This will sound incredibly negative, and upon re-reading it sounds like I'm throwing myself a really big pity party, or like I have anything against the monthly threads or the participants in them, but PLEASE know that I REALLY don't mean it to... I love you guys!
I'm honestly not sharing my journey with anyone anymore. I've tried a couple of times in years past to blog about it, but always stopped shortly after starting because I just didn't have a story worth telling. I barely participate in these threads anymore. I just don't really feel like I have any story to share. I haven't made any substantial progress - yes, I lost 30lbs last year, but I've put it all back on, so what difference does it make. I don't really have answers for the QOTDs because they don't relate to me - nothing at all against any month's thread, I'm just not eating well, I'm not exercising, I'm not a runner, I don't do Weight Watchers, and I don't have great successes to share, so I don't ever really have anything to contribute. I don't log my food because I'm embarrassed by what I eat. I don't wear my Fitbit or join challenges because I'm embarrassed by how little I move during the day. I love reading about everyone's success and will ALWAYS 100% support all of my friends here, but right now I just feel like I'm in the bleachers cheering others on, and I'm not really sure how to get out. Basically I'm not trying to inspire anyone else because I just don't feel like I have any reason to do so.
Again, that reads very negatively, I know. I don't mean to come off that way. This whole weight-loss thing is just very frustrating for me right now (I know I am not alone in that by any means). It makes it even worse that I've never DONE anything to lose weight that has worked, so I don't know what to do. It's not a matter of "Oh, I just need to get back to doing this and the weight will come back off". When I lost the weight last summer, it just kind of started melting off. I was eating like crap and not exercising at all, but it just started happening. So now it's not melting, and I really don't know where to even begin because I don't know what works for me, because it feels like nothing works. But then I get caught in this downward spiral of "I don't know what to do to lose the weight, so I'm just going to eat everything because I'm upset that I'm gaining weight"... and then I gain more weight. And then I see everyone else doing AMAZING and posting great numbers, and I eat more because I'm upset that I'm not doing as well as others. But that makes me gain more weight. And then I eat more because I'm upset that I gained. 
Anyway, I'm thankful for you guys and this forum, no matter where I am in my own journey! You guys are definitely inspirational. 
First of all.......
to you!
Next up.... please be ASSURED that you are not the only one who like they don't have anything to really share. And the sentence I underlined in your post.... believe me, I feel that way more often than I would like to admit. And the whole Fitbit craze..... I haven't "friended" a single person outside of my DD with regards to this because I feel like on many, many days I set a TERRIBLE example as a WW member and leader when my step counts are stupidly low (like today is setting up to be). That's probably why I resisted wearing one for SO LONG.... because I didn't want the truth smacking me in the face!
There are days when I feel like I have to "fake it until I make it" in regards to acting like a WW "success story". YES, I lost the weight with WW.... no faking that. And YES, I am at my goal weight (well... most days...
). But when I've had a splurge day..... or a day when I just refuse to track another bite..... or when I have the time and ability to exercise and I sit on my butt instead.... those are the days I feel like a bit of a phony. But.... usually coming on here and "confessing" or being REAL with my WW members makes me feel better and more HONEST and more successful.
I feel like today's QOTD might be starting down a road that people don't really want to go down, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean this to start trouble or anything. But I truly believe that everyone has something to share and everyone can be inspirational. Every time you fall and pick yourself up, that's an amazing inspiration for those who fall and have trouble picking themselves back up. Even if you keep falling down and don't pick yourself up, the fact that you're willing to share those failures is incredible and can encourage others to ask for help.
I think that if this journey is something that you feel is for you alone and you don't want to share it, that's fine - some people don't feel a need to share everything, which is not a bad thing. But I don't think anyone should be afraid to share. Even if your story is one of constant failures and an inability to "figure it out," people can benefit from hearing about it.
I'm rambling a bit, but the bottom line is this - if you don't want to share your journey, I understand that. But if you're afraid to share your journey ... please know that there are people out there who can benefit from your example, and if you ever feel comfortable sharing, we want to hear all about it.
I'll be back with replies later, I just feel bad because I'm afraid I might have upset some people with this question, and I wanted you to know that absolutely was not my intention. I'm sorry, guys
NO.... do NOT feel that way at all! I think it is IMPORTANT to think about the "hard" stuff while on this journey. Like others said, this is all OPTIONAL! But I'm sure that people who chose NOT to answer the QOTD, at least had the question rolling around in their head for a while.... and sometimes we have to answer the HARD QUESTIONS in order to make any progress.... and that is what we are ALL trying to do... MAKE PROGRESS! The statement in your quote that I bolded is PERFECTLY SAID!!
Well, I guess if I can offer any inspiration it might be that at my advanced age, cough, cough, I'm still doing it. I'm active on WW Connect and offer support there. Also, I was talking with my hairdresser this past weekend and answered some of her WW questions and she's ready to sign up.
DO I see a future WW leader in the making???
Your post made me sad, only because I feel like you need someone to support and cheer you on. I want to be that person for you - if you'd let me!
::hugs:: Don't ever feel embarrassed for what you did or didn't do in this journey. What you're doing is FOR YOU and therefore you just should log and exercise what you can. As long as you stay within the calories you'll be fine. Heck, you could eat a Happy Meal AND a Pizza Hut personal pizza and still be under your calorie goal for the day (I did that on Monday of last week - not ashamed in the least).
What can I do for you to help you keep going on the path of success?
Aww.... I knew someone would come on and offer some support.... THANKS Courtney! And please know Megan that I also want to be there for you in any way I can.
Wow- there's a lot going on with this thread, I'm going to have to check in more often. Don't have time to reply specifically to everyone, but I did read it all.
My journey, like many others' has been personal and quiet. I haven't really advertised that I'm trying to lose weight and be healthier. In the past, when I've not been in a good place, I've been turned off when people talk about their diets and exercise routines when they aren't asked about it. Not here in this thread - we all come here to talk about our journeys and to listen to others'. But when you are just ordering lunch or dinner and someone talks about how they only eat free range chicken, grass fed beef or an all organic, gluten free, preservative free, artificial color free diet and how they do hot yoga or whatever the latest craze class is at the club and how it's the greatest thing ever (you know these people, I'm sure). Ugh. I don't know; it makes me uninspired I guess, like I want to run out and eat exactly the opposite of them just because. So, on that note, I don't share anything about my eating habits or exercise habits unless specifically asked.
Just recently, people are starting to notice my weightloss (or at least enough to mention it). I think it's a combination of things - first, if you see someone every day, you don't really notice the changes as much, so the people I see every day often jump to "did you color your hair differently?" or else can't quite figure out what's changed. The other part is it's getting a little nicer around here and so layers of clothing are starting to come off and be more streamlined. So people who haven't seen me since October without my puffy winter coat absolutely are noticing. I had a mom asking me all kinds of questions today (I hadn't seen her in months) - how are you doing it, what's working for you, etc. I don't really have a method to my madness, but I think that in itself can be inspirational. Just being "everyday" active (getting my steps) and trying to eat balanced meals every day. Nothing crazy or impossible to follow. I guess I have been watching my carbohydrates, but I wouldn't call myself low carb, so I don't usually say anything about that.
I don't blog, and I don't share unless asked. I think I would need more permanence before I would feel "qualified" to be a true inspiration. Like may others I have gained and lost over the years (though I've never lost this much before), been happy with how I looked, been unhappy with how I looked. And while I am currently successfully losing weight, the true test is if I can reach my goal and maintain it over time. Only then will I feel comfortable in saying - Look at me, I'm a weightloss success story, you can be one too!
I hope you (and others here) didn't think that I was being arrogant when I called myself a weight loss success story. TRULY! I didn't mean it in a way to be bragging and other than my own words, I don't have any real "qualifications" to be an inspiration. It is just that, statistically, I am considered "successful" at weight loss because I have kept it off for a statistically significant amount of time. Am I perfect?
NEVER!! Do I think I've "got this all figured out"?
NO WAY! Am I aware of the fact that I am just one stress crisis or extended vacation binge away from gaining lots of it back?
YUP!! But I do like to share some of the things I've learned during this journey in the hopes that I can make the journey of others around me a bit easier and smoother (hence the reason I am a WW leader).
I'm sure that you are inspiring more people than you realize, just be SHOWING UP and being successful with your weight loss as you go along this journey!
Thank you, sweet friend! Though I definitely didn't mean to make anyone sad. I truly appreciate your "person" offer!
@SarahDisney, I agree with @courtneybeth. Sometimes the questions do hit close to home - but that's a good thing, and never something to apologize for. This whole journey is close to home, and if we're unwilling to take a real solid look at ourselves and our habits then how can we ever expect to make any progress? So don't ever apologize for asking us questions that make us think - that's what I always try to do with the threads I host, because I want and use these threads as real tools, not just another webpage to kill time on. And like Courtney said, it's always optional! If it's too close to home, we can just say we were too busy to answer that day and forget to come back to it.
Agreed!!
@JacknSally So this was me the middle of last year. I was up against someone else who was thriving and doing amazing things. I felt needlessly competitive and wilted. I got so frustrated by myself and why I couldn't just get my head together and get it done. I was embarrassed by my supposed failures and it was just the worst feeling ever. So when you say you're not alone, you're not AT ALL! I think you're lovely and wonderful, and eventually things will click for you. Just don't put so much pressure on yourself that's where it starts to go south super quickly.
Sweet words!
Hello All! i am back from a few days at WDW. Lots of fun, great weather. The bad is the food, all tasty but not so healthy. I got on the scale this am and was back up a litlle over a pound but that was expected.
I have to read the last few days worth of pages to catch up. I just wanted to say Hi and make myself get back on track, or try to. I am trying to get laundry caught , mail filed(came home to self and DS17 finding subpoenas for an accident we saw-he is freaked out by idea of testifying so trying to get info on what to expect), still chasing down papers so we can finally file taxes...the usual "life" stuff.
I have DS's 20th birthday tomorrow so steak and potato of course (his fav) choc cake and a movie(popcorn), so i am not sure how much of that I'll resist.
QOTD- The only people I share anything about my weight loss story/challenges is with all of you. I have not done anything that i feel can be shared to encourage others. I am inspired by so many of you dealing with the many issues that come up in real life. I often feel lke i am on my own. My DH is a great guy but loses weight withour even trying so he does not get it nor is he really interested. He doesn;t do a good job of dealing with my health issues either-he just pretends they are not there. i am having another ultrasound for thyroid/goiter tomorrow, waiting on blood work,need a new endo..as long as there is food, clean clothes, bills paid...he is kind of in his own world. It does not leave me with much of a support system. I feel like if I am more successful at losing weight then maybe I can be of help to someone else.
Seriously? Just up a "little over a pound" from a Disney vacation!?? How did you do it? I usually gain a pound a DAY at Disney.... and that is WITH TONS of walking and some degree of control over the treats!
Question of the Day - Tuesday, March 8th:
As Dory tells Marlin in Finding Nemo, when life gets you down, you need to “just keep swimming.” No matter what setbacks we experience, we need to keep going and stick with our healthy journey.
Following Dory’s advice can sometimes be harder than it seems, and I know that sometimes we all need a little help. I figured that today it would be nice for everyone to share their tips and tricks on how to recover from a setback.
Please share your tips and tricks to keep swimming when life gets you down. Is there anything in particular that helps you snap out of a bad place and get back on track?
I have two things that I keep in my head as STOP SIGNS, if you will. I have a scale number. I KNOW if I see that number (or heaven forbid HIGHER than that number) that things have gone all wonky and it is time to reassess. I have hit it a few times over the past few years.... and I may have even exceeded it by a pound at one point.... but it definitely keeps me moving back in the right direction! However.... I've recently decided to RESET that number to a slightly lower number. It is just too hard and too frustrating to come back from being that many pounds over goal.... especially since I am supposed to weigh-in monthly for my WW job!
My second STOP sign is my tracking..... if I look in my tracker and see more than 3 days of nothing or 3 days of start-and-stop scribbling.... it is time to hit the "pause" button and figure out why. Sometimes it is just totally innocent (like the fact that I've been away at DD for the past 2 days), but other times it is a sign that my eating has gone a bit off the rails.
Often when I've hit one of those STOP signs, I take a minute to think about why and then formulate a plan to get back to my WEEK ONE mentality... you know, that place, that moment when you were SUPER ENTHUSED about this journey.... you were SO POSITIVE that THIS time was going to be different. I even go back and read my food journal/tracker from week one and reflect on how I was feeling. I make some "no-brainer", super easy to count/track, easy-to-make type of OP meals (grilled chicken and broccoli, veggie burgers, egg whites with greens) and prep/cook and preportion whatever I can to ensure a successful week ahead.
@JacknSally I totally get where you are. I was in a similar place about 6 years ago. I was overweight going into my first pregnancy. I had A LOT of trouble getting pregnant, and ate to soothe the frustration. So I entered pregnancy just a bit overweight, but then gained 50 pounds, double what I should have. I didn't lose the weight after either, because I was starving all the time from nursing. And then when I tried to lose weight when my oldest was a bit over a year, I found myself pregnant again. Repeat cycle, except now I was significantly overweight, and again gained far more than recommended.
Prior to my first pregnancy I had MANY stops and starts. I almost always was about 6 weeks of progress, followed by months of putting it back on, repeat. Many times it was a different plan. Low carb, low fat, no carb, the zone, south beach, tons of exercise. All kinds of miracle ideas. After the pregnancies, I was a bit more reasonable, but still lots of stops and starts. And then one day, in November of 2009, it just clicked. But it took years before I was really ready. I wish I knew what the difference was. The best I can come up with is the motivation for me to change finally was greater than my motivation to stay the same. My point is, not everyone succeeds the way they want the first time. And lots of people have ups and downs and make mistakes along the way. But, it is all part of the journey and even our mistakes are something to learn from.
I want to echo what
@courtneybeth said. Don't give up on tracking because you are embarrassed by what you eat. I personally, have plenty of days where I go over my calorie limit but would say I made great choices, and other days I stay under but I have eaten a bunch of junk. I think it can reveal interesting trends. Mondays are the worst for me. I have no idea why, but I know that is true from tracking. Yesterday was no different. Started the day great, but fell apart from there.
You can absolutely do this, and you have such a positive attitude, I know you have a lot to offer here, even if you feel like you are struggling right now. We are here to support you!
SO nicely said! And thank you for sharing so much of your personal journey.
This is a tough one. I have falling off track over the years and then get back on. Most of it is just a mind set. When my husband and I started dating way back in 2011, I was wearing a size 4 (I think) and even could still fit in kids sizes. Now I am a size 12 and I hate it. I just tell myself that I need to do to be healthy and feel comfortable. Also I refuse to buy more clothes. I need to do it also so I can be healthy for my kids and teach them good habits. This usually gets me started.
YUP! Lead by example..... you will be amazed at what your kids are picking up on.... both your good and bad habits! Great job setting a good example!
The questions this month are so thought provoking! I don't think I have a good answer. My "down" periods tend to sneak up on me and last a long time. To this day, even though I've lost all this weight, I don't feel that different about myself. I feel accomplished, but I don't feel my self worth skyrocket or anything. I guess my mother taught me well - I don't place a lot of "self value" on my size because I know I'm so much more than my physical looks. So this time, I think I realized that my size was impacting me physically - airplane seats were TIGHT. Chairs with arms were TIGHT. I was avoiding climbing the stairs in my house because it made me out of breath. I was "this" close to being turned away from a ride at Universal. Adding all of these things up made me decide to make a change. And now - remembering where I was and how I don't want to be there again has recently allowed me to nip things in the bud and snap me out of a bad place and gets me back on track. My most recent bad place was January. I didn't expect to lose weight during the holidays, but I was really disappointed with how January went. I felt like I was doing everything right, but things weren't working the same as before. Then, in February, I decided to join the Feb challenge here and it really helped - so finding some great support probably also got me out of my funk.
SOOOO happy you found our little supportive corner of the Disboards! I have said it before and I will say it again..... THIS is my WW meeting, my therapy session, my "late night chats with a bff" all wrapped up into one!!
I have no experience with MFP, but I have learned a lot about how many calories one should eat in order to lose weight. I often had difficulties losing weight when I ate too little, especially when I was exercising a lot. So, I tried to learn more about it and figured out that there really is not one calorie number that everyone should hit in order to lose weight as we all burn up a different amount of calories every day. Just think of a 6 foot tall football player and a petite and slim granny. Obviously those two need a very different level of energy to get them through the day! There are many factors that play a part in how much energy your body burns up every day. The main factors are gender (yes, unfair, women need less energy...), weight (having to move 200 pounds around requires more energy than moving 130 pounds around), age and of course activity level.
First, depending on gender, weight and age you have a certain amount of calories your specific body will need to survive the day, just to keep the normal body functions going, heart beating, brain thinking etc. That is called the basal matabolic rate.
In addition to that there are the calories that you burn by being active. Some activities burn up more calories than others. Even just standing in your kitchen doing the dishes burns more calories than just lying in bed. But doing an hour of Zumba obviously burns far more calories than just doing the dishes. If you add in those activity calories with the basal metabolic rate you will get your daily calories that your body burns.
Weight loss of course only happens if your body burns more calories than you feed it. Because then the body has to start using its own energy depots (also known as fat!!) to make up for the difference.
So far, this is all very simple and one would think: Great, the larger the difference, the more fat I will lose! Unfortunately this is not the case!! Our bodies are very adaptable and have developed mechanisms to protect itself against all kind of adverse situations. During mankind's history one of the worst dangers was famine. So, our bodies have learned to live with famine. When they detect a period of famine, they kind of go into "power saving mode" - just like my Iphone can do that when the battery is down to 20%. A lot of things are shut down and the body starts working on less energy. So your basal metabolic rate goes down. You might still lose weight (but might even stop losing weight!), but once you start eating more again, the body will realise that famine is over and will work all it can to refill those energy depots! This problem is also known as the yoyo-effect.
So, how to avoid this? In general the recommendation is to not have a defficit of more than 1000 kcal per day between calories eaten and calories burned. The way to figure this out is the tricky question. We don't come with a calorie-meter built in that tells us how many calories we are burning. And besides the big factors I mentioned above, there are other little factors, too. So, ultimately it is different for every single person. However, there have been developed some guidelines and I have found a website which I found quite useful to get a decent estimate on what a person's daily calorie consumption is. Use this page to calculate your basal metabolic rate:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and then move on to your daily calorie needs - there is a link in this scentence: "Once you know your BMR, you can calculate your
Daily Calorie Needs based on your activity level using the Harris Benedict Equation." This should give you a decent estimate as to what you can eat daily to maintain your current weight. In a way, this seems to be what MFP is doing when the app is telling you that you should eat more when you had some exercise during the day.
As I said above, in order to lose weight, you should aim to eat not less than this result minus 1000 kcal. And to come back to your question: I have no idea if 1200 is more or less than your daily calorie needs minus 1000. But it could be very well lower and then I would not recommend to stick to 1200 kcal! I have learned it the hard way, but sometimes you truly need to eat more to lose weight! Of course, I don't recommend to stuff your face with sugary treats to get your daily calorie intake higher. But there are plenty of healthy foods that you could incorporate into your diet to get more calories in on a daily basis. I am strong believer in healthy vegetable oils. Pour a tea spoon of good olive oil over your veggies (some vitamins can only be taken up by our body when eaten at the same time as fat as they only dissolve in fat). Eat a handful of nuts. Or put some avocado into your salad. Or make yourself a treat of
@pjlla's homemade microwave popcorn (I think it was a spoon of popcorn in a brown bag into the microwave for a minute - no added fat!).
I know, this is a long answer, but I hope someone will find it useful. This is just a topic that took me a long time to discover and since I figured it out, I feel I am doing so much better with my weight loss.
You said that SO WELL! Thank you for taking the time and for sharing that with all of us!!
BTW, the popcorn....... 1/4 c unpopped kernels into a brown paper bag. That takes about 2:30 in my microwave and I believe it is 5 SmartPoints, but don't quote me on it.... I'd need to check.
-waves- Hello! I hope I'm not too late to join the party! My name is Kiren and I'm hoping this week I can really get started again at the gym! I've been dealing with an injury for the past year and a half that has made it difficult to work out. I injured my ankle through work and while the injury itself wasn't major (bruised my ankle bone), the poor physio and improper treatment has turned this into an ordeal. But I was on the mend! I was given authorization to start a workout program through, did the first day and... Woke up the next morning unable to walk on the good foot.
What a frustrating setback. It looks like I've damaged the fat pad on my foot. So I haven't been able to work out for about 4 weeks. I'm not allowed to lift while on my feet and I can't be bare foot weight bearing. Basically I need pillows on my feet to walk anywhere. But I plan on heading to the gym tonight with my husband and doing some upper body and core work. So my goal right now is not necessarily weight loss. It's getting to the gym. Preferably three times a week at a minimum right now. So that's my goal!
Editing to add my MFP username: Keireina
I haven't used it in awhile though. But I'm gonna try and get back to it! I just hate counting calories.
Usually if I get down into a funk I make a trip out to my riding stables. While I can't currently ride at the moment, being around the horses (especially the one I've been leasing) tend to make me feel so much better! I've tried hard to get away from my stress eating and I think I've succeeded! Now I stress drink tea! Lots and lots of tea!
NEVER too late to join!! And happy to meet you, but sorry you are/were injured! What's your favorite tea?
I am echoing a bit of what
@Flossbolna said, which I think is spot on, but putting it in the context of MFP. The answer here is very individual, and depends on your MFP settings. If you have it set to lose a certain amount per week, then it is taking that into account, and YES you should eat the calories! Underrating is huge reason for not losing weight, causes plateaus and messes with your metabolism. It also saps your energy, which means you won't want to exercise as much as you might otherwise.
When you input your data such as height, weight, daily activity level (not exercise, just how active you are during the day) and how much you want to lose or gain, MFP calculates a Basal Metabolic rate. So, take me. If I tell MFP I want to maintain my weight, I get 1740 calories a day. If I tell it I want to lose 1 pound a week, I get 1240 calories a day. That is 500 calories of deficit a day, for a total of 3500 for the week, which should net a one pound loss. I have in there that I will exercise 45 minutes a day. If I take that out, nothing changes. So if I exercise those 45 minutes, and burn say 300 calories, if I don't replace them, I would have a bigger deficit and theoretically lose more weight. BUT, I know that usually, if I do not replace AT LEAST half of what I burned I will a) be overly hungry and therefore more apt to make bad food choices as a result, and b) my body will revolt. If you don't give your body enough calories, it gets nervous your are starving it, and holds on to calories. It slows down your metabolism, so you burn less. So the real trick is to find
your sweet spot. It is hard, but with trial and error, it can be done.
Here is what I suggest. Go back to your diet and fitness profile settings and make sure they are still accurate, including your desired weight loss per week. Then, for two weeks, see how your feel eating all the calories it gives you, even if you exercise and earn more, eat those. Remember MFP has already taken out everything you need to meet your preset goal. If they say you get to eat extra, you do
After two week, assess. If you aren't losing, then maybe when you exercise, for the next two weeks eat half those calories you earned. And assess again. If that leaves you too hungry, try something in the middle. I personally am more hungry after runs than other exercise. So when I run, I usually replace all the calories, and when I do other workouts, I replace half. I find it is a nice compromise.
Of course currently I am overeating regardless, so as well as I know this
would work for me, it isn't currently, but that's my own fault.
FABULOUS suggestion!!
Oh I am having trouble keeping up with this thread this month. Very busy on here which is a good thing.
Yesterday QOTD I am not sharing much of what I am doing with people in my life. I share on here and one other place where people don't actually know me. I find if people know too much they watch everything you do and try and sabotage me. If I feel like a treat I have it and with nobody knowing what I am doing they can't give me that OMG look because I am eating something "bad". I have actually found when I am part of a group or game thing that costs money I fail. Maybe because I feel pressured from it? I don't know. I am keeping a pretty agenda with a plan in it for me only to see and love it.
Today QOTD I have so many things I find I am not really enjoying like I could be if I was lighter and healthier. I found my last trip to WDW was an eye opener for how uncomfortable I was. Dreaded pictures and some rides were a squeeze especially with one of my children in them with me. I was worried I would squash them.LOL. I really want to get more out of my future family trips. Don't expect to be super thin but comfortable. One motivator for me especially with my exercise is my dear friend that left us too soon right before Christmas. She was AMAZING even in the hospice. So positive and motivating. When I think I am too tired, I am too sore or it is too hard I think I am alive and can do these things that my friend would have done anything to have in her last days. So it hurts but that means I am alive. That lady did everything that most people wouldn't right until the end that most healthy people don't take advantage of being able to do.
I will try and keep up better with all of you. At a all day hockey tournament with my DS tomorrow. Lucky us got the first game at 7am! Can you hear the sarcasm? LOL.
Sorry about your friend. And hope the hockey went well. And I've been there for the "dreaded family vacation pictures" more times than I care to admit!
I've been convinced for the last year or so that I have an underactive thyroid, largely due to the fact that I have had progressively worsening hair loss and acne that has really spread in the last year, but also some other symptoms... 2 dermatologists told me that my acne was just part of life, a PCP told me there's no way I could have an underactive thyroid (despite taking him a list of symptoms that said otherwise - we really think he was just resolved from the beginning to not admit it could be a thyroid issue, because he really didn't appreciate that we took the time to research it... He gave us a major "oh you're just a woman with the internet" attitude from the get-go) and it had to be PCOS and stress, and my OB/GYN told me I didn't have PCOS but he'd treat me like I did anyway, which resulted in a diabetes medicine that made me sick (because I don't have diabetes) and a birth control that made me CRAZY.
So now we've found an endocrinologist who seems like he's worth a try, but I don't want to go to him until I can tell him "I've spent the last 30 days (At least) eating better, exercising, taking vitamins, and using Rogaine and here are my results"... I know that if I say I have trouble losing weight, he'll ask if I'm eating healthy or exercising regularly - if I can't say yes, I don't feel justified in saying I can't lose weight. So that's my new goal/plan. I'm going to go back to a higher protein/lower carb diet, try to get myself to a park in the mornings to walk at least 3 days a week, try to remember to take a vitamin every day, and try to remember to use Rogaine every day (with before-and-after pictures) for the next 30 days. I think I'm going to track my foods with pen and paper instead of electronically, at least for the first 30 days.
Okay.... glad you are taking this seriously and finding someone who can (hopefully) help. But you are right.... you want to be able to go in and show him that YOU are trying to help yourself. I get super frustrated with people who are having health issues but take NO responsibility to try and help themselves get better! If you want some more accountability with your plan/routine, feel free to send me a PM and maybe we could exchange email addresses!!?? Nothing stressful, just a little extra chat and sharing outside of the Dis??
I'm really not sure what the trigger is, but I can definitely feel when the switch flips, and I'm in the place where I can get control and start to move forward. This time the switch flipped after seeing Oprah's WW commercials several times and realizing oh, she's talking to me. In particular hearing her say she'd lost herself in the weight resonated with me. I haven't had any days when I've been truly off program... over Super Bowl weekend was one of the rare times I even ate all my weeklies, but I know it can and will happen at some point. Sugar will be the toughest to come back from... once the Sugar Monster gets woken up and fed it will be in control, or out of control, either way I know it is going to be a struggle.
Well...... my boss will be happy to hear that the Oprah commercial did it's job!!
Sounds like you are doing GREAT!
Happy Wednesday everyone!! I am so happy that I am finally nearly healthy again and it is sunny outside!!
There are so many things I wanted to comment on over the last days that I did not find the time to comment on, so I am trying to catch up a little!
@PoohBelle I somehow must have totally missed you mentioning it before, but you said the other day that you are in China!! That is fascinating! Are you there permanently or just for a short time? I also see that you have been to HKDL! Have you been on Mystic Manor? It sounds like such an amazing attraction!!
@JacknSally I am so sorry that you are feeling so low about your efforts. Big hug!! You said that you did not do anything before your wedding to lose weight, it just fell off. However, that is not what I remember from when you started on these threads. I remember someone who was quite dedicated to eating properly. Maybe going back to the old threads and reading your own posts from that time will help you figure out what you did then when it worked. On your possible thyroid issue: I think you have a great strategy. When my thyroid issues were first detected it was because of my doctor, I never thought it could be a problem. I just had a normal check-up and he asked if I had trouble with being exhausted often, which I did have. So, he ordered my blood test to also test for Vitamin D and for my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels. Vitamin D was more or less non-existent, so I am taking pills for that now. And TSH was high, but still under the cut off. High TSH can be an indicator of the thyroid not working well. We talked about it and he at first thought that it might be enough to just have me take the vitamin D, but did ask me about other symptoms and I told him about how I was frustrated about not getting anywhere with my weight loss efforts. We decided that I should just start with the vitamin D and then come back in two months to see how I was doing. Those two months I was really eating very well. And more importantly: tracked every little thing I ate! I wanted to have a proper set of data to present my doctor when I was going to see him as well. Two months later my TSH level was even higher and when I told him about how I had monitored my daily calorie intake and what the results were, it became obvious for him. I am feeling so much better since I am taking the thyroid hormones. I am no longer cold all the time, I have more energy, I have a normal blood pressure (before I sometimes nearly fainted because it was so low) and most importantly: I managed to lose weight! Unfortunately it turns out that my thyroid recently slowed down some more, so the game began again...
@DVCFan1994 thanks for adding the MFP specific explanation to my long post yesterday!! I found that very interesting. I think this is one of the reasons why MFP is so popular and works for many so well.
I am sure there was more I wanted to comment on, but I need to get back to work!!
Thanks again for sharing so much of your journey/struggles.... it is sure to help someone!
WooHoo Wednesday, March 9th:
WooHoo Wednesday is a very special tradition that we have on these challenge threads – it’s a chance for us to take a break and celebrate our victories (big or small).
So far this week we’ve been marching along with the Pixar Play Parade at Disney California Adventure. While we’re at DCA, we’ll spend today remembering the parade that debuted on Disney California Adventure’s opening day, Disney's Eureka! A California Parade.
This parade, which ran from 2001 through mid-2002, celebrated the many cultures of California.
One of the awesome things about our thread is that we have participants from all around the world (including California), so we get to celebrate our accomplishments around the world. What accomplishments will we celebrate today?
It’s WooHoo Wednesday - what’s your WooHoo for today?
I've never heard of that parade before today! Well.... thinking back to Wednesday I'll say that my woohoo was that DD made me dinner!! I left my school job a bit early to drive down to her school because I had to be on the computer to work my other WW job from 6-8pm. I thought by leaving early I'd be there by about 4:30 pm, but the traffic monsters were against me and I literally pulled in at 5:56pm with an empty belly and a full bladder!!
I did make it online to work by 6:02 pm though! But we didn't have time to go out and grab dinner. So while I worked she took my car and went to the market and bought dinner.... rotisserie chicken, frozen cheesy broccoli, and salad greens, plus fruit for dessert! WOOHOO! It was delicious and so appreciated! She only has a fridge and microwave in the suite "kitchen", so she did the best she could with her available appliances.
I think I'm jinxed by the Woohoo Wednesday. When bad things happen to me, they seem to be Wednesday morning. This morning it's been work drama and my son fell on his way to the bus stop and his face is all scraped up.
As far as the weight loss goes, things have been good - no complaints (I've lost a pound each of the last two mornings). My steps stink today because I've been dealing with work stuff, but I've been jogging a lot more at home lately. I've also been scrambling to eat more the last few days because my calorie intake wasn't enough... that still seems so strange to me.
I guess my biggest WooHoo is that I took off a half day on Friday and the whole family will be going to see Zootopia Friday night.
Oh no! Well.... hope your DS is better today! And enjoy the movie!!!
WooHoo Wednesday: It is 75 degrees at my house in Central Mass. In March. 
Plus, I just got back from a 5 mile run, and I was hot, not freezing. Fabulous!
For this weeks challenge, here are my pictures of one of my favorite running routes.
The top two are from the Central Mass Rail Trail. It is an almost 3 mile (one way) packed dirt trail used by runners, walkers and bikers. Today it was very muddy and rutty from bikes, but with the beautiful weather I enjoyed it anyway. The bottom is from the trail head looking toward a smaller basin of our reservoir, I like to run around this basin, it is a four mile loop and great for hills. If I want longer distances I can do it twice, or run onto the rail trail and back out at some point in the loop. The basin is where I often see swans in the winter, but alas they have left again until next year.
I think you've told me before, but remind me where in Central MA you live. I'm from Sturbridge.
Ok, here is my woohoo story: I was going to post earlier today how my woohoo was that I got out of bed early to go for a nice walk (still a bit too affected by the cold to go for a run, I don't want to start training too early) before work and then had a great day with regard to eating. I also had a plan for a nice dinner that was in my calorie budget. And then the bad thing happened: I got hungry on my way home from work and hungrier and hungrier. Before heading home I needed to stop at the supermarket to get some provisions for tomorrow (yoghurt and apples for breakfast, bread for my lunch). That was the first mistake.
The second was that I saw some new type of chocolate that sounded delicious. Normally chocolate is not so bad for me as I am not tempted to binge eat it. I can very well just eat one piece at a time. So, I picked that up as a treat after dinner. At the cash register where they have all the tempting candy the lady in front of me picked up a mini packet of oreos (6 cookies) and then a second one and made a comment how these are so difficult to resist and we chatted a bit about them. This tempted me to pick a packet as well. For future eating of course!! I get home and am now starving. I do get this very low blood sugar and unfortunately nothing really helps than eating and then waiting until the food that I have eaten kicks in. My doctor says that it is nothing to worry about, I just should try to eat more snacks between meals to avoid it... Anyway, back at home I realize that there is no way I can cook my planned dinner as I would eat half the kitchen in the meantime. So, I change my plan and come up with a very healthy and delicious plan B that can be eaten immediately without any cooking. So I eat my dinner. It is delicious, but I am still as hungry afterwards as I was before. So, I try to find something else to eat that is healthy, filling and low in calorie. At first this works, but then things get out of hand! I eat all 6 oreos (that's why I only buy these small packages!), half the chocolate bar and some ice cream from the freezer and when I was heading for some more cheese I finally was able to not eat it!! I even kept thinking of all of you here and how I hated to fail so miserably at my own goals. At the same time I was so cold and seemed to not be able to warm up at all.
So, I decided in order to warm up I would take a hot bath. That would also prevent me from returning to the kitchen for a while and be tempted to eat more. The bath warmed me up nicely and when I got out I had energy again! I went to the computer and read all of your woohoos for the day and that motivated me to track all the stuff that I ate earlier. At least I kept measuring most of it (some things start becoming second nature after some time...). And then I realized that it was not so horrible as I had thought. Who would have thought that my ice cream was actually not as bad as I expected it to be as it seems to have lots of air in it! Anyway. I looked at my calorie balance as it was now and saw that if I would go for a walk, I would at least be able to not have eaten more calories today than I earned. So, that's what I did at 9:40pm! I went out for a nice 45 minute walk. My step total for the day is over 20.000 and I will have a calorie deficit of about 150 kcal for the day!! I missed my goal of 750 kcal deficit by far, but at least it is a deficit - and that is my woohoo of the day!!
WOW!
I'm really impressed. I SOOOO would not have gotten dressed to walk after a warm bath!! Good for you!!!
Well, my woohoos are officially no longer woohoos. Got my jacket back and the monogram isn't where I told them I wanted it so it looks really awkward... Plus the stitching is coming out and the jacket material around the stitching is puckered really badly. I'm so frustrated. It's not like I can just remove the stitching and be done with altogether, either, because there will always be holes left from the needle and thread. I know a monogram is something really ridiculous to be frustrated about but if you're going to charge people for a service, make sure you do it well, before you ruin their clothing. Ugh. And DH came home and asked why I stained the desk already because he had more stuff to do to it. When I told him he never told me that, and that the whole time he was clearing a spot in the garage for it and setting it up, he never once said there was more to do, and instead we talked about me staining it right away because I'm tired of not having that room set up, he was just like "well no I know but I had more to do to it before you could stain it". Sorry I'm not a mind-reader this week. Ugh.
Dang it, dang it, dang it. Life is definitely kicking your butt .... sorry.
Any love for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D?
Well.... cannot say I LOVE it.... but since DD is away at school I'm "stuck" watching what my men want to watch (or sit alone...).... so I watch S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as a few other shows I might not watch on my own (The Flash, Big Bang Theory).... but I haven't really gotten into Agent Carter or into that new Legends of Tomorrow show. Have you watched either of those?
Question of the Day – Thursday, March 10th:
Characters from Toy Story make their way through Disney California Adventure as part of the Pixar Play Parade. The main characters of Toy Story are Andy’s toys – and Andy has a great variety of toys, ranging from a classic slinky dog to cowboy Woody to the greatest space ranger, Buzz Lightyear.
Toys aren’t just for kids – adults can have toys too! Many of us use “toys” to help in our healthy journeys – ranging from activity trackers that keep us moving to scales that help us measure our food to treadmills that help us get in those steps and runs, and many things in between.
What toy helps you most on your healthy journey? Are there any toys that you’re considering purchasing but just haven’t made the final decision yet? Are there any toys that you purchased but don’t use much?
Don’t forget, today is the last day for our week 1 challenge! If you haven’t already done so, share your favorite exercise spot and what exercise you’ve done there this week.
Well.... not really. Most of what I use I would consider "tools" like my food scale, extra measuring cups/spoons. But I did invest in a Fitbit recently and I'm enjoying the feedback on that (although it stopped tracking my sleep a week ago... cannot figure out why). I do have a TM..... that was a MASSIVE splurge when I bought it over 10 years ago and I am DELIGHTED to say that it is still going strong, despite pretty regular use (although I'll be the first to admit there are pockets of time where it gets dusted more than it gets used!).
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Well.... catching up slowly!..............P
. Once I graduated I moved overseas for 3 year with limited food choices - I ate pretty well and basically just maintained my Freshman 15. Now that I'm back living here in America for the past 2 years, I started eating all the foods. I literally hadn't had some of these foods in years and I ordered everything and anything at restaurants (it was a crazy mentality of omg fries or onion rings? I NEED both). But now I'm back in this for real. I'm cooking at home so much more, meal prepping and hoping to force myself to work out (I just don't like it and I don't get the euphoria thing others do
)
It can be cancelled anytime before April 2, though, so I will probably go back and forth a billion times before then. In fact, I just went to cancel it. But then I decided I'd wait a couple of days.
. I look back on photos from my younger and super thin days and think - how have I ended up here? Why did I now appreciate my rocking bod when I had it - you know even when I was thin I worried about gaining weight or did we look fat in that bikini/jeans/dress - not realising we had it so good.
