Well, I was scared to get on the scale today!!! But I did it. And it was just as bad as I expected. So...

SW-219.5
Valentines Day goal-213
St. Patricks Day goal-208

I'm going to try for just one pound a week. I don't know if I feel too pressured to lose more or what, but I think one pound a week will be manageable between small changes in my diet and regular exercise.

Welcome JackieRN and Dancermom1023-Glad to see you over here!

Erin-you are an inspiration! I know you've been battling a plateau for a while, but you've lost 50 lbs, and with a new baby! I don't know much about kids, but I do know that babies take up a lot of time, so I'm really impressed that you find time to eat right and exercise. Erin, I don't work and as I said, have no kids, and I don't make the time to exercise and eat right. Be proud of yourself!!

Quillie-have you checked out the McDougall message board? They have a lot of information, recipes, etc.

haleygirl-I will gain a bunch of water weight overnight if I eat something with a lot of sodium the night before. Could that be it?

Everyone else, good job on your goals! I say we make this the year we lose the weight, and this time next year we'll just have to worry about maintenance!

Anyway, I'm going to my mom's house today and we're going for a walk. She has a side business of dog sitting in her home and right now she has the cutest dog. He's a 130 lb. Swiss Mountain dog and I just love him, so we're going to take him for a walk. Then I'm going to go grocery shopping and stock up on some healthy foods.

Have a great day, everyone!!

Thank you for your weigh ins so far! For everyone else TODAY IS WEIGH IN!

So the last month or so I've been doing HORRIBLY. I am a binge eater and unfortunately have resulted back to eating way to dang much. I'm upset with myself for always turning back. I keep thinking when I move (March) then I'll start new things and try harder, but I know I need to figure something out before then. I'm 180 as of today, which is a ten pound gain since our Thanksgiving challenge

Billie (zinke) and Skinny Teen – Welcome back 

Dee – I’m glad your family was so kind and helpful about everything!

Jackie – Welcome! I’m so glad you’re going to try veganism. I’m amazed almost daily by how happy I am with my decision! I used to eat Kashi go Lean also but gave it up because of the honey. If you have a Trader Joe’s try their Golden Flax or Health Valley’s Golden Flax, I found them somewhat similar.

Haley – Oh so sorry! I hope everything works out for the best for your daughter. Be sure to take care of yourself. You don’t gain 5lbs overnight! You may bloat five pounds, drink your water and it’ll be back down.

Erin – I love your red hair!

Darby – you and me both on the weigh-ins. I think we’ve both been hovering around the same area for a while – time to get under 200!! I love big dogs (mine is around 145lbs) have fun today!

Jill – hang in there. I’m a binger also and it’s so hard to overcome. The only thing that seems to help is that when I feel bingy (you know that feeling!) is to stop and journal for a bit first. It doesn’t always help but it does most of the time. Hang in there girly. Where are you moving to?

I’m doing Wed. weigh-ins for the BL challenge and was at 212.6 this Wednesday. I’m starting this challenge at 212, woosh down a bit already!

Darby1-ya i really need to keep track of my sodium and plus i know that sometimes when u go from no activity to activity that can make you retain also cause the past 2 days ive been doing 45 min of cardio kickboxing and 30 min of weights so im just going to keep it up

Fat Chick B Gone-thanks, it's been just her and i for the past 4 years, she's happy...i guess if he has changed then it's not so bad as long as he keeps going to visits consistently...i know when i see him in court im going to be shaking and crying though, i just want to get tuesday over with!

I am up to 272 today...not sure why I have been at 267 the past few days. I did eat Chinese fried rice last night take out so maybe the MSG or sodium did it.

Thanks! It's a half-marathon though, at this point I'd probably need way more than 6 months to train for a full marathon! Although, if this goes well I might consider it for next year.

I'm jealous, I'm such a fan of huge dogs! The rescue we foster for adopted out a rhodesian ridgeback recently and just got an english mastiff. Unfortunatly our homeowner's association has a 35 lb limit for dogs. We stretch the rule a little, we've fostered dogs around 50-ish and our dog is 47, but I think someone might notice if we brought a 100lb + dog home.

