Ever onward, guys! I think whoever suggested a special thread for positive thinking was on to something. It'd be neat to have a weight/fitness support group on here devoted only to posting daily POSITIVE ONLY reports and affirmations of how the eating and fitness is going. I believe I will post and see if anyone bites!

I posted the above on the "What Are We Hungry For" thread that is so faithfully kept going by LuckyLadyBug and discusses the emotional and psychological aspects of weight loss and/or maintenance. I think it was the selfsame LLB that suggested there be an offshoot of this thread as a support group for positive thinking only related to the health, weight, fitness, spiritual or whatever relates to the struggle (we all know what the struggle is, so I won't try to define it). I apologize if it was someone else's idea, but I am aging rapidly and my memory is not what it once was.

I'd simply love it if every single person on this entire, whole forum and all lurkers would post a daily thought, affirmation, report or whatever as to how their personal weight loss/fitness journey (or anything else) is going.

I need to think positive, guys, and I find everyone on this forum so helpful in inspiring me to do so! So post (or not, but not would be a negative) if you want. (Not intended to replace anyone's group, just a different bandwagon to jump on if anyone has time).



My positive reflection about myself today is that on Sunday I hopped on the scale as usual and found I'd gained again. But instead of going on a new dulce de leche binge, I managed to jump back on my weight loss program (which is two exercise sessions per day and controlled calories at various levels). I still have pain today but it is less as I've been doing SLOW exercise, taking medication and eating healthfully. At this point I have put back 30 pounds of the 100 I took off over the past few years. I will reverse the trend. (I do not post my exact weight ... sets up a negative reaction in my brain).

Anyone else?

Yes...happy thought are the cure. Positive mental attitude leads to positively smaller butts!

Well, here's my happy thought for today. I MUST go and buy some shorts that fit. I have lost enough that I have gone beyond the plateau of two years ago (went from 245 to 175, then put about 15 of it back on). I now have no more short, or jeans, that fit and look respectable. I am too old for the loose-fitting, ragged look. So...with credit card in hand I shall rejoice in buying new clothes! (My husband will rejoice until the bill comes! )

Boating mommy

My positive though for the day is that I stayed within my WW points today and I even had some chocolate ice cream. I didnt cheat journalizing either. I also think I did fairly well on my linear algebra exam. I am feeling like I accomplished something good today. I hope I can keep up with being honest with myself...talk to you soon Crone!

Boatingmommy...congrats on the pants!!! I bought new ones a few weeks ago and they are loose on me now. I still dont feel like I look how I want to look but I know how you feel!

It has been 2 weeks and 2 days since I gave up any kind of pop (soda to you Americans, I guess, at least according to my American hubby.) I was drinking diet, caffeine-free Coke, but I don't miss it. Replaced it with ice water and I'm feeling much better in general. AND I've lost four pounds in the last two weeks.

Great idea Crone. I've always enjoyed your posts and tune in regularly to see what the latest "game" is.

Hi all~~ I like the idea of this thread. My positive thought for today is, "WE ARE NOT FAILURES UNTIL WE GIVE UP." Battles we have lost and will lose again, but the war isn't over. Have a nice day.

Hi Crone....and everyone else....Ok....my positive thought for today....

"I am going to give my best shot at getting back on track.....I know I will have a rough go at it...but if I at least try....I am doing better than not trying..."

LisaL

Hi Crone. So nice to see your post on this one. On my weigh in last week, my leader lead an excercise on positive self-esteem. We were given an excerise of looking at ourselves in the mirror for 1 minute. While looking at ourself, tell yourself some of your positive attributes. So far, I've only thought about this and have not practised it. TODAY I WILL DO THIS EXCERSISE!!!

... checking in with several positive entries ... the first being a huge THANK YOU for the gift of sharing your happy thoughts! As Boatingmommy says, *Happy thought are the cure. Positive mental attitude leads to positively smaller butts!* (Congratulations on breaking through the plateau and developing that need for NEW JEANS!)

My report for today is that I positively did binge on dulce de leche milk (not to mention some Cheetoes) on the way home from the meeting I was covering last night BUT today I am drinking lots of water and have already had a long, slow walk of an hour's duration. I am POSITIVE I am back on track and am beating the dulce de leche monkey on my back!


It is a beautiful day and I am alive. What could be better than that?

Echristo: I am POSITIVE you aced your algebra class ... quite a feat in my view, as math makes me sick to my stomach! Everytime I read your posts, I'm impressed. You are such a together person and so in charge of yourself. You will go far (and have fun on the way).

Angel-Eyes: I love the mirror exercise and think I will add it daily. I like to remind myself that though the Evil Negative Voice likes to tell me I am a fat, old and ugly cranky person, I'm really a fit, young and incredibly beautiful kind-hearted crone. (This could take work!)

Mom: *... but if I at least try....I am doing better than not trying...* You bet.
GO FOR IT! Your best shot is sure to produce results!

Marlana: *WE ARE NOT FAILURES UNTIL WE GIVE UP!* Amen. Somewhere I read that many people *fail* because they don't realize how close they are to success when they quit trying.

Wildfire: WTG on the four pounds and the NO MORE POP! Replacing diet soda with ice water is a good idea. I'm thinking of getting some root beer or cola extract and adding a drop to my water bottle to see if it gives it a flavor boost. One thing I positively know is that in Arizona in the summer (fall, winter, spring, too) I need to add more water and less sugar to my day and I WILL DO IT!

Power Charge! Onward & Downward! Today is the first day of the rest of our lives (to be lived with smaller and/or firmer butts, as the case may require)!

Crone....I am glad I have not found that dulce de leche here.....ha ha....cause I have heard so many of you saying how it is to you like cryptonite is to superman....and we know how weak it makes him......but your still trying....thats better than throwing in the towel....

Ok....I gotta admit...I didnt start my day off great....I baked cookies yesterday for the boys...( I generally overbake what I should so I can freeze them in small baggies to thaw as snacks for the boys)....well I ended up eating like 4 for breakfast today....SOOO....from here on in....I am going to force myself to quit all this overeating and over indulgence.....I am the RULER of my body....( at least I like to think I am...ha ha) and I SHOULD be in complete control of what enters my mouth....so.....as of right now.....I will take a long hard stab at eating less and not eating all the junk I have been craving....(of course TOM is here which generally gives me a massive sweet tooth...but it should be over soon).....

Angel....good idea on the mirror....might have to try that....How are things going for you? How are E, L & M doing? Well I hope!...Jesse is still in a lot of discomfort.....he has awoken me 3 nights in a row now ... seems to bother him mostly during the night and early morning....he wanted to go back to school today but I dare not let him till tomorrow or Friday....

Anyhoot.....like crone said...."It's a beautiful day and I am alive, what could be better?".....It is gorgeous here and I am going to go enjoy it.....take care all...LisaL

Hey, I like this idea! Daily positive affirmation...just what I need! I'd love to share, if I may...

I am a regular on another thread, and one of the gals there shared the following quote with us yesterday...for some reason, it has had such an effect on me...a good one...it has just stayed with me and so I have had two great, successful, hopeful days on program...

Betty wrote:

After being OP for just over a year that's the question I have never asked myself about losing this weight. If I did, the answer would always be the same. I want it more than anything else I can imagine.

What I am saying is that I know I want to lose the weight with everything that I am and everything that I have. At this point, there is no option to stop or go back to the way it was before. This means I will do journal, count points, eat OP even when I WANT to eat off program. It means that my selfish desire to cheat gets swept away by my overwhelming commitment to me to get thin.

In my opinion, that's how much commitment you need to make to yourself in order to succeed. It's not a question of IF you can do this but WILL you do this.

Everyone CAN do WW. Everyone CAN lose weight. In my opinion it really is a question of how bad you want it. You have to want this enough to stop doing the things that got us here and to start doing the things that will get us where we want to be. I hope this makes sense.

145.6 lbs and counting!
OP Since 2/6/2001 - 5'4''
On my way to being 'Fabulous by Forty!'
As of 6/13/2001 I am no longer a 350# woman!!
As of 11/23/2001 I am no longer a 300# woman!!
BMI: WAS 66 - NOW 43
397.6 / 252 / 144

This is the kick in the A$$ that I needed...look at those stats! This is DO-ABLE! I just have to DO IT! And I will! And so will all of us, if we keep that goal in mind and make it more important than everything else.

Keep up the positive chatter...it's great!

What a marvelous Idea!

This is wonderful. No negative vibes! I think this is something we all need on our journey to a healthier life!

I am trying (no, I AM going) to get back to my goal weight. This is something to which we each hold the key, all we have to do is be in control of our actions. And we all have it within ourselves to be successful. So let's apply positive rather than negative attitudes each day! Start out each day with a smile on our faces and meet the challenges head on!

Good luck to each of you!

A Friend

Morning Ladies,
I have a hard day coming up today, well not really, but it could be unless I get my mind in the right place to begin with. My Sister is coming today and she really really gets on my nerves. Our personalitys just clash. But I've made up my mind that no matter what she says I will not let it bother me one bit. I know this works, I've done it before in situations out of my control. Right now I will start self talk telling myself that I will not let anything she says get to me and that I will sail through the day. AND I WILL. Have a good day everybody. And remember everything starts in our own minds, either negitive or possitive.

Or: All things are possible to positive people! (Especially weight management

Does anyone remember Pollyanna? I used to think that was a silly book, but the older (no, more mature and wiser) I get, the more I like what Polly preached: No matter how bad things get, we can always find something to be glad about.

I'm applying that to my weight management report for the day. Yesterday, thinking that I would go back on my total program after the slight deviation involving dulce de leche and cheetoes, I did well all day. Then I bought some great low cal ice cream bars that I like and ate a few (quite a few) more than I planned. Then some stress happened and I ate a few more. Then I stopped and lo THERE ARE MANY, MANY BARS LEFT IN THE BOX. So my calorie count was high but I realized THIS WAS NOT A BINGE! I needed a higher count day to transition back to lower calories, but I did my exercises, drank water, studied, finished my work assignment and felt generally in control of life (if I were still a negative person, I'd say that's when life generally kicks one in the a$$, but even if that happens, I would know the good news that I'M STILL ALIVE AND KICKING BACK!)

Katrinabgood: Thanks for posting Betty's story. She's an amazing inspiration. I read the post last night and it really helped me. Bears repeating:

***In my opinion it really is a question of how bad you want it. You have to want this enough to stop doing the things that got us here and to start doing the things that will get us where we want to be. I hope this makes sense.*** ~ Betty

Mom: Hmmm, that's a good way to look at dulce de leche milk ... it seems to empower me and make me feel as strong as Superwoman (or Isis ... heroine of an old Saturday morning kid's show, which I guess is dating me by mentioning. I always wanted to be her) ... BUT WHEN THE EUPHORIA WEARS OFF, THE EFFECT IS MUCH AS ANY OTHER UNHEALTHY SUBSTANCE WE PUT IN OUR BODY ... IT WEAKENS US. In this case, the dulce de leche's 18 grams of fat and 480 calories in a tiny bottle clogs my arteries, undermines my self-improvement program and packs on pounds of fat. THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THIS, THOUGH, IS THAT FIGHTING OFF THE LURE OF THE STUFF MAKES ME STRONGER. Each time I resist, my willpower strengthens and this carries over into every aspect of life, not just weight management. Have I mentioned the little bottles have a picture of a popular baseball player on the label? An athelete drinking this stuff? The positive side of that is that I recognize the duplicity and profit motive that went into putting him on an unhealthy product. (It'd be ok to drink ONE now and then, I think! Surely I can drink just ONE?)

Mickey: Hello. Thanks for posting. *NO NEGATIVE VIBES!* I'm going to get to my goal, too! I've never reached the goal I set out for when I lost the major weight, but that's all to the good. It keeps me on my toes (figuratively speaking) and reminds me it's the journey that counts, anyhow.

Marlana: I know you are right: *EVERYTHING STARTS IN OUR OWN MIND!* I am telling myself that hourly now. Things I might see as negative, I'm telling myself are challenges. Negatives are morphing into challenges, just as I'm morphing into a fitter person. (I'm already gorgeous.) Enjoy your visit with your sister. I know what it's like to clash with a sibling ... the flip side of this I sometimes think is how great it is to have a sibling.

I would apologize for the length of this post and for the SHOUTING, but apologies are kind of negative, I think, so I'll just assume everyone is used to the fact that I am capable of typing forever or until I get hungry at any rate.

Peace to all! Everything comes to her who waits and that includes a better WAIST!

Good morning ladies....well I must start off by saying my positive thought for today is that .... I finally think I am back on track...I woke up this morning feeling very positive....and I didnt start the day off eating a bunch of JUNK....I think I am going to take a stab at counting calories this time....I have tried WW's twice and liked it both times....but I think I need to try something new and different!!!....Can anyone tell me what a good caloric intake range is for me???

I am feeling very confident in myself this morning and I feel like I CAN DO THIS....and I WILL DO THIS.....god help me!!!

Take care all.....LisaL

Crone.....I love that movie Pollyanna...I bought that years ago because I just loved it when I was growing up.....and she did always find the good in people....too bad we cant find the good in ourselves so easily all the time!!!

Don't have time for much....but here's a happy thought....I am looking forward to the day when I can tell if I have lint in my belly button just by looking....no poking a finger in to see! Hope that puts a smile on some faces!

Boating Mommy