Hi Red! I have no clue what`s up with my pm`s but I`m trying to find the problem.
I`m happy to be back with ya!
To everyone else, I hope to get to know you all better. I`m still thinking of a challenge for myself, I`m not in weight loss mode right now but I know I want to lose the rest of this weight, so I`m taking baby steps to get back in the game!
Gonna check on the pm problem, I`ll be back later to announce my challenge with probably a very long post.
*I changed my email and forgot to verify so I couldn`t recieve pm`s or post, all is fixed now!
As I expected, there was no time or no facilities to check in here. Sorry about that.
The trip was amazing, and I'm proud to say I did stick with all my challenges... for part of it. They were a) keeping a food log, b) not eating after 7 pm or after dinner, c) not eating sweets. I kept a food log until I lost the notebook. I did not eat after dinner, but this challenge quickly became impractical - we never made it to a campsite before 7 pm, then we had to set up and prepare dinner, which often ended up being around 8 or 9 pm, and then it was straight to bed, so not eating after dinner was no challenge. I did stay away from sweets for about two thirds of the trip.
Anyhow, now that I'm back, I'll be coming up with new challenges very very soon.
Hi all Family just left, and got everything cleaned up. Off to bed, for about 5 hours, before church, and up to see the other part of the family.
Follow menu challenge - complete. I have to say, while I wish I had done even better with my eating, I don't feel horrible. Though I really did feel the difference. on a good note, I turned down the bunny my mom bought me, and everyone else, for the holiday. I know I could have had it, but I didn't need it, so I said buh bye!
Have a great day/night/weekend/holiday everyone. Hope to talk more tomorrow
ha, ok, didn't know that you could wrirte it, plus, i love all the cool little smileys...anyway, i was doing no pop and no sweets (such as ice cream, candy bars, cake, brownies and other bad crap) well today is day 2 of no pop, but i killed out on the sweets challenge yesterday, i think one at a time is best for me right now, so tom is day 3 of no pop...see ya'll then! and keep up all the great work ladies...you all are great inspiration!!
Hi all. Well, got through the day. Was able to leave behind some more EAster treats I was given. I will see how well I did at weigh in tomorrow.
I will start 3 new challenges tomorrow. All will be level 3's. One is in honor of Red, the other two are more about moderation with occasional treats. Want to really focus on that right now.
Challenge 1- do some kind of ab work every day - gym or home.
Challenge 2 - follow menu and stay under 2000 calories per day.
FOOD PORN ALERT! FOOD PORN ALERT!
Challenge 3 - no chocolate. Exceptions are slimfast shakes, and the granola bars and coco wheats I have. Neither of these are anything I binge on or self medicate with, and I need to use up the last two. Then they will be replaced with non alternatives.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend, and I hear from more later. Crystal, good luck with your challenges
Hello everyone...the few who are posting these days.... It's Monday morning here and I am still at home because the gym doesn't open early this morning (third Monday of month). I am going to leave a bit early and get some walking in though. I really need to get a workout in.
Well, yesterday I was just exhausted for some reason. Couldn't keep my eyes open and was at the racetrack for most of the day for a big race. I haven't been for a while so it was good to check in, keep my face circulating, but I just couldn't understand why I was so tired.
It's like the approach of PMS?!?!...I don't know, what a bummer...like how far away can I start blaming it on PMS??? I am trying hard to not give in to the disappointment and discouragement twins...but they are really taunting me again after all the hard work and apparent progress I was making, it now seems to be turning around. If I really thought I could blame it on mere fluid retention then I'd be ok but these days it seems to be a cloudier picture than before. Well, I'm NOT going to give in and THUS I am calling yesterday a pause day, my last for this challenge, which means I have about 10 days to go unless I want to restart (which I don't). I wasn't all that bad yesterday considering that I had to walk a lot and that I probably didn't even eat that much because I wasn't having proper meals, but my food intake just seemed too sloppy and haphazard and because I wasn't able to work out I wasn't happy with the overall day, the balance, which is what my challenge is about. I did do the crunches though and I did not go looking for drinking buddies after the races. Hurrah! Nonetheless, pause day. So I am once again starting out on Day 12 here. Wish me luck!
