Linda, I love your scale strategies! I'll stop for popcorn on the way home tonight. I was drinking diet hot chocolate and eating the 0 pt Blue Bunny Fudgecicles yesterday but I really wanted cake so I got into the Weight Watchers lemon cakes, too. I hate when I just want to eat even though I know shouldn't be hungry... I need to get in the vitamins and water, too- thanks for the reminder!
Hi Islandgrl! Forget the bikini and just skinny dip!
Lafayette, on days when I feel like I need to just shove food in my mouth mindlessly, I have gone in to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and then drank a big glass of water. I have a fresh taste and something to drink, sometimes it's boredom, I swear, or nerves. We women, sometimes, seem to use our TOM (not saying you personally) as an excuse to eat and I find myself wondering if I just allowed that to happen in the past and was it REALLY any different from any other day? At any rate, the actual brushing teeth kind of ruins the taste of any food you might want to eat anyway for awhile and it might just hold you off until the next meal.
If you are truly starving all the time, check in with your WW leader and see if there are suggestions. You could go over your tracker and see what might have been better and more satisfying food choices? I find that the days that I have oatmeal made with Calorie Countdown Milk (Hood makes it and I hope you are getting it near where you live as it's just awesome - one point for one cup, lower points than skim but the same calcium!) in the mornings are days where I feel fuller. That particular combination of the milk and oatmeal has more "staying power" for me. I really like my oatmeal made with milk, but in the past until I found this Calorie Countdown milk (recommended at a WW meeting) I wouldn't spend the 2 additional points for a cup of skim milk to make it. I was really cutting myself short on my calcium servings as I was really hungry and I wanted to use my points on real food vs. milk. I have a problem with my healthy oils as well, but lately I am really trying to have 2 tsp. of olive oil each day. I find that when I have my calcium servings and my oils that the weight comes off much faster.
If you don't find Calorie Countdown milk in your market, start asking for it - they might start carrying it if you ask? Also, the Calorie Countdown chocolate milk is pretty good, my daughter drinks it and it's only 2 points for a cup and a way for her to get her milk servings in. She is 16 and has lost over 20 pounds going to WW meetings with me.
Hi All! HUGE HUGS to islandgrl! Welcome to our little spot on the net! I just joined (re-joined) 3 weeks ago and these people on here are GREAT! I've already found a bunch of tips that work and of course when I whine, I can, to a point and then get my butt kicked when I need it!
Lafayette....I don't know about you, but for me - if you crave it, have it. Example, last night I really wanted those little bran snack bites (the strawberry ones...2 points) but no, I had them in the afternoon, so I have some more veggies (oh yum (NOT!)...then I had a whole package of popcorn (6 points)...and then I thought, ok STRAWBERRIES....and of course that still didn't do it -- so all those points later I still had the damn bran bites and I was FINE~!!!!
I found that the veggie soup has really been helping. I have a bowl before I start dinner (I microwave it and it's ready)...then I good dinner. By the time I eat dinner I'm not over-hungry -- so I do pretty well (ok ok!!!! except for last night and those damn bran snacks!) I try and have a protein with every meal and instead of those empty snacks I'll have an apple sprinkled with cinnamon or some cut up veggies with no cal dressing as a dip.
Find some recipes for muffins that are low point, but packed in fibre (and yes my dear you may have to bake them! I have a couple of really good ones that I'll try to find again)...you can put a bunch in the freezer and when the craving comes on you can put it in the microwave....fresh baked!
Another idea for those cravings is to get sandwich bags and put your counted snacks in them (i.e. bran buds, crackers, chips, whatever). then you have a snack size ready to go. Makes a big difference when you are dipping for ANOTHER bag instead of putting your hand in an already opened regular sized bag.
Good luck my friends! I sure wish I could find some of the products they have in the U.S. though! Maybe I need to head south for a weekend to stock up!
Elan, what products can't you get in Canada? It's probably the Calorie Countdown milk I've been raving about? Do you get Hood products up there at all? If so, as it gains in popularity, you might just find it someplace?
I went to my meeting yesterday afternoon and was totally bummed by a .8 gain. I really was a very good girl in the last week. I ended my journal on Saturday with still having 16 flex points. I did use 9 flex points on Sunday, so I guess that one very high point day did it for me.
I was really feeling bummed as I had put a great deal of effort into my week and then there was nothing to show for it... other an .8 more of a pound on my body. That sad thing is that when I weighed in on my own scale this morning, it is much lower - so what to do about it? Nothing I guess until next week's weigh in?
I have a pot luck lunch today and I know I shall eat more points than I am allowed today, I'll try to do the best I can but have no idea what people will be bringing and what it is made of. I shall try for a very light lunch, perhaps?
Linda
Hey Linda! Sorry to hear about your weigh in...know that it is only temporary! I save my "big" day for weigh in day (happens to be a Saturday so it works out well). I have heard that if you have too many of your points left, you can hang on to that weight also -- sort of like survival of the fittest (in our case, the chubbiest??? hee hee). Make sure that you journal journal journal so you can look back and see what you did on those "good" weeks. It all comes out in the end, you'll have some weeks better than others -- cycles make a BIG difference, even if you are not "cycling" you know? Hormones play a HUGE part. I remember being way younger and doing what I'm doing and having those -6, or -7 pound weeks....now I'm thrilled if I lost 2 pounds..or anything going in the down direction. Don't beat yourself up -- it very likely was what you had the day before, so next week should be a really GREAT week!
As for products...very little up here. I can get about 4 different WW frozen meals -- sometimes I luck out and find some of the desserts (i.e. toppings, or the little carrot cake/chocolate cake). That's about it. At the meetings they sell the WW bars and those WW Fruities. What I found though is when I eat those things I crave it so much more. I am really focusing on not doing the "diet" type foods, but focusing on quality and portions. I check labels and make sure it's lower fat, high fiber etc. So far so good. I am buying WW magazines when they come out and my next book purchase will be a new WW cookbook. I'm trying new foods to keep it from getting "BORING"! Hope all went well with the potluck! Tomorrow I am going out for lunch with an ex-co-worker -- we are hitting one of the best sandwich places in our city (you know...those mile hile sandwiches that you can't even get into your mouth!). I tried to check on line to see if they had a menu, but no such luck. I do hear that you can build your own burger....so maybe I can build something that's not too disastrous in points! Let me know how your pot luck went!
Hmm... baking?!? I'm just getting the hang of this cooking thing! Thanks for the portion tip. I went grocery shopping late last night and had to chuckle at the fact that just about everything comes in a 100 calorie pack now. I'm pretty sure that's proof the American public has completely lost the ability to gauge a portion.
The muffins sound like an awesome idea- who doesn't love muffins? My fiance and I just agreed to move our weeknight dinner time to 7pm from 6pm so I will be looking for the veggie "appetizer" ideas next.
The unfair four TOM pounds are gone already. Sneaky little... I did OK with the foods. It seemed like no matter what I could think of, it just wasn't quite what I wanted so, for the most part, I was strong enough to pass. Ok, I admit it. The Blue Bunny 0pt (35 cal) fudgecicles and 100 calorie smart pop popcorn saved me!
Linda- That Calorie Countdown milk sounds interesting. I'll have to look for it here. Good luck with the potluck! We used to have them every week at one of my old jobs- they called them "pig outs" and the food was out right by our work area ALL DAY- and I considered it my personal **** until I started bringing a healthy dish I loved and munching on it instead.
Today, I had a 3 pt Smart Start bar for breakfast and a 2 pt Campbell's Soup at Hand for lunch. I was chasing all day with no water or veggies and came home at 8pm ravenous with a violent headache... I had TWO Lean Cuisine pizzas (much better!), a 1 pt pudding cup and popcorn. Not my healthiest but at least the pizza wasn't Little Ceasars...
Hey Ladies! (I don't mean to exclude the men, but I don't think we have any in this room!). It's great to hear your "voices"... tee hee.
Got to say it's so uplifting to wander in and read all your posts. Whether good, bad, or just hanging in there - it's clear we all have our own daily battles. Some unique, but many the same.
I'm struggling with the food. The biggest issue being convenience. I've just switched to a Mon - Thurs work week, so am working 9 1/2 hour days (as opposed to 7 1/2) to bank the time to allow for Friday's off. Don't get me wrong - it's awesome - but I'm using the extra 2 hours at work as an excuse for eating bad. No time to get groceries, no time to cook, etc. Blah, blah, blah. I need to promise myself that THIS Friday (on my day off) that I WILL get healthy groceries and plan ahead for meals next week. I just have to...
On a positive note, I have been exercising. YAY! I've got my little Turbo Jam DVD, which is a nice little 20 minute workout. It's unfortunate that my eating is out of control, otherwise I might actually be seeing some nice results. But... baby steps. This week exercise, next week food! No excuses. There! I said it out loud. No excuses! After all... if it's going to be - it's up to me! . Gotta say I'm likin' that saying!
Anywho - to all of you - KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK. Elan - great to see you're having success. Linda - keep at it! You know you're doing good things and that measely .8 is likely gone already. Lafayette - I know all about TOM pounds. Sadly, they disappear and then I replace them with REAL pounds. Yikes. Well that's about to end! And I wish we had WW food around here. Sometimes you're lucky to find the bread, let alone the good stuff. Boo! To Islandgirl - welcome! Canada misses you - although I would certainly join you if I had the opportunity to relocate to Hawaii. I'm jealous! Except about that yearlong bathing suit situation. I might have issue with that But I'm working on it.
Keep pushing gals! Remember - nothing tastes as good as being thin feels. Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels. Chant with me... noooothing tastes as good as being thin feels.....
nothing tastes as good as being thin feels... nothing tastes as good as being thin feels... oh, right!
Good morning! Sask, I hear ya on the long hours= bad eating routine! I bought Lean Cuisine frozen pizzas and a few other "freezer meals" for the nights when I get home late. It's not perfect but it's not McDonald's either. I struggle with the veggies and water when I'm flying like this (in at 8am, out at 8 or 9 pm, 5 days/week) and forget exercise- I'm exhausted after I get home and do a load of laundry and/or clean up the house. Congrats on finding the time to throw in a workout video!
I'm back to the rat race- everyone have a wonderful day! I'm going to see if I can find some veggies to take to work...
Elan, I know the scenario about not eating enough of your points and your body hanging on to weight. I'm not sure if that was "it" for me or not. I generally do use all my flex points in a week, but last week we didn't go out to dinner as we usually do. We were trying to save money and stayed home and were a bit more frugal with our eating than usual. I didn't know our plans as the week progressed, so saved up flex points for that, as I always do. Guess I should have had a special dessert for a change on Saturday night or added an extra milk serving or something throughout the week. I never seem to be able to get in all my milks and this would have been a perfect opportunity.
But, that being said, I was no perfect angel in the two days leading up to weigh in, so that could have been what blew it. Life and learn and then move on, I guess.
I know what you mean about trying not to allow to many "diet" type of foods to be your crutch. I think those foods are more expensive, plus they have an appeal to those who want "the real thing" and I think we all kind of need to find a good thing that works for us and not be too dependant on that kind of food. I'm sorry you just don't get than many products, though. How far North are you? Or is it just that Canada is not importing these things?
The pot luck was lovely. We have a group of about 12 of us who make quilts for The Homeless. Yesterday, we celebrated our 300th quilt. It was a very big deal and we had a wonderful time. I didn't count points, I ate and I have forgiven myself. Once in awhile special times come up and you just have to accept it. I wasn't going to spoil everyone's special day by picking apart all the wonderful recipes people brought to share, this is not a normal meeting for us and we needed to come together in friendship and recognize a special day. I don't even think some of the choices were all that bad, actually. I had some spinach salad, and even skipped the dressing in help balance things out a bit. Someone brought rolls and cold cuts as well, I didn't have a roll and chose to have two pieces of cheese. There were meatballs, corn pudding (that was interesting, something I've never had before), rhubarb pie (I'm allergic, easy to pass on), green bean casserole, pasta salad, cake, pumpkin pie and the like. It was a really nice assortment of things, but I didn't go totally wild on everything.
I also agree that using WW cookbooks can alleviate boredom, and when we fall victim to boredom, we run the risk of blowing it! I have the "new" comfort food cookbook that WW put out a few months ago and I am trying a new meatloaf recipe tonight. I'm going to use part ground turkey and part ground beef in it and be smart this time, I'll double the recipe and then freeze one to bake on a busy night. This recipe sounds good with mushrooms in it, my kids love mushrooms. I'll be making garlic mashed potatoes with it and it will not feel like a WW oriented dinner!
In fact, I think I may make up "TV Dinners" with meatloaf and mashed potatoes to freeze vs. just the meatloaf. That might be nice and I can write the points on a piece of masking tape over top of them in the freezer so I know what I am getting. Might make a nice lunch or something too?
Lafayette, I sure would think of that weekly pot luck thing as my personal **** if I had something like that each and every week at my workplace. Wow. I can't imagine people subjecting themselves to that much food.
I was thinking of that TV show my kids just love to watch called "The Office" when I read that. I end up watching it with them, once in awhile, but I find it a bit offensive, but that is the point of it's humor I guess. Not my kind of humor, as some of the blatant things done by the boss really do remind me, somewhat, of the office environment that I used to work in. They could make an episode about your weekly pot luck thing, with the two or three "fat" people in the office obsessing over it, or something. There was an episode where the boss threw an office party for a woman's birthday to offset fears of layoffs and made a big deal out of it. He ordered an ice cream cake (which is what HE wanted) even when he knew the birthday woman was lactose intolerant. There has never been such an insensitive man, truly. But, it is supposed to be "funny". At any rate, the weekly pot luck thing could truly be a nightmare for some people. While others would enjoy it, I guess. The boss in that TV show would propose something like that to get home cooked food, himself, as he is single (and someone like this surely isn't getting dates) and probably be the one to contribute stale store-bought break while the others slaved making their favorite family recipes, etc. He would also reason out proposing the pot luck thing as he would think of himself as the fatherly figure promoting office togetherness, but putting a strain on his people that he would never, ever recognize.
By the way, don't you think that some people who are not wanting to recognize their own situation, in terms of being overweight, want eating partners? They deliberately sabotage things for people who are trying to lose weight, at times, bringing doughnuts, enticing with high fat snacks and what not. It's hard enough to stay on track, but sometimes you have to just assert yourself with others.
Sask, good attitude, you're right.... nothing tastes as good as thin feels!
I do take note that most people on this web site are women, but do want to say that I welcome any men to chat with if they want to chat about their own issues. It might be interesting to see if they have a different slant on things. Maybe men are more private than women, in general, as I don't see all that many men at WW meetings, though there are a few. One time, my husband was having one of his "insensitive" days and commented to me that he didn't think I needed to spend the money on WW meetings and the like. He looked at me as if he totally didn't get it and said, "Why don't you just eat less?", that works you know. Gosh, he is so lucky to be one of those people who never seems to gain and never seems to need to be in control. He can eat real butter (I have it once in awhile when we eat out if I am really doing well with my flex points!) and eat it night after night and he can eat ice cream (1/2 pint at a time) each night and just never gain. I wish I had his metabolism, but I have given up lecturing him about his cholesterol a long time ago, he is a "big boy". But, his attitude always amazed me with his "just eat less" theory, he's lucky I am not the violent type who would smash him over the head with a frying pan after a remark like that! : ) He has no idea what I go through each and every day, but this was awhile ago and I think he has learned that I truly NEED my meetings and I am quite like an alcoholic with food. I really am like an alcoholic, I need my meetings to keep me on track. I lose control so easily. My meetings are like self hypnosis.
You are right, Lafayette, about the 100 calorie packs, we all truly don't know what a portion size is. I am trying really hard to get there as far as recognizing portions, and those 100 cal packs really are quite helpful to us all. My daughter uses them for school lunches as well, they are so good for that kind of thing.
By the way, ladies (and gents if you are lurking) please try to remind me to exercise and start to pick on me a bit if I don't report that I have done something at least every couple of days. I need pressure.
Lafayette, on days when I feel like I need to just shove food in my mouth mindlessly, I have gone in to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and then drank a big glass of water. I have a fresh taste and something to drink, sometimes it's boredom, I swear, or nerves.
I do this too. My other trick is to chew really minty gum. It keeps my mouth busy, and makes it hard to eat anything else. I can only drink water when I'm chewing mint gum too, because it alters the flavor of anything else.
Linda - my hubs is like yours. He can eat whatever he wants. I eat a 1/4 pounder and gain 2 lbs! No justice at all!
As for WW food in Canada - I haven't looked lately, but I know it was an issue back when I worked for WW. There was a change in Canadian customs that said by such-and-such a date that ALL packaging be bilingual to support our language duality. WW food didn't meet that requirement, so no vendors would even try to stock it. Not sure if that's changed, but I think it's still pretty tough to find it anywhere.
Oh you gals are soooooooo good for a person's soul! thank you thank you thank you for being there and posting from the heart!!!! I don't know what I would do without you all!
Where to start..where to start???? Heidi....hi! and welcome to our liittle group! nice to have you on board and I'll have to try your trick with the gum! Come to think of it, I haven't chewed gum for a while...and it might just do the trick when I'm starting to get the growlies!
Sask....what are we going to do with you! OK...sounds like you have a plan with grocery shopping. You know you can do all this and get some meals together. I always cook extra for supper that way I have a decent meal for lunch the next day (or if not, I freeze it so I have the "instant" meal when I have run out of time!) I gotta get that Turbo Jam DVD...it looks like so much fun. I'm so bloody uncoordinated though it's a good thing that you do it in your living room and not in front of a class! :-)
Lafayette...I so hear you about the rat race and coming home and throwing in laundry etc. It's crazy all the things we have to do to keep a household running. Remember to keep YOU as #1!!! You the one that should come first! THEN...the laundry and whatever (ok...I know, kids are priority as well)...but try and spend some "Lafayette" time every day (even if it's just prep of those veggies in baggies for the next day!) I love those soup at hands! They are so tasty! I keep writing down all these products taht you gals mention and check them out when I go shopping. It's pitiful up here (Alberta). I was telling a friend of mine that we need to do a trip down to the US (about 3 hours south) and just stop at Albertson's and load up! It has to do with the FDA...of course Canada has their own and of course the two will never agree. We have very limited products (or is it that they want to push other products here like Jenny Craig, Slim Fast etc.????) I was thrilled that they finally started bringing the Smart One's frozen meals. They really do help when you are in a pinch for time!
Linda...."he is a "big boy". But, his attitude always amazed me with his "just eat less" theory, he's lucky I am not the violent type who would smash him over the head with a frying pan after a remark like that!" OMG...good thing I didn't have a drink when I read that otherwise I would have spit all over the monitor! too funny! Why are so many men like that??????? Last time a guy said something like me about that, I just looked at him like he fell off the turnip truck! sheesh!!! Sounds like you made some excellent choices though at the potluck! You go girl! You'll have to let us know how that meatloaf turns out.
As promised...here is that muffin recipe:
APPLE OATMEAL MUFFINS (core / points per serving 2 muffins = 3 pts)
4 c dry oatmeal
3 tsp baking powder
2 c skim milk
3 eggs
1/2 c splenda
1 c applesauce
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla.
mix well and spoon into 24 med sprayed muffin tins
bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes
cool - bag and freeze.
Alternate Oatmeal Muffins (core /flex 2 for 3 points
4 c oatmeal (dry)
3 tsp. baking powder
2/3 c skim milk
4 eggs
2 c water
1/2 c splenda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 rtsp vanilla
2 c. any berries (fresh or frozen)
Mis well and spoon into 24 sprayed (Pam) muffin tins.
Bake at 375 degrees for 23-30 minutes.
Remove from tins when cool. Bag and freeze (makes great instant breakfast)
Baked Cinnamon Apple (this one is too good to be true! 1 pt per apple)
2 small apples
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. splenda
preheat oven to 400 degrees
slice apples 1/8" thick, spread apples in a single layer on non-stick baking sheet, sprinkle with splenda and cinnamon, bake until crisp (about 10-15 minutes)
First off let me apologize for being gone from this thread so long. I had wanted to be all sage like while answering Lafayette's and Linda's questions when I got waylaid by the Innocent questions posed by Elan.. "How have you done? How long have you been? Hows the loss going? What lessons learned?" I'd like to thank Elan for asking along with a huge pinch because I answered her. In what turned out to be a very theraputic writing. Not to mention you all will find out if you choose to read why I refer to myself as the "windy, wordy, wonder". I'll return to sage like ( hopefully??!!?? ) another time.
Disclaimer aside, here is the gist of my story:
Elan my story is much the same as many on here. Where as some have been fighting this battle their whole lives. I didnt balloon and blossom till my late 30's after a particulary nasty divorce. Lived in denial for years while buffering my pain and anger with food and booze. My bright, happy, vivacious colors that I normally wore turning dour and dark. Tucked in or crop tops became pulled out, long loose and flowing bohemian styles. In my minds eye I was still adorable and trendy. Those closest to me knew my self-esteem took a hearty blow. They also knew how intricately my self esteem and appearance were tied together. ( Due to upbringing. ) No one had the heart to tell me. Being a bubbly, outgoing, glass is half full kind of gal... a few pounds was minor comparitively speaking. Hindsight being what it is... the natural comedian in me helped to hide a good 50 pounds or so.
Fast-forwarding a bit... New relationship, new country ( moved to Austria for the new love. ), new decade (turning 40), old jokes... "I enjoyed being pregnant so much... I decided to maintain the figure!" (laugh-laugh-ha-ha) But after THAT particular funny or non-funny as the case may be. I had happened to catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror out of the corner of my eye and couldnt believe what I saw. Later that evening I had locked myself in the bathroom stripping myself naked and stepped before the full length mirror. I was ready to look. Ready to really see what I had done to me. To this day, I am unsure of what was more painful the excruciating thorough look at my body. Or the pain in my eyes as I stared deeply into them looking for the answers to How and why. I crumbled to the floor and cried for the "lil girl lost". It took me two more weeks before I could bring myself to step on the scale. So I know I weighed more then the intial 215 start of my ticker. That was in 2004 when I was introduced to WW via my SIL, subsequently stumbling onto this site searching for support in English ( Remember I am only 6 months into this new country und mien Deutch ist nicht so gut. )
I was enamored with this program! I always loved cooking and food, the sight, the sound, the smell, the taste, the smiles and accolades it brought as I served. WW's showed me a whole new world of recipes, tips, tricks, and tehniques!! During my honeymoon stage I had lost 25 pounds relatively quickly while I explored and tested the program. ( You know that stage... Can I really eat Cakes and Sundae's and still lose weight if in my point allowance??!!?? Yes! To bad I didnt ask would I stay full or energized...Derned empty calories. ) I became one with the sponge. Soaking up every bit of information I could from this program and this site. I had found my Utopia.
As the old saying goes... All good things must come to an end. Which I dont truely believe for a myriad of reasons but they do level out. Feelings ebb and flow. Motivations run in spurts. Life can get in the way of the best laid plans. Vacations, trips, outings.. Crisis's, celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, deaths, homesickness, TOM, comfort foods. In other words... laspes, relaspes, Collaspes. Until you find yourself back at square one or worse... Negative square three where you not only gained all the weight back brought a few more. With one difference! I believe once you learn, once you live this program its always there in the back of your mind. Either conciously or subconciously tallying how many fruits n veggies are you getting in. How many waters and so on.
Hey!! Wake up we are Fast-forwarding again!! :crackup:
This is where I had found myself late last September 06, when I had to return to the States to fight for custody of my children. ( Which I am still going thru BTW. ) Within the first 30 days I needed to find a home, furnish it from scratch right down to linens, light bulbs, and fuses.. can ya tell the lil things got me there. I needed a car. I needed a job..Bam..Bam.. got em! With the love and support of my Husband and our families I was able to set-up a homebase here while he keeps the homebase fires in Austria a burning. While we all strive to give my children the very best that life has to offer.
Now with life so crazy out of control between LDR's ( long distance relationships ) work, school, church, sports, social activities of 3 very out going children, and courts... coupled with my corpuses... Where oh where would I find soltace? Some sense of normalacy? A hard, hard lesson for me to learn was that I cant control people, places or things. What I could control was my reaction to them. Not only that ( and this was a Godsend relevation ) because some of my reactions are still "knee jerk" reactions. ~blush~ ...BUT..I had/have complete and total control over what goes into my face! What I eat or drink. What I do or dont do with my body. And yes, next to God, I cling to that! So here I sit, spilling my guts to a bunch of strangers 43 pounds lighter then when I hit the hallowed soil of my State. Safe in the security of knowing...
I dont have to be Fat again!
P.S. ( Since this has turned into a book anyway.. )
And if you dont think I had people cheering and jeering as I went from hottie to hefer and visa versa... Think again. There are a lot looking up to and at me. Mother, Daughter, Wife, friend, foe... Rolemodel we All are...
Last edited by sweetnsassyfied; 05-04-2007 at 06:22 AM.
Reason: because my spelling is as bad as my grammar..LOL
God love you Sassy for having the courage to post all of that! From the heart I heard you! Oh my, as tears are streaming down my face. Who the heck cares about strangers??? We are not strangers, we are sisters on the same journey, the same pain (ok, maybe not all the same pain...did I tell you I was in court 42 times with my ex???? It's still horrid!).
It's all those things that keep us from unraveling. I know for me, my weight was my protection. It still is my protection, but now I am dying for the best part of me to show through! I want to be the me I was meant to be! Without obsessing, without being paranoid about what kind of food goes in my mouth...I want this lifestyle to stick so that I STICK around for a long time to come...so I can bounce those grandbabies on my knee...so that I can be the "hot mamma" once again! Perhaps one day I too will be involved with another man, who knows -- but at this weight it's not comfortable. Sure, I look "ok" but I'm not happy with me -- I always look and wonder what other guys in particular think.
Forty-three pounds!!!!! 43!!! That is AMAZING...especially with all the stress you must have been and continue to be under! I am speechless! I think I would be stuffing my face non-stop (well, I DID stuff my face non-stop!). One step at a time, one pound at a time, one ounce at a time! AND IT WORKS!!!! 43 pounds!!!
I started this journey last year at 208 -- I managed to get down to 189...then stopped in May 2006...it crept up to 199 and I refused to let it get over that (we all have our numbers now don't we?) I started again on April 7 at 195.8 pounds. While all my co-workers are wearing those cute little t-shirts with the lace on the bottom, I was wearing the BIG comfy t-shirts that didn't cling to the fat rolls around my middle, successfully looking like my very plump 73 year old mother! (not that that has changed at all! ) I'm slowly working it down....and at 5 pounds a month I am hoping that I'll be able to go shopping for new fall clothing and look GREAT! Not that I don't look decent you know??? I'm neat and tidy, but really average! I'm 48 and I don't want to look AVERAGE when I'm 50! I want to look like a HOT 50-year-old! I too am the comedian...the bubbly...the glass half-full kind of girl, but when I step out of the shower I see all those rolls in the WRONG places.
Last year was my youngest's grad (last one) and I wanted to look HOT for the ex. It was this "I'll show you" death wish. Well I looked HOT alright, sweating in my "grandma" outfit. I stood beside my beautiful daughter who looked like the princess and I looked like the goodyear blimp beside her. My legs looking like stumps. I was NOT the happy, hot mamma that I wanted to be. It was uncomfortable to say the least (as the relationship was volatile in the first place....after 42 times in court you can imagine he is not the NICEST person around!). So the grad has come and gone...and now I really have to think about ME!!!! This is for me and not for some grad, or someone else (but yes that little voice inside me still says I want to show him!). I'll work through that and yes I will lean heavily on my "stranger friends" who have been so very incredibly supportive. Believe it or not, it is your words that mean the most and keep me working towards my goal.
Weigh in is tomorrow and I know that whatever it is, it will be closer to what I was yesterday! You all are MY ROCKS!!!!!! You keep me grounded and motivated! I humbly thank you all!
Last edited by CalgaryElan; 05-04-2007 at 08:28 PM.
But I'm working on it.
along with a huge pinch because I answered her. In what turned out to be a very theraputic writing. Not to mention you all will find out if you choose to read why I refer to myself as the "windy, wordy, wonder". 
I'll return to sage like ( hopefully??!!?? ) another time. 
Where as some have been fighting this battle their whole lives. I didnt balloon and blossom till my late 30's after a particulary nasty divorce. Lived in denial for years while buffering my pain and anger with food and booze. My bright, happy, vivacious colors that I normally wore turning dour and dark. Tucked in or crop tops became pulled out, long loose and flowing bohemian styles. In my minds eye I was still adorable and trendy. Those closest to me knew my self-esteem took a hearty blow. They also knew how intricately my self esteem and appearance were tied together. ( Due to upbringing. ) No one had the heart to tell me. Being a bubbly, outgoing, glass is half full kind of gal... a few pounds was minor comparitively speaking. Hindsight being what it is... the natural comedian in me helped to hide a good 50 pounds or so. 
) I'm slowly working it down....and at 5 pounds a month I am hoping that I'll be able to go shopping for new fall clothing and look GREAT! Not that I don't look decent you know??? I'm neat and tidy, but really average! I'm 48 and I don't want to look AVERAGE when I'm 50! I want to look like a HOT 50-year-old! I too am the comedian...the bubbly...the glass half-full kind of girl, but when I step out of the shower I see all those rolls in the WRONG places.
