Jiminy's June 2015 W.I.S.H. Weight Loss Challenge!! Any and All welcome to join!!

[Keithsmomma]

My bucket list for travel...oh boy I know I'm dreaming but a girl can dream right?
Ireland, Germany, Scotland, Italy (I should say Europe in general, but those are the top of my list)
My other bucket list is with my DS. I would like to take him to different states. ( my mom and I did this)

 

[Keithsmomma]

QOTD.
Believe it or not this is hard for me. I listen to all different types of music. So my list changes daily depending on my mood. It could be country, pop, rock.
1. Fall out boy-centuries
2. Luke Bryan-Country Girl Shake It For Me
3. Luke Bryan-kick the dust up.

Bouns QOTD Soundtrack for my life
1. I don't want to miss a thing-areosmith (this is DH and I wedding song. We just celebrated 13 yrs married this past Monday)
2. You are my sunshine (for my DS. Was told I couldn't have kids. Then my neuro doc asked and worked with me and the obgyn. so he is my blessing. )

 

[Belle0101]

See I was doing best when I had no bread and little to no sugar in my diet, and since I lost some weight there is a definite difference in my blood sugar too so I know it is the right thing. Maybe you will understand this is what happened, I made big changes and stopped having bread (calories that were not worth it, plus it's white), switched all potatoes to sweet potatoes or just didn't have any and dropped sugar. All was going great and I was thinking one day about how I wasn't missing the bread or sweets and then it happened...I had Dairy Queen and then boom mad sugar cravings! Also I have had a terrible craving for bread lately (I am not even a bread person) and have been eating a ton of it and now I just feel hungry all the time. That along with my attitude have been a big hurdle that I can't seem to get past now.

I'm wondering if you could still have bread but switch to 100% whole wheat bread? I know there isn't a "one size fits all" diet so it may not be helpful for you but that's what I've done. I'm also working on switching 1 preservative full food at a time to a natural version. I'm only switching 1 at a time so that it's not such a drastic change that I can't keep up with it.

For example - I'm a reformed breakfast skipper. I rarely ate breakfast and if I did it was Pop-tarts or white bread, toasted, with fake butter and preservative loaded peanut butter. Super delicious but not healthy by any means.

Now I make sure, everyday, to have a 100% whole wheat english muffin (I found a brand that is 100 calories) with 1 tablespoon (2 tablespoons is 210 calories) of all natural peanut butter. I'm still getting bread but it's a better choice of bread, for me at least.

When I was doing a 1200 calories a day diet all I could think about was all the food I couldn't have. It was defeatist and made me want those foods all the more. My new way of thinking, I can still have the foods I want, they just have to be different versions.

Thought of another example, I love banana chips. Love them, could eat the whole bag in a sitting. That's bad. Instead I have a fresh banana (105 calories for a medium one).

I know it's hard, I've struggled for more years than I can remember. I kick myself almost everyday but I think, for me, the secret is to make 1 small change at a time. When that becomes natural then start on another small change. I get too overwhelmed and even more disappointed in myself when I try for too many changes at once.

I think a treat day is a good idea too. I have one treat day a week. I'll probably be kicking myself tomorrow but for today, I'm enjoying every little bite.

 

[JacknSally]

I'm not at the point yet in my diet where I've built up my self control to just allow one treat. I'm still at the point where if I have just one treat, I can usually justify one or two more... It's a slippery slope, lol.

I measured myself this morning and was pleased (and surprised) to discover that I've lost 1.5 inches from my waist, hips, chest, and arms since I first started doing all this back in January! On the one hand I hate myself because if I had stuck to this 6 months ago when I started, I'd be so much better off now... But at the same time, I'm pretty excited that I've lost any inches at all!

128 days and 26lbs to go!

 

[PTownGirls]

This is long and I'm sorry but I'm frustrated and if I don't get it out I'll drown my sorrows with brownies.

I'm not so much focused on losing weight as I am on choosing healthier foods (for example, a banana instead of a donut) and counting my calories (staying between 1400 - 1500). My thought is if I look at it this way it will become a lifestyle change and the benefit is a healthier and slimmer me.

It took 7 or so days but I lost 3 pounds and was keeping it off. I allow myself 1 treat a week but this past Friday I allowed myself 2 treats (a McDonald's cheeseburger and a creme horn). On Sunday I weighed myself, like I do everyday, and I was up exactly 3 pounds. I was devastated.

Making it worse, my DH heard me complaining about myself and how stupid I was to have 2 treats and decided to weigh himself. He proudly announced, "Hey! I lost 7 pounds since I weighed myself a week ago!" I asked him if he was trying to lose weight, had he watched his calories, eaten better or exercised and he said, "No, I'm just way more active than you."

I said that my activity, or lack thereof, had no bearing on his weight loss and he must have been trying either through food choices or exercise. He said, "No, I told you, I'm more active than you. That's why I lost weight." He wasn't getting that if I walk (for example) 5,000 steps everyday and he walks 10,000 everyday, with no changes anywhere, that my being less active in and of itself will not cause him to lose weight.

Making it even worse on top of that, I walk alone and I've never been afraid. Ever. I'm really aware of my surroundings and I always have my cell hone with me. Last night there were two incidents and for the first time ever I was really scared. Nothing physically happened to me but it was still frightening enough that I decided to cut my walk short and head home. I'm going to have to change when I walk now and where I walk.

Thanks for letting me get all that out and know that you saved me from the brownies!

Hope your week is going better, I have brownie demons chasing me as well but I am determined to outrun them. Just keep up with the healthy food and safe walking.

 

[PTownGirls]

I'm not at the point yet in my diet where I've built up my self control to just allow one treat. I'm still at the point where if I have just one treat, I can usually justify one or two more... It's a slippery slope, lol.

I measured myself this morning and was pleased (and surprised) to discover that I've lost 1.5 inches from my waist, hips, chest, and arms since I first started doing all this back in January! On the one hand I hate myself because if I had stuck to this 6 months ago when I started, I'd be so much better off now... But at the same time, I'm pretty excited that I've lost any inches at all!

128 days and 26lbs to go!

I am glad to see this comment about letting yourself have a treat. I am the same way and it is so frustrating...one small treat could easily turn into a diet nightmare. its almost as if the sugar, even so small as half a cookie, creates a total loss of willpower and control. So for now, no treats at all with the exception of 2 squares of 70% dark chocolate in the evening 4 times a week .

 

[Belle0101]

Hope your week is going better, I have brownie demons chasing me as well but I am determined to outrun them. Just keep up with the healthy food and safe walking.

I have to be honest, I wasn't able to completely outrun the brownie demon. Last night I saw I was only at 1000 calories for the day, extremely unusual for me but that depression demon was sneaking up on me and I just wasn't feeling doing much more than take naps and watch Netflix, so I had one brownie - 300 calories. I try to stay between 1450 - 1500 calories a day so I figured it was ok. I think each one scared the other off because neither the depression demon nor the brownie demon have shown up today.

I tried a different route Tuesday night. It went okay except for when I saw this older gentleman walk out his front door, go around the side of house, and urinate in his bushes.

I tried yet another route last night and it was 100% better. It's an older neighborhood that has quite a few historic homes in it. So while I don't enjoy walking, the scenery is nicer. I've always liked old houses and old neighborhoods, they have a lot of character.

 

[EvieBug]

I tried a different route Tuesday night. It went okay except for when I saw this older gentleman walk out his front door, go around the side of house, and urinate in his bushes.

Who leaves their house to pee outside in a bush???? That's odd!

 

[Belle0101]

Who leaves their house to pee outside in a bush???? That's odd!

I know I wouldn't! He's either a weird old guy or maybe he has dementia. I'm just grateful not to be his neighbor.

 

[pjlla]

Good morning my friends! Welcome to your QOTD for FRIDAY, June 19,2015:

Since I posted a "fun" QOTD earlier this week, today's will keep us on topic.


We all know about the health risks..... diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, ED, high blood pressure, sleep apnea. But on a PERSONAL LEVEL......what is/was the WORST thing (in your opinion) about being obese/out of shape/unhealthy?


I'll throw my answer out there to get us started......

The thing I remember being the hardest was NEVER, EVER being happy in my own skin. I am naturally shy, but being overweight and ASSUMING I was being judged (probably mostly in my head) I became even more of an introvert. And I always felt like I was an embarrassment to my kids..... not that THEY ever said anything.... but again, being unhappy with myself made me ASSUME that other kids (and parents) were being judgmental. I hated feeling like I NEVER had CONTROL of my eating.... that the food was controlling me. EVERY DAY I would get up and and tell myself that TODAY would be different.... and when I would go off plan by the end of the day, I felt like a FAILURE for having NO CONTROL!

I was too young to worry about the diabetes, HPB, etc that I might get later in life.... I just wanted to be HAPPIER in my own skin.... and the first time I took REAL CONTROL of my life/eating I was happier.... even without losing a pound!

Off to make breakfast and lunch for myself......... DS is done with school but I still have to work 2-3 more days! ........................P

 

[pjlla]

Oops! Sorry that the multiquote made my reply so big!!

I had an ok day yesterday. I tracked everything, including the two snacks that were over the limit. But I also found out that last week while in vacation I gained 73 activity points. Especially hiking up 2000 feet to a spectacular waterfall on one of the port days added a lot of points (30.000 steps and 260 staircases on my fitbit!). Still, I did not step on a scale. I hated my result before vacation so much that I don't want to see the current number. I will continue to do my thing to lose weight and not look at the scale, but measure my success by how well my clothes fit.

The back is starting to improve, I hope I am fit enough to restart my exercise program by the weekend!

Good for you for getting back on track. And happy to hear the back is improving.

I missed it--what are you going to school for?

So I am not quite to 50 yet (48 in Sept) but I have gone through menopause already--boo! Sounds like a good thing, but really it's not. Anyhow, having said that things definitely change metabolism wise but it is still possible to lose. Here is what I have found:
1. I have to exercise. I have to. I cannot lose if I don't. I cannot live off of 1200 or less calories today and when I exercise I do eat back some of the activity calories.
2. I still eat carbs, but I try to eat more good for me carbs--like fruit. Or a baked potato loaded with vegetables and cheese (yes cheese )
3. I have to track. Before I could do it on portion control but I can't anymore. I have to track and I have to be pretty vigilant about it.

fwiw--My DH is 6'3" and less than 15% body fat. He is very thin and very healthy. It depresses the crud out of me that I once again weigh more than he does. But I try not to let that be the reason I throw in the towel.

You can do this!

****
Sorry for disappearing. Crazy couple of days. Didn't do great with the food but I am down over 3 pounds for the month!

I had a job interview Monday and a job interview last Thursday.
Plus last Thursday we got a new foster dog. I don't think he has lived indoors before. He is not house trained and he has been a handful. But he was on the list to be euthanized so I am glad we could help out until he finds a forever home. His sponsoring agency is in PA so in a couple weeks he will be going up north.

Sorry the pictures are so big.
The other two dogs are ours.

Anyhow, I am keeping up with my exercise (despite the nasty heat) and ran 3 miles with the dogs this morning.
Doing ok, with the food. Still slowly going down so I will take it!!

The pups are adorable! Love any dog with a beagle face! WOOHOO on the pounds down! Did I update you in the results post???

I'm working on the CPCU (Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter) certification through my job. I don't really need it for my position but, there are some very nice incentives so, I decided to go for it. There are 8 courses to complete the certification and I only just barely eeked out a pass on the first one. So, I'm gonna try and actually learn stuff for the second one. As it stands, I'm planning to do two courses per year and should finish in the fall of 2018. I'm not in a hurry because I don't want to burn out before I finish.

For each passed course, I'll get a one time bonus check ($200!).
For completing the certification I'll get a small, permanent salary increase.
For completing the certification, the company will pay for me *and my DH* to travel to the CPCU Society annual meeting for my conferment ceremony AND every third annual meeting after that. I'm not sure where it will be held the year I finally finish but it comes around to HAWAII and ORLANDO regularly. So, yes, I'm mostly in it for the free vacations!

The incentives are pretty dang good because it's a tough certification so, I should probably start taking it a bit more seriously.

For that kind of money AND a built in "working vacation", I would definitely take it more seriously!!

I'm at a loss. I use to be so active, loved to workout, watched and wrote down everything I ate, and was 40lbs lighter. Now I can't even seem to start. I know what I should do, but instead I hide in my room most of the time, I'm embarrassed to go back to the gym, I hate going anywhere because I can see the look of "OMG, look how much weight she gained" on people's faces, and I look horrible in clothes. I have no desire to workout at home either, guess I've become lazy. And every night, I say to myself tomorrow I'll do better. The next day I make until 10ish, then I break and eat junk. The funny part (no so much) is I won't even eat a meal, just junk. Also, I've hit that age where things start to slow down & I'm very short, so every pound shows. Plus, when I have tried and made it thru a week, I'd barely lose a pound. Oh and I also have a husband who sneezes and loses 10lbs. He has now loss some weight from not mowing down ice cream at night, but still eats large plates of food & chips. He saying look I'm getting rid of my tummy (which was never existing anyway). So depressing, I want to hit him (kidding, sort of). I know this is one big pity party paragraph. I'm sorry. I just don't know how to motivate myself to follow thru & do something, without giving up or sinking into a depression. I love disboards, everyone is always so nice and helpful, I thought maybe someone would be able to say something that would snap me out of this.

First of all....... I think many of us can sympathize and say a big "been there, done that", so you are NOT alone!

Second.... a very belated WELCOME ABOARD to you! Life has been nuts these past few weeks so I missed your post the first time through and I am sincerely sorry. It is hard to put yourself out there HONESTLY like you did and I apologize that I didn't recognize it more promptly.

Third.....THERE IS HELP...... but it is going to be up to you to seek it (as you did here) and PERSIST with the journey of getting healthier. IGNORE your DH and his eating/dieting/weight. That isn't you and you CANNOT compare yourself and your weight loss journey to him or to anyone else~!

When you stated that you "tried and made it thru a week"..... what does that trying look like? Weight Watchers? Calorie counting? Regular exercise? Low carb? Hard for us to offer help, suggestions, ideas unless we know where you are coming from.

And FOURTH.... you are ALLOWED to have a pity party!! I"ll bring the balloons..... But sooner or later you need to move past the pity and onto the "I CAN DO THIS" attitude! And we can help you with that! No matter what you tell us, I can assure you that one or more of us has been in your shoes!

Can't wait to get to know you better!!

Well forgot to update for last week but I gained 4lbs. Beyond frustrated too. But I'm going to keep plugging away!

Don't give up! It may disappear as quickly as it appeared!

I put my answers to the questions in purple ...

Kind of a boring day for me. The cable guy came today to run wires up to the 2nd floor and basement, so we now have cable in the room with the treadmill ... I would celebrate that by taking a walk on the treadmill, but we don't have a good TV stand yet (the TV is sitting on boxes), and I don't want to be shaking the floor. So I'll have to "celebrate" when our new TV stand comes next week.
I actually had a really nice lunch - pan roasted vegetable wrap with babaganoush. Of course, I had an Uncrustables a few hours later, but ... that was the last of the Uncrustables and we're not buying more any time soon.
No exercise yet today, but I haven't decided if I want to try to squeeze something in before bed or just take it as a rest day - I am planning a 62 minute run tomorrow morning, so a rest day is okay with me.

I've been skimming through posts but haven't really had time to read/comment - I hope everyone is having a good month, and for those who aren't, try to stick to it, start with small changes, and know that we're all rooting for you!

Yeah for tv with the TM! It definitely makes the TM time more bearable to lose yourself in a good movie!

The lunch sounds delish. Last night was supposed to be grilled zucchini hummus wraps, but I ended up making homemade grilled pizza for the kids and grilled veggies with hummus for myself.

Sigh. We had lots of errands to run tonight and by the time we were done, we were too tired to cook, so we got Mexican. planning on doing as much as possible on the treadmill in the morning to make up for it! Really hope I didn't put back on those 2lbs and then some!

Mexican can be salty (especially those margaritas.... ) so make sure to hydrate before you weigh in!

*****************************

Out of time AGAIN (story of my life, right?). Hopefully I can BBL to catch up!........................P

 

[finny1981]

We all know about the health risks..... diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, ED, high blood pressure, sleep apnea. But on a PERSONAL LEVEL......what is/was the WORST thing (in your opinion) about being obese/out of shape/unhealthy?

Biggest for me was "knowing" (in my head at least) that everyone was judging me and thinking I shouldn't be eating. I already have anxiety around people I don't know so this was compounded (still often is because although I have lost 40 pounds I still have 75-100 to lose). The other thing that has been major is clothing, or lack of it and hating the way clothes look on me, even things I think look great on other overweight people I think are hideous on me.

 

[EvieBug]

We all know about the health risks..... diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, ED, high blood pressure, sleep apnea. But on a PERSONAL LEVEL......what is/was the WORST thing (in your opinion) about being obese/out of shape/unhealthy?

Honestly for me, it was dressing in the morning. At my highest weight, I was so unhappy with how I looked that I'd just grab things in my size when I went shopping. I didn't bother taking the time to try things on and choose things that could at least try to flatter my body at that size. So I hated everything in my closet, basically. So every morning the first act of the day - getting dressed - would thrown me right into a bad mood. I felt that I looked terrible no matter what, and since self perception has a cascade affect I really found it to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I'm not at my goal, I'd still like to lose 40 lbs if I can. But I am far enough that dressing myself has become a pleasant thing again, and it's made a big difference in my attitude facing each day.

 

[Keithsmomma]

QOTD
My biggest issuse for me is being comfortable in my own skin. Like pjlla, I'm shy and I too assume people judge me. I hate it. I suffer from anxiety and don't like eating in front of people. I lost 33lbs since I started me journey to get healthier. I need 47lbs to go to get to my goal weight.
I still hate how clothes look on me and don't like my picture to be taking. (Though today a friend talked me into doing family photos....so we'll see )

 

[JacknSally]

We all know about the health risks..... diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, ED, high blood pressure, sleep apnea. But on a PERSONAL LEVEL......what is/was the WORST thing (in your opinion) about being obese/out of shape/unhealthy?

This one is easy! Mine is CLOTHES. I hate clothes shopping, and I have maybe 6 items in my wardrobe that I really feel comfortable wearing. I wear a 16-18 (or a 1x-2x depending on the clothing) and it's impossible to find things in my sizes that don't just look like tents. Memphis is one of the unhealthiest cities in the country, and we have one of the highest numbers of overweight people per capita, but our stores sure don't stock for it. And when I am able to find plus size clothing, more often than not it's designed for older women - there's nothing wrong with that, but I'm 26, and I'd like to look 26. Some stores have started to carry "plus size" juniors/misses clothing, but it's really not designed for plus size girls. You can tell they just took skinny clothes and added extra fabric to make it wider, but it makes it lose all shape and you end up wearing a tent.

I order a lot online but most of it gets returned because it's really hard to get a good idea of something from the picture on the internet. Plus money is tight so I can't ever justify buying clothes, especially when I want to lose weight and get into the smaller sizes - I don't want to build a wardrobe of 16-18s that I (hopefully) won't be able to wear a couple of months from now.

Wedding dress shopping was the WORST because most places don't carry samples in bigger sizes, and if they do, in my experience the plus size dresses they have look like they were made in the 80s - lots of satin and fluff and poof and awkward sleeves and just nothing flattering at all. And the consultants at all of these places obviously just wanted to make sales, so they'd keep telling me not to worry about the size, just find a dress I like and even if the sample is a 6, they can order it in my size. UM NO?! I am not even kind of about to spend all this money on a dress that isn't returnable when I can't even try it on and see how it fits. No. No. NO. Lost your mind. We exhausted every store in town that sells bridal gowns (they all pride themselves on being "boutique", which means the stores are small, the selection is small, and the dresses are small, but the prices sure aren't!) and had to drive to Arkansas to look for dresses at Low's... I think I found maybe 4 there to try on? Being plus size AND having a budget made it really difficult, because they don't have many options for both. I ended up finding one that I like that I could actually try on so that's the one I got - it's not exactly what I went in looking for, and I don't feel 100% like it's *the* dress, but when it's the only one close to what you had in mind that you can actually put on... It's just sad when you have to settle for a wedding dress because it's the one you can fit into. Dress shopping was very emotional, and not in a good way.

So yeah. That's what I hate about being big. Clothes.
______________________________________________

Hopefully everyone's morning is off to a better start than mine! I made a tutu for the little girl of a friend of mine last night, and stayed up WAY too late doing it... I did it a different way than I usually do, and I will definitely never do it that way again. It was much more difficult and took much more time. I was up til midnight, so needless to say, I did NOT make it up at 4:30 to hit the treadmill and weights before work.

I'm going after work to get my hair cut, so I made sure I took time to wash and dry and straighten it (I have wavy hair - not pretty curly hair, and not naturally straight hair, wavy. Which means it's always messy and frizzy unless I spend a long time on it, and I usually don't in the summer because if there's any humidity or rain at all, it's a waste... and it's Memphis, so there's ALWAYS humidity) even though I overslept and was running pretty late... Well, I didn't realize it was raining, so I go out to get in my car (carrying my purse, my lunch, my water bottle, my phone, and the tutu) and voila! Rain. I grab an umbrella, had DH2B stand in the garage holding the tutu, and made 1 trip to the car to drop off all my stuff... Ran back to the garage, grabbed the tutu, took one step outside, and the sky OPENED. It just started pouring, and a huge gust of wind blew, and the umbrella flipped inside out. Seriously. I got drenched, which means all the time I spent drying and straightening my hair was a waste (and that's what made me late in the first place, so it's doubly frustrating) ...

Oh, and did I mention I decided to wear a white top today? Sigh.

So I leave for work, hit the construction-zone-battle-field that is the interstate I have to take to work every day, and can't see 5 ft. in front of me because of the rain. Of course, I only make it a couple of miles when the whole interstate becomes a parking lot. Come to find out there's a stalled car in the right lane, and it just shuts everything down when that happens. This morning was a mess. It was one of those mornings where I was convinced I have hidden cameras recording my life for a TV show.

On the bright side -
1) I made it to work safe.
2) DH2B made it to work safe.
3) It stopped raining (or hadn't started yet?) at my office before I got here, so I didn't have to race from the car to the building in the rain.
4) The tutu is cute.
5) I weighed in this morning still down the 4lbs, so while no losses, no gains either! Yay.
6) IT'S FRIDAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7) It's the last day of one of the really really negative people in my office, and I couldn't be happier. That's awful, I know. But really. She and the other really negative person just feed off each other, so I'm really hoping that with her gone, it'll be a lot quieter here. Plus one of my friends is replacing her, so that's exciting! I know she'll bring some positivity and cheer into the office, and it is so, so needed. Sigh.
8) Did I mention it's Friday? That is pretty much the only thing getting me through the day right now. LOL

ETA: SO SO SORRY this was so long!! Oh my goodness. Definitely didn't realize that while I was typing. Guess I got a little carried away...

 

[JacknSally]

QOTD
My biggest issuse for me is being comfortable in my own skin. Like pjlla, I'm shy and I too assume people judge me. I hate it. I suffer from anxiety and don't like eating in front of people. I lost 33lbs since I started me journey to get healthier. I need 47lbs to go to get to my goal weight.
I still hate how clothes look on me and don't like my picture to be taking. (Though today a friend talked me into doing family photos....so we'll see )

Congratulations on your 33lb loss! That's huge!! Good look on the remaining weight - you're off to an amazing start, now just keep going!

I suffer from horrible anxiety, too. So bad that I've missed out on a couple of jobs that I would've really liked because I couldn't bring myself to go to the interview, or the first day. When my anxiety gets really bad, I have panic attacks and just shut down, sometimes I can't get out of bed for a couple of days. I don't like not knowing what's going to happen, so new situations are really difficult for me. If I go someplace new, I have to find out all the details I can beforehand. Where to park, where to enter, where things are located, etc. Otherwise I panic and don't go, or go but am incredibly stressed out the whole time. I also frequently cancel plans with people because I get weirdly anxious and nervous and talk myself out of them. It's absolutely awful. I'm afraid something will happen, or I'll go to the wrong place, or I'll say something wrong, and I'll be weird and awkward and people will judge me, or I won't dress right and people will judge me... I spend a lot of time getting dressed trying to find clothes that "don't make me look fat", when I logically know that it doesn't matter - I'm going to work, not trying to impress or flirt with anyone, and so what if I look heavy. But I don't want someone to look at me and judge me for being big. I'm horrible at small talk so I don't really speak to anyone at work, and if anyone tries to make small talk with me, I come off really rude and b-itchy, but really I just can't think of what to say in response fast enough, so my answers are really awkward or I just don't say anything. It was really bad when I worked the front desk at a hotel and was expected to make small talk with people all day long. Most days I could do it, but I was really stressed out about it all the time. Sigh.

 

[JacknSally]

Mexican can be salty (especially those margaritas.... ) so make sure to hydrate before you weigh in!

Haha, no worries! No margaritas here - tequila and I are NOT friends by any means. Sangria, though...

 

[finny1981]

I have to say even though I have not shown a loss in two weeks and I have been having food struggles I do have something I am proud of, I looked at my Endomondo last night and saw that we had walked 42 miles so far in June (added another 3 last night). This is huge for me who just a month ago did not walk at all for exercise (I did use an exercise bike) and that 6 months ago was a slug that did not exercise...in May we started walking on the 17th and did 32.21 miles in 11 walks, June has now been 45.94 miles in 13 walks...that's progress in my opinion.

Also tomorrow will be step one for me getting back on the right track, no more white. No bread, white rice or white potatoes, really the only issue here is bread for me. Then in a couple days or next week I will add sugar to that list and then get back to truly tracking a few days or a week after that. I was tempted to do all at once, but I am hoping that by breaking them up I will not be hit so hard, but I plan to add them as I can so even though I am thinking that by July 4th I will be back to 100% it may be sooner than that.

 

[pjlla]

Wow this is hard for me, but
1. Work Ethic - I am a very hard worker and I am at work everyday 15 minutes early, I only miss work if I can't get out of bed (happened one time in the past five years) or if I have sick kids like when both daughters ended up with pneumonia at the same time. Even then it is PTO time so I never really miss any work that I don't rightfully get off anyway.

2. My kids - ok this is sort of not about me, but at the same time I have raised four insanely great kids who are respectful, smart and loving and I would like to believe that it comes from how I raised them, so it really is about me.

3. Giving nature - I am a giver and would much rather give something to someone than get something for myself

4. Organization - Ok this is a double edged sword, but I am super organized which is sometimes an issue, but most of the time is a wonderful thing!

5. Cooking - I am an amazing cook, too good for my own good a lot of times, but I love to try new recipes and find things we all really like.

Ok I will be back later when I think of 5 more things lol

Other than being an amazing cook, I can relate to so many of these! I am super proud of my kiddos and YES, I will take some credit for that.... so you can too!

The top 10 list will definitely take some pondering today, so that will have to get done later. But I am proud to say that, despite my splurge last night, I weighed in another 2lbs down today! That's 4lbs down from the beginning of the month, so 40% of my goal!!! It sounds small but I AM STOKED!

LOVE to celebrate that loss with you! And it is NOT small!!

So I just weighed myself and I lost 7lbs since last Friday! It has to be water weight, but I will take it!


WOWAZA! Hope I didn't find any of it!

So the 10 things that are GREAT about me:
1. (Going to 'steal' from finny1981) - Work Ethic: I just had my review at work yesterday and the best compliment I got was that I work as though I own the company and as my boss says, "Employers strive to have those kind of employees".
2. (another 'steal' from finny) - Giving person: My husband and I were not able to have children so we LOVE to spoil our friends' kids. We also do Operation Shoebox each year and instead of doing 1 or 2 boxes, we do 6: 1 for each gender and age group 'cause we can never decide who should not get a box..
3. Great friend: I think my friends feel lucky that I am their friend because I would do anything for them.
4. Determined: Even though I have many, many obstacles and challenges in my life, I am determined not to let them define who I am. And I am determined that I am going to run that Jingle Jungle 5K in a few months and cross that finish line!
5. Walt Disney World lover: Even though I HATED WDW on my first trip in 1987, I'm so glad that I gave it a second chance! This trip in November will be my 10th and it keeps getting better and better. It lets me be the kid that I never got to be...

That's all I can think of right now. Beside I probably should get some work done today!

That is am amazing list!

I love the QOTD! Sometimes when all you do is think negative things about yourself it starts to feel like bragging or arrogance to actually think positive things about yourself.
1. Cooking skills - I bring meals from home for lunches at work and it never fails that someone smells it while I'm microwaving. They're always shocked when I tell them it came from my house!
2. Good listener - I don't judge and I truly listen to what people say. I offer advice if they're seeking it but don't insert myself where I don't belong.
3. Work ethic(stole from finny too ) - when I first started my current job my boss told me to brand myself and make sure that everyone knows my name and I've spent every day since then doing this! I even got an award in March!
4. Curly hair - As pjlla said as a kid I HATED my curls. They were different from everyone else's hair and all I wanted was straight hair. Now that I'm older I love my curls! So convenient and they're easy to style.
5. Smart - I got my undergrad degree in 3 years.
6. My eyes - Another one about my looks but I always get compliments on my eyes. They're probably my favorite feature.

....I think I'm tapped out for now! Thanks @pjlla for this!

WONDERFUL list!! Congrats on the work award! So glad you grew to love your curly hair!

Can one of my top ten be how great I am at negative self talk? No?

NO!!

1) I'm strong. Physically, emotionally, mentally. I've been through quite a lot and am still standing, and I consider that a victory.

2) I made great kids! (I know some of that is genetics and what not but I am taking some of the credit!)

3) Brains. I'm smart, and actually am probably smarter than I give myself credit for.

4) Crafty - I love to do crafty stuff, and especially love to give my projects to people I love!

5) Detail oriented and organized - as someone upthread mentioned, this can be a double edged sword but it serves me in a positive way more often that not.

6) Sense of humor - I can make people laugh. That brings me a lot of joy. I ADORE making my husband and kids laugh.

7) I have nice eyes!

8) And nice legs!

9) Independent - I have always been determined to do things myself, my own way, etc. I can take care of myself (even if I don't ALWAYS want to).

10) Determined - I can be a slow starter, but once I set my mind to things I get the job done!


PS - this was a great QOTD - and a really challenging one. It says something that I struggled to do a list of 10! Ask me about my best friend or my husband or my kids and I bet I can do the list faster than I did my own. Something for me to think about.

Exactly why I made it a list of 10 and not just 2 or 5..... I really wanted everyone to dig deep!

I am being awful about keeping up in here but I am happy to report 4lbs down! 2 lbs remain for me to hit my goal by the end of the month. Fingers crossed!!


Also a tip - squeeze in some stretches or strength moves at times while doing other things! I do plie squats or calf raises while brushing my teeth or doing dishes. It doesn't make a big difference in my fitness level I am sure, but it has become a habit and that is half the battle!

I try to fit fitness into my every day life as well.... I sit on an exercise ball while folding laundry, I do lunges and high knees while at recess duty, I do wall sits while standing at all-school meeting (as long as I can do it discreetly), I even do discreet yoga poses while supervising students. I offer to run errands around the school whenever I have free time... and I make sure to sprint the stairs or take them two at a time. I think every little bit of activity you can get into your life makes you healthier. Thanks for the reminder that we can truly fit it in ANYWHERE and ANY time!!

I don't know what to say to help you "snap out of it" but, I can tell you that I know EXACTLY the feelings that you're talking about.

My suggestion... take it however you want because I can't tell you that it's magic or whether it even works for me because I am still struggling with food and such, too... Pick one thing and do that one thing every day. Don't try to change everything all at once and don't let the scale decide if you're successful or not. Focus on one behavior. My one thing is getting 10k steps a day. If 10k is too much of a change, you could pick 6k or 8k or anything. Do you have a fitbit? We could be friends on fitbit and help cheer each other along. (Did you know that if you have an iPhone5s or later, all you need is the free fitbit app to take advantage of step counting?? You don't even have to buy a fitbit gadget!)

Other than that, I'm still struggling, too, but, I'm starting out by giving myself credit for doing SOMETHING! So, pick your one thing and pat yourself on the back for doing that one thing. After a couple weeks or even a month, maybe add one more thing.

Hang in there, hun!

WONDERFUL suggestions! And thanks for being there to help out a newbie when I was busy!!
*****

Catcing up slowly!...............P

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Today is grocery shopping day which is my favorite because it's always a fresh start! And I've got a lot of ideas this week to help boost my weight loss for next week. I weighed this morning and maintained again. So I obviously need to mix things up. Which is exactly what I'm doing next week.