300+ And Ready To Try Again.......#224
 

WELCOME

We are a group of people who are working together to lose our excess weight.
We are on different plans and are of different sizes.
We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We recently started a Topic of the Day.

Monday........Motivation Monday
Tuesday.......Tuesday Tips
Wednesday.....Wednesday Weigh ins
Thursday......Thankful Thursday
Friday........Friday Facials, Fingernails and Fun
Saturday.......Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Sunday.........Soup and Salad Sunday - recipes

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share. We have found them very helpful. We also share heartaches and fears...joys and celebrations.

Please feel free to jump right in with us.
And be sure to check if there is a second page. We don't want anyone to miss any posts.

WELCOME! :wave:

Hey guys......
 

Well, I am here and I still haven't given up on my resolve yet. I am here to tell you that I am going to get this weight off of me. :cb: This is what I am thinking......... I am going to create a journal. I'm going to buy one of those 3 prong binders, some colored paper, some markers and some type of motivational stickers. (kinda copying Alison's journal Duckie) I am going to have a cover page....something to the effect of "Tina's Weight Loss Journey" or something like that. The first page inside will be "My Story". Then I will have my weightloss pages. I do not have a scale in my home and I do not want one. I am really bad about weighing myself too much when I have one, so what I am going to do, is once a week, I am going to the mall and weighing myself on that stupid scale that says, "HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR WEIGHT TODAY?" :fr: The reason I choose it is because it will give you a printout of your weight on that day. Every week I will attach this paper to a selected page showing what I have lost and I will track the total. After each 5 lb loss, I will get a sticker. I have a lot of star stickers that say, "YOU DID IT!" and "GOOD JOB!" and things like that, so I will use that.
The next section will be my measurements page. I am going to take my measurements from the beginning and track those as well. The next section will be my exercise and water pages. I am going to make those in calendar form and will check off each day that I do my exercise and how much water I have drunk. In the very back, I will have my food diary and what I have eaten each day. Dh will be my official photographer and take all of my before, after and progress pictures. I'm going to try to make this very fun and exciting and as positive as possible. I'm not exactly sure yet if I will be following the points plan or just try counting calories and fat grams. That is yet to be determined. I think that WW is a wonderful program, but it is ultimately up to ME to lose the weight.

Here is what the first page will look like.



Sunday, October 6, 2002


MY JOURNEY


My name is Tina. I am 32 years old, married to a wonderful man for almost 15 years, have two wonderful sons and I am fat. No easing into this...it is a fact. I am not chubby, pleasantly plump or mildly overweight. I am FAT. Period. But that is about to change. Not overnight, of course....even though that is what we all want to happen. We all want to take this magic pill.....this fantastic potion that make all the fat melt away and it's time that we face facts. THAT is not going to happen. There is no easy solution to weight loss. I'm here to tell you that it is HARD. It is VERY HARD. If it were easy, no one would be overweight.
I am also, from this day forward, taking responsibility for the weight that is on my body. Sure, I could blame my Dad and say that it's his fault. He is an alcoholic, he made fun of me my whole life and wouldn't know what the word "father" meant if it came up and hit him over the head. BUT, he didn't hold me down and shove in the biscuits and gravy. I could blame my Mom. She is a nervous wreck and the poster child for Prozac and is always in the midst of a huge catastrophe because of my father. She kept an iron lock on the fridge when I was growing up and was always ready with "the look" & comment, "Do you really think you need another piece, Tina?" I guess in a way I should thank her. If she hadn't of ruled the kitchen with an iron fist, there's no telling how overweight I would be today. BUT, she didn't tie me to a chair and poke in the fried chicken. I could even go so far as to blame pregnancy on my extra weight and the fact that I piled on close to 100 pounds with each child, but they also did not force any food into my body. I did it. I picked up the fork....spoon....whatever and piled the food in. I had only the help of three people.....me, myself and I. I put junk into my body, therefore my body is now junk.
I know this journey will not be easy. It will be the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I WILL do it. There will be times I will slip, but I will pick myself up, brush myself off and continue on. There will be weeks that I will hit plateaus and weeks I will even gain, but I will forge ahead with the knowledge that if I am eating healthy, exercising and drinking my water, the weight will come off. I hope to have the support of all of my family and friends in this journey, because I will certainly need it.

Here is some inspiration for me for the times I feel like quitting and I'm sure there will be many. This was posted on my favorite website 3FC by a dear friend:

You've failed many times, although you may not remember.
You fell down the first time you tried to walk.
You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you?
Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat?
Heavy hitters also strike out.
R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in NY caught on.
English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564books.
Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs.
Don't worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.

I'm going to TRY.

Tina

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I'm going to go now, but as you can see, I have truly been thinking alot about this.....I think at this point in my life, I am truly ready to get the weight off my body. I want to thank each and every one of you for being such a light in my life. No,
Kat, it's not time to break into a chorus of "You light up my life"...... :lol: I just need to tell you that you guys have saw me through some really stormy times in my life and you have always been my safe harbor and for that, I truly love you and want to thank you. A person should only be so lucky to have the friends I have in you. :grouphug:

Oh Tina.... that was just AWESOME !!!!!
I smiled and I wiped tears from my eyes.
Oh how I admire you.

Someone VERY SPECIAL to me sent me this prayer.
I want to share it with everyone here too.

Dear Lord:

Every single evening
As I'm lying here in bed
This tiny little prayer
Keeps running through my head.

God bless all my family
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm and safe from harm
For they're so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing
I wish that you could do.
Hope you don't mind me asking,
Bless my computer too.

Now I know that it's not normal
To bless a mother board,
But listen just a second
While I explain to you 'My Lord'.

You see, that little metal box
Holds more than odds & ends.
Inside those small compartments
Rest so many of my FRIENDS.

I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them
Much the same as you
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendship grew.

Please, take an extra minute
From your duties up above
To bless those in my address book
That's filled with so much love!

Wherever else this prayer may reach
To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail Inbox
And the person who hits Send.

When you update your heavenly list
On your own CD-Rom
Remember each who've said this prayer
Sent up to God.com.

Amen.

Awwwww, 2cute, how very special you are to me as well. How very special you all are.....my cyber family. :grouphug:

Well, I'm back on here to tell you what I just did. I just came back from Walmart. :) Yes, I know....that in itself is nothing to jump up and down about, what is exciting is what I bought. (On a side note....yes, I am supossed to be at work, but what they don't know won't hurt them) Besides, I was on a break. :smoking: (not that I smoke, but you get the idea) :lol:

Anyways, if I could get this story told......here is what I bought: I told you earlier I was going to get a binder...what I had in mind was one of those hard plastic ones with a clear plastic front that I could make some type of cover sheet & put inside, but when I saw this binder, I just HAD to have it! It is kind of a black velvety material with wild designs all over it.....bright hot pink, orange, turquoise and purple shiny butterflies, thumbs up, exclamation points, flowers.....just all types of designs. It's by Lisa Frank if any of you are familiar with her kind of stuff. It also has a zipper all the way around, so that will keep things protected for me. It was normally 9.96 on sale for 7.50. I got some colored paper to go inside.......bright orange, hot pink, turquoise and yellow. I got some markers and some smiley face stickers with all the same colors. I thought it was all very bright and cheerful and I am so excited and I can't wait to start working on it! :cb: I also got the cutest hot pink mini stapler to go with it. AND........I am proud to say.... I fought off all my temptations to walk back to the deli section and get a bag of chicken tenders. That evil voice in my head :censored: said, "Come on....one last hurrah! One more bag won't hurt." Well, I'll have you know, I kicked that feller's butt and said, "No! I'll not do it. I will not fall victim to temptation." (not aloud of course, because you know, I am in Walmart at 3:00am and if you've been at Walmart at that time of the morning, you know what kind of people hange out there) :yikes: Of course, I was there, so that's not saying much! :lol: Instead, I went over and got me a can of vegetable soup and some fat free saltines and as a treat, I went to the dairy section and got some low fat vanilla yogurt with oreo sprinkles! I can feel that strength coming on now!! :strong:

I also saw my old driver's ed teacher while I was there with his "friend" buying cupcakes. I don't know really why I mentioned that, I just thought it was wierd. Anyways, I am getting off the computer for a little while so I can work on my journal. Thanks again guys. I will see you tomorrow!

sorry I missed chat DH decided he wanted to go see a movie. We saw Red Dragon.

And the award for most heartfelt, honest post goes to...
 

TINA!
:cp: :cp: :cp: :cp:

With a MOST honorable mention to 2cute :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: Thank you for sharing that, it was lovely and so true.

Damn, girl...I didn't think I needed tissues to read the posts this morning! I am so proud of you!! I'm so glad to see you back and all pumped and ready to face this thing head on. Me too! No more excuses. What a great plan! Your book sounds awesome...you're going to be one journaling demon! :devil:Hear that, Lucky?

I am proud to say that not only did I go the the gym this morning...I walked the treadmill for 20 min, used the weight machines for 15 minutes AND took a 45 min AquaRun class! After working all night! With no nap beforehand because I had to do the TaeBo tape so that I could get my exercise in for the day!

Whew...I'm gonna crash and crash hard...TIMBER!!!! Look out below!

Mary...how was the movie? I'd like to see that. Maybe if we were on the Hannibal Lechter diet, we'd lose faster! (who'd eat?)

Okay, I'm very punchy now...must go cop some ZZZZZZZZZs. :yawn:

I hope I don't get bumped for too many smilies.

Is WalMart really open 24/7? I wish we had one.

Love you all...see you later.

Kat, We can make our own chat room there. When I clicked on “new” it says password so I think we could open our own room and then we would know the password to get in. What name should we call ourselves?

YES, Kat, I heard the “snide” comment about journaling.

You don’t have a Wal-Mart by you in New Jersey??????

Tina, WOW you make me proud and jealous. I have always intended to make “forms” but never take the time thinking it doesn’t make much difference. I know that isn’t true so it’s form making time at my house too!!!!

Between you and Thin I don’t know whose job I am more jealous of!!!!:dz: You know, you don’t really have a “job” like the rest of the world that hates what they are doing!!!! You are lucky!!! :dance:

:idea: …..and a good one!!!! :cp: What about pictures of Mr. Stewart on your papers? I used Mark McGuire on some of mine once (not for weight loss, but hmmmmm). Just reminded me of what working out could do…..

Warning I KNOW my weight is a low self esteem issue for me so I may be posting about this as I have noticed it helps to tell someone instead of just thinking/knowing it myself.

Off to make some charts…… Thanks for the inspiration, Tina.

Hey, we can see how much we can lose before Malia comes back…I bet she won’t recognize us!!! :lol:

I'm BACK!

This is what's for dinner tonight, courtesy of 3FC...it looks like cool weather food, warm and comforting....cuz it's actually cool and breezy today...low 60s...I love it! Makes you want to go pick pumpkins or apples or something. I'll just go pick some potatoes out of the bin and make this instead...oh I love a good potato dish! Irish, naturally!

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Serves: 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt or seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder (optional) 1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cooking Instructions:
For sauce, in a small saucepan, stir together milk, flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, if desired. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir in onion. Spray a 1 1/2-quart casserole with nonstick spray coating. Place half of the potatoes in the casserole. Top with half of the sauce. Repeat layers with remaining potatoes and sauce. Bake, covered, in a 350*F. oven about 65 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring once. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. If desired, garnish with parsley.

I have a ham steak to cut up and add to this, will have to adjust points accordingly. Big green salad on the side and that's dinner! Can't wait.

It says 2 points per serving...I just realized that must be as a side dish...I'll let you know the points value with the ham added.

Okay, I'm outta here...

PS...Yes, Lucky...we DO have WalMart in NJ, but none near enough for me to pop in at 3 am, or any other time for that matter!

Well, Chicks, I practiced exercising today. I did 3/4 of a Sweat & Shout tape and one of my belly dancing tapes. The belly dancing one really makes me work my feet and I need that. At least I hope this works out. I have fibro and it is always in my feet so I hope this will help them feel better...once I have done it more than once. :lol:

Now I have to get my vitamin order ready and then make dinner. I haven't eaten yet today. I can go a long time without eating and it doesn't bother me. MY problem is once I start eating combined with stress, boredom, sadness etc I don't stop. Eating protein has really helped that because it seems to fill me up and make my tummy happy....:cp:

So, do we want a chat room and what should the name on it be????? Then we could designate a couple times a week that, if available, we could chat away.....so speak up on the name and times/days that would work.... I will keep a record and let you know the result...deadline for replys is .... Thursday.... cause that's the day I get my hair cut.....:dance:

Howdy Chick-a-peas!
 

My BIL's b-day dinner was good last night; I escaped the sushi (sorry Kat) and had grilled salmon instead! Yummy! We didn't actually get home from Toronto until 4:30am though so we slept most of today! :o

We're SO lazy today. I have chicken breast defrosting in the microwave right now but I'm not sure what I'm even gonna do with it. I WAS trying to come up with something creative but we'll probably just end up slicing it up with a bunch of oriental veggies and throwing a bit of oyster sauce on it! If you haven't tried it, it's delicious! I make a bed of rice for the stir-fry for my hubby but not for myself (as I'm avoiding carbs in the evening!). Hmm... maybe a big salad too!

Tina... Your weightloss journal/scrapbook sounds like a wonderful idea! I think it's great that you've set such a clear plan in front of yourself! That's really the key, I think. People need to decide that THIS time there is no giving up and commit to the long-haul... and then do whatever they have to do to set that plan in motion! Yeah for you for not giving in to that "one last snack" before starting... The time to start is the present! :)

Kat... You're doing AMAZING with your exercising! I've been doing lots of weights and sit-ups recently but, sadly, have been slacking on the areobic stuff! Outside is just not as appealing to me now that's it's so chilly here. Hmph. Well... time to do something about it I guess. Either get my butt out there or get a gym membership!

Hey! Where have all our newbies disappeared to?! Shells, Tontoy, Sweetpea, Ms. Chris, etc... Where ARE you guys? We miss you!!!

Gotta check on that chicken. Be back in a bit!
Sara :)
270/195/150

Hi all... my day is not going well at all. :(
I had hoped your posts would cheer me up... but to no avail.
I am going to get out of this house... be back later.

(no big problem... just nothing is going right for me today.) :rolleyes:

Howdy chickies!
 

Hey! Just thought I'd let you guys know. I actually made a couple of online journal entries tonight! My journal has just been sitting there empty for a week or so... so I thought I'd fill it up!

You guys are wonderful!
Sara :)

Only time for a quick post......
 

I'm only gonna be here for a few minutes (famous last words) because I am exhausted. :hypno2: I got off work this morning at 7:00 and got to sleep somewhere around 8:00 and then was back up at 11:30 to get ready to watch the race! On that note I would like to add that TONY is #1 in points!! Woo Hoo! Ok, don't get me started on that, cause you know I could talk forever about the man!! :foot:

Anyways........WHERE IS EVERYBODY TODAY? I bet with the nice weather everyone is out having a good time. Good for you! :dancer:

So, I have been up all day with only those 3 1/2 hours of sleep and this energizer bunny is about to run down! I just stopped in to report that I have been OP all day and I even did my WATP video--the one mile walk! :strong: I hope all my fellow chickies are doing as well as me today. Take care and I will see you all tomorrow!!

I am outta here!!! :faint:

I'm here
Not much going on
Red Dragon was good
Lets do start our own chat room, I'm game if you are

Lurker post!
 

Tina, I just have to stop in to congratulate you on your resolve! I KNOW you're going to do it, and it's because you've really made up your mind. Your approach is one that I've done before when I've been very successful, and I intend to take a page from your book. Reminds me of a quote from a John Irving character: "you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed." Well, I think we're all a bit obsessive, else we wouldn't have this problem. We just have to use that ability to focus on things that will lead us to health and happiness. Once again, Kudos to you and thanks for the inspiration! Let's do this thing! :cb: :cp: