*Snowflakes to Sunshine Challenge* Week #7 Discussion (Close

IsMollyReallyHungry

Well now that we have been getting to know each other a little better over the past month or so...I wanted to post a topic for us to get to know each other even more and grant a better understanding of our motivation.


So I want us to share...how did we get here? How did we get to this point of feeling like we needed to lose weight, take our lives back, and become healthier? I know that we all have a story and different motivations for how we got to MFP. And why did we choose MFP and not Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, or Jenny Craig? If you do not feel comfortable sharing yet, that is ok...definitely understandable. I just want us to find other levels for us to connect on and be able to empathize or encourage each other.

I had Gastric Bypass surgery (Weight Loss Surgery) October 2004. I have been morbidly obese all my life. I have a lifetime of mental and physical scars from obesity. After having WLS I really thought all would be good and no more struggle with obesity. Wrong. They told us the surgery was just a TOOL and that hard work was required also but when you start losing weight quickly you forget what you were taught initially.

From my highest weight of 611, I got down to 302 which is over 300 pounds lost. When I went into surgery I was 580. So being down to 302 for me might as well have been 150. I was in heaven! Then old nasty habits start to resurface after the honeymoon period was over. Which is 12 to 18 months out. I maintain weight between 310 and 320 for about a year and slowly the pounds started creeping back on me. So by February of last year I was back up to 388. I was horrified to see that I was 12 pounds away from being 400 pounds again.

388 was the number that threw me into action to get myself help. I admitted I had to deal with my eating addiction. I had had enough mental therapy already and I knew why I ate but I was still eating when not hungry and I am still struggle with this every day and will do so forever. But I have to find a way to manage it. So I did many things which I am not going to go into further here but needless to say a friend on ObesityHelp.com recommended this site to me. I don't even remember who it was and not thinking back I think it was a post I saw mention this site. They have a site over there called Back On Track Together and they listed many places where we could log our food and exercise. but this name kept being sited everywhere so I decided to click on the link that was mentioned and the post. I found it interesting, because I had been logging my food in written form off and on for years anyways, but I was determined to do this once and for all. To accept I will always have to work hard to manage my weight and that was OK but I was going to do.

I promised and committed to myself to 1st stop gaining weight, 2nd to lose the 80 pounds I gained back, and 3rd to get to my original goal weight of 220 pounds--anything under 250!! (250 is the weight that I have always put on my drivers license)

I can truly say MFP has really helped me stay mindful of these 3 goals. So I have one goal met and 2 to go!! My only goal in 2011 is to get less than 300 pounds and that will get me my 2nd goal of re-losing the 80 pounds gained. Once this is reached I will focus on getting to 220.

The friends found on this site have kept me encouraged and motivated. By now I may would have given up but the opposite is true now.

I must say that S2S challenge is my favorite weight loss challenge so far!! They all have had their positive attributes but S2S has it all in one swoop! Some of the others the leaders fell off the scene when their motivation was down. Some just did not have any accountability. You could just check in or not check in. Regardless they were all good and they got me to here and I kept searching for groups and I finally found a good one that is driving me to success and that is what I needed.

So that is how I got here!:flowerforyou: Thanks so much for your support S2S!! :flowerforyou: And the other great thing about MFP is it is absolutely FREE of charge. I was not going to pay for one more therapist or weight loss program. The only thing I have to do here is be a good friend and encourage myself by encouraging others to meet their goals.

Krys_T

hey all!

where to start... let's start at the beginning. i was always a chubby kid. always the biggest girl out of my family and friends. i was a size 12 graduating 8th grade. in high school, i felt that i looked my best. i played basketball and thinned out little bit although my pants size was still between a 13/14. i started feeling confident in my looks. then i started working at a bank. boredom at work + lack of exercise + bad eating habits = weight starting to pile on. i joined curves senior year of high school and managed to keep in semi in-check for a while. i graduated high school wearing a size 15. and then came college...

college was the death of me. i had a BLAST but boy did i blow it. parties, eating out, the whole thing. the weight piled on. i tried diets and would lose 15lbs and then give up and gain it all back. by senior year i was in a size 18/20 and miserable. after graduation, i was in denial that i had gotten that big. for a while i didn't do anything about it. i felt like i couldn't do it. then, last july i had a doctor appointment that kinda got things going for me. my doctor wanted me to go on blood pressure medication. i DID NOT want to be 24 and on high blood pressure medication! right then and there i promised myself i'd change and get healthy. i joined MFP in the beginning of august and i have lost 36.6lbs so far. yes, my weight loss has been slow, but i am so happy i have gotten this far! i feel so much better than 6 months ago. i have gone from a super tight 18/should have been a comfortable 20 to loose fitting 16s/almost 14s so far (i have big hips too!!). i know this is something i can do for life and i am so excited to see what the future brings. i am very excited i get to share my journey with all of you.

keep up the great work everyone!

Girl we are right there with the college thing! And working at a Bank! I use to work for WAMU and sitting all day and just watching people come to me for 8 hours! I also was in denial about gaining all of the weight I did and didnt want to do anything about it! WOO Crazy to see how much you can have in common with a person through these stories! You are doing great girl...keep it up!

Krys_T

Well now that we have been getting to know each other a little better over the past month or so...I wanted to post a topic for us to get to know each other even more and grant a better understanding of our motivation.


So I want us to share...how did we get here? How did we get to this point of feeling like we needed to lose weight, take our lives back, and become healthier? I know that we all have a story and different motivations for how we got to MFP. And why did we choose MFP and not Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, or Jenny Craig? If you do not feel comfortable sharing yet, that is ok...definitely understandable. I just want us to find other levels for us to connect on and be able to empathize or encourage each other.

I had Gastric Bypass surgery (Weight Loss Surgery) October 2004. I have been morbidly obese all my life. I have a lifetime of mental and physical scars from obesity. After having WLS I really thought all would be good and no more struggle with obesity. Wrong. They told us the surgery was just a TOOL and that hard work was required also but when you start losing weight quickly you forget what you were taught initially.

From my highest weight of 611, I got down to 302 which is over 300 pounds lost. When I went into surgery I was 580. So being down to 302 for me might as well have been 150. I was in heaven! Then old nasty habits start to resurface after the honeymoon period was over. Which is 12 to 18 months out. I maintain weight between 310 and 320 for about a year and slowly the pounds started creeping back on me. So by February of last year I was back up to 388. I was horrified to see that I was 12 pounds away from being 400 pounds again.

388 was the number that threw me into action to get myself help. I admitted I had to deal with my eating addiction. I had had enough mental therapy already and I knew why I ate but I was still eating when not hungry and I am still struggle with this every day and will do so forever. But I have to find a way to manage it. So I did many things which I am not going to go into further here but needless to say a friend on ObesityHelp.com recommended this site to me. I don't even remember who it was and not thinking back I think it was a post I saw mention this site. They have a site over there called Back On Track Together and they listed many places where we could log our food and exercise. but this name kept being sited everywhere so I decided to click on the link that was mentioned and the post. I found it interesting, because I had been logging my food in written form off and on for years anyways, but I was determined to do this once and for all. To accept I will always have to work hard to manage my weight and that was OK but I was going to do.

I promised and committed to myself to 1st stop gaining weight, 2nd to lose the 80 pounds I gained back, and 3rd to get to my original goal weight of 220 pounds--anything under 250!! (250 is the weight that I have always put on my drivers license)

I can truly say MFP has really helped me stay mindful of these 3 goals. So I have one goal met and 2 to go!! My only goal in 2011 is to get less than 300 pounds and that will get me my 2nd goal of re-losing the 80 pounds gained. Once this is reached I will focus on getting to 220.

The friends found on this site have kept me encouraged and motivated. By now I may would have given up but the opposite is true now.

I must say that S2S challenge is my favorite weight loss challenge so far!! They all have had their positive attributes but S2S has it all in one swoop! Some of the others the leaders fell off the scene when their motivation was down. Some just did not have any accountability. You could just check in or not check in. Regardless they were all good and they got me to here and I kept searching for groups and I finally found a good one that is driving me to success and that is what I needed.

So that is how I got here!:flowerforyou: Thanks so much for your support S2S!! :flowerforyou: And the other great thing about MFP is it is absolutely FREE of charge. I was not going to pay for one more therapist or weight loss program. The only thing I have to do here is be a good friend and encourage myself by encouraging others to meet their goals.

WOW I seriously was tearing up at my desk readin this! WOW, such a powerful story you have. And I am SOOOOO proud of you for taking your life back before and after the surgery. I am truly inspired by this because I know mentally it had to be so hard to see yourself gaining back the weight. I seriosuly am just out of words for you honey!1 Keep doing what you are doing....I am so happy to have you a part of this challenge!

IsMollyReallyHungry

Thanks for sharing all of your awesome "how did I get here stories!! Very inspiring indeed!

It is hard keeping up with you guys but I can't not reply to each post today. So be encouraged and keep up the good work!!

Val_Gets_Fit

Well now that we have been getting to know each other a little better over the past month or so...I wanted to post a topic for us to get to know each other even more and grant a better understanding of our motivation.


So I want us to share...how did we get here? How did we get to this point of feeling like we needed to lose weight, take our lives back, and become healthier? I know that we all have a story and different motivations for how we got to MFP. And why did we choose MFP and not Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, or Jenny Craig? If you do not feel comfortable sharing yet, that is ok...definitely understandable. I just want us to find other levels for us to connect on and be able to empathize or encourage each other.

Finally getting a chance to respond. I still need to catch up on some reading on the thread and get to know others' stories. Since I have a minute now.... Here goes mine...

I have never been completely happy with my body. I can remember since fourth grade feeling like the "chubby" kid. I had to wear elastic waist pants when other kids wore "cool" clothes. It got worse when puberty struck. Boy, did it get worse. Not only did I put on more weight, but the hormones just made me more depressed about it. My family would take hikes and walks. I was always an active kid--even did dance school for years. My problem wasn't activity; it was food. My mom would have sodas, chips, and candy in the house, and I would pick those as my treats more often than I should have.

I can remember being in ninth grade and weighing about 155. At that point I was about 5'3". I was seated at my desk in a classroom and managed to get a glimpse of my thighs. I was horrified at how big they looked. I went home from school that day vowing to change things. I set up an exercise schedule. My workouts consisted of dancing, stretching, sit-ups, and reverse crunches. I would jump around and dance until I felt like I would faint. The summer after 9th grade, I found a great article in a teen magazine about substituting low fat treats for fattening ones and made dietary changes. No more butter on my toast--jelly instead, that sort of thing. In a few short months, I had lost 30 pounds. I stayed around 120-130 through the rest of high school and college, but I was never happy. I still had a belly and my upper arms--ugh!

Fast forwarding some, I gained 60 pounds with my first daughter and had great difficulty losing it. It took me almost two years, but I got down to 130 pounds. I put on 27 pounds with my second daughter and lost it a lot more easily. In 2006, I was between 130-135 pounds and tried various "diets" to get down to the 120 I wanted to be at. Weight Watchers, South Beach. Nothing worked. Rather, the scale kept going back up! In just a couple of years, I gained 30 pounds. I couldn't understand it. I was frustrated and depressed. I was working out and eating low calorie. How was this gain possible?! People kept telling me that maybe I wasn't working out enough, maybe I wasn't eating enough, or maybe I was eating too much. It took me a couple of attempts to even get my doctor to trust the fact that I seemed to be gaining weight for no good reason. Finally, my doctor determined that my thyroid levels were far off, and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It explained not only my weight gain and diffiuclty with weight loss but a myriad of other symptoms I had been experiencing. Still, I continued to gain weight as the doctor worked to find the right dosage for me. She took the slow route. By the time my medication was at the right level in the fall of 2010, I was up 50 pounds since 2007. In this past November, I decided to get myself back in a gym and started counting points like I used to in WW. I was skeptical that I would lose anything since about 4 years of learned helplessness was making me quite pessimistic. I was thrilled when I lost about 5 pounds by mid-December. At the gym on Decemb 20, 2010, I was typing my calorie burn into a notepad feature on my phone when my husband suggested I look for an app. He actually said, "You know, there's probably an app for that!" :laugh: I did a search and that is how I found MFP! I guess in another post, I'll confess why I love MFP so much. This post is getting sooo long! I'll be amazed if anyone reads it!! :laugh:

Now that I'm 14 pounds down, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and believe that my thyroid isn't stopping me anymore. I am losing weight. I am getting stronger. I am going to be a healthy, happy role model for my daughters.

Thank you to my MFP friends for all the support and encouragement!!! If any of you have actually read this whole thing, you deserve a big hug. So, ((HUGS)) !!! :flowerforyou: So glad to be on this journey with so many amazing people!

Krys_T

Well now that we have been getting to know each other a little better over the past month or so...I wanted to post a topic for us to get to know each other even more and grant a better understanding of our motivation.


So I want us to share...how did we get here? How did we get to this point of feeling like we needed to lose weight, take our lives back, and become healthier? I know that we all have a story and different motivations for how we got to MFP. And why did we choose MFP and not Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, or Jenny Craig? If you do not feel comfortable sharing yet, that is ok...definitely understandable. I just want us to find other levels for us to connect on and be able to empathize or encourage each other.

Finally getting a chance to respond. I still need to catch up on some reading on the thread and get to know others' stories. Since I have a minute now.... Here goes mine...

I have never been completely happy with my body. I can remember since fourth grade feeling like the "chubby" kid. I had to wear elastic waist pants when other kids wore "cool" clothes. It got worse when puberty struck. Boy, did it get worse. Not only did I put on more weight, but the hormones just made me more depressed about it. My family would take hikes and walks. I was always an active kid--even did dance school for years. My problem wasn't activity; it was food. My mom would have sodas, chips, and candy in the house, and I would pick those as my treats more often than I should have.

I can remember being in ninth grade and weighing about 155. At that point I was about 5'3". I was seated at my desk in a classroom and managed to get a glimpse of my thighs. I was horrified at how big they looked. I went home from school that day vowing to change things. I set up an exercise schedule. My workouts consisted of dancing, stretching, sit-ups, and reverse crunches. I would jump around and dance until I felt like I would faint. The summer after 9th grade, I found a great article in a teen magazine about substituting low fat treats for fattening ones and made dietary changes. No more butter on my toast--jelly instead, that sort of thing. In a few short months, I had lost 30 pounds. I stayed around 120-130 through the rest of high school and college, but I was never happy. I still had a belly and my upper arms--ugh!

Fast forwarding some, I gained 60 pounds with my first daughter and had great difficulty losing it. It took me almost two years, but I got down to 130 pounds. I put on 27 pounds with my second daughter and lost it a lot more easily. In 2006, I was between 130-135 pounds and tried various "diets" to get down to the 120 I wanted to be at. Weight Watchers, South Beach. Nothing worked. Rather, the scale kept going back up! In just a couple of years, I gained 30 pounds. I couldn't understand it. I was frustrated and depressed. I was working out and eating low calorie. How was this gain possible?! People kept telling me that maybe I wasn't working out enough, maybe I wasn't eating enough, or maybe I was eating too much. It took me a couple of attempts to even get my doctor to trust the fact that I seemed to be gaining weight for no good reason. Finally, my doctor determined that my thyroid levels were far off, and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It explained not only my weight gain and diffiuclty with weight loss but a myriad of other symptoms I had been experiencing. Still, I continued to gain weight as the doctor worked to find the right dosage for me. She took the slow route. By the time my medication was at the right level in the fall of 2010, I was up 50 pounds since 2007. In this past November, I decided to get myself back in a gym and started counting points like I used to in WW. I was skeptical that I would lose anything since about 4 years of learned helplessness was making me quite pessimistic. I was thrilled when I lost about 5 pounds by mid-December. At the gym on Decemb 20, 2010, I was typing my calorie burn into a notepad feature on my phone when my husband suggested I look for an app. He actually said, "You know, there's probably an app for that!" :laugh: I did a search and that is how I found MFP! I guess in another post, I'll confess why I love MFP so much. This post is getting sooo long! I'll be amazed if anyone reads it!! :laugh:

Now that I'm 14 pounds down, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and believe that my thyroid isn't stopping me anymore. I am losing weight. I am getting stronger. I am going to be a healthy, happy role model for my daughters.

Thank you to my MFP friends for all the support and encouragement!!! If any of you have actually read this whole thing, you deserve a big hug. So, ((HUGS)) !!! :flowerforyou: So glad to be on this journey with so many amazing people!

I read the whole thing that is awesome that your thyroid is under control now, and that you are with the positive attitude, taking initiative for yourself and your daughters. As a mom, I know it can be so hard to push yourself because we get tired, frustrated, stressed etc...but you are doing it! And a darn good job at it! Keep up the hard work!

CuteMommy88

HELP!!! I feel like I am falling off the band wagon!! I have been so bad with my eating the last couple of days!! I have been eating pretty much everything in sight and I feel like a bottomless pit!! I have been doing soooo good and I really dont want to give up now and gain back everyhing that I have fought so hard to lose, not to mention I am nowhere near my goal weight!! I just dont understand what is going on with me lately!! I wish i had some idea as to when I am supposed to have TOM because maybe that could explain it but because I have Mirena I dont really have a flow so Im not sure when It supposed to be so that could be the cause of all the eating. I really need support right now and your help to stay on board with this!!!

whittrusty

HELP!!! I feel like I am falling off the band wagon!! I have been so bad with my eating the last couple of days!! I have been eating pretty much everything in sight and I feel like a bottomless pit!! I have been doing soooo good and I really dont want to give up now and gain back everyhing that I have fought so hard to lose, not to mention I am nowhere near my goal weight!! I just dont understand what is going on with me lately!! I wish i had some idea as to when I am supposed to have TOM because maybe that could explain it but because I have Mirena I dont really have a flow so Im not sure when It supposed to be so that could be the cause of all the eating. I really need support right now and your help to stay on board with this!!!

Tomorrow is another day. No matter how you have done the past few days, you have not ruined everything you've already accomplished. What's done is done. You can do this. Concentrate on what you want out of this journey. If you think about what you want to accomplish from now on, you can do anything!

I know you can do it!!!

Krys_T

HELP!!! I feel like I am falling off the band wagon!! I have been so bad with my eating the last couple of days!! I have been eating pretty much everything in sight and I feel like a bottomless pit!! I have been doing soooo good and I really dont want to give up now and gain back everyhing that I have fought so hard to lose, not to mention I am nowhere near my goal weight!! I just dont understand what is going on with me lately!! I wish i had some idea as to when I am supposed to have TOM because maybe that could explain it but because I have Mirena I dont really have a flow so Im not sure when It supposed to be so that could be the cause of all the eating. I really need support right now and your help to stay on board with this!!!

Well I'm totally there with you because this whole weekend I was craving everything from chocolate to chips and queso...ahhhh. Luckily, I don't have any of that stuff in my cupboard. And the only thing I can attribute it to is I am having PMS, but with Depo its like I don't think I am going to have a "flow" this month, but I know that my cravings have to be attributed to that. And when I stepped on the scale this morning...I almost cried! I was up 3lbs from Friday!?! Buuuuut I thought about it and figured that there is no way that I ate over 10,000 calories and I worked out...so I'm pretty sure it is water retention (because I know my water intake wasn't as good the past 3 days.). But its ok, I got up and worked out when I got home, ate well, and drank my water.

No problem girl...just get back on track and know that there are going to be ups and downs in our body's, because we are women and ohhhh wonderful women problems LOL. But seriously it is ok...we all have these moments. You have been doing great

leandread

HELP!!! I feel like I am falling off the band wagon!! I have been so bad with my eating the last couple of days!! I have been eating pretty much everything in sight and I feel like a bottomless pit!! I have been doing soooo good and I really dont want to give up now and gain back everyhing that I have fought so hard to lose, not to mention I am nowhere near my goal weight!! I just dont understand what is going on with me lately!! I wish i had some idea as to when I am supposed to have TOM because maybe that could explain it but because I have Mirena I dont really have a flow so Im not sure when It supposed to be so that could be the cause of all the eating. I really need support right now and your help to stay on board with this!!!

Well I'm totally there with you because this whole weekend I was craving everything from chocolate to chips and queso...ahhhh. Luckily, I don't have any of that stuff in my cupboard. And the only thing I can attribute it to is I am having PMS, but with Depo its like I don't think I am going to have a "flow" this month, but I know that my cravings have to be attributed to that. And when I stepped on the scale this morning...I almost cried! I was up 3lbs from Friday!?! Buuuuut I thought about it and figured that there is no way that I ate over 10,000 calories and I worked out...so I'm pretty sure it is water retention (because I know my water intake wasn't as good the past 3 days.). But its ok, I got up and worked out when I got home, ate well, and drank my water.

No problem girl...just get back on track and know that there are going to be ups and downs in our body's, because we are women and ohhhh wonderful women problems LOL. But seriously it is ok...we all have these moments. You have been doing great

Are we all living the same life??? I posted earlier about being up 3 lbs and cravings and salty sugary foods. And a bunch of people in this thread sent me messages to help me keep my sanity. And in a nutshell, they reminded me that this will pass! This is not about being "good" or being "bad", or making foods the villain. We have to remind ourselves that we can be on track and on point with food and exercise tomorrow but we have to remember today not to sabotage ourselves, either in body or in our thoughts.

robynrae_1

Ok so for V-day I thought I made a good desicion. I picked out sugar free cholocate for my husband to buy me. Well let me tell you that wasn't a good decision. I have had gas for the last 12 hours, I know TMI. The sugar free was made with sugar alcohol, I just did some research and yup that is why it sounds like I have a trombone in my pants. :embarassed:

At least I work by myself, otherwise I would have to walk out every 30 min. :laugh:
That and the music at Zumba was loud enough no one heard me...I hope.

Kkmama

Good Morning Snowflakes!
I had a crazy week last week...this week will be better.
I am getting a little frustrated with my weight loss, but then again I shouldn't, I am still losing just in much smaller bits than I was hoping for! But this is a new week and it is TOM time!
I work out (EA Sports 2 for the Wii) every day. I love it. I have been doing the 9 week challenge since the end of December. I am seeing inches come off. But the best part is I am finding that I am getting stronger. I am doing some of the exercises now that initially I just skipped. So I know I am doing something right.

This week my goals are :
to increase my water intake, I know I don't drink enough.
Get a bit more organized with having healthy quick to grab stuff available.
Also to eat more frequently so I don't get crazy with hunger

Now for my story....
My first memory of being fat was when I was 9 or 10 years old. Girls can be very mean. I had a "friend" that turned on me and bullied me and bullied everyone who talked to me. Luckily we moved with in two years of that happening, but the damage was already done. I had very low self esteem and food was my friend. All through middle school and high school I tried every diet that was going. Remember the Scarsdale Diet? I was a pro at that one! My weight continued to balloon until I hit 185 and could no longer hide the fact that I was fat and very unhappy. But I was the "smallest" of all my friends. Anyway I went to Weight Watchers when I was in grade 12 and lost 35 lbs and made it down to 150. I felt amazing.... Then I went off to College and gained back those 35 lbs back in a matter of months

Off and on for the next 10 years or so I bounced up and down the scale.... but it rarely went down. I finally "got it" when I turned 29 and joined WW again and lost 50 lbs and met my future husband! And same story again, I gained back all my pounds that I swore would never come back. Battled for the next decade up and down the scale, even getting under 199 a couple times!!!!

It's kind of funny that I am a Behavioural Therapist but can't seem to apply this stuff to my own life! Anyway I found this website while doing research for one of my patients who required help with understanding calorie counts (Not me of course! ):blushing: :blushing: :blushing: When my husband asked a couple months ago about wanting to lose 20 lbs and how to go about doing it I mentioned this website to him. And he logged and logged and logged and lost. It took seeing him be successful that I thought maybe I could try it. So I committed 50 days ago and am down 15 lbs. Still have a way to go, but I am enjoying the journey with all of you. I am grateful for this challenge. It is keeping me motivate and honest.

Let's have an awesome week! Now that I know that we are going to be posting pics at the halfway mark (March 18th, right?!) I really gotta get my act together.

.... Now if only the snow would melt, just like we are :flowerforyou:

Christina

punkrawkcutie

Well as some of you may know already...I will be registering to do Susan G. Komen: Race for The Cure 5k on May 7th! I am extremely excited about this because Im not a runner. But I actually start tomorrow training. So I will be starting off slow with incorporating walking/jogging into my workout schedule twice a week and then going from there.

Then in October I will be doing the Susan G Komen: 3 Day! I thought that both of these things would be an awesome goal for me to "train" for. I am honestly, not doing it to win...I already love charity type stuff and I thought what a better way to raise money for charity and also get in some really good exercise. Whoever thought I would running or jogging ANYWHERE LOL But hey, 2011 is a new year right...and time to step out of the comfort zone!

Also, I have two Zumba Charity Events called: Party Hearty for the American Heart Association on February 26th and March 12th....basically it is like going to a 3 Hour Zumba class for charity....nice! I figure at the end of this month I am going to give myself a 5 day mini vacation...and I will be able to sit down and map everything out for my Zumba business venture and everything else!

So busy busy busy....but I think it is good for me, because I really want to use the things that I have learned and am still learning to help other people and motivate them to make a very achievable change in their lives.

EEEE i am doing my first run on May 8th!!!!!! I totally feel ya!!! We will do amazing!

punkrawkcutie

So, thus far this is a WAY better week than the last 2. (going up 4 then only losing 1). I snuck a peek and I am already down 1.5 since Friday. Going to guess that some of that is water, but my work outs and eating were awesome over the past 4 days so maybe it's not as much ater as I think!

I am so glad everyone is sticking with it!!!

Happy rest of the week!!! and happy scales friday!
xoxo-s

Steph_135

Mollie... :flowerforyou: *HUGS* :drinker:

i joined MFP in the beginning of august and i have lost 36.6lbs so far. yes, my weight loss has been slow, but i am so happy i have gotten this far! i feel so much better than 6 months ago. i have gone from a super tight 18/should have been a comfortable 20 to loose fitting 16s/almost 14s so far (i have big hips too!!). i know this is something i can do for life and i am so excited to see what the future brings. i am very excited i get to share my journey with all of you.

miss_amy... Amazing progress!! At times, I've almost needed to purchase a size 20, but I forbid myself to do so! I'm very inspired by your story. :flowerforyou:

(i have big hips too!!)

:drinker: (Yes, I quoted that separately!!) We should start a club. :laugh:

Also, I have two Zumba Charity Events called: Party Hearty for the American Heart Association on February 26th and March 12th....basically it is like going to a 3 Hour Zumba class for charity....nice! I figure at the end of this month I am going to give myself a 5 day mini vacation...and I will be able to sit down and map everything out for my Zumba business venture and everything else!

Krys... That's SO motivating! You're really going places in your life, and I'm really honoured that you share your journey with us. I with there was a Zumbathon charity near me, but it seems that the closest one is in NY, and that's simply too far... :frown: (I'll have to do a deeper search...)

Last night Zumba inspired me to get my 30 Day Shred in! All day I was feeling down and was eating bad, and making excuses as to why I couldn't get the Shred in, but after Zumba I was feeling TERRIFIC! Like, better than I've felt in DAYS! I threw on the Shred DVD and got moving, and was finished by 10pm. It was a major accomplishment for me. :blushing:

Steph_135

I was always an active kid--even did dance school for years. My problem wasn't activity; it was food. My mom would have sodas, chips, and candy in the house, and I would pick those as my treats more often than I should have.

Val... I totally hear you on that!

He actually said, "You know, there's probably an app for that!" :laugh: I did a search and that is how I found MFP! I guess in another post, I'll confess why I love MFP so much. This post is getting sooo long! I'll be amazed if anyone reads it!! :laugh:

Now that I'm 14 pounds down, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and believe that my thyroid isn't stopping me anymore. I am losing weight. I am getting stronger. I am going to be a healthy, happy role model for my daughters.

:laugh: @ your husband! That's awesome! Congrats on your progress, and on being in charge!

HELP!!! I feel like I am falling off the band wagon!! I have been so bad with my eating the last couple of days!! I have been eating pretty much everything in sight and I feel like a bottomless pit!! I have been doing soooo good and I really dont want to give up now and gain back everyhing that I have fought so hard to lose, not to mention I am nowhere near my goal weight!! I just dont understand what is going on with me lately!!

Amanda... I know you don't have time to read this, but I really recommend Bob Greene's "Keep the Connection" to you (espec. the first chapter, "Motivation", which I'm pretty sure I mentioned on this board once before...) He talks about how the connection is really all about loving yourself. It's about loving yourself and caring enough about yourself that you make healthy choices that are good for you (working out and eating right). When you love yourself, you will treat yourself kindly. Go easy on yourself, and try again tomorrow. Try deep breathing when you feel like you want to eat something unhealthy, and ask your body if that's what it REALLY wants. Take a few moments to think about what you really want to nourish your body with. (You might also enjoy "Women Food and God" by Geneen Roth.) :flowerforyou:

whittrusty

Just another reminder that I'm on the right track: I got measured by the personal trainer yesterday and I'm at 27.3% body fat. I started at 35.8%!! I'm only 2.3% away from getting into the healthy range!!

Well, today is a study study study day, then I'm going to run a little before kickboxing tonight! Hope everyone has a great day!

healthydoseofglitter

Ok so for V-day I thought I made a good desicion. I picked out sugar free cholocate for my husband to buy me. Well let me tell you that wasn't a good decision. I have had gas for the last 12 hours, I know TMI. The sugar free was made with sugar alcohol, I just did some research and yup that is why it sounds like I have a trombone in my pants. :embarassed:

At least I work by myself, otherwise I would have to walk out every 30 min. :laugh:
That and the music at Zumba was loud enough no one heard me...I hope.

Haha that sounds like something that would happen to me! Only I work in a quiet office with other people so you have to pray no one hears you LOL!! I wouldnt worry about people hearing at zumba the music was probably loud enough Lessoned learned though if I am going to eat chocolate I am going to get the real deal not sugar free :flowerforyou: Moderation is key with everything!

Positively_Me

Well now that we have been getting to know each other a little better over the past month or so...I wanted to post a topic for us to get to know each other even more and grant a better understanding of our motivation.


So I want us to share...how did we get here? How did we get to this point of feeling like we needed to lose weight, take our lives back, and become healthier? I know that we all have a story and different motivations for how we got to MFP. And why did we choose MFP and not Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, or Jenny Craig? If you do not feel comfortable sharing yet, that is ok...definitely understandable. I just want us to find other levels for us to connect on and be able to empathize or encourage each other.

I had Gastric Bypass surgery (Weight Loss Surgery) October 2004. I have been morbidly obese all my life. I have a lifetime of mental and physical scars from obesity. After having WLS I really thought all would be good and no more struggle with obesity. Wrong. They told us the surgery was just a TOOL and that hard work was required also but when you start losing weight quickly you forget what you were taught initially.

From my highest weight of 611, I got down to 302 which is over 300 pounds lost. When I went into surgery I was 580. So being down to 302 for me might as well have been 150. I was in heaven! Then old nasty habits start to resurface after the honeymoon period was over. Which is 12 to 18 months out. I maintain weight between 310 and 320 for about a year and slowly the pounds started creeping back on me. So by February of last year I was back up to 388. I was horrified to see that I was 12 pounds away from being 400 pounds again.

388 was the number that threw me into action to get myself help. I admitted I had to deal with my eating addiction. I had had enough mental therapy already and I knew why I ate but I was still eating when not hungry and I am still struggle with this every day and will do so forever. But I have to find a way to manage it. So I did many things which I am not going to go into further here but needless to say a friend on ObesityHelp.com recommended this site to me. I don't even remember who it was and not thinking back I think it was a post I saw mention this site. They have a site over there called Back On Track Together and they listed many places where we could log our food and exercise. but this name kept being sited everywhere so I decided to click on the link that was mentioned and the post. I found it interesting, because I had been logging my food in written form off and on for years anyways, but I was determined to do this once and for all. To accept I will always have to work hard to manage my weight and that was OK but I was going to do.

I promised and committed to myself to 1st stop gaining weight, 2nd to lose the 80 pounds I gained back, and 3rd to get to my original goal weight of 220 pounds--anything under 250!! (250 is the weight that I have always put on my drivers license)

I can truly say MFP has really helped me stay mindful of these 3 goals. So I have one goal met and 2 to go!! My only goal in 2011 is to get less than 300 pounds and that will get me my 2nd goal of re-losing the 80 pounds gained. Once this is reached I will focus on getting to 220.

The friends found on this site have kept me encouraged and motivated. By now I may would have given up but the opposite is true now.

I must say that S2S challenge is my favorite weight loss challenge so far!! They all have had their positive attributes but S2S has it all in one swoop! Some of the others the leaders fell off the scene when their motivation was down. Some just did not have any accountability. You could just check in or not check in. Regardless they were all good and they got me to here and I kept searching for groups and I finally found a good one that is driving me to success and that is what I needed.

So that is how I got here!:flowerforyou: Thanks so much for your support S2S!! :flowerforyou: And the other great thing about MFP is it is absolutely FREE of charge. I was not going to pay for one more therapist or weight loss program. The only thing I have to do here is be a good friend and encourage myself by encouraging others to meet their goals.

Mollie, tHanks for sharing your story:flowerforyou:

Positively_Me

Well now that we have been getting to know each other a little better over the past month or so...I wanted to post a topic for us to get to know each other even more and grant a better understanding of our motivation.


So I want us to share...how did we get here? How did we get to this point of feeling like we needed to lose weight, take our lives back, and become healthier? I know that we all have a story and different motivations for how we got to MFP. And why did we choose MFP and not Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, or Jenny Craig? If you do not feel comfortable sharing yet, that is ok...definitely understandable. I just want us to find other levels for us to connect on and be able to empathize or encourage each other.

Finally getting a chance to respond. I still need to catch up on some reading on the thread and get to know others' stories. Since I have a minute now.... Here goes mine...

I have never been completely happy with my body. I can remember since fourth grade feeling like the "chubby" kid. I had to wear elastic waist pants when other kids wore "cool" clothes. It got worse when puberty struck. Boy, did it get worse. Not only did I put on more weight, but the hormones just made me more depressed about it. My family would take hikes and walks. I was always an active kid--even did dance school for years. My problem wasn't activity; it was food. My mom would have sodas, chips, and candy in the house, and I would pick those as my treats more often than I should have.

I can remember being in ninth grade and weighing about 155. At that point I was about 5'3". I was seated at my desk in a classroom and managed to get a glimpse of my thighs. I was horrified at how big they looked. I went home from school that day vowing to change things. I set up an exercise schedule. My workouts consisted of dancing, stretching, sit-ups, and reverse crunches. I would jump around and dance until I felt like I would faint. The summer after 9th grade, I found a great article in a teen magazine about substituting low fat treats for fattening ones and made dietary changes. No more butter on my toast--jelly instead, that sort of thing. In a few short months, I had lost 30 pounds. I stayed around 120-130 through the rest of high school and college, but I was never happy. I still had a belly and my upper arms--ugh!

Fast forwarding some, I gained 60 pounds with my first daughter and had great difficulty losing it. It took me almost two years, but I got down to 130 pounds. I put on 27 pounds with my second daughter and lost it a lot more easily. In 2006, I was between 130-135 pounds and tried various "diets" to get down to the 120 I wanted to be at. Weight Watchers, South Beach. Nothing worked. Rather, the scale kept going back up! In just a couple of years, I gained 30 pounds. I couldn't understand it. I was frustrated and depressed. I was working out and eating low calorie. How was this gain possible?! People kept telling me that maybe I wasn't working out enough, maybe I wasn't eating enough, or maybe I was eating too much. It took me a couple of attempts to even get my doctor to trust the fact that I seemed to be gaining weight for no good reason. Finally, my doctor determined that my thyroid levels were far off, and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It explained not only my weight gain and diffiuclty with weight loss but a myriad of other symptoms I had been experiencing. Still, I continued to gain weight as the doctor worked to find the right dosage for me. She took the slow route. By the time my medication was at the right level in the fall of 2010, I was up 50 pounds since 2007. In this past November, I decided to get myself back in a gym and started counting points like I used to in WW. I was skeptical that I would lose anything since about 4 years of learned helplessness was making me quite pessimistic. I was thrilled when I lost about 5 pounds by mid-December. At the gym on Decemb 20, 2010, I was typing my calorie burn into a notepad feature on my phone when my husband suggested I look for an app. He actually said, "You know, there's probably an app for that!" :laugh: I did a search and that is how I found MFP! I guess in another post, I'll confess why I love MFP so much. This post is getting sooo long! I'll be amazed if anyone reads it!! :laugh:

Now that I'm 14 pounds down, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and believe that my thyroid isn't stopping me anymore. I am losing weight. I am getting stronger. I am going to be a healthy, happy role model for my daughters.

Thank you to my MFP friends for all the support and encouragement!!! If any of you have actually read this whole thing, you deserve a big hug. So, ((HUGS)) !!! :flowerforyou: So glad to be on this journey with so many amazing people!

Amazing story! thanks for sharing The big hug goes to you for NOT GIVING UP!!!:flowerforyou: