Good Morning Everyone-My biggest accomplishment so far has been logging my food everyday since I joined MFP. I have lost 10 pounds since joining on 06/30/12. I had only lost 2 pounds this year prior to joining. So, tracking my food has definitely made a big difference for me. Since I feel that I've got my eating under control now, my next step is to make exercising more of a priority every day and to also challenge myself with more challenging workouts and not just walking. Thanks to all of the friends on here who have been super supportive to me, it has helped a lot to know that I have someone in my corner who cares! Everyone have a great and productive day! :flowerforyou:

My biggest accomplishment is being able to walk for quite a distance without...pain or icepacks!!! I started MFP almost a year ago., at that point I couldn't walk an aisle in the supermarket without being in extreme pain!

Good morning Hatters,


Sue, you are doing so great in many ways! I can see your step by step process! Its pretty cool! You are making gains by all the changes in your thoughts, as you are turning them into actions. One step at a time. Even better , is that you sought out a trainer! That is terrific! That shows you are ready....in your mind. I believe you can talk about losing weight, eating better, feeling better,exercising more etc, but if you are not ready in your mind...it probably won't happen . Until you are. ( I am working on my mind right now. oy! and its not an easy thing. ) Kobie, I'm not giving up either, not when I have a team of people that I know are behind me, and I can help support them in return for the support I receive, which is amazing.

Annamay, I am so happy that your pain is improving as I know how it can put a damper on all aspects of your life. Keep on truckin!

Mary, logging has helped me tremendously, except I have gotten away from it due to vacation....argh I am starting fresh today! Lord help me I will do this! ( I have to stop the train, the scale is starting to tip the wrong way!)

Sue. I can't wait for the day that you say you were at the gym with all the studs and worked out right next to them! Although, I feel the same way you do right now, I try always to remember what my son told me years ago when I was worried about my appearance that day....".Mom......Who's judging you? "

Have a wonderful day everyone! Thank you for being here, a place I know I can always come to warm my heart, and feel like I'm home. I believe in you!

Biggest accomplishment to date: I am still here! I haven't given up or dove head first into the ice cream vat. I am making this about me one day at a time. Some days are better than others but it is ALL about me at this point.

I have a meetings but did want to drop in after being MIA all weekend.

xoxoxoxo
~t

Anita,

We are here for you - we all have those days we want to throw in the towel and give up - but then we don't.
We keep the scale - good, bad and ugly...
Just think of how far you've come - I'm down from 220 to about 185ish... up down up down the scale goes.... just got back from vacation - wonderful time, mostly good choices - 2 fried platters, 2 ice creams, not a lot of water intake... but did go for walks, swam....went back to 191... 1 week later back down at 185ish....
You can and will do this!

Add me as a friend - we can all use the support we can get...

Carol

Hello all you beautiul Ladies~

I think my biggest accomplishment is the fact that I am 80 days smoke free today. Now, I know that doesn't have anything to do with weight loss....but it really does! My weight loss is going v e r y slow right now...but I have managed to keep losing since I quit, and have kept it off! So for that, IPOM!

Keep being AMAZING Ladies! We CAN DO THIS!!

Abezen-no cigarettes for so long that it GREAT.
Anita-Being here when you are discouraged is a great achievement, be proud of your determination. If you keep the faith, things will turn around for you!
Snoozie-Keep at it and you may still prove that you don't need the medication. But if you do, it will just be another tool to use as you build your fitness.
HATTERS ROCK-there are so many great achievements, I get encouragement from every single post and I wish I had time to respond to each and every one. Thank you for being here!
Today is a good day for me to reflect on my biggest achievement since I joined MFP. At weigh in today, I was down 20% of my January weight! Of course MFP celebrated by reducing my calorie allowance.
So I have been thinking of what to say ever since I read the question this morning. I decided that my biggest achievement was to finally realize that my weight is just a number on a scale, it does not define me and there is no reason to be so ashamed of it that I keep it my greatest and most closely guarded secret. That is a radical departure for me and it did not happen at first. At first, I used MFP as a tracking device only. For the first time in over 20 years I decided to try weighing myself each and every week. But, my diary, my weight and all of my settings were set to private. Every once in a while I read a post but I did not share anything of consequence. When I hit a stubborn plateau and I was wondering how to get out of it. I saw a “lose 10 pounds in 6 weeks challenge”. I almost did not join because it meant that I would have to put my weight out there for everyone to see, but I did not want to stay stuck on my plateau. So I decided to share my weight. Far as I know, no one fainted.
I began to think about the way my weight had always been such a giant secret. My scale number may have been a secret but my size certainly wasn’t. Sometimes alcoholics can hide their addictions from others, but I carried mine with me wherever I went. I would even refuse to get on the scale at the doctor’s office, because the number would make me so depressed.
I then found the Mad Hatters and saw how supportive they were of each other. I decided I could share not only my weight but also what I was eating. The support was wonderful. I realized that I did not make judgments about my fellow hatters when I saw how much they weighed, so I wondered why did I make those judgments about myself and why did I assume that everyone else would make judgments about me based on a number.
Today I weigh 220 pounds, I have even told my husband that number, even though it is still a good bit higher than his scale number. But he loves me and he knows the size of my body almost better than I do. He has looked at me with love in his eyes, even when I have averted my gaze from mirrors because I didn’t want to see my body. Everyone sees the same Janet and I don’t look any different if someone knows I weigh 220 pounds or if someone doesn’t know the number on the scale. If anyone wants to make judgments about me because I am obese, they will make those judgments whether or not they know my scale numbers.
My fitness is so much more than that one number on a scale and while the 20% reduction in size is a mark of improved fitness there are other numbers that are even more important-cholesterol and glucose numbers good enough to stop the doctors telling me I needed to be prepared for medication, the number of minutes that I can play tennis without anyone ever worrying that I am so red that I might be having a heart attack, the number of diet cokes I have not drunk, the number of outfits in my closet that actually fit me, the number of push ups that I do in body pump (and the number of dips from the side of the bench, but since that number is only 3, I don’t talk about it much), the number of mini ice cream drumsticks that I can keep in the freezer because I don’t need to eat every one in one night or even one on each night and the number of times a day that I look in the mirror and smile.

I am so proud to call you ladies my friends. We all face challenges in our daily lives. It's how we confront those challenges that make us who we are. I am the first one to say I haven't always done the best in a confrontation with my weight. But with all of you I have been able to share myself in a way that I haven't before. You know my family, my drama, my vacations and even that the tree fell on my building when I really just didn't have time for it. You have listened and been supportive. For me that is the most important thing. I think that as we age and go, are going or have gone through menopause people don't listen to what we have to say. Or, if they do they take it as being hormonal BS. They listen to humor us but they don't listen. Here in this group there is no judgement. I like HSH kept my diary closed for a long time. I didn't want anyone to judge me on my evening cocktails with the husband or even the weekend partying with the adult beverages. I finally decided that if I could be honest with myself about it why not be honest here. I have learned a lot about myself and am hoping to continue down the path to a healthier me.

Anita, thank you for not giving up
HSH- than k you for sharing such a personal thoughts

Thanks to all of you for sharing yourselves with me I so much appreciate it.

Some days you hear just what you were supposed to hear and for that day is today!

I hope to catch up with everyone tomorrow.