PROGRESS AS OF 6/16:
EvieBug ** 4 lb down.... not sure of the percentage of change
I PASSED my exam this morning! What a RELIEF! I honestly had no right to pass it considering that I didn't actually learn anything - I only crammed.
I also ate so stupidly all weekend because I was completely stressing myself out about this test. So, gotta get back on that horse AND start studying the next course for my September exam. Perhaps I will behave more responsibly this time. You know... create and follow an actual schedule to cover the material and possibly even learn something this time... Yeah. We'll see.
Hitting rock bottom is such a hard thing...it makes you feel like everything looms large in front of you. This happened to me a couple months ago and I realized my weight had skyrocketed , I was overwhelmed and so discouraged. I found starting with baby steps was easiest. I promised myself that one meal a day would be a protein shake and I would do at least 1 loop around the small block in my neighborhood daily. I promised myself that I would accomplish those 2 small things for 7 days. That small positive move helped me feel less fluffy and by the end of 7 days I was able to add a couple more goals. Don't try to accomplish too much too fast, be gentle with yourself!![]()
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Just checking in. I am back from an amazing cruise through the Norwegian fjords. Unfortunately I was not able to withstand the temptations of the delicious food on the ship and the baked goods of Norway (Scandinavians are fantastic bakers, there is a reason that you call a Danish a Danish!)
I also brought back a hurting and stiff back as a souvenir. So saw the doctor today. He says that it is just a tense muscle, I am going to get some massages for that. Hopefully I will soon be fit again. Thinking of buying a foam roller as well, have been thinking about that for some time and think it might be good for my back!
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!![]()
I don't have any advice or suggestions or anything else for you. But, on each and every one of your points, I have totally been there!!
Several years ago, I logged my food, counted calories, and trained for and ran races of varying distances for about 9 months and over that time, I lost about 25 pounds. About 7 months into this effort, my husband decided that he would cut down to one Dr. Pepper per day, start eating breakfast (a fried apple pie) and stop ordering fries with his double cheeseburgers. He lost 40 pounds in 5 weeks. I mean, I was happy for him and all but, SERIOUSLY!!?! Thankfully, however, he had the good sense to NOT compare his efforts to mine because it very possibly would have endangered his health!
And, I do know exactly how you feel about being "good" for a while and then "treating" myself only for the scale to report that my entire effort was wasted. I have been living this scenario repeatedly for the past year. I think my metabolism is getting old. Well, that and I suffer from an extreme case of defeatism lately. I "know" that I'll just put the weight back on, so I have trouble getting past the "why bother?". But, I'm trying. Even if it's only a few days at a time.
I have also gone through periods where I have felt less safe than normal. Typically, I have always been comfortable walking my neighborhood but, every once in a while, I have cut it short and headed home because "something" just didn't feel right. I think those feelings happen for a reason and we should always behave accordingly. You'll find something that works. Even if you just walk up and down your own driveway for 30 minutes. Which I have totally done.
Hang in there! And, good job circumventing the brownie trap!![]()
I'll be honest, I thought about knocking him down and force feeding him a box of Little Debbie cakes. I'm taller than he is and, now that he's lost 7 pounds, I outweigh him. I think I could have done it. And while I'm not unhappy for him, I would be happier if it were me.
I've wondered if my metabolism is just too old. I'm not posting the exact age because I'm in denial but in less than a month I'll be turning a certain age, there's a 0 and a 5 involved.![]()
Love this! Do you have any tips or secrets for how you managed this level of success? A minimum amount of cardio? Cutting out/adding in certain foods? Specific exercises that worked or didn't?
So how do you guys handle the constant counting and extra work involved in tracking without feeling like it is a burden? I was doing terrific the whole month of May and first week of June, I counted EVERYTHING, stayed on track, exercised faithfully, but then it caught up with me and I started having a feel sorry for myself attitude. We are a family of 6 and really I am the only one with a weight issue, I am married to a man who thinks about losing and weight and bam 4 pounds are gone with little or no effort and kids who can eat everything and gain nothing. I however was blessed with PCOS and if I think about a candy bar I gain three pounds. Not really, but I do need to give up extensively to lose anything and often see no progress after doing the right things. Well about 10 days ago I was thinking in a bad way about this journey and how I am always saying no to dessert with the family and always feeling like I am being punished (I know it's childish) and how much happier I was when I was just not caring (we are not talking about self image, purely mood) and I just fell off (I haven't gained, but haven't lost). I was keeping up with exercise, but just have not had the willpower to keep up the tracking and not going over and well it is bad. I keep trying to get back on track because for health reasons I really need to lose 75-100 more pounds and I thought since I was losing fairly well that it would be easy to continue, it hasn't been. I just need a mind set change, but I also need something that can be a long term change that I can keep up. So now that I have cried on your shoulder how do you guys handle it when you are the only one being held to counting, weighing and always feeling like you have to say no to everything?
Oh I should probably add that I am very overweight, and that using my fitness pal and trying for a 2 lb a week loss currently puts me at 1,270 calories. I eat healthy most of the time, it's just that those calories don't go real far; when I had it at 1.5 pounds I lost nothing (was doing it for about 2 months with no progress). We do not eat out often at all (Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthdays are about it) and we exercise by walking 3.5 to 5 miles a day as long as there is no rain except Fridays which are movie night.
So how do you guys handle the constant counting and extra work involved in tracking without feeling like it is a burden? I was doing terrific the whole month of May and first week of June, I counted EVERYTHING, stayed on track, exercised faithfully, but then it caught up with me and I started having a feel sorry for myself attitude. We are a family of 6 and really I am the only one with a weight issue, I am married to a man who thinks about losing and weight and bam 4 pounds are gone with little or no effort and kids who can eat everything and gain nothing. I however was blessed with PCOS and if I think about a candy bar I gain three pounds. Not really, but I do need to give up extensively to lose anything and often see no progress after doing the right things. Well about 10 days ago I was thinking in a bad way about this journey and how I am always saying no to dessert with the family and always feeling like I am being punished (I know it's childish) and how much happier I was when I was just not caring (we are not talking about self image, purely mood) and I just fell off (I haven't gained, but haven't lost). I was keeping up with exercise, but just have not had the willpower to keep up the tracking and not going over and well it is bad. I keep trying to get back on track because for health reasons I really need to lose 75-100 more pounds and I thought since I was losing fairly well that it would be easy to continue, it hasn't been. I just need a mind set change, but I also need something that can be a long term change that I can keep up. So now that I have cried on your shoulder how do you guys handle it when you are the only one being held to counting, weighing and always feeling like you have to say no to everything?
Oh I should probably add that I am very overweight, and that using my fitness pal and trying for a 2 lb a week loss currently puts me at 1,270 calories. I eat healthy most of the time, it's just that those calories don't go real far; when I had it at 1.5 pounds I lost nothing (was doing it for about 2 months with no progress). We do not eat out often at all (Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthdays are about it) and we exercise by walking 3.5 to 5 miles a day as long as there is no rain except Fridays which are movie night.
UGH, my husband is the same way! He stops drinking beer for a month and loses 5 lbs. (And he usually has like, 1 beer every third night or something. It's not like he was binging.) I haaaaaaaaaaaate that, it's biologically cruel.
I have PCOS too. Honestly I despise tracking. What worked best for me with the metabolic syndrome and the PCOS was ditching the refined/processed/white stuff. White flour, white sugar, etc. It was basically low carb because the healthy grains were a bit too much work LOL - so while we'd all have chicken and veggies for dinner, I'd just skip the bread. Or while everyone else had cereal in the morning, I had a hard boiled egg, or something high in protein. It seems like deprivation but really it was pretty easy to adjust to. (Granted it is always harder with family - but it's adaptable too) What I liked about it was that I didn't have to count, worry about hitting a calorie goal and then stopping, etc. Once the refined stuff (sugar/flour) was out of my system I was amazed at how my blood sugar leveled and thus I was not as hungry as I thought I was. (Full disclosure: those first few days sucked. No joke.)
I can PM you the name of a book if you want - I don't know if there are rules about specific plans/etc so I don't want to violate anything
I will say this regarding tracking: When I did track, I tried to plan for the entire day. So in the morning I'd track what I figured I'd eat all day. It helped me see that there was no room for extra stuff, and it helped me stay on track, if that makes any sense?
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.
^ My QOTD answers are in RED.
I did get in my weights yesterday, so I'm pleased! I weighed again this morning and was down another pound! That's 20% of my June goal now.
WONDERFUL!!
I decided to have a kind of chill morning today so I skipped the treadmill this morning and will do it after work - going to try for 45 minutes instead of my usual 30. I did get in just a little bit of weights this morning - I couldn't do too much because my arms feel like jelly from yesterday, haha, but some is better than nothing!
My boss, my doctor, and I have all decided that I need to cut down on some stress (wedding planning might be making me crazynot Bridezilla crazy, just anxious crazy!) so DH2B and I are starting to take 20 minutes before bed each night to sit on the back deck (I might have a little bit of wine
) and unwind from the day. No phone, no TV, nothing. Last night was the first night we've done it, but it was so nice! We moved into a rental house in May that has a really pretty backyard, and because the owners retired to Florida, they left all of their deck furniture & cabana with us, so we've got this great deck and pretty yard and haven't been enjoying it! Such a waste.
What a great idea! This week's WW topic is about taking a "brain break"..... sounds just like what you've been! Good for you!
And then I have to come to work in the morninglol. We have a REALLY easy job and the managers are super laid back, and still there are 2 people that just. have. to. be. unhappy. I don't understand it. I spent the last 2 years managing a hotel and dealing with all sorts of drama 24/7, so I am unbelievably thrilled to be at the job I'm at now. But there are 2 people that just complain and complain and complain and complain all day, every day. I get so sick of hearing them! I can feel my blood pressure go up when they start in... and because I'm the newest person here (I switched jobs last October) I don't say anything. But it drives me insane!
Do any of you have to deal with something like that - people that are just determined to be negative, and make everyone around them negative, too? How do you handle it? Thankfully we're allowed to listen to music while we work, but some days not even my headphones drown it out!
Night owl
Pink
Italian
I love to run and walk
Tea. Use to drink coffee , but can't anymore
Books all the way.
WDW. Never been to DL , but want to go.
Cat. I own 3.
I have to say both. I love going on adventures, but some days I just want to relax.
I want to say both. My version of camping would be a cabin in the woods. As for fancy hotel..I don't care for the super high end places (can't afford it first off) second I would be in the hotel as much because I would be out and taking in whatever area I'm in.
Mickey
Dunkin Donuts . no Starbucks around here unless I want to drive an hr one way.
Both. I want to live in the country but still be close enough to the city for entertainment or stores.
Definitely traveler. I have a bucket list of places I want to see.
Well I had a bad weekend, I guess a lot of us are because I see a lot of rock bottom on here. I knew I was heading for a big fall off the wagon and I tried to stop it, but it didn't work. Friday nights are movie nights at our house (Disney movie and taking a ring off the weekly countdown to WDW only 12 left!!) so we do not walk and we have a snack (usually healthy youngest DD picked smoothies this week) so I did ok on Friday, however Saturday although I did good all day, measured and weighed all the food and counted it I decided that a little more was ok (and I didn't track it so) then we only walked a mile (usually we do 4+) then we stopped at Dairy Queen (yep I had a blizzard too), then Sunday DH and I were going out for dinner so I didn't track anything and ate A LOT more than I should have. Then we took the kids to Cold Stone Creamery and I had that mentality that since I already went over might as well do it right and well you know how that went. Then yesterday I did not track and did ok until I stopped at Tim Hortons for a large s'more Ice Capp and croisant in addition to my lunch I already ate and then ate too much at dinner. This morning I talked myself into stopping at Tim Horton's again, but when I got their I stopped myself and said nope today I will stop this nonsense and do the right thing. Although I have been resisting a lot of things today I am still not in the right mind set so I am trying to keep telling myself just how necessary it is. I think I will be ok for today, but I need to get this back under control.
I am hoping that I can get back to where I was a few weeks ago and get back to losing this weight. I hope everyone else is getting there!
night owl
red
Italian
walking
tea (Earl Grey with some milk!)
I had a drink at a cafe a few weeks ago when DD and I went out for brunch.... it was called "London Fog" and it was Earl Grey tea with steamed coconut milk.... delicious!!
book (currently the second book of Games of Thrones)
DL (can't wait to go there this summer)
dog
adventure!
fancy hotel (yes, I like adventures in fancy hotels!! ;-))
Donald (but truly my heart belongs to Minnie!!)
Starbucks
city (to live in, but I love spending time in the countryside)
traveler
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 totally get that. I do think us PCOS'ers just do better on low carb/low sugar as opposed to low calorie/low fat diets. I lost a bunch of weight in my late twenties with a plan like that... at the time I was single though. Weight gain crept back up on me after re-marrying and having my first child - and then you are SO right it can be hard to jump that initial hurdle again. A rather silly "trick" that I used with some success was "the two day diet". Which basically says make a mental plan for the next two days. Are you going to move more? Eat less flour/sugar? Track consistently? Whatever it is. Mentally commit to that. Weigh yourself day one. Initiate your mental plan, and stick to it for two days. Day three, weigh yourself again. Did you lose? If so, what do you think worked well? Make a NEW plan for the NEXT two days - incorporate whatever you learned from the first go around. Lather rinse repeat.It's totally just a mental trick to get you refocused every couple days but it actually got me going again!