Healthy for the Holidays Challenge - 9/06 - 11/22

emariec78

So here's my weight loss journey so far. I'm one of those people who has basically struggled with being a little overweight my whole life. After college my activity levels slowly starting declining and my weight slowly started going up. About 6 years ago I hit my max weight which was around 225. I knew I had put on a lot of weight but I guess I was in denial at how bad I actually looked and like so many others it was seeing some picutures of myself and hearing some comments from strangers that woke me up about it. My reasons for gaining weight are unfortunately much more mental than physical so this has been a long and difficult struggle for me and it continues to be. I won't drag on about all of that on here, but using MFP has actually helped wake me up about some of the issues I have and I'm slowly finding new ways to deal with things that will hopefully help keep me going in the right direction. So to quantify how far I've come-I've 5'7 and I went from a very tight size 14 to currently a size 8 and I'm down around 70 pounds overall. That's not too shabby :happy:

Tissues

So... I got on the scale this morning and I'm back down to 142.6.. my weight makes NO SENSE!

My weight loss journey I can actually pinpoint where the weight gain began. My dad died when I was 15 and I went from a size 5/7 to a size 11/13 seriously within a matter of months. Not sure on the exact numbers but I want to say I gained like 40lbs. I remember being in the 120's, then jumping into the 160's. Then after that I had a verbally abusive boyfriend who put me on a diet. I lost 35lbs when I was with him, but it was far from a 'healthy' way. I was on diet pills, he watched everything I put in my mouth. Don't get me wrong I looked great! but when it all came down to it I still felt really crappy about myself. Once I was out of high school (and single) things got better. I did put the weight back on (160) but I was taller so it seemed to fit my frame better and I was more confident with who I was. It wasn't until I met my husband, got married, had babies that I gained the rest of the weight. Slowly but surely. After my 2nd baby I had PPD but something clicked in my head when the scale said 198 and I knew I couldn't touch the 200's. My dad was obese. he weighed 450lbs and he actually died not too long after his gastric bypass surgery (he had complications). So my friend and I were casually talking about weight watchers as she had already lost 20lbs and I was saying how I would join 'someday' and she said 'why not today?" so I did. dropped the first 20 really quickly.. then Christmas came and I put 15 of it back on. Through 2010 I got back down to 160 through eating right and exercising (Jillian saved my life). Christmas came again and I put 10lbs back on. this year I managed to kill almost 30lbs.

for me its a LONG struggle but the weight loss feels more permanent. I'm still a total food addict and thats actually where my problem is still. I love the crap. and for some reason i have the inability to actually feel full no matter how slow I eat. So I still struggle. I think I'm one of the biggest complainers in this group because I still have a hard time coping with my weaknesses.

SallyCC

Ellen.....what a great job you have done. Losing 70 lbs is a major accomplishment. Good for you!!
I think MFP is a great tool that helps us to keep going. It is so easy to get discouraged and I know that if I feel down about my progress it makes it so much harder to stay on track. My progress is so slow, with ups and downs but, overall it feels like I am staying on track more than I used to.

Keep on....

oliviawink

So here's my weight loss journey so far. I'm one of those people who has basically struggled with being a little overweight my whole life. After college my activity levels slowly starting declining and my weight slowly started going up. About 6 years ago I hit my max weight which was around 225. I knew I had put on a lot of weight but I guess I was in denial at how bad I actually looked and like so many others it was seeing some picutures of myself and hearing some comments from strangers that woke me up about it. My reasons for gaining weight are unfortunately much more mental than physical so this has been a long and difficult struggle for me and it continues to be. I won't drag on about all of that on here, but using MFP has actually helped wake me up about some of the issues I have and I'm slowly finding new ways to deal with things that will hopefully help keep me going in the right direction. So to quantify how far I've come-I've 5'7 and I went from a very tight size 14 to currently a size 8 and I'm down around 70 pounds overall. That's not too shabby :happy:

Thanks for sharing Ellen. All this time I have "known" you here and didn't know that you had come so far. Also, forgive me, being a Boulderite myself, I tend to assume that I am the only overweight person in this town, being one of the fittest places in the country has it's advantages, but makes you feel really weird if you are not a triathlete sometimes.

I think this is a good reminder for us all to remember our own journeys, struggles, hangups and successes. Only by reflection can we see the true picture of our work!

LeslieRoyale

Yo-Yo Queen is my new title...
Weighing in at 191.8 this week.
I really didn't want to post, because I really didn't want to face the truth...
Truth is my mojo has left the building...for the moment.

No worries, it'll be back And the thing that helps me is that when I do slack, which leads to a slip, it no longer leads to a full blown out of control spiral. I just sigh, stay away from the pizza and move on.

Big huge thanks to those of you in the same boat, who didn't want to post, but did...you encourage & inspire me

emariec78

for me its a LONG struggle but the weight loss feels more permanent. I'm still a total food addict and thats actually where my problem is still. I love the crap. and for some reason i have the inability to actually feel full no matter how slow I eat. So I still struggle. I think I'm one of the biggest complainers in this group because I still have a hard time coping with my weaknesses.

You know what, though, I think a lot of us on here have similar or related issues with food regardless of whether we've ever come out and said it. Maybe that's part of why we've all stuck together in the same group for so long! I don't see you as a complainer at all.

Olivia, you are so right about Boulder making you sort of feel bad about not being super fit (even though I did move to Denver over the summer). I spent my heaviest years up there and you really do feel like you are the only person around with weight to lose, I used to actually be embaressed to go to the gym because of it! On the up side I think that also got me in the habit of getting up early to get my workout done

msaap

Errr, I weighed in at 169 (TOM) and I am not happy about it, but it the TOM.

NSV: Last Thursday, I dropped a dress size. I cried in that dressing room, but I was so happy!!!

littlesis412

What is bumping? And how can I save this thread?

aab1

Yo-Yo Queen is my new title...
Weighing in at 191.8 this week.
I really didn't want to post, because I really didn't want to face the truth...
Truth is my mojo has left the building...for the moment.

No worries, it'll be back And the thing that helps me is that when I do slack, which leads to a slip, it no longer leads to a full blown out of control spiral. I just sigh, stay away from the pizza and move on.

Big huge thanks to those of you in the same boat, who didn't want to post, but did...you encourage & inspire me

Hey Leslie....I hear ya', girl!!! I"m struggling with keeping MFP as a priority which is critical to my journey. I look back to my first 6 months on MFP and my activity level....I NEED to get that back.

You CAN do this!!! I CAN do this!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!...:flowerforyou: .. .. ..:flowerforyou:

oliviawink

Olivia, you are so right about Boulder making you sort of feel bad about not being super fit (even though I did move to Denver over the summer). I spent my heaviest years up there and you really do feel like you are the only person around with weight to lose, I used to actually be embaressed to go to the gym because of it! On the up side I think that also got me in the habit of getting up early to get my workout done

Ellen I didn't realized you had moved to Denver, obviously. How do you like it? Never lived there, but did go to grad school there and have a fun night out on the town every so often in the big city.

oliviawink

Yo-Yo Queen is my new title...
Weighing in at 191.8 this week.
I really didn't want to post, because I really didn't want to face the truth...
Truth is my mojo has left the building...for the moment.

No worries, it'll be back And the thing that helps me is that when I do slack, which leads to a slip, it no longer leads to a full blown out of control spiral. I just sigh, stay away from the pizza and move on.

Big huge thanks to those of you in the same boat, who didn't want to post, but did...you encourage & inspire me

Hey Leslie....I hear ya', girl!!! I"m struggling with keeping MFP as a priority which is critical to my journey. I look back to my first 6 months on MFP and my activity level....I NEED to get that back.

You CAN do this!!! I CAN do this!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!...:flowerforyou: .. .. ..:flowerforyou:

Leslie & Ailene - you can do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You 2 have both been big inspirations and motivators to me over the last however-many-months. You both have encouraged my when I was struggling and celebrated me when I was strong. I too, like many of us, have been fatiguing of being focused on my lifestyle changes and succumbing to the changing seasons. However (with much complaining about it along the way) as of last night I officially broke through my 160-163 plateau and I'm at 159. 1-freakin-59!!!!!! Just 4 lbs away from pre-baby weight and only 8.2 lbs from "healthy" weight according to the BMI. I have not done this alone, and as you both know, you won't either. Come back and root yourself in this group that loves you dearly and we will help lift you up and support you in your times of struggle (heck, I might even challenge you to a 1 day calorie burn-off if you're not careful :noway: )

hopelyss

Ugh! That's how I feel. I'm beating myself up because I can't seem to get any motivation to exercise. I've fallen into eating way to many sweets! With Halloween around the corner, it's everywhere! I try not to even bring it in the house, but my daughters talked me into getting some nutty bars while we were on vacation. They came back home with us and now they are yelling at me to eat them...Oh the pressure!

So, I'm going to get into my weight loss story and remind myself of why I'm doing this and how far I've come. The weight loss part came around in June of this year when I started Insanity. My decisions up until that point is what led me there. I've always viewed myself as being bigger than other girls my age, especially in high school. Looking back now I can't believe how wrong I was! I got married while I was in college and pregnant. This is where the weight gain started. Living a healthy lifestyle was not part of our lives. I completed college, started grad school, had another daughter, got a full time job as a park ranger, and got a divorce (all within the span of two years). No my life wasn't busy at all...:noway: Anyway, since I was pretty active as a park ranger, I didn't gain much more weight, leveling off somewhere in the 170s (where I am now). Unfortunately, the salary of a park ranger does not support a single mom and her two girls. So, I started a profession I always said I would never get into, teaching. This is when I started packing on the pounds, between struggles with depression, exhaustion, and girl scout cookies, I reached 210 pounds this past spring. I knew I had to do something. I didn't like me. I didn't have energy. I didn't want to do anything. A friend of mine was doing Insanity, so her enthusiasm spilled over to me, enough so that I purchased the outrageously expensive workout set on ebay. I've never invested money so wisely. It took about 2 months to arrive, but I was able to start right as school was getting out for the summer. I spent the whole summer developing healthy eating and workout habits, so that when school started back I could continue my new healthy lifestyle. It's been difficult, between girl scout meetings, soccer practice and games, dance practice, and church suppers. I'm exhausted when I get home and struggle to get a workout in. I'm also taking courses for my PhD online, so that's one more wrench thrown in my schedule. That brings me to the struggles I have now. I'm still dropping pounds, but my habits are wavering. I grab too many bad foods because they are convenient. I fall into bed at the end of the day instead of putting on my workout clothes. I'm burning myself out and I know it, but I don't know how to fix it. I keep saying to myself that I just have to make it through to summer. Then my PhD courses will be over, and I'll hopefully be at my goal weight.

singer201

I hit my Heathy for the Holidays goal weight today!--149.6 I missed having it for this week's weigh-in, drat. I haven't had cheese for the last two days, and my sodium has been <1500, so I'm really thinking that might have been a factor this past week.

NSV--My blood pressure last night was 110/65, the lowest I've seen it in over 30 years!

hopelyss

I hit my Heathy for the Holidays goal weight today!--149.6 I missed having it for this week's weigh-in, drat. I haven't had cheese for the last two days, and my sodium has been <1500, so I'm really thinking that might have been a factor this past week.

NSV--My blood pressure last night was 110/65, the lowest I've seen it in over 30 years!

Way to go x2!

SallyCC

Singer....congrats!!! So happy for you!

alacarte

Singer, Congrats on reaching your goal, and of course your great blood pressure numbers.

singer201

Thanks! I gotta say, these challenges and the support here has kept me at it for the last 8 1/2 months. I can't believe I'm 5 lbs. away from my ultimate goal of 145, though I might go for 140--we'll see when I get there.

emariec78

Olivia, you are so right about Boulder making you sort of feel bad about not being super fit (even though I did move to Denver over the summer). I spent my heaviest years up there and you really do feel like you are the only person around with weight to lose, I used to actually be embaressed to go to the gym because of it! On the up side I think that also got me in the habit of getting up early to get my workout done

Ellen I didn't realized you had moved to Denver, obviously. How do you like it? Never lived there, but did go to grad school there and have a fun night out on the town every so often in the big city.

I'm loving it so far! I had been up in Boulder for most of the last 14 years so it was time for a change!

helena98

The weekend is here! Work was CRAZY busy this week, and I didn’t get a chance to post the chart until today.

I “mostly” stayed up-to-date on the spreadsheet, but here’s the official weekly chart.



Congrats to the following members who moved "up" in the colors (white to yellow or green / yellow to green):
:flowerforyou: carrielofton
:flowerforyou: jenniferjgayfield
:flowerforyou: parvy123

I'll update singer201's progress on next week's chart, since it happened after Tuesday's weigh-in. Congrats on reaching your GW already!!!! I think we need to give you a brand new color! Purple? Blue? What's your favorite??

SPREADSHEET LINK:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoomF1o6sg6LdEw2NV92dFQ5RDZqbm1Bek5xR1M4M3c&hl=en_US

singer201

My favorite color is blue. Thanks!