Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Happy Tuesday, I arrived at work today and found a thoughtful gift on my desk. A lovely little box of Hershey's kisses. I'm glad I was thought of and happy to have received a gift and so tempted to pop one of the 50 calorie dark chocolate bombs in my mouth and feel and taste it. I even segregated the 4 dark ones. I'm looking at them differently now that I looked at the calories.

We don't have Hershey's here (except in specialty shops for American food), but a traditional part of the holidays here are these chocolate selection boxes from the major chocolate makers. Workplaces always have tubs nonstop, and previously I would eat freely from them. I ate one not long after I started logging - was shocked to see they are ~50 calories per piece! Last Christmas I munched through an entire tub in a couple of days!

Is anyone else depressed? It seems the more I focus on myself, the more depressed I get.

@MermaidPrincessRach I've had problems with that throughout my life. Doing better this year, but it's still a struggle. Sometimes I find that moving the focus from myself to others helps keep me from ruminating too much. Sorry to hear you are struggling right now

@Heathermetoo Great loss! I'm also worried about the holidays. Will have family here, and while they are great, they are very much the "oh go on, have some more..." type, which makes it hard to stay on track.

I really feel that during the holidays that it's important to weight myself daily. That way I can self correct after gaining due to a party or event. Previous years I only weighed myself weekly and there were weeks where I had 2 parties so I knew I'd gain that week and I let it go to the point of a 5 lb gain. At least if it's daily I see a gain one day and then I try to be really good the next day so that I get the immediate loss.

@Dalceridae I weighed myself daily religiously. It was part of my morning ritual. Then I stalled. Then it lingered. Then it lingered some more. Then the doctor at the obesity clinic told me Congratulations you know what calorie level you need to maintain at your current activity level to stay at this weight. It was crushing to my soul. 1400-1600 calories to maintain. I am 6 foot 290 pound man. I'm maintaining and I weigh Monday morning and every other Thursday. Daily really worked for me for a long time. Now it hurts. 1200 calories isn't enough and I don't want drugs.

@320sycamore Thank you for sharing that. I needed to see the part about treating yourself with compassion.

Today, I got on the scale, saw a new low... and instead of being happy about it, I was beating myself up about how high that number still is. The little fat voice in my head was telling me over and over today "It's pointless. You've been doing this for how long and gotten where? You're still fat. Let's go eat cake for breakfast!"

And as I ate my healthy breakfast of overnight oats with chia seeds and Greek yogurt (instead of cake!) I was trying to get that little voice to shut up. It didn't seem to help much at the time (but now that I've got a clearer head, it does!), but I have lost 27 pounds since July, and that's only with focusing on food intake over the last 2 weeks. That's 27 pounds in 5 months, a little over 5 pounds per month. It's not breaking any records, but it's DOWN. It's not UP. And it's not "just a little"... It was something that clearly took some work to do. But sometimes I can't get that fat voice to shut up... And she's really mean!

The way I talk to myself is the reason I need to eat my feelings more than the way someone else talks to me. Honestly, I haven't been harassed about my weight - from anyone, stranger or well meaning relative or friend - in ages. I'm the only one that gives me grief about my weight, and the slowness of my progress, and my failure in the past... to the point I make myself cry and have break downs that my husband doesn't even know what to do with. It's crazy.

I'm doing much better though, lately, trying to stay focused on the positive and not letting the negative things get to me nearly as much. 2016 was rough in so many ways, I'm going to do my best to find the silver linings in 2017!

I am not your average 35yo woman so why should I do average types of exercise, especially when there are SO many options! There is more than one way to get healthy.

Has any one even heard of Taoist Tia Chi? There is a place less than a mile from my home that specializes in it. From what I have read, Taoist's do not believe we have to breakdown as we age. They believe the mind and body are intertwined and cannot be separated. And Tia Chi is a very slow martial art. I am also considering Yin Yoga.

FYI, I am not Asian. I am an American German-Italian.

@birgitkwood - But, I made nutella overnight oats with a little cocoa powder... Is that acceptable chocolate?

2017 will be MY year! My husband, who has been on on BP meds for two years now and turned 40 last year after burying his obese mother, and I will be following the DASH diet. And I am going to look into Toaist Tia Chi and Yin Yoga for activity plus continue to develop my walking habit. 2017 can be a great year for us!

@Dalceridae we all love to eat but if its not satisfying you tgen maybe its not food you are hungry for. What else do you love? Is there a craft you can do? Is there someone special you can plan to spend some time with? Is there really a chore that needs done that is causing you to procrastinate by eating? Maybe a short walk can help clear your mind. Or maybe what your body really wants is water. I hope you find a solution to your eating.

@FeraFilia - Nutella never counts because it's clearly nectar of the Gods and therefore has no calories

@jules81 sure! Jump right in! BTW the cat profile pic! Kitty!

@MermaidPrincessRach @pneschich Thank you both so much for the support and good ideas. It is so helpful and motivating to be able to discuss my struggles with people who understand and don't judge me for having a hard time.

Those were great ideas that you provided, and I managed to avoid having a crazy binge and ended the day just under my calorie goal. I'm so proud of myself because this is the first time I can remember that I have gotten to that point and then managed to stop and make better choices. Now, rather than feeling regret all day, I have felt good about myself.

I am still struggling with my critical inner voice though. My weight loss is starting to slow down now, and even though I expected this and knew that it would happen after the initial couple of weeks, I am feeling discouraged. I know it isn't healthy or sustainable to lose 6-7lbs a week and that that rate of loss couldn't continue (and was largely water weight), but it felt good to see the scale shoot down.

I spent most of yesterday sewing ... With my DH! He said he wanted to learn how to sew so he could help me! He is so sweet to me! but he can't make a straight line to save his life, lol. Luckily, for what we were sewing, straight lines dont matter too much.

I guess I should give up on my New Year goal but I still think I can make it since we are starting the DASH Plan on the 28th (with the new moon) instead of waiting for the first of the year. And those first few days just might release enough water to get me to goal in time. :fingers-crossed: