Well, Kristy, you told me to join you here, but I'm not quite at 100 lbs to lose. Hope I'm still OK to hang out. :)

First name: Shalia

Geographical location: Utah. Yuck. ;)

Age: 25

Marital Status: Married for 7 years. Most of them happy. *giggle*

Children/Ages: One. He's 7. Yep, the math is obvious there. *grin*

Occupation: Electronics inspector. It's not glamorous, I assure you.

Pets: Do fish count? Didn't think so either.

Hobbies/Interests: Reading, singing, internet, Dance Dance Revolution, occationally bike riding, er... I know I have more, I just can't think of them right now.

Height: 5'9

Eye/Hair Color: Brown hair and eyes that are so dark they look black.

Starting Date of Weightloss Journey: What's my start date here? Right about then. <Who needs a memory?>

Starting Weight: 242

Present Weight: 226 <need to update my happy ticker thingy. Whee!>

Goal Weight: 150 <I'm dreaming low. That'd be back to nearly high school weight again. And thinner than prepregnancy weight. But a girl can dream, right? :)>

Biggest hurdle to overcome in weightloss: Mental health meds that cause weight gain. *sigh*

Following any specific plan: Watch what I eat, eat less fast food, and count the calories. I'm personally liking www.dietpower.com better than fitday because it's more realistic, but you *do* have to pay for it. But it's a much better program for me. :)

What is different this time in your weight loss efforts than in the past: Motivation. I cannot BELIEVE I let myself get this big! WAAH!! And finding a way that I *like* to exercise.

Something you're passionate about (besides food): Singing. :) Oh, and Clay Aiken. *giggles like a schoolgirl*

Worst craving(s): Cliche as it might be, I'm gonna say chocolate. With ice cream a *very VERY* close second.

Favorite healthy thing to eat: Fruit. Of almost any time. Almost as good as sweets. I've got cherries now. Love cherries.

Favorite type of music: Contemporary Christian. And Clay Aiken. *grin*

Favorite movies: Typical chick flick fare. I love "How to lose a guy in 10 days". And if you've never seen "Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human" <no, it's really not *that* type of movie> you are missing out. Rent it.

Favorite TV shows: They just cancelled it. Judging Amy. Followed by Law & Order SVU.

Last book you read: The Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. For about the 10 zillionth time. And the Harry Potter books. For about the 20 zillionth time. ;)

Last thing you ate: Fruit Loops cereal. On my way to grab the cherries when I'm done typing here.

Last time you exercised: Last night for about 30 minutes playing Dance Dance Revolution.

What are some of the things you can't wait to do after you reach your goal weight: Buy clothes I feel sexy in. Be skinnier than my husband. Weigh LESS than my husband. Have energy. Look in the mirror and be proud of what I accomplished.

Anything else you would like to share with us: I think I may go exercise rather than cherry. Last question got me motivated. :D

An Inspirational Quote: Most of my quotes are demotivators. Sorry!

How did my smilies end up holding flags? Weird.

ETA: Oh, sure! NOW they're not holding flags and I look like an idiot! *sigh*

Hey everybody, yesterday was my hubby's 30th birthday, yep, he's a 4th of july baby, lol. We had a huge family cookout, but I was really good, well until the birthday cake, lol, just had a small piece. Then we came back to my inlaws for fireworks with my 10 year old sister in law, yes, she and my husband are 20 years apart!! It was a good day, and I am proud of myself. Hope everyone else had a good holiday!!

Donna: Way to go! If I were at somebody's bday party I would have fallen off the wagon, hard.

Shalia: It's great to have you. I don't think having exactly 100 pounds to lose is a requirement for this group. Welcome :)

Shelley: How is it going kicking the pop habit? Going cold turkey must be hard.

Felicia: Are you on vacation? If so, I hope you had a great time.

Vanessa: How are you doing with getting your exercise? That's my downfall, I never have the energy to do anything. What kind of exercising are you doing?

Kristy: How are you doing? I see you haven't posted in awhile. I hope all is well.

