100+ lbs to lose support group

Hey I am LaJauna. I have been on this journey since February 2011. I lost 22 lbs fell off the wagon and gained it all back and am now ready to head back to healthy! I want to start a challenge. I have had 9 days of clean eating. Anyone else what to start a streak?

Streaking: 9 days and counting (cheat free and proud!

Hi! My name is Kelly. I was just thinking about joining a group of some sort. I finally got under 300 pounds, I was 322 when I started on MFP, today I am at 291. I would like to get down to 145 eventually.... one day at a time! I have a lot going on here at home with two daughters (ages 22 and 24)who have gotten some sort of degenerative brain disease, movement disorder. I don't always get a chance to get on and post everything but I haven't given up on losing weight!

Thank you! I am excited to be headed in the right direction. It is good to read about others who are losing weight. It is inspiring!

I have about 130 lbs to lose! I'm looking for any friends, motivation, or anything I can get and will help with anyone else anyway that I can!

health problems are the worst :frown: my mum is getting so unfit because she is ill and cant exercise right now!

reading about peoples journeys and good and bad days really helps me! gives me the extra push some days..also a reminder that you are not alone!!

eek what a nightmare! the only thing i can think of off the top of my head is maybe portion control of the naughty foods? if you have to eat what is there then try not to eat a lot of it? could leave you hungry though...hmmm

i really feel for you, sounds like you are really stuck in a horrid foody situation! hope someone else has a better answer than mine!

Well Folks, it sure is good to see everyone. Now, I have a problem... I currently live and work at the same place (kinda hard to explain, so just trust me on this) I actually work at a nursing home, and live on premises in a girls dorm for most of the girls who work here. I am however, also a nursing student, and am in school most of the time. My problem is that the nursing home (HIllcrest) provieds free food for us. Really handy except that most of it is laden with cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, cream, butter , well you get the idea. All delicious food, but oh so unhealthy. AND hard to resist, I might add. So when I am working, they provide these meals, and I eat there, cuz I am not allowed to leave premises while on duty. And when I am in school, I don't have time to fix anything for myself, so end up eating at the home, or fast food / junk food. Never a good combo. So how do I focus on eating healthy while living in such a foody atmosphere? BTW, did I mention that the girls dorm is full of food, especially snacks, and junk food?

Maybe you can talk to the kitchen staff? See if they have some lower calorie options for you? And if not, then I agree with MaryLouise. Definitely(!!!!!) portion control. And LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of water.
And as for the dorm, can you get yourself some lower calorie snacks for yourself? You'd be surprised when other people see you start eating more healthily, they might be inspired to do the same thing.

Hi Everyone! You can count me in on this group.

I need a lot of support, I seem to come to the realization that I am an emotional eater, and having trouble sticking to healthy eating. If I get upset i eat what ever, usually fast food, same thing when I am depressed etc. I don't know how to control it. Does anyone have any words of advice to give me about this? I would sincerely appreciate it. I have well over 100 pounds to lose, and I know this will be a long hall to get it off of me. I have been big for most of my life, so about 20 years now..Wow that sounds like a very long time when I put it in writing. I have lost about 25 pounds in 6 months now...Please help me, and I will be glad to offer any words of advice that has helped me so far. Take Care!

Hi, Arh, and welcome!

What cured me of the fast-food emotional eating thng? Diabetes. My "medical professional" said "diabetes" and I said "no way." I still eat fast food sometimes. But when I get the big ol' Arby's roast beef, I pull the buns off and replace them with my low cal, low carb Sara Lee Delightful whole grain. If I want Carl's Jr., I order the low-carb six dollar without cheese and, again, have it with my bread. Knocks off hundreds of calories, and still tastes like heaven. Instead of fries, I get a big Farmhouse salad and eat it with my light dressing. If you really want fried potatoes, get the potato cakes--fewer calories, less fat. Or make cajun home-fries in the over with sliced red potatoes. Oh, they are SO good, and so much better for you!

I guess the biggest thing would be know what you're eating. Pull up the nutritional info, enter into your food diary what you're going to have BEFORE you have it. And then look at the nutritional info. How much sodium? How much fat? How many carbs? How many calories? Is that worth it to you? Or is there a big, marvelous Cobb or Ceasar's salad that you could have with cheese and chicken for half the calories and be twice as full when you're done? Is there some way to satisfy the urge and still stay in limits for calories and carbs? Turns out there almost always is for me. That works for me because it becomes as much about numbers as emotion, and it gives me the opportunity to confront the emotions with the flat facts.

Another way to confront emotional eating is to make rules for yourself--if you're upset, you must walk/ride/run a certain number of minutes before you're allowed to indulge. Believe me, working out, especially to fun or inspiring music, can make a real difference in mood, and I've had more than one emotional eating session prevented by making myself work out first. And even if I DO still have the fast food, at least I burned an extra 500 calories before I ate it!

And 25 pounds rocks!

Kris

Good morning, Friends!!! I hope you're all having a great day.

Rose - I am diabetic and I eat fruit like nobody's business. It's definitely a good thing to have on hand. There are certain ones that are better than others, in terms of sugar. I actually just read an article last night on low carb fruits (http://www.dlife.com/dlife_media/diabetes_slideshows/lowest-carb-fruits?utm_source=Foodstuff-20110621&utm_medium=eNewsletter&utm_content=Foodstuff-newsletter&utm_campaign=dLife-eNewsletter).

Kris - WTG on the A1C!!! That's awesome!!! The last time I had mine checked (when this whole journey began and was he impetus for my weightloss), it was at 12.2. I know...That is just ridiculous. Since then, two of the oral meds that I take have been cut in half. And I'm actually hoping that the doc will take me off of one soon, as I'm getting serious lows about an hour or two after taking them in the morning.

So, I'm home from work this morning. Woke up this morning and one of my eyes is totally swollen. Not so bad that i can't see out of it, but bad enough that I want to try and get in to see the doctor before it gets worse. It started bothering me on Sunday night, but just hoped it would get better with some sleep. Unfortunately, every day it's gotten a little worse, getting a little more puffy each day. Then I wake up this morning and it's noticeably swollen. Kinda nice to have a relaxing morning at home. Had a yummy breakfast, watched some episodes of MasterChef and now I'm catching up on MFP. Good times!

Today's my day off from working out. The whole thing is so bizarre to me. Every day that I work out, I spend most of the day trying to come up with an excuse as to why I can't do it that night. And (just about) every day, I suck it up and end up doing the workout. I hate every minute of it. But once it's done, I'm so thrilled with myself for having done it. And then there's days like today where it's my off day. And I spend the whole evening thinking 'I should work out right now. It's early. I have plenty of time. Maybe I'll just go for a walk.' But there's a reason why I give myself a day off. It's the reward for busting my *kitten* the whole rest of the week.

lol Just a random thought...

I have a question for you wonderful ladies! Over the next week, I have two events that i'm going to - a family BBQ & a Bunco night with friends - where I've volunteered to make appetizers. I have some ideas for what I might want to make, but I'm always open to suggestions. I want to bring at least two options to each event. Anyone have any ideas????

I feel EXACTLY the same way about exercise. EXACTLY. I really WANT to love it -- I just haven't gotten there yet. I think it's definitely possible.

As for your snack ideas: I have had hummus on my mind for a few days now. Bring pita chips and baby carrots to scoop it up with. yum.

Jen - A couple of healthy appetizers for a party?
1. Fresh Berries / Fruit on a platter (blackberries, blueberries, big strawberries, pineapple) Dress it up wiht the top of the pineapple that you cut off. everyone will be impressed and it's super healthy. Provide little picks for serving.
2. Veggie platter with humus - The Sabra Extremely Spicy hummus is awesome!

Rose - Making healthy choices in a sea of bad foods can be challenging. You need to take a real inventory of what is available in that kitchen. You might be surprised. I'm sure they serve vegetables and protein each night? Fruit is very good for you. Log it in and just track the sugar / carbs. You'll figure out which ones are best to grab. Shop for yourself also - you should alway have nuts available as a filling snack (walnuts are the best, raw unsalted almonds are also great). 8-10 of them with a glass of water and you will feel full. Don't just eat whatever they are serving. Make it known in the kitchen that you are on a journey to get healthy - you will probably find a few new friends to join you! Good luck!!

Sitting here eating my blueberries/blackberries. Yummy snack. It's a beautiful day and I'm planning a power walk at lunchtime.

Keep up the great work - we are sooo worth it!!

Hey there. Oh boy. This is exactly what I need. I'm 37 and I packed on the weight after my son was born. Up until then I was fit. Not skinny. The last time I was skinny was when I was 3 months old. Anyway, my kid just turned 12 so I figured that it was time to take off the baby fat. I'm a homeschooling mom, married to a teacher. I've learned how to cook really low fat and low sodium, so now I just need to get off my butt and get exercising.

Another homeschooling mom here, with a boy just turned 13! Welcome!

Kris

Hey y'all! I'm an emotional eater who is going to start homeschool with my youngest boy (8) in the fall I felt a connection....and the more posts I read, dang! We have lots in common

Have you ever tried Kefir? (they call it the "champagne of dairy") Anyway, I've been retaining water, especially in my legs/ankles, but when I drink a cup of this a day....oooooooo, my ankles are so slim and purty Seriously, it is one of those you either love it or hate it things, BUT, if you hate it, it is really easy to make a smoothie with some berries, agave nectar. You can even buy it flavored, I LOVE the pomegranate, so naturally Food Lion quit carrying it :rolleyes: Kefir supposedly has lots of benefits, is probiotic. I like it.

No, I have not tried it but I will definitely give it a shot. I'll try just about anything right now! Thanks for the tip. I want purty ankle too! LOL.