"The Thanksgiving Ten" - losing those last annoying pounds challenge & support group

I have realized that as we get within about 10lbs of our goal weight, the challenges and struggles that we have to deal with are a bit different than for those earlier pounds.  I want this thread to serve as a sort of "kick in the pants" to get those last pounds off.  I also want this to serve as a "support group" where we can share struggles and successes or just to vent frustrations.  I chose Thanksgiving as the goal date because many people will be seeing their families and want to look their best!  I also think Thanksgiving in 8.5 weeks is a long enough time to get those last roughly 10lbs off.  Someone had mentioned having the goal be the Monday after Thanksgiving and everyone is free to chose their own goal date, but for me personally, I want to do it before the holiday.  We can then help each other develop strategies as to how to avoid the Thanksgiving overeating while still being able to enjoy our favorite seasonal foods and the decreased motivation to keep exercising and eating well between Thanksgiving and Christmas that seems to always happen.  We will also share tips and ideas about starting a maintenance plan and keeping those pounds off!  

Please post your stats: age, sex, height, current weight and goal weight for Thanksgiving (November 22nd, 2007).

We will start on Monday October 1st.  Feel free to weigh in and post at any time.  I won't impose and official weigh in day, but I was thinking that Saturdays might work well as a motivation not to over do it during the weekend.  I will keep a running tally of where everyone is.

For weigh-ins, please send me a private message, I think it will be easier this way.  I will then update this post.  You can weigh in at any time, but I suggested Saturday as a good day.

WEEK 7 UPDATES: 

PLEASE CHECK YOUR NUMBERS!!!

I have only included those that have sent me their stats.  Feel free to keep sending.  Good job everyone!!!

142by42 SW 169 CW 163 GW 155 PL 6.0

daniellew79 SW 150 CW 142.5 GW 140 PL 7.5

hbbroadbent SW 140.8 CW 130 GW 130 PL 10.8

iridescent_identity SW 135 CW 124.4 GW 125 PL 10.6

mamamunoz SW 172 CW 166 GW 162 PL 6.0

mctami SW 143.2 CW 135.8 GW 135 PL 7.4

smader SW 147 CW 139.5 GW 137 PL 7.5

southcarolinaguy SW 190 CW 182.3 GW 180 PL 7.7

caniche SW 147 CW 143.5 GW 137 PL 3.5

roc07 SW 117.6 CW 116.6 GW 110 PL 1.0

tabathar SW 133 CW 122 GW 120 PL 11.0

x17star17x SW 152 CW 139 GW 142 PL 13.0


Good job everyone!!! 

Hi Kate,

Once again, thank you for being our beacon of light!

for me, please post 133.6

Thanks Kate for the updates, and I just want to say great job to everybody.  Two weeks is a long time to keep at what it takes to shed the last few.  Let's just keep doing what we're doing and eventually we'll all get there!!!  I am really finding that planning ahead is SO important, so reminder to plan ahead for the week today for meals out, events, workouts, etc. 

I've come back from my parents. I wasn't good, I blew it on Saturday and Sunday, when will I ever learn?. Once I had the taste of a little chocolate in my mouth that was it, I was 'what the hell I might as well eat everything since I've already started'. Why can't I have one thing and stop, no it's all or nothing for me. That's why I avoid buying multipacks of anything because once I open them I have the tendency to not rest until I have finished everything.

However I'm down a lb this week, I probably could have been down 2lb but this weekend has blown that. Trying to 'pretend' it never happened and go on as normal because I can't stand the guilty thoughts.

Going to try and be very good this week and avoid chocolate, bread, crisps and cakes. Not going to be easy as I suspect I'm a bit of an addict (have a typical addictive personality!).

Hey Everybody, and a shout out to Naija, Eskima, and Kate the Greatest,

Hang tough, Shorelover?how?s the tea doing?  Hey, Eskima, you have got it under CONTROL!!  Very cool, I died laughing when you took a stand on wineJ.  Naija, a very big Congrats on taking off a pound ? even after seeing the parents!  Thanks again, Kate for all your hard work ? you are the greatest!

I?m going **** tonight ? please pardon my profanity.  Tomorrow is my first day of work after being out of the workforce for the last year and a half?I?m frazzled and overwhelmed thinking of all the crap I have to do for my commitment to fitness.  I have been practicing getting up at 4:45 a.m. for the past week and a half in order to have time to do my workouts first thing in the morning.  I?m in the middle, RIGHT NOW, of running around pre making my family of two?s breakfast, packing for 3 mini meals tomorrow, and generally being hateful to my husband?like it?s his fault.

Anyhow ? this is my brief sanity break before resuming my frantic so called preparations.

Is there anybody out there who gets it ?all? done in the morning before work?  My hours are wildly changeable week to week, some evenings included, so the only guaranteed fitness time I?ll have is the early morning ? and I?m going to take it.  What does every body else pack for their workdays?  Any ideas about the ?planning ahead? that works for you?  (Eskima?)

It's 6:15 and I'm drinking coffee in preparation for my morning workout.  I've got 3 kids and own my own business so I so understand.  It is not easy - but 4:45 Irish!  That's nuts.  Good luck with your new job; that's so exciting! Do you manage to get enough sleep though?  I'm a little sad/frustrated this a.m. as I'm back up to where I started on the scale.  I didn't blow my calories yesterday but I ate leftover pizza for dinner -- I'm not sure about the calories in calories out rule.  It also seems like WHAT you eat makes a big difference. 

Hey Irishslim, thanks for the congrats! 4.45am, wow the only time I see that on the clock is if I?m coming back from a night out. I don?t know how you do it.

I?m lucky in the sense that I have no kids or hubby to take care of so I tend to work out in the evening after work hence usually get home around 20:30-21:00. I?ve also taken up running, which I think is the best exercise ever!!!!!!, I usually wake up around 6am and go for an hour jog before work.

Being the lazy person that I am esp when It concerns food I tend to just buy lunch at work. I should try and make my own at least that way I?m in control I what I?m eating.

My whole family couldn?t stop lecturing me on my weight loss and the importance of eating enough (hello didn?t they see all the food I put down over the weekend??), it just made me really annoyed! I know I?m not fat but I know how I want to look and I don?t think I?m there yet Anyone else annoyed with such comments?.

Good Luck All on the weight loss, remember to never give up even if the scale doesn't shift or goes up! We have all lost weight so far, so we can do it! Lets not look at past failures but look ahead at future successes.

That last post is just what I needed to read. I am coming out of a 4 1/2 month long plateau, and ofcourse TOM came and ruined it for me. Just when I saw a drop  on the scale the water weight came. Anyway I have been feeling a little down and just feel like I am never going to reach my goal. I just keep telling myself that I CAN do this. Sometimes it seems like no matter how hard we try to get something we just cant reach it. I pray that my hard work has paid off and I see the results soon.

Hey All,

Thanks for understanding, Eskima?it really helps a lot knowing how many of us struggle and still manage to get it done.  Sleep?? What?s that?  Nerves kept me up last night until about 2 hours before the alarm clock went off.  Had a great day at work though!  Plus, all the meals I lugged along in my cooler definitely kept my brain cells firing ? even without sleep.  Dang, Eskima you wise girl?you know that what you eat matters...Goodbye candy bars and hello fat free plain yogurt with protein powder.

I would LOVE to run, Naija, but my 46 y.o. knees ain?t what they used to be.  What is UP with folks that don?t get your personal vision of fitness???  It?s about muscle tone, strength, and looking darn FINE, especially in a bikini.  I just tell people rude enough to comment on my continuing fitness journey that I like to look good in a bathing suit.  That usually shuts them up?.probably because they don?t look so hot.?meow.  Weigh to go with helping us all focus on tomorrow and the day after that, Naija.

Miss Queen,  the very fact that you plateaued shows me that you have what it takes to reach your goal.  Keep praying and working hard, that fat WILL melt!!!!!!  You CAN do it!

In the spirit of sharing ideas to help others obtain results, I killed two birds tonight by totally NOT sitting on my butt in front of the TV.  I had my (teensy) dinner and then started running around like a crazy person cleaning up my house, getting some crap organized, etc. and even did my nails.  And, no time to obsess about low fat snack options.    Kristine, I can totally relate to the TOM issue; just remember what's on the other side, probably a couple good pounds of water retention.  You can make it!   And I agree, plateuing sure beats gaining.  

Hey you guys are great! You really lifted my spirits. I cant wait to see a drop on the scale!

kate, you're really rocking this out! you're just a stone's throw from goal- amazing!

Katethegreat,

Thanks for starting and maintaining this thread. You're doing a great job!

You're kicking butt with the weight loss too.  Can you give me some tips (anyone)? Sunday I was down to 116.2 and the next day I was back up to my starting weight of 117.6.  It is TTOM, but it's still discouraging.  I'm hoping it's water weight.

Good luck to everyone!

Roc07:  Maybe try some foods that are natural diuretics --  green tea, cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar, asparagus, beets, oats, carrots, lettuce.  Also, add in a bit more protein fewer carbs to beat fluid retention.   I wish I had a better answer.  I hate this every month.  Just as you make some probress, bam!

I also want to share my go to breakfast, modified from BFL cookbook.  Protein pancakes:  1/2 c. fat free cottage cheese, 1/2 c. egg substitute, 1/2 c. oatmeal.  Add Splenda, cinnamon to taste.  Blend in blender and pour into 2 giant pancakes on a griddle.  Serve with sugar free syrup.  Yum.

Eskima, Thanks for the suggestions.  I think I will have some green tea right now.  I'm going to try to wait until Saturday to weigh myself again so I won't get all bent out of shape. 

Cheers!

What is "TOM"?

Time of the month :-)

He he, thanks everyone for your kind words.  I don't think that 120 number is correct.  I've been up and down these past few weeks.  Also, yesterday and Sunday I indulged quite a bit.  Its just been really hard for me to find motivation to do all my crazy workouts and to keep fighting off the hunger feeling when all my clothes now fit!  I am just fighting to see that number, but I am beginning to question if its worth it......

The other problem is that I'm deathly afraid to gain any weight.  So I'm afraid to eat more in general.  So I just have been doing what I have been doing for the past few months and then every once in a while like yesterday, I just get fed up and eat pretty much anything.  Luckily my stomach has shrunk so much, that the amount of food I can eat now is like 1/10 of what I could scraf down during a binge even a few months ago.  I would like to keep it that way.  But the behavior patterns are still there - yesterday, once I tasted that bit of sugar, it was it for me - the compulsiveness came back out!  I was scared.

Oh Honey,

Kate, hang in there.  How is your eating today?  (I have a few compulsions my own self...not so much food related - but still I feel a little freaky when I give in to one.)

Kate, 8 pounds seemed like a lot to loose in two weeks...  I can't even shave off 1 and I've been doing everything right.  It looks like you are so close to goal, if not at goal.  No need to kill yourself for a couple more pounds.  You should be SO proud of yourself.  Are you getting enough sleep?  Sometimes lack of sleep leads me down the "path of destruction".  Maybe do something nice for yourself unrelated to food -- get a massage, buy a new shirt, or get a sitter for an afternoon and take a little break.

I've lost 4 pounds since the start of the month. I got off to a slow start but I'm seein' the finish line. 6 to go.