We were supposed to go to a bbq on the fourth, but my son got sick and we just decided to stay home. So instead of burgers and dogs we ordered chinese takeout. I got steamed dumplings and hot and sour soup. I'm not sure how healthy this is but I bet it's much healthier than the General Tso's chicken I usually get.
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I've been so exhausted with the little guy and work. When I do get some free time for myself I usually just go right to sleep.
I've started walking during my lunch hour at work. So far it's 20 minutes a day and I've gone for two days now. Please wish me luck. It's gonna be hard to keep it going.
Anyway, I hope everybody is doing GREAT!
Keep up the good work :)

Karla

Hey everyone...I am back.

I went to Daytona for a couple of days (mini vacation) it was very nice and I had a great time.
I am still here w/ ya, all of you! I hope that everyone is doing great here and if you are in need of some pats on the back or just a listening ear....please let us know because we are all here to help each other.

I have noticed that we are not too busy and i hope that's a good thing.....I don't want anyone giving up. Take the days as tthey come and leave tomorrow behind you and start your day with a clean slate.

BTW...yes, I know I am up late....LOL :dizzy:

Oh and Welcome Shiela....I am glad you joined us.

I haven't been so good for the last few days. *sigh* Haven't exercised enough, made bad food choices. I think I will have to start compensating for a med I take that frankly sucks for weight. It nearly guarantees weight gain. So... I think I'm going to have to work twice <if not more!> as hard. *sigh again*

Oh, well, today is another day. <Scarlett O'Hara syndrome here. *grin*> Nice to "meet" you naughtyangel. :)

finally lost some
 

Just a quick reply before I go to bed :)
I weighed in this morning at 235. Woohoo!
I'm glad everybody else is doing well. Today I was very bad, went to a family picnic and ate a LOT of food. Oh well, today is over and I'll start again fresh tomorrow.
Everybody keep up the good work!

Karla

Sorry I haven't been here, I weighed in at 254, which is the lowest my weight has been in over a year, so i am very excited about it!! We had both of our trucks break down this week, so I haven't been on the computer as much as we have been running wround everywhere getting parts to fix them, lol! Keep up the good work ladies, just got out of the pool, need to change, bye!!

I weighed in today at 225. *happy dance* I'm nearing 20 lbs. lost. I told my hubby I get a small clothing budget at 20 lbs lost.

I've been terrible today. *sigh* I was doing REALLY well till my sister brought over the brownie cheesecake. Again, tomorrow is another day.

I got a book called "Run for your Life" and it's actually made me want to try this running thing. The only time since pregnancy I've been thin was in boot camp and right afterwards because I was running in the Navy. Running keeps me thin. I *do* do Dance Dance Revolution for aerobics, but it's starting to get easy and you can always kick up running if it gets easy. And this is a minor miracle cause I have always HATED running with the heat of a thousand suns.

Now to convince myself to get up in the morning, cause frankly the only thing less likely than getting up and running is doing it when it's 100 degrees outside.

There's a fun run in my town in the end of August. Since that's really non-competitive and you can walk it if you want <and it's only $25> I'm tempted to sign up for it so I have motivation to go running. After all, I can't have paid that money and *not* run, right? It's tempting... And if worst comes to worst, I'll just walk what part I can't run and get in 3.1 miles of exercise that day and take my t-shirt, right? <This is where my husband rolls his eyes at me, but I could really use the pat on the back...>

Good luck to everyone, and I'm so glad to see those who are here. *hugs* And it's great to see everyone continuing to lose! *woohoo* Isn't it great to see that scale finally move DOWN?!?

*happy dance* for you!! Lowest weight in a year deserves it's own celebration!!! :bravo: :dance: :goodscale

Hi Everyone
 

Hey there everyone. Well, I was perusing 3FC today and found this thread so I hope you don't mind if I crash your party :) I definitely have more than 100lbs to lose, as my ticker confirms, so I think I'll fit right in - you all seem very nice. Let's see.. as for the info..

First name: Alisha

Geographical location: Florida

Age:34

Marital Status: Divorced/single (and lovin' it!)

Children/Ages: None, zip, nada

Occupation: Associate Contract Support Specialist (trying to become a teacher)

Pets: 3 very friendly Siamese cats - Louis Blue, Pandora and Logan

Hobbies/Interests: Music, clubs, festivals, concerts, clothes, jewellery and art from the 1920s - 1940s, corsetry and anything by Agent Provocoteur!

Height: 5'3"

Eye/Hair Color: Brown/Black

Starting Date of Weightloss Journey: June 29, 2005

Starting Weight: 260

Present Weight: 249

Goal Weight: 110

Biggest hurdle to overcome in weightloss: Obssessive compulsive/binge eating.

Following any specific plan: Medifast (I LOVE this plan!!!)

What is different this time in your weight loss efforts than in the past: Well, I'm getting a lot of support through forums like these (although the main forum I moderated on just had to be shut down thanks to a very negative jerk), I'm also following a dead easy plan that requires NO cooking and NO grocery shopping - two of my worldly hates. I also see the diet working at a steady and more rapid pace than most, so that gives me motivation.

Something you're passionate about (besides food): Music and dancing

Worst craving(s): Fast food, i.e. Burger King, Pizza Hut

Favorite healthy thing to eat: Shrimp

Favorite type of music: Alternative

Favorite movies: Lord of the Rings, X-Men, The Crow I & 2, Dirty Dancing, Gone with the Wind/Scarlett, old classic movies

Favorite TV shows: Law & Order (all), CSI, The 4400, Without a Trace, Cold Case

Last book you read: Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond Feist (still reading)

Last thing you ate: My Medifast meal replacement shake (Swiss Mocha) at 9:15am.

Last time you exercised: Friday at Curves (I'm only allowed 2x per week on my diet)

What are some of the things you can't wait to do after you reach your goal weight: I can't wait to make a grand entrance into the Tampa night life scene with my new body! I can't wait to order lingerie from Agent Provocoteur, I can't wait to fit back into my royal blue satin Vollers corset!!!

Anything else you would like to share with us: We can ALL do this! It may take time, patience and some ups and downs, but the end is worth the means to get there.

An Inspirational Quote: Just DO it! -Nike

Naughyt, I suggested we weigh in on Saturday. I did post on Friday when I weighed in this week. I weighed in a day early because I knew I was going to be so busy on Saturday that I wouldn't make it on. I had a yard sale yesterday morning and a demo derby last night to go to. I'm still here. I agree that it has been quiet. Thank you for the kick. I am planning on getting my exercise in today. I am going to try to do 30 minutes before the night is over. I've not eaten well yesterday and probably won't tomorrow either. I'm taking my child to Indiana Beach. I'm on my last vacation for the year so after tomorrow things will get easier because i have no plans for the rest of the week so there will be no excuses for me getting things done.

Shalia-I think the fun run is a great idea. It'll get you motivated and will be a sure fire way to get your exercise in for the day. YOu have one of those husband's who like to roll their eyes. I do too. He is helping me though. I'll want something that I can't have and he'll tell me I can't because i'm on a diet and he's holding me to it. IT has saved me from ice cream quite a few times and from pop alot of the times.

I hope everyone has a good week. Let's all try to update at least every other day. I know I can do that.

I'm still working on my 30 minutes. I do it in intervals because I still haven't worked up to doing a huge amount of time at once. I've got 10 minutes in so far.

Somebody was talking about running and I thought this might be a website you all would be interested in.
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
It's a couch to 5k running plan, helping people get off the couch and on the road.
I haven't personally done it, but hope to give it a shot after I check with my doctor.
Hope everybody is keeping to their goals. :)

Karla

Well, got my butt out of bed this morning. Can't rightfully call it "running" cause I think I ran only about 20% <MAX> of it, but I got out of bed at 4:30am to do it. Now to keep it up. I am TIRED. I couldn't sleep till about midnight so that's just not enough sleep unless I am FAR more manic than I am now!

I've read the cool runnings site. I'm thinking I may try that method. I went and got some shoes yesterday. I need to get a stabilizing thingy for my ankle cause it's kind of weak, but the shoes are great. I don't know, maybe I'll have more stamina tomorrow cause we went on a nearly 4 mile hike yesterday and didn't get back till 8 pm so it didn't give my muscles *much* recovery time. And I didn't stretch much cause I was SOOOOO tired. I stretched more today and I'll have 24 hours recovery time. So hopefully I'll do better tomorrow. Or I'll check that cool runnings site and see if I'm supposed to rest tomorrow. I could really use some sleep! :)

I had mocha coffee this morning. Not really diet food. But I'm so so SO sleepy! <Caffeine is something I'm not supposed to have either. Oh well.>

Weighed in this morning. 224.5 now. Booyah! I think I'll have to change out my siggy thingies again soon. I'm too lazy to do it for every pound but at the next half pound I think I'll do it again. :) I won't actually make my short term goal <a week in the hospital kind of blew it for me> but I'm going to be close enough that I can take my next short term goal. Yay!!! Especially if I stick on this running program! *insert cheerleader here* I need to stay on this. Have to. I'm tired of being out of breath in 1 min when chasing Tyler. Since doing DDR I was able to keep up on most of the hiking yesterday. I like feeling healthy.

I didn't get my 30 minutes in yesterday. I did get 20 minutes in though so it wasn't a total washout. Today will be a lot of walking. We are going to Indiana Beach. I'm sure food won't be great but the exercise will come in. I got on the scales this morning and the numbers were awful. I started getting depressed but then remembered that my monthly is due to start tomorrow so the high reading is expected. I will stay off those blasted scales until it passes. I hope everyone has a great day.

Nah, I try to avoid weighing myself when TOM rolls around. It's only depressing. :bravo: on the 20 min. though. :)

I'm less tired now that I've eaten breakfast. I think part of me was so exhausted cause I was so HUNGRY. Had one egg w/ a bit of shredded cheese and some oatmeal. Not too great, but not too bad either.

Hey thanks for the welcome Naughtyangel. :)

Let's see.. how to describe Medifast.. well, mainly, it's a high soy protein, low fat, low carb meal replacement program. The diet itself has been around for over 20 years and has substantial success with helping those who are moderately to morbidly overweight to lose weight in a healthy and slightly faster way than most other diets.

There are two main programs you can follow. One is called the 5 and 1 program, where you consume 5 meal replacements a day and have one measured out "lean and green" meal. :hun: This is usually some sort of vegetable or salad greens with a lean protein like chicken. The portions are measured out to ensure the correct caloric intake, but this is only done once a day. The second program is called the Complete program where you consume only 5-6 meal replacements a day and nothing else. :cheers: This program should be monitored by a doctor.

The meal replacements are varied - there is flavored oatmeal, chili, shakes, pudding, soup, snack bars, chai latte and a few others I can't remember. I'm doing the Complete program and, at the moment, I'm opting to drink only the shakes as I'm trying to get rid of some very bad habits I have with food. Whichever plan you follow, you are advised to drink at least 2 cold shakes and you may only eat 1 snack bar per day due to the higher carb content. :nono:

Most people do very well on either program and are not hungry after the first 3 days. I can vouch for that personally. :D Since I've started, my IBS has not acted up once, I have no hunger, no headaches and I'm steadily gaining more energy. :hyper: My first 2 days were awful as my body rid itself of all the junk I'd been feeding it for ages. :tied: I had a headache from noon on day 1 to the evening of day 2. :stars: I read that you are also allowed 2 bouillon a day and 2 dill pickles to give you a boost of potassium. Once I had the bouillon, I was good to go the evening of day 2 and haven't looked back since. :scooter:

So far, I lost 11lbs in 9 days. I haven't weighed myself yet this week - I'm waiting until Wednesday morning when I'll start week 3. I'm dying of anxiousness to see what it reads! :goodscale

