Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Sunday Share: I don't think we had any newbies or folks who I haven't introduced myself so I'm Susan. LOL!!! Weekend was good. Cyrus and I went to see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. He's reading a 5-book series for his AR (Accelerated Reading) class at school. I think seeing the movie will encourage him to read. I wish there were movies for all the books. We then had to go to Lenscrafters to get his glasses repaired since the lens popped out. Groceries were next and he was a great help. We came home, put groceries away and then I started cooking. I did a couple packages of Turkey Bacon for Cyrus during the week. He wanted pancakes for dinner while I opted for salad and a little protein. I also did a pan of my Chicken & Artichokes in Garlic Sauce for the week. I'm ready to make this a GREAT week!!!

@ Karen - I'm so glad you enjoyed your weekend and didn't go overboard at Oktoberfest. It's so easy to do that's for sure, but you did get in a great walk so you're covered either way. Nice finds too!!

@ Charlotte - You admitted it now move on. You're right back on track and stay focused this week. With your Thanksgiving possible this coming weekend, you'll want a good week so you can "splurge" a little and celebrate.

@ Kooky - Good job committing to the FitBit! I think you'll like it. I know I have so far.

@ KarenL - Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!!!

@ Beachgirl - We've all been there that's for sure. Some times are bodies just say "no more" and we need a little breather. Take your break and try to get something in tomorrow. Hopefully, the sun will shine soon.

@ Robin - I'm so glad you had a nice evening. I need to start branching out and trying to meet folks. It's hard with my schedule, but I know how important it is to get out there. Glad you're enjoying yourself! I wonder where Kris has been and if she's having computer issues. Normally, she's on her daily. Plus, she started the new job and was waiting to hear about the other one too. Hope she's doing OK.

Thank you for the invitation. I have lost 6 lbs in 2 days. I know most of it is water retention but it feels good. I decreased my carbohydrate intake and increased my protein intake

Hi All, Welcome to the new people this week, sorry I've missed a few of you by being away this week. Hope you enjoy the support and friendship this particular site is so well known for. Great group if you're looking for new ideas and support.
Today being Sunday its a day to share, so I'll start by saying Hi, I'm Charlotte. I'm a single working woman, with 2 grown kids and 5 grandkids with 1 more on the way in January. I work full time as a registered nurse on a surgical floor in a community hospital just outside of Toronto, Ontario. I'll be celebrating 40 years nursing next year. I am proud of the fact that I still love nursing even after so many years and so much change in the health care system. I am a people person and love helping.
My daughter and her family live about 2 1/2 hours away from me and she is also a nurse. She started me off with a grand daughter 14 years ago and has added another grand daughter who is 6 and a grandson 4. My son lives in Cochrane, Alberta and he has graced me with 2 grand daughters 5 and 3 and will be adding the last of the grands in January. Don't know the sex but am hoping for a grandson . Will be happy either way but my son is a huge sports fan and his girls are really girly girls. He wants a boy to share his love of sports with.
I've struggled with weight problems since having my kids and have tried all kinds of diets, and programs. I was successful about 25 years ago and got down to about 154 lbs and have never been close since. I kept the weight off for about 2 years and then my ex who was a police officer came home one day and announced he had quit the force to go into real estate. 2 months later the real estate market crashed and we almost lost everything. Needless to say, my weight started going up from stress eating and I've never been able to get it back down into onderland since. I started on MFP about 3 years ago and successfully lost about 60 pounds but went off the program and didn't even notice the weight creeping back on. I restarted the program about 2 months ago at my highest weight ever 314 lb. I don't think I've ever told anyone how much I weighed when I restarted. I'm struggling daily with keeping to a good program of eating. I've yet to start a regular exercise program as I work permanent nights, 12 hour shifts with an hour of drive each way. Doesn't leave much time for anything other than sleeping on the days I work. I used my Wii Fit program the last time I was successful and would like to get back into it but unfortunately am lacking the motivation needed to get started. I know I'll get there. Maybe once I hit my 299 goal, it'll get me motivated. I'm only a few pounds away from it. Hopefully by the end of October I'll be in the 200's again. Thats my goal anyway.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful w/e and to my Canadian friends, enjoy your Thanksgiving dinners. Charlotte

Welcome Kinnurse!

This last week was a bust. I went out of town for the weekend, and stayed within my daily calories (kind of), but I haven't hit the gym in a week, and I feel so sluggish. Had my weigh-in yesterday still lost 4 pounds, which is exciting. I think I may be starting to taper off from losing my water weight. I was also very discouraged because I had hoped more people would've acknowledged my weight loss while I was out of town (I only see these people every once in a while), but they did not. After losing 42 pounds, I felt like that would make me look different, but oh well.

The weekend was up and down for me emotionally, but I did pretty good on my food choices. Did get some exercise in - mostly walking. I had a 3.5 lb loss when I stepped on the scale this morning, so I am quite pleased Was definitely a needed improvement over the last few weeks of 2 weeks gaining and 2 weeks no movement. I so enjoy this thread. I feel like I know you all personally and your posts are always great. I feel like we share our victories and our downfalls, so thanks again! Hope we all have a great week

I've shared some of the articles I receive from my gym periodically, I thought this was another one worth sharing - written by the corporate RD for my gym.

5 Tips for Weight Loss Journaling.

What comes to mind when you think of a weight loss journal? A succession of photos? A food log? Calorie calculations? Daily reflections? Goal visions? A compendium of successes and setbacks along the way? The truth is, a weight loss journal can be anything you want it to be. Above all, however, it should be a positive resource that helps you strategize for success. In the midst of your daily workouts and meal planning, a weight loss journal encourages you to take time to connect with yourself, your behavior patterns, and your developing strengths. Over time, it becomes a record of discovery--discovery of what thinking motivates you, of what strategies work for you, of what vision directs your new, healthy life.

1. Use it to track your behavior, not just calories.

I’ve had a number of clients who spent countless hours tracking minute details of their food intake down to the very last calorie. They had a razor sharp focus on the caloric outcome of each day. Truthfully, their discipline and meticulousness impressed me, but their technical vision lost the forest through the trees. In each case, our discussion revolved around putting aside rigorous calorie counting and focusing on food selection itself. Those single numbers they organized their eating around did them a disservice. They would deliberately restrict calorie--but also nutrient dense--foods like healthy fats just to get their target number below a certain amount. Journaling at its most effective (and encouraging) shouldn’t read like a spreadsheet.
A better approach would be recording compliance to measurable behavior goals like “eat a cup and a half of colorful veggies with every meal” or “drink at least 40 oz of water before noon” or “take at least 15 minutes to finish a meal”? It’s pretty clear when we focus on behaviors, the outcomes are more likely to happen and stick. These behaviors are designed to cultivate habits that increase nourishment – the opposite of restriction. If you journal your food, do so with the intent to change behavior rather than restrict calories or fat grams.

2. Look for bright spots (and repeat them).

Too many people scour their records for missteps only to wallow in their shortfalls. The goal of a weight loss journal, however, shouldn’t ever be punative. Take a more positive approach by focusing on observing successes--and repeating them. You may have to partner with an optimistic supporter to see these in your own journal, but it will be worth it. An example of a bright spot in your journal would be recognizing that you actually made your dinner and added colorful veggies even though you only had 15 minutes to prepare it!

Let’s break that down; 1) your time was limited, but you still made the choice to avoid the drive-thru, 2) you prepared something yourself, and 3) you added veggies? How did that happen (e.g. what did you tell yourself in that moment, what did you have on hand at home, what planning had you done that made it easier), and--more importantly--how can we make more of that happen in the future? Reflecting on--and recording--the how-tos of your past success gives you a roadmap for future successes.

