Hey all. Sweet Pea, good luck on the new challenge. I like your dog's picture - is that a Golden Retriever?? Rebeca, that sounds like a REALLY good reason to move.

Day one, all three challenges met. I have to say, it was a bit tough. I had really been doing some unmindful eating lately, and eating until overstuffed, not just no longer hungry. So, scaling back on the food to a normal level is hard. I feel hungry :sp: Ah well. That's what I get. Need to get back with the program.

Have a wonderful evening all. :wave: And Red, feel free to keep the whip out, and send a few flicks my way.

day 1: Success
I did my 30 mins exercise (actually quite a lot more). it was all walking and it was at snail's pace but at least i did it. hooray

jolly if only some of your eating is unmindful i think you're doing great. i have to confess nearly all of my eating is mindless LOL. hence the bingeing.

i am deciding what to have for dinner. i was down at the shops but couldn't think what i wanted. i sat down for a minute to try and imagine what i'd like for dinner but it didn't work. actually i'd love to order deliver BAD GIRL that i am. that is getting to be a regular habit

Good morning all. Have to report that I went to bed early and got the sleep I really needed, and avoided the food that I really didn't need. Whew. I wish I could have done something more productive, like walk the dogs or go ride, but ah well. Still a save.

Sweet Pea, what has helped me the most is making a menu. that way, I don't have those "what will I eat" moments, that also lead me to order out. At least not as often. I plan around my paydays, so try to keep shopping trips to a minimum. And I still plan in favorite foods - just try to plan better for portion sizes, and use lighter substitutes when possible. Good luck.

Everyone, here's to a great day for everyone. We can do this :wave:

i'm with you on the sleep jolly. i think that was a good use of your time. studies show lack of sleep increases weight and i have to say i have not been taking care of that. staying up too late, not sleeping and then draggin my tail around during the day

nite all

Day 3 is historeeee!!
 

Ok, I figured out that yesterday was day 12 on the donuts and I did good. I only have one pause day left, but since we're going to California next week, I should be able to meet this challenge. I normally would never eat a donut. Before I worked at the donut shop, I might have had a donut once a year, so once I'm not at work next week, I'll have no problem staying away from them. I just can't use more than my one more pause day before that.

Anyways, hope you all have a good day. I've got to get moving once again on our new floor that seems will never be finished!

:wave:

Good Morning all-

Sounds like everyone is doing wonderful! I got my exercise in already and I am drinking so much water I am scare to float away...

1) Exercise daily (at least 20 min) 9 days done! LEVEL 2
2) Drink 64oz of water (at least) 9 days done! LEVEL 2

Hey all. It was a day here. Just a day. Have to go get my core work in. . . . Hmmmm what do I want to do tonight?? I really need to get some sleep too - I feel really tired.

NOt much else to report. Everyone, keep up the good work. REd, hope things are going even a little better, and we get a full report soon.

G'night all :wave:

I´m going to delay starting my new challenge until I´m done with this PMS nonsense (I´m seriously thinking of getting pregnant again just to make it go away!)...........I´ll be back in a few days.

On the upside, I´ve got some new motivation...I´ll be going to Syria soon to visit my in-laws and I´d like to lose another 5 lbs before then--then I´ll have 25 lbs gone since the last time I saw them.

--Kate

Four down, 17 to go!
 

1) Exercise daily (at least 20 min) 10 days done! LEVEL 2
2) Drink 64oz of water (at least) 10 days done! LEVEL 2

Hello again all. I just need to ramble a bit. I am trying to sort some things out in my head, and sometimes it helps to have you all add your thoughts to mine.

I am really at a tough point here. I have not weighed less than 200 pounds since probably 1994. The only other time I was this close, was about 6 years ago, when I first joined TOPS. Then, I let the work stress get to me, I closed off from everyone, and I ran screaming back to old patterns - gaining back everything I had lost. I then spent the next few years gaining and losing the same 20 pounds.

I now find myself at the same crossroads. The job I have now is stressful, but not nearly what that old one was, true. But there are other issues going on. At first I thought that the problem was due to setting a LIMIT on calories. That panic feeling of deprivation. While that may be part of it, I realize that is not the whole of it, or even the majority. The biggest thing is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of exposing the real me to the world without the protective layer of fat and binging to protect me. All of which I realize is messed up and crazy, but it is real for me. I know I have to truly believe I deserve better, I deserve to be happy, and I deserve the best. That I am worthy of it, warts and all. I just don't know how to power through this.

I have been hopping on the scale daily at the gym. So far, it has just helped keep me motivated and accountable. I don't stress out too much, as I do know that water weight, etc can fluctuate quite a bit daily. But it helps to see the results on the scale when I do have an "off" eating day. Right now, though, I don't know if that is helping me or hurting me. Is it keeping me focused on progress, or keeping me too focused on that magic plateau number I want to get under? I don't know. I am afraid if I ignore the scale for a few days, it will be that much harder to have a "reason" to make healthy choices.

Any thoughts, guys? Have any of you, particularly those who have had to lose a LOT (like me), had to deal with a particular barrier like this? What have you done to get over it?

I do not want to gain back what I have lost. I don't want to continue to feel unworthy or afraid or whatever combination of emotions is brewing in me.

HELP!!!!

JOlly- I have a long way to go too but i am starting to feel the same way! I just feel like i cant accomplish and it doesnt matter how hard i try! I popped on the scale this morning and it said 181 and i am freaking out already! i know its only 2lbs but still it felt so good to be 179 for once! Maybe i am just scared of attention and the way people will see me when i lose all of this weight! Lets just try to concentrate on right now and not look that far into the future! When it comes the time we will deal with it THEN! Lets try to make the right choices and be healthy for ourselves so we can fit into the sexy cloth and not feel jealous of those beautiful woman at the gym with a "perfect" body!!!

COme on girl! Lets do it!

Hi all! Donut challenge is good for day 13. Unfortunately though, with the stress of putting in this floor and my house in such a disaster (which makes me crazy!), my food choices have not been good at all! I weighed in 2 pounds heavier, although I'm sure a lot of it is water due to TOM. Still, rather frustrating all in all. I have to admit that the California trip has me worried. Family members have BBQ's planned, and the long time on the road has me worried too. I guess if I can just maintain until we get back I'll be happy

Jolly - :hug: I sometimes feel the same way. I sometimes think that being fat is a way to hide yourself. I think I've been so used to hiding that I'm sometimes unsure I want to come out of that "safe" place. However, I also know how good I'm feeling now that I've managed to lose so much. Clothes are fitting so much better and I can actually buy them in the misses section now rather than the women's. I have more energy, I'm not always wondering if my husband or my kids are embarrassed to be seen with me and I actually find my self doing things like climbing on the jungle gym with my 2 year old and going down the slide! I could have never done that before because my butt would never have fit!

I guess those are the kind of things that have kept me going. I can't say that I've never gotten off track, because I sure have, but, thinking of the GOOD things that have come out of my weight loss sure helps to keep me going.

One other thing I did last year was to actually take a break. I think I burned out on the whole "diet" thing. I decided to just practice maintaining for a while. I made sure I weighed in on schedule to make sure I didn't gain and I never gave up my workouts, but it sure was nice to take some of the pressure off and just quit worrying so much about the losing weight. The surprising part was that I ended up losing another 10 pounds in 5 months! I'm not sure taking a break would work for everyone, but in my case, when I started back up again I felt ready to go and felt that I had "adjusted" to my new self.

Keep thinking good thoughts. I'm sure you've found many of your own NSV's that made you feel really good about yourself. Don't give up! You've come so far and don't want to have to start over again! You can do this!!!!! :carrot: