Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Well my mom got out of the hospital late last night. She is home and doing better. She does have an infection but they have given her stuff for it. They decided to do a blood transfusion, which I think was a really good idea and I'm surprised they did not do it sooner.

Thursday truth: I have had wayyyy to much coffee the past few days. My boss bought a kuerig (Sp?) for the office and a big variety pack of coffees so i have been indulging.

I will catch up on here later. Have a great day.
Helena

@helena--glad your mom is doing better and home from the hospital. :flowerforyou:

@john--I agree with robin--talking about it here will help. I didn't go throgh the same exact thing b/c I've never been a "comfort eater"--I tend to not eat when I'm really upset. However, I had a realization a few months into this journey that I was afraid of a lot! I was afraid of how I would look trying certain activities, or of what people would think of me if I couldn't do them due to my weight. I was afraid to go shopping with thin friends for fear they would see what size I wore. I was afraid to do anything even slightly athletic for fear of how much I would sweat. I could go on and on and on. This was a really rough realization for me b/c I've always thought of myself as a very strong and confident person--and in many aspects of my life I still was--but when it came to anything impacted by my weight, I was often paralyzed by the fear. Sharing and shedding those fears in this thread really helped me get past that uncomfortable period in this process. If not for the support here, I might have let it push me back to my old ways.

AFM--just taking a quick break from grading. I will come back later to complete personals and Thursday Truth.

Grading Goals:
1. 17/73 Summer reading quizzes
2. 2/73 Columber essays

What a supportive and positive thread! I am in week 3 on MFP and really have gotten a lot out of all of the posts (of course, I lost an hour or so of my evening- but totally worth it!).

I am a 35 year old mom/wife/mrktg director/etc that needs to lose 100 lbs to be healthy again. I have an awesome husband who has never said a word as i slowly gained over 100 lbs throughout our 16 year marriage. He is a health and PE teacher (ironic- huh!) and I know that he has wanted me to be healthier, but he knew I had to decide for myself. After a summer of my feet swelling anytime I walked outside, being short of breath all the time, and even having trouble getting my seat belt to fit on a plane, I decided that enough was enough!

Tracking my food has helped a lot and I am very motivated by earning those extra workout calories. I have a fitbit flex that I wear everywhere and am constantly syncing it to see how close I am to my goals. I would love to hear how others kept themselves motivated when the road ahead was so long? I am trying to celebrate the little milestones but can feel a little overwhelmed when I think of how far I need to go.

Thanks for letting me crash this thread- like I mentioned, I am a newbie and haven't really connected with a group yet.

BJ- I agree with everyone else. You are doing what is best for you and learning how to manage your weight over the long term. You are doing great with your weight loss.

Karen-Good luck with the grading and I hope you figured out something good for dinner. I will see how I do with not taking grading home with me. Too many times last year the papers went for a ride in the car and nothing got done. I am going to double check on the number allowed in a science lab but we have had this issue before and nothing gets done about it.

John- vent here about your feelings, we have all been there. Like Karen said, we all had to face our fears at some point. For me, my weight was like a security blanket since it kept me from failing at different things simply because I felt I was too heavy to do them or just didn't want to. I was happy with who I was but finally something clicked and I realized that I was missing out on life and wanted to do more.

Kelly- I understand your frustration with the weight going down then stopping at a certain point, creeping up then holding steady for a while as I experience a very close pattern. It could be related to TOM or some other natural cycle that occurs in your body.

Today, the school day was better and the kids lockers were hand washed according to the administrator. The students were slightly better today and we survived the first lab. I hope things are improving and that I am just overly tired. I did make it to the gym tonight and I did something. Granted, I could have worked harder but just did not feel like it and I tried a couple of different activities. I ended up talking to another one of my trainer's clients, so we compared exercises. I did feel better after wards so hopefully, I will stay motivated to exercise for the next couple of weeks.

Plans for the week:
Sunday- Rest day DONE
Monday- Trainer long run 2.5 miles DONE
Tuesday-Gym weight NOT DONE REST DAY
Wednesday- Rest day DONE
Thursday- Gym- cardio and drills NO Drill, light cardio
Friday- Climbing
Saturday- bike I hope

Many of you know I am thinking about biking across America next year, but I am not sure if I can handle 50 days on a bike. I was looking on-line last night at bike tour companies. They offer all-inclusive trips of different states and Europe. The bike rides can be customized based on how you feel that day and your level of comfort doing hills etc. There is van support so if you want to ride you can and the ride each days last between 2-5 hours. Would anyone be interested in doing a 6-8 day bike tour somewhere in the US? The time frame would be next summer, so I was thinking of the New England area. The cost of the trip includes the bike rental. I was looking at Vermont bike tours. The website also provides a details overview of the trip. The overnight hotels are also included and include very nice inns. You can also extend your stay if you want. You can even go swimming or Kayaking on some of the trips for a change of pace.

If people are interested maybe we can coordinate a trip so we can all meet up. Let me know what you think.

@laurie--I wish I could join you on a bike trip next summer, but I just don't see how it's possible for me money-wise. :sad: Even though the bike rental is included, I still feel I would have to buy a bicycle for training--training on a stationary bike just wouldn't cut it for that type of a trip. But even if I could swing that cost, I have 2 close friends getting married next summer and both will require travel. The first one is only in Wisconsin, but it's 5 hours away so will definitely require 1-2 nights in a hotel depending on what time they hold the ceremony. The 2nd wedding is the one in the Dominican Republic and DH and I are looking to make it a pretty nice trip--7 or 8 nights + a room upgrade. We don't take many holidays together, so we want to splurge a bit. Keep me posted and if I win the lottery, I will try to join you. I'm glad today was a little better and tomorrow is Friday!!! :drinker:

@kaye--I feel the same way about this thread. Wow, I can't believe you've gone down so many sizes in a year--that's truly inspiring. I also refuse to wear big clothes--I have a donation bag in the spare bedroom and when something is too big, I toss it in. When the bag gets full I go to Good Will, drop off the bag, and shop for a few "new" items for myself.

@mandy--welcome! :flowerforyou: One way I stay motivated is to sign up for races. I started running when I was about 235 lbs and registered for a race 6 weeks away--it forced me to keep working through the couch to 5k program, even when I really didn't feel like running. Now, I love to run and also enjoy challenging myself with obstacle and mud runs. I'm motivated to exercise by my desire to improve my performance at these events. I also use vacation plans to stay focused. For example, I had a trip to Switzerland planned for this summer since last January--I really wanted to be healthy and fit enough to enjoy the trip. Now I'm looking forward to a trip to the DR next summer--my desire to be really comfortable in a bathing suit is keeping me from caving to the food cravings.

@nvirgo--so sorry to hear you were sick, but glad you are feeling better now. :flowerforyou:

@kelley--BACK AWAY FROM THE WINDOW AND PUT DOWN THE SCALE!! :laugh: Seriously, I'm darn lucky my bathroom doesn't have a window b/c I'm in the same boat. My weight finally dropped back down to 185 when I returned from my trip and now it's back up to 190. I know it's normal to see a small gain when you adjust calories up, but it's still so frustrating especially since I've been so much better with my macros. :mad:

@lori--thanks for the kind words about teachers--it's nice to be appreciated. :flowerforyou:

@robin--73 papers is a lot, but I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to take 3 sections of AP. My student teacher really can't help with their papers--he's taking over my other 2 junior honors classes. He will be getting their 53 papers to grade over the weekend, so that does help in the greater scheme of things.

Thursday Truth:
I wasn't nearly as productive as I'd hoped to be with the grading today. I spent a lot of time going over plans with my student teacher, and we also made all of our copies for next week--so I got a lot done, but it wasn't grading. If I can get the quizzes done by the end of the day tomorrow, then I will only have their essays to grade--these particular essays are only screeners, so I don't need to truly grade them; I just need to read and give one positive and one negative comment on each essay. Oh and did I mention I'm also collecting 73 AP journals tomorrow. :noway: At least those can't come home with me b/c they are too heavy to transport, so they will have to wait until next week.

Oh, I didn't cave in to the chinese take away. I found some deli roast beef my husband had bought, so I made a sandwich for dinner instead. Much healthier. :happy:

Grading Goals:
1. 38/73 Summer reading quizzes MORE THAN HALFWAY DONE!!
2. 2/73 Columber essays

Exercise Goals:
Sat--rest day (sick)
Sun--walk gunner DONE
Mon--walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Tues--walk gunner DONE + gym NOT DONE
Wed--walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Thurs--walk gunner DONE
Fri--walk gunner

I FINALLY HIT MY 25 LB. MARK!!!! I have felt like I was losing so slowly but I have kept a 5 lb. a month pace for 5 straight months.... not as slow as it has seemed!!!

@Laurie~No more TOM for me, although I know my hormones are all over the place now (without going into too much detail for the guys) – so they could definitely be playing a role (for you and Karen too) with the inconsistency of that darn scale! The bike tour is a fabulous idea! I would love to do it, but vacation-wise (and financially) I can’t next summer. With a 11-day cruise in March and a 7-day one in October that I’m saving for and the time I’m taking off of work for those cruises, I don’t think I can swing it. I would love to do that sometime though.

@John~I think you hit the nail right on the head. You feel the same way so many of us feel. Gaining weight for me was a way of putting up a wall – what’s worse is that I didn’t know I was doing it but after an emotional roller-roaster of things in my life it was a way for me to cope and protect myself, I guess. Karen speaks volumes about the things I was afraid of and similar patterns to what Laurie said as well. I just decided one day that I needed to let go, learn to trust others and trust myself. I still have trust issues, but I have grown by leaps and bounds with this. It’s definitely a process. I think having the support of friends here has really helped, I’m not sure I would have made it this far otherwise. Think of this place as a safety-net, we’re always here with a shoulder to lean on – about anything!

@Karen~My bathroom doesn’t have a window either, but I have a straight shot through the bedroom window from the bathroom! :laugh:

@Robin~I’m sorry your hip is hurting, LOL at the pain pill getting rid of the grumpy – with some of those you don’t have a care in the world!

@Marca~Congrats on your 25# milestone, great achievement!

Friday Fitness~Its been a decent week of fitness, including an extra session with my trainer. I’m headed to the gym after work for what I hope is a long cardio workout, have plans with my trainer & some other friends tonight so it will depend on timing – need to burn some calories to compensate for the alcohol consumption, I’m sure! Tomorrow is my long-anticipated hair cut/color with a new stylist that specializes in curly hair. Was going to see my mom/grandmother beforehand, but they want to see me afterwards. This leaves the morning open where I can hopefully get meals planned and shopping done for next week.

Exercise Goals:

Sunday~Training DONE! :bigsmile:
Monday~Training DONE! :bigsmile:
Tuesday~Rest Day
Wednesday~Training DONE! :bigsmile:
Thursday~Rest Day
Friday~Treadmill/Stairmill
Saturday~None

Have a great day!

I am sure I will have to face some of the baggage I have been dragging around for years. If only the "airport of life" had lost those pieces of luggage - LOL

I just had to share and try to let go

John

John, my mother, a VERY wise woman, says you never bury feelings dead, you bury them alive and they WILL claw their way to the surface eventually. So GOOD for you!!! Feelings are neither right nor wrong (your reactions to them can be) and the perception that negative feelings are bad is why, I think, people try so hard to bury them! So, listen to your feelings and let them tell you something about who you are, where you are right now and then decide where you WANT to go!!!

I am sure I will have to face some of the baggage I have been dragging around for years. If only the "airport of life" had lost those pieces of luggage - LOL

I just had to share and try to let go

John

John, my mother, a VERY wise woman, says you never bury feelings dead, you bury them alive and they WILL claw their way to the surface eventually. So GOOD for you!!! Feelings are neither right nor wrong (your reactions to them can be) and the perception that negative feelings are bad is why, I think, people try so hard to bury them! So, listen to your feelings and let them tell you something about who you are, where you are right now and then decide where you WANT to go!!!

Your mother was indeed a very wise woman!

Friday Fitness: Still training for the 5K... SMASHED Day 1, Week 5 of C25K on Wed..... even did a full 1/2 mile in my first 5 min. run interval!!! Having my much fitter and smaller daughter with me helped me push it! I am trying Day 2 this evening when it cools down a bit (walk 5, run 8, walk 5, run 8, walk 5). My goal for the week is to get this day down pat and start working on day 3 which is walk 5, run 20, walk 5. I think if I can get this week firmly under my belt then I will be able to do the 5Ks that are in 2 weeks!!! :bigsmile: EEK!! I also plan to work on 3 day each week of power walking 3 miles. WOW! These seem like lofty goals for a dizzy chick that spent most of the last 5 1/2 years in a recliner!!! I sometimes feel like I am living in the body of someone else... one I like a LOT better!!!

Hi everyone, TGIF!

John -- your post was just awesome. I have often thought that I have never "fixed" my issues with weight and food. I have not been able to identify what the problem is and of course I fear that if I don't fix the underlying issues, that I'm not truly going to succeed this time. Maybe the fear of succeeding IS my issue? I'm just never sure.

Marca - way to go on 25 pounds and your C25K progress!

Friday fitness...well I went to a nice gym w/ my daughter (18) yesterday. It was my first time using a squat rack in the big boy area and it felt pretty great. One of the big boys even came and helped us with something we were doing wrong. Guess what, he didn't bite! I am working on getting over that fear so that I can build some real muscle. I hope to join there soon so I can get on with my progress. For today, I was still revved up from lifting, so I did an upper body workout with weights and pushups and dips here at home.

Zumba is my one true love, still doing it 3 hours a week. Occasionally we have Zumbathons in our area, which is 2 to 3 hours of non stop Zumba. They are held as fundraisers and area instructors donate their time to do a few songs. It's so much fun! I have one planned in September and one in October.

Weekend plans....well tomorrow is a ball game. Stadium food will be involved. I will get in my workout and eat light in preparation so that I can enjoy without worry. We will probably BBQ on Sunday or Monday, we always prepare a feast that gets me in trouble.

Hope you all have a terrific holiday weekend!
Carla

Hi guys-
Just a drive-by for me. I'm exhausted, but will catch up with personals tomorrow. :flowerforyou: