Hi Everyone!
My name is Paula and I am 33 years old. I've battled with my weight my entire life. It probably didn't help working at McDonald's for 7.5 years starting at the age of 16. When I started their I was already a size 14 and when I finally quit I was a size 20-22. I joined weight watchers about this time and dropped to about 185lbs (foggy memory, can't remember exactly the weight). I was still about a size 18 at this weight.
The year before I got married my now hubby and I joined the gym and I was down to about 185 for my wedding in May 2004. Since then I pretty much only went up. In 2005 I returned to school to get another Bachelor's degree. This time in nursing. You would have thought that taking nutrition classes and such I would lose weight but instead I gained. By the time I finished school I was probably 225-230lbs (never got on the scale).
In 2009 I had a Dr's appt and weighed in at 237 pounds. As far as I know that was my highest weight ever. That did not start me to losing weight though. In the summer of 2009 I decided that I had to stop spending so much money eating out and lost almost 25lbs since then.
I'm currently about 213lbs and am hoping to lose at least 1lb a week. I don't remember a time when I was below 185 in the last 15 years so my first goal is to get below 185.
I am now an RN and I work night shift which really plays havoc with an exercise routine. It is also hard for me to eat healthy with this schedule but I am going to try my best.
For Christmas I received the Wii Fit Plus and Biggest Loser Challenge Game so I am using those to get my exercise!
Now back to page 4 to read about everyone else!
Welcome Paula! You can do it. One step at a time, one meal at a time!
It involves clean eating. No sugar, no white flour, no processed food. It stresses portion control and proper protien to grain to vegitable ratios for each meal.
I know, it sounds lile no fun, but my DW and I are amazed at how good we feel this week. After 2 days of no sugar I had an apple and it was the sweetest apple I had ever tasted. After 3 days of no sugar I had a Diet Coke. It tasted so weird. I used to drink Diet Coke like it was water, but I have not had one since.
I lost a lot of weight this week just sticking to this diet. That just goes to show how bad I was eating before.
It is amazing what tastes sweet when you don't consume large amounts of sugar. Have you had any luck with adding in veggies?
Lindsay--I'm glad the heat got turned back on! Have a great run today!
QOTD--if money were no option, I would take Mike and Tom and all my sisters and their families on a week long cruise to nowhere where there was lots of sun. And I would just enjoy being.
I have to say I just got a "Smart Heart for Walking" heart rate monitor, watch and step counter. I love the check your pulse feature. I am trying to monitor my heart rate when I exercise.
Now I have to read the rest of the mumbo jumbo to get the pedometer working.
I wear a pedometer--it's through Virgin Healthmiles. We get prizes through Mike's work for steps taken, anyhow, it's kind of like a game to see how many steps I can get in in any given day.
That sounds interesting. I will have to check it out.
Good news is that I have only had 1 soda today. Tommorrow I am modifying my coffee drinking to be bearable.
I can't drink 1000 calories a day in coffee and soda and expect to lose weight.
I've talked about this a bunch in the past, but for all you new folks, I really think one of the keys to my success has been giving up artificial sweeteners. I used to live on diet soda. My neck was so swollen I got checked for thyroid problems everytime I saw a new doctor. Anyhow, I know there are lots of arguments that artificial sweeteners are safe, but there are lots of arguments that they aren't. I have not had a true fullout binge since I've been off the diet soda. I feel so much healthier.
I am 99percent off caffeine as well, but that's more from having some heart issues than anything. I do still have hot tea on occasion--but I don't sweeten it. Mike even gave up caffeine when I had to, and he was known as a major coffee drinker at work. I would say it takes a good 60+ days to get it all out of your system, but I am telling you I feel better. And now if I need a little boost, a couple of sips of regular soda will do the trick. Anyhow, just something to think about. It is definitely a process, and not something I would necessarily do cold turkey--though I did give up diet soda cold turkey--just before New Year's last year.
Remember that you have until Monday night at 7:30 to submit your weigh ins! NO EXCEPTIONS! Wow, I feel like I'm back teaching again and telling the 5th graders that everything was due on a certain date, NO EXCEPTIONS!
Have a great night and I hope to give a more thorough update tomorrow after I get some sleep!
TTFN
Tracey--with as many participants as we have, I think it is completely reasonable to have a cutoff time.
My weekend plans are pretty non specific. The boys have bowling in the morning then I'll try to get Nick in to see his pediatrician for a sinus infection. Sunday Nick wants to go snowboarding so well probably take all the boys.
We did not get MRI results today. The nurse called at 4 to tell us that it hadn't been read. We're taking that as a good sign. If the technicians had seen anything alarming the would have flagged it for a quicker read. We should hear for sure on Monday.
Deb--
sending good thoughts your way this weekend.
I think meal planning is so important. When you know what you are going to do for meals, and have time to think about it. There is less of a change to just grab junk! My resolution for this year was to make something new of my Many Many cookbooks and have the kids help. I think getting them involved with that is part of their own road to understanding how to be healthy.
I agree--I have my best weeks when I plan my meals! And how fun to involve the kids!
I had a one pound gain this week. It's just a really, really tough week. My husband had a big speaking engagement out of town this week. We're both college professors and classes started just as he left so I've been covering both his classes as well as my own as well as getting my daughter through her first week of her second semester. It's been nuts and I just can't seem to get motivated right now to do much of anything other than survive. We have my sister and her two preschoolers in town as well (a good thing in many ways).
Plans for the weekend: Head to the college to cover some orientation sessions for him while my sister picks him up at the airport. Then my sister and the kids will leave and we'll watch the Saints against the Seahawks and try to get ready for another week. We have a big meeting concerning our daughter this week as well and a lot of catching up to do with him being gone.
I also need to decide if I want to continue on my own or switch over to the new WW plan. I have WW Online but haven't tracked since August (and was doing pretty well until recently). Tracking is just one more thing on my long list of "to-dos" every day and because I'm type A, I can't just do it halfway. It ends up stressing me out and I'm not sure I want to put myself or my family through that again. OTOH, I know it works and would probably be good for me ...
So that's me. Still here - but just barely.
MB--You've had a very busy week. One pound is nothing.
Hang in there and keep drinking your water! Here's hoping things settle down quickly and you get back on a schedule that works for you.
I know, right? I am sitting here drinking my 120 calorie cup of coffee.
Give up smoking? No problem. Give up coffee? Big problem. I like to drink 3 cups of it in the morning. That is 360 calories in coffee.
What are you putting in it? Can you cut the stuff you add to it by even a half or a quarter and slowly ween yourself off the sweeteners or creamer? What about substituting tea for one of the cups? There are some amazing teas that are good even without added sweetener?
Hey everyone. Sorry, but I'm not much in a mood for replies today. SO proud of all of you, though.
We're in need of some serious PPD (prayers and pixie dust). As some of you know, DH's boss is....less than easy to get along with. After a rough week, he put DH on a nearly impossible "plan of improvement" last night with a huge list of tasks/accomplishments/guidlines to be met every hour, many of which depend on people other than him to do their job better. 2 misses within 90 days and he will be fired. Which means that he could lose his job Monday. This comes as a shock, with no previous disciplinary "write ups", etc, basically, the boss is out for him. I am terrified beyond words, shaking as I type. Jobs are VERY scearce here, and being terminated would make him ineligible for unemployment.
If I'm not around much, forgive me.
Taryn
Oh Taryn. I am so sorry. What a crappy way to start the new year. Sending you a big old hug.
Thanks for letting us know what is going on. I will still worry about you, but at least I know everyone is safe.
Well, at the parties we do more drinking than walking!!!!! Hoping the weather doesn't interfere with walking on Wednesday! We may get a big storm! Glad that's my day off so I don't have to worry about driving anywhere though that was the day I planned on getting my oil changed!!!!
And yes, I do only drink on weekends unless it was the holidays and I had one most nights. Thus my weight gain over the holidays! But I'm on a roll to get rid of that holiday weight. I only had one drink last night. I worked out this morning and will work out again this afternoon. We will probably have lunch at McD's after the basketball game today. I know their menu really well so I will be ok. Going to have a turkey loaf with gravy, stuffing and carrots and potatoes for supper tonight. I had an eggbeater omelet with a little bit of bacon and onions for breakfast. Not bad.
Watching CSI:NY from last night. Girls need to finish cleaning their rooms. I still need to shower!
Have a great day!!!!
TTFN
I still have to pm you Tracey! I promise to include my team name.
I had two beers last night, and honestly after the week we had, I was pretty happy that I only had two! Thanks for being the weightkeeper! It's a huge job! And those parties sound like lots of fun! You do your walking during the week so that you can enjoy your parties on the weekend!
I am running sometime today--thought I'm getting off to a very lazy start. It snowed here and it's freezing, so we'll go to the Y at some point today. Aiming for 6 miles.
Hope everyone has a great Saturday!
You can vent here anytime. 
I think that is a good goal to have. I think I remember tracey had a goal awhile back that she would only have a drink on a weekend. That sounds like a good plan! 
I looked it up online yesterday and it did scare me that I might have that as well. so I really hope I can get this procedure approved. I may still have to be on coumadin for ever, but I want that hole closed so it doesn't travel to brain, heart, organs, etc.
