help ourselves, but the minute we get out there to do something about it, they make snide comments! As you said, we can't win ... but the point is Brandy, that we CAN WIN ... we can choose to ingnore their stupid comments and show them that we CAN DO IT!! ... And WE WILL!!

Nichola

Are the notifications not working???? Grrrrrrr

I kept waiting for a reply and they never came.

I've got WW weigh in later, think I might be down a little, but no idea how.....there again I could balloon five pounds in the next hour with no idea how that happened either!

Back later

Well, amazingly enough I'm another pound down. Will change my sig in a minute.

It's funny, I was on the verge of quitting this week, in fact a couple of hours before the weigh-in I was certain it was the best thing for me. I haven't been tracking, so I haven't been on-plan...so it's a fluke that I've lost anything. I was thinking of just eating healthy...but then how many times have I said that? I know that if I quit I'll do what I always do...think I don't need to try and give in to temptation. I have to accept I'm weak.

Jo, well done on your loss ... and don't give up, you can do it!

We've all said at sometime in the past that we're going to give up whatever plan we're following and just eat healthily to see what happens (probably me more than most!). However, we all know how easy it is to fall back into bad habits when we're not keeping track. The answer to weight loss, as I'm sure we all know, it to write it down ... whether we're counting points, calories, or just keeping track of what kinds of foods we're eating. We don't even have to count points, or calories, or whatever, but when you see pizzas, choccies and cakes etc. appearing too often on our daily list (I'm not saying we should never treat ourselves occasionally), we know we're not doing it properly and we won't lose weight.

This week I had lots of apples that needed to be eaten before they went bad, so I made an apple crumble (for the kids ). Of course, I couldn't resist it, but I chose to only have half a portion and wrote it down. If I wasn't keeping track I know I would have eaten lots more with a big dollop of cream to top it off!

I think what I'm trying to say, is that we just need to be honest with ourselves. If we get fed-up with staying on-plan all the time and feel like we need a break, fine, but we still need to keep track of the foods we're eating. Then, when we find we've gained a few pounds there will be no excuses as to why it's happened, and we won't be able to say that we don't understand why it's happened ... the answer will be written down in front of us.

I'm not preaching to anyone ... just trying to convince myself that this is what I have to do!

Nichola

Mmmmmm crumble

We're slipping down the second page.

Nothing much to say, got called into work this afternoon, was supposed to be working 2-5pm. Ended up doing 2-8pm. Still, if the boss realises I'm prepared to do what it takes to get an urgent job finished, I might just get a training contract out of him in two years time. Here's hoping

Have a fab weekend everyone. We've got Dom being the team mascot at a professional hockey match in Coventry this weekend. Cue one very proud set of parents!!! He plays for the Coventry Blaze under 10s...and he's being a mascot for the Coventry Blaze pro team....who are playing the Sheffield Steelers (the team we support).....we've just got to make sure he doesn't celebrate too much if the Steelers score!!!

Just checking-in to see how everyone's doing? Weighed-in yesterday and lost 2lbs ... had some good days and some bad days this week, but at least I still managed a loss! PHEW!

Hope everyone has a good weekend ... Enjoy the game Jo!

Nichola

Well done Nichola!!! 2lbs is great!!!

I've got a cold/flu at the moment...my throat has closed up and I feel awful.

Oh well, just one of those things.

My baby lining up for the national anthem before the game.....

Jo, hope you're feeling a bit better now? Nick's come down with the same sort of thing ... and boy, how the rest of the family are suffering!!! ... Why are men such babies when there's something wrong with them, or is it just mine?! I had it a couple of weeks ago and I didn't make any fuss ... just got on with it and got over it ... but he's making our life a misery!!

Nichola

Hi all! I've been trying to post for days and it seems like every time I get half way through, something comes up and I have to go. I am GOING to sit here and type this out and post it!

I'm sort of spinning in circles diet-wise. Mark's been unwell, I've been blah, it leads to very unmotivated thinking and eating. I am trying to drag myself back on track today. I HAVE to do something with myself. I'm so WAY up it's not even funny. I think I've been steadily gaining since mide September and it must stop.

Jo, thanks for posting the pic! And congrats on losing!!!

Nichola!!! Congrats on your two pounds!!!

I'm going to make a much bigger effort to come round here and check in more often!

B

Hey All! God I've missed you guys. If I don't get notifications I'm lost.

I want to congrats to all the losers and maintainers and to Jo for her achievements at university.

I fell off the diet wagon again. I just can't stay with it for long. I get tired of eating "that way" and then go back to eating "my way" and get tired of that as well. What other f-in way is there?

Take care,
Raff