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

Krys_T

Happy Tuesday everyone! I didn't get to get up and jog this morning because I was up way to late last night to cut out sleep. However, I plan on at least jogging in place for 35 to 40 minutes in while dinner is in the oven. That way I can still "technically be jogging" and then keep going with the rest of of my regular schedule for this week.

I have put the scale under the bed....I am still seeing a gain from last week, as of this morning....but I am not worried about it...as long as I keep doing what I am doing, it is going to fall off! I just figured that beating myself up is so not worth it AT ALL! I am better than that, and I know what things to do and not do, and what things to eat and not eat. I will NOT be defeated! I have a lot more information about how the body works and so it is a lot easier to take small gains or maintains in stride because I can identify the problem now!

With that being said...Let's kick some major butt this week and for the rest of the challenge SNOWFLAKES!!! WOOOOO.

IsMollyReallyHungry

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.

:laugh: :laugh: I needed a good laugh today!! Thanks!! I like my SF cholocate.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Happy Tuesday everyone! I didn't get to get up and jog this morning because I was up way to late last night to cut out sleep. However, I plan on at least jogging in place for 35 to 40 minutes in while dinner is in the oven. That way I can still "technically be jogging" and then keep going with the rest of of my regular schedule for this week.

I have put the scale under the bed....I am still seeing a gain from last week, as of this morning....but I am not worried about it...as long as I keep doing what I am doing, it is going to fall off! I just figured that beating myself up is so not worth it AT ALL! I am better than that, and I know what things to do and not do, and what things to eat and not eat. I will NOT be defeated! I have a lot more information about how the body works and so it is a lot easier to take small gains or maintains in stride because I can identify the problem now!

With that being said...Let's kick some major butt this week and for the rest of the challenge SNOWFLAKES!!! WOOOOO.

Good attitude!! and you are right, now that you have the knowledge you will be fine. Knowledge is very helpful and the fact that we know we are not perfect and making lifestyle changes. So in life we are going to have ups and downs.



And BTW - I am going to be in the same boat this week! and I so much know better but I celebrated a little too much this weekend, actually since Friday's weigh in and now I am going to pay for it. I hope I can be back at 348 by Saturday. I doubt it but if I work real hard I can. Today's weight I know as not a real weight, but by Thursday I will know real gain after sodium, etc has been flushed out.....:-) Yes Mollie was a bad girl this weekend. I know that I have a tendency to celebrate weight loss success with overeating and I did it again. I also know I need to weight no less than every other day also so if I decide to celebrate with more than one meal, seeing the scale will help me get back on the stick. How I wish I had stepped on the scale on Sunday! But I did not and lesson learned again. I will get it right, just have to let the gain go and get back on the wagon today.

I have come a long ways since I can laugh about a weight gain. One day at a time!! Have a good day all!! I will try to catch up on the posts later today!

whittrusty

I had my first training run today for my 10K that's 6 weeks from Saturday. I ran 2 miles in 23:15! I think that's pretty good for my first run!

In other news, my "if every day were like today, you'd weigh xxx in 5 weeks" number is finally in the 170s!!! That's CRAZY!! I love thinking about being in the 170s because I never made it past the 180s when I lost weight for my wedding. Breaking that barrier will be awesome.

Hope everyone is having a good day!!!

Val_Gets_Fit

In other news, my "if every day were like today, you'd weigh xxx in 5 weeks" number is finally in the 170s!!! That's CRAZY!! I love thinking about being in the 170s because I never made it past the 180s when I lost weight for my wedding. Breaking that barrier will be awesome.

Awesome!! You'll bust through to the 170s in no time!

mishamae

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!

Wow Val what a journey you've been on I'm so proud of you for standing up for what was happening with your body and your weight loss I'm also so glad your hubby suggested looking for an app because here we are! 14lbs is such a great accomplishment

ChantalC1969

OK... Here I go.... sorry if my English is not that great...

My name is Chantal, I’m 41 years old even if I tell everyone that I’m still 29 with a little bit of dust on top…:ohwell: I’m a proud mother of an almost 10 years old daughter.

I was a skinny kid. I started gaining weight a little when I was in high school but not that much. I would say at that point I was at a normal size. I lost my dad when I was 15. It was the end of my world. Everything went down from there… In my mind, since I was the oldest, I needed to take care of my mom and my two youngest sisters. I vowed to my dad in heaven that I would never leave my mom’s sides. So instead of pursuing my dream of becoming a teacher I stayed with my mom and worked at the local restaurant. OMG did I ever gain weight!!! I would spend most of my pay check on food at the restaurant. The worst part is that I don’t remember hitting 140, 150, 175, 200… I don’t remember seeing something I liked or dislike in the mirror. Then I started going out drinking with friends every weekend… I didn’t realize how much calories you take in a single beer... on top we would eat at the restaurant all the time… I was probably 220 lbs at that time…From 2004 to 2006, I went through a bad relationship putting my weight up to 298 lbs in just 16 months… Depression after depression, this is when it hit me the first time… I needed to do something so I worked hard and lost 65 lbs in 6 months. I fell down the stairs and had a hard time walking or exercising for a long time. So part of that weight came back. When I got pregnant in 2000, my weight was around 250 lbs. When I had my baby girl I was at 245 lbs so I cannot blame the baby fat…:laugh: LOL I now know how I gain all the weight… I eat my emotions and I still do… I always had stressful job in the past 10 years and it brought me not to eat properly; I would not eat for a few days, eating junk food on most other days… In 2009 I started having anxiety attacks. I lost 40 lbs in 6 weeks. I did not know what was going on but I was so scared, I did not want to die like my father did… he was 40 years old when he died of a heart attack and I was going to be 40 in November… I finally went to see the doctors and everything went back to normal, found a new job and gain all that weight back and more. I lost my job in August and I hit over 350 lbs:noway: in September 2010. At that point, my mother told me she was afraid I would die. She started this challenge within the family. Not that she needs to lose the weight but she is leading this group. There is 7 of us participating… well let’s say I’m the only participant and I know that they are doing this for me. They do have a little bit of weight to lose but not that much. All of them together do not come close to what I need to lose alone. Anyway I’m glad that I’m doing this for ME… I am important. All my life I would do anything for others. I’m a really generous person with everything I have. I never say no to help anyone. But right now, I’m selfish. I need to do this for ME, ME and only ME. I know deep in my heart that I’m also doing this for my daughter. I want to be able to do simple thing with her like riding a bike this summer. Also for my mom that has been so great to me throughout this process. She needs to see me healthy. She is the one that told me about this website. She doesn’t understand much English but she managed to log-in her food somehow… Since I started using MFP, she did not logged in once… I wonder why?:huh: She managed to lose close to 10 lbs up to now.

I have lost 50 lbs as of last week. I now know I won’t lose all this weight over night. I’m doing this slowly but surely. Glad that I’m part of this challenge. Thank you all for being there for me. I know that I don’t post very often but I need to translate in my head everything I write down and I feel sometime that it does not come out in English the way I want to say it in French… Does that make sense???:frown: LOL:laugh:

I am here for a long time! Be prepared... you are stuck with me until I hit my goal weight!!! LOL:laugh:

Chantal:flowerforyou:

IsMollyReallyHungry

Thanks for sharing Chantal!! I will be here with you for a long time!! Congrats on weight loss thus far and keep up the good work! You are rocking it babe!


S2S are all rocking it!! I am so glad Krys brought up this subject of how did we get here!! Very encouraging and inspiring!!

Happy Hump day all!:flowerforyou:

Good night!

IsMollyReallyHungry

I gained 9 from Friday weigh in.:grumble: Gaining is a part of the process we are going thru. It is part of changing our lives and it will be part of our new heatlhy lifestyle. If you have not check in or weighed in because of a gain, don't do it. Check in. You are not a failure.

I post below on another thread and wanted to share with my favorite group S2S.

Owning up to the gain is good for us and not beating ourselves up about it. It is what it is and a gain is not a failure. Failure is giving up and not learning from the experience. That is one of the things I have learned over the years of trying to lose weight. Consistency over time is key and not perfection.

Many who try to lose weight fall into the trap of thinking they need to be perfect to succeed. I have seen it with some of you. When you are hot you are full of enthusiasm and words of encouragement, etc. But when you are not doing “good” you are quiet and can’t forgive yourself or brush it off as you are human and not perfect. Some just kind of drop of the scene like they sinned, committed a crime, or they are too ashamed. Shame is useful for reflection, but again dwelling on the negatives will get you nowhere.

It would be good for the group and yourself that when you gain, you talk about it. Not talking about it means you feel you did something bad. There is no bad for relapse and lapses. That is why you rarely hear me say I was bad today or last week. I was not bad when I make poor choices. It was a choice I made and making them does not make me a bad person and the same goes for anyone who has gained weight. It does not pay to make excuses either but it is worse to beat yourself up and withdraw because you have a bad week or 2 or 3. Just keep getting back up and that is success. Never giving up will get you to your 10 pounds lost or to any goal you have in life.

I fell right back into one of my habits of celebrating my success with food. So I finally reached my 40 pound milestone last Friday so what did I do I celebrated the whole weekend and Monday. Had a bunch of jive I knew was bad. I didn't log and I did not step on scale. It is normal for me not to log on the weekends and I usually splurge on weekends also, but within reason. I knew I was off the chain this weekend! I learn from the experience and back on the stick yesterday.

My take away from my 9 pound gain is no more 4 day splurges for Mollie!:laugh: 2nd take away is I will be weighing daily or most days for sure. This works best for me because I know I am a food addict and the one thing that will help me put the brakes on is the scale.

For over 30 years I never weighed myself. We did not even have a scale in the house growing up. I was in weight denial and I never want to go back to those days. The director of my weight loss surgery program made me buy a scale over 6 years ago and he really demands that his patients weigh daily. I learned a lot about my eating by doing this before my WLS. I can honestly say once I get over the normal fluctuations of the scale the scale is my friend.:happy: I don't believe I would have ever gained back the 80 pounds I did after my WLS if I had continued to faithfully weigh myself daily. So back to a good habit for Mollie. Weighing daily does not work for many. But the studies do show and confirm that it does for many of us and this is what helps many keep their lost weight off.

My last take away is I have to find another way to celebrate my weight loss success. It is so automatic for me to celebrate anything with food.

Don't give up gainers! You can do it! Just get back on program today or as soon as you can. Today is better than tomorrow. The next meal is better than tomorrow.

Have a good week everyone!! :flowerforyou:

Positively_Me

Morning Snowflakers!

I am a bit frustrated because I have been workout every single day and sorta watching what I am eating. I eat much better and healthier but I am (somedays) over on calories, carbs, and fat...

I have noticed my body changing every day. My stomach is getting tighter, the baby pouch is less noticable, and my collor bone is much more noticable too. my arms are getting tighter too. however, the scale is not showing me my hard work. I am trying not ot focus on the scale and just motivate myself by how I feel...and I feel amazing..but it is so frustrating to see the same number for the past couple of weeks. I even added or changed my workouts to trick my body but the weight is at a stand still. WHY?

I am not going to let this get me down...my daughter ( workout buddy) has said I look thiner but not really showing on the scale...oh well

I got ot go my son is bugging me..be back later ;-)

miss_amy

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!

wow we do have a lot in common! lol- thanks girl! you're doing amazing too!!

Krys_T

OK... Here I go.... sorry if my English is not that great...

My name is Chantal, I’m 41 years old even if I tell everyone that I’m still 29 with a little bit of dust on top…:ohwell: I’m a proud mother of an almost 10 years old daughter.

I was a skinny kid. I started gaining weight a little when I was in high school but not that much. I would say at that point I was at a normal size. I lost my dad when I was 15. It was the end of my world. Everything went down from there… In my mind, since I was the oldest, I needed to take care of my mom and my two youngest sisters. I vowed to my dad in heaven that I would never leave my mom’s sides. So instead of pursuing my dream of becoming a teacher I stayed with my mom and worked at the local restaurant. OMG did I ever gain weight!!! I would spend most of my pay check on food at the restaurant. The worst part is that I don’t remember hitting 140, 150, 175, 200… I don’t remember seeing something I liked or dislike in the mirror. Then I started going out drinking with friends every weekend… I didn’t realize how much calories you take in a single beer... on top we would eat at the restaurant all the time… I was probably 220 lbs at that time…From 2004 to 2006, I went through a bad relationship putting my weight up to 298 lbs in just 16 months… Depression after depression, this is when it hit me the first time… I needed to do something so I worked hard and lost 65 lbs in 6 months. I fell down the stairs and had a hard time walking or exercising for a long time. So part of that weight came back. When I got pregnant in 2000, my weight was around 250 lbs. When I had my baby girl I was at 245 lbs so I cannot blame the baby fat…:laugh: LOL I now know how I gain all the weight… I eat my emotions and I still do… I always had stressful job in the past 10 years and it brought me not to eat properly; I would not eat for a few days, eating junk food on most other days… In 2009 I started having anxiety attacks. I lost 40 lbs in 6 weeks. I did not know what was going on but I was so scared, I did not want to die like my father did… he was 40 years old when he died of a heart attack and I was going to be 40 in November… I finally went to see the doctors and everything went back to normal, found a new job and gain all that weight back and more. I lost my job in August and I hit over 350 lbs:noway: in September 2010. At that point, my mother told me she was afraid I would die. She started this challenge within the family. Not that she needs to lose the weight but she is leading this group. There is 7 of us participating… well let’s say I’m the only participant and I know that they are doing this for me. They do have a little bit of weight to lose but not that much. All of them together do not come close to what I need to lose alone. Anyway I’m glad that I’m doing this for ME… I am important. All my life I would do anything for others. I’m a really generous person with everything I have. I never say no to help anyone. But right now, I’m selfish. I need to do this for ME, ME and only ME. I know deep in my heart that I’m also doing this for my daughter. I want to be able to do simple thing with her like riding a bike this summer. Also for my mom that has been so great to me throughout this process. She needs to see me healthy. She is the one that told me about this website. She doesn’t understand much English but she managed to log-in her food somehow… Since I started using MFP, she did not logged in once… I wonder why?:huh: She managed to lose close to 10 lbs up to now.

I have lost 50 lbs as of last week. I now know I won’t lose all this weight over night. I’m doing this slowly but surely. Glad that I’m part of this challenge. Thank you all for being there for me. I know that I don’t post very often but I need to translate in my head everything I write down and I feel sometime that it does not come out in English the way I want to say it in French… Does that make sense???:frown: LOL:laugh:

I am here for a long time! Be prepared... you are stuck with me until I hit my goal weight!!! LOL:laugh:

Chantal:flowerforyou:

You English is absolutely fine! It is actual better than most Americans LOL...What a great story you have there! Keep it up!

Krys_T

Morning Snowflakers!

I am a bit frustrated because I have been workout every single day and sorta watching what I am eating. I eat much better and healthier but I am (somedays) over on calories, carbs, and fat...

I have noticed my body changing every day. My stomach is getting tighter, the baby pouch is less noticable, and my collor bone is much more noticable too. my arms are getting tighter too. however, the scale is not showing me my hard work. I am trying not ot focus on the scale and just motivate myself by how I feel...and I feel amazing..but it is so frustrating to see the same number for the past couple of weeks. I even added or changed my workouts to trick my body but the weight is at a stand still. WHY?

I am not going to let this get me down...my daughter ( workout buddy) has said I look thiner but not really showing on the scale...oh well

I got ot go my son is bugging me..be back later ;-)

I totally understand. Just make sure that you are drinking lots of water and switching up your routine. Like I always say...."If you are eating truly right and exercising...there is NO way that scale won't move!" You are doing great girl...just keep it up and you will see those numbers drop!

Krys_T

I post below on another thread and wanted to share with my favorite group S2S.

Owning up to the gain is good for us and not beating ourselves up about it. It is what it is and a gain is not a failure. Failure is giving up and not learning from the experience. That is one of the things I have learned over the years of trying to lose weight. Consistency over time is key and not perfection.

Many who try to lose weight fall into the trap of thinking they need to be perfect to succeed. I have seen it with some of you. When you are hot you are full of enthusiasm and words of encouragement, etc. But when you are not doing “good” you are quiet and can’t forgive yourself or brush it off as you are human and not perfect. Some just kind of drop of the scene like they sinned, committed a crime, or they are too ashamed. Shame is useful for reflection, but again dwelling on the negatives will get you nowhere.

THIS IS SO TRUE! So many people will gain and then get quiet or not talk about it. I think the mindset is "I don't want people to know that I failed!"

You have to remember that no one is going to judge you....we are ALL trying to do the same thing and NO ONE Is perfect in this...if we were...well heck we wouldn't be on MFP trying to lose weight in the first place. I had to embrace my gain from Friday...work hard and todat I got on the scale and it was all gone...all 4lbs from Friday's weigh in was gone! So now I have to work towards seeing a loss by Friday! I am glad that for the most part we all own up to our week moments....it is so much healthier to own up to it and then learn from it! Well said girl!

bhonniered

Well I kinda fell out of touch this week :frown: I have gained a couple lbs. back and then have been maintaining. It is rather frustrating, but I am going to just keep on going - no quitting!

So.. my story

Growing up I was always that skinny kid - my kids call them sticks. When I met my husband I weighed 105 (I am 5'6"). Well.. we would go to parties and drink and eat and drink... by the time I got pregnant w/my 1st daughter I was 135 and with the 2nd daughter a year later I was at about 150. I slowing kept gaining weight for no reason other than to much food and to little exercise (well actually no exercise). Over the years I have always had a desk job and in 2009 I found out that I weighed 219 lbs and have Rheumatoid arthritis.

Out of the blue I quit my desk job and stayed home with the kids for almost 6 months. At that point I took an overnight job working in the back room of Target pull stock and stuff like that. And can you believe it I lost 45 lbs. I then got an awesome job (again sitting at a desk) and at 175 lbs I got pregnant with my last daughter. After having her I was up to 226.

One of my very good friends had WLS and has lost over 100 lbs. She looks freaking amazing and her willpower to not eat the crap is great! One night she and her husband came over and we all were playing with our new iphones - you know showing off apps and stuff like that. She then showed me this app. I sat there looking at it thinking - I can do that!

The very next day I started using the food logging part of the app and lost 5 lbs in a couple weeks. That motivated me to explore more ways to use the app. I then discovered the website and all the forums and amazing people that here.

I have lost 27 lbs since 10/1/10! This is the 1st time in my life that I have truly taken control of my health. As a bonus with the weight loss my Rheumatoid arthritis is not as bad as it once was.

Although I have hit a plateau I am still excited to do this lifestyle change and you know what – I actually LOVE to exercise now!

Krys_T

Well I kinda fell out of touch this week :frown: I have gained a couple lbs. back and then have been maintaining. It is rather frustrating, but I am going to just keep on going - no quitting!

So.. my story

Growing up I was always that skinny kid - my kids call them sticks. When I met my husband I weighed 105 (I am 5'6"). Well.. we would go to parties and drink and eat and drink... by the time I got pregnant w/my 1st daughter I was 135 and with the 2nd daughter a year later I was at about 150. I slowing kept gaining weight for no reason other than to much food and to little exercise (well actually no exercise). Over the years I have always had a desk job and in 2009 I found out that I weighed 219 lbs and have Rheumatoid arthritis.

Out of the blue I quit my desk job and stayed home with the kids for almost 6 months. At that point I took an overnight job working in the back room of Target pull stock and stuff like that. And can you believe it I lost 45 lbs. I then got an awesome job (again sitting at a desk) and at 175 lbs I got pregnant with my last daughter. After having her I was up to 226.

One of my very good friends had WLS and has lost over 100 lbs. She looks freaking amazing and her willpower to not eat the crap is great! One night she and her husband came over and we all were playing with our new iphones - you know showing off apps and stuff like that. She then showed me this app. I sat there looking at it thinking - I can do that!

The very next day I started using the food logging part of the app and lost 5 lbs in a couple weeks. That motivated me to explore more ways to use the app. I then discovered the website and all the forums and amazing people that here.

I have lost 27 lbs since 10/1/10! This is the 1st time in my life that I have truly taken control of my health. As a bonus with the weight loss my Rheumatoid arthritis is not as bad as it once was.

Although I have hit a plateau I am still excited to do this lifestyle change and you know what – I actually LOVE to exercise now!

Awesome story! You are doing great Bonnie! Keep up the hard work and don't EVER get discouraged...you have come this far!

bhonniered

Thanks Krys!

IsMollyReallyHungry

Well I kinda fell out of touch this week :frown: I have gained a couple lbs. back and then have been maintaining. It is rather frustrating, but I am going to just keep on going - no quitting!

So.. my story

Growing up I was always that skinny kid - my kids call them sticks. When I met my husband I weighed 105 (I am 5'6"). Well.. we would go to parties and drink and eat and drink... by the time I got pregnant w/my 1st daughter I was 135 and with the 2nd daughter a year later I was at about 150. I slowing kept gaining weight for no reason other than to much food and to little exercise (well actually no exercise). Over the years I have always had a desk job and in 2009 I found out that I weighed 219 lbs and have Rheumatoid arthritis.

Out of the blue I quit my desk job and stayed home with the kids for almost 6 months. At that point I took an overnight job working in the back room of Target pull stock and stuff like that. And can you believe it I lost 45 lbs. I then got an awesome job (again sitting at a desk) and at 175 lbs I got pregnant with my last daughter. After having her I was up to 226.

One of my very good friends had WLS and has lost over 100 lbs. She looks freaking amazing and her willpower to not eat the crap is great! One night she and her husband came over and we all were playing with our new iphones - you know showing off apps and stuff like that. She then showed me this app. I sat there looking at it thinking - I can do that!

The very next day I started using the food logging part of the app and lost 5 lbs in a couple weeks. That motivated me to explore more ways to use the app. I then discovered the website and all the forums and amazing people that here.

I have lost 27 lbs since 10/1/10! This is the 1st time in my life that I have truly taken control of my health. As a bonus with the weight loss my Rheumatoid arthritis is not as bad as it once was.

Although I have hit a plateau I am still excited to do this lifestyle change and you know what – I actually LOVE to exercise now!

Awesome story Bonnie! Thanks for sharing!! I bet exercising helps your arthritis also! keep up the good work!

bhonniered

Mollie - when I was first diagnosed I totally blew off the Dr.s suggestion of exercise because I hurt so much, but now I am a total believer! I even do some high impact stuff and it feels good!

CuteMommy88

Happy Hump Day Snowflakes!! I hope everyone is having a great week!! As for me this week, things have been a little out of wack. Over the weekend I was pretty much over on calories everyday!! I just couldnt stop eating no matter what. Yesterday I started clinical observations so I have been going straight from class to the hospital so I am not having a whole lot of time to plan meals or workout, we also got a noise complaint at our apartment(we live on the third floor) so now I am a little worried that I am not going to be able to do my workouts anymore....im kinda freakin out!!!