BL Summer Challenge 2009

[corinnak]

I have computer access again! What a week. House guests, visiting relatives who love dessert, another birthday, and NO computer because my hard drive suddenly up and died. Well, I had a decent loss anyhow this week: -1.2 pounds. I track on WW online, and their mobile app is good, but not great when there is no 3G network. For a while, I was scribbling my food in a little notebook, even.

Tomorrow is race day - 10 miles, and a small race, so I will be at the backity back of the packity pack. I'm excited for it and hope the weather is good. I just got a message from ASI about a photo sale and I looked at my half-marathon photos again. I barely recognize my body in those photos anymore. At the time, I had no desire to order one, but now, any time I question whether I've really changed my body, well, those photos make the answer obvious.

 

[corinnak]

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

I wrote what I tell myself about this on WW online here: Deconstructing Weigh-In Mystique

I'll just C&P for your convenience, though.

Deconstructing Weigh-in Mystique

written by corinnak4 on 6/18/2009

I have read and heard some crazy stuff regarding weigh-ins. People stripping down to practically nothing at a WW meeting. Making sure you are absolutely 100% empty. Eating or drinking foods that are more diuretic to try to ditch some of that water weight at the last minute. Not to mention the practice of basically going crazy for the rest of the day after weigh in, only to spend the last 3 or 4 days of the week trying to make up for it until the next weigh in. It reminds me of cramming for a test.

Yes, a gain is discouraging. A maintain is better than a gain but still a little demoralizing, I have to admit. I would love to see a nice loss every week until I get to my goal. That's not the reality of how it goes, though. I have had some weeks when I've worked really hard and the scale does not move. I have had some plateaus. THAT is the way this goes.

And the fact of the matter is, for me, it is not tomorrow's weigh in that is really important. Whether I get to the 30 pound loss mark tomorrow or three weeks from tomorrow, the main thing is: I am heading in the right direction. The important weigh in is the one in 3 months. Where am I going to be in August or September? Will I weigh considerably less then than I do today? That is the kind of weigh in I can't fudge or cram for. Regardless of which clothes I'm wearing, regardless of what I've had for breakfast or not, regardless of how much watermelon I ate the night before, I undeniably weigh less now than I did in April. I get on the scale fully clothed at the end of the day and I weigh less than I did then. Which is not to say that I don't try to keep the time, place and circumstances of each weekly weigh in about the same!

The weekly weigh in is a reasonable kind of checking in. That is all. It need have no more power over me than that.

 

[mikamah]

Good morning and congratulations to all of you who are losing!! Nice work!

I have not been around. My mom went downhill real fast last week in the hospital, and came home on thursday with hospice. She was very comfortable at home, and knew she was there, and our whole family was with her, her grandkids playing in the yard right outside her bedroom window, and she could hear them. She died last friday, so beautifully with all of us with her. Just what she wanted. It was an honor to be with her, and to be able to get her home where she wanted to be. We are all doing ok, and we are all a mess at the same time. Just taking it one day at a time. The week has been a blur, the services were really nice, and a wonderful tribute to an awesome mom and grammy.

Today is the first day completely to ourselves. I think I'm going to go weighin at ww, and get some groceries. We've pretty much been at my sister and brother's houses (next door to each other and my mom lived with my sister) all week, and now we are home. With 2 weeks of comfort food and drinks, I am obviously up, but thinking about it, all the eating has been done away from my house, so I'm hoping to stock up, and now that we are back home, to get back to eating healthy.

Thank you all so much for the good thoughts and prayers. Dona, I'm glad your surgery went well. Lisa, your pms really have meant so much to me. It is so overwhelming, and I know time does heal, and my many wonderful memories will help to sooth my heart, and I will take it one day at a time.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Friday morning For the first time in a long time the sun is shining here in jersey. I think he had to since the dog started rip up the bags of mulch he didn't use yesterday. Don't forget to send in your weight to luvballo and your COW points to me. With the cast on my foot I am not weighing in for a couple more weeks.

Sun? What's that? If not for our recent trip to FL, I would have forgotten what it looks like! The puppy sounds like alot of fun -- just keep the wood he can have handy! I forgot to mention the COW -- Thank you for being our COW keeper!

Hi gang Fappy Friday the day before the fourth. Well here is the scoop on my weigh-in I lost 2 pounds since last week I now weigh 185 pounds. I also got my test results from my Doctors Appointment on june 18th. My EKG is Normal . My blood test was excelent all is well there, and All the other test My Doctor did on me were Good I have a clean bill of health.

That's the best news! Congratulations on your continuing good health, that is what weight loss is all about!

I have computer access again! What a week. House guests, visiting relatives who love dessert, another birthday, and NO computer because my hard drive suddenly up and died.

Tomorrow is race day - 10 miles, and a small race, so I will be at the backity back of the packity pack.

So glad to see you back! Best of luck with race day!

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

The weekly weigh in is a reasonable kind of checking in. That is all. It need have no more power over me than that.

Excellent comment!

My mom went downhill real fast last week in the hospital, and came home on thursday with hospice.

I am so sorry for your loss. I have been there, and my best advice is to give yourself time. It took me about 18 months to feel "normal" again. Be very gentle with yourself, and don't push yourself too hard. Do what feels right, whenever it feels right to do.

Please bear with me if I don't get the multiquotes exactly right. Lisa gave me an excellent tutorial, but it's a new skill

Maria

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning, losers!

No internet service at home, maybe all week-end! I'm not sure the I-Phone will work too well for me.

Thanks estherhead for being a great coach -- I loved your format! Thanks to Maria for coaching this week. You guys are the best!

Please PM LuvBaloo with your weigh in and donac with the COW.

I am a samer again. I know why and what I need to do so onward and downward for me!

I will try and come back later. Have a great 4th everyone!

 

[donac]

I spoke too soon. It has been raining for the last hour.

Kathy I am so sorry to hear about your mom. I can't imagine what you have been through in the last few weeks. I am glad that you were able to be there for her and for yourself.


Hi Maria How was Florida?

Lisa sorry that you won't have internet this weekend. Especially since it has been so rainy this past month. YOu never know when a barbque will get cancelled out.

corinnak Great comments. It must feel good to get the company out of the house. NO matter how close you are living with someone else is always stressful.

SpaceMtn Congrats on the great report from the doctor.

Two days ago I got a basket with 24 cookies. Yesterday I got an edible arrangement from my sister. Yes it had some chocolate covered fruit but it also had some regular fruit which has been great. I could just reach into the frig and grab some fruit for breakfast this morning.

Have a great day everyone.

 

[LuvBaloo]

Thanks to Estherhead for coaching last week, and thanks to Worfiedoodles for coaching this week!

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

Excellent question! Yes, I try to keep a positive attitude. I think I can annoy some people at work, because I try to find something positive in any situation. It helps me so I don't get stressed out. When I see a weight that I'm unhappy with, I always ask myself "why?" and sometimes the answer is just indigestion and sometimes its because I was making poor choices. And if its poor choices, I remind myself to keep asking myself what I want, so when I'm making a food choice, its do I want the bad food or do I want to lose weight.

This week, I'm very happy with a 1.1lb loss after 2 weeks of gains I'm not quite back to where I was 3 weeks ago, but its the right direction again! I love Corinna's answer about comparing to where you are 3 months apart.

Tomorrow is race day - 10 miles, and a small race, so

Corinna - Have a great race tomorrow! That's great that you can really see the changes in your body!

Mikamah - Your post was very beautiful. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[sahbushka]

Hey all! Happy wi day! I had a loss this week which I am very pleased with! Even got my 20 lb clippie!

QOTD: The one gain I have had so far there was absolutely no reason for, I had done everything "right". That was very frustrating...I cried, stomped my feet and asked myself "now what?" The answer was that everything I had done that week was healthy for me, was good for my body. No matter what that scale said I was doing possitve things for my health. I could either keep going in that direction, or I could stop all the good things I was doing for myself, gain the weight back, and be in a worse situation than I was when I started. No contest and I had a 4 lb loss the next week.

Have a great day all! My dh is having friends over and doing a bbq tonight. I got out some ground turkey for him to do for me and am going to stay op tonight!

Later,
Sarah

PS Have a safe 4th!

PS2 to Mikamah - I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[disney1990]

mikamah - I am so sorry to hear about your Mom. Please take care.

Happy 4th of July to Everybody! DH and I don't have any real plans for tomorrow. DH is telling me about all the food he wants, however. He wants pork ribs on the grill, homemade potato salad, corn on the cob and pineapple upside down cake -- all of which he is willing to make. Hum, and most of which I don't want to eat. Wish me luck in just "tasting" everything. I had a good week last week and I don't want to back track.

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

I have to admit I am disappointed when the number on the scale is not what I want to see. Often times, I ended up eating something I shouldn't eat. But, I am trying to be better.

 

[lisah0711]

Hello again, losers, my internet returned (for now) so I can answer the QOTD.

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

This is a great question. I do much better now with just paying attention to the trends and not worrying too much about an individual number. I do have to admit I am a little happier on days that the scale is down still, which I guess is kind of the point. I really loved what you had to say on the subject, corinnak. Good luck on your race tomorrow!

Kathy, to you and Michael. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

donac, sorry to hear about the rain, maybe it will pass through quickly.

Thanks again, Maria, for coaching for us this holiday week-end.

It is warm here which is very unusual for 4th of July. We took a little boat ride this morning and DH is doing all the cooking this week-end. It's all from Cooking Light so should be okay to enjoy. We live on a hill so we can stay home and see the local fireworks and stay out of the fray!

Have a great day all!

 

[50sjayne]

Hey glad to see the board so busy still. Well even weirder I was down a pound again this week and frankly I have no idea why. I guess maybe my body is resigning itself to eating less and exercising more so maybe I just don't realize how much I am doing (and not eating). This is what I had been hoping for really. This is my reward I guess for a lot of hard work over the winter and spring.

 

[donac]

Good Morning and Happy 4th

Well it is sunny and supposed to be sunny all day. We are going to a friend's house today for a bbq. They have a pool and it is usually heating to where I like to swim but I can't this year. I will bring some knitting to keep me busy. Both ds's are working today. Ds2 is getting time and a half so he is not unhappy. I will watch the fireworks from the front steps. We can see most of them from there.

Glad to see people losing this week. I know we are getting to a hard part of the challenge since it has been a while since we started. Nice to hear people still working at it.

Have a happy 4th

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Happy 4th of July!

Saturday QOTD:How do you plan to celebrate your independence from being heavier today? Our Canadian contestants have a head start, they've been celebrating for 3 days already!

I'm celebrating with moderation. I'm not trying to completely cut out the holiday foods (I will be having ribs!), but I am not having any heavy sides, and we brought in our weekly fruit supply last night so I have a ton of healthy choices for when we just sit around and enjoy the day.

However you spend the day, please celebrate you! You are special, you are on an important quest, and you are the only one who can make your weight loss happen!

Maria

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I spoke too soon. It has been raining for the last hour.

Hi Maria How was Florida?

Sorry about the rain! We had a bit yesterday, too, but it finally cleared and today is sunny and warm, so far...Florida was hot, but it felt good after all the gloom we've had lately! We had a fantastic vacation, and we are all ready to get back to our lives!

Thanks to Estherhead for coaching last week, and thanks to Worfiedoodles for coaching this week!

I forgot to thank Estherhead for doing such a great job! You're questions were the first ones I saw when I got back from vacay, and you helped get me motivated again!

Hey all! Happy wi day! I had a loss this week which I am very pleased with! Even got my 20 lb clippie!

Congratulations on your clippie, that is fabulous!

I have to admit I am disappointed when the number on the scale is not what I want to see. Often times, I ended up eating something I shouldn't eat. But, I am trying to be better.

It is hard not to let a disappointment lead to eating things I shouldn't. I'm working on it with you, we're all in this together!

I do much better now with just paying attention to the trends and not worrying too much about an individual number.!

I think you have a great attitude. General trends tell us more over time than whether we're retaining water one day or not!

This is my reward I guess for a lot of hard work over the winter and spring.

It's true, all the hard work does pay off, and not necessarily when we would expect it to. You have been trying hard for a long time, and now you are reaping your results!

Glad to see people losing this week. I know we are getting to a hard part of the challenge since it has been a while since we started. Nice to hear people still working at it.

Have a happy 4th

It is getting to a hard part, and it's the dog days of summer, so there are so many other calls on our time. It's hard to make weight loss a priority now, but it's important to keep up the habits and activities that are making it happen as much as possible. You may not be able to do everything, but doing something is always better than doing nothing!

Maria

 

[sskem96]

Happy 4th of July everyone!

I've been very busy the last few weeks and haven't spent any time on the computer, so I'm going to have to go back and do some reading to catch up on this thread!

I weighed in Wed. and had a 4.8# loss after 2 weeks of gains! Now I'm back down to what I was before our camping trip. I decided my WW points goal was too high since they changed the way they figure it, so I pulled out my old WW book from a few years ago to see what that said, and it had me at 4 pts/day less! I think that was a lot of the problem. I've started riding my bike 6 miles/day when the weather is tolerable. Yesterday my butt was killing me, so I took a 2 mile power walk instead. Today it's raining, so I'll do the Wii Active.

Saturday QOTD: How do you plan to celebrate your independence from being heavier today?

I'm going to a cook-out, but bringing my own lunchbox! I'm taking my favorite hot dog (Oscar Mayer turkey cheese dog), my 1 pt. hot dog bun, diet 7-up, and some fruit. Hopefully that will keep me on track! I'm spending the night at my mom's and she snacks constantly, so it will be a challenge, but as long as I've got my fruit I should be fine.

Only 17 days til my quick trip to Disney with DH, so I have to be good!

 

[disney1990]

Happy 4th of July!

Saturday QOTD: How do you plan to celebrate your independence from being heavier today?

I plan to celebrate by taking small portions of the things that I want to eat and not overdoing it. I don't think that going without those foods will help; I need to be able to control how much of those things that I eat.

 

[sahbushka]

Happy 4th of July!

Saturday QOTD:How do you plan to celebrate your independence from being heavier today? Our Canadian contestants have a head start, they've been celebrating for 3 days already!

I'm celebrating with moderation. I'm not trying to completely cut out the holiday foods (I will be having ribs!), but I am not having any heavy sides, and we brought in our weekly fruit supply last night so I have a ton of healthy choices for when we just sit around and enjoy the day.

However you spend the day, please celebrate you! You are special, you are on an important quest, and you are the only one who can make your weight loss happen!

Maria

I plan to spend the day focusing on the social aspect of the get togethers instead of on the food side. I am also making a yummy dinner that I haven't made in years and that makes me want to stay on plan so I can enjoy it that much more!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

Sarah

And here is to the next 4th of July...this year we are working on our independance....from food addiction, from being overweight, and from being inactive.

 

[LuvBaloo]

Happy 4th to all you Americans!
I think I'm the only Canadian in this BL.
I too will be going to big family celebration today, just for a different reason. Its DFIL's birthday. I expect the food choices won't be too great, but usually DMIL buys a cake that I don't like which takes that temptation away!

Have a great weekend!

 

[lisah0711]

Happy 4th of July!

I am seeing lots of good plans to have a happy and OP 4th of July (or Canada Day ) celebration.

Saturday QOTD:How do you plan to celebrate your independence from being heavier today? Our Canadian contestants have a head start, they've been celebrating for 3 days already!

I spent the morning working in the yard with DH -- lots of digging and raking before it got too warm. We are taking it easy this afternoon and going to a neighbor's for a bbq tonight. Make your own hamburgers and simple salads so it will be easy to just take a taste of one of two things and enjoy myself. We will set off our own fireworks and then see the local fireworks from the deck.

Have a great and safe 4th of July everyone!

 

[ibouncetoo]

I saved WW points for a hot dog and french fries today! That's it, no desserts, no mayonasie salads, just a REAL hot dog. That's what I'd been craving.

Tonight is green beans and some baked chicken with a mint Skinny Cow for my late night snack.

.