Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

The news is so sad with house fires (a couple here in the last couple of days killing all inside) and deaths from the bitter cold and accidents due to weather. Not to mention the number of people losing their lives from the flu.

We've been really cold the last couple of days but today its supposed to be back in the mid-60s and then 70s tomorrow - only to bring another cold snap next week. Luckily we have no bad weather in the forecast, but we seriously need rain.

AFM~Had a great time out with friends last night, I haven't seen them for several months so it was nice to catch up. Perhaps I had too much fun, because I drank beer like it was water. :embarassed: Ugh, going to have to hit the gym hard today to make up for that indiscretion. Later today its back to to the furniture store with a pricing strategy and if I have time go look at tablets - seems to be on my list every Saturday and I never get to it. I'd like to get grocery shopping done today too. Guess I better get busy.

Have a great day and stay warm!

@Kah- Thanks. I try to check in...just feeling guilty for avoiding. Had to be honest.

@Jeanette- that we're at the same weight. I feel like we're definitely in this together!

@Naomi - Thanks for the reassurance!

@hayley - I went to a football party/birthday party last week and I made a salad to bring because I knew there would be pizza. I successfully made it through without eating any junk! You can do it!

@karen and kaye - how have I not heard about these?! Hope you guys are staying safe!

Saturday success--not a very successful week, but I plan to try a new recipe for cauliflower wings (cauliflower in bbq sauce) tonight for dinner. Hopefully it's delicious!

Hi guys. Hope all goes well with all of you. I am doing alrighty. We have a bit of a cold in the house at the moment but nothing to terribly serious. My exercising has gone really well this week but my food has been hit and miss. I am going down but very slowly. Anyway gtg and get the house ready since we are apparently having people over for food this evening. I hope you all have a great day.:flowerforyou: :drinker:

Jnettie I like the one I bought it is the honey cinnamon and goes great with apples. The calories are only slightly lower then regular pb but I am ok with that.

Robin I hope you are having a great time with your friends this weekend. I am happy you are feeling up to getting up and about again.

Mow mow happy to hear you are back in the environment that you so enjoyed. You will get the food back under control. I have complete faith in you.

Mel that is one of the most tragic things I have heard. My heart goes out to that community and those families.

Someone was asking how I decide on the number of calories I claim from what my hrm records. Generally I go fairly close to the median number between what MFP says and my HRM says. So far as long as I am eating right it seems to be working.

Todays workout per HRM:

74 min
1267 cals of which I claimed 800
3.08 miles
8281 steps

20 ball crunches
20 wall situps
15 squats (my knees were sore)

Short on time today, tell you why in a minute so sorry, will be back to do personals tonight. Guess my Sunday Share will fill in the details...

Australia Day today, so we are taking the kids out to join in the local festivities. Then at 2 my (American) brother in law is taking up Australian citizenship (dual), so we are off to join in the ceremony. I think its a great opportunity for the kids, I've never been to one before. After that there's a big party to celebrate with all things Australian. Hope you all have a fun (and safe) Australia Day.

Nxx

Hi all!

Quick note this time: I went to a training meeting at the gym where I teach gymnastics and the girl leading it mentioned she just got her Master's in kinesiology (which she described as a big word for exercise science) I asked her if she'd like to make a (very) little bit of money as my personal trainer. Since we both work at the YMCA, she wasn't sure if she could be my trainer, but she would be my exercise buddy and teach me things. We start this Thursday!!!! She's going to teach me how to use the machines and the free weights, which I will admit seems like a lot to learn and is a little scary and a lot exciting! I'm also going to try my "detox water". I got all the ingredients on Friday and I'm also excited about that. It takes me two days to drink a gallon of tea, but you're supposed to drink the whole gallon in one day to cleanse your system. (I was warned to stay close to the bathroom! haha!) So, things are looking up! I'll try to write some personals tomorrow. Gonna hit the hay now.

loves

I'm back. Not going to bore any one with why I have been MIA but I have removed my head from my butt and am ready to start again. I am back to 262 and need to update my page. I doubt I am on here nightly because I am overwhelmed right now but I am back. Miss so many of you. Hope everyone is doing well. I need to sit down and do some reading.

Happy Sunday everyone. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Mine is trucking right along. I had a good day yesterday and today is off to a good start. I am making beef stew, cheddar herb biscuits, and brownies.and then taking it all over to my parents for dinner tonight. It should be pretty good:happy: Other then that not a whole lot going on just relaxing around the house today.

Sunday share: My name is Tammy and and I am a wife and mother of three grown children though two still live at home. I have been somewhat overweight since puberty but the last five years or so I had some health problems and it escalated out of control. About a year and half ago I finally hit the enough is enough point and took control of a lot of different aspects of my life that I had kinda just let slide along. I have had some ups and downs but the overall trend is losing and even better then the weight loss is the overall feeling of fitness I have developed. I dont feel like I cant do things anymore because I am to fat or it is to hard. I just figure out ways now to make it work

Well got to get going if I am going to get my dads stew made. I hope you all stay safe and warm and have a great day:flowerforyou: :drinker:

Todays walk per HRM:

58 min
burned 1044 of which I claimed 650
2.61 miles
6866 steps

I have had some ups and downs but the overall trend is losing and even better then the weight loss is the overall feeling of fitness I have developed. I dont feel like I cant do things anymore because I am to fat or it is to hard. I just figure out ways now to make it work

FAB!!! These are some of the most inspiring words i have seen. I am so pleased for you jtconst. I too have missed out on things i would otherwise have wanted to do because I feel like I can't do them because I am too fat, or too unfit. Congratulations!

Yesterday an acquaintance with whom I don't get to visit often asked me what my motivation was to make such a huge change. It really made me think about it. I think it might be good to share it here. We each have to figure out what our motivation is. Perhaps by sharing mine I can help someone here who is struggling to keep going. In September of 2012 I was facing knee replacement surgery. My surgeon commented, almost in passing, that my new knees would last longer if I could lose some weight. I knew he was right. I told my family that I wanted to see how much I could lose in the 6 weeks before the surgery. One of my daughters said, "You need a plan." She knew about My Fitness Pal and helped me get signed up. I set my first goal at 25#. I started that day and have never looked back. I was surprisingly successful and that success became my motivation to keep going. I also had a new grandbaby coming in February that I wanted to be able to take care of. I knew I couldn't do it if I didn't get a handle on my health.
Another friend told me today that she has signed up on MFP. I now know of several people who are currently losing weight because of my success. That is quite a motivation to keep going because I don't want to let them down.
Yesterday and today have been so cold and dreary that I lost my motivation to get out and walk. The pedaller has had to substitute. I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Have great day. Onward and downward. Kaye

It's a little late, but here's my Sunday Share:

My name is Hayley and I live in Iowa. Just in the past six or seven months, I've been working as a gymnastics coach at our local YMCA. I love it, as I was a gymnast in jr. high and high school. It's amazing how much has changed since then. (I'm 30 now) When I was a junior in college, I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. It's taken a really long time not to be ashamed of that. However, it is an illness, like cancer or diabetes. There is no cure, but there are coping strategies for when i'm having symptoms and one of my coping strategies with the depression part of it gets bad USED to be eating my feelings. NOW it is exercising. I have found that with eating when I feel poorly, I eat too much and feel even worse when I'm done. That led to the cycle of, "Well, I know it'll feel sucky when I'm done, so I just won't quit at all." I used to eat so much so often that I would make myself physically ill. SOOO I was also diagnosed with bulimia. It wasn't because I wanted to lose weight or thought I was fat. It was simply because I was eating my pain and I felt so much pain that I thought I couldn't quit eating. Long story short, it led to some very, ummm, interesting (?) thoughts about food and health and overall wellness. When my psychiatrist VERY politely suggested exercise instead of food, I took it personally. (And he was very polite about it...talking about overall health and mental wellness instead of a number on the scale.) I just assumed he looked at me and saw a fat lazy person with no will power and all I had to do was change my mind in order to change my body. I know now that he wasn't saying that at all. There have been extensive studies showing that exercise releases endorphins and serotonin in our brains, which naturally cheer us up. So now, when I feel like I can't get out of bed, I set my alarm for 10 minutes. I know that when my 10 minutes are up, I'm going walking. I can now go about a half mile in 12 minutes! I have a treadmill in my dining room, which just happens to be right outside my bedroom. I can't even recall how many times I walked in just socks and a T-shirt because getting dressed just seemed too damn hard!

This January, I got on MFP and became "serious" about weight loss and health. I know I will feel physically better at a lower weight, and I know that my mental illness is affected by exercise. Putting it into action required a lot of support and a lot of excuse-busting.

The other reason I want to lose is for my gymnastics girls. We preach to them every day about being kind to their bodies and being healthy. We make them do conditioning and expect them to do it on their own at home, too. These girls are so STRONG! They inspire me. They do things I will probably never be able to do, just because we asked them to try their hardest. How can I preach something and not practice it myself? What a bad example I am setting!!!! I know that by the time the high schoolers are gone, I'll be just a few pounds lighter and they probably won't even notice. But the six and seven and eight year olds WILL see a change in me. I want to have the energy to keep up with them and I want to be able to show them how to do skills instead of just telling them. (No, I'm not going to be doing backflips or anything, but I should be able to do a cartwheel, at least. Remember? I used to do this stuff for years. There should be some muscle memory left, but I'm too scared to try stuff like that at my weight right now).

Tomorrow, I'm going to water aerobics, and I'm going to start going three times a week, Mon. Wed. and Fri. On Thursday, I'm meeting with Kelsey, who is going to show me the machines and the (scary) free weights. I'll incorporate that routine on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but as we start, we're just going once a week.

I don't remember who said it, but it helped me and I hope it helps anyone else who is "scared" to work out or is experiencing "gym-timidation": Sweat is just fat crying!

Loves

@Naomi--Definitely was not as good as I hoped it would be.

Monday Check In: I had a 2.8 lb loss for the week weighing in at 229.8. That gives me a total of 20.2 lbs lost so far and officially puts me in the 220's! :drinker:

Saturday is the 1st of the month which means measurement and progress picture time for me. I am hoping for good results. When I look in the mirror it seems to me like my face is skinnier. I asked Brian if he noticed a difference and said not really. He went on to explain that it is difficult for him to see differences because he sees me every day. He said he would probably notice more if he saw me less frequently. :grumble: I hate when he is right. I think I am going to add face photos to my progress pictures as well.

Tom - I love Mexican. A bit off topic but have you ever been to Serendipity (Ceasars)? They have amazing tomato soup. I highly recommend.

To answer your question, when I encounter that type of situation I try to pic something that represents what I ate as closely as I could find. But of course it frustrates me as I am constantly wondering how the MFP portion compares to what I ate. Also wonder how it was prepared and all that stuff. To balance things out, I try to eat a bit better the following days. I probably think way too much about it but I would rather err on the side of caution.

Naomi - I am glad you understood what I meant by the double digits. I wish you the best of luck in reaching the doubles too. I know you can do it!

Kaye - I loved reading about your motivation. I also loved that your success has inspired a few to follow suit. What a huge compliment. You are very inspiring. Keep up at doing such a great job!

Hayley - I loved reading your story. Thanks for sharing. I especially love that you want to be a good role model for your students. That's wonderful!

Skinny - Glad to hear you had a fun weekend.

Lives - Sorry to hear the scale was not being kind this morning. I love your attitude that you will not give up. That attitude will definitely take you far in this journey!

Monday Check-In: Yes, I'm back and boy did I miss you guys. For those of you who know me, you know I'm pretty positive and try to hold true. Unfortunately, my dark side took over and the mental battle was beating me up. I think it was a mixture of everything, which is just called life. I sure didn't handle it very well (ate non-stop, no exercise, no MFP, and had a major pity party.) It's just all the frustration of eating right, exercising faithfully, and the scale not budging. It took a toll on me. Plus, work has been super, super busy. I love my job and so thankful for it, but there is a lot of pressure too. As most of you know, I'm surrounded by food. In the past few weeks, we've sampled at least 5 different bread suppliers, 4 dessert companies, 3 proteins, and throw in some sauces too. This is not going away so I have to rely on others or just taste and spit it out, which is what I normally do. Cyrus has been pushing a few buttons too and had a major melt down last week. We've worked through it, but definitely a little scary too.

Thank you for your positive comments about his Dad and the girlfriends comments. I was awarded sole custody about 3 years ago. His dad didn't even show up to court. He sees Cyrus maybe once a year if that. Since 2008, he's seen him maybe 5 times. Plus, this will tell you something of the GF's character. She has 5 kids and does not have custody of any of them. I think the two of them were made for each other. I often reflect back and can't believe we were married almost 10 years. We separated though when Cyrus was only 2. I guess I didn't think enough of myself and stuck around, but once Cyrus came I knew I had to give him a better life and we're doing great on our own.

Since I've been MIA the past few weeks, I did go back to the beginning of the thread and read through 10 pages yesterday just to catch up with all of you. I've got the trainer tonight. She knows I've been struggling, but pulling myself out. She's been very supportive and sending me texts, which has meant a lot. I'll be back on track with personals and checking in with everyone. Thank you again for your continued support. You guys really do mean so much to me as we go through this journey together.

@Tom~The NI for Mexican is similar across the board from one restaurant to the next, for the most part. I typically just look for something that sounds close to what I had – in Texas we have a lot of mom/pop type Mexican places so I just try and choose items from chains and use that NI for tracking. I feel like it’s close enough – instead of driving myself crazy by attempting to track every ingredient. Good job skipping the high calorie “adult” beverages – something I’m not very good about avoiding when eating Mexican! :blushing:

@Hayley~You certainly have overcome a lot of obstacles, you have a great outlook now. Thanks for sharing your story. I exercise for endorphins – if I’ve had a bad day at work I feel better, if I’m upset about something it generally makes me feel better, and it also helps to channel my stress. I wish more people realized how much better they would feel if they exercised. Glad to hear you found someone to workout with and give you pointers. She probably can’t be your “trainer” because she isn’t certified but great that she has a degree in kinesiology, definitely a bonus!

@L2T~I didn’t lose anything last week either, was actually up this morning. No rhyme or reason, except that I haven’t taken my fish oil for a couple of days (forgot) and that usually has a big impact for me. I’m also terrible about drinking water on the weekends since I’m always running around.

@Nettie~Yay, fantastic loss!!! Its true about people you see every day noticing the changes – I don’t get compliments from people I see every day but I do from random people I run into throughout the hospital that I only see occasionally. The friends I saw on Friday (who I haven’t seen in about 4-months) actually called me “skinny” – not sure I buy that, but I’ll take the compliment. :bigsmile:

@Susan~I know you’ve been struggling lately, I’m sorry. :frown: I’m glad the trainer has been there to check on you and for you to lean on a bit – they are really good for that sometimes.

AFM~Morning off to a rough start. Having issues with coffee maker – last two mornings I’ve had water all over my counter instead of in coffee pot, so guess it’s time for a new one. :grumble: Luckily I have a Keurig for back-up when needed – I’ve been told I’m unpleasant without my java! :frown: Good session with trainer yesterday, did a couple of different things – I like it when he changes things up a bit, I tend to get bored.

Exercise Goals:

I’m planning taking spin one day, haven’t decided which yet.

Monday~Gym, elliptical (or spin)
Tuesday~Gym, elliptical or arc trainer (spin instructor on this day is pure evil!)
Wedneday~Gym, training session
Thursday~Gym, arc trainer (or racquetball with trainer – or spin)
Friday~Rest Day
Saturday~Gym, running (or spin in afternoon)
Sunday~Gym, training session

@L2T--I know how frustrating it can be to not see the scale move after a "good" week; however, I've found that my body tends to work on a 3-week delay, so if I have a really great week food and exercise wise, and then 2 "normal" good weeks, the loss shows up after those 2 weeks. Seems to work the same with "bad" weeks--I'll think I dodged a bullet after a crappy food/exercise week and then a couple of weeks later, the scale will creep up even though I've been back to my normal routine. This was true even back when I was losing consistently week to week. The bigger losses always showed up about 3 weeks after an extra-good week. It took me awhile to figure out that that's my body's pattern and until then, I was really frustrated by what seemed to be random scale movement. I bet you are similar and if you just stick to it, you will see the payoff---and I hope my experience helps keep you from panicking if the reward doesn't come next week. :flowerforyou:

@kelley--I am not a coffee person--don't even own a coffee-maker--but I also need some sort of caffeine in the morning or I'm a grouch. Thank goodness for that back-up Keurig--now that's the sign of a true addict! :laugh:

@tracy--I agree that it is unfair to have different rules for different offices. I know there are a lot of factors that go into making the decision to close down, but it seems like there should be a set of standard guidelines that all of the offices follow. I know with our school districts here, it's always a guessing game, and often we are open while districts right next door are closed. This week is the perfect example--yesterday, almost every district in the area called off school for today and tomorrow. However, our district only called off today. I'm sure they will still make the call for tomorrow as well, but it would be nice for the parents to know ahead of time so they can make child-care plans if they still need to go to work.

@susan--glad you are back! :flowerforyou:

@nettie--congrats on getting into the 220's!! :drinker: It's true that people who see you everyday aren't going to notice the loss. I've also found that people tend to notice more whenever I get new clothes that actually fit my "new" body correctly. When I'm wearing older baggy stuff or even smaller sizes that fit my "old" size 14 body, it's not as noticeable as when I wear something I bought more recently for my current shape.

Monday check-in:
I got to sleep in a bit which was really nice, and made some breakfast. I hadn't logged for the past 2 days b/c of being out of town and then the birthday party yesterday, but I'm back to logging everything.

Now I'm contemplating going out to starbucks to get some grading done. Not looking forward to stepping outside. :ohwell:

Grading goals:
1. x/16 AP analysis activities
2. rec letter for my student teacher
3. post participation grades
4. x/51 JRP journals

Exercise goals:
Mon--gym (lift + HIIT)
Tues--gym (cardio)
Wed--walk gunner
Thurs--walk gunner + (lift + HIIT)
Fri--rest day
Sat--walk gunner + gym (cardio)
Sun--walk gunner + (lift + HIIT)

Exercise & Weight:
Bench press = 85
Dead lift = 90
Squat = 90
Overhead press = 55
Upright row = 60

Overhead tricep extension = 25 (dumbbell)
Bicep curl = 15 (dumbbell)
Lat pull down = 100
Tricep pull down = 90