I don't think the challenge killed the thread. I know one lady is in Las Vegas for cake camp, I know I've been incredibly busy with cakes and getting back in the swing after being in Las Vegas myself for vacation last week.... I have to admit, I simply didn't get all of the challenges in everyday this week...Time constraints, kids, work, all kind of messed with my walking attempts, and I found myself doing crunches in bed--so do they really count?! My college daughter is home and had her tonsils out on Friday.......but hey, it's a new week! I for one have got to stop finding excuses to not get moving!!! I did my 30 minutes on the treadmill first thing this morning while everyone was still in bed--man I love that time of the day, plus I was trying to get stuff done before church and I feel so proud of myself plus I feel like I've got more energy which is a darn good thing...I've got to deliver a cake this afternoon, get 2 more baking for Tues., delivery and get to work on a huge wedding for Saturday--a fondant graphing calculator and pencils for the groom's cake. YIKES! Why couldn't the groom just like chocolate covered strawberries 
! Good luck Chunky Monkeys!
So, I'm back from Cake camp 
! I'm sooo very tired, but I learned a lot. I didn't get to do my crunches while I was in Vegas but I did log over 30,000 steps every single day I was there 
. It was a cool 111 so I was sweating like a farm animal! I ate anything I wanted and didn't gain weight and actually lost a pound-I think it was sweat lol.
I don't think the challenge was too hard. Everyone leads busy lives and just because I don't write everyday, doesn't mean I'm not thinking of my monkey friends. Deb, how about you make up the challenge for Monday.
And like Diane said ANY exercise be it 10 minutes 3X a day is better than no exercise at all. Shoot for the small increments so it doesn't seem so daunting.
And to leave you two ladies with this: 1/2 lb for Diane and she will be in a whole other number bracket 
. And for Deb only a couple of pounds and you too will also be in a whole other number bracket 
. I'm so very proud of you all. Me on the other hand needs to lose 35 lbs to get to the 199 range 
. I know I will get there! Let's keep moving!!
My name is Kathy and I'm a chunky monkey
Happy Weight Loss and Maintenance Chunky Monkeys.
My challenge or us this week is:
3 servings of protein every day. This can be in the form of meat, eggs, cheese, protein shakes or powder, or whatever other form of protein you prefer. Protein is very important for muscle development and weight loss.
6 - 8oz servings of water every day. Remember the flavor packets in your 16-20 oz bottle of water is a very good way to make water taste better. Just make sure it's not sugared.
90 minutes of exercise this week. That's 3 days of 30 minutes each or 6 days of 15 minutes each. Great if you can do and track more.
Keep up the great work My fellow Cake Making Chunky Monkey sisters.
That's a really good challenge this week Deb!!!
Queen Diane, your humble servant is doing the "Official Chunky Monkey Dance" for you right now. Doesn't look too pretty with all the jiggling going 'round. Think how amazing it is my friend--you are in a WHOLE OTHER NUMBER CATEGORY!!!! WOO HOO!!! I'm so very proud of you and I will be doing another dance when Deb gets there too. WOO HOO!!!
Let's keep going!!
WOW and WooHoo. That deserves a special sparkly congrats. So here it is:
I'm close, but I won't claim it until I see it at least twice 3 days apart from each other. Last time I claimed 310 then plateaued for a couple of weeks. =)
I'm pretty close to my water intake for today. I have another meal left to get my final protein in and I went walking through Home Depot today. Instead of walking in order I went from one end, to the other end, to the other end. It was sort of on accident, then I decided hell, the extra walking is good and counts for something so I made sure to continue the path to get everything I was looking for.
Good for you!! I am happy to get to join in on the challenge. I must admit that everything was out the window at the beach except exercise. We did walk everywhere we went, and it took a lot of energy to be sure I came home with both children (two year olds are fast). LOL. Haven't weighed yet. I will wait until Friday at my normal time. Good luck to all.
Jelmom-Man, I would love to spend a week at the beach--I haven't done that for years! Sounds like fun, fun, fun!
Kathy--more info about Vegas Please!!! I want to go to cake camp --next year for sure--where did you stay--I loved Vegas!!
Deb--congrats on walking the entire Home Depot--I always end up doing that at Wal-Mart--so frustrating-but they keep moving stuff! From now on I'm going to think like you--what the hell, it's good for me!!
I have to tell this one--yesterday after I'd posted that I was below the big 3, I walked my 30 mins. on the treadmill, took a shower, pottied and just couldn't resist--I had to weigh myself again--gained 1/2 a pound--I'm attributing that to shower water in my hair and the water I drank while walking--still below the big 3 though--now I'm not allowing myself near the scale for the rest of the week--until next Monday--well, that's the plan at least!
Have a great day Fellow Chunky Monkeys!!!
What do you ladies say? Did the challenge idea scare you?
I'll be honest, when I first read though this thread I thought okay, maybe this will help with my motivation like a past thread had. Then I got to the part about challenges and it reminded me of another thread on here, and I thought, maybe this one, like the other, wasn't for me.
I think it is great to set a challenge/goal for yourself to help you change bad habits or get motivated, but me personally, I don't want someone else telling me what I should do this week. Because what they may want/need to work on, may not be the same for me. Plus if what is set is something they can't acheive it can have the opposite affect on them.
I'm totally not telling anyone not to do this because apparently it does work for some, since there has been a long standing thread about it in the past). I just don't think it is for everyone.
I wish everyone that is trying to lose weight luck. I know how hard it is. Two and a half years ago I had lost 25lbs and kept it off 20lbs of it off for two years. Something about this year has change that and I find myself slowly gaining it back. So much so that I am back up 10 more lbs than I was at the beginning of the year. Not good.
Some things that really helped me was to stop drinking cokes and replace them with water. As has been suggested there are alot of great drink mixes you can add to water. Most of them only have 5 to 10 calories, but do be careful as I have seen some that have had 30 or more. They give you a taste with your water. I also l limit myself to one diet green or white tea a day. That gives me something a little different to drink with out feeling I have to have a coke.
Walking, even if it is just a little bit helps. Anything that gets you up and moving will burn calories. Walk up the street and back, once a day. When you feel up to it you can start doing it twice, then increase the distance slowly. Not everyone can or needs to get up and just walk 1 or 2 miles. But everyone can work up to it by walking for 5 mins or a short distance then building on that as you can. Don't wait for front door parking and you can add a few more steps to your day.
Also as you start walking/exercising/moving you will start feeling better. You will also start thinking a little more about what you are putting in your mouth. If you just spent 20 min walking a mile and burned 120 calories you are not going to step off the treadmill and eat 120 empty calories as easily as you would have before. Because you are going to think about, remember, what you had to do to burm those 120 calories.
Pay attention to what you buy. Read and compare labels. PLUS something to really remember is read serving sizes vs calories. That's actually one of my biggest pet peeves right now. I hate looking at a can of soup and seeing it say 2 servings for 100 calories. If you just read the calories you think okay great it's only 100 calories, but if you eat the whole can (and lets be honest, who really eats half a can of soup) you are doubling that up.
If you are a mindless eater or snacker then remember that when you are shopping. You can not eat what you do not buy and have in your house. If you love oreos and know you could eat a package in a day, don't buy them. If you have kids and feel the need to keep something like that in the house, get something you hate, can't stand and won't eat. But remember we teach children our habits as well, so there is nothing wrong with encouraging them to eat healthier with us.
Buy healthy snacks, stock up on fruit and veggies. You can even spend time cutting things up to make it easier to just grab and go when you are in a snacking mood or need something to tide you over until dinner.
There is nothing wrong with snacking between means. Infact I have read alot of 'diet' plans that really suggest it. If you have one or two snacks a day it actually keeps you from getting overly hungry at dinner time. Just make sure if you are eating a snack it is a healthy snack low on calories.
Another thing that I found helped me is those 100 calorie snack things. There are so many different types out there now. What I like about this is that if I have a big box of cheese nips I am going to go in there and grab a handful and eat them. If I don't grab another handful at that time I will end up at some point walking through the kitchen and get more and before you know it that box is empty. Not always cause I am hungry, but cause they are there and I see them. With the 100 calorie snack things (on even with just individually packaged things) I only eat one of them. If I get another I have to open it, and that makes me stop and think about what I am doing.
Do not ignore cravings! For me if I ignore a craving it does not go away, but just gets worse and when I give in, I will over eat what I am craving. If you are an ice cream eater, purchase sugar free or low fat ice cream for when you are having that craving and have a small bowl to help sedate that craving until next time. Again this is where invidually wrapped things come in handy for me too.
I LOVE FOOD. So when I first started losing weight I knew that I couldn't give up everything, that that would never work for me. I don't believe in diets actually. If you truely what to lose weight you have to change your habits and your life style (and stick to it). You just have to figure out healthier ways to eat what you enjoy. I've also heard it suggest to use smaller plates because visually you will be looking at a fuller plate and that tricks you into thinking you are eating alot, plus it controls how much food you can actually put on the plate.
And when you are eating, eat slowly. Be sure to take your time to chew your food. I've even read to put your fork down between bites. It takes 20 mins for your stomach to send signals to your brain telling you it is full. That is why alot of times when we eat we feel stuffed a little while later. By eating slowly and waiting before seconds you give your body time to do what it is suppose to and maybe help save some yourself from eating some food you really don't want and more than likely don't need.
Your body needs a min of 1200 calories a day. When I first started paying attention to what I ate I actually was scared to have anything with calories and I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting enough. When you don't get enough calories your body thinks you are starving it, and it goes into starvation mode and holds on to that fat even more. (Not nice huh?)
So you have to find a balance between what you eat and how much you burn. For those that aren't physically able to really work out yet, you can still cut out alot of calories in your diet which will help lose weight, because everything we do burns calories. As you build up your exercise/workouts you may actually need more than just 1200 calories to substain your body.
I think the biggest thing to keep in mind... DON'T GIVE UP or GIVE IN. Just because you had a bad day and oh my found yourself with your hand in the cookie jar, for the second or third time, it doesn't mean you have to give up, it doesn't mean you screwed everything up, it doesn't mean that it is all over and you should forget everything you have done that day or the days before it. We all make mistakes, we all fail now and then.
The key is to pick yourself back up, put one foot in front of the other and move on from it. One little mess up should not undo everything you have done to that point. If you keep going you will find that alot of things that you never thought you could do in the past get easier. It gets easier to want to or find time to walk/exercise. It gets easier to pass on seconds or think twice about that big slab of ooey gooey chocolate cake.
Please for everyone that is doing this please do not weigh yourself daily. You weight will not be the same from day to day as well as from one point in the day to the other. Pick a set time/day once a week to do your weighing in. Hint: You weigh less in the mornings.
In the beginning you may actually want to weight once then hide the scale for a couple of weeks or a month. Why? Because seeing the daily ups and downs or when the numbers don't change at all effects us. While losing weight can help motivate you to lose more, gaining weight or staying the same has the opposite effects. We think well hell, I did all that work for nothing. And that leads to us giving up. It may take a week or two of working towards it to actually see a change in the scale. Also your monthly cycle will play into your weight. The week before/of my period I am heavier than other times. So that week I may have actually lose some fat, but the water gain won't show it. After you start tracking your weight you may see a pattern where your cycle is involved. Don't get frustrated that week, just wait for the next.
Another thing I see that I think really plays into affect is to please be realistic with yourself. Yes on the show the Biggest Loser they lose anywhere from 5 to 10+ pounds a week. But let's remember they are in a house where there is only good for you food and they are giving very specific diet plans. They don't have to go to work for 8 hours, they aren't suffling kids from school, to soccer, to home to do homework. They are working out more than the average person can realisticly do when they are dealing with hubby, kids and work.
For healthy weight lose, weight that you can really keep up, you should really only lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. So if you tell yourself today you want to lose 20lbs by next month you are more than likely setting yourself up for failure.
If you have a large amount to lose, look at it in smaller terms. Instead of saying you want to lose 100lbs or 50lbs, start with losing 10lbs or 20lbs. You will reach those smaller goals faster and when you get there and set your next one your motivation will be up more than if you are starting with a larger number because it can be more overwhelming. You can certainly have an big goal (for the end) but don't forget to give yourself smaller ones that you can realistic see yourself accomplishing and giving yourself a reward for them.
YOU have to take care of yourself. No one else can do it for you. You have to want to do this. Inside and out. And in the end it is you that you are rewarding. You get to get to feel better about yourself. You get to feel better when you look in the mirror. You get to feel better when you get to shop in a different dress size/store. You get to feel better because you know you have a chance of living a longer, better, and healthier life so you can see your kids/grandkids growing up.
One last thing before I leave, remember the good things you accomplish on this journey. Don't skip over the mental part of this process as you go. If you are finding a day when you are struggling with your eating don't focus on the negatives.
At one point in the last two years I had gotten down on myself because I didn't meet my orginal goal. I had gotten side tracked and had lost my motivation. I was cleaning out my closet and drawers getting rid of everything that no longer fit me. Those things that had no shape at all. And in doing that it helped me feel better and lift my spirits. I was able to remind myself that maybe I didn't lose the 60lbs I had wanted to, but I had lost 20lbs and at that point had done very well to keep it off with just my eating habits. I sat down and started writing the postive things I had accomplished in that year. We tend to focus on the negatives and forget about the postive things in our lives and sometimes remembering those postive things can be the difference between doing something and not.
I know I'm a rambler, I can't help it. I've always been long winded and have just about decided I probably always will be. So if you have read through all of this, bravo. I think I typed it out as much as for a reminder to myself as to maybe help others. Now maybe I too will find my motivation that I lost 2 years ago to keep going. Maybe now, it is my time to finish what I started.
Again... GOOD LUCK everyone!
Did you know...It takes 3500 calories to make a pound?
Having a thread to offer support is great, and I love the idea (which is why I jumped right on it). But I'm not a challenge-kind of person. I'm doing what I can and really don't feel like doing challenges.
I'm just here for the support. :/
So if I'm not responding to the challenges, it's just because I've opted out of them. And if I'm not responding to the thread, it's probably because I have nothing new to add. I'm not avoiding the thread because of the challenges...I read, and when I have something to contribute, I do.
TexasSugar I love that you have written down everything in one post that could help with weight loss--I've always said that I could write a book on the subject myself-I've had college nutrition classes, done weight watchers, nutri-system, read countless articles, magazines, books, you name it and I think what it basically comes down to for me is mind set. If there's something really bothering me, I tend to stuff it down and not deal with it and apparently I'm one of those stress eaters--because how else did I manage to get to this size! I have been paying keen attention to this tendancy--whenever i get upset with kids or husband or anything for that matter, where do I find myself--in the kitchen, searching for something to stuff in my mouth. I also do lots of mindless eating. I can't tell you how many times in the past couple of months that I've found myself with something in my mouth and have to actually spit it out-and sometimes I have to really convince myself to spit it out! And I actually have no recollection of putting it there in the first place--cake top crumbs, what I'm fixing for dinner--those calories really, really add up!! I guess I'm in that mind set that now is the time to lose all of this excess baggage so to speak!! This thread is really helping me stick with it!
...I think what it basically comes down to for me is mind set. If there's something really bothering me, I tend to stuff it down and not deal with it and apparently I'm one of those stress eaters--because how else did I manage to get to this size! I have been paying keen attention to this tendancy--whenever i get upset with kids or husband or anything for that matter, where do I find myself--in the kitchen, searching for something to stuff in my mouth. I also do lots of mindless eating. ...I guess I'm in that mind set that now is the time to lose all of this excess baggage so to speak!! This thread is really helping me stick with it!
I think this is true for everyone. You can say you want to lose weight you can even get caught up in a thread like this and think you will do it. But deep down you have to be ready for it. I can't say I've done alot of the diets because I just never got that far. I had many a times that I would say tomorrow I'm going to start losing weight, or Monday, or next week... Of course putting it off for another day never worked and that day never came. Well not until one day that I just knew it was time for me to do it.
It is also great to realise when and why we eat. If you are heading for the kitchen for food think about why you are going there. What is going on inside of you. Are you upset about something? Unhappy? Bored? If you journal what you are eating then I would take time to journal how you are feeling as well. You may see connections.
When I think back to the beginning of the year to now I've realised I've been dealing with (or maybe not dealing with) emotional bagage. And I think that is what is playing into me gaining weight back.
I'm a babystep kind of person when it comes to some things. It is great to jump in all or nothing, if that fits your personallity and that works for you. It doesn't work for everyone. For some people if you have a long list of things to change in your life it can get overwhelming and instead of doing that you fall in to the if I can't do all of it, then why bother.
Instead of starting a new week and saying this week I want to:
1. eat 3 meals a day (alot of us skip breakfast)
2. drink 6 glasses of water
3. exercise 5 out of 7 days
4. cut out all unhealthy snacks
5. stop eating fast foods
6. eat more veggies and fruit
...and so on focus on one thing at a time.
Why not say, this week I want to stop drinking cokes and drink more water. That way you can put all of your attention to that one thing and actually do it. The next week you can say I'm going to continue drinking water and make sure I eat breakfast. This gives you time to adjust to the new changes in your life and keeps things from getting totally overwhelming. Maybe the third week you add in some form of exercise.
Since we all live different lives and have different issues to deal with I feel that everyone should sit down with themselves to figure out what things they need to change in their own life and set their own time tables.
And remember which ever path you go do, it needs to be something that you can really continue doing from now on. You need to decide what bad habits you are doing now that has lead to your weight gain and be prepared to leave them in the past and find a balance of things you can carry with you into your new phase of life. If you only do what you have to do to lose weight then revert back to what you were doing before, you will, over time, find yourself getting back where you are now.
It doesn't matter if you have 20lbs, 50lbs, 100lbs or more to lose keep in mind you did not go to sleep one night a size 6 and wake up a size 18. It took time, maybe even years, to get to the point you are at right now. You will not in return go to bed a size 18 one night and wake up a size 6.
Unfortunetly it is more work to lose the weight than gain it, but by doing the work to lose it you will be more proud of yourself, and feel better about yourself. And everyone can do it!
So true!! I've made getting up and exercising my main priority for the last month-and I can tell you I feel so much better--I walk first thing in the morning at about 5:30--and it's such a huge sense of accomplishment as well--I think to myself (as I've thought to myself for years), "Man, I've got to exercise, hey, wait a minute, I already did that!!!" Now I'm adding the getting enough water in......Baby steps work!
I'm really impressed that you can get up at that early and work out. I am soooo not a morning person so I don't know I could ever make that effort. I do know what you mean though. When you get it out of the way earlier you don't have to worry about making sure you do it or putting it off and not doing it.
I like baby steps. That's why I have 25lb goals for myself. I also have pre determined rewards for my goals. When I reach 300 I'm opening up the software my husband to help me relearn spanish.
At 275 I want to go to Sea World.
I don't have 250 reward planned yet.
At 225 I want to fly to Cali to visit family and friends.
200 will be something with just my husband and I. Maybe another cavern tour.
I also try to get at least 1 new outfit for each 25 lbs. Let's face it some clothes look ok slumpy and oversized, but not many. The trick is to have goals and have non food rewards.
I've also decided that if I want a skinny latte (sugar free, non fat from Starbucks) I have to ride my bike to get it. Since deciding this, I haven't had one. =) I already gave up the regular drinks and only get the SF NF now, but even those have a surprising amount of calories in them.
TexasSugar, I really don't want to see you go. I love your wisdom and sound advice and believe you are an awesome asset to this thread. I understand the challenge concerns. It is a concern for me too. I tend to be very hard myself when I don't do what I set my mind to doing. And so I may avoid the forums if I'm not meeting the challenge expectations. Please consider staying with us. We are still a very young group and will experience growing pains as we figure out what works best for our group. If you have to leave for your sanity, I completely understand.
On a side note, I have seen the number 300.0 on my scale, but not more than once yet. So I'm not officially claiming the victory yet. I'll check again in a few days.
Deb--I love the rewards you've set for yourself. I noticed that one of the things you want to do is fly to Cali when you reach 275. I recently flew to Las Vegas and I have to tell you that I absolutely worried myself to death that I'd need to ask for a seatbelt extension on the plane--(I carry most of my excess baggage around the hips/thighs ares--I could so be the poster child for the pear shape)--anyway, I really had to struggle, put the seat armrest us, push my lumpy rump into as compact a shape as I could get it--and man was I glad my skinny daughter had the seat right next to me to allow for rear end spill over (ooh, that didn't sound goo), but I got the seatbelt fastened--or tourniquet fastened as we began referring to it --hey if you can't laugh about these things, why bother with life--anyway I really hope to be down about 45 lbs by next year at this time and I will be going to cake camp in LV next year come hell or high water and I can't wait to fasten that "tourniquet" then. I know it's better to do the short term goals and I do have a few of those, but mostly for me, it's going to be things like not having to squeeze into and touching both arms of the chair with my ample butt in one particular restaurant when we go out to eat, and not dreading attempting to sit in the stadium seats at the basketball games or concerts we go to...things like that tthat I'm most looking forward to!
I TOTALLY understand the airplane seatbelt thing. I was horrified the first time I had to fly and ask for the extension belt. But so grateful they had them available. I remember squeezing into the seats and not having the belt and just being so uncomfortable.
When I hit 225, I'm flying without an extension for sure. I have to fly to Arizona (maybe drive I'm not sure yet) to make a cake for my cousin's wedding in March. I'm not sure what my weight will be then. But I'm sure it'll be a relief to not have to ask for the extension. And not worrying about my hips smacking all the aisle sitters as I make may way to my own seat. The worst thing for me is knowing that once I sit down I don't want to climb over anyone to get up and use the potty. Not to mention being unable to squeeze into the lavatory.
So I'm very excited to fly when I lose a few more pounds.
And for the best news this week in my opinion.
range">- = 299.6 = range">-
I'm curious how this is working, how you're actually motivating each other.
I'm a SAHM of 3, 8½, almost 6 and 3½. After both boys, I kept 10 pounds for a while. I was 135 when I got married, gained about 10 pounds in the 2 years after we married until I got pg with my first. Kept 10 lbs after he was born right up until I got pg with my 2nd. I was back in my regular clothes 3 months after my 2nd was born and was 145lb. Then another 10 lbs creeped on and I fluctuated between 150 and 155 when I got pg with my 3rd. Kept 10 on after he was born. I joined a gym that had free baby-sitting and lost 8 pounds, gained muscle and then they stopped offering sitting, so I had to quit the gym. 5 or so pounds have creeped back on since then. I'm sitting now around 162-165. I'm 5'6".
I need motivation to exercise. I don't have a sedentary lifestyle, I'm sure I'd be over 200 pounds if I did,but my eating habits stinks. I'm a fast-food junkie! What do ya'll do to keep each other motivated?
Way to go Deb!!!! Great news! Andi--this is a fairly new thread--so far we've set a couple of challenges pertaining to exercise, eating right, getting enough H20 in, heard each other's stories, but for me, the best part about this thread is the congrats and encouragement we get from each other, and the fact that there is a place to just chat about our common problems with people that share out same interests and face our same challenges!
Well, I went to check out sparkpeople. I don't think I like it. I went to put in my goal weight, etc. and it wouldn't let me. According to them, but BMI is in the healthy range and my goal weight would put me in the 'under' range. What i hate about BMIs is they don't account for muscle. I've got good muscle, it's just covered in fat!
I gain in my belly and thighs, so all I really want is to not suffer from "Dunlap" Syndrome anymore! I don't really care what the scale says, because I know muscle weighs more than fat. Having a kid on my hip for the last 8 years has done wonders for my biceps! And now that my 3 year old is too big to be carried, I baby-sit an almost 2 year old.
Andi--Dunlap Syndrome--I've found myself battling that a bit lately too--I gain in hips and thighs mainly and I guess when my body had packed on all the weight it could in those areas, I began to gain in the belly area--I've read a lot that stress makes you gain there too, and I was working at a stressful job when the weight began heading there too, but heck, when you're as overwieght as me (or morbidly obese my doctor said--and what a wake up call or slap in the face that was), that extra padding is everywhere! Anyway, your muscle is burning tons more calories than your fat and it's great that you have a very active lifestyle--
as we age, our metabolism just naturally slows down and though I'd heard that for years, it became horribly true for me once I hit 40. I remember when I could lose 10 lbs. in a week--those days are long gone. I'm doing Weight Watchers on-line and that's really helping me keep track of how many calories I'm consuming--when I first started, I was taking in more than twice what I should have been--DUH! How else could I have packed on this much weight! I remember having great arms when I was packing around little kids too--I want those arms back!! Anyway, I'm glad you're here! I am going to go to a nutritionist on Aug 28--I can hardly wait-where I'll be finding out exactly what my BMI is, etc....I can do those on-line BMI indexes, but I want the real measurement--there's quite a bit of muscle under my fat too--honest!! I'm 5' 10" so there's lots of room to spread it all around!
Thems_my_kids, maybe instead of watching the scale you should do some measurements. Because while the numbers on the scale may not change as much, you could still be losing inches, and your clothes may be getting looser. Actually everyone should do this.
If you look at the charts according to my hieght (5') and frame (medium) I should weight 113-126. I'll be 30 at the end of the year and I honestly don't see myself ever being quite that skinny. My goal right now is just to lose to 130-135, then from there I will decide what I want to do. I'm not losing weight to become a skinny mini, though I wouldn't complain too if I did, I just want to be more healthy over all.
I'm around 175 though I haven't done an official weight in. I've been wrestling with myself all week about getting back into walking, but it has been one crappy week. I've been PMSing, we had to put my mom's 4-month old puppy to sleep due to health problems, plus I baby sit a 18 month of that is practicing throwing fits for everything. Lay on the floor screaming fits! My nerves have been frazzled all week and I'm hoping settle back to a close to even kilter.
I think 'groups' like this help with accountablity.
Sometimes we don't want to tell our family what we are doing because we think they will get overly crictical about what we are doing. While they may mean well they can say things that don't help as much as they think they should. "Are you sure you want to eat that?" "Did you exercise today?" It's even great when they aren't in the best of health weight wise as well, but feel the need to be 'supportive' to you but reminding you of all the bad habits you have. They feel like they are supporting you when it often makes you feel worse or a failure.
So we go at this alone, hoping no one notices what we are doing until we start to lose weight. By doing that, it makes it easier to cheat or stop doing it, because then no one knows what we did or didn't do.
To me having a group of people to talk to is somewhere in the middle of those two things. They aren't going to question, comment or make you feel bad for that second helping of something or other. They are going to know and understand the day to day, minute to minute struggles you go through to change your eating habits. This is that safe place you can come to after that bad day to whine and get support. This is that place you can come to when you did lose weight and hear all the "Yea! You did it!"
At least that is my thoughts. It is somewhere where you really have to be honest with yourself and with those here or you aren't really going to get anything out of it. If you come on here and say I don't know why I'm not losing any weight, when you know you haven't exersiced or had a whole gallon of ice cream this week, then you are not doing anything but hurting yourself.
Motivation is something, I think, that has to come from yourself first. I've struggled with it all week myself, and I could have posted my emotional issues while dealing with them, but the "you can do it's" really wouldn't have gotten myself on the treadmill if I wasn't mentally prepared for it. I think once you find it, a thread like this can help push you along.
We all know we have a number in our heads, a final weight we wish we could see on the scale, but why not focus on something besides that number for once. Some have posted goals and rewards, which are awesome, so why don't we do this...
I dare you (hehe) to post your goals for weight loss that have nothing to do with numbers on the scale. What do you hope to get out of losing weight, besides the actual weight. Maybe writting those things out can help those that are struggling (like me) find our motivation and remind us that this isn't just about a certain number.
My top five would be:
1. I want to feel/be healthier.
2. I want to be able to shop for cute clothes and not have to worry if they come big enough for my size. Or maybe they will fit my body shape better.
3. I to be able to find cute/sexy bras that fit properly, with out having to search high and low.
4. I want to have the body to match my personality. How many here have heard "...but she has a great personality."
5. I want to be able to walk with out my thighs rubbing together.
So come on everyone, what do you want, besides that certain number on the scale?
Great idea!!! Here goes.....
1. I want to be healthier.
2. I want to be able to go to swim parks or the beach with my 10 yr. old without feeling like Shamu--believe me, I've seen the looks, heard the comments enough to know when I'm being made fun of and it ain't a pleasant feeling!
3. I want to be able to sit comfortably in any chair or stadium seat or car seat or airplane seat or any seat of any sort anywhere at anytime.
4. I want to be able to wear clothes from a normal clothing store, not Layne Bryant or other chubby chic clothing stores.
5. I want to be proud of the way I look--healthy and in shape, not lumpy and dumpy.
I really am not sure how much I should weigh--charts say I should weigh much less than I think I will ever weigh--At 5'10" I'd be really happy to just see 200 again--not to mention 165! I'm a big-boned gal--It's hard to imagine how tall I will really look with this excess baggage gone! I can't wait but am happy to be losing gradually, a bit each week.
I like this idea.
1. I want to be healthier so I can keep up with my kids better.
2. I want to not feel like I have to say "but I used to look like this"
3. I want to wear all the clothes I bought last year.
4. I want to be able to change from sitting to standing without adjusting my clothes.
5. I want to stop hearing whispers about what happened to the weight loss. ( cause I don't know that I gained it all back and they wouldn't want to be the one to let me in on the secret)lol
Mencked, my best friend is 5'10 or 5'11 and she weighs around the same that I do and it looks good on her. Why not set your goal at 200 and then go from there.
That's why I'm not aiming for the 115. I'm really not doing this to be as skinny as I can be. Maybe when I get down to 130 I may push more to get closer to it, but for now I just want to drop the bulk of it and see what I want to do from there.
Sometimes women need to remember that they may never be as thin as they were when they were in high school, got married, before they had their first kid. As was mentioned above, your metabolism changes with age. I think the first time this happens is in the early 20s.
That's why I asked the question I did, because we need to remember there is more to a healthy life than the number we see on that scale.
Good idea TS--I'm going to leave my ticker at 165, but really, I know this is going to take some real time, as in years--I will be thrilled to death to hit 200, but I'm embracing every stinkin' pound I lose at this point--i'm aiming for 1-2 lbs /wk. and will be hapy with every oz. I get rid of.
Move over ladies, here I come!!!!! Okay, I know I need to lose weight when I turn a corner but my big ol' butt didn't turn it with me 
! Or my love handles are touching each other (I hate it when they are cold and touch each other, I give myself goosebumps) and don't even get me started on "special 
" time with my hubby-talk about having to be flexable (so I can hide my fat areas from him)! I am 5'1" and last time I checked (cause I'm not talking to my scale any longer) I was 155. I'm not tall, so when I gain weight, it shows right away.
My size is 14 and if I don't start losing I am going to have to go to the other department for my clothes which will be hard considering I need petite (I call it short and stubby) sizes. My shoe size has even gone up by 1/2 size. What tha....!!!
I have my grammas arms now, ahhhh!
I had a weight ticker with a turtle on it, but had to take it down, due to the turtle started going in the wrong direction! 
I'd like to get down to 125 at least. I need to change or I know I'll have a heart attack someday. I truely believe that.
So, my plan is, starting tomorrow, I'm getting my Weigh Watchers stuff out and dusting it off and give it a try. It worked the first time, it was hard the first couple of weeks, but once I got going it wasn't so hard anymore and the greasy food started looking gross. My sister sabotaged that for me cause she wasn't ready and me and my sister are best friends.
Good luck everyone, maybe we can get them to start a weight loss forum for us 
?
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