I tell you, truly, that I could have written some of what you wrote, though I am not havnig to wear a bridesmaid dress really soon, thank goodness!
I'm so sick of myself and I keep saying I'm going to be "good" and then I don't follow through.
Yesterday, I was supposed to be "good" and bought a muffin and at it all. That might have been "ok", if I had modified the rest of what I ate throughout the day, etc.
I think reverting back to my old WW materials is probably the best thing for me, I am a lifetime member who weighs more than I've ever weighed before, other than when I was pregnant.
I don't have to be perfect, but I am only 5'2" and weight 160 and I should be at 136, the very top of the range from my doctor's office as well as the range from WW.
I was really doing well at one point and I just "lost it". Part of it, I truly believe, was post 9/11 "trauma". I reverted back to all my "comfort foods" and just couldn't stop eating, it truly made me feel better.
But, I just went through a rude awakening with some health scares and I need to gain control and MAKE myself at least lost SOME of this excess weight. I feel awful, my clothes are tight and summer is coming.
So, YOU GO GIRL, and I'll try to be right behind you!
Please tell it like it is for me too!
So, what exercise are YOU going to do today?
What healthy food choices will YOU make today?
How many glasses of water will YOU drink today?
HOW will I stay away from my kid's Easter Candy today????? : )
I'll be thinking of you today while I am trying to do my own thing and saying a littler prayer.
Linda
I'm starting early, why wait until the 18th? I'm motivated and I need to do something about this today, not wait!
Today will be a challenge, though. I am going to grocery shop, it's been a long awaited payday.
I make school lunches for my kids every morning and today, rather than snatching "snacks" of cold cuts while I make their sandwiches, I chewed a stick of sugarless gum instead. It was easier than I thought it would be, have to keep gum in supply around here, I guess!
I weighed myself already this morning and I went UP a pound since yesterday, this has GOT to stop!
Heather, I have Dr. Phil's book out of the library, but I may buy a copy to have at home instead. There are so many questionaires to fill out in that book and I think they might be effective in helping me? I can't write in the libary book!
Money for WW meetings is a hard thing to come by. My husband just went through a rough period of unemployment so I know where you are coming from. Plus, I'm so darn BUSY. I get busy and then grab food in starvation, kind of going on a binge. I don't track what I eat and go from one food to the next, with no planning. Totally out of control. If I stopped binging and put the money in a jar that I would have spent on that food, I could probably afford the WW meetings? Just a thought!
I'm cheering you all on!
While I was chewing gum this morning instead of snacking on my kids' lunchmeats, I was saying a little prayer for all us "fat chicks" that we would make it through just this one day successfully.
Sorry about the migraine, by the way. Caffeine usually helps me, and I give you permission to have some!
Linda -trying
Julie great going on getting to the gym. I think exercise is an important part of staying on program. I find if I keep up with exercise I am not as hungry. But that's me. There are days I just don't want to get out and walk. I have to force myself, but after I'm done I feel good and good about myself.
Welcome Linda. So glad you are joining in with us. Good for you on starting your challenge now. Although the challenge starts on Sunday I began mine 2 weeks ago when I found this thread as I was sick of myself for regaining some of the weight I lost.
It is an everyday ongoing battle and we have to take one day at a time. Try not to focus on what we have to lose but just losing each week. Setbacks happen, but they can be worked through. Hang tight. We are all in the same boat.
Hi Julie,
I understand what you are going thru with your doctor. My doctor has sugested WLS (weight loss surgery) several times. Of course my case is more severe. I am diabetic and have over 100+ to lose. But I still think it's so risky. And now I've seen and heard of people who have worked they way back up in weight after surgery. It's takes awhile, but if they start grazing, the weight can & will come back. It also takes alot of discipline after surgery. So I would still like to try and put that discipline into making life choices that I will obviously have to make whether or not I have the WLS. I know it would address the diabetes and high blood pressure with almost immediate results, but with dedication and hard work, I feel I can do this myself.
So I am back on WW and would like to take part in the challenge (why not, life is one big challenge anyway ) The only part I missed is the challenge end date. I see it starts Sun 4/18 but thru when?
I started WW 4/10. I am down 5lbs. I've got the water under control. Drink at least 64oz a day. Exercising 3-4 x wk. Need to work on that. Points, I do really well, but evenings are a real challenge. TV time. Hard habit to break. Hard to beleive I was able to quit 14 mos ago.
Well, good luck everyone. and if some could, please post the date the challenge is over.
Hi Donna. The end date for the challenge is June 6th. Lots of time to do a great job on it. Sounds like you are doing well so far!
Michelle: How are you feeling since you had your tooth extracted? Hopefully you will be doing better soon!
Linda: Welcome! You joined the right group of women!! We are motivated and you will have a great time with our posts and the encouragement! I understand about the whole "being good" and sabotauging yourself! I did that for years.
Julie: Great job on getting motivated. I would have smacked your doctor if I would have been there. Oh wait, violence is never the answer....heehee! Join us and shove it in his face to say, "See, I did it on my own, not through a scalpel!".
Okay, ladies, Sunday starts the challenge. Don't forget to check in daily and lets see how we are all doing. If you don't have a home computer, then let us know when you can check in.
Hey y'all,
Sorry I've been so MIA.....between migraines, toothaches, and a missing dog this week, I need a vacation!!!! Been trying to stay op despite all the stress....tomorrow morning going to try on the infamous bridesmaid's dress....eeeeekkk! Will let you know how all that goes. Tooth gets pulled on Monday, so hopefully life can go back to normal and exercising too!! Looks like I have alot of reading to catch up on above, so I'd better get to it!
Michelle
Michelle
Believe me I feel your pain with the tooth. I hate to get anything done on my teeth. Good Luck. I will be thinking of you. What about the missing dog! OMG, did you find the dog. I love dogs. I hate it when my Sandy goes to the "spa" and gets a bath and her nails clipped and is gone for 3 hours.
Beautiful day today. Going out for my walk now. Yesterday was nice also and because all the trees are starting to sprout I came back home with a stuffed nose, head and ears. Guess it will be the same today.
Hi, everyone!! I work nights, so I decided I will post my achievements before work, then I have to stick to it, because it's already done! So, today, I have already exercised for 30 minutes, took my vitamins, drank *some* water and have stayed on plan. For the rest of the day, I will drink at least 3 bottles of water at work, eat only what I bring with me (usually the biggest challenge, since everyone else seems to want to snack all night long) and I will take the stairs whenever I can. I am working on not weighing myself so much, but when it's something you've done everyday for years, man, it's hard! So todoay, I weighed, I'm not getting on again until Monday. I can do it!! You can do it!! WE can DO IT!!!!!!
Chach-- you wrote:
"Remember if you have that surgery done, you will not ever be able to "enjoy" a meal again."
I have to disagree. I've had gastric bypass. I was 354 lbs at my heaviest; now, I'm around 189 (want to lose down to 161, which for me would be a "normal" BMI). I enjoy my food more now than I ever did, because I'm not focused so much on quantity, but on quality. I eat the BEST parts of anything that is in front of me. I don't settle for substandard ingredients. If I'm going to fill my limited stomach space with something, it had better darn well taste good! ;-) And I do get full/ "satisfied", which I never did pre-op. This is a common experience among the 200+ people I know who have had the surgery. In fact, I'm married to a post-op, and tonight we're going to a wedding for two post-ops, where we'll be dancing with our closest post-op friends (we met through a surgical support group). We will ENJOY our dinner, and a bite or two of cake, and then will move on.
Here's an interesting question-- why is enjoyment of a meal linked to quantity consumed? The French are masters of enjoying their food. Yet they eat half the portion size U.S. citizens do. I think sometimes we place too much value on quantity. Have you ever chewed a piece of fruit slowly, and taken the time to feel its texture? How it triggers different parts of your tongue? Have you ever melted a piece of dark chocolate in your mouth (no biting allowed!)? The complexity of the flavors is the largest part of my enjoyment now, whereas before, I just wanted to get through a king-sized candy bar. It's a different perspective.
