The Weight Loss Support Group

TOS stands for The Original Series.

I agree that all shapes are beautiful. Who doesn't love lasagna‽

I'm retired military. It was rough that last five years to maintain weight, because we didn't have a greater weight allowance with age. I really resented being such a restricted eater for that time.

It was easy to go wild after retirement (military retirement - I still work) and I did.

Now, I'd like to get it back under control. Being a midsection gainer isn't the best from a heart health POV.

I'm also a carb gainer. I do best with weight loss and maintenance when watching carb intake.

I would love to be part of this, and follow, chiming in now and then, but despite my deperation to lose weight, I am quite depressed, and not sure or ready to jump on the band wagon and commit just yet, but if it's okay to join all you ladies, maybe it will help get me the motivation that I can't even imagine having at this point.

Depression is so ugly

I am loving the brutal honesty in these posts Awesome everyone!

catwoman707 said:

I would love to be part of this, and follow, chiming in now and then, but despite my deperation to lose weight, I am quite depressed, and not sure or ready to jump on the band wagon and commit just yet, but if it's okay to join all you ladies, maybe it will help get me the motivation that I can't even imagine having at this point.

Depression is so ugly

I am loving the brutal honesty in these posts Awesome everyone!

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Welcome aboard, catwoman. The more cheering voices the better 

Hi everyone. I'm Tamela in Australia. I turned 40 in 2011 and I decided to get the body I have always wanted but never had. I ran/ jogged for the first twelve months and it helped. Then this jan 2013 I started counting calories. I lost 6 lb and then started to get back to old habits. Since joining the exercise motivation thread I am back on track. I have another 6lbs to lose and a lot of muscle tone to achieve. I know with some support and motivation I can do it. My weigh in post will be at a different time to you guys I hope that's ok. This week my goal is to bake a slice for my children and only eat one or two pieces instead of eating 3/4 of the whole thing. Good luck everyone. We can do this.

AbbysMom said:

Furmonster Mom said:

So...  no cheese for a week?   *trembles* 

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You can pick something else!

Baby steps.

I love cheese as well.

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Well, I managed to avoid cheese today, but I don't know if I could do it for a week...

*looks through 'fridge & pantry*

hmmm...

yogurt, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, fruits, veggies, chili, lasagne *cheese*, hamburger, hot dogs, ham, ranch dip, mayonaise, salsa, bread, snack bars, chocolate chips, tortilla chips, rice cracker mix, potatoes, oatmeal, coffee...

hot dogs are too easy, there's only 2 left

rice cracker mix is also easy, that's hubby's fave

I could trade off the mayo for ranch dip (homemade, 50% yogurt)

There is not much chili left, and I can foist the lasagne off on Hubby

So that leaves butter, cheese, ham, chocolate chips, and potatoes...

I guess I can forgo my little "midnight treat"... chocolate chips it is.

I loved reading your stories. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

And Furmonster Mom? Star Trek? Really? That's so cool! I love you already!

OK. I'm Pam....and I eat. I love to cook, I love to bake. It's really hard.

I'm a binger....there I've admitted it. I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, I eat when I'm bored. I eat when I read, when I watch tv, when I'm on the computer. I look around the kitchen for something to eat. And I'm not hungry. I think it got really bad when I quit smoking. Substituted one addiction for another. I never had a weight problem....when I got pregnant, I only gained ten pounds. I was never overweight. And then I quit smoking.

About ten years ago, I weighed 196 pounds. I got serious and over about six months or so, I lost 76 pounds (and my gall bladder in the process). I started exercising and walking, and watching everything I ate. And at 120 pounds? I looked like death warmed over. Not good. I figured out that, despite what my doctor says, I should weigh around 135. I'm old, 58 years old, and what may look good at 16 does not look good at 58. So I hung around 130-135 for about 8 years or so. Simply by walking, by watching what I ate, by the daily weighings, etc.

Then I blew my knee out and needed to have it fixed. And it's been all downhill since.....or uphill....with my weight. I started walking again way too soon and way too much and had nothing but trouble with my legs.

I think I have all the kinks (or most of them) worked out in my legs and feet, but I still have to take it easy. I have to be very careful because the tiniest little thing will throw the knee out of whack. Plus I have four blown disks in my lower back, so I can't do a lot of twisting or bending, sudden moves, things like that. For the most part, I walk. And that's fine. Walking is better than nothing. And I dearly love to walk.

So....right now? I'm at 150 pounds (and I told Karen I was not going to admit that!). Not good. Not good at all. During June, I've seen the scales creeping up and that scares me. It's not much, a pound here, a pound there....all adding up.

I don't need to join a gym....I've got a gym in the house! We have a treadmill, an elliptical, Bowflex (with 300 pounds of rods), assorted weights for dumbbells, weight bench with about 300 pounds of weights. And an Ab Lounger. There's no reason for me to look like this!

I need to lose 20 pounds. Again. And I need to get off the roller coaster. And I need to stop binging.....once and for all. I don't know how to do that.

End of confession. And this is the first time that I've ever really confessed anything about this to anybody.

Thank you for reading.

Yay Pam 

lt's great how we've all thrown everything out there. We've laid it out for ourselves to acknowledge, and for each other to see.

l'm thinking really good things are going to happen in this thread. Good luck everyone, we can do this!

Wow - I too appreciate everyone's stories and putting things out there for all to see. It is NOT easy to lose and it is SO easy to gain. And, it can be a sensitive subject for most to open up about - their weight. It seems to be such a battle for a lot of us on a daily basis. I have always been battling with ten to twenty pounds. Recently during our move, I lost about 8 pounds!!! The stress of it caused me to not eat much. I don't eat when I am nervous/sad or stressed. So IF I stay in a constant state of anxiety, then I can lose weight. :nothappy: Lately, I have been very, very happy and settled in our new home so the eating/snacking habits are returning. I just recently started working out again. We have a treadmill and an elliptical that I will use while I watch my soap. I much prefer to be outdoors such as biking/walking or walk/jog. I would like to lose 10 pounds. :cross: Then, I think I would be finally happy and feeling healthy. Plus, looking better in my jeans. :lol3: :cross: :cross:

I am not sure how much I will participate in the thread! But I certainly will cheer you all on from the sidelines hoping to lose a few myself just from your motivation. Great thread!!!!!!!!!!!! :bigthumb:

catwoman - mega to you. Believe me, I do understand how you are feeling. Glad you are here!!!

You all know the challenge doesn't start until Friday, right? :lol3:

So far I have Furmonster's Mom's chest and curlyq's midsection and carb issues. :lol3:

Pam, you still weigh less than me and I bet you are taller. :lol3:

Cat woman, lots of for you.

I was going to quote everyone, but the IPad doesn't like me right now. I may have a full-length pic of me from Christmas on the desktop. I'll have to look. .

Is it to late to join? My husband died two months ago, and he had cancer. The only way he would eat is if I would eat something with him.
Needless to say I gained weight and he lost. Anyhow I Need something to get me feeling good about myself and get me out of this rut. It has been very stressful ,but I am ready to start moving on a little at a time. What better way than to start taking care of myself. After all I have my 12 cats and two dogs who depend on me now.

Hi everyone!

I should start by saying, I love to eat. I've been lucky, and for most of my life managed a good weight... not perfect but good. between my 16-22nd bday I was at 110 pounds and loving it. The only period in my life I had perfect weight. Then I did an internship in the US and gained 20 lbs. When I went back to my home country, I lost 10, and stayed at that for a while... now I've gone waaayyy passed that...

In comparison to some of you, I don't have to lose too much, about 40 lbs, and you might think its easy, but it's not really. I lose SOOOOOO VERYYYYY SLOOOOWLY. The less you have to lose, the slower it gets btw.

My husband and I started about a month ago to really get into dieting. We switched to unsweetened almond milk (btw its really good) and started having 1 salad a day, plus a bowl of fruit. No sodas, no sugary juices. Sugar, is basically banned. Carbs are pretty much too, but I MAAAY eat just half of those flatbreads from cosi with my salad. We're also limiting the size of our meat/chicken and mostly replacing that with red beans, canellini beans and garbanzo beans. Lastly, we're closely monitoring our portions and trying to eat slow. 

One of my favorite recepies is this one: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2012/11/white-bean-chicken-breast-chili-change.html  I only do 1 breast for the both of us. And I add carrots, peppers, celery, if i have squash it goes in there too. At the end he says he adds a bit of sugar, I dont. Would probably be better with it, but for the sake of losing weight... no. 

Im not really counting calories, but I moreless know I'm eating a lot less than what ppl would generally say I should eat, but thats cuz if I do actually eat what they say, I'd gain weight. This week I lost 2lbs. Made me really happy. 

I started going to the gym, and when I did, I was working out for 1 full hour before coming home. I REALLY suggest taking classes, I hate doing the eliptical or treadmill. I feel like time goes by SOOO SLOWLY all i want to do is get off that damn thing and its only been 5 mins. SO my gym has different classes every day, so I take, Zumba, Boot Camp, Tae-bo, Step, Pilates and Muscle Up. I am now going to 2 classes a day, meaning Im doing 2 full hrs. BURNING THOSE CALORIES!!!!!! BUUURNN!! BUURRRNNN!! lol

oh one thing, when I start to get cravings I just think this "Im not working THIS hard for nothing. I either lose weight or lose weight." has helped me so far. 

Originally Posted by Winchester  

I eat. I love to cook, I love to bake. It's really hard.
I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, I eat when I'm bored. I eat when I read, when I watch tv, when I'm on the computer. I look around the kitchen for something to eat. And I'm not hungry.
Then I blew my knee out and needed to have it fixed... I started walking again way too soon and way too much and had nothing but trouble with my legs.

... I have to be very careful because the tiniest little thing will throw the knee out of whack. Plus I have four blown disks in my lower back, so I can't do a lot of twisting or bending, sudden moves, things like that.

For the most part, I walk. And that's fine. Walking is better than nothing. And I dearly love to walk. 

..I've seen the scales creeping up and that scares me. It's not much, a pound here, a pound there....all adding up.

... There's no reason for me to look like this!

I need to lose 20 pounds. Again. And I need to get off the roller coaster. And I need to stop binging.....once and for all. I don't know how to do that.

End of confession. And this is the first time that I've ever really confessed anything about this to anybody.

Thank you for reading.

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Bravo! 

Except for the blown disks, we are almost in the same boat. 

Bad knees run in my family.  Whenever I went hiking, I had to wrap my knees in those athletic support thingies.  A few years ago, I was helping a friend move... long story short; heavy box, missed step, pile drove my knee... meniscus smashed & frayed. 

For me, it's glucosamine and occasional comfrey treatments to the rescue.

I'm a nibbler, too.  And I tend to eat *everything* on my plate (way I was raised). 

A couple years ago, I finally gave myself permission to say, "I'm full", or "I'm not really that hungry".  If I really am that hungry, and my belly is grumbling (and I'm feeling irritable), I try to keep it to a small snack.  The trick seems to be making said snack cheeseless.    Yeah, it also doesn't help that I'm a night owl, and the munchies seem to hit me late at night. 

Feralvr said:

 It is NOT easy to lose and it is SO easy to gain.

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AbbysMom said:

You all know the challenge doesn't start until Friday, right?

 

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Wait... what?! 

12 Cats, I would say come on and join us if you're up for it.  The more support, the better. 

Winchester said:

. And I need to stop binging.....once and for all. I don't know how to do that.

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Me too! I've been a binger since adolescence. So far I've gotten away with it without big weight gains. It's been a real struggle to lose 6lbs so I know I just need to stop before it all catches up on me. I am also excessive in every way. I start to exercise. I go Flat out till i burn out. I start to diet. I obsess about every morsel and then I eat one cookie and then it's fifteen. I usually say if I have one I just can't stop till they are all gone. That's not true. I can stop. I'm gonna do it And you can do it too Pam.

I'm a binge eater. Hence I didn't feel comfortable joining! Just wanted to admit to my food problem as well, for nothing more than an "I get it." And I do!

Tammat said:

Me too! I've been a binger since adolescence. So far I've gotten away with it without big weight gains. It's been a real struggle to lose 6lbs so I know I just need to stop before it all catches up on me. I am also excessive in every way. I start to exercise. I go Flat out till i burn out. I start to diet. I obsess about every morsel and then I eat one cookie and then it's fifteen. I usually say if I have one I just can't stop till they are all gone. That's not true. I can stop. I'm gonna do it And you can do it too Pam.

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Oh my god. If I start eating french fries nothing can stop me................ ><

In true Tamela style I have jumped right in and set myself the hardest challenge first up. So I'm toning it back. My challenge this week is to bake a slice and let it cool completely before I cut into it. Baby steps.

Tamela, what is a slice?

I'm glad I'm not the only binger around....it's been something I've been trying in vain to deal with for a long time now. I do well for several days and then, I don't know, I can't even begin to explain what happens. I have found that it's best to not have that one cookie because it doesn't stop there. Oh, sometimes it does; I'll eat one cookie and then go to bed before I eat more. I've actually slapped my hand when I've reached toward the cookie container. The whole thing is frustrating.

Karen, I don't even have the chest!!! I don't have a butt either, not really. That's probably from all the walking. But I have a stomach....that's where all my weight is. At the worst place to have it.

12cats, I'm so sorry about your husband. Please join in....we'd love to have you with us.

And a  for you, too, catwoman 707. You are welcome here.

Congrats on the 2 pounds, icy! 

So let me get this straight, just so I know what's going on  ........

We will do our initial weigh-in/measurements, etc. this coming Friday, on the 21st? And that's when the challenge will start as well?

Why don't you guys just remove the temptation alltogether. Just don't bake or buy cookies, and all those things that you know are bad for you. and replace them with your favorite fruits. True it might be more expensive, but health comes first no? or if you really need to bake, at least get the whole wheat flour, not the refined white one, and make healthier cookies. 

I'll write more later, but I'm on the desktop and wanted to post this, so here is a fairly unflattering pic of my husband and I at Christmas. I've lost some weight since then, I can't tell you exactly how much and he's lost at least 50 pounds.

I'll be able to start with full steam on July 2nd. I'm taking a short, five day vacation later this month, and am just going to eat whatever.

In the meantime, I'm starting out by getting back into the habit of packing a lunch. I work in a grocery store (Trader Joe's), and if I don't pack lunch, I buy something from the store to eat, which will usually be prepackaged and carby since that's what's easiest and quickest with a 30 minute lunch. I'll probably also save some money by packing lunch. More money for cat food.

After vacation, I plan to start back up with more movement in my life. I get plenty of lifting at work, especially on the 4pm to midnight shifts, but I am super lazy about cardio.

I can relate to the binge eating, as I do this with carby stuff. It's weird. It's like food is just going in and not doing anything, like I'm eating air. I can almost see myself from the outside and wonder what's going on. I'm now keeping string cheese, canned tuna in olive oil, and macadamia nuts on hand as snack food. These types of protein/fat combos don't trigger binge impulses in me, so I'll satisfy the snack urge without losing control.

Feeding me is almost sounding a little like feeding my cat.