A Challenge.........as we enter into the "Traditional Weight Gaining Season"

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Originally Posted by Madilyn A.

Julie, First congrats on losing 5#s since Thanksgiving. That's a major accomplishment to my way of thinking !!.........For me, last year when I was successful in losing some 55 lbs in 2 months, I would have some of my fat foods only on Sunday, never any other day. Also would only have 1 beer on Sunday, no other day. It worked for me then, hopefully I have the constitution to see it through again !!.....Good luck Julie.

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Thanks Madilyn. It was tougher than I though it would be. I lost 30 lbs in 2009, looking to lose another 30 lbs this year (I'm dreaming about making it 40, but we'll see). What has alwys killed me was the cheating. My friend told me to pick a day, go shopping for the things you want, and really enjoy it. He says that if you never allow for a fat day, when you cheat you go way over the top and create a yo-yo affect on your weight. By setting one day aside it gives you something to look forward to and makes it easier to turn down "goodies" when you're not supposed to have then

Ok, so here I go again. 181 to 187 over thanksgiving, back to 181, and this last week up to 186. With no holidays in sight, it's dive! dive! dive!

tina

Thank heavens for this thead! When we began I weighted in at 236.5. By the 23rd of December (wife's birthday adn the official start to our Holiday Season) I was 228.5. Now I am 234 after the Holidays. So since the start of this thread I've lost 2 lbs! If it weren't for this I be at 242.5. So I am happy! I'm back on the diet until my birthday in March, so here we go!

Oh Lucky me! In just one day during the holiday I lost 3 lbs! Well, thanks to our friendly world of communicable diseases ie: NOROVIRUS. The whole family got hit, and I was hit especially hard. I haven't been that violently sick in a long time. Who knew there was that much stuff inside me! Oh well, lost my appetite through the new year and lost an additional 2 lbs for a total of 5 lbs that I lost before today.

Wanna lose weight real fast? Find someone with the Norovirus AKA Norwalk virus and you are in for a real weight loss session!

I've been a bad girl, too, Jennifer! Up to 202.8 ..... but determined to get healthy. To the basement, and exercise bike, right now.

Ginger, Ouch !! Not a favorite weight loss technique. But remember, it's not wheather you win or LOSE, it's how you play the game !!...NOT !!

Well I have been a bad girl lately. The last time I weighed my self I was 173.4 I know I gained back some of my weight this last week but tomorrow I go back to work and back to getting to losing my weight and I will not stop until I lose 15 pounds. So I will keep posting my updates throughout this new year.

I went to the gym to do a little cardio after a couple of weeks off over Christmas. So after a lack of exercise and an excess of food and drink (and a chesty cold that has been hanging around for about three weeks) I expected to, have put on a bit of weight. I was shocked to see I'd lost about 0.5kg (or 1lb) which makes me 59.5kg (quick thumbnail conversion, that's about 130lb). Still feel fat though

At the start of the New Year I also started logging everything that I eat or drink into Cron-o-meter (calorie tracking software that is a free download). KNowing that I'm "counting" everything I take in has (in this short few days) done great deal for my willpower.

I have NO IDEA how u LOSE over the holidays! :eek:

I did MUCH better than expected!:D
After totally pigging out over the holidays and "game day", new years day, I only put on 5 pounds!:straightface: Expected to put on closer to 10!

So, I'm up to 155. I'll be down to 150 again in 2 weeks! Then, it's back to my continuing quest to equal the weight I was on my first, age 16 driver's license! 145!:brolleyes:

Well, this morning down 2 lbs. from yesterday :thumbsup:...... The food intake was :1,003 calories, 33.7 grams of fat, 101.0 grams of carbs, and 60.9 grams of protein. I am using www.fitday.com to log my food intake and weight loss.......Let's see how you all are doing ?

I lost another 2 lbs, so I'm 230. However yesterday I gave blood and that weights 1 lb so I really dropped 1 lb. Of course after giving blood I am very hungry so I ate a lot of friut and raw veggies. This morning I had an easy weight workout but still got light headed so I cut it short, and I didn't do cardio. Guess when you get older the loss of that much blood is harder to recover from. When I was in my 30s I would give blood in the morning and run in the evening so for all you youngsters givng blood should not bother you.

If you can I urge you to give blood. After the holidays the blood supplies are down and they need to build them up. When you give blood you help so many people with just one donation. So if you can please donate!

Hugs,

Down another 2 lbs, net loss this week 5 lbs........ Yesterday, caloric intake about 1100 calories. Included was 2 Miller Lights, 1 glass of red wine. Didn't feel hungry at all. I think I am focused on my goals and should have no problem dropping the 22 lbs....... I am curious as to how everyone else is doing ?

Wenr out to dinner last night with my wife since neither one of us wanted to cook. Ate a bit too much but only gained 1/2 lb, so I'm at 230.5.

I'll play too. What great motivation! I could stand to loose 20 or 30 pounds.

For some reason yesterday I was hungry all the time. I ate a lot except it was friuts, nuts and veggies durning the day. At dinner we had pasta (the 3rd day in a row). That evening I had 3 pieces of candy. After that it was time for bed. Perhaps I felt like that because it was cold and snowy most of the day and I was trying to stay warm by filling up. This morning I gained only 1/2 lb so it wasn't that bad.

So far today I not hungry at all, how strange is that?

Hugs

I lost five pounds over the holidays. I'm down to 198 morning weight. I would love to hit 175 which was my weight in the military and for several years thereafter. I read the back of the beer cans and saw 175 calories-same for soda pop. I have to just eat less. Hopefully the spring will be early for I can start moving dirt around for several hours a day. That's a weight loss program that produces tangible results, even if I do not lose some pounds.

Great progress! Congrats to all my girlfriends here. You're outstanding!
I'm definitely inspired by you. 202.8 on New Year's day. Cut my calories down to an average of 1500 per day (heavy on protein), and cut out my beloved beers ( ;( ). Added 30 minutes on the exercise bike or rower .... and was shocked at the result. Down to 193.6 this morning. And I have not felt all that hungry either.

Keep up the good work, chickas!!

Lynne, Your post is inspiring to all of us. Wow, congratulations ! I am only down this morning by 3 lbs., but have some great dresses to get into; so, thanks again for the inspiration. Hugs Maddy

Thanks Maddy! I think my biggest problem in 2010 was that in December I had fallen into a routine of having ~4 beers after work ... almost every day .... not such a good idea, for more than 1 reason, I suppose. I think my body is wondering where all those calories have gone ;)

Lynne, My problem as well, a few beers each day, well sometimes a few more than a few as well. Hoagies, cheese steaks, and pizza don't help either....But I am inspired after seeing how well you have done....BTW, a few photos might serve to inspire us even more !!!

Whoa!! Andrea to cool 9# loss wow, I think I'm up 2 more Geeeeeze, this looks hopeless for me, congrats to all of the girls with will power! and hasta-la-veast Baby to the poundage you've lost, love ya Jenni

Last summer I was down to 85 kg [188 lbs]. Then when the weather cooled down I got up to 89 kg [195 lbs]. This morning I weighed myself, and it was 87 kg [192 lbs].

Those numbers are so much better than in July 2009 I weighed 104 kg [228 lbs].

My type 2 diabetes is under much better control at my lower weight. I still would like to get down to 80 kg [175 lbs].

My wife hassles me about my losing weight; she says I am being really vain. After losing weight I finally have a figure with breasts and hips, and my wife teases me about my "tits".

So, I did not gain weight over the holidays.

We have to dump the old colonial units and go to modern SI units.

Johanna

Well it sounds like everyone is on the right track OUTSTANDING. I got back to work and started working out there by climbing the stairs at work for 25 minutes and eating correctly I have not gotten back on the scale yet but I will tomorrow and let everyone know. Let's keep this up and in no time we will all be thiner women.

Hi again. So I fell off the wagon for a couple days this past week. You know how I had gotten down to 169 on Jan 1, right? Well, by Thursday I had ballooned up to 172 because I had lots and lots of delicious celebration foods and drink. I just received a solid job offer to create my ideal program at a top tier university, to begin in June when I finish my current responsibilities.

I've started and run businesses before, and have run academic programs. I enjoy doing them both because I find them to be satisfying, challenging, creative endeavors. Now I get to combine those two things I enjoy with a field of study that has been my passion for the past 20 years, but which I never expected might receive institutional support.

Yahoo! Let the celebrations begin! And the first one was immediately afterwards with a HUGE juicy bacon and bleu cheese burger and fries, accompanied by "one bourbon, one scotch, and one bee-eer"! Hahaha! Even in a high-rent district I can be a low-rent girl sometimes! It was a hoot.

I'm back down to 167.5 now, basically through barely eating and staying active these past couple days, but I just had to tell you all what's been going on and why I haven't been on here as much this past week. Yay! :cheer:

I think I've had one or more of these :angel: working on my behalf, because this event makes me :bs:.

Hugs,

Rachel

Ratchel, Congrats on the diet, and more importantly congratulations on your new endeavor. I wish you the very best !!

Congratulations, Rachel!! Great news o the job, your celebration, and the weight. Nice work, girl!!

Well over the holidays I gained about 2 pounds but now I have lost that and 3 more pounds down to 205. At the rate im going i might get under 200 in a few weeks. I think it has been at least 10 years since I have seen that.

Two weeks ago we were having dinner at a friends house, and even though I was on vacation, I was still thinking about losing weight. So I had a reasonable portion for dinner and my wife said that i "eat like a girl". I think she was making fun of me

Thanks Maddie and Lynne. I'm still flying about this new opportunity, to the point I haven't been able to think of hardly anything else. I even spent a full day travelling out of town just to talk for a couple hours with a friend who's done similar things at another school, rather than stick around home to do the regular tasks I know need doing.

Still, it's also motivating me to get off my duff and get stuff done! Including getting my body in shape; fit and healthy so I can function at my best, and curvilicious so I can enjoy my bits of down time. After all this dieting I'm starting to see a waist again. That hasn't happened in years! Sorta like Gwenbeth, we are both reaching places we haven't seen in a while.

~Rachel

Late congratulations Rachel, sounds great for you.

Well, after being back on my "diet" for a week I've dropped 4 lbs. All I am doing is cutting down on my portions. I'm not missing anything that I enjoy eating or drinking. I'm just not eating or drinking as much. I'm only going to record my weigth on Monday mornings as I used to do. I may jump on the scale to take a peek but will only count what I weight on Mondays.

So now I'm 230 and hopefully by next week I'll drop a couple of lbs.

Here is a web site with lots of cool stuff for diet and exercise some of you my know it but for those who don't go check it out www.livestromg.com

Hugs, Dana

Just want to bump this up. Let's not forget our challenge. I'm holding at 230, been out in the cold a lot shoveling snow. When I get inside i am famished and eat, a lot! So holding is good. Going to eat Mexican tonight got to be careful since I love it.

I've been holding steady at 194 for several days now, but am OK with that. I, too, am watching portion control

My wife and I call it ELAG (Eat Like A Girl) ;) You can tell I used to be in the military ;)

Logging every thing I eat does help me to control how much I eat. I guess I know I'll feel doubly guilty f I have to enter data that shows I'm not ELAGing

Keep it up!!!

For me, still about 234. I am having a most difficult time losing this year ! I had Avodart proscribed, already have Flomax. Maybe not enough T in my system. Just can't figure it out. But somehow I am going to get into a gown my wife used once and gave to me. I need to drop 20 lbs. Perhaps some before and after photos. I have plenty of "before" right now, and "afters" from before. Got that !!

Had Mexican last night and loved it. I had the "special" two flour tortillas (huge) stuffed with chicken, lightly fried, covered with salsa and a cheese sauce. With LARGE servings of rice and beans. I immediately asked for a box and put half of it in it. I also didn't pig out on the chips before the meal. I did drink a Negra Modello, loive it. I ate the rice and beans I took home for my mid day snack and am going to have the tortilla for lunch. Oh, by the way my weight stayed the same overnight.

One thng I want to pass on is that inorder to lose weight you must eat. Most recommend 5-6 small meals a day. That way you not get hungry and you don't get into what I call "starving mode". Our ancestrers often went long periods with out food, at times hunting wasn't very good. Our bodies learned to "feast or famine" by slowing down our metabolism when food wasn't avaiable and speeded it up when it was. So if we go on a "starvation diet" we give our bodies signals to slow down the metabolism. This makes us retain out fat stores which is what we don't want.

You've got to eat to lose weight. So girls keep eating, just not so much!

Hugs,

Well even though Im a new member and didn't know about this challenge as described here, I did set a weight loss goal around Halloween and am glad to say I made progress. I am 6 feet tall and around halloween I was around 180 lbs. Now as of today I am 154 lbs. I want to lose more (Just a few pounds short of being able to see the underside of my belly just by looking down) but my Dr. is telling me I could now stand to gain a few. :D

CDona, All I can say is wow !! At 6' tall and 154 lbs, with such a beautiful face, sweetie you could be one of the hotties'. Keep posting and show us what 6' and 154 lbs. look like.

I had a doctor appointment this morning for a regular check up and the scale kind of shock me 163 lbs its the heaviest I've been probably in my life. It is estrange because always my weight tend to be stable around the low to mid 150's. I may need my hormone levels check again probably my T levels are getting too low again or my thyroid is getting out of whack but anyway I will starting working out and checking what to eat more careful.

OK,OK, I have nothing good to report still hang'n round the 205 mark, or maybe I do, the fact I'm not going up in weight,has to be a good thing right, hey so life is good!! I feel better all ready, I think there's a piece of cake with my name on it out in the kitchen, I'll check-in in a week. Jenni

I've stayed the same, 230lbs. that is good since I've been a bit lax in keeping my food portions small.

I'm down another 6 pounds... due to a lovely case of the flu. As it stands now I'm down 11 of the 30 I wanted to drop. Not the way I wanted to do it though.

cdona..almost 30lbs in 3 months???? WOOOWWWW!!!! How did you do that with all the holidays foods and cold weather??? Hints to pass on? That is great..

No I didn't raise my hand at the start of the thread as I have taken a big turn to not being as active since leaving the military and not working..bad excuse, I know..but I did one posititve thing..I bought that contraption that is mean enough to tell you what your not doing..yes, a scale. When I was active duty, we had fitness training first thing in the morning and I would jump on the scale before and after.. well okay, I lost part of the battle :( Gained 20lbs in 2 yrs (165 to 185). So the goal is to lose it again.. well how am I doing? uhhh fluxuating between 2-3 lbs. At least I'm not gaining.. that is what the scale reminds me, now I have to listen to the other voice that says get out and be active :)

I commend each of you on making the decision and wish you all the best of luck.. keep the faith :)

Hugs,
Marissa

I'm in. My goal is to lose another 20#. Once upon a time (6-7 years ago) I got careless and my weight ballooned to 267. I've knocked off 32 pounds over the past five or so years, but would really like to get back below 220.

One comment - I don't think daily weight measurement is entirely reliable. Its prone to variation depending on fluid intake and exercise. I can drop 4 pounds in an intense workout. But it all comes back the next day. So, I'll track myself on a weekly basis - stealing a glance at the scale now an then between offical weigh ins!

Keep it up ladies!

And a tip for you if you do weigh yourself daily (which I do): Weigh yourself at the same time every day (preferably as soon as you wake up ..... and "in all your glory") and you'll get some useful data.

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Originally Posted by BARBARA_MELENDEZ

I had a doctor appointment this morning for a regular check up and the scale kind of shock me 163 lbs its the heaviest I've been probably in my life. It is estrange because always my weight tend to be stable around the low to mid 150's. I may need my hormone levels check again probably my T levels are getting too low again or my thyroid is getting out of whack but anyway I will starting working out and checking what to eat more careful.

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Well keep working at it. I am and have been hitting the treadmill, elip and bike for 1hr every day now since jan 1. Unfortunately have only dropped 5 pounds. Grrrr but that is the way it goes. Got 25 to hit my goal of 165.
Sarah

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Originally Posted by Andrea's Lynne

Keep it up ladies!

And a tip for you if you do weigh yourself daily (which I do): Weigh yourself at the same time every day (preferably as soon as you wake up ..... and "in all your glory") and you'll get some useful data.

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Same here Lynne it is a great idea that a trainer told me to do a couple of years ago.
Sarah

Ok, for the third time in this thread I have gotten rid of the holiday bulge and I made it back to 181!!!! Now, can we continue on this track?

I'm working hard at it!

tina

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Originally Posted by Andrea's Lynne

Keep it up ladies!

And a tip for you if you do weigh yourself daily (which I do): Weigh yourself at the same time every day (preferably as soon as you wake up ..... and "in all your glory") and you'll get some useful data.

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I'll add that day-to-day readings mean little, usually reflecting the weight of the previous nights' dinner. Keep a record and look for overall trends. I started to weigh daily when I found out to my dismay that I had broken the 190 barrier. I'm now hovering in the mid 170s and would like to get back to my college weight of 168.

Just did my weekly weight check. 161!! I'm getting close to my goal and to the point where my wife is starting to forbid me to lose any more weight.

Way to go, Jocelyn!! That's inspiring (and I could use a bit of inspiration with all these grey days and snow fall!)

I seem to have lost my motivation or focus this month. During December I kept holding the idea of losing weight while facing the challenges of holiday food, and that's what kept me going. Now in January it's been like, "No holidays? No motivation!"

I started the month at 169, and somehow got up to 173. I'm back down to 167 now, but I think I need to refocus how I'm going to do this. I'd had the idea of dieting and losing weight over just a couple/few months then being able to revert to most of my previous eating patterns to simply maintain that weight. Now I don't think that's going to work.

It's like I have to create a new way of relating to food in order to bring in a long-term eating pattern. I'd been doing the close-to-starvation diet occasionally and that's just not healthy or enjoyable to maintain. Plus, as Dana mentioned, the body rapidly adapts to that and stops burning fuel as readily. It was weird. When I started eating more snacks during the day (nuts and such) I started losing weight again. Thanks Dana, your tip really helped.

Anyway, I'm not sure what eating plan to put in place yet, but I just realized I'd bookmarked a lot of dieting recipe and lo-cal recipe websites that I haven't been using. I like the idea of adding more flavorful and visually satisfying meals to my diet, so I can have a longer lasting, healthful, and sustainable manner of eating.

~Rachel