3. Read between the lines.

Better yet, record “between the lines.” Go beyond documenting the obvious (calories, grams, ounces, cups, etc.), and add how you feel, what your mood and energy are like, how much sleep you got, what your stress level is, how fun your workout felt, and the like. If you do this regularly, you’ll begin to see patterns and connections that will guide you toward making better choices across the board. For example, when you go to bed by 10 o’clock, you’re less likely to get cravings the following day or if you work out over your lunch hour you don’t need that afternoon coffee or sugary snack to make it over the mid-afternoon hump.
Document the way you thrive in the new choices and elements you’re adding to your life. Likewise, let yourself revel in the focus on yourself. In my experience, people do far too little reflection as they embark on health and fitness journeys. It’s not just about logistical changes. Appreciate it as an investment in genuine self-care. Look at all the angles of that. How does it feel to invest in yourself? Take the chance daily to bask in the glow of your efforts, and be proud of the choice you’ve made and the effort you put into it! Be connected with yourself in this process.

4. Share it with someone who won’t just judge.

I’ve had clients who were downright ashamed to share their food records with me. Why? Mostly it’s due to their belief that, as a dietitian, I eat perfectly and I might judge them for their choices. (Confession: I’m not perfect either.)
Some clients have had experiences in other weight loss programs in which a staff member looked over their food journal and simply marked it up with red pen sad faces, exclamation points, or other color commentary.
Let me state definitively: the journal is for you, not a professional you consult. Journaling should be about you developing a process-oriented “how-to” book on caring for yourself. The dietician or personal trainer should be a helpful resource but not the target audience. Own your journal the way you own your weight loss process.

5. Use it to get ahead.

My favorite trick to throw in once people are seeing even minor successes from journaling is to get them to use their journal as a secret weapon to bullet-proof themselves. If you’re becoming an expert at documenting what you did do (and it’s working), why not try documenting what you will do in anticipation of that tough day of meetings, tricky week of travel, or next trip to the grocery store?

People are often shocked by this activity because these are usually people who carefully anticipate and plan nearly every other facet of their lives. I’m talking about amazing folks who can tell you what their three-year business plan unfolds or how they plan to get each of their four kids off to different sports tournaments within a two hour period this weekend but they can’t seem to plan where their next vegetable will come from. Simple journaling activities and meal planning can have a profound impact on compliance to your goal behaviors. In short, use your journal to write your destiny.

Well, I discovered what happens to chia seeds when you put them in your yogurt and walk away – they grow! Geez, that was some chewy yogurt! :laugh:

@Tracey~Sounds like you had a great weekend, like you said it was a special occasion – honestly, I think you made some good choices. Don’t be hard on yourself about the soda, it was one soda – it shouldn’t completely derail you, be happy with the rest of the choices you made over the weekend.

@BJ~Terrific loss this week, doing great!

@Karen~I thought of you yesterday when I was procrastinating by looking at runners on line, ran across the coolest looking Asics – so colorful, I talked myself out of them though since I just bought a new pair of Brooks. But if they ever go on sale I cannot be held responsible for my actions!

@sjacobs~Everyone is different and requires different calorie allotments. You might take a look online regarding TDEE (there are even a couple of useful threads on MFP) to help you set your calorie allotment and macros. You are exercising a lot. It sounds strange but to lose weight you need to eat – I cannot tell you how many conversations I have with both my trainer and the registered dietician at my gym that I don’t eat enough. I’ve gone the TDEE route (as many people on this thread have) and I’ve also had resting metabolic rate assessments done to see just how much I need to eat daily. I was surprised to find out it was a lot more than I was actually eating. Now, I know several people that stick to 1,200 calories a day and it works well for them, but personally if I eat that little I will gain weight – I’m too active. Try the 1,200 and see if it works; but for your activity level I think it may be too low. Another recommendation is to checks your macros – MFP has carbs set really high at 55%, for most people it should be much lower (mine is 30% carbs, 40% protein, 30% fat).

Here is a useful thread on MFP regarding TDEE, lots of great info: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/963088-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

Monday Check-in~Decent weekend, lots of exercise as usual. Good session with my trainer yesterday, he decided to torture me with the battle ropes – I’m guessing that is why my arms a little sore today.

Exercise Goals:

Sunday~Gym, training session DONE!
Monday~Gym, arc trainer or elliptical
Tuesday~Rest Day
Wednesday~Gym, training session
Thursday~Rest Day
Friday~Gym, Stairmill/Weights/Row
Saturday~Running Drills either outside or the gym

Let's make it a great week!

Hi all I started checking in here late summer...then went on vacation and sort of hit a downward spiral. Sigh. I tried doing a few weeks of Medifast (my friend has a bunch of left over “food” and gave it to me...I would do well during the week and then tank on the weekends...NOT healthy. I think I finally figured out that this has to be a life style change and it has to be about portion control, choices and EXERCIZE! I knew this but I think I am finally ready to accept that there is no quick fix. It is going to take time and commitment to living a healthy lifestyle. I hope I can use this group to find support and stay accountable.

A bit about me. I am a 45 year old married mother of a tween and a teen. I have an active family and my DH who is 8 years older is in great shape. NO ONE in my family is overweight. My weight issues started after the birth of my second child (12 YEARS ago) I stayed about 30-35 pounds overweight until both of my parents died 7.5 and 3.5 years ago...I started numbing out with too much food and too much wine and not enough movement. Gained another 35...One day I stepped on the scale and was 210#...I am 5’5” and curvy so I think I need to be somewhere between 130-140ish. UGH. It seems like Mount Everest is looming in front of me. Sometimes it is paralyzing. I want to wear the beautiful clothes I have in my closet...some still with tags. I hate living my life in scrubs (for work) and yoga pants and elastic waist skirts...I work FT as an Oncology Nurse. I moved from acute/critical care Oncology (mostly surgical about 25% medical) which was extremely stressful and 3 long 12-14 hours days...to Outpatient Oncology (100% medical) much less stressful and 1-12hr 2-9hrs & 1-4hr day...no nights, no holidays, no weekends. I love it BUT. I am more sedentary (I administer Chemotherapy, transfusions and infusions and do a ton of education with patients) and there are always treats around (from the patients/families) and lots of catered lunches (usually not too healthy...Italian and the like). I just have not been able to find my groove for healthy living. But I committed to myself and started logging everything. My goal for this week is to exercise one hour on my days off...30 min on 9 hour work days and nothing on my 12 hour days. I have started walking on the treadmill. slow and steady with intervals and a little slogging. LOL. So this week looks like; Sat 1hr (done) Sun 1hr (done) Monday 1hr (about to do) Tuesday 30min, Wed OFF, Thursday 1hr, Friday OFF (as I am doing 2-12 and 1-9 this week).

So far I have come in under calories all weekend EVEN with wine (which I am limiting to the weekends only).
ONWARD!
Allie

You guys are all so supportive and nice - I love it!!! I had fun this weekend. My Hubby and I went to a new grocery store that had a HUGE produce and veggie section, both organic and non-organic. We loaded up our cart and spent a few hundred dollars! (We did buy a few other things than fruits/veggies, mind you).

Got up at 4:45 am and by 6:30 had been on the computer for more than 1 hour. I was looking at Insanity because many have talked about it on MFP. Then the ridiculousness of it struck me. I am sitting like a slug with 8 dogs wanting to go for a walk and I am looking up exercise DVDs. HUH!! Shut the computer off and took 2 dogs for a walk. Started with a starry night and watched the sun come up by the time we were home 90 minutes and 5 miles later. Felt great and still feel pretty good that that is done for the day. Met my girlfriend for brunch and ate well - no regrets. Now thinking that I need to do this exercise thing in the am. I am too full of excuses in the evening when I am already tired from working all day. Not physically tired but mentally worn out. Still have dogs bugging me to go for walk. Maybe short one for the little ones tonight.

FrauHaas2013 - I have given up on fresh produce. Unless I buy only what I am going to eat on a given day too much of it rots in the fridge. Frozen is the way for me. - thaw only what you cook and eat. Less waste when good intentions go awry. Your new grocery store does look great. Just the kind that could tempt me to buy too much and watch it rot - But that is me not you. Cannot eat veggies if they are not in the house in some form so good for you changing your eating/purchasing habits.

my struggles this weekend were snacking. ugh...

Kelley- Great article and thanks for sharing. In some ways I feel like this thread is like a journal for me along with the notes on the exercise and food entries. Battle ropes will make arms and legs sore, I have not worked out with battle ropes in a while kind of miss it.:bigsmile:

BJ- getting to move is key so great job on taking that walk tonight.

Susan- Hope the travel goes well this week and you keep up your record of exercising while traveling that is always impressive.
:happy:
sjacobs- Figuring out the amount of calories you should eat a day is a challenge because if you eat too much you gain and if you eat to little you will also gain. Yes, it's true! Your body will store the food because it thinks it will not get enough to eat. The trick is to eat foods that are whole grains for carbs, lean proteins and healthy fats( unsaturated). I also tried 1200 calories a day but did not feel well at that level. I tend to eat between 1500-1700 calories a day plus I workout hard several times a week. Also remember that process is learning how to manage our eating and that also means maintaining it when we are finished losing.

Gorilla- Hope the cold goes away soon and you can get back to your monster workouts.:drinker:

Alliern-Sounds like you have a good plans for exercising during the week.

Check in-The weekend was great even through it rained on Saturday. I had a great workout with my trainer today with a variety of exercises but mostly bike and run in intervals of 5 min or 3 min. I realized tonight that I will have no problem kicking butt on Sunday since I had plenty of energy left after my workout. Luckily, I went home before I expended all the extra energy I had. The school stress is still hanging around. This week will be an exercise in patience since I need to keep my muscles warm but conserve energy at the same time. The key will be keeping my brain in the game with positive self talk and avoiding the doubts that will want to creep in. After all this is just another workout for me at a different gym.:bigsmile: :laugh:

The weight is so slow to come off, but I know I'm getting stronger. The session with the trainer has been so worth it. I did various reps tonight, but I'm really proud of my planks. I did 3 reps of 90 seconds each. Towards the end I was shaking pretty bad, but I stayed up. Woo Hoo!!!!

Monday Share - Had a good w/e. Worked most of it but was able to stick to my diet plan and was under calories every day. Today was a rough one emotionally as its our Thanksgiving and I couldn't be with my family. I spoke to both my kids and video conferenced with my grandkids out west but it was pretty sad sitting down to have dinner by myself. Not like when my kids were little and we'd have upwards to 20 people around the dinner table for Thanksgiving dinner.. Oh how times have changed. But, I did not resort to old habits and stuck to a reasonable meal. No binge eating like I would normally do if I were upset so I guess its a win.
Hope everyone has a plan for the week and sticks to it. Charlotte

This morning I got in a good workout with a new PR for bench press. I was very glad there was someone there to spot me which is not always the case at 5am during the week so it really let me push until failure. Definitely helped! Im feeling a bit better today after being in bed before 9 last night.

Football is coming to an end now... and as much as I will enjoy getting some of my time back I will miss it. I enjoy working with the kids and seeing them do well... it is frustrating when they are scatterbrained but I have to remind myself they are 7 and 8! We are hoping to have one last game this weekend we call it our pumpkin bowl... right now we are having a hard time finding a team to play against.

BUT having my season end now works out well for my workouts. I have one more session of really heavy lfting scheduled this Thursday morning and then it is supposed to be my deload week where I do the same things just with much less weight to let myself recover. I think I will start the first week back to my New Rules of Lifting for Life on Saturday, it starts off with a break in phase so I would not be actually killing the weights just getting back into the routine of a full body workout as opposed to one that focuses on just one major part at a time.

I am also thinking of coming off the no carbs... it worked great for a while got me down around 40lbs but I am struggling now to keep it up come weekends and I am not seeing losses because of that. I am thinking of back to just straight calorie counting with an emphasis on protein....

Robin- Feel better! Cold-eze that stuff works miracles! But it makes your food taste horrible for a couple days

Susan- keep working! Stronger is best!!!

Skinny- want to make my lunch for the week too?

Lauriek70 -- You are 100% bad @$$ and you will do amazing this week!! Keep that focus and anytime you need an encouraging word we here in this group are here for you and you can always shoot me a PM!