Down 25 pounds
1/4 of my goal has been met.
Feeling good.

I have been doing sparkspeople.com for about two weeks now and except for one day I've stayed in my 1200-1550 calorie range. The result? I GAINED two pounds. What???

Thank you so much for your support and encourging words.

You make me want to cry.

I am not giving up entirely.

I am in the midst of a personal struggle that encompasses numerous outside factors.

I will be strong, and I will do my best to stay on track.

Thank you again for your kindness. God bless.

I forgot who recommended it but thank you a million times over sparkspeople is really helping me. The key is that I can log my weight loss and I can keep a food journal which is completely simple. They have all the foods in there, you just search click and add, it tells you how much fat you have left, how many calories you have left. It also will let you pick when you want to lose the weight by, etc an how many pounds you need to lose to get there. This gave me hope that indeed I could do it. It's just like the weight watchers point system for me because it tells me when to stop. It also allows for you to eat something fattening like a small cake if you have enough calories/fat/carb to allow it. I just have to say it's really cool and Ruthie before you decide to throw in the towel. Try it.

ruthie - If I can do this at my age after 20 years of saying I was going to - then YOU CAN DO IT TOO.

23.5 pounds lost since January 1
76.5 pounds to go
Almost 1/4 of the way there!

Let's go girls!!!!!!

I did weight watchers informally about five years ago. My school started it and I listened in.. my mom also joined and she shared what she learned. I lost 30 pounds. So my question is has anyone joined it and if so what do they think the meetings had to play as a factor in their weight loss? I feel like since I know the philosophy of WW I can just lose it without it just incorporating the ideas. But Just curious what you all know.

I'm a slacker. I'm a slug. I'm a huge slacker hermit slug.

I feel no desire to sweat. When I do go to the gym, I have to fight myself the entire trip. It's a struggle with myself to put on my gym clothes. Then, the whole 2 mile trip I try to convince myself that I want to be ANYWHERE but there. I pull into the parking lot, and STILL I'm fighting with myself to take the keys out of the ignition and walk into the building instead of throwing the car in reverse and pealing out of there like some obscure Dukes of Hazard reference. When I drive by Taco Bell, I have to look straight ahead and not to the left or the right, or else I'll find myself pulling into the drive through.

Foodwise, I discovered Jennie-O premade turkey burger patties. It's a no-think meal. Four minutes on the George Foreman grill, and I'm good to go, at least for protien. I have also discovered whole wheat tortillas, and it's been WEEKS since I've even bought a loaf of bread (and that was the 9 grain twigs and nuts kind of bread anyways). There's been a serious lack of veggies in my diet lately. Besides various forms of turkey (ground, patty, sausage) and the ham and swiss I bring in my lunch, I don't know what I've been eating. Weird. I guess cereal and mini-bagels (my one bread concession), and mozzerela string cheese sticks.

Anyways fellow bloggers, I'm sorry I have failed you. I hope one day to return to my former ways, become dedicated to the gym again, and once again be in your good graces.

Hi everyone,

1) I am back in town after being out of town for a week. I lost no weight but I lost 2"'s around my body so I am pleased with that.

2) I've blown this weekend food wise

3) I got some great new work out dvd's that I can't wait to try

4) yes I like the whole check in thing. I do it with Jenny Craig on Tuesdays but having it on a Sunday would be cool as it would help keep me motivated during the weekends.

5) I am going to start setting weekly exercise goals for myself because I feel that I'm not working out hard enough.

I think I need a foot up my butt. I can't seem to get it into gear lately. I seem to be posting the same stuff week after week... I have been around 160 for MONTHS. I go back to work in 2 weeks. *2* weeks. I'm *going* to make working out a part of my daily routine, so that I don't have to change it up later. It will just be a part of it. I plan on joining Curves and I think that I will this Tuesday, just so that it's done and I have no excuses.

I've eaten some junk this weekend, but not enough to worry too much about, my main problem is the not losing. Just sitting up here on my plateau, all by myself.

Have a good week gals.

PS Aisha, sounds like a good idea to me.

I was thinking about weight watchers and how they do a lot of what we do, share our grievances and our losses and our victories with one another for support. One thing Weight Watchers does is they do a weigh in every week updating everyone on their weight. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in incorporating that on this blog? We could pick a date like Sunday and all check in and say how much we lost? That way it would give us some motivation like it does to the Weight Watcher members? Just an idea.

I'm at my mother in laws house and the woman can cook, Ill give her that. I've been good. I went to a party last night and they had baklava and chocolate cake but I refrained and had tea and some fruit. My mother in law is well aware of my sweet tooth and has mentioned it at least three times today "y-y-y-ou didn't touch any of the sweets!!!" ha :) That's kinda nice to shock her like this. I do admit here though, that as the evening wore on and the boredom of the party being to weigh on me like a big heavy box full of books... I did have two bites worth of cake. But considering what I'd normally do. Its better though I wish I hant touched it at all. We came home and mye and hubby were hanging out and he made himself a whole new plate of food. Normally I'd have gotten some too but I didn't and it hurt like hell at the time because everything in me wanted to eat too. But he said whe you wake up you'll be glad you didnt. He's right.. Weight loss aint easy but hopefully we'll all makei t :)

if found - just leave it there.

Down 20.5 pounds since January 1
Only 79.5 to go!

Well it's my one week weigh in and I lost 2 pounds. Yay. I'm pretty impressed because though I was really really good all week, Valentines day... ahem... I had steak.. which I guess is good as far as carbs go, but I also shared a chocolate cake. I don't regret it. That cake.. wow. It was the sort of cake that you can just remember and smile. If you're ever near a Morton's try their hot chocolate cake. Trust me. That good. But anyways, I didnt expect to lose anything because of that day of indiscretion.... so though I didnt lose 4.5 pounds in a week like I wanted. 2 pounds is a healthy amount for a week.

More than the weight of 2 pounds I'm happy about the change in my mental attitude. Normally I'd say "I had cake so I'll eat the rest of the night away" The old Aisha would have gone to Target for the 75% of chocolate the next day and then eaten half the bag in a sickening rush an tried to start new on Sunday. But this time I didnt. I knew I'd be eating out so I ate very little until Dinner. The next day again I also ate very little and I also worked out to balance out the dinner. I'm so glad I didn't run off to Target for the chocolate. Trust me... its still tempting me :)

You know what helps is to believe that I *can* do it. It helps me delay my gratification if I know that if I work hard I truly will reach the goal.

Also in other news... my fat jeans... they got a rip right around the knees. but not in a cool way. in a way they will have to be discarded. Sad news is those are the only jeans I fit into right now as I refused to buy more jeans at my current weight. *sigh* so if you see someone on a picnic with black pants and cardigan. That's me. Girl with no more fat jeans. :(

That's what aspartame is aparently. The rumors have swirled for years but new evidence leaves little doubt.

Do you know how many gallons of Crystal Light I drink each week? I pride myself on choosing diet sodas over regular. Even worse, do you know how much Crystal Light my children drink?! This is so worrying to me.

For a few years I have been giving them Crystal Lite instead of juice. Everything I was reading said that juice is leading to childhood obseity and tooth decay. I thought I was being a good Mom. I worried a little that it's not "natural", but would it be available on shelves in every grocery store if it was poisonous? ... Too bad, the answer is "Yes".

Some switched to Splenda gladly as soon as it came out - and I admit I use Splenda as well. Why do we think that in 10 years we won't find out something horrible about it too?

I'm feeling kind of down. I really depend on artifical sweetners and now I'm worrying about

#1 What damage I've done to my family.
#2 What the heck I'm going to drink the rest of my life.

And when I'm not feeling down about it, I'm feeling angry. It seems the makers of aspartame knew there was a cancer connection long ago. It should have been pulled, but just like in so many other cases, their money won the desire of their hearts over the public's health and well being.

I hope there will be a class action lawsuit. If so, I'm in.

This is the bestest soup in the world. It doesn't look exciting on this recipe card but it's out of this world. My Mom came to my house the other day with a little container. She said, "This is bean and tomato soup. It's your Grandma's recipe. It is really tasty and healthy." I didn't look at it twice. I told her to just put it in the fridge.

When lunch approached the next day I opened the fridge door and stood there. Nothing much to eat. I grabbed the container of soup and heated it up in the microwave. After my first bite I scraped the insides of that container until there was nothing left. Then I E-mailed my Mom begging for the recipe. Here it is.

Yeah, where have I been? Two weeks. No excuses. I've been a naughty girl. I've been eating horribly. Not exercising. Total SLACKER. So instead of turning to my girls for support, I hide from you. Good job on me, eh? Maybe if they don't hear from me they won't *know* I'm being a bad girl. *grrr*

Anyway, feeling the crunch of going back to work, I'm getting a little sad, and therefore self medicating. with food. Still better food than cigarettes. *sighs*

I will do my best to post this week.

No pounds lost off of the original weight, but gained and then lost again.

*sighs*

See ya's soon.

caution: whining ahead

This whole episode has really been depressing me. I am right at the threshold of so many things- exercising, getting my bedroom finished, getting my life in general together- and now I cannot do any of this.

I have severe carpal tunnel that has flared up from gripping the crutches and walker that I have been using and I can't even write w my right hand. Plus I damaged my back when I was pregnant on bedrest for those months and this has made that condition start flaring up again as well.

Will I ever feel better? I feel like an old woman at 33 years of age.

Yes, I want cheese with my whine.

xok8

Okay so I know I have been nonexistent in my posts here at the biggest loser but today I am on the wagon.... or treadmill.

I bought mine today and after assembling the thing I got on and did a 30 minute program of ups and downs and fast and slow. It was hard but a blast at the same time. I burned 269 calories and went 1.7 miles. How is that for a first go?

I am starting this at 150 pounds (give or take a few depending on what time of day I weigh myself). I want to lose about 15-20 pounds.

Someone make sure I do this everyday would ya? ;)

This was too much to be simply a comment.

I took awhile to think about my response because I wanted to come up with the perfect answer. One that would solve all your problems - but that answer doesn't exist.

You seem to be talking about a lack of "will power". Even though you know it's wrong, and you know why you're doing it - you do it anyway. Some would say "you just need more will power." (As if you can buy it at a store!)

I say there's a better answer. An answer which will actually help you.

When it comes to this subject, I believe what Dr. Phil has to say about it 100% ... And here it is:

Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Solution
How It Works
"You no longer have to rely on willpower," writes Dr. Phil. "It simply doesn't work. Willpower is unreliable emotional fuel that drives you when you are excited, motivated, or energized. But you know as well as I do that no one stays fired up continuously. The seven keys to permanent weight loss do not depend on willpower for success."
Programming yourself for success is the key. "Programming involves making small, deliberate modifications in the way you live your life, and it has everything to do with developing a lifestyle that creates healthier behavior," he explains.
The seven steps to weight loss freedom:
1. Right Thinking: Get rid of self-defeating thought patterns, believe that you will succeed, and you will have mastered the first key necessary to overcoming your struggles with your weight.
2. Healing Feelings: Make choices that stop the cycle of emotional eating that has perpetuated your weight problem. Don't let stress, anxiety, or depression lead you to self-medicate with food. Change your emotional response to life's problems, and the unwanted eating behaviors that flow from it, and you can change. He instructs readers in how to identify the "payoff" you get from overeating and addressing those negative feelings -- getting emotional closure, so you stop self-defeating habits, says Dr. Phil.
3. A No-Fail Environment: You must program your environment in every possible way to avoid binge foods and reminders to eat.
4. Mastery Over Food and Impulse Eating: "Did you binge or overeat for one reason, such as a betrayal, a job loss, an illness, some personal tragedy, and you've kept on doing it as a matter of habit? Your pounds came on quickly, but the trouble is, they stayed because you are overeating habitually, whether you are hungry or not," writes Dr. Phil.
5. High-Response Cost, High-Yield Foods: This is Dr. Phil's way of saying, "eat high-fiber and other nutritious and filling foods - whole grains, lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried beans." It also implies eating foods that take time and effort to fix, require lots of chewing, and aren't fast food or other convenience foods.
6. Intentional Exercise: "Regular, intentional exercise is a big deal, a huge deal," writes Dr. Phil. "It unlocks the door to body control - a state of fitness in which your body is metabolically geared for losing weight and keeping it off, and is flowing with energy and vitality People who successfully manage their weight and stay fit exercise as a matter of habit."
7. Your Circle of Support: "Weight loss is not a do-it-yourself deal," he writes. "If you expect to lose weight and keep it off, you must build and nurture relationships that affirm and uplift you in life-changing ways. There is strength and power in support."
He also encourages getting a medical checkup if you're having trouble losing weight. You may have biochemistry, metabolism, or thyroid problems that require medical treatment before your body will shed pounds.
Reviewed by Cynthia Haines, MD, September 2005.
SOURCES: McGraw, P. The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom, Free Press, 2003. Cynthia Sass, MPH, MA, RD, spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association; co-author, Your Diet Is Driving Me Crazy.
WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service, or treatment.


© 2005 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

---So, there is no easy answer. Losing weight happens in a series of steps. I do recommend getting this book, even if just borrowing it from the library. It isn't going to be the solution to all your problems but it helps. You just have to take it step by step. You're going to have set backs. You're going to feel disappointed in yourself. You just have to try again. Don't give up.

Alternatly, you may be trying to tackle too much at once. There is a method called the Singular Success Method. Basically you pick one habit to work on at a time. When you feel comfortable, move to another one. For example, one habit I have changed is switching from white bread to whole grain. You could make that the first change you make until it becomes comfortable and natural. Then you could switch from regular soda to diet soda. Once that's comfortable, you could even change diet soda to flavored waters... When you go to work, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park one row back than you usually park so you have to walk a little further. Maybe have an apple everyday. You can eat whatever you want, just make sure you eat an apple with it.... Do you see all the small changes you can make little by little? ...

This strategy works much better for me. If I go "cold turkey" and say, "Ok, from now on, no junk food and I'll exercise 5 times a week." --- Yeah right! I probably won't make it through even the first day. You have to know yourself and be practical. Yes, this is slower, but it's longer lasting. It does you no good to go "hard core" if you're going to make mistakes you feel guilty about, (which typically will cause you to go eat to comfort yourself.)

You need to take into account your personality. There is no "one size fits all" diet and fitness program. If you want to spend the money, you may want to invest in a membership at Ediets. They come up with a custom plan and I've heard people have had great success with it. (Though the Sparkle thing Perri told us about may be just as good. I can't say, not having tried Ediets.)

Some people swear by hypnotism. In a desperate attempt last year, I bought an expensive CD hypnotism system called "The Zen of Thin" fromthis site. I believe it works for some people - but I'm not one of them. I returned mine and got my money back. I'm just not serious enough. I found I couldn't keep a straight face while listening to them half the time - I'd end up cracking up laughing... Besides, you have to have a quiet place to listen to the CDs. Most mothers don't HAVE a quiet place!

Anyway - if you want to try it for free, go to that site and scroll down on the left sidebar for a sample. (I'm playing it right now as I type. Nick was playing GameCube here in the same room. He paused it and said, "Wow. That's making me sleepy. I need a nap." And now he's laying on the couch with his eyes closed. ROFL. Maybe this thing is worth buying again. Hee hee....)

Anyway, Aisha - YOU CAN DO THIS. We're all here trying, too.

Wow- I haven't had a chance to come here for a few days. Thanks for the message! I am going to be waaaaaaaaay behind schedule on the exercise now. But I am still losing.

I am definitely getting exercise though having to be on crutches. It's alot of effort to haul this big bod around! And my arm muscles are killing me so that has to be a good thing. This week finishes week 3 on Nutrisystem and I am more than happy w the food and the results. Now I have been thinking...what if I didn't hurt my ankle and I was starting the treadmill? Crud.

Oh well. I know God does everything for a reason and this may be His way of slowing me down cuz I have been so rushed lately trying to squeeze work, my class, and kids + housework in 24 hours. I have to admit the relaxation has been 100% enjoyable today. My kids were at the babysitter so I actually got to read a real adult book instead of Goodnight Moon. We'll see how things go w the monkeys here tomorrow.
-k8 :)

down 17.5 pounds
83.5 to go.

So my biggest prblem with weight loss is eating late night. Well its been almost two weeks now and I am not tempted like I used to, to eat at night. It used to be an almost irresistiable impulse to eat. It didnt matter what. Now though I have eaten occasionally past dinner its different. I'm not impulse eating. I'm not feeling out control. Yay. The biggest thing is focusing on the discipline and not on the weight loss. Weight loss takes time and if you keep steppig on the scale for your reward you will be disapointed and after two weeks it just won't work and you give up. So is really working for me as far as behavior control :) Yay

Also SPARK PEOPLE is really great because I plugged in the amount I want to lose and how long I want to lose it in and it told me how much to eat each day etc. This is the first time I got concrete objective evidence that I *can* lose weight if I stick to it. According to the site if I stick to my diet I can lose thirty pounds by the end of May. Here's hoping! :).

I am SO sorry you hurt your foot. Just when you were going to get the treadmill. Don't let this get you down or derail your enthusiasm. In a few weeks, you will be good as new and ready to start walking.

I have had so many thoughts fighting it out in my head this past weekend that I wanted to get them out. So here is what I'm thinking - without much structure.

If I lose weight I'll be more attractive.
If I'm more attractive, I'll attract more sexual attention.
The purpose of sexual attention is to attract a mate.
I already have a mate.
My mate already wants sex all the time. If I become even more attractive he'll never leave me alone.
My mate will also become jealous and even more over-protective. I'll feel suffocated.
If I lose weight I'll be able to get all the pretty clothes I always wanted.
If I get all the clothes I always wanted, I'll want accessories.
If I have clothes and accesories I'll want fancy makeup, shoes, bags.
I'll have to keep up this "perfect image" and it'll become exhausting.
Eventually I'll become so materialistic that I'll want nicer things for my home as well.
I'll be unsatisfied and never content because nothing will seem good enough.
I'll always want more.
I won't be happy.

Ok - So I see a fear of ultimatley, not being any happier. And you know what? It is true. If you aren't happy on the inside - looking better on the outside doesn't always fix everything.

So how do I get happier on the inside? Why am I unhappy?

I am unhappy because I compare myself to others. I am unhappy because I compare myself to societal beliefs about what "having it all" means. I am unhappy because somewhere deep inside I want to strive for the unrealistic manufactured beauty of Hollywood. I am unhappy because I know that even if I look put together on the outside, my inside can still be quite a mess. I'm uhappy that I have to put so much effort into something that doesn't solve all my problems. I'm unhappy that looking good for some people is effortless and that even if they have an unhealthy relationship with food - atleast it doesn't show on the outside. I'm unhappy because people judge me on how I look but if I could turn myself inside-out people would smile when they saw me coming - because although I have issues, I'm a good, nice person. I'm unhappy because I don't deserve to be judged and I don't want to care what people think, but I do.

I need to find happiness within myself. I need to find a happiness that isn't reliant on outside factors like outside opinion, the weather, what I own, or how I look.

I need to find reasons to lose this weight for the right reasons.

(RIGHT) Reasons to lose weight:

To treat my body as the temple God tells us it is.

To learn self-discipline and self-respect.

To recognize that my body is a machine which needs healthy fuel.

To learn to eat to live, not live to eat.

To find other sources of happiness and not be dependant on food.

To be an example to my children.

To live longer and be able to actively participate in the lives of future generations.

To increase the potential for a healthier life, unburdended by medical problems.

To know I'm doing the best with what I have.

To be able to express myself through what I wear instead of only wearing what fits.

To be able to participate in physical activities that are part of a happy and healthy lifestyle.

To feel the freedom of running without being incumbered.

To take the pressure off the area where a tumor was removed. (If too much pressure is put on the site, it could damage the plastic reconstruction.)

Because we only get one life and I don't want to waste anymore than I already have.

To make a statement to all the companies who don't care about our health and only care about $

...What are your (right) reasons?

I met with my trainer for a weights and measures. I woke up with a migrain, I only made it to the gym 5 times in January, and needless to say, I didn't hold out for anything positive. I anticipated gaining....alot.

Instead, I:

LOST 9 inches
LOST 3 pounds

Apparently, changing my eating habits DID help. Is anyone as shocked as I am that just a few small changes could make such a difference? I can't feel anything lost one me, and infact, I've felt even more huge than normal lately.

I hope that everyone else has been seeing good positive results!

Down 16 pounds since January 1.
Keep up the good work girls.

Dude i am definitely gettinng the free free free treadmill i was telling you guys about and i am so stoked! he's supposed to be bringing it one night this week and you know I will have some pix of the little beauty.

Still truckin on Nutrisystem but not exercising- but that's' about to change.

-k8

When I checked this morning I was down to 236 lbs. (Oh yes. I said the number.) I started at 245 lbs. So, that's 9 lbs. total. You may be saying, "Wait a minute - I thought she already lost that much?"... Well - I was naughty for awhile and had gained some of it back. Now it's gone again.

But I'm feeling good today. I overcame every obstacle and temptaion this week.

Just today I took the boys to Dairy Queen. Why? Maybe deep down I was considering cheating but as I sat there in the drive thru - going back in forth in my head about it, ultimatley I didn't get anything for myself. I remembered all of you here and all the hard work I've put in. Why would I waste 30 minutes on my Gazzelle for one stupid ice cream!?

So I came home and had this instead.



One thing that has been helping me is music. I used to watch TV while on the Gazzelle but I'd get bored within 10 minutes and get off. Now I listen to music on my mp3 player and it really pumps me up!

Here are the songs I'm into right now. What are yours?




Let's Get it Started - The Black Eyed Peas
Hey Ya - The Black Eyed Peas
Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez
Right There - Chingy
Tipsy - Chingy
To The Line - Kanye West
Gold Digger - Kanye West
Shake Ya Tailfeather - Murphey Lee, P. Diddy, Nelly
Switch - Will Smith

(By the way - I prefer the "Clean" versions of the songs. If you can see by my selections why type of music gets me going - feel free to recommend something!)

Down 14 pounds - guess that leaves me about 97 to go.

Someone told me about this site this morning. It's called www.sparkpeople.com and it's great accountability. You plug in your current weight, how much you want to weigh, and when you want to weigh that by and then they give you stats of how much you need to lose per week, how many calories you need/day to achieve that and help you factor in exercise. So, it really is a good site. Then you can plug in your food and exercise each day and it helps you track it all. Anyway, just a plug for it if you think it might help you SEE your success. :)

I believe that the dreams we have when we're sleeping are important. I believe our subconcious tries to sort things out when we're in that state and that it's beneficial to try to understand the meaning behind your dreams. So, here is a dream I had last night - which I think was very much connected to my healthy lifestyle goals and emotional/psychological issues.

I was invited to a party at Oprah's house. It was a party for women she thought were special in some way. (Oprah really did have a party like this in real life but I wasn't invited ;) ...

So, I went to her house. When Oprah saw me she embraced me. I mingled at the party for awhile but then a male staff member approached me. He said Oprah has a special package for me in a back room. I asked what it was and he said, "It's a present from Oprah." I didn't want to go with this guy so I asked if he could bring the gift to me. He said, "I'm sorry - it's a big box. Come with me."

I felt very uncomfortable around this man but didn't follow my instincts. I followed him down a narrow hall - and down deep I knew he was going to take advantage of me. Before we got to "the back room", I turned around and left hurriedly.

~~~

Now I can see clearly what my mind is working on - but I decided to look up the symbolism of some of the items in my dream out of curiosity. It was really interesting - whether it's true or not.

Box - Want to keep something safe.

Party - Celebration. Festivity. Pleasure. Want to participate in a common activity.

Hugging - Loving protection. Attention. Conform. Need for care.

Hall - Access. Privacy. Trying to find a connection with someone or something.

Oprah's website has some excellent articles and quizzes regarding weightloss. I'm going to try and post one every now and then. This first quiz is called the What is Your Explanatory Style Quiz.

The way you think and explain things can affect your weightloss. Take the quiz. Share your results or keep them to yourself. (Hint: For the part of the quiz that says to "get a piece of paper" to write down something - you can open notepad and just type it.)

~~~

My results:

You have good mental hygiene and that's likely to make you healthier as well as happier. Keep seeking benefits in every circumstance, and you’ll increase the odds that you'll live long and prosper.