The program, at first glance, seems quite pricey. I paid $290 for a 28 day supply of shakes. However, when I broke it down, it really is not much more expensive than grocery shopping. The last diet I was on, which required fish, chicken breast, ground turkey, eggs, fruti and vegetables ran me around $110 every two weeks. $220 versus $290 really didn't seem like that big of a difference, especially since it works! :lol3:

I believe that no diet is for everyone, but if you can make it through the first 3 days, you'll find that all the hunger goes away, my over-production of stomach acid went away and you don't have to drive yourself into the ground with exercise to make it work. :wl: In fact, they recommend that if you aren't used to exercising you should not exercise for at least the first month and if you are used to it, you should halve your routine. I've gone from doing 3 day at Curves doing 3 circuits to 2 times a week and one circuit. I've never been a gym-aholic so this diet suits me just fine! :smug:

I should note that this is NOT a fad diet. :no: This diet has been endorsed by the Johns Hopkins University Medical Team and has been proven to work if you follow it correctly. :coffee2: Soy protein can also lower triglyceride levels as well as cholesterol levels.

Anyway, that's about it. I think I covered everything but if you have anymore questions, just please ask.

Alisha :hat:

But what do you do when you get to goal weight? <Honestly. Not wanting to be a PITA here.> I don't think I'd learn better habits that way and then I'd just end up fat again. And broke. But that's me. I'm glad it's working so well for you! :) Really.

Hey Shalia, I don't mind answering any questions so don't feel awkward or like you're being a pain. I'm here to help. :)

So in answer to your question, once you hit goal, especially on the Complete program, there is a six week transitional period where you slowly introduce foods back into your diet. Then you go on the maintenance program, which consists of special supplements that help you maintain your weight in conjunction with eating normal food. Bear in mind that these are similar to the supplements I mentioned above as well as complete meals if you choose to use those. (Similar to Lean Cuisine but better for you). You can also use the supplements as a daily product to maintain your weight forever if you want to.

For example: I hate to cook and I'm always getting up late. Therefore, I'm chronic at missing breakfast. So, I could get up in the morning, have an oatmeal supplement, take 2 snack bar supplements to work for an AM and PM snack (you can have more bars when you're in maintenance), have a grilled chicken salad for lunch and BBQ chicken with veggies for dinner. This isn't set in stone, it's just the way I'm planning on using it. Soy protein is very good for you, as I mentioned above re: triglycerides and cholesterol, so I don't think I'd ever want to cut it back out of my diet. Even if I couldn't order supplements for some reason, I'd opt to purchase tofu and get it that way. I should note that the supplements are better because they also have a LOT of vitamins in them. In fact, I get the exact same vitamins and amounts (100% or more) as my mother does when she takes her multi-vitamin.

Although the plan seems like it would simply throw you back to the way you were, it subconsciously builds healthy eating techniques along the way. When you use the food supplements such as chili or oatmeal, it shows you what a portion size should look like. It also teaches you to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals a day as opposed to 3 large ones or skipping breakfast altogether (like me), glutting yourself at lunch because you're starving and then eating something silly like cereal for dinner because you had a big lunch. And, because you can use these supplements interchangably for the rest of your life, it's great to have some to hand in case you put on 5 or 10lbs. That way you know you'd only have to eat more supplements and less food until you get back to your goal weight and it would only take a week or so. For someone like me who doesn't have the patience of losing 150 lbs at 1 or 2lbs a week, this was the obvious choice. I also hate to cook and can have a very hectic schedule so it's MUCH better grabbing a soup, chili or shake supplement I can eat on the go rather than stop at the local Mickey D's or eat nothing at all.

Before I purchased my supplements, I did some calculating. If I did Weight Watchers, losing at 2lbs a week, it would take me 75 weeks to reach my goal weight of 110lbs. At $13.00 a meeting, that is $975 I'd be spending in fees alone, not including the weeks where you plateau or don't lose at all. THEN I have to buy all the food! Whereas, the weight loss is between 4 to 5lbs a week on this diet so I wouldn't have to be on it for nearly as long. I also don't want to open myself up for another obssession with counting points or whatever. I'd rather learn the 'by eye' method as it's healthier for my pshyche.

Like I said, it certainly is not the answer to everyone, but I can promise you that there are three main things that will keep me from putting this weight back on. 1) Because I LIKE the supplements (they taste great) and they are convenient so I will use them AND their frozen meals; 2) because I don't want to go through the de-toxification stage again (those first 3 days were hard!) and 3) because I will be wearing what I want to wear, I will have more energy (I already do), I will be comfortable in my own skin and I will not hurt anymore. There isn't a day that goes by that my knees and feet don't hurt (I only wear a 6, that's terribly small to drag around 150lbs of fat!) I just don't want to hurt anymore.

If you want to read more about maintenance and the transitional phases, check out www.medifast1.com and it should be able to tell you what you want to know. I'm always here to answer questions too, although I haven't reached those phases yet.

I can promise you one thing - I would never endorse anything that A) wasn't healthy and B) I didn't believe in. I believe in this with my whole heart.

Alisha :hat:

OK, so it's the first PMS <that I could weigh in on, darn hospital> since getting serious here. How much weight in water <on average?> do you guys gain for PMS? I *know* that even though the scale said 3lbs heavier I'm just not that talented. And I've exercised like a fiend. Can your muscles retain water too? When they are getting exercise again for the first time in a long time?

My legs hurt like ****. Didn't even go out this morning. :( Couldn't make myself. *sigh*

I've been doing pretty bad the last week. We went to a few family picnics and there was an employee appreciation day at work. Boy did I pig out on shrimp and lobster. I need a kick in the butt to get me back on track. :(
Thanks for letting me vent. I hope everybody else is doing better than me.

Karla

Karla: KICK!!!!!! <Did that work? Great, now kick me.>

My med that I'm worrying about is now causing the carbohydrate cravings it's known for. *sigh* And I'm depressed as all get out and had to leave work because I was flipping out too badly. This sucks. I hardly drank any water today, ate cheesecake, yeah. Today was a friggin mess.

But I'm going to run tomorrow. I don't even work tomorrow <since I've been yoinked from work again> so I can find time easily, even if it's just the treadmill. :)

So again KICK Karla and Woo-hoo naughtyangel for getting in her exercise and water. <I *so* need to make water my next goal.> *hugs all*

Have to happy dance in here. :happy dance: I *did it*! I decided I wasn't going to sit in the house and mope so I went to find out if the treadmill at our apartments was open and it was and I did day 1 of the couch to 5K program and it didn't even kill me. Woo hoo!

OK, happy dance over. Just had to share. Whee!

Congrats on everyone's successes. I wish I could say the same. I'm getting ready to start my monthly and I have an upset stomach. I've been on vacation this week and needless to say, it has been a disaster diet wise. I got a lot of exercise in at Indiana Beach on Monday from the walking and the steps you have to climb to get on the rides. I've been eating everything in sight. At least it seems that way. I know at this point I don't feel like I'm ever going to lose this weight. I know how but making the right choices isn't always easy to do. I'm getting very frustrated and at this point am scared to death of getting on the scales. I have to lose this weight. Logical solution, I need to do what it takes to lose the weight and quit whining, right? I know. I'm sorry to be a downer. I'm not usually like this. I guess it's the PMS kicking in. I'm going to start by making two small goals for next week.

1. Drink 60 oz of water
2. Elliptical for at least 20 minutes

I can do this. Thank you for listening to me rant. It helps tremendously to know someone cares.

Shelly those sound like great goals. And yes, YOU CAN DO IT. :) I have faith in you. *needs a cheerleader emoticon*

Of course we forgive you Vanessa. Rule #1 in online life is real life always takes priority. *hugs*

I'm not looking forward to weighing in on Sat. either, but that's mainly cause I'm PMSing right now and I can FEEL the bloat. *sniff*

Hope everything is going well with you now. *hugs*

Well, as people can see, my mini-goal was for today. And I still have 6 lbs to go. *sigh* So I'm kind of bummed about that.

BUT I do have good news too.

Measurements as of start date: 13Jun05
Bust/Chest - 45.5"
Waist - 42"
Hips - 50.5"
Thighs - 26.75"
Neck - 15.25"
Arms - 13.75"

CURRENT measurements as of 15July05
Bust/Chest - 45"
Waist - 40.25"
Hips - 48.5"
Thighs - 27" <I'm running as exercise, I'm not concerned about an increase right now.>
Neck - 14.75"
Arms - 13.75" <I think I need some upper body exercises.>

Grand total: 4.5" lost over my body. *woohoo* So I didn't make the weight goal, but I'm definately losing inches. Booyah!!

Time to find a new ticker and a new goal. :)

GOOD JOB, Naughtyangel. I'm very happy for you. I gained four pounds so I'm not to happy. I'm going to be changing that though. I'm going to start the volumetrics diet. It seems to be one that I can actually do because it makes alot of sense to me. I am going to get rid of pop, drink my water, and do my exercise. I can't wait to see 249. I am going to do this. I have to. There is no other option.

I'm doing it
 

Hello,

I'm so psyched. I'm finally feeling really motivated to get this done. I've been on the elliptical for 15 minutes and am getting ready to do the last five that I need. I went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of healthy food. I"ve had no pop and have had almost all of my water. I am so ready to do this. I read the Volumetrics book and it made so much sense to me that I know I can accomplish anything.
I just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I'm doing good.
I hope all of your weekends are just as successful.

I"m sorry I've been MIA for so long. I've been lurking mostly, checking the post whenever I have a few minutes here and there and I'm proud of the successes everybody is having.

Shelley: It's great to hear you are so motivated :) Keep us posted on how the volumetrics is working for you.

Felicia: Congrats on your loss! You are such an inspiration.

I weighed myself and I'm still stuck around 235, so no change for me. I think I need to kick up my exercising a notch. I've been getting great support from my fiance. I'm looking forward to see how we all do next week.
Keep up the good work!

Karla

Hi everyone! I apologize I didn't post over the weekend but I thought I'd better drop in and say hello today.

Naughtyangel - HUGE congrats on the loss! You've done so well - you must be very proud of yourself. I'm proud of you. :) I bet it feels so good to see the scale going down after all of your hard work. Three cheers for you!!!

Squiggly - don't worry too much about the gain. It could always be water weight. I know that in the past, if I've eaten some things that weren't on my diet, boy would the water weight creep on. However, it was usually gone in 1 or 2 days. The volumetrics sounds interesting and it's so important that it makes sense to you. For some reason, it's always easier to follow a diet that makes sense because it makes you feel you're doing things the 'right' way. I'm right behind you and cheering you on the whole way! Make sure you come on and post how you're getting on. :)

Karla - Just hang in there. Sooner or later we all hit those ugly plateaus and they're never easy. However, if you keep on keeping on, soon you'll have a substantial loss and be so glad you did. I just know that it will break soon and you'll be on the move down that scale again. Way to go for being patient. You can do it!!!

Shalia - You have really made a dent in your measurements! I'm so happy for you! It sounds like you're toning and increasing your muscle mass, which is fantastic! Go muscle! It burns fat! I bet those 6lbs will go before you know it. I'm really pleased for you and all that you've accomplished! Wow, huh? :)

As for me? Well, I went to Curves on Thursday and Friday. I'm still only allowed to do one circuit but after next week I should be able to kick it up a notch. I'm currently at an 18.5lb loss (the ticker doesn't register half a pound) so I'm pretty pleased. I don't think I've ever lost that much weight in 18 days! I'm dreading the impending plateau, but I have just GOT to stay focused and not give in. I know that if I keep with it I'll have a decent loss eventually but I'm kind of scared too. I knew on girl who had a 19 day plateau and I think that would drive me nuts. Oh well, I'll enjoy the loss for now and worry about the plateau when I come to it.

I hope you're all well. Take care and remember - we can DO this!

All the best.

Alisha :hat: