Motivation, Success and Frustration Sharing!

Very odd
Don't see my post from yesterday grrrrr
So I'm 5 days posting and getting back in the groove here. Working out details in the app etc.
saw dr this week and need my thyroid meds tweaked also -- and an ultrasound for possible swelling there. Cholesterol going down but still room to improve it. I know I can do that when I alter diet -- want to succeed so I know support is where it's at

Yes I weigh ALL my food & haven't changed the type of food I eat much from when I was losing before, just eating a few more ounces of protein per meal (meat,pork or chicken) I have actually cut out snacking(all planed & weighed) except for peanut butter in the afternoon & added my snack calories I used to eat to my 2 main meals instead. This makes me think if it's better for me to eat smaller meals & bring the snacks back in so I eat something every 2-3 hrs instead of 2 meals a day like I used to eat before I lost weight? This morning I walked the dogs for an hour so I can make it to my zumba class at 10:30 but I was already tired by then from the last 2 days of exercise so I skipped class today &took them all to the dog park instead. Today I"m going to help a friend clean & my dtr is coming in the morning by herself (with her 2 dogs) She's very pregnant & her baby shower is Saturday. Her husband & 2 kids will join her on Saturday . She has a hard time being pregnant so I'm going to drive her around to get some things she needs. Busy weekend.

Me at my standing desk...I regularly do quad stretches lol

@rachel0778 Great job getting back on the healthy habit wagon. My BF will do challenges with me, but they aren't much of a challenge. He doesn't really try. I think I am going to have to do a sticker chart are something. So many stars and I get a reward. Have fun on your girls weekend. I know you can keep yourself accountable and do moderation. PS I miss everyone too. Hope they come back soon.

@lallybc 5 day streak is awesome. Hope the DR gets your meds figured out soon.

@evamutt Hopefully, you are seeing improvements in other parts of your body. Inches, fitness level and what not. If you decide to make a change in your eating pattern, they recommend you give any changes 6 weeks to show if it works or not.

I had a great day yesterday. Made all my goals and despite the chocolate stayed under calories. I didn't even have to count my exercise ones. I did to roller skating sessions for a total of 3.5 hours on the rink and 36000 steps yesterday. I am set for another good day hitting my goals. I think next week I need to set some weekly goals to help keep me motivated. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

So glad it's Friday - we have a bank holiday in the U.K. so it's a 3 day weekend. Going to focus on getting healthy and hit things hard again next week. Hope all have lovely weekends

My dtr is on her way for the week end, they moved 2 yrs ago but are about 3hrs away. Tomorrow is her baby shower. I'm planing to indulge. Her husband is a manager of Whole Foods & is catering it! I bought some PB2 peanut butter. I like it & am switching from regular pb. Hope ya'll have a great week end

I'm having end-of-school-year nightmares already. My high school students are in open rebellion, refuse to do their work, hang out and talk loudly with their friends, leave the room without permission, and apparently we are also being visited by elementary-school-age munchkins who run around minus shirt or shoes.

The nice thing about that is that when I wake up and it's time for exercise, I'm now relieved instead of annoyed

Good afternoon everyone! I've been on and off the site for a while but have never really been on the message board side of it. But I quit smoking a little over a year ago and that was made mostly possible because of a website that was kind of like this that I literally CLUNG to! The motivation and support with just life's ups and downs was amazing and I really feel like this might be the place for me! So here we go!

I'm Hannah. I'm 28. Married to a wonderful man and mother to great cat named Panda. I was a little over weight when we quit smoking last spring and in the beginning of the quit journey I ate pretty much nothing but sugar and carbs. I mean entire boxes of donuts in one sitting. I think the main problem was that I worked at a Wawa(a convenience store on the East Coast) doing overnights and before we quit I would buy cigarettes for myself and my husband as I was leaving. That was always my down fall, so instead of buy smokes, I bought sweets. The first month, I would walk out of the store with 4 candy bars and two 20oz bottles of coke and chug a bottle and eat 3 of the bars before I got home. The second month was snack cakes and the six months after that were coffee rolls as big as my head. It's no wonder that I went from 135lb to 183lb. That is my current weight but I've found some good resources about clean eating and I've been walking more and found some very doable workouts that I think I can master(if I can get my interval timer app on my phone to work! Lol)

But I'm actually really excited to be here!

So far today I've gone over my sugar limit and it's only 4pm but I'm still under my calorie count. I'll have to be more careful about my sugar. But It's beautiful out today so I took a four(and a bit) mile walk after I got home from work. That was nice but I think I burnt the back of my neck. Lol

Sorry about the super long post!

I just wanted to let everyone know who I am and such!

@jdelaroy Sounds like you did a great job this weekend! Squats are going to help tons with your roller skating!

@HGSmith0920 Welcome! Good for you for quitting smoking, that is a tough habit to kick! Glad to have you in the group!

@Evamutt How did the baby shower go? Great job staying active!

@clicketykeys I cannot imaging dealing with high school kids around this time of year, I'd be excited to exercise instead of manage that too!

@lallybc I'm jealous of the hot weather, it was 40 degrees and raining all weekend. PB2 is pretty decent. I like the chocolate stuff. I personally think it works better in cooking/baking than it does as a spread

@janetay01 How was the three day weekend? Are you feeling better?

I am so excited, I made my goal for the entire weekend!!!! I didn't go over a single day this week! And that included Friday night going to my friend's performance at a bar and staying out until 3am and on Saturday functioning on 4 hours of sleep and going out to eat to brunch. I can't wait to weigh in and see if it showed on the scale. I'm definitely feeling less bloated at the very least.

This week will be challenging. I've got two days in the office, but then I'm driving to a three day conference (all meals included). I'm packing fruit, 100 calorie packs of almonds, and protein bars for snacks to avoid the cookies/brownies. My SO will probably win the challenge this week, but I'm going to try to give it my all!

I'm also packing my tablet so I can do workout videos in the morning/at night before and after the conference. I'm hoping it will be nice out so I can explore the resort with lots of walks too.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

Thanks @Rachel0778 I'm actually really excited but I've only been serious about it for the last couple of days so I'm gonna wait until Wednesday to step on the scale. Lol

success: having a blowout party weekend and only gaining 1.2 pounds between the Friday morning and Monday morning weigh-ins.

FRUSTRATION: gaining another 1.6 pounds by the Tuesday morning weigh-in after being 300 calories under target on the Monday after the blowout weekend.

@jdelaroy Talk about avoiding temptation today, way to go! The place I'll be staying at does have a gym but I'm trying to avoid my fellow conference go-ers so I'm sticking to the outdoors and my room lol

@wolfger I agree with @jdelaroy, wait a week and weigh again after you keep up with your healthy habits this week. That way the water weight won't be a factor

@HGSmith0920 Good idea on waiting on the scale. I weigh myself infrequently too so as to not get caught up with minute fluctuations

@janetay01 Exciting that you've got a holiday coming up! What are you planning to do for your vacation?

Today is my last day in the office before I head to the conference so I'm trying to get motivated to get everything done before I leave. I'm excited for derby tonight, but my body is feeling pretty sore for some unknown reason so that should be interesting. I hopped on the scale this morning and I'm down 1.5lbs since last week which is a huge win! I'm still disappointed in myself that I put on 6.5 lbs since October, but I'm serious about taking it off, and now I've got it down to a 5lb gain which seems more manageable. I think it will help to motivate me to stay on track for the next few days at the conference. Once I'm back we have a board of directors fundraiser too, so that will be an additional challenge this week, but fun! I'm just going to be flexible, enjoy the events, and do the best that I can!

Congratulations @Rachel0778 on meeting your goals!

@janetay01 hope you're feeling better

Annual evaluation today. It should go well but I can't help feeling nervous.

Boy was yesterday afternoon tough! I spent six and a half hours in the ER with my DH. He's been having tummy trouble the last few weeks and it finally came to a head last night. He's feel much better but the only reason I was able to stay under my goals for the day was because I didnt really eat much and the dinner I did eat was at 10pm. It was a convenience store salad with a low fat dressing. I did record it though! And I spent all of this morning on the phone with various doctors offices. It was really annoying but at least DH was appreciative about it.

But the awesome part about today was that I finally stepped on the scale and saw that I'm down 5lbs! Holy Crow! And it wasnt even from anything drastic! It was just healthier eating and a 4.33 mile walk roughly every other day. It's a great feeling. Totally motivating! I can definitely keep doing this!!

Have a great day!

@HGSmith0920 - I so sympathise with you on the issue of budget. It is awful how even a few changes can wreak such chaos on a carefully planned budget and it is one of the things that has the capacity to scare me and stress me out badly if I give it the chance. Good for you for grabbing your Dad - sometimes we just need to talk to someone else about it, air our concerns and as you say, gain some perspective. And well done for not eating away the stress - that is such a positive for you. Well done on the loss and I hope that you get some answers for your husband - sounds like you've got a lot on your plate right now.

@clicketykeys - hope the evaluation went well. I always feel the same - I have a good manager who would not save up bad news for the end of year review but I always go into such meetings wondering if I've done enough.

Rachel - hope the conference and fundraiser have gone well. Well done on the loss - that's great reward for all your efforts.

Jen - well done meeting your goals and avoiding all the sweet treats. Have you tacked the water only day with the Hogwarts challenge yet? I'm a little scared to do so - I've tried going without tea before and it never ends well!

So, mixed day here. On the plus side, I've cleared over 8,000 steps already today and it's not even lunchtime - walking to a training venue to set up an event and all the inevitable running around with that is great for showing progress on a fitbit. But I took a phone call from my dad (technically stepdad but the only father figure I have!) whilst I was setting up the course - where he has basically just unloaded a whole emotional horror show of a situation that he is in at the moment (or thinks he is in). He needs my help, doesn't want me to discuss with mum or husband - and whilst I really want to help him sort his life out, I just don't know where to turn and it has unloaded a phenomenal heap of stress of me. And I don't know how much is real and how much is in his head (long story!) - which doesn't help. We have an employee advice line at work and I'm waiting for them to call me back - so that might yield something.

Sorry, bit of a vent but am feeling a bit lost about this until I know what I am going to do.

And finally, where is everybody??? Hope Thursday is treating us all well.