*** Supportive Friends -- Looking to Release 50+ Pounds ***

stephaniezoundi

Julie: What a great NSV!!! Yay you!!!
StephanieSt: I’m with everyone else. After 10lbs or so I always seem to stall. I always figured it was my body trying to figure out what was going on 
MrsG2: sounds like something my hubby would do. If I say I’m tired and don’t feel like cooking his answer is a takeaway instead of him going into the cooking. I’d say the cramping was due to not being used to fried food anymore (which is great!!)
Sarahjay: what a fantastic attitude and your husband is a great inspiration. Welcome!
Misspinkshorts: That sounds like a good plan. I’m also not weighing in this week. Well done on getting the exercise in!
Jehan: I’m seriously impressed. My little girl turns 6 months old today and I’ve not managed an hour (and I’m at home on mat leave!).
Purplecookies: way to go!

So, I’ve not posted this week as its been hectic. I had a mommy meltdown on Sunday to my hubby about the uneven parental responsibility, feeling guilty about going back to work, not working out, feeling fat and ugly and being a bit depressed. I felt much better getting it off my chest and so far this week he has been more engaged. Thought baby was getting back to normal after being sick and then spent yesterday in a&e (the ER) with wee one. Suffering side effects from the antibiotics and a bit of a tummy bug. It was a very long day. I’m still tired today and I find that makes it hard to eat right. All I want to do is order a pizza and tuck in! I’m not going to but it is sitting there, the little fat angel on my shoulder say ‘eat it!!’. Trying to ignore the little bugger. Anyways, little one is sleeping so I’m going to do a quick sweep through the house to tidy up and then do some cross stitching!

MelodyWyble

Hi my name is Melody (I see there is another one on here!) I am a mom to my girls. I just had a baby a few months ago. I am a food addict who loves to exercise. I hate having junk food in my house because I will consume all of it and then dread looking at the calories later. I would love to have support. Obesity runs in my family and I have been around it my entire life. Most everyone in my family is the same. We like to exercise and be outside, but love to eat alot of junk. I am hoping to get my weight and diet healthy before my kids are severely effected. (My five year old told me last week that I am fat enough and should go on The Biggest Loser!) I was so happy that she was able to describe a collective thought (She has some learning problems) but a little sad that out of all the things she was finally able to put together and get out, it was to tell me that her mom is fat! I am still learning how to use MFP can someone tell me how to join this "group" ?

MelodyWyble

Just saw this is a thread and not a group, oops!

CourtneyDaley

Hi, I'm Courtney. I have been watching my weight for six years now. It's been an interesting show, I've gained over 145 pounds. I have tried every eating plan that I could think of, and some were just really bat *kitten* crazy. Every time I'd lose, it came back with friends. It has been hard. I've gone from being an outgoing and fun loving person, to rarely leaving the house, sitting every day, and napping.

I weighted 330 lbs In October. I was diagnosed with prediabetes, and severe insulin resistance. The doctor basically said I don't have long to fix this before I will need more medical intervention. I am trying not to have surgery, and I don't want to be diabetic. He said I need to be working towards 140 lbs to prevent diabetes. I am not entirely sure how to eat... the nutritionist spoke another language. I haven't had enough energy to workout (even at home) and I'm really embarrassed.

I have two kids that I want to be able to be active with. I have one of the most supportive husbands ever. I want to be able to leave the house and not feel embarrassed by how fat I am. I want to be able to walk through a store and not feel like the isle isn't big enough. Most importantly I NEED to get my insulin levels under control before it's too late.

I have never told anyone let alone an entire forum how I feel or what I weight. I'm overwhelmed. I'm a little fragile. I'm scared. I need support, and inspiration from people who have been where I am or who are here with me.

penny_eclipse

I have never told anyone let alone an entire forum how I feel or what I weight. I'm overwhelmed. I'm a little fragile. I'm scared. I need support, and inspiration from people who have been where I am or who are here with me.

Courtney, I am 100% here for you, and although I wasn't exactly where you are (weight-wise), I too have all the medical and family issues, and I knew I needed to get things in check...and I did (and then I slipped, so now I'm re-getting things in check...) Lots of the people on here I've known for I'd say best part of a year now...probably more for some, and some I've just met since the start of 2013, but everyone is super-supportive, and it is totally the place to vent, rant, get upset, get advice and share the victories that come along. We're all up, and down, and honest, so don't feel you have to pretend to feel strong when you're struggling...we'll help if we can. So just jump on in, carry on sharing, and start using us for a bit of a support network.


As for me...I feel absolutely rubbish, I am utterly exhausted, since the weekend I've been literally dragging myself through the day like a zombie, having to get into work early and having to leave late. My stomach is playing up (I think I had a bug, and now it's gone it's just grumpy and too exhausted to get back to normal), my body is so tired that I have hot/cold flushes and dizzy spells, and when I do go to bed I seem to wake up about every hour if I'm lucky. I want to crawl into a hole and miss the next day and a half until it's the weekend and I can veg out...except I can't, coz my bf comes over on Friday night to stay for the weekend, and instead of curling up and he bought me (and him obviously) football tickets to see arsenal play on saturday. Which is amazing...but also the last thing that I want right now. He's been "unwell" (which is pretty incredible coz he never ever admits he's sick), and actually called in sick to work yesterday and spent the day sleeping...and he's only taken like 2 sick days in 3 years and would rather struggle through than take a day off. So he's now rested up and won't want to rest (as much) this weekend.
And I *know* I should take more time for me, and I *know* I need to rest up etc etc blah blah, but I've only been in this job for 3.5weeks, and I can't just take a day off because I'm tired...if I had some kind of visible symptoms I probably would, but this will make me seem properly pathetic. And I can't just not work late/come in early (like my bf says), because I leave when my hours are finished UNLESS there's a deadline and stuff has to go out...or I've been invited to go to site so I have to be in early in order to do a couple of things before we leave etc...I'm in an amazing opportunity, I can't just screw it up and not make a good impression this early on. I need to be making myself invaluable, so that when my 3 month probation is over they want to keep me forever and even consider paying me closer to a market-rate salary. So yes I'm exhausted, but I'm not complaining as such, as I know why it is...it's a huge shock to my system working full days and having a long commute either end, and at work having to function the whole time (unlike when I was temping and I could basically do it all in my sleep). But that doesn't stop me being frustrated with my body and wanting it to just man up and cope better... /rant (sorry!)

sweetpatunia

Good morning everyone. My name is Suzy and I am a 37 yo SAHM of 2 from Illinois. Also, I am a full-time student. I really need to lose about 90 pounds, I'm 5'2" , 212 pounds with a highest weight of 226 (YIKES!). My first goal is to get below 200 for the first time in probably 15 years. My second goal is to lose as much as I can seeing my Mom is getting married this summer and I don't want to be the fat one in all the pics. And, I want to be healthier, happier and especially to teach my daughter early what good eating habits are.
Looking forward to getting to know all of you! Please "friend" me, I need motivation from people who are in the same boat. My hubs is great but he doesn't get it. He is blessed with a high metabolism......GRRRRRR

dareacceptor

Welcome Courtney,
First? Excellent first move to post something!! I appreciate your honesty, because I know how hard it can be to post about your thoughts and feelings. That's why people start threads like this.

I started at 304 pounds, 5'10" and one day I realized it was time to take my future into my own hands. Here are some of the things that helped to get me started:
1. Positive self talk. Pick one thing you *like* about yourself. A lot of us spend time telling ourselves how fat we are, or focusing on the parts of our bodies we don't like. If I had a friend that spoke to me the way I speak to me? I'd dump them. Because they aren't helping me to feel good about myself. So I try to catch myself when I'm being mean to myself
2. Don't try to do it all. Trying to change your nutrition, add exercise, and whatever else was prescribed to you can be overwhelming. In fact, I'd be surprised if you weren't overwhelmed by it all! So pick one thing to work on first. Do it for a few weeks (they say 21 days to make a habit). Once it really is a habit, add one more thing.
3. Come back to MFP to get encouragement. Don't be afraid to ask for support, and try to offer support to others.

I am not entirely sure how to eat... the nutritionist spoke another language. I haven't had enough energy to workout (even at home) and I'm really embarrassed.

When I decided to change, I started by just tracking what I ate. I didn't try to change anything initially. It freaked me out when I started to pay attention to serving sizes and caloric intake. Today? I'm making better nutritional choices because I'm more educated. But it's taken a year+ for me to get to this point.
As far as exercise? I started to go for walks in my neighborhood, but I did them after dark because I was afraid of the judgment of my neighbors if they saw me out huffing and puffing. Turns out I think way too much about what other people think of me. I'm not losing weight for them, I'm doing it for me!

So welcome to MFP, good work on your first steps, and keep up the good work! :flowerforyou:

teamAmelia

"Release 50+ pounds" The title makes it sound so easy, like we're just throwing them out. LOL. I wish it was that easy.

JefferyMartin

Hi My name is Jeff.

I have lost 92lbs so far. However I still have to loss about 62 pounds to be down my goal weight. I have always been a big guy even though I played a lot of sports when I was younger!

I would love to connect with you all. This is a great way to connect. If you all are interested I am on facebook? I'm also in a group on facebook with 1100 people to keep me motivated and encourage. Drop me a line if you are interested.

shwetajuneja81

i find it really hard to loose weight and i feel it would be liberating to loose the lbs. in a way it would be getting released from a prison of your own flab

mandakm

Hi, my name is Amanda. I am 25 years old and I reside in Alabama. I have PCOS which makes weight loss harder, but I am determined to lose around 100lbs. My doctor told us that is I can get some weight off it will make it easier to have another child which at the moment is not possible. Any help would be appreciated. I look forward to meeting you all and hope to have more on my friends list soon. Hope you all have a blessed day!!:happy:

cksoto

Hello all, my name is Christy, I'm 36 years old, soon to be 37 in May, married to a wonderful husband for 15 years come this August.

At the start of January I weighed in at 311 pounds, my highest weight ever. I won't caption my life because to do so will mean I'm still living in the past and not forgiving myself for mistakes I've made. It's taken me a long time to acknowledge that there are things that are in my control and somethings that are not. I'm here to work on the things I do have control over and am glad that there are so many people here doing the same.

I'm hoping that I can give advice and support to those that need it, and to recieve some when I'm in need as well. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day.

CanToGirl

Welcome everyone.
Been a long day, will read everyone posts later. Just wanted to stop and say HI, hope everyone is doing well.
So tired of shoveling snow. Plus the cold can leave too. Just ready for summer to be here.


Julie

lombrica

Not sure if I have much of anything new to share... I'm tired, and ready for the weekend! And, that's about it. LOL.


*******

StephanieStC: For sweets/sugary stuff? I literally am ready to eat anything - even the stuff that I don't "like" - from days 3-12, then it starts to get easier... and, really after about day 17-18? I'm good... REALLY good after day 21. So, how are you doing with it now? Must be past the 14 day mark...

Penny: I know no good can come of it, except that it willl be good when I see the change in the numbers the right way! But, I'm gonna try... its just hard right now, because I know that i'm up, clothes aren't fitting, etc. I hope that you are feeling better... I hate queasy. Hope that you are able to rest up and catch up on the weekend... even with the BF there.

Julie: YAY on the wedding ring!

Steph: Glad you got stuff off your chest, to good results. Sorry that Kenz is sick though! And, I know that stupid inner voice all too well. I listened to her tonight... he, he, he.

pennsciteach

G2 - Definitely can be the fried food, especially if you have been working on adding veggies and fiber to your diet. Same thing can happen if you regularly eat dense fried food and then start with veggies and fiber Your body uses acid, water and muscle contraction to digest and move food thru your intestines. When we eat fried food we use more water - that water has to come from some where so you can get muscle cramping. Or when you are used to taking the water and then you eat a lot of veggies and fiber two things can happen- one the fiber absorbs the water, same effect as fried food but for healthier reasons:) or you get too much water in the system from the veggie and it causes bloating due to the gas production (Acid and water mixing too) . The healthier reasons are temporary and once you start being consistent usually straighten out within 48 hours. You might even "see" a "weight gain" in those 48 hours but it is just your system over compensating and will drop within 2-3 days. When I first started I gained 3 pounds in a day and lost it 2 days later:) It can also happen when you start exercising.

Update: Been a crazy week, but still aiming for Bokwa tonight. Still doing Xbox this weekend too. This is slow, but slow and steady wins the race right?

I did splurge on night, but only my first night in 25 days, and it was by 500 calories. Husband stopped by Au bon pain and I splurged on a Red Velvet Cupcake - ugh. But if I were to not (he rarely goes there) I would have felt so down YKWIM? And then I would risk not sticking to this. Sometimes it is really twisted with this metabolism thing - My non fasting sugar is 90- so that cupcake is not risking diabetes, so part of me is like why not? The other part is like because it is not a good choice.

So my answer has been to change my point of view. Don't see it has a calorie count per se, don't use it as a reward, use it like would think about money or something I bought (I am not a retail therapy type person). On occasion I need a new pair of shoes, or I'll splurge on a new novel. That means the next day I don't need another pair of shoes or another book - certainly if I have not gobbled up the first book / pair yet. Not even the next week or next month depending on how seasonal the shoe / long the book was.

Here's hoping it works.

shwetajuneja81

hi everyone !!
This my second day , i ate around 850 cal .dinner still remaining ,so i guess i did alright for day 2 .My biggest problem is sedentary lifestyle ,so now i am trying to be active . weekends are never easy for me ,i tend to overeat .
hope i get through this one okay ..any tips for portion control friends ?

cksoto

@penn - Don't ever get down at choices you make when it comes to the occasional splurge. I find that if I deny myself certain things, I crave them and crave them until I end up binge eating on something entirely different and end up feeling worse because I ate food that I didn't want to eat in the first place and still ended up denying myself the food I had just wanted even the smallest taste of. I hope that makes sense? Just don't get to down over one cupcake, that one cupcake should keep you good for awhile. :flowerforyou:

@shweta - Hello and welcome hope you are liking MFP, and I hope you get the info and knowledge that you need to help you lose the weight you want to lose. That being said I can tell you right now that 850 for one day is not enough calories, and I'm sure if you used the MFP diary it told you that too. There is absolutely no reason not to eat atleast 1200 calories a day. I understand the overeating problem and how you want to keep that in check, however undereating only leads you to feel hungry and then in turn leads you to overeat or binge, it may not be today or tomorrow but it will come soon, be good to yourself and your body and feed it the nutrition it needs. I would suggest eating three meals a day and three snacks, one between breakfast and lunch, one between lunch and dinner and one after dinner if you so choose. Make sure that those snacks are filling which means having some sort of fiber in it and are between 100-150 calories. MFP should have let you know how much calories you should be eating a day, stick to that. You will see results if you do and don't forget to exercise! Good luck!

And I just realized that you said you had dinner remaining so I'm sure that you are close to hitting or being over the 1200 cal mark. Which is really good. As far as portion control, just make sure you are eating more vegetables and lean proteins than fatty processed foods. I tend to make my dinner plate this way: 1/2 plate is veggies of some kind and the other half is divided 3/4 of it protien (meat, fish or poultry) and 1/4 carbs or fatty side (rice/potatoes au grautin or whatever). I am in favor of having small snacks through out the day which keeps me full and my problem with overeating under control. I hope this helps, I'm so sorry for misreading your post, please forgive me. :flowerforyou:



edited for punctuations! and misreading! :embarassed:
Sorry again for the misread, really! I don't want to edit my first reply out to @shweta because I'm sure others have read it and might help them if they are undereating, and I definately don't want people thinking that I'm being sly by writing something and then editing the whole thing out..if that makes sense.

pennsciteach

schweta - I have started a new "healthy" habit. With each meal I have a salad with dressing on the side and eat from it first. I will do romaine with tomato and onion with a tablespoon of lite ranch on the side and dip each forkful. I will sometimes do cucumber and tomato with just a little salt and lite greek dressing. And then I have my dinner plate with conservative portions. It really helps me, and by dipping the dressing you use soooooo much less. See I clean up the dishes and everyone's leftovers and I had a bad habit of snacking on what others left. So now if I have salad left I finish that during clean up, or the veggies left on my plate, etc. Helps stop a bad habit for me.

stephaniezoundi

Wow, its certainly been a quiet weekend on the board! Well the flu hit our house and its still lingering in the baby so we are housebound for a few more days. Its actually starting to drive me a bit crazy but it's necessary. If the weather holds out I might take her for a short walk this afternoon. It was also a long weekend here as Hubs and I try to sort through relationship stuff. It did cause me to stress eat but courtesy of the flu I'm not actually going to panic about it (I'm sure it evened out!). I need to find a way back to who I was prebaby. I know that has changed as I'm now a mommy (which I love ) but I seemed to have lost every other aspect of myself and I know that's part of the reason why we are having issues. And I know my weight is a major issue for me even though its not for my husband. So, I am once again going to recommit myself to doing exercise. I'm going to print a calendar page to hang in the living room where I can track the days I do real exercise (I'm not going to count walking with the baby, doesn't really get the heartrate up, its just a good time). Please pester me, ask me how its going and keep me accountable. Those who know me know I was a real gym bunny right up until I got pregnant and while my membership is currently suspended, I need to become addicted to exercise again.

Well I hope you all had good weekends! My goal for February is 5lbs minimum with a push to 7lbs. I'm also aiming for at least 4 days of real exercise a week, minimum of 10 glasses of water a day and tracking my food at least 5 days a week. What are your goals for this month? Keep it skinny!:flowerforyou:

penny_eclipse

Ok so firstly sorry for being quiet this weekend, been exhausted and just couldn't face coming onto the forums so just logged on from my phone.

I'm ok, I had a great weekend, quite restful, went to see a football (soccer) match on Saturday with my bf which was amazing and generally had a really lovely weekend with him. He even opened up to how crappy his Jan has been for him which is why he's been a massive grumpus and he said we're all good, and he really hopes Feb is going to go better.
My eating was really good until Sunday when I ate well, but also ate too many biscuits (but I'm not sure I overly care, as I enjoyed them, and I'd been good all week, AND I ate less half the amount of cheesecake, biscuits, etc than I wanted (and than everyone else...) Also, putting on my football shirt that I'd been given for my bday at the start of Jan just proved how much weight I've lost in a month as it fitted much better, even my mum commented.
Back to cycling in today (despite the wind trying to push me backwards), and I'm back to eating right all the time. So far so good.

Steph: Don't sweat it...but do get your sweat on (when you can)! I'm proud of you whatever you feel about yourself, we know the old you is in there..it just needs to be uncovered and then you'll be a supercharged new-improved you! Do you have a plan for when the "real exercise" will happen this week (so we can nudge you?) or is it a matter of whenever you can grab it when the little'un is asleep!?

My goals are:
1) Face the reality of new black size UK12 jeans...which means buying some and working out if I'm back there yet...at the moment my UK14s are falling off but I don't feel like I'm small enough for the others yet. if not, I need to be in them by the end of feb because I can't cope with the current pair for much longer.
2) Keep cycling, AND try and get some runs/30DS type exercise in...I know the cycling and walking is good, and it'll take my body time to be used to this, but it doesn't feel like "real" exercise, and I can't use the "I'm tired" excuse for much longer...
3) Lose 4lbs... 1lb/week feels doable...
4) Keep planning meals 1 week in advance, and keep logging. Means I can bring lunches that work, saves me money and time.
5) Get better with water... ! Need to get back to 10+cups/day not scraping 8...