Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

@Melissa…glad it was just a short illness.
@Susan...Jacob’s game of choice is Monopoly. Goodness I hate it, but the electronic version at least makes it bearable!  How was the show? And yes, seeds are bad because apparently I think I need to eat them until the bag is empty. Oh well…they are empty now.
@L2T…ND is looking at that scholarship. I hope it passes before Jacob is a senior…although he’s going to have do a lot better in school than he is now to get one.
@Holly…we have an alternative/relaxed/band service each week. It is not my cup of tea, but they have a fair turnout each week. Luckily, I’m not a huge cake fan so it’s not too bad to have around. The part I like best is the batter and I usually get to lick the scraper when it’s all said and done so that covers it (and I do count those licks!! )
@Tanya…I’m sure it is frustrating when your body doesn’t allow you to do what your brain wants. However, keep listening to the doctors – they know best. Is there something they say you can do in the meantime?
@Laurie…glad you had a productive snow day.
@Robin…glad you had a successful surgery! What fun to rediscover beautiful things all around you, but hope this flu passes you buy quickly.
@Karen…yuck with waking up early, but I hope your conference is worth it.
@Kaye…that’s how this whole cake thing started. I made them for my kids and if you could figure out what it was, I was happy. Then I took 2 cake decorating classes last year, learned some techniques and just loved it. Still had no plans to sell cakes, but then my sister had a friend and it has steam rolled from there. No plans for a business, but it’s nice to have a little extra cash each month.
@Tracy…love that cake and congrats on the “end of cancer treatment”!!

AFM…yesterday was a wonderful day! I didn’t have to put on shoes or a coat and just got to stay home. While I should have been more productive, I did get my 8 hours of work in and most of a cake done. Today’s cake is a combo of the Flash and Green Arrow. I had to go on line and do some research since I had never even heard of the Green Arrow. My son thinks I’m dumb. HA! I just have to finish the emblems today and then it’s out the door.

I made my calorie goal yesterday and my water goal. I knew it was a day of rest as far as working out (these days of never leaving my house don’t happen often). And I saw the season finale of How to Get Away with Murder. Wow, never saw that coming!!!!

Today, the plan is to meet my calorie goal, meet my water goal and get to the gym. My evening is pretty relaxed…Jacob has basketball practice, my Mom has asked me to come measure her for her mother of the bride outfit and then I need to pick up my Bountiful Baskets. And then I want to get both bathrooms cleaned so I don’t have to worry about them this weekend.

Friday Fitness: Part of my March goal is going to be focusing on fitness more. Hikes in the Colorado Mountains are coming up in July and I need to be in better shape. I’m going to steal from others:

• Cardio - 3 times a week
• Lifting - 2 times a week
• Water - 5 days a week (just trying to be realistic)
• Calories - 6 days a week

@melifornia...I agree..hate when I hear about things before I see them. I won't do any spoilers, but it was a good show!!

Thursday Truth a bit tardy: I really blew it yesterday. I cooked. I ate. I was over calories. I did not even finish logging until this AM. The good news it was not quite as bad as I expected, so that was a relief. But really! I think @Lives2Travel you said it right...asked some really profound questions. Is it a switch? Diet fatigue? I did so well pre and through the holidays, now this just stuck in one place. Whatever the cause, I need to shake this off and get back at it.
Good news on that front: My daughter and the daughter of a friend have started to do MFP again. Neither has a lot to lose, maybe 10# but I know they will be really good and get this done. They will be sort of monitoring my progress, so I guess I feel I will be on display. That will help. You all help, but I think are too kind and understanding sometimes.
@Cblue Certainly, you said some interesting things on your home page this AM. I certainly took it to heart about how much you have improved your endurance etc. You are and continue to be an inspiration.
@Niki I think what you said about people don't really know who you are apparently holds true for many of us. We probably first need to understand ourselves and sometimes that is hard or we hide behind "convention"... whatever we perceive that to be.
As for exercise and Friday Fitness this week. I have done zero. My hip is bothering me and I have been babying it. What can I say; this comes and goes with arthritis and the weather.

Have a great Friday everyone and a wonderful weekend.
Barb (mountmary)

Hi! I just started checking out this thread yesterday and thought I would share a little about myself. I have been overweight my whole life. In the last 6 years I gained 80 lbs! 6 years ago I had met my boyfriend and I went back to school and was working full time and with all of this combined I wasn't exercising regularly, I was eating out a lot, I put all my other commitments first and the commitment to myself on the back burner. In the process I lost respect for myself, I lost my self confidence. I became an unhappy person.
Finally 6 months ago or so I decided enough was enough. I don't want to be this fat unhealthy person anymore with no self confidence. I want to be a healthy woman who lives life to the fullest. I am someone who can get very overwhelmed because I don't know where to begin. I know you loose weight by having a calorie deficit but how? The whole idea was just really overwhelming to me and it's probably partially why it took me 6 years to start making changes. I decided to do a program through Kaiser called Transform. You start off on the Optifast product and while you are on it you go to weekly classes where they teach you about changing behaviors, logging, exercise and about calorie counting and they slowly ease you back into real food. Now I continue to go to classes to keep me accountable and to get support but I am on regular food. I am counting my calories and meal prepping like everyone else trying to loose weight. I am 100% grateful for the program because if I didn't find it I probably would have already given up due to being overwhelmed. I needed to have my hand held while I learned the basics! Now I feel like I can conquer the world.
For exercise I have been doing classes like Zumba and Body Combat and hiking on the weekends. I want to work in strength training but I am at that point of not knowing where to start! lol. I am not going to allow my anxiety to take over though. I am looking into a TRX class and a couple other classes in my area that work on strength.
I am loving losing weight. Obviously I feel better/healthier but I also feel this power. I have taken back control of my life!! I still have a long way to go but I am ready!

Just in the past two days I had two victories: I reached over 70lb weight loss! I also fit into an old belt that hasn't fit for years. It is a size 2X and I haven't fit in anything that was a size 2X for as long as I can remember.

Well, I'm down 9 pounds since I started eating "like the poor person I am." LOL. Basically, my friend looked over my budget and told me that I am not wealthy enough to be eating out like I was. After eating on a budget for the past few weeks, and then this week replacing two meals with green smoothies, I was excited to see the poundage go down this morning. The perfect boost to end the week!

I been eating a "vegetarianish" diet since right after Christmas and noticed a difference in how I felt, but not in anything else. In fact, I felt like I was gaining more weight- probably because my only goal was to avoid eating animal meat.

Now that I have started more of a standard for what I will eat, I feel like I can form a sustainable pattern in my eating habits, rather than just either eating a strict diet or eating whatever the heck I feel like.

Anyways, I'm thankful for a forum like this where we are all on the same journey

QUESTION: What does AFM mean? I keep seeing that, but haven't picked up the lingo. lol

@robin--It's great to see you back! Glad the vision is so improved, and you are feeling better overall. Very interesting article too--thanks for sharing. As for my MIL--yeah, she's a piece of work. It's honestly not that hard on me b/c I'm someone who chooses to avoid drama when possible. I do feel bad for my DH and his sister b/c I think it's so unfair for anyone to have that kind of a person as a parent. I'm not saying they are both saints, but neither has done anything to deserve that kind of treatment from a mother.

@lindsay--haha, love the eating like a "poor person" comment. Since DH and I made out a budget a couple of weeks ago, I've been much better at thinking twice before spending money on bar food while out with friends. Congrats on the 9 lbs--that's awesome!!

@susan--glad you enjoyed Wicked and love the picture of Cyrus and his friend. Yes, my SIL is also not speaking with her mother. At this point only my BIL is still communicating with her (as far as we know) and possibly one of my nephews and his wife, but they are in Ohio, so not much contact. She drove my other nephew (her grandson) away several years ago, and as a result we never get to see him either. It is sad, but also her own doing, so it's hard to feel sorry for her for too long. Especially when she leaves those lovely messages on our machine.

@jennbo--welcome! I can relate to your story. I also have always been overweight, but when I hit my mid-thirties I gained about 60 lbs in 6 years. Suddenly, I was 40 years old and almost 250 lbs.--I knew I had to turn things around and that;s when I found MFP, Now I've lost that 60, but am about 2 sizes smaller than I was when I was last at this weight, meaning I have a lot more muscle on my body for my 185 lbs. Come back often for support and motivation.

@tanya--I love your new picture! As robin mentioned, I'm also dealing with an injury that is really starting to frustrate me. PT doesn't really seem to be making any lasting difference. If it were just the shoulder, that wouldn't be as bad, but I have days that even when y shoulder isn't hurting, I have tightness and pain in my lower neck. I know I need tobe patient and keep at it, but it's hard to deal with this chronic pain when I've never had neck or upper back pain before. Sorry, I know nothing about B12 shots.

@barb--I feel the same way--not sure why I'm struggling so much at this time of year when I did okay through the holidays. Everyday I say I will do better; then a few days later I'm eating or drinking things that I shouldn't. I may need to add a 2nd mantra related to food. Maybe amanda's "You Know Better!!"

@holly--thanks, we are trying not to let her get to us. I'm about ready to ditch my landline just so she can't call. However, it's part of a bundle and we would actually pay more each month without it (which makes no sense to me). I'm right there with you regarding the temps--I need it to be warmer soon!

@tracy (tlh)--the conference was actually really good, Got some great ideas for some lessons and we were done at 1 pm, so at least we got to start the weekend a little early. Hikes in CO sound like a great motivator! Oh, and your cakes were gorgeous!!

@melissa--I also got glasses at a young age--just 4 years old. They found I had astigmatism when I got my pre-kindergarten eye exam. I also wore contacts most of my adult life and then finally got LASIK in 2005. It's been great; however, it doesn't last forever--your eyes still age. I'm getting to the point where I need reading glasses again, and I've recently noticed that my night vision isn't as sharp. My advice to you is to get the LASIK while you're still young so you can get your money's worth out of it.

@kelley--so sorry to hear the news about your friend.

@L2T--I would kill for 6 days in a row of control--I feel like I lose it every other day lately. Congrats on the progress you're making.

@amanda--your glasses story made me laugh!

@lori--hope your husband joins you for the counseling.

@tracy (goins)--that cake was beautiful; sorry your order didn't work out to fulfill your expectations.

AFM--as I mentioned to tracy, the conference today was really good. It was all about using humor in the classroom which I already do, so it was fun to get some new idea.

Afterwards, my friends and I went and graded while waiting for colleagues to meet us out after school. I finished all of the AP quizzes, so this weekend I need to start on the AP essays.

A friend from work is having a party tomorrow night, so I will go to that and plan to spend the night b/c he lives kind of far, and I don't want to drive home after drinking. Several of my other work friends will sleep over as well, so it should be a regular slumber party. LOL He and his wife have a pretty big house and no kids yet, so they do this a few times a year. It's always a good time, but I don't want to drink too much and be too hungover to be productive on Sunday. As a precaution, I will be doing my 8k BEFORE the party--no excuses not to get that done!

Friday Fitness:
Ugh. With 2 days of PT this week, it didn't leave much time for any "real" fitness. At least when I was rehabbing my knee, I actually got a workout in the process. This shoulder/neck PT pretty much consists of my lying there moving my arm back and forth and some light massage. Tomorrow is the last day of the month. so I will do my 8k on the treadmill. Going to continue the light weights I got back to last week as well.

February Challenge:
Under weekly calorie goal: 1/4 weeks
All-in strength challenge=balance exercises 3 x/week; PT 1-2 x/week; run 2 x/week:
Week 1: 2/3 balance; PT DONE; 2/2 runs
Week 2: 2/3 balance; PT DONE; 2/2 runs
Week 3: 3/3 balance; PT DONE; 2/2 runs
Week 4: 1/3 balance; PT DONE; 1/2 runs
8k at end of month (not sure what day) in 55 minutes (Thanksgiving 8k = 56:49, NYE 8k = 57:47,1/25 = 55:41)

Grading Goals:
1. 10/64 BNW journal reflections
2. x/64 AP essays
3. 64/ 64 AP quizzes DONE

Exercise Goals: (week 4)
Sun--rest day
Mon--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym DONE
Tues--PT DONE
Wed--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym NOT DONE
Thurs--PT DONE
Fri--rest day
Sat--walk gunner + gym

2015 mantra "Just 15 minutes"

Friday fitness: My fitness goals are the only ones that I feel I am doing consistently. I've had a good walk everyday this week. Yesterday it was about 8 miles, today 6.8. We take Anya for a walk in the morning. Then I walk in the evening with one of my daughters. I have one day left of my goal for the resistance bands. My goal was 3 days a week (12 days for the month).
My food and water goals leave a lot to be desired. I'm thinking 'diet fatigue' as L2T mentioned may be my problem, but I've been slacking long enough that I should be rested now and ready to take off again.
@robin I'm not going anywhere. Even if I don't lose any more I need this group to keep me from gaining.
Plans for the weekend include lots of family. Will be a challenge.
Onward and downward. Kaye

@Lauriek70‌ Aren't snow days nice? We have had too many this winter which sucks for me because I don't get paid for them and we have to make them up in June. But having a day off to rest, get caught up and get things done is wicked nice!

@RobinsEgg‌ Glad your surgery went well! Hope you start feeling better from the flu. Tis the season right?

@kah68‌ Sorry to hear about your friend. Hopefully he will be able to fight it off again this time! Prayers and strength for him! Also, funny you're talking about the snow in TX. We are on winter break right now and last week it was freeeezing, like below zero temps up here in NH. One of my co-workers was so excited to go to TX this week, only to go to more freezing temps and winter storms.

@lindsaymarie612‌ I need to go on that "poor girl diet" too lol. I eat out wayyy too much for my budget! Great job on the weight loss, keep it up!

AFM - I've been pretty busy this week for being on vacation. I went away Wednesday and Thursday down to CT to the casinos with my mom. Yeah that was a waste lol, they got all of my money. Luckily I broke even on the roulette table and I was there for a while so it wasted time for me. I haven't worked out much this week, but I did get a lot of steps in. Bad part though, I have not eaten well at all. I need to get back on track. Last week I finally made it to my first 10lbs loss that I've been stuck at gaining and losing, and now I am probably back up again.

Hope everyone has a greaat weekend!

Erin