Welcome to the new over 100 to lose club!

Howdy guys and gals!  I'm taking over this club, not because i think i have all the answers (i so know i don't) but because i'm super pumped up right now and motivated to help those people out there who have a lot of weight to lose.  we need a place that's more than a "can i join" place.. we need a place to talk about issues related to being this overweight.. 

Who here needs to lose over 100 pounds? Who needs to lose over 150 pounds? Or more?

I did! I did! And yes.. i did!

A small amount of background on me for those of you who don't know: i am a binge eater. I have had a problem with emotional eating, hidden eating, over eating, eating with a hang nail, eating because i have split ends.. you name it i stuffed my emotions down with the greasiest, nastiest food i could find!

Why did i do that (you might ask)? Because of many many different reasons.. frankly i think it was because this is how i was taught from a young age, this is how we handle stress and emotions. I learned that it's not proper to talk about your feelings.. or god forbid, express your emotions! You have to shove them down with a piece of cake and a smile!

Anyway.. onto the reason for this post.

If you are out there and need to lose a lot of weight.. just like i've got to.. i think we need to have a place where we can discuss these issues with each other and try and work through them together. Because, let's face it, people who are morbidly obese (yes.. i hate that word too) have uniquely different issues to work through and deal with than the average person.

Losing weight, for people who have this much to lose, have to deal with so much more than the formulas to figure out how much to eat.. and exercising. It's more complex than that. We have to deal with years and years of poor eating habits that have to be unlearned, we have to deal with the emotional torment of just being this size, we have to deal with the harsh looks and comments from strangers or from loved ones, we have to deal with our emotions for the first time in our life because we aren't shoving them down our throats anymore..

this is the hardest thing ANYONE has to deal with.. but, from my experience, things are different for us bigguns. :)

also, for those of you who don't know me very well.. (because i've kinda been in hiding and not posting much and there are so many new people out there) i started out in january weighing 324 pounds. I now weigh 232.5.. i have lost 91.5 pounds so far. I am not telling you guys this to get kudos.. i got those yesterday. I'm telling you guys this because i want anyone out there who is struggling with knowing they have, what seems to be, an insurmountable amount of weight to lose, that there is hope.. it IS possible.. you CAN do it.. but it's hard.. and you will hurt.. i know this because i've been there.. i've done it.. and i'm still dealing with it.

so.. come on in and share your stories.. i want to hear them and i want us to support each other until we are all at our goal weight!

Yes, it has been quiet so I'll share.  I rarely post, just mostly read others post for insperation.  Yesterday was my 40th birthday.  I freaked out for a full year up to my birthday.  But when I woke up yesterday I decided that my 40's are going to be my time to live.  I let my weight hold me back from soooo much over the last 10+ years.  I'm starting my new healthy life style and that is going to include going out more and doing things I want to do.  I started out great and lost 24 pounds but then I started to slip.  I wasn't real bad (at least not back to the way I was before).  When I weighed in on Monday I had gained 3 lbs.  And I suspect that I have gained a couple more by the way my clothes are feeling.  But ready everyones post has really motivated me and inspired me to get back on track.  I'm not giving up this time!!!  Also, I am proud of myself because I went to the gym on my birthday.  I would have used that as an excuse before not to go.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

K:)

i think that maybe people are just reading and not posting, i check the boards at least once a day...

kimne
I agree that this place is great souce of motivation. Congrats on going to the gym on your birthday that IS pretty major :)

Question for everyone
Please name 5 snacks (health or other)  that you eat so that you are not so hungy between meals.

Kimne...great job on your decision! I hope you stick with it and meet your goals...maybe renew your commitment each birthday. I think I will do something similar. I'm 33 and lately I feel like I'm aging too fast. I'm making a commitment to be half way to my goal by age 34.

As for 5 snacks to eat between meals:

I like a cup of fresh strawberries or an apple or pear.... all natural turkey jerky.... a small handful of raw almonds.... 1/2 cup of nonfat yogurt...a spoonful of canned salmon mixed with some plain nonfat yogurt on a brown rice cake can be good for savory cravings.

Congrats Kimne on the 24 lbs, and for not giving up! 

Jakjak, I'll bite (so to speak):

1. I like to keep on-hand some Kettle Corn Quaker Rice snacks (mini-rice cakes) 7 mini cakes are 60 calories.  That's my 11am snack.
2. I have an apple after my lunch at like 2 or 2:30 (sometimes 3 if I've been busy)
3. I get home from work and I have a cup of the reduced fat smartfood. 
4. I also have a box of tricuits (6 triscuits = 1 serving) that I'll sometimes use instead of the smartfood, depending on how I'm feeling. 
5. A brick of part-skim mozzerella cheese to have a slice every so often. 

