Black Team Week #1 Challenge thread-

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P.S. Do not try the "Tempured potato diet" described above. It's NO fun.

:grumble: :grumble: :sad: :sad: :sad: :grumble: :grumble:

Yeah, so in my long book I didn't put the before/after pics.


Spring/Summer 2002


December 31, 2009


P.S. No, my boyfriend does not have an old man looking 'fro with a huge forehead. The wall hanging behind him has a giant tree in it.

Wonder how many caloires I burned responding to all the posts from today? Hopefully a lot, I had a 'heavy' dinner!

Good morning, you are all an inspiration! Your pics are amazing - I don't have many pictures of me as I would always be behind the camera (i hated seeing pictures of myself and would delete them from the camera or before that throw them away). I am working this afternoon from around 12 till 4, so will go on my bike when my extra children leave. I am due to do the rowing machine today, but have a muscle twinge between my shoulder blades and don't want to pull or aggrevate anything :huh: I must also do my situps etc

I am 35 years old and have been married to Rob for 13 years. We have 4 boys, Samuel (13 in May - he's our honeymoon baby was just conceived 7 days on my wedding day!), Thomas (10 on sunday), John (5 on 18th Jan) and Christopher (2, 3 in Aug).

When Rob and I got together I was already 168lbs if not more, and I piled on another 70lbs when pregnant with Samuel, I then lost this weigh through joining weight watchers and got to 147lbs before falling pregnant with Thomas. My weight then went up to 200+, and I did the Atkins diet and got to 140lbs, but didn't look got as no exercise and as soon as i started to eat properly the weight went straight back on plus more. I then fell with John and up until last February I didn't really try to shift the weight.

What happened in February - I visited my husband who was working in NYC and he took me to Woodbury Common, and it hit home that I was big as I couldn't buy anything nice to fit me!! I was a UK size 18/20, and decided that it would be nice to be a size 14. I decided to calorie count and used a book a friend gave me and a spreadsheet I made on the computer. The weight moved a little, but when Rob went to work in Tokyo,and I found this site it just clicked. The weight doesn't seem to have shifted that fast, but the inches do as I am now wearing a size 12 which is something I never remember doing before, and have just brought some size 10 jeans (they are still snug on my thighs but I can work on that! )

As you can probably tell my husband works away from home alot, he is out of the country probably 5-6 months of the year, in varying lengths of time (is scheduled for 2-3 months in NYC from March, and other various countries after that!). I find it easier to count my calories when he is actually away, as he is a super cook and I love his cooking!

Evening Black Team!


Donna- Sorry to hear about your losses. Golden's are beautiful dogs. My mother had a wonderful one named Dudley. She had to move into a place that could not take him and had to give him up to a rescue. He actually lives up here in Maine now with a great family on several acres. He's a happy guy bit I miss him. Running is the best! keep that going!

Kati- That elevator tale is hilarious. Sorry I know it must have been scary. I never take elevators at hotels when I travel anymore. not because they scare me but because I love jogging up the stairs. lol

Sam-Awesome dress, you look great. and don't sweat the sweets. You more than made up for it! lol

Jeannie- They are right. Your support and love spread far beyond the confines of this team. You reach ALOT of people on MFP.

Bobbi-Weather sucks. I hear you. But you still got some time on the bike so that shows dedication! and FYI and I working on my swim technigue. Chest down! Butt up! stay long in the water! stay long!

Roni-Your story is EPIC and your son is amazing.

Retrobaby-Need a real name to put to the face! Way to go on that workout. enjoying that runners high I see. Way to kick some butt!

Feeling good after a good work out. Ran 5k and got some good strength training in. This isnt much of a story but something somewhat interesting happened at the gym. After my workout I was sitting on the floor doing stretches when another frequent gym rat that I have had a couple of conversations with came over and and grabbed the pull up bar next to me and ripped through 10 pull ups. When he was done he looked over and gave the old "how's it going" nod. So I said, "awesome job man. I can't even pull off one of those." He said "yes you can. get up there and give it a shot." I admit it's been a while since I tried. But like so many of us often do, I was placing mental limits on what I was capable of. So I jumped up grabbed the bar and gave it a shot. 5 pull ups later I was back on the floor grinning from ear to ear. He said "when you said you can't do one, did you mean you can't do just one because you love them so much?" I laughed and said that was the first five pull ups I have ever done in my life." he said "Just don't let it be the last five." So here I am at the gym with the same people I see every night. All this guys has seen of me is hours on the treadmill and weight after weight lifted. He's seen me shrink 125 lbs in the last year. He didnt even see the personal struggles overcome, the duathlons and road races run. I know better than anyone else on this earth what I have accomplished yet I didnt believe I could do a pull up. And here he was so certain that I was wrong. This is what we do to ourselves people. We cripple ourselves with doubt, insecurity and fear of failure. It is just as important in this journey to lose what is weighing down our MINDS as it is to lose what is weighing down our bodies. Each and every one of you is capable of great things, greater things than you give yourself credit for. Go forth my friends and do your "Pull up".

:drinker:

Okay, I just found the coolest pic of me. It was taken last December at my starting weight in my underclothes. I can't believe the size of my stomach, it makes me realize I have came a long ways baby. Even though I am in my underwear when I get to my goal weight I am going to post that pic with a new pic in regular clothes. Embarassed I will be, but it symbolizes breaking free of my unhealthy life. Here is to a healthy life for us all!! :drinker:

we will figure out how to photoshop them so it looks like a bathing suit!!

Evening Black Team!


Donna- Sorry to hear about your losses. Golden's are beautiful dogs. My mother had a wonderful one named Dudley. She had to move into a place that could not take him and had to give him up to a rescue. He actually lives up here in Maine now with a great family on several acres. He's a happy guy bit I miss him. Running is the best! keep that going!

Kati- That elevator tale is hilarious. Sorry I know it must have been scary. I never take elevators at hotels when I travel anymore. not because they scare me but because I love jogging up the stairs. lol

Sam-Awesome dress, you look great. and don't sweat the sweets. You more than made up for it! lol

Jeannie- They are right. Your support and love spread far beyond the confines of this team. You reach ALOT of people on MFP.

Bobbi-Weather sucks. I hear you. But you still got some time on the bike so that shows dedication! and FYI and I working on my swim technigue. Chest down! Butt up! stay long in the water! stay long!

Roni-Your story is EPIC and your son is amazing.

Retrobaby-Need a real name to put to the face! Way to go on that workout. enjoying that runners high I see. Way to kick some butt!

Feeling good after a good work out. Ran 5k and got some good strength training in. This isnt much of a story but something somewhat interesting happened at the gym. After my workout I was sitting on the floor doing stretches when another frequent gym rat that I have had a couple of conversations with came over and and grabbed the pull up bar next to me and ripped through 10 pull ups. When he was done he looked over and gave the old "how's it going" nod. So I said, "awesome job man. I can't even pull off one of those." He said "yes you can. get up there and give it a shot." I admit it's been a while since I tried. But like so many of us often do, I was placing mental limits on what I was capable of. So I jumped up grabbed the bar and gave it a shot. 5 pull ups later I was back on the floor grinning from ear to ear. He said "when you said you can't do one, did you mean you can't do just one because you love them so much?" I laughed and said that was the first five pull ups I have ever done in my life." he said "Just don't let it be the last five." So here I am at the gym with the same people I see every night. All this guys has seen of me is hours on the treadmill and weight after weight lifted. He's seen me shrink 125 lbs in the last year. He didnt even see the personal struggles overcome, the duathlons and road races run. I know better than anyone else on this earth what I have accomplished yet I didnt believe I could do a pull up. And here he was so certain that I was wrong. This is what we do to ourselves people. We cripple ourselves with doubt, insecurity and fear of failure. It is just as important in this journey to lose what is weighing down our MINDS as it is to lose what is weighing down our bodies. Each and every one of you is capable of great things, greater things than you give yourself credit for. Go forth my friends and do your "Pull up".

:drinker:

I am amazed by the stories I"ve read today! Very inspirational! Everyone looks fantastic.

I'll jump in w/ my story. My name is Terry. I live in Michigan and I've been married for 10 years. I have three boys that are 9, 7 and 3. I work full time teaching 2nd grade at a small public school.

I'm new to the team, but I'm not new to weight loss. I've been overweight most of my life. Before I got married in 1999, I started working out regularly at a gym and watching what I ate and I dropped to about 165, I couldn't ever get lower than that.

I got pregnant fairly quickly and gained about 70+ pounds. I ended up weighing 250 by the time I had my first son. Then I got pregnant about a year or so later, I only had lost about 30 pounds by that time and of course gained most of it back. After my second son was born I started back to Weight Watchers and went down til around 180 pounds. Then I I got pregnant with my third (and final) son and gained some of it back, but thankfully not all.

One of my sons has dealt with some serious anxiety/anger issues over the past 3 years that have taken over a large part of our life and weight loss was put on the back burner. About a year or so ago when I was 226 pounds I was ready to start taking time for myself so I started working out regularly. I started the Couch to 5K running program which I love. After I my weight loss slowed down I started monitoring my food and continued to lose weight, but now I've been 192-188 pounds for the last 6 months or so and when January hit I was ready to finally get going again and get back to a healthy weight.

I am having a hard time w/ the water just because I don't have access to a restroom except during a special so I'm drinking my 8 glasses once I get home, which has messed up my sleeping, but I'm doing it! That was the hardest challenge for me this week.

Thanks for welcoming me to the team!

Yeah, so in my long book I didn't put the before/after pics.


Spring/Summer 2002


December 31, 2009


P.S. No, my boyfriend does not have an old man looking 'fro with a huge forehead. The wall hanging behind him has a giant tree in it.

WARNING!!! I am about to toot my own horn!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: Look at those HOT LEGS!!! WOO WOO!!!!

Hell to the YEAH!!! WOOT!!!