Someone wrote about gaining weight back after surgery-- that's right, you can. Surgery is a physical fix. It limits the amount you can consume and absorb. But after a year, you can eat more, and if I wanted to (and I HAVE done it!), I can graze all day. That's why this weight (these last 30 or so lbs) are so darn difficult to lose! It's stomach surgery, not head surgery, and if head issues are making one overeat before surgery, they'll make one overeat after surgery. <sigh>
BUT . . . for me, it was the only option. I had major comorbidities, never ONCE in my life felt full (MD's now think that the stomach of persons who are morbidly obese may have fewer sensors to feel "fullness"-- isn't that interesting?), and was so absolutely discouraged and unable to lose weight "conventionally" that it wasn't even funny. I can't tell you why I was unable to lose weight-- although I think it was a combination of feeling hopeless (200 lbs is far more daunting than 20 lbs) and physiology and head issues. The surgery corrected both the hopelessness (see? I CAN lose weight!) and physiology. But I still have head stuff. And I still have to make healthy choices. Hence why I'm back at WW. I think one needs to try EVERY avenue before surgery (and I did try WW seriously the year and a half before surgery-- it just didn't work for me). However, for some people out there, the surgery may be their only option for success.
Sorry to be so long, but there's so many misconceptions out there about surgery, and I guess I'm sensitive. Too many people discredit it as the "easy" way out, or that it's so "drastic" that it can frustrate me. I remember going back to WW 6 months ago (I never went to that meeting following this!), and telling the leader that I was there to lose my last 20 lbs. She asked me how much I lost, and I told her and showed her a picture. When she asked how I did it, and I told her, you would have thought by her reaction that I told her I had leprosy. For the rest of that meeting, she ignored me. :-( And I didn't go back, because damn it, that experience is who I am and how I've got there, and my journey to a healthier weight is no less valid than anyone else's.
I'm not mad at all . . . just in a funk. I'll be stepping off soapbox now. :-)
I'm sorry if I offended you in any way about the surgery. I have two friends that have had it done and they are so sorry they had it done. They tell me quite often they wish they had tried harder to lose the weight before the surgery and that once they got the okay to have it done, it was a free-for-all with food, because it didn't matter how much they gained because they knew they were having the surgery to correct the physical problem. They never addressed the "head" problem, as you brought up.
I do believe for those people who are morbidly obese and have no other option and have tried so many different avenues, it's something to seriously consider, but only after much discussion with doctors and psychiatrists.
I do agree that we do put much emphasis on the portion sizes of meals and use the word "enjoy" somewhat associated with the size of our food. Everyone needs to work on it, but my friends who have had it done are so miserable when it comes time to eat because they just don't feel good after eating. (And run to the bathroom very quickly if the eat the wrong kinds of foods.) They didn't address their head issues and are now coming to grasps with it. They just wish they had done it before the surgery.
I applaud you on taking measures to correct your problem and honestly, I am so impressed with your loss! For anyone to have a big loss is an accomplishment. I would figure that these last pounds are hard for you, because you have lost so much that I would guess a lot of your pounds left to lose are extra skin. Will you need to have the surgery to remove the excess skin? One of my friends had to have that done because she had so many health problems because of the extra skin left over.
And, I am sorry the leader at WW was that way towards you. That's not good and not very professional. You are still struggling and wanting to do something about it. She shouldn't have acted that way.
So, again Heather, I apologize if I offended you in any way. That was not my intention and I now know someone who has a successful story with the surgery. I hadn't experienced that until I read your last post! See how great it is to have this thread? We learn and gain new experiences from each other!
Hi! It's me again. Just wanted to report that I didn't totally fall appart today. I think it was reading all your messages that got me through it.
So for I am "on program" to coin an old WW phrase! I have planned carefully and have enough points left for pork loin roast, boiled red new potatoes and string beans for dinner AND 1/2 C ONLY (that will be the hard part!) of fat free frozen yogurt later on!
I survived going to Sam's club and buying $240.00 worth of merchandise, I gave myself a a point allowance to tast free samples at Sam's as well. I'm not sure how many points I had, but I gave myself three. I exercised enough to have three points "free" so I figure that worked out!
