Motivation, Success and Frustration Sharing!

Aghhh it happened again! It keeps cutting my posts off

@wishfuljune That's a great word and very appropriate. We need to keep making strides in life to avoid getting stuck in a rut

@Rachel0778 Sometimes if we're feeling bad about ourselves, it's hard to feel good about others. It's good to recognise those feelings though - many people will just react to those jealous feelings without thinking about where they are coming from or whether that person deserves to be treated like that. Mindset is everything. The same event can be interpreted different ways depending on your perspective and emotions.

I haven't posted in so long...and I've bunches to share...

CariT: Grief and all the stuff that goes with loss of a loved one is so hard. I lost my grandmother and my sister within one month in 2015 and I put on nearly 30 pounds in the next year. I'm back to where I was then...It just takes time. Don't be too hard on yourself. Hang in there!

ShyCush: I love that! Everyone has been talking about a word for the year and I hadn't found one I like or that fit...but you gave it to me! Transformation!

Rachel: It sounds pretty normal to me, especially since you've worked so hard. But I bet you didn't say anything like that to her. You probably replied with something complimentary...I'd pay more attention to what you do than to what your first reaction was. You're feeling disappointed in your progress the past couple weeks and she looks like you want to feel. Perfectly natural to feel envious...but you also want to feel happy for her...and that counts!

I'm so glad everyone had a nice holiday...island vacations, parties, and so busy! I'm not much of a Christmas person myself. My in-laws mostly have indoor animals, which I'm allergic to, and I can't visit them, so my husband goes alone and I have very little family. We spent a bunch of time working on Christmas presents--this year we decided to make a family calendar with fun photos and everyone's birthday. It doesn't sound like much but choosing and editing photos and layouts take a lot of time! When we do family calendars we like to use photos of teddy bears (we have nearly 3 dozen, they're our kids) doing fun things...we had a bunch of unused photos from last time but we dragged the bears around the city and did some more photography for it. I used Snapfish this year. Had a good coupon and they turned out really well.

Five days before Christmas I slipped on some ice and fell, breaking three bones in my foot...as a result, I'm down for the count for a while. I'd been doing so well, walking several days a week and now I do good to get around the house for basic stuff. Depressing is what that is...and for four or five more weeks! Argh!

I'm pleased the new year has begun and hope that it is better than the last two...I'm hoping that I can lose another 50 pounds or so in the next twelve months and am worried the next few weeks will result in setbacks. I'm going to keep logging and trying to find some decent exercises that don't require two feet!

@melaniedscott - So sorry to hear about you breaking your foot, that is such a downer for the holiday season and the New Year. Hopefully you can find some appropriate workouts and be back on both feet as soon as possible. I love your calendar idea - we have a small group of cuddly toys (bears and the like) that travelled everywhere with us for a while - we have a range of photographs of them from when we were on honeymoon in New Zealand - what a lovely idea to make a calendar out of them.

Cari - welcome back! You are right - you've done it before so you can do it again. Grief is so hard to deal with, it's no wonder you lost sight of other things. Be gentle on yourself and hopefully 2017 will be kind to you.

Shy - glad that your FIL is doing better and that the dog can visit, people should take more note of the good that pets can do people. Sounds like you had an amazing holiday period and well done for being more aware. I too found that this year - in past years, if my husband was offering mince pies in the evening I would have said yes - regardless of whether I was hungry. In the last few days, I've found myself actually questionning whether I want one and on two occasions turning it down. It feels good to realise that you are just that bit more conscious of what you are doing.

@tazzy2911 - well done for rejoining WW. And I'm glad it's not just me that gets my posts cut off when I try to use my phone - drives me nutty!

Rachel - I sympathise with that emotion, it's hard sometimes to feel the positive for someone else. However, as @Dalceridae said, it's good that you recognise it and push on from it. Sounds like you made the right decision not to do the additional workout - hope the first day back at work was ok.

Jen - you have done so great with your goals, whichever way you look at it. I like your word for the year - I think I need a bit of that as well!

So I'm back at work today (working from home). Logged on to find 192 new emails - so much going on over a supposedly quiet time of year and so much chaos caused. I wish I didn't have to work! Alistair had a great first day in his new nursery room and barely gave me a backward glance as I dropped him off this morning! I'm hoping he will have a lot of fun and learn lots with them this year. Anyway, back to work - have a good day all.

@jdelaroy You'll have to fill us in on what the date ends up being! Great job staying under calories!

@janetay01 Walking into a bunch of emails like that is the worst! There are a lot of days I wish I could just be a stay at home person too

@Dalceridae Congrats on your standing desk! I absolutely love mine, it helps so much to be able to move around more

@ShyCush6 It sounds like your holidays were amazing! I always hate it when someone takes an unflattering picture. It's amazing how one image can stick with us so much

@melaniedscott I am so sorry about your foot, that is so frustrating! I've heard that the rowing machine is a great way to still get a workout in, and you can do it one-footed!

@tazzy2911 Please keep us posted on how weight watchers is going for you!

@CariTJR WELCOME BACK!!!! We missed you! Meme Friday just wasn't the same without you

Thank you everyone for you kind words. You're absolutely right, my actions were more important than my thoughts and I absolutely told her how gorgeous she looked.

Day 3 of the BeachBody streaming service went well. I've really enjoyed all of the workout videos on there so far (Tony Horton will always be my favorite though)

Tonight I've got the first pole dancing class in the new session and tomorrow I'm back at derby so it's going to be an exciting week!

I am really proud of myself. This weekend I met a really cool person at a volunteering event. We exchanged contact information and I went out on a limb yesterday and invited her and her husband over for a game night this weekend and they accepted! I'm a huge introvert so making new friends and making the first move to invite them over was a big step for me. I can't wait for Friday to see how it goes!

Hi lovely ladies! WOW did I have a lot to catch up on reading the thread! I was back to work yesterday, and totally slammed at my desk. I have a really good feeling about 2017... I have to say that the last year or so has really been *kitten*! So having that excited optimistic feeling about this year is awesome!

I absolutely love everyone's words of the year! It's so cool to hear what everyone chose, and the reasons why. I chose the word Health... and honestly, after reading all of your words right now I momentarily wondered if mine was dumb! LOL! But no, I chose health because I want to put health at the top of my list this year. I want to have healthy relationship with food, get to a healthy weight, have healthy relationships with my husband/family/friends, strive to eat healthier than ever (I've been pretty bad, so this shouldn't be hard!), and I need to also focus on my mental health as I can get down on myself for not achieving goals or for my slip ups etc. So in the end, Health is the best word for me this year.

Shy - Yes, one day I am coming to Winsconsin and we are bar hopping to every cheese and meat raffle in town! Ha! What a great word for you, I think Strength is perfect. I loved your pics and especially your outfit in your pic! My 21 year old son bought a christmas sweater that said "Merry Christmas you filthy beast"... LOL! I said ok, do NOT wear that to grandma's!!!

Jen - I will have to look up Winter Park, I've never heard of it. But it is my hub's and my dream to go to colorado one day! Winter or summer, it looks amazing! I also think your word is awesome, Perseverance! You have done so well, you are going to keep evicting that fat!

June - I've never heard of a yankee gift exchange, but sounds like a lot of fun! I will have to look that up. Stride is a great word, I would have never thought of that. I love that it rhymes with pride! and you should be proud of all you are accomplishing!

Rachel - Your resolutions are inspiring! Good choices, and good choice for your word. It will be a good reminder to you through the year - be strong and not let jealousy enter your mind! (by the way, your friend probably took 14 pics of herself to get the perfect angle, and then sent it out!). Nice that you are getting back to derby and all of your activities. That online thing sounds good too, I actually heard a radio ad for it on my way to work yesterday!

Tazzyyyyy! welcome back! Don't you worry about gaining a stone back, I gained 7 lbs over the holidays - that effing rum and eggnog bit my *kitten!!!! What can we do? Just get back on the wagon and get going in the right direction. We're all here with you! And Commitment is going to be a good word to keep you focused all year.

Jane - glad to hear you had a wonderful christmas, and how thoughtful of your husband to buy your some nice new clothing! But I know that feeling - every time my hubs buys me clothes I have that moment of oh shizzle, is this going to even fit??? He got me new yoga pants and they fit this year - yay! And by the way, Care was my word for 2016, I needed to remind myself that I am worth taking 30-60 minutes a day for myself each day.

Cari - Welcome back to you too! I lost 35 lbs last year and i think I have gained 20 back at this point! I haven't entered anything in MFP yet - giving myself til next week to see if there is any water weight. I may or may not be hoping for 15 lbs of water weight! LOL!!! Anyway... I was just thinking about this yesterday, because I've noticed that a few ladies I know that had lost a lot of weight were back to what they were before. This is SOOOOO common! So we can't beat ourselves up over it. Like I said, lots of us had crap years in 2016, so we gained some weight back.... but we are going to take our words and remind ourselves every day to work hard achieve our goals!! I think your word is awesome, we are all committed to our health this year!

Welp, that was a long post! I'm so glad everyone is back and feeling positive! We have such an awesome support system here! We're definitely set up for success this year!

@rachel0778 I knew you were a great person. Way to overcome your brief moment of envy. Good job on putting yourself out there. I have a hard time with this as well. How did Pole dancing classes go?

@shycush6 Way to get back to it. I think we all need a break when we do this. I read a thread somewhere on MFP (Wish I could remember where) That says about every 6-8 weeks you need to take a break for about a week. It helps with your mindset, and gives your body a rest too. Looking back at the last 6 months, this seems to be what happens to me. About 2 months in, I am just exhausted with everything, and don't do well.

@kaavery120188 Welcome to the thread. Giving up pop can be so hard. I did it, and lost 10 pounds the first time I gave it up.

@bluepoppies777 Welcome Back I missed you. I love your word as well. I think as a whole we picked great words, that will hopefully inspire all of us to be better this year.

Yesterday, was kind of stressful. Light snow, then I was supposed to run across town for work, went to leave and my car wouldn't start. So, made arrangements for one of the other girls to run my errands, called a tow, called a mechanic, arranged for a ride home. Really didn't want to go walking during lunch, but I remembered my word, and how disappointed I would be, and how good I always feel afterwards. So I went walking, and threw in some jogging. It was funny, for some reason I pictured all you wonderful women standing around cheering me on and telling me I could do it. So thank you for the motivation. Got home, and made the BF the promised blueberry muffins. OMG, so yummy. So many calories. I think I was a little over calories, and was probably okay if I count my exercise calories. (I really didn't want to eat those back today) I also, had a piece of home made banana bread.
I didn't stress eat at work, which was awesome. Just snacked at home. I need to stop that.

Jen - glad we were able to help with the motivation for you! Well done with not stress eating and as for the snacking at home, I sympathise as I really struggle with this particularly in the evenings.

@bizgirl26 and @kaavery120188 - welcome to the thread!

Joy - I too have a good feeling about this year and I'm charged to do my bit to make sure I'm not disappointed!

Shy - sounds like your excellent organisation is working for you

Rachel - well done for stepping out of your comfort zone and inviting new people round for games night. I'm a bit of an introvert too so I understand what a big step that would be. Hope it goes well!!

Today is turning into a very uneventful sort of day. I'm back in the office and starting to get my head around what needs to be prioritised in the first quarter of the year. I've done well with food and pre-logged everything and I've got my fitbit going again so I will be able to hit a decent number of steps over the course of the day - currently running at 6467 steps with the walk to the station still to come. So confident that I can hit my targets for the day. Did ok yesterday although the unplanned gin and tonic in the evening took me a little over my calories for the day - but I was out with friends and it called for a nice drink!

June - well done on the loss. I'm with you on the measurements - I'm planning to take mine in the morning and make Saturday both my weigh in and measurements day, that way I'm not reliant simply on the number on the scale.

@gemwolf110 - also, well done on the loss, almost back to pre-holiday weight is great. Hope the Zumba goes well

Shy - that's a good quote to remember, every step is an achievement and together they will add up to us meeting our goals.

@mi55black - welcome, post often - this is a great place to be!

Well, I am so glad it's Friday. This is only my 3rd day back at work but I'm over it already. There is no easing back in - it's stupidly busy and I just need to take the time to sort through everything and prioritise. On the plus side, on impulse I made apple crumble last night as my husband had been talking about one for a while (he tells me I make excellent crumble!!). I had enough calories left in my allocation for the crumble but the cream would have sent me over. Historically, I would have added the cream and been 100+ over - last night, I added two tablespoons of greek yoghurt to it and stayed within my allocation. And even better, greek yoghurt on apple crumble is really, really nice And I got my step count up to over 10,000 by the end of the day so feeling good about myself.

Anyway, have a good day all - let's keep up the good work.

@Jdelaroy - Thanks! It’s been especially hard in the afternoons when I need a pick me up. I’ve been trying just to chug water and get up and walk around. Seems to help.
Good for you for getting a walk/jog in after that stressful morning! And good job on not stress eating. That’s definitely something I struggle with as well. Have you found anything that really works for you to help prevent it? I know a lot of people say go exercise, but sometimes I’m at work or in class so that’s not an option.
I had Pizza last night as well. After a long stressful day it just sounded sooooo yummy. I didn’t overeat and over stuff myself though, so at least I have that small win

@Rachel0778 - Thanks! I’m still really trying to focus on making good decisions in the beginning. Yesterday was a bad day (pizza and wine!) but today will be better.
I am SUPER jealous that you are taking a pole dancing class! I’ve always wanted to do it! Do you love it?

@janetay – I need to get my fitbit going again as well. I kept forgetting to charge it. Part of me likes my fitbit because obviously I see how active (or not) I was throughout the day. But sometimes it stresses me out if I’m not where I need to be.

@ShyCush6 – thanks! I totally feel you on it being so cold that you don’t want to leave the house. It was 1 degrees outside this morning when I got to work. Brrrr! I’m going to start work out videos INSIDE next week

Yesterday was NOT a good day. I had ribs and a salad at lunch. The ribs from our cafeteria are soooo good. Then I had a stressful afternoon so I had some wine and pizza when I got home. I didn't over eat, which was good, but not happy about it. Need to stop stress eating. But today is a new day. I've logged everything except my lunch and I'm on track. We are having stuffed peppers for dinner tonight (recipe from skinnytaste) and they are delicious!

Happy Friday everyone! Stay strong this weekend! I know weekends are tough for me so I'm hoping just to make some good choices!