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Crystal -- Good to see you're continuing with your no pop challenge. Too bad about the sweets one but yes doing a double is tough. There's no shame in taking it slow and easy. Of course, you can tell us what you're doing in the beginning..I just ask that people keep it to a minimum and without detail afterward. As I said before, thanks for playing the game!
jolly -- That is great that you turned down the sugar-laden, transfat-oozing bunny. You really don't need that and there's nothing cute about it, is there? Three cheers for a job well done!! Awesome!!!
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Part 2 to jolly...I'm confused. Are you saying you are totally finished with the menu challenge. If so, then I have to send up the balloons. Let me know...Starting three new challenges?!! Wow!! And one in honor of me...oh my! I AM honored! They all sound great and I love your food porn alerts! We can blur our eyes for what follows if we are feeling particularly vulnerable to the triggers! Thanks!
Sushi -- Welcome back!! Glad you had a good time and kudos to you for not going overboard on the challenges even when circumstances didn't allow for regulation-type days. I look forward to hearing lots from you! Things are a bit quiet around here. So, with you and Caro back I'm hoping they'll pick up nicely!
girlie -- Congrats on Day 6! Busy these days, are you? Not like you to be so short on words...
Caro -- I'm waiting for that "very long post" you mentioned...
Hi Red, sorry you`re feeling so blah I can so relate.
I know for me I started TOM today and couldn`t wait for it to just get here, since Wednesday I`ve been feeling absolutely horrible...not to mention full moon effect at the same time...I havent had pms this bad in a long time. I remember you mentioned before feeling a little out of sorts during the full moon too!
Yesterday was a very bad day, but wouldn`t you know I feel 1000% better today/just in time for the cramps to hit me tomorrow. YAY!
I`ve heard up to a week before you start your period you can feel the effects of PMS. Didn`t you work some long or late night hours recently? Could be a bunch of things, Hang in there, it will pass!
Sorry I didn`t post yesterday, but the mood I was in I figured I`d better wait.
Okay, well here I am at 197 and I feel the "weight loss mode" kicking in a little more every day. I decided to take my pic today since I have one at my highest weight exactly one year ago. I`ve been feeling so terrible that I gained back a few pounds (185 was my lowest last September) but when I saw the pics next to eachother, what a difference. I can`t believe that was me at 240. I don`t want to ever be that person again.
I have not been exercising, not eating well, not really caring in 7 months. Statistics say I should have gained it all back plus some(especially at the fast rate I lost it) .
I know one thing for sure, my body at 197 is much different now than than 197 I was at last summer while working out. I may weigh the same but it doesn`t feel like the same body, or look like it! Shows how beneficial the exercise is. I`m not ready to go for an exercise challenge, kids on vacation this week and I`m still busy with the house (we just bought a house and moved in 2 weeks ago, having 3 floors to run up and down all day should count for something! haha) but I have to do it soon, I want to...but I`m just not ready.
SO my challenge is, something I really need to quit, eating at night. I don`t eat at night, I EAT...binge... not all the time and not as much as before I started losing, but enough to know if I stop eating after dinner I can drop a few pounds. I`m going to start today which I almost made an excuse "the Sopranos are on!" I can`t do it tonight! I dont watch much TV (it`s an eating trigger for me) but Sopranos is my thing. I think I can do it!
So that`s it, no eating after 6.
I went real hard core with the light eating, heavy exercise, quit drinking soda, pushing the water...and yes it worked I lost 50 pounds in 3 months. But as I feared, not something I can live with forever. Very different game plan this time.
So thats my story! And for the record, I didn`t leave the site when I went off my "diet", I was without computer until we moved. Kinda makes me wonder, maybe it wouldn`t have taken me so long to get back on track to reach my goal if I had access to the site. Once I lost the support here I pretty much stopped doing what I was doing. I just peeked in one day last week to see how Red was doing, started reading and the urge to keep going just kinda happened. I owe every pound I`ve lost to this site, Red and this great challenge. And I`m thrilled to be back!
Hi guys,
Boy how much I missed you, but this month, yes it has been an entire month since 17th of March when I sat at Pittsburg Airport, was so crazy.
Now I am back from my trip. I am doing ok, I do go to the gym, not everyday but at least 3 times a week, I ate not perfect but somewhat ok. And most importantly I have not gained, instead I am somewhere between 239 and 236, next Friday I will provide official score.
I've not gone to Denver - still, and there is a chance I will be in Philli and NY two weeks from now, I am still playing it by ear.
In other news, though I did not screw up the work done before, I am unhappy and feel like I could be doing so much more on my health and weigt loss. I've come to a complete realization that you guys, yes you, have been the intergral part of my success, and I am need to be accountable. So here it goes, w/o further adoo...(drums, please)
Challenge A: H2O Level 2 (4/16 - Day0)
Challenge B: Food Level 3 (4/16 - Day0)
Challenge C: Gym Level 3 (4/16 - Day1)
Talk to you tomorrow.
p.s. I will try to catch up on events of this thread, and talk/encourage everyone, for now just a word of Congratulations for everyone, because you are still here and chugging away, hour by hour and day by day.
bahhh! back to day one for me...i had 2 pops today...but tom is another day!! im all over it this time ladies! just wait, oh yeah, you'll see lol, hope you all have great, super strong week!!
Well, it's nearly bedtime for me and I'm calling it clear on Day 12. Not the best, but good enough and I controlled certain urges and, more importantly, I forced myself to do some exercise. Did the 90 minutes walking as part of getting to work, walked a bit more at lunch break and just did my crunches. More and more I am saying to myself....what CAN I do, not coming up with all the reasons I can't do something or why it's so hard, blah, blah, blah. Yes, it's hard. Life sucks sometimes. So, let's go back some years to "Airport" or something like that... Charlton Heston, Karen Black, jetliner malfunctioning or whatever was happening. All the reasons in the world it ain't going to reach its goal, but noooo, you think what you CAN do. I am in the pilot seat and I am going to get this baby home, no matter what it takes.
Or, as in the Apollo 13 crisis, some of you may be feeling like you are currently facing your own worst disaster, but...."with all due respect, (ladies), I believe this is gonna be our finest hour."
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Crystal -- Oh well, starting over is no shame. Don't you have pause days? or are you just too early in the challenge to take one? You have read the first post, right? where it explains everything? Well, thanks a lot for the encouragement and power wishes. I am really, really going to need them. This is going to be a **** of a week.... Ok, I've been meaning to ask...just what is a "booby baby", or shouldn't I ask?
CBETA -- Hi there. Nice to have you back. Glad you found us! That's great that you haven't gained weight and are ready to take on a challenge. Best of luck, and yes, please do try to check out the thread of late. We have a lot of new faces. Things have been rather quiet so I'm really glad to see some of our more prolific members coming back..not that our quieter ones are any less welcome. It just makes for a great mix.
Caro -- I'm feeling better today, thanks, some stomach cramps though, which is odd. Oh, a week before TOM I can understand, but two weeks is getting me ticked! Still, it could be the full moon as you said. I hadn't known it was full since I don't have my moon calendar this year. Just checked on the Net and I see it was full here on Saturday. No wonder I had so much energy last week! I was surprising myself, just kept going and going and then bang! from yesterday I felt so out of it, not blah, just like a light switch had been turned OFF! Yes, I am definitely strongly affected by the moon...some people have a name for that... Also, yes, I was going, going, going with the early hours, the late hours, and yes, that probably had some effect, right? You mean, I'm not Superwoman?
Well, I'm sorry you were in a lousy, non-posting mood yesterday. Hope things are better now. That's good that you have a picture of yourself at a high weight. Twelve additional pounds from your low is not that much. Heck you could have put on tons more! But just stop the creep upward! Exercise, yes, is enormous. I pay little attention to just the scale. I know how I feel with more muscle, whether I weigh more, it still feels good. Being lighter but having less muscle doesn't look nice and it doesn't feel nice. I just want the fat to come off, that's all, but keep the muscle. It's hard work and a difficult balancing act, but I am determined to do it. You can too! Yes, TV can be a major trigger. I used to be a horrible night binge-er...even without "the munchies".... What about taping your favorite programs and watching them at a less vulnerable time, say right before the gym or something? I tape a lot of shows because of my unusual hours. Also, I like being able to fast-forward through commercials or watch something over again, especially to catch some Japanese phrase I didn't get. Well, I better get some shut-eye now. Another pre 4 a.m. rising tomorrow. Keep writing. I'm glad the thread is a help to you. It is for me as well. Later!
Last edited by redballoon; 04-17-2006 at 08:08 AM.
Well I didn`t make Day(Night)1 lastnight, not a binge but I did eat after posting, I had only a small amount of dinner yesterday (around 2 pm) and realized I was starved by 9pm.... no big deal I`ll start today as Day 1. No excuses today!
Red, you`re right 12 pounds isn`t so bad. I know I mentioned it to you but I should be honest with everyone else... at Xmas I was up to 210. I was back to this weight by the end of Jan and have been holding steady.
Probably the only reason I dropped a few was the stress and work I`ve done to get this house. I know very well how I GAINED it though, I was hurt pretty bad by a friend I cared a lot about and I made myself feel better with food. I knew this everytime I`d sit down and eat a whole bag of chips...but I just kept doing it for a good 2 months.
Tv is weird for me...It`s kind of backwards I guess, most of the time I don`t get the binge from watching TV, instead I`ll plan to eat and then find something to watch while eating. Those 2 months of eating non stop I`d have days when I`d play a whole season of Sopranos... I got some big time issues.
And yes, life does suck sometimes! I`m learning to focus more on the positive...trying to at least. I like the Apollo 13 quote. You are an inspiration with the exercise! I know it`ll be contagious, I`ll be back to my elliptical soon. I should put a TV down in that room That might get me going! Ha!
Marbleflys- sorry to hear about your dog I know how tough that can be.
CBETA-WOW 3 challenges! You go, girl!! Lots of luck to you!
Crystal- If I had to choose, never eat again or never drink soda again, I`d chose to keep the soda. My big weakness. Right now I`m not even on the diet stuff, I`m back on the hard core Coke I know how bad it is for me but what can I say, I`m an addict. I am trying to keep it around 2 cans a day (better than 6 I guess!). I wish you lots of luck!!!
I got your PM but it says I can't reply to you. Post here or change your options....hope to see you soon! 
slogging through a night shift, trying to stay awake...it's painful...drinking coffee, but NOT eating!! Hurrah! 
They were a) keeping a food log, b) not eating after 7 pm or after dinner, c) not eating sweets. I kept a food log until I lost the notebook. I did not eat after dinner, but this challenge quickly became impractical - we never made it to a campsite before 7 pm, then we had to set up and prepare dinner, which often ended up being around 8 or 9 pm, and then it was straight to bed, so not eating after dinner was no challenge. I did stay away from sweets for about two thirds of the trip. 
bunny my mom bought me, and everyone else, for the holiday. I know I could have had it, but I didn't need it, so I said buh bye!
redoing Day 12...
It's Monday morning here and I am still at home because the gym doesn't open early this morning (third Monday of month). I am going to leave a bit early and get some walking in though. I really need to get a workout in. 
I AM honored! 
Glad you had a good time and kudos to you for not going overboard on the challenges even when circumstances didn't allow for regulation-type days. I look forward to hearing lots from you! Things are a bit quiet around here. So, with you and Caro back I'm hoping they'll pick up nicely! 
done with 12!
Still, it could be the full moon as you said. I hadn't known it was full since I don't have my moon calendar this year. Just checked on the Net and I see it was full here on Saturday. No wonder I had so much energy last week! I was surprising myself, just kept going and going and then bang! from yesterday I felt so out of it, not blah, just like a light switch had been turned OFF! Yes, I am definitely strongly affected by the moon...some people have a name for that... 
Also, yes, I was going, going, going with the early hours, the late hours, and yes, that probably had some effect, right? You mean, I'm not Superwoman? 
That might get me going! Ha! 
I know how bad it is for me but what can I say, I`m an addict. I am trying to keep it around 2 cans a day (better than 6 I guess!). I wish you lots of luck!!! 