Motivation, Success and Frustration Sharing!

So I went on a cleaning binge the last two days. Scrubbed the hell out of my bathroom and the bedroom, emptied out and cleaned all the tupperware containers that were just sitting in my fridge. Did 2 sinkfuls of dishes, two loads of laundry and cleaned off the kitchen table! PHHEEWW! And I went for my walk today since it was absolutely gorgeous!

But, of course, there was a downfall. I've been contemplating canceling my gym membership because I dont go very often and we're trying to cut spending as a household. But I go onto the website to look into canceling and start futzing around and I find out that my gym has started personal training classes for free. So I signed up for one that was about 3 hours in the future. So I get there 5 minutes before the class is scheduled to start and then proceed to sit there for a half an hour while the trainer is helping another member. Eventually, I just got fed up and walked out. I was pretty bummed. There's another of the same brand of gym on my way home from work. I think I will stop there tomorrow and see if they have one then. But now I'm feeling down, and I'm not exactly sure why...maybe because my days off are coming to an end and I have to go back to work tomorrow morning.

@HGSmith0920 Oh, I would have been so annoyed, hate when people waste my time!


Hi, guys!
I went for a bike ride yesterday and realized, it's not that bad to cycle outside for a couple weeks instead of indoor cycling - if you can't change the situation, you can always change the attitude
I've hit a plateau, it's actual hunger games at the moment , but I will push through, I've been here before and somehow determination got me through it and the weight started going down again.

@Rachel0778 I'm glad you enjoyed your class so much! All of my workouts are group classes. I would love to be part of a team, but I am soooo uncoordinated. My fiance has played kickball and softball, and I go watch, but I've never felt comfortable joining. He mentioned getting a softball team together for the fall, and mentioned me being on the team. I told him that if he actually helped me prepare (I have never played softball), then I would consider doing it. Winning isn't a big deal to most people, because it's just for fun, but I don't want to embarrass myself too badly!

@clicketykeys Good luck with planning! I think it's a huge pain, but it makes the days/weeks SO much easier and stress free.

Well, I was expecting some losses this week per my usual cycle, but I am still stuck in the same spot. It is a bit discouraging, but I'm trying to focus on the positives, like how my clothes are fitting lately. It just messes with my mind. I've been eating the same as before, logging carefully, and we've been super active this week. Monday was kickboxing, Tuesday was upper body resistance class, then a bike ride outside (it was perfect weather!), yesterday was kickboxing, then yoga. Tonight will be lower body resistance class. I'm just planning to keep doing what I'm doing. I had a mini goal to be to 179 by the end of June, which likely won't happen (I'm at 181.2 as of this morning), but that's not the end of the world. My next mini goal was to lose 10% of my starting weight by the time I go camping (July 26). That would be 177 lbs. I think I can definitely hit that in the next month! I know the scale isn't everything, but I can't help but use it as a motivator and a goal setter.

Now that I'm done with the 10 week challenge at my gym, it's been kind of hard to stay as focused as I was. There is a new group of "10 weekers" starting July 8th, and I think my fiance and I are going to coach a group in that session. I feel really flattered to have been asked. Essentially, we will help with nutrition questions, help keep the group motivated, make sure people are attending classes, be there for any questions, etc. I think that will really help me stay in the right frame of mind.

Happy almost-Friday, all!

@Rachel0778 I feel you, girl! We will get through this and be fit and back on track soon!

I'm feeling unmotivated and keep falling off the wagon. Hope posting on here will keep me accountable

sorry about your trainer experience HGSmith. When I first rejoined the gym, you get 1 free session with trainer & 50% of the time he spent trying to get me to hire him. Keep trying. Rachel0778 you're doing so much! It took 3rd week of HIIT classes to start losing wt again on scale.I'm sorry you're having such a hard time jdelaroy, try not to add more stress by letting your eating plan hang over your head. Take care of you. You'll get back to it.VeganGirl108, welcome & I hope we'll be a motavation to you. This is a great group

@rachelbachel32 Congrats on the coaching gig! The gym must see all of your hard work and know that you can motivate others. And I hope you're able to work up the courage to be on the team, I'm always the worst one out there but its totally worth it to get to play and have fun!

@clicketykeys I'm crossing fingers for you, sorry to hear it's going to be such a crazy work week. Great job preparing in advance

@Evamutt Thank you for the motivation I hope you have a great holiday weekend!

Welcome @Thicigetsfit and @VeganGirl108 !

@jdelaroy Sorry to hear the date night didn't happen and that you've been in a crappy mood. Hopefully things are looking up!

@gymprincess1234 You're absolutely right! I weighed again today and it turns out that I'm the same weight I was 10 weeks ago (which while kind of lame is better than when I thought I gained!)

@janetay01 You're absolutely right, something will have to give (and it will likely be derby). I may stay on as a fringe member but it's just not worth the stress

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! I'll likely be away from the boards for the entire next week since I'll be at my in-laws for the 4th and at a nerd convention for the rest of the week. I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and a great weekend!

Hello! I'm back! It's been a while. And everything has taken its toll. I haven't gained anything back but I haven't been logging nearly as much as I should and I definitely haven't been exercising. I just haven't been motivated. I've plateaued after I lost the first 12lbs and can't seem to lose anymore. It's so frustrating! I just have to keep at it I guess. I just dont know what to do. Money's been an issue the last few weeks and will continue to be for at least the next month. Stupid bills!!!!! Lol.

Okay, no more complaining! It's walking time! Gonna get this *kitten* in gear!

Have a great day everyone!

Happy 4th everyone. Personally I hate these holidays with fireworks. 2 of my poor dogs get so afraid I have to keep them medicated plus ppl start days before & go days after & the high kill shelters kill a lot of dogs to get ready for all the strays, so awful. Anyway the usually story of my life...I'm always so tired.. It's the heat. I've been going to HIIT class 3 times/week, doing some volunteering at animal rescue & seeing 2 of my sons that live in town. We went over for BBQ saturday. My son & his wife are very healthy eaters so I don't have to even think about having a lot of calories there. This is my youngest son, Michael's house who lost over 100 lbs about 10 yrs ago & his wife is super fit. She was offered a trainer job at her gym but turned it down, she's a 3rd grade teacher. She also sells & uses Herballife & they have a gym in their garage. We had steak, chicken thighs & salad. My only daughter finally had her baby last Friday, a 9lb baby boy. We were going to visit her thursday but she's sick so we'll see, they're 3 hrs away.Nothing much going on today. I've been very much into eating salads as meals with chicken & cheese & crunchies in it. I'm going to make one for a friend who got me started on weight loss & take it over & have lunch together. That's about it with me. I live a rather quiet, "boring" life but I wouldn't have it any other way as I grew up with lots of drama & also in my marriage but it's all settled down now, thank God.

Well, yesterday thankfully made up for how miserable Saturday was, when I had a 14-hour shift outdoors and it was hot and rainy and lots of people were mad because the rides had to close for long portions of the day and they'd paid all that money to get into the park. NOT fun.

The forecast had high chances of rain all day, and it was already drizzling at opening time - to the extent that they were considering CLOSING for their BIGGEST HOLIDAY. Woah. But then that cleared up in 15-20 minutes, and the weather held out all day! We had some nasty-looking thunderclouds around 2:00, when it was supposed to POUR. But they didn't do anything except cover the sun and lower the summer temperatures 5-10 degrees!

Crowds were REALLY sparse through the morning, but steadily increased all day, so that by the time of the fireworks we had a decent-sized crowd. It wasn't the throng of last year, so I don't know if they came out ahead financially or not, considering how poorly-attended Saturday was. But it made it easier on ME, because there weren't as many people, which means fewer confrontations in general, plus shorter lines everywhere, so everybody's in a generally better mood!

Tired, though! Worked 14 hours and my Steps app says I walked over 30k steps! Apparently that's just under 15 miles, which is weird, because I could swear that it tells me that 10k is just OVER five. And I don't have data, so it's not connected to GPS. Curious how it calculates that - maybe there's diminishing returns programmed in because it assumes that as you walk more, you get tired, and your steps get shorter?

Anyhoo, hope today's going well! Hugs to all

@gymprincess1234 - don't forget that the last bit is the hardest to lose. Keep at it, but make sure you're doing things that you can sustain.

Good morning all!

@gymprincess1234 I plateaued at 173lbs. It's really annoying and making me really frustrated and lacking in motivation.

@clicketykeys That's a lot of miles! Those miles remind me of my backpacking days! I used to do that in a day with a 50lb pack on my back. Definitely couldnt do that now! Maybe in a few months but definitely not now. But I'm glad that your second day wasnt too bad!

@rachelbachel32 Yay dress fittings! I borrowed my wedding dress from a neighbor and had my mom do the fittings for me. Thank goodness they were minor alterations. But that's what made me realize I had gained a lot of weight. I had planned on wearing my grandmothers ever since I was a little girl. I had to be 120lbs to fit into it. Well by the time it came time to get into it I was 135lb and it couldnt be altered because it was so old. I was devastated.

So yesterday was a great day, but terrible food wise. Two burgers, two helpings of potato salad, three cookies, watermelon, a klondike bar and a half a can of coke in one three hour party. It was a good time though. Got to see "family" that I hadnt seen since last year. It was really nice. There were so many babies! I guess my mommy clock is ticking. I'm turning 29 this year and I really want a baby! But the DH and I are nowhere near ready to have any kids. We are barely making enough to pay our bills now, add a baby into the mix? But the DH is in line for a promotion this year which will really help. The goal is to start trying next year. So we'll see.

@HGSmith0920 I really hope both us us will start losing again soon!
About the babies, I'm 5 years younger, but so happy my baby clock in nowhere near ticking, but I'm single at the moment too haha But the though of having kids in the future scares me so much, because of the changes your body has to go through, gaining weight, stretch marks, etc. I don't know if I could mentally do it after this battle already.

Today was a stressful day. Last night my middle son text me to ask if I can find a home for their puppy. They took in a stray late last year, she had puppies in december, they found homes for all of them & the mom except the runt female. Life happened so they stopped looking for a home. This puppy, whose almost 7 mo is a PUPPY, likes to chew, very playful with their big dog, barks a LOT, doesn't like ppl to go near her & it's been stressful for them. I asked my animal rescue if they could take her, they said she can become an act dog but someone will have to foster her. Hubby said no but later said yes. He's the one whose last words to me every time I go volunteer are "don't bring a dog home" So I picked her up to take her to act to get her vaccine & I got really stressed out thinking about having a puppy around. Our dogs will not like it plus she's very skittish. I almost took her back but I didn't. She runs if ;you approach & has never had a collar or leash on or been out side. Brought her home & all our 6 dogs smelled her, she didn't react in a bad way. She bucked like a horse with her harness on but I held the leash steady & let her do it. I keep a hold of the leash inside because I don't want her to get away from me & I can't catch her plus she was allowed to do what ever she wants so has no discipline. I've had her here for 6 hrs & she's already following me around & is getting used to the leash. I'm putting her in the crate when I go out & leading her where I want her to be till she settles in. She still has to get spayed too. If she whines in the crate, I'm bringing her to bed with me because I don't sleep well anyway & I NEED to get the sleep I can. She's a small dog & not reactive & I'm glad we saved her life but I do do whatever it takes to fullfil our dogs needs so this will be extra work for me. I used to love a challange & love seeing the transformation when I was a little younger, but I sure got settled into my recent life where I had lots of time to volunteer & go to the gym, visit friends etc, when ever I wanted. I worked hard on each of my 6 dogs & have a great pack, so I got lazy, no more lol

@gymprincess1234 - congrats on the loss. Hope the blood test goes well! You can definitely work on the physical aspect of being pregnant and if you continue to exercise and don't eat like a mad woman then you don't have to get huge when pregnant. I only put on 30lbs (7lbs 8oz of that being baby!) and 20+ had gone again within a month (breastfeeding helps!). And I wear my stretch marks as a mark of honour to the amazing thing that my body did

@HGSmith0920 - the financial aspect of having children is 100% why Alistair is likely to be an only child. Part of me would love to go again - but right now, we have been very honest with ourselves and acknowledged that we just can't afford it. And I won't bring a child into the world that we can't afford to care for and bring up. But as you say, you can wait till things improve on that score and you are still young - I was 39 when Alistair was born so you've got years on me!!

@evamutt - good for you for taking the pup in, too many people in the world who wouldn't have done that. My husband knows that eventually he will come home from work and find that the cat count has gone up from 2 - 3 in the house - he's not sure he would want a third but I think he knows its inevitable at some point!

@rachelbachel32 - 18 inches off, that's an awesome achievement. Bet you are looking forward to the dress fitting - when is the big day?

@clicketykeys - that's an amazing amount of steps, no wonder you were tired!

Sorry I've been awol - just really struggling to get my head in the game over the last couple of weeks. But I'm back and doing well this week - recorded a loss of 0.4lbs over the weekend which has helped to get me started this week. Going to do a yoga session this morning then crack on with work for the day - hope Thursday treats you all well.

@janetay01 The big day is September 22nd. Quickly approaching! When I bought my dress, I didn't want to worry about losing weight to fit into it/feel good, and I later got serious about being healthier. I'm still glad I got something I would have liked at my starting weight, but I think the alterations may be spendy.