I just had my fill of 99% fat free popcorn (always helped me when I made lifetime with WW before) and can make it until dinner, I hope. I bought ingredients to make the famous WW veggie soup with the cabbage, etc. in it that is 0 points. I actually like that soup, so it will get me through some tough times. By the way, I triple the recipe when I made it (as I don't have lots of time) and freeze it in individual portions.
I was wondering if any of you had ideas for late dinnertimes. My husband (I am a traditional stay at home mom and have dinner for him when he gets home each night) he has a long commute and I try really hard to hold dinner until he arrives, as it's so nice to eat as a family. Oftentimes, I give up and we eat dinner without him, but it's nice to wait.
BUT, I get the "hungry horrors" and end up snacking. My worst time of the day, by the way, is mid afternoon - I want chocolate so bad I am ready to climb the walls. Any ideas for that craving?
I've tried diet hot cocoa mix, chocoate rice cakes, etc. but those just don't satisfy the longing for that deep dark chocolate. I managed to stay away from my kid's Easter candy today, at least, by being so very busy.
I was gone almost all day, which was actually helpful. But, on the average afternoon, it's just me and the kitchen, which I pass through to go anywhere in this house! (we have a ranch and the kitchen is in the middle).
I swear I'm going to duct tape my mouth shut somedays!
But, at any rate, this is way too long and you all probably haven't read this far.
I just wanted to say that I met the challenge for today. We need to take it one day at a time, I think. If you made it through one day with success, thta's great! If not, tomorrow is another day.
I plan on going through my "lite" and WW cookbooks over the weekend and planning some different meal ideas so I won't be bored. One problem that I have with staying on WW is boredom.
Well, thanks for being here, everyone, I am thrilled to have found you all. It's like attending a WW meeting anytime!
I hope to get back to a WW meeting, it's probalby been about 8 or 9 months and I truly NEED that as well.
You guys are great!
Hope the tooth situation works out!
Hope those who have had bypass surgery remain successful with no complications. Hope those who really want to try to not take that route and be successful in their endeavors can find a way. I think weight loss is the absolute hardest thing in the world to accomplish, harder than quitting smoking (which I've done) and probably harder than stopping alcahol or drugs, if you are an alcaholic or addict, etc. Let's face it, we NEED food to live, it's not like you can go cold turkey!
Temptations are everywhere and we need to deal with it every day!
Sorry, again, this was so long!
Linda in beautiful NH!
Linda I have always said losing weight is harder than not having alcohol or drugs. You don't need alcohol or drugs to survive but you do need food to survive. People like us react the same way to even "legal" food as an addict to alcohol or drugs. I can pig out of healthy food also. When I eat something it is like my body says "mmmm, I want some more". My hungry time is after supper. Could eat a house. Have you tried any of the soda cakes for a legal snack. You can make a chocolate mix and add diet coke to it. Those are the only two ingredients. Bake in a sprayed 9 x 13 pan and bake according to directions. Cut into 12 pieces. 2 points each piece. There are many other combinations too. They come out very good.
Heather I applaud your courage to go through with the surgery. That is a tough call. If you feel you need a WW meeting go to another one. The leader you came across is a jackass. You have every right to be at a meeting than any one else has.
We have several of us who are taking the challenge. This is great. I know we can give each other the push and drive to continue.
Hi everyone!! Great job on staying on plan for the day, Linda!! I have been OP for 3 days now, and it is starting to feel GREAT!! I'm just going to keep saying WE CAN DO IT!!!! I managed to hang in at work last night, but let me tell you, it seemed like there was junk being offered to me every time I turned a corner. I just clung tight to my water bottle and said in a very firm voice "No thank you. I do not want any of that right now." I think it was just a great way to remind myself that I truly wasn't even hungry, just bored. I work in the ER at a Children's Hospital, and thankfully, we were very slow last night. Food was coming out of the woodwork!! And I laughed at it!! Today, goals are to take the stairs everytime I come down at work (it's 8 flights up, I walk up as far as the 3rd floor, but that's as far as I can go), Drink 4 bottles of water, and eat w/i my points. So far, so good!! I'm going to finish the day strong!!! Good luck everyone, Hang tough! Julie
Just wanted to quickly check in with you all and see how things were going. I had a horrible attack of chocolate cravings and I couldn't get over them! I ended up having a couple handfuls and felt totally sick afterwards. Why can't I remember when I get those cravings how bad I feel once I am done eating that crap?? We were going to go to McDonalds for dinner, but I convinced hubby and son to go have a big greek salad. Actually it was cheaper and much better.
I am going to start getting ready for challenge today so I can start tomorrow morning. I think the big issue for me is going to leave the extra point over each day. I think it's more of a mental thing, so I am going to just take it off the top from the beginning of the day. I'll do better than trying to make sure I have one left over at the end. Head games I play with myself.
Okay, good luck everyone and I will talk to you all later.
Hi everyone again!
Well, today was "interesting" I did a work out and then used my treadmill. I made myself stay on the treadmill until I burned 135 calories! I'm really not sure if I was on program today or not as I ate out twice. I really ordered "differently" though, so I am proud of that at least.
Eating out can be a challenge, and we do that almost every single weekend.
But, today, eating out twice was a huge exception for me. But, my sister happened to be heading North and asked me to meet her for lunch right by the highway, about a half hour from out house and I hardly ever get to see her, let alone without all our kids! So, that was worth it.
But, just to let you know, we ate at the Cracker Barrel and (as I need to have lots of fiber due to Diverticulosis) I ordered, along with grilled chicken and carrots, the lima beans. Well, being that they cook "Southern" the lima beans, though delicious, were swimming in bacon grease with chunks of cut up bacon in them. So much for my points, how the heck does one count those???? At any rate, lunch was good and I was glad to see my sister and I figure the working out I did in the morning kind of negated the bacon grease, as least I hope so! I normally would have ordered something really gooey and "comfort food" oriented at this place, so even going to the grilled chicken was a huge step for me.
Then, we went out to dinner, as is our Sat. night custom and went to an Italian place. Normally, I would have had a pasta dish, probably fettucini alfredo or something swimming in cream sauce. But, instead, I ordered haddock cooking with tomatoes, peppers and onion and had the baked potato instead of the pasta with it. I think I did ok, but can't be sure of how the fish was prepared and weather or not lots of oils were used, etc.
But, I left there feeling NOT stuffed and just satisfied and my husband, who had spaghetti carbonara (in cream sauce with bacon) left there saying he felt overly full and uncomfortable.
So, I am proud that I made better choices. If I did that all the time, then I would probably weight less than I do now. I did succumb to one glass of chardonay, though, with the fish.
But, you all will be so proud of me!!!! I weighed myself this morning and I was 161 two days ago and today I was 158! Probalby just fuid, but I felt happy and was able to not stray too far, even if I ate out and feel I was pretty much a "good girl" today.
I won't count my points, though, as I don't know how to figure out what I had, after eating out twice!
Julie (think that was your name), thanks for your kind words and encouragement and to __?__ (sorry, I am so terrible with names, I'll figure it out later on!) so sorry about your chocolate cravings. I am the queen chocoholic and I went all day for the last two days without any at all! I am proud of that as well.
I am almost wondering if chocolate is an addiction? I wonder if you can go a few days without it that the cravings aren't as strong?
Take care, all, and onward with tomorrow's official challenge start!
Linda
I'm with you! Let's work together!
I'm starting the 4/18 challenge on 4/16!
) The only part I missed is the challenge end date. I see it starts Sun 4/18 but thru when? 
14 mos ago. 
and if some could, please post the date the challenge is over. 
Today, goals are to take the stairs everytime I come down at work (it's 8 flights up, I walk up as far as the 3rd floor, but that's as far as I can go), Drink 4 bottles of water, and eat w/i my points. So far, so good!! I'm going to finish the day strong!!! Good luck everyone, Hang tough! Julie
I normally would have ordered something really gooey and "comfort food" oriented at this place, so even going to the grilled chicken was a huge step for me.
