Lila21

OK, I am having computer issues, so I'm just gong to pop in and say, hang in there, everyone! Coops, so sorry to hear you are in pain, and I hope it gets better soon. GT, here's hoping your new strategy works. As to me, I keep complaining about sugar, so I am going to have NO SUGAR for a month and we'll see what that nets me....fingers crossed!

@GT: ugh, I'm sorry! I was hoping that would help! Don't give up! You have done sooooo well! @Coops: I hear you on taking it easy and focusing on fitness. I do really think that fitness is helping to reshape my body, too. Maybe if we just keep focusing on that, we'll get there! I am personally training for a half marathon, which is helping me to stay focused. Maybe consider signing up for a race or an event that you need to train for?

@GT: I had another thought. I've read a lot that interval training really helps to rev up your metabolism. I'm trying it myself to see if it helps, but it might be worth your trying it. So, instead of running 1-2 miles in a steady state, you might try sprints. For example, yesterday, I ran for half an hour and then I did 6 sets of sprints that were 45-50 seconds each at 7mph (which is fast for me), and then you walk for a minute or two between each sprint. This might help to get your metabolism going. I'll let you know how it goes for me!

@Lynda: Congratulations!!!!!! You rock!!! I hope you are doing a MAJOR happy dance!!!! You soooo deserve to feel proud! @Coops and GT: I have been verrrry slowly losing, but I have somewhat similar stats. It's take me something like 3 months to lose 5 lbs and I am 183 and 5'7. I wish I had advice for you guys; it really sounds to me like you are doing everything right. For me, I know I've been overdoing it on the sugar, and I am searching for the motivation to kick that sugar habit (OK, let's face it: addiction). But having said that, I know that focusing on fitness has been really important, and has really changed my composition. Yesterday, I ran 5 miles and guess what?! --today, I put on my old size 10 jeans. I don't know how this happened, but I think it must have something to do with having more muscle, because I was at least 10 lbs lighter the last time I was able to wear these jeans! Now, I'm not saying that look good, but I got them on, by God! And I know you guys are rocking it on the fitness front, too! GT, I've read that sometimes overtraining can cause you to produce too much cortisol, which can cause you to hold onto weight, so maybe actually try taking a few days off for a couple of weeks and see what happens?

@SouthernSleever Way to gooooo on quitting smoking! I didn't quit smoking with the sleeve, but I did quit years ago, and my metabolism did normalize (or maybe I stopped eating to handle the withdrawal :-)), so hang in there!!!! @Meg Whooooooohooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations, I am so excited for you!!! Take a moment to just feel so proud of all you have accomplished! Think of all you have done for yourself and your loved ones, and I hope you are glowing from head to toe! Thank you for the inspiration, lady!!!

@Meg: thank you for both the salad dressing recipe and the sleep suggestions!!! Both are awesome, I cannot wait to try that dressing!!! My sleep issues are mostly due to stress, but it's so frustrating that when I need sleep the most, I can't seem to get it, boo :-(... I'm going to try meditation next, I think. Just 5 minutes before bed to see if it helps. Also, I am going to force myself to exercise even though I feel exhausted because I read that exercise helps regulate sleep... @Globetrotter: way to go on the running and the increased fitness! I have had the same thing happen. My friend commented that he thought I had lost 30 lbs since I last saw him. (I didn't. I lost 10 lbs), but I did take up running. And another friend similarly asked me if I had lost a lot of weight: both were people who I haven't seen since I started running in January.... so I think there is something to it! Yays for running!

Meg, I want that homemade orange viniagrette dressing recipe! I have been really stressing lately, and I am losing sleep which really discourages me because all my healthy routines start to slip when that happens. I am so frustrated right now! How do you guys hold it together when you don't get enough sleep? Any suggestions? I find that I suddenly don't have the energy to exercise, and I crave carbs like crazy... argh!

Coops, feel better! I'm sorry to hear you were sick on top of all the other stresses you were having :-(.. I hope this weekend brings you some sunshine and you start to feel better!!!

Hey guys! I feel like there have been so many great posts that I can't respond to them all... that just means I can't go too long without checking in :-)) But I do want to say how much this little forum is helping me to stay on track. I finally got below 185 (and stayed there for a few days so I know it's real :-)). Thank you, ladies, for being such a great support! So, I feel good about that, but a little scared that I still have sooooo far to go. I think the only thing I can do is just keep working on the things I can work on, and hope that these little wins add up to one big win :-) GT: I feel for you on the sugar. I finally made myself quit chocolate, and I felt that addictive hold loosening a bit, so I recommend going cold turkey for a few days and see if that helps. I'm sorry you are struggling, but I love your "chin up, tits out" quote, hahahaha. made me laugh. Keep it up, ladies! You guys are all so inspiring!!!

Welcome, Kris! Good to meet you, and definitely share your struggles and triumphs with us! I am doing OK on my reboot. To be honest, I am craving sugar like crazy today, and it's driving me nuts! But, hopefully tomorrow will be better! It's a good thing there's no chocolate in the house (believe me, i checked every nook and cranny!), or I would have eaten it and then some! @Coops, I'm still kickng a$$ in the gym! I am also doing some running (up to 4 miles), so I feel like I am getting stronger. I am really starting to feel increased muscles. My legs and arms are building muscle, for sure! So, i still don't see any movement on the scale, but I can tell I'm in better shape, so I'm trying to Celebrate that... :-)

So jealous of you ladies hanging out in NOLA! Hope you get some coffee with chickory! Coops, I definitely think your hormones could be having an effect, although I don't know what can be done about it. Maybe see a good nutritionist who can recommend vitamins and supplements to help balance the hormones. Swizzly, many congrats on your surgiversary! You've done so well, and it must feel great! I, too, am trying to get more veggies into my diet. I really like veggies, but realizing that i just don't tolerate raw ones as well since the sleeve, so I'm just going to get more cooked veggies in the form of soups and stir fry. I just saw a documentaty about a guy who cured himself of an auto-immune disease by juicing (which i don't really want to do, but it did make me think more about nutriets). At any rate, as for me, I am doing really well on the fitness front, but I just have NOT been following my eating closely enough. I already mentioned this a few weeks ago, and I still need to get back on track!!! I just went through a really stressful time at work, but I think things are finally calming down so I have room to breathe! So this week, I am going to do Diva's "bootcamp." I'm really, really hoping I see a weight loss through this