I used to have the regular Kashi GoLean almost every day and had the darndest time trying to find something I liked to replace it. I buy Nature's Path Flax Plus now (also at TJ's), it's great. During the winter I also like oatmeal (the hardy steel-cut stuff) for breakfast, nice change sometimes.

Weigh in this AM was 182. Blah, couple pounds of NYE and the resulting hangover day bloat there. On the bright side I got 4 runs and my yoga class in this week.

I have an English Mastiff - love love love them! She wasn't a rescue (looonnnngg story) but I've been keeping my eye out for another one from a rescue. It's not quite the right time yet, but getting there.

Thanks, I'll try that next time I go to TJs. I just dropped $100 earlier this week at the store so I should be good to go for a while!

Fat Chick B Gone - Do you have pictures of your dog you would share? I'm sure she'll be adopted by the time you're ready for another dog, but this is Dochka, my current big dog crush

CW- 110.8
MG-109
GW-107

So I know I just wrote about how well my family is adjusting, but yesterday I had a bit of a break down after being badgered by my friends about being a vegan. I hadn't seen any of them and we hung out New years eve. One of my best friends was there who is a vegetarian and we were talking about her coming to visit when she yelled out how we won't be able to go to the cheesecake factory anymore (I said I could go, just not eat cheesecake) and then the rest of the people asked why so I said I was a strict vegetarian and they just started throwing out ridiculous questions (i.e. "can you eat an animal cracker that is shaped like an animal" and "if you were on a desert island and only had a cow would you kill it") and flaunting their love for dead animals. I knew they were pretty intoxicated and not actually interested in discussing it, so I tried to ignore them and just said "thats not the point, I'm just doing what I can to reduce suffering." But this has happened a couple times so now I'm worried about going back to school because there will be so many more people I have to tell (including my really good friend/roomate who's family owns a cattle farm). I love being a vegan. I feel so much more at peace now. I would love to have real conversations about veganism with people, but most people just react negatively and I don't know how to tell people without causing a difficult situation. Any advice?

Dee

I do have pictures I can post - just not here at work. I'll try to remember over the weekend. OMG Dochka is GORGEOUS, want now! She looks so timid and afraid - the big ones are the biggest babies btw do you post on VF forums? I swear I've seen your cutie avatar before.

Dee - I'm so sorry. The only advice I have is to not take it to heart and don't feed their fire. I had a few friends that were smart asses at first but as time has passed and they have realized just how serious this is to me they totally respect it. I'd say just don't get down about it and try to talk to them one on one when drinking and/or eating is not involved. Hang in there kiddo.

my weigh in this morning was 151.5 ugh so much work to do.
jillinicole-i'm a binge eater too!! i know that exercise really helps me get my eating under control so i need to get that going. today was my last day at a really stressful job so i think that will be good for me healthwise. i have a TON of studying to do this semester though, so i need to use the gym as a destresser.
have a good friday ladies!!

Weight this morning was 257.5 pound. Calories for for the last two day were under 1600 so I am happy.

As far as exercise goes, I am hoping that I don't end up eating all my calories back like I have in the past.

I attempted to use the very neglected treadmill today and found that it needs some repairs. I'm gonna try to tear it apart this weekend to see if I can find the problem. In the meantime I am dusting off the WATP videos I have.

Tigger, Im sorry to hear about that incident with your friends. I have gotten a lot of that type of reaction. I used to try to respond to people but I realized they are really not curious and its as if they are afraid of you changing, missing things they usually enjoy with you. It's kind of a selfish reaction. As far as people saying how much they love meat, that is just ignorant to me. Its amazing how suddenly once you are vegan everyone cares so much about what you are eating. People are supposed to eat food to live, it doesn't define a person.
Now If I am confronted I say "it's not for everyone, but I feel great. I am healthier and better foods than ever." Usually that will shut people up. and from there if they ask me questions that are sincere I will talk to them.

I forgot to post my starting weight. It's 169.2. While it's exactly my Weight Watcher goals, it's 12 lbs. above where I was on October 11. It's scary how fast it can come back if you're not mindful of your eating.

Very true but congrats on the 90+ lbs loss you've maintained, that is just amazing.