The sad thing is that I've started to come home and instead of going to a snack, I'll make me a salad... romaine lettuce, croutons, feta cheese (yes, full-fat kind, but a serving size is 1/4 cup and that's waaaaay to big, so I do a half serving) and low-fat dressing. 

And after dinner, if I'm under calories, I'll have some sort of sweet treat 'cause I can.  :) 

Edit: I also snack on unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, but a very slim handful.   

Kimne -

Happy Birthday!!  And, congrats on going to the gym on your birthday.  I know I can come up with a million excuses not to go on my walk but for every day that I don't I feel like it's an accomplishment.

Pam

Jakjak -

I don't really have 5 snacks that I have between meals.  I don't limit myself to specific foods so I don't worry so much about what I eat as I do to how much of it I eat.  Here are some things I've had as snacks:

1. Apples
2. Strawberries with Splenda (to get the juice out without all the calories of sugar)
3. Honey Wheat Pretzels

Pam

Thanks for the bday wishes.  : )

For snacks I eat baby carrotts, All-Bran bars, apples, or other fruit.  I do the three meals a day with 2 snacks.  I try to make my lunch my "large" meal.  Then if I am going to the gym I definately have a snack before I leave work so I am not starving (and grabbing for anything) when I get home. Or if I go straight home and have dinner earlier I have my snack later (after dinner).  It seems to be working for me.

It seems all the mean comments I would hear that used to make me give up only make me more determined now.  I had been talking about the weight I lost on the bus to my friends and when I got off this other lady said something like "she's got a lot more to loose".  Gees, how come its okay to say mean things about overweight people?  You can't say things about someones race or sex or disablity.  That would be too politically incorrect. 

Oh well, I'll keep my chin up and keep coming here.  Have a good day.

Kimne : )

For the women, does anyone have any recommendations on a good, but inexpensive, sports bra?  I'm quite frugal (you might even say cheap) and I hate to spend money on clothes in the in between stage.  I've been doing kickboxing and need something more supportive than I currently have.

Thanks,

Pam

Kimne,

I think that much of the reason people feel they can say anything they want about overweight people is that most of us have done it to ourselves.  While that doesn't make it any nicer, it's easier to j leftustify if it is something that the overweight person can change in most cases.

I used to wear a pin that said "I may be fat, but you're ugly.  I can go on a diet."

I haven't heard comments in a long time but I always was worried about what people would think.  Last year, I took a snack to the house of a girl in my daughter's brownie troop (it was my turn to provide the snack).  A young girl standing there said "you're fat."  I made light of it because joking is how I've always dealt with it.  What bothered me the most was that the mother didn't apologize and, worse, didn't say anything to her daughter about saying those things being wrong.  I'm hoping that she corrected her after I left but I will never know for sure.

Pam

So, how many here get frustrated when people don't notice (or say anything) that you've lost weight?  People are finally starting to notice now (I've lost 53 pounds so far) but there are a number of people that I see all the time that I thought would mention it and haven't.

I guess it shouldn't bother me because it isn't like they used to call me fat or talk about it and I'm not doing it for that reason.  But, I still find it frustrating.

Pam

I know what you mean pamt1998 - I've lost  about 60 lbs and I've been waiting for someone at work to notice. Nothing yet. I have purposely avoided saying anything because I want someone else to honestly notice and not just agree or give lip service because I've told them. And the wait is frustrating. I do have to be honest here though - I have a lot to lose and even after 60 lbs I still have a hard time seeing anything in the mirror.

Oh, and on your previous post about the child calling you fat and the mother not responding - that is something that tics me too. And believe me, I've been on the receiving end more then a few times. I can understand the child's insensitive response, kid's rarely think before speaking. But the mother should have let the child know that that was unacceptable and rude - if it were my child making such unthinking comments I would be as embarrassed or uncomfortable as I know the one on the receiving end is. It comes down to parents teaching their children appropriate behaviour - and sometimes there are people who shouldn't have children because they are lacking in the basics of courtesy themselves.

Hang in there they will notice all at once. I started using calorie count in late March. I started at 337. I weigh every two weeks. I have lost and gained so many times in my life I decided that this time I would do it all different. I was not going to be a slave to the scales but i wanted to be accountable. I had breast cancer about 3 years ago and a checkup coincided with my wanting to get it started so I asked if I could come by every 2 weeks and weigh. They have been great cheerleaders. Today was a 2 week point and I weighed and have lost 71 lbs. I still have a lot to go but I am feeling so good about it. But back to the topic, I teach school and no one noticed for a long time, then probably they noticed and were afraid to say anything. Sometimes people think if they say wow you are losing weight that they are infering that o man do you ever need to. Now they all ask every 2 weeks so how did you do? I am also doing Walk Away the pounds with a group here at school. Best of luck to you , this is a hard road but worth it!! hang in there

pamt: according to my sister, sports bras are "out" right now. Dick's Sporting Goods has the funky colored ones on sale 50-60% off.  So we're getting good $40 bras for less than 20! She doesn't understand why they do this (put them on sale in the "off" season) but it works for us!!

It's the people that see you nearly every day that have a hard time noticing weight loss.  It's because they see you every day, so the gradual change in your body is spread out and they just see "you."  It's the people who know you well but you don't see often who will notice it first!  :) 

Count me in! Im Tina and Ive been at war with my weight since I was old enough to know the meaning of the word diet. I now weigh 245 lbs. 5 years ago I was just over the 300 pound mark and I made some big changes in my life. I left my husband of 20 years, met a wonderful man that lived on the other side of the world, left my family in Canada and moved to Holland. During those changes I lost quite a lot of weight. I didnt keep track of the losses but I am estimating it to have been about 70 pounds. I just knew that I felt better than I had for years. About 2 years ago the reality of the situation began to set in. I had always worked and contributed, always been close to my large family, my daughter had been my life since 1983. That was all gone. My new husband and I had a great relationship but he was all I had. My new found lonliness and the lack of self worth began eating at me and I began eating everything. Im not blaming my weight on anyone or anything because I really do believe that I am in control. We have since decided to move to Canada and are presently waiting on immigration. Moving home will mean I go back to work and I will have my family, a life and a wonderful husband. The only thing that can prevent me from being insanely happy is this weight. The goal that the program has set for me is 146 lbs. Im not sure that I need to go that low but my personal goal is 175. When I get there I will decide if I want to go any lower. So for now I have at least 70 pounds to lose.

Ive been part of CC for a week now and am finding it all so inspiring. Every success story is a boost. I love the way so many people want to share and to help the rest of us. Its great! Im down 6 pounds and counting.

Ive not figured out all the tagging systems and how  to keep track of everything as yet. Do groups such as this one keep in contact only through the forum? Please fill me in as things are figured out. Ive tagged this post and will keep a close watch. Thanks!

welcome tinav!  this is a great place to be!!  I can't speak for the others, but this is the only place I keep in touch with the 100 pound club folks.  Mostly time.  Mostly b/c this is the motivation section and that is what I need!  :)

keep in touch!  check out the other 100 pound to lose threads! 

o1darcie01 - thanks for the info.  I'll have to check that out.

Everyone here has been a great help to me.  It's nice to know that I'm not alone in the battle.

Pam

A friend I saw last weekend commented that I was looking good, and she confided in me online afterward that it was really hard to get past her training (from mom/grandma) that one is not supposed to comment on personal things like that.  So some people feel it's rude to comment, while some of us are looking for that positive feedback.  (BTW, she was the only one out of a group who *did* say anything, and many of them knew how hard I'd been working on it!)

pamt wrote:
So, how many here get frustrated when people don't notice (or say anything) that you've lost weight?

Well, most of the people that I see on a regular basis know I'm on a diet and going to the gym, and they see the efforts that I am making, so they make sure they tell me they are proud of me and that makes me feel good and that what I'm doing is making a difference, even if it really isn't noticeable.  I have only lost about 15 lbs, however I can notice that some of my clothes are looser on me (just a lil, not to where they are falling off or anything) and my husband has noticed it too.  I think it's hard for those who see us on a regular basis to notice it because they DO see us every day, and dieting is such a slow process, so they see us when it's only .5 lb off per week, so they aren't seeing any kind of 'major' change.  It's not til we get to a significant loss, or at our maintenance weight, do they usually say something.   For me, I know it's going to be a LONG time before anyone - including me - will be able to see any kind of difference.  I have 275+ lbs to lose ... that's more than 2 adults.  I can't wait til I can look in the mirror without cringing and see it for myself and be able to say "damn girl, you look good!"

As for where I am now in my weight loss, I was 399.6 this AM when I weighed in (I'm doing the Biggest Loser thing on another thread here)... I had actually gotten down to 396.8 on the 4th, and now I'm up to where I am. I'm a little frustrated because I'm exercising and for the most part doing ok with the food.  The only thing I can think of is there were a few days where I didn't do so well with getting all my waters in.  I notice when I don't get them all in, I retain more weight (fluid possibly?) and that it usually drops again within a day or two.  So you can surely bet I made sure I got at least 8 8-oz of water today!!  LOL

Hi,

I feel a little awkward, Ive never posted anything in my life. I just signed up for calorie-count.com and Starting my diet today. I am 297lbs and my goal is 125lbs. I am an emotional eater. Im sure there is someone out there who understands the struggle it takes especially when a diet is so emotional and you eat because of emotions it like goes against everything. I dont like water and I know I have to force it and I feel so alone in this struggle. I am using a weight watchers plan along with this program. Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep up the motivation and stop the emotional eating? How do you keep from letting your cravings control you?