Lots to Lose Tribe - January - Page 3

[sosurreal09]

Originally Posted by wendyland 

Originally Posted by sosurreal09 

I have 50lbs to lose is that enough?

I think 50lb is enough.  I edited my first post to state that the tribe is for anyone with 50 lbs or more to lose.  I don't want to be too exclusive, but it IS the lots to lose tribe.  I think the main idea is to have a place where we feel comfortable talking big numbers.  I feel uncomfortable when my skinny friends talk about needing to lose weight.  It's my own poor self-esteem, but I wonder what they must think of me if they think they need to lose.  But, I know I felt fat at 150.

I completely understand! everyone in my family has struggled with weight, including me. Like I said I was 238lbs only 15 months ago. My sis I really worry about she has to be over 300 now. my bro is right around there.

my sister was anorexic at one point and weighed maybe 100lbs. we got her help and she filled out a little, then when my mom passed away (as teens) she lost control and ate to fill the void or something. She has gained about 150+ lbs in 8 years, the biggest concern is she keeps gaining. Shes also bi-polar and very sensitive. She has tried to commit suicide over her weight quite a few times and even more times for other reasons.

I am no stranger to the 200+ lbs and I hope everyone feels comfortable even though I am currently under that. I have no judgments!

BTW so everyone knows I am a total food addict. It is my drug of choice.

[sosurreal09]

Originally Posted by Motivated Mama 

I am completely stressed out and over our financial situation right now. I did a budget this month and since DH and I are both picking up hours, we're going to lose health care and food benefits four our household. I imagine between the stress and lack of money for food, I won't have any problems losing the weight.

we are in the same boat. We havent had insurance in over a year. I think once my unemployment is officially over we can get some help again. The system is so corrupt, people who are really trying to do better and make money and get on their feet get screwed, yet I know some people who work under the table or chose not to work or try and live off everything for the rest of their lives.

not too long go I was in a shelter with DD and they told me I had to work but I made too much for free day-care b/c I would need welfare but I made $400 a month! so they put me on this bogus list and still havent heard anything about help!

anyways it is very tough to not have it. I know through DHs work it cost $600 a month to insure us mid-level as a family! He brings home $1700 a month! so how the heck can we afford that?! we can't.

I don't have a membership anywhere although I think I will look into the community center not far from me. We have one car so it can be hard to do anything really.

In the spring and summer I ride my bike with DD which nearly kills me everyday. oh my gosh am I out of shape.

I keep feeling like I have a 15 m/o and can't even keep the dang house clean how the heck do I find time to work out? I will get there one day  lol for now the diet is enough for me hopefully next week I will be encouraged enough to get off my butt.

[DashsMama]

Hey Everyone! Sorry I've been MIA.  This week has been a busy one so far (started homeschooling my oldest) and it's been hard for me to check back in here.

I don't know how to put a sticky at the top of the thread with everyone's stats, so if someone else knows how to do that and wants to keep track of it, go ahead.  I am weighing myself every Monday and posting my results on "The Jackson's Challenge" on Livestrong.com (It's a group for folks who have 100 #'s plus to lose).  I'll be happy to post them HERE every Monday too, and have others join me if they'd like.  That way we can have an "Official" Lots to Lose weekly roll call.  It would be voluntary, of course, and there would be no judgement.   Here’s my stats so far...

Name: Dashsmama
Start Date:  Aug 28, 2010
Starting Weight: 301.2
Current Weight: 285
Weight Lost: 16.2 pounds (Had lost 20 but gained back 4 pounds over the holidays)
Goal Weight: 150
Plan:  South Beach Diet (calories raised to 2500, as appropriate for my weight), Tracking and monitoring my food intake on The Daily Plate at LiveStrong.com.

I’ll be adding exercise in there eventually, but have had some frustrating injuries and setbacks, so I’m going to add that in slowly.

Shoot, I had more to say but my morning is getting away from me.  I’ll try to check back in here later today.  I hope everyone has a wonderful, stress free and successful day today!  We can do it!

Edited by DashsMama - 1/6/11 at 10:07am

[Hey Mama!]

Name: Brandi
Started: 1/2/11
Goal: first goal is to lose 64lbs by August 13th.  I may decide to stay at this weight if I look good, but if not my second goal is to lose another 25lbs. 

Motivation:Im planning a trip to New Orleans and I want to be in better shape.  I went last year in August and I was so uncomfortable.  Being fat in NOLA in August is horrible.  Also, I've never been at a healthy weight, and I think it's important for my health to lose this fat before I start developing fat related diseases. And, I want to dress in cute clothes!! :)
Plan: exercising 6 days a week at home with Biggest Loser game and Wii fit to start, may add a gym membership after I have dropped some weight.  I'm also eating real whole foods and using sparkpeople to help me stay within my caloric goal range.
Progress: So far, have only lost 1 pound.  I need to be at 2lbs per week to get to my goal.

 

[Motivated Mama]

I'd like to do the Monday weigh-in.

2 people mentioned something about cleaning as exercise. If you actually think about it and work hard while you clean, you can burn some serious calories!

I'm feeling a little bit better about our whole situation, but only because I realize that I am controlling it as much as I can. Most of our debt and income is out of my control and all I can do is pay it down.

What I can control is eating and exercise. I do love exercising! Today, at the gym, I did 25 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes of weights, and then 3.1 miles on the tm (26 minutes of that was jogging; the rest walking). I had a small glass of chocolate milk before going and half a banana after weights, then the other half when I was finished. We got coffee at Tim Hortons (1 cream and sugar, gift card) and then I made my 2 egg garlic cheese omelet again for breakfast. For lunch today, I'm eating another griddle chicken spinach salad and for dinner, venison from DHs coworker.

[wendyland]

I like the idea of a Monday weigh in. 

Also, I don't know if I can add a sticky to the beginning of a thread, but I can add everyone's stats to my first post.  If that's what everyone wants. 

[DashsMama]

Hooray, I made it back!

So I've been back on my program since Jan 1st and everything seems to be going well.  I've gotten over the initial few days of cravings and have settled into my diet.  I've done a good job of logging my food after each meal and have stayed within my calories.  So, when I sneaked a peek on the scale this morning, I was a little perturbed to see a small gain.  I know at my weight that a small fluctuation is nothing to worry about, but it sure is discouraging.  It sure would have been nice to see a loss instead of a gain.  There are a couple things that I can pinpoint that may account for the increased weight.  One, I have been eating a fair amount of salt, so I could be retaining water.  Two, I'm not eating any grain right now, so I am eating much less fiber than usual and am not as regular as a result.  Three, my scale sucks.  It's new, but is finicky.  I've weighed myself fully dressed then taken off my clothes and weighed myself naked and the scale will say the same weight again.  My clothes probably weigh 3 to 5 pound by themselves, so it should change.  Anyway, I don't need any advice.  I just wanted to moan about it.

On kind of a serious note...

I did want to request that we try to refrain from questioning and judging other people's dieting methods on this thread.  There are many ways that people can lose weight.  What works for me may not work for you and vice versa.  I would really like this to be a supportive, non-judgemental thread, where we can come, relax and share what's up, and not worry about being attacked, judged or feel like we have to justify doing what we're doing.  Lord knows, most of us have already been judged harshly by society at large, and many of us have our fair share of self loathing to overcome too.  So please be gentle with each other, and leave any criticisms at the door.  Thanks for listening.

Have a terrific day, mamas!  Try and take one more step towards wellness and healing today.  You know what you need to do!

[abbylotus]

Wow! I am super out of shape. I've always been a big girl but I used to be able to do so much more then I can right now. I am at my all time highest weight so I am sure that has a lot to do with it, but, geez, is it ever frustrating! I could just cry. I realize it's going to be a work in progress but I'm feeling very weepy about things. I can't believe I let myself get to this point. I had to go to Target today and buy some more black yoga pants to supplement my other black yoga pants just so I would have something to fit me when classes start on Monday. Ugh. I feel totally unnattractive and invisible. Oh, just another fat lady. Ok. I am sorry for the pity party but I just had to vent. All my friends are MUCH thinner then I am so I don't have anyone who understands. I told my mom this morning how much I weigh and her answer was to get bariatric surgery. UH. I am not having surgery. I didn't get this way over night so I know it's not going to come off over night. I just need mindful, kind support. Thank you for this thread!

[DashsMama]

Here's a big ol' cyber hug for you, Abbylotus!  I totally know the feeling.  I often wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to keep moving and eat better so I never get to this point.  But reality is what it is, unfortunately.  All we can do is be kind to ourselves and make today the day we make the changes we should have made months or years ago.  We'll get there eventually, we just have to be patient and loving with ourselves and keep plugging along.

Just a correction to something I wrote up thread...My daily calorie goal is 2072 now, not 2500.  For some reason I can't go back and successfully edit my other post.  Gotta love computer glitches.

[ButtonGirl]

Originally Posted by abbylotus 

Wow! I am super out of shape. I've always been a big girl but I used to be able to do so much more then I can right now. I am at my all time highest weight so I am sure that has a lot to do with it, but, geez, is it ever frustrating! I could just cry. I realize it's going to be a work in progress but I'm feeling very weepy about things. I can't believe I let myself get to this point. I had to go to Target today and buy some more black yoga pants to supplement my other black yoga pants just so I would have something to fit me when classes start on Monday. Ugh. I feel totally unnattractive and invisible. Oh, just another fat lady. Ok. I am sorry for the pity party but I just had to vent. All my friends are MUCH thinner then I am so I don't have anyone who understands. I told my mom this morning how much I weigh and her answer was to get bariatric surgery. UH. I am not having surgery. I didn't get this way over night so I know it's not going to come off over night. I just need mindful, kind support. Thank you for this thread!

I am so with you abbylotus!  I went to visit my parents for Christmas, and it's always a slap in the face to see how much they judge me for being fat...definitely not an encouragement!  I just know I feel like this almost every day...but being here with others in the same boat really is encouraging.

Celebration for today - I had lots of veggies for dinner! :)  (growing up as a veggie hater, this is always quite a step for me!)
 

[sosurreal09]

We have to love ourselves despite whatever it is we weigh. It totally sucks when people judge us though!

I always get that from my grandmother..."hunny, you really thickened out again huh?" or "you shouldn't dress like that you are too big/that won't look good on you"

errrrrr

I am frikin starving today DD is going through a little growth spurt and had been nursing like crazy and I have AF and I ate 2 1/2 muffins I wasn't suppose to (they were homemade though and super healthy) but now I already ate dinner and am starving...I want a pint of coconut ice cream!

[wendyland]

Kami - do you make or buy your coconut ice cream?  I've never had it, but it sounds good.  (Ok, I shouldn't be talking or thinking about ice cream)

I went 100 over my calories today and double the amount of carbs that I wanted.  That's what I get for eating at work twice today.  I really should have had a better plan.  I had to give blood and felt like I needed carbs.

I actually feel good that I was only 100 over.  I thought it was going to be worse.  I didn't want to log my calories today, but I came to this thread & got motivated to do it anyway.  Yeah!! The thread is helping.

[motherhendoula]

Thats funny  - ok more sad than funny...but my Grandmother used to be the most critical of me too ....when i was in Elementary school she would poke me in the stomach before hugging or kissing me hello and ask 'what i was going to do about this' 

I couldnt imagine a worse life than the one i had - being 20 lbs overweight!  lol - lord what i would give up to be ONLY 20 lbs overweight again!

OK - dont mean to bring the mood down - i think this is great to have cyber-support and i agree with whomever suggested the Monday AM weigh in.  Once a week is a good measure - every day creates obsessive behaviors - and once a month is not often enough to ensure that whatever plan we are on is WORKING.   Looking forward to Monday!

[just_lily]

How accurate do you think the scale is in Wii Fit?  Because according to that I have lost nearly 4lbs since Monday.  Is that even possible?  I swear I am not starving myself or anything, just making better choices and not allowing myself to eat non-stop from 7pm until I go to bed. 

I will be very encouraged if this is true, but I am not so sure.  Maybe I should start tracking on my bathroom scale as well.  I'll probably have to get new batteries it has been so long since I have used it! 

I also just want to tell everyone not to be discouraged if a gym membership or fancy equipment aren't in your financial future any time soon.  You really don't need any of that to lose weight.  Sure it can be nice, but entirely not necessary.  When I was in university I lost 40lbs and maintained it for three years just by walking/running (first walking.... eventually running) and by doing some strength training using some cheap hand weights I picked up at Wal-Mart.  You could probably find a set even cheaper second hand, or just ask around and maybe someone has a set collecting dust in their basement they would be happy to give you.  Eventually I picked up a couple of pilates DVDs (also for cheap) and a jump rope.  (But I will be honest - if I tried to jump rope now I would probably go into cardiac arrest!!)  So it really doesn't have to cost a lot.  Your best investment is probably a pair of runners.

[Motivated Mama]

Judy - I agree about the non-judgmental thread Re: scale. I find for me that it takes a few days for the scale to show my efforts. For example, since I started exercising and dieting, I maintained for DAYS, then yesterday, 5 pounds dropped, just like that I think only counting it once a week or once a month will help with seeing progress. I'll say again that I really like the idea of the Monday weigh-in.

abby - that sucks that your mom said that about the bariatric surgery. I went out last night with some friends and the topic of weight came up. Not all my friends are skinny, so when I said that I had a lot of weight to lose, they were like, "You're not that big." So then another friend of mine asked me to guess what she weighed and she would guess what I weighed. She's 5'8" so I told her I would add 15 pounds to how I thought she looked to adjust for the height. I guessed 185 and she's 205. She then subtracted 15 from what she thought I would weight (to adjust for height) and put me at 160 They were pretty shocked when I told them I was 215 and told me it was all "boob"

lily - I think the scale is probably accurate. Like I mentioned above, sometimes you don't see any weight loss for awhile and then, boom, there it is. For example, there is something like 5 pounds of food (digested and undigested) in your body at any one time. When I juicefeasted, I was informed to expect a 5 pounds weight gain following the feast when introducing solids back into my diet.

Speaking of juicefeasting, I'm going to do juice days on Saturdays when I work 12 hour shifts. I mix spinach/apple/cucumber/celery in a Blendtec blender and strain it through a nutmylk bag. The website with juices can be found here. This will be good for me because Saturdays are going to be my day off from exercising.

[abbylotus]

Well, since we're not judging anybody......I totally binged last night and this morning. In fact, I didn't sleep. I feel disgusting and disappointed with myself. On the bright side, I am going to climb right back on that horse. I have a veg and bean soup in the crock pot. I think the reason why I binged is because I was such a mess yesterday emotionally with my mother's comment and then my DH told me he's going to start working 5pm to 5am shifts 7 days/wk for this semester, my in laws (who babysit my kids when I'm in class) told me they are going to go on a month long cruise and I would have to make other arrangements for child care, which I can't afford. I'm just stressed...so I took it out on a large french fries, peanut butter, and sausage and egg with cheese breakfast sandwiches. Hmph. Oh, I also ate some wheat thins, too. Back on that horse.

[Hey Mama!]

I use the wii balance board as my primary scale.  I think it's pretty accurate-much more so than my cheapy bathroom scale.  The wii fit weighs me at about 5lbs heavier than the bathroom scale but each one is going down the same amount of pounds.  I have lost 3 lbs since Monday and like you have not been starving myself, I just stocked my house with better food and am making better choices and keeping a detailed log on sparkpeople.  I'm slightly amazed that it is pretty easy, makes me confident that I can continue this for the long haul.

I also agree with you about working out at home. I have been using the wii and Biggest Loser game that I bought used, as well as incorporating some workouts streamed through Netflix.  I found a dance one yesterday that is only 15 minutes, and used it after my yoga session on the BL.  Oh, and I exercise barefoot.  It just is more comfortable for me that way. 
 

Originally Posted by just_lily 

How accurate do you think the scale is in Wii Fit?  Because according to that I have lost nearly 4lbs since Monday.  Is that even possible?  I swear I am not starving myself or anything, just making better choices and not allowing myself to eat non-stop from 7pm until I go to bed. 

I will be very encouraged if this is true, but I am not so sure.  Maybe I should start tracking on my bathroom scale as well.  I'll probably have to get new batteries it has been so long since I have used it! 

I also just want to tell everyone not to be discouraged if a gym membership or fancy equipment aren't in your financial future any time soon.  You really don't need any of that to lose weight.  Sure it can be nice, but entirely not necessary.  When I was in university I lost 40lbs and maintained it for three years just by walking/running (first walking.... eventually running) and by doing some strength training using some cheap hand weights I picked up at Wal-Mart.  You could probably find a set even cheaper second hand, or just ask around and maybe someone has a set collecting dust in their basement they would be happy to give you.  Eventually I picked up a couple of pilates DVDs (also for cheap) and a jump rope.  (But I will be honest - if I tried to jump rope now I would probably go into cardiac arrest!!)  So it really doesn't have to cost a lot.  Your best investment is probably a pair of runners.

[just_lily]

Originally Posted by abbylotus 

Well, since we're not judging anybody......I totally binged last night and this morning. In fact, I didn't sleep. I feel disgusting and disappointed with myself. On the bright side, I am going to climb right back on that horse. I have a veg and bean soup in the crock pot. I think the reason why I binged is because I was such a mess yesterday emotionally with my mother's comment and then my DH told me he's going to start working 5pm to 5am shifts 7 days/wk for this semester, my in laws (who babysit my kids when I'm in class) told me they are going to go on a month long cruise and I would have to make other arrangements for child care, which I can't afford. I'm just stressed...so I took it out on a large french fries, peanut butter, and sausage and egg with cheese breakfast sandwiches. Hmph. Oh, I also ate some wheat thins, too. Back on that horse.

Wow, that is a lot to take in! 

Is your husband really going to work 12-hour shifts, overnight, every day??  Am I reading that wrong? 

As for your babysitting, how many hours do you need childcare?  Is it all day, or just a few hours?  Do you have any friends who could help you out in exchange for a promise to return the favour?  From your sig it looks like your children are older so that should make it easier - it is less work to have an 8yo over than a 1yo for instance.  I would even approach the mothers of their school friends to ask for help.  I find most people are very willing to help, but you have to be willing to ask. 

As for the binging I am sure you won't be the only one.  No judgment!  But maybe we should have a discussion about alternatives to emotional eating.  What works for people?  I am thinking it might be helpful to have a list on my fridge or something - make a plan before I need it!

[DashsMama]

Must have been something in the air yesterday.  I was exhausted after our afternoon carpool yesterday and drove through a fast food place for a pick-me-up.  I ended up going over my calorie limit, and eating a bunch of carbs too.  I'm trying to not beat myself up about it, and am back on plan today. 

Take it easy on yourself today, abbylotus, and get some sleep if you need it.  One setback does not a failure make.  You can do this!

[sosurreal09]

I totally need tips for not binging! I have serious issues with that.

I usually buy the so delicious coconut ice cream. its really good. if you watch the portion its not that bad either.

DH forbade me from going to the store to buy some last night. I literally threw a fit...IDEK what the truck is wrong with me that I totally lost it b/c I wanted ice cream...

he stole my keys and said "you'll thank me later"

yeah like he knows what it's like he can not gain weight! seriously he can down 2x more than me yet never gain he's almost 6ft and 135lbs...hes a scrawny guy...im pissed lol