FRESH START GROUP WEEK 2 (sorry group closed at this time to new members)

Hello ladies!  I hope you are all ready to begin week 2 of our new lifestyles! 

I hope that tomorrow each of you will weigh-in and all of your hard work will pay-off in the form of a lower number! 

As promised, I wanted to get the new forum posted early this week so that you could prepare yourselves for this week's goals and have the new forum ready first thing in the morning for you early bird posters!

Last week we worked on tracking all of our food and drinks and aimed to stay within our Eat Meter number; we aimed to work-out in some form at least 3 days; and we all shared our 5 reasons to REALLY do this and make long term lifestyle changes. 

This Week’s Goals (remember, the goals are collective, we are adding to last week’s goals in hopes of eventually reaching a completely healthy lifestyle!):

Food:   WATER! WATER! WATER!  Water does so many amazing things for the body and really will help take those pounds off…so let’s make sure to get our 8 – 8oz glasses (or more) each day this week.

Exercise:  Let’s all add the equivalent of one more workout this week…you chose one more day this week for 4 days or add time each of your 3 days to equal one more work-out (i.e. instead of 3 – 30 minutes work-outs do 3 – 40 minutes work-outs OR 4 days at 30 minutes).  

Mental: I think last week’s goal was so important that I would like for each of you to take a minute to reflect on your 5 reasons, then write them down – put them on sticky notes and put them in random places where you will come across them from time to time to refresh you on what your focus is…when temptation gets strong and all you want is that piece of cake pull out a copy of your 5 reasons and ask yourself…will this cake (insert other high calorie food that you love) help me reach any of these goals?

Now for this week – let’s discuss how we got here.  Take some time and dig deep…list the top 3-5 reasons how you got here, to an unhealthy, unhappy weight.    

I would also encourage those of you who have not already started a photo journal to do so…I am a BIG fan of before and after pictures, I am very a visual person…seeing is believing! 

Ladies, I am looking forward to another week with you all and cannot wait to hear about all of your successes! 

(ps - for the Monday weigh-ins you are welcome to post as much information as you want but you will only need to post total weight lost last week (and new weight if you want) we are posting measurements only once a month, next measurement posting will be mid-August)

First one posting  today. My new weight is 207, so down 2 pounds from last week. I'm happy about that. I'm also happy I got my 3 days of exercise in last week and I have had no problem staying within my cal. allotment. (except for the carrot cake) I will try to get more exercise this week but at the moment it is so hot here that outside activities are difficult.

Rach how did you do at the movies? I read on a post here at  CC that there are 1650 cals in a medium movie popcorn because they pop it in oil. Not sure if it is true but if it is...

I'm not going to weigh until Friday.  I drank a little this weekend and don't want to see that water weight on my scale!!!  This weeks goal for me?  NO DRINKING... although Friday is Girls Night Out and I will drink then =) 

My interviews went well.  I'm not sure if I got the jobs, but one of the attorneys referred me over to his friends office because he thought I was 'too advanced' for the position he was offering.  Word =)

I really like the idea of the sticky notes =)

Well, I did horribly last week and did not meet one single goal on the list.  But the good news is that I'm back on it and I'm not giving up.  I thought multiple times yesterday about how today was the beginning of a new week and I was going to do better from now on.  So I've eaten decently today (hope I don't mess that up tonight) and I'm thinking positively.

I forgot to weigh myself this morning but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that I didn't lose any weight last week! :)  I'll be lucky if I didn't gain.

Liz, you are doing a great job with your weekly threads.  I'm so proud to call you my diet partner and my friend!

I'll weigh myself when I get home tonight, I forgot to this morning :( I have the scale down in the basement to try to make sure I don't obsess and step on it all the time... but then its not there and available when I get up! By the time I go downstairs my hair is wet from my shower and I'd like to think that adds some weight :P I think maybe I'll move it to the guest room upstairs... accessible but not in my face.

I didn't end up going on my evening cruise this weekend b/c my husband had really bad migraine headaches on Saturday :( I was disappointed I missed out.. and it was non-refundable. Oh well. I guess that's less bad food and drinks. We did go out to lunch this week, to Uno Chicago Grill. As we were walking in I was trying to think of what may be best to eat - when my husband pointed out a sign about them being one of the healthiest restaurants or something. They even had a computer set up at the front of the restaurant where you could access nutrition info! All the main dishes seemed to be 2 servings, so when I got my plate I divided it in two to bring the rest home. And I got chicken stuffed with broccoli, spinach, and tomatoes, with steamed broccoli as a side dish (there was also cheese in there, and my other side was mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon on top... but I'm going to focus on the positive - I chose chicken with some veggies instead of chicken fingers, and broccoli instead of fries! not what I would have done a month ago..)

Well I'll be back later tonight with my weight, have a great afternoon (or whatever time of day it may be for you - I live on the east cost of the US so its 2pm almost right now)

--Erin

Hi FRESH STARTERS!  Does 0.3 of a pound count as a loss??? nah! 

For me, I held steady this week.  A challenging week foodwise as I returned to work after a two week school break ( I am a teaching principal or headmaster at a small country primary school - I think you lot call it elementary school).  It was a week of teacher training and conferences (students had a 3rd week of holidays) so there was plenty of catered lunches.  Overall, I did reasonably well on the calorie intake but I think the salt may have been a little high. 

I really disappointed myself with the exercise goal.  It has been raining which has made my usual walks pretty unappealing (by the way it's winter here) but I could have done some strength training inside.  This week, I am not allowing myself any excuses! 

dutch - congrats on your two pound loss - awsome!  And you followed through on your exercise goals.

ginger - I understand the desire to hide away and not weigh yourself when you know you haven't set yourself up for success.  But I think you need to be really honest with yourself.  If a weekend drinking session is part of your weekly pattern - your Monday weighin will always be a little higher but over weeks and months you will notice that the numbers will begin to go down, even on a Monday.  Make sure you work out the calories in your drinks - I almost died when I say how energy heavy a good rum and coke was (I always mix witha diet soda now but rarely drink any more).  Also work out how many drinks you are going to have beforehand and log them.  Well done on the interviews - good luck!

Shanny - I like your honesty and no quit attitude.  Good luck for this week!

smk - 2 pounds - yahooo!

erin - shame about the cruise.  Well done on the healthy food choices when out - sounds like an awsome restaurant that's really proud to advertise its nutritional content.

sorry I'm late in reporting my loss for this week!! I want to respond to previous posts too but I won't have time to read and write everyone's posts till maybe tomorrow...

was down to 108.8kg or 240lbs so I had a 3 pound weight loss this week!!

I have this feeling I will plateau this week just becuase it happens to me every few weeks or so...   I hope not...   we will see if switching calories up and down everyday or every couple of days helps to keep my body losing!

ok... I'll be back later!

TJ

Hey all.  I weighed myself at the gym, and it said 222!  

So that's 3 lbs for me.

And I figured out the ticker thing btw, I just had to check the box that said, "add to profile"  DUH!  LOL

I am happy to report (despite this past week's emotional endless eating) I actually lost...down 1.2! 

As for last week's goals...well, let’s just say it is a good thing they are on going and I have this week to continue to work on them and MYSELF!  I did track most days and stayed within range on the days I tracked (see the connection here) and I worked out twice (better than nothing).    

As Sara said, it is a new week and I am ready to work harder this week for more results!

Dutch - Congrats!  Great job dropping 2 pounds!  This site has tons of exercises that could be done inside - checkout their suggested exercises, maybe you will find something you want to do when the weather does not cooperate!  I have found things I thought I would hate I ended up loving, for example cycle glass (it kicked my butt and I loved it), yoga (I thought I would be bored but it was HARD and I really felt it after (that happens when you use your own body weight instead of a 5 pound dumbbell! :))

Ginger - what field are you in?  Shanny and I are both paralegals.  Good luck with your interviews.  And I am not trying to be a downer but I agree you should probaby weigh-in even after a bad weekend...your call, but I think it would help you move forward on this journey!     

Shanny - Starting again is key - as you and I both know dwelling in the past will just keep you there...good for you moving forward and continuing to re-focus yourself!  Thanks for the kind words, BFF :)

Sara - Great job, 2 pounds is awesome!  Did you change things up last week to help get you kick started?

Erin - too bad about your cruise but you are right it saved you some calories although not money (being healthy is expensive :))  Hope your hubby is better.  As for your lunch choices GOOD for you...isn’t that what this is all about making small changes that add up in the end! I LOVE checking restaurant nutritional values on-line - I found that if I do it before I get there I will be ready to order and can feel good knowing that I am fully aware of how many calories I am consuming and how that plays into the rest of my day!  I am often surprised by the calorie content of "healthy" food, how about you?   

Jella - For me yes, even .3 is a loss and totally counts!  Those little numbers add up to big numbers in the end!  I will take any negative number I can get my hands on!  No excuses, I like that, I have to tell myself that too!

TJ - You are the Rockstar this week!  Your weight loss is awesome!  I hope you feel great about your accomplishment!  (Just don't do what I have been know to do in the past and go celebrate with a cookie! :)).    

Congrats to all...we certainly are on the right path here! 

Congrats losers!  Sorry I'm late checking in, but I did weigh first thing this morning-- down 3 lbs.! 

Too funny, Erin, I made myself go to the other end of the house to the guest bathroom to weigh when I first got up.  I actually had the thought of my hair and pores holding water and making me heavier if I forgot and had to weigh after my shower! 

I stayed within my calorie limits every day, but we won't talk about my exercise.  I will do better this week and will adopt the group goal increase.  I'm horrible about water, though, and will be pleased if I can make half of the group goal.

Dutch-good job on tossing the cake!  I have had to get over the feeling of wasting food.  Truthfully, I don't like the idea of tossing anything that anybody else could use.  Leaving food on my plate in a restaurant is something I've had to train myself to do.  I tell myself it's better for it to be thrown away in a trashcan, than to be thrown away in my body!

I remembered to weigh myself this morning and I'm at 243 which is what I started at.  Considering I really haven't followed a diet the past week, I'm lucky that it didn't get higher than that.  I did okay yesterday, and I vow to do even better the rest of this week. 

Yet again, love the goals!  I need to track to my post-its!  I love post-its!!  Sorry I didn't weigh-in yesterday!  It's been a mad house here.  My oldest running around like a mad man and we all are coming down with a cold or something.  I'm determined it's bronchitis for me...I get it about 4 times a year that's to my "friend" asthma!  Thanks, buddy...

Good job on the weight loss by everyone!  I agree, .3 does count for something!  I stepped on the scale and I'm now at 211.6.  Down 2.8 lbs!  It's amazing what some motivation does for ya!

lischae-I was having the SAME issue with the ticker!  I was getting so frustrated...then I noticed the box...oops!  Great weight loss!

desert-great loss for you, too!  wow!

jella- you must be very busy as being headmaster!  That's commendable that you're doing all of this with all of those responsibilities.  Busy woman!

eerominn-  that's nice that Uno's had the computer set up with the nutritional value!  Good job with the healthy dinner...if it can be done while eating out...you can do it any time!

Just noticed the time!!  I need to go!  I'll comment more later!

Well last night I weighed 175, which was dissapointing, so I weighed myself this morning, I was 172, which was much nicer to see. So maybe a few pounds lost since last week. I'll try to be consistent with the time I weigh myself to get an accurate reading. My weight fluctuates a lot.

I also went through a bunch of pictures and found some of me back when I was thinner - how I'd like to be again now. I think I'm going to print those out and put them up in my office and at home to motivate me. If I was at that weight before, I can get there again!

I'm on the far right

That was from March 2005, a little over 3 years ago, on a spring break trip with my roommates. I worked out all year before the trip to get into good enough shape to wear a bikini for the first time. I wasn't the skinniest girl on the beach but I felt really good about myself. That's where I'd like to get to again!

So, I am still thinking of how I got here but in the meantime I needed to post my plan so that I will be accountable and follow through.  I planned on working out this am but my son was up for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night last night (for no apparent reason) so needless to say I did not get up one minute before I had to!  I guess that is the good thing about morning work-outs...you still have the evening.  So, I am posting that I WILL WORK-OUT this evening so that I actually will! :)

Keep thinking about how you got to your unhappy place and post when you have given it due consideration!  Take care and good luck!

Congrats to everyone...seems like the group is working for us!

I also went through a bunch of pictures and found some of me back when I was thinner - how I'd like to be again now. I think I'm going to print those out and put them up in my office and at home to motivate me. If I was at that weight before, I can get there again!

I think this is a GREAT idea!  I had a pair of hot pink pants hanging in my bathroom (so I would see them daily) to remind me of where I had been and where I could be again (they were not even my smallest size ever)!  As my focus faded my pants got covered with other things...you are inspired me to hang them on the front of the hook again!     

By the way you look awesome rocking a 2 piece! 

elaughter - I am in personal injury law mainly.  I've done a little bit of criminal, child custody and workers comp.  My job is to manage the case once it hits litigation- I do all the discovery/motions/pleadings/subpoenas/records collection/depositions/mediations/arbitration s & trial preparations.  It seems like a lot but PI work goes SOOOOO slow... I'm just bored with it =)

I did not weigh this morning... but will tomorrow.  I DID RUN TODAY THOUGH!!!  First time in a long time!  I plan on working out every morning this week (minus Monday)... and so far, so good =)

I have a small bone to pick with Liz. I thought long and hard who I could blame for this and finally decided on Liz. (I always feel better if I can blame someone) LOL

 Our goal for last week was exercise 3 times so I went to this national park for a hike on Thursday. On Sunday I started to not feel good and I had a rash. On Monday morning I woke up and felt pretty awful, my rash was spreading and my lymph nodes were the size of golf balls. So for the first time in 8 years I went to the doctor on Monday night and it turns out I got bitten by an infected tick and I have Lyme disease. I now have to take 16 days of antibiotics and I have a cream for my rash. I always knew fresh air and exercise were bad for me and now I have proof! I felt pretty sorry for myself and really felt like ditching the diet and just pigging out but I made a deal with myself. If I stick to the diet now, even when I feel like crap I can have a KRISPY KREME doughnut when I am in London next month, oh and a Chai Latte at Starbucks. So far today I am sticking with the diet. It helps that I went to work (spend half the day on the sofa and let the kids play by themselves) and my vacation is really close. Okay, enough of my pity party.

Reasons I am in this overweight mess.

1. My mother (It is great how you can always blame your mother if you can't find any one else to blame). My mother is a great, loving, caring mom but she did teach me that food is a reward or a comfort. Growing up we often baked and ate together and she never put a limit on the amount of food I should eat or teach me about fruit and vegetables. She has always been heavy and I think part of the problem was ignorance and part was just that she loved me and wanted me to be happy.

2. When I moved out on my own and had my own budget, I started to eat low quality, high calorie food. It was easy, it tasted good and because I had a heavy cleaning job I didn't gain that much weight. After college my budget increased, my activity decreased as I quit the cleaning job and got a teaching job, but my diet stayed the same. So the pounds started to pack on.

3. DENIAL, you are a river in Egypt! Strange as it may sound I ignored my body most of the time. I had a nice job, great friends, nice family and I was happy with my life. I knew I was gaining weight but I never really looked in the mirror too long so the pounds kept adding.

4. I sort of got addicted to sugar and fat. I really felt I needed it to be happy, to feel good. It sounds stupid but after so many years of eating poorly I think my body just got used to it. Eating always made me feel good, whether it was a social occasion or just me sitting on the sofa, food made me feel happy. (thank god I can write this in past tense) There was always an excuse to eat, good day, bad day, boring day, my birthday, Elvis' b-day, it really didn't matter.

So that is how I got to be so heavy, I hope by understanding myself better I can avoid stepping into the same pitfalls again.

Ginger I hope you find out soon about the jobs. Is every Friday Girls Night Out?

Shanny Keep trying! Little changes add up, I know it is really hard to stick with it but so worth it. You will feel great once that scale starts moving.

Sara Great job on losing 2 pounds! What are you doing to help you lose the weight?

Erin sorry to hear about the cruise and I hope your husband it feeling better. I also firmly believe that wet hair will make me heavier so I weigh myself after it is dry.

Jella Every little bit counts. You managed to loose while eating catered lunches etc. so you must have made some good choices this week. I know the weather is holding you back from your walks. I have the same problem with the heat.

Dessert Congrats on the 3 pounds, all that exercise is paying off.

Lischae3 Pounds is awesome! And don't worry about those "Duh" moments, we have all had them.

Liz First of thanks for setting up the forum and goals etc. I really like being part of this group that you started. (I think it will make me forgive you for whole Lyme disease thing) Also congrats on the weight loss. Thanks for the suggestions for exercise but taking a class is not an option as the nearest gym is over 30 min. away and gas cost $10 a gallon in Italy. I have some DVD's I can use and I try to walk up and down the stairs 10 min. a day. I can now do that without passing out! But until I am feeling better I won't be exercising at all.

2babeGood job on losing 3 pounds. I use the food log every day and love it as it keeps me on track. Tossing the cake was a little bit hard as it was so delicious but I had to chose waste or waist.

Rach2.8 pounds is fantastic. I hope you feel better soon and your bronchitis goes away.

Erin I only weigh myself on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, that is my real weight. (for me at least) I am sure every one weighs more at the end of the day.

Wow really long post, hope I didn't bore anyone.

Oh no! That sucks, about the Lyme disease. There are some woods behind my house and our neighbor was telling us to be careful about ticks back there because he has gotten lyme disease once, and our other neighbor got it twice! Good luck sticking to your diet!

How did I get this way?  Well I've always taken pleasure and comfort from food, but through my teens and twenties I was naturally more active and made a conscious effort to work out and eat healthfully on average, wanting to avoid the family health issues.  In my early 30's I took on increasing amounts of professional responsibility resulting in less gym time and more poor food choices made out of convenience.  Over those years I yo-yoed around to an overall increase of about 30 pounds.  I kinda accepted where I was.  I wasn't exactly fit anymore, but I didn't feel fat.

Then a little over a year ago, I did a nearly whole house remodel/addon/knock outwalls/gutting project that lasted over 6 months with no kitchen.  All of my belongings were stuffed in my office and guest room.  The workers and dust also necessarily invaded my BDR to get to my master bath.  The only place to sit (the only place I felt safe and clean) in the whole house was my bed, where I ate, watched hgtv, shopped online for house stuff, worked and slept.   Very little activity and convenience food, need I say more?  And it seemed like I was always sick or in pain and on some kind of drug or other, which I suspect was part of the problem. 

The weight gain didn't end when I got my kitchen and life back, my sense of proportion and balance had become all out of whack.  I was still eating crap instead of cooking healthy food in my gorgeous, much loved, long-awaited kitchen.  When I first read Liz's goal list for this week and started thinking about how I got here, the word Denial, immediately came to mind.  At that point, if Denial is a river in Egypt, I was in deep and over my head!  My clothes were getting tighter.  I was feeling me, where there wasn't any me before.  I was often out of breath, but I still never got on the scales and confronted myself.  When I had to weigh at the OB/GYN a few months ago, my jaw literally dropped when the nurse had to move the big weight on the scale to 200 and the little one still kept going about half way!  I was truly stunned!  I had gained an additional 45 pounds! 

That Dr. practically ignored it  A couple of clothes shopping trips opened my eyes a little further and brought me around to accepting the enormity of what I had done, but I still hadn't really done anything about it.  I got my usual spring bronchitis, took a trip to my GP and embarrassingly mentioned my weight and blood pressure.  He seemed excited that I was interested and helped me get back on the right track.  So here I am counting calories!!  And it's working!!  I hope to lose not just the 45 lbs, but the other 30, too.

Sorry to go on so. . .guess I could have just said the love of food, convenience and denial!  :)

I really enjoy reading everyone else's posts here.  It's nice having a sense of shared experience and weekly accountability.  Dutch--you cracked me up with your last post!  I think humor is a good way to help deal with it.

I'm so sorry to hear about the Lyme disease!  Yuck!

Let's see...the reasons of how I got here?  As easy as it is for me to try to point fingers...I know it's my fault. 

I have almost always been overweight and it just kills you self-esteem!  I grew up in a household were my mom was always worried about her weight and usually didn't go about trying to lose it by exercise.  I always remembered her being on fad diets growing up.  I was also very good at blaming my asthma as to why I couldn't exercise.  Good cop out! 

When I was at my healthiest weight I was living with a roommate and I used to go walking for hours (I usually went walking to get away from her!)  I couldn't maintain that weight at all because I wasn't eating well at all right along with all the drinking that was being done in my early 20's.  When I moved away and no longer had a need to walk so far...the weight started to come back on.  The city I moved to didn't have too many sidewalks...and many of the drivers are crazy (I KNOW!  Another excuse!!)  I still wasn't at too bad of a weight.  Then I met my now husband.  We started to go out to eat with friends and we would go out to the movies all of the time.  Then I decided to go back to college and the program I was in was pretty intense.  I began to eat way TOO MUCH fast food.  Didn't have too many options for my lunch breaks because it was hard to bring a meal when I was in class for nearly 8 hours with a lunch break half way through.  Yes..yes...could have made better choices at the restaurants, but what fun is that when you see that yummy burger your friend just ordered?!

One healthy decision after another led me here.  Then going through two pregnancies hasn't helped these hips!  It's so exciting to see some of the weight shedding because I'm eating better and exercising considering I used to lose weight in the past with unhealthy ways (example: those lovely pills that just call your name.  So bad!)

eerominn- that picture is great motivation!  You look wonderful!  I'm sure you'll get there again!

Okay, think I'm going to crack out my Tae Bo DVD today and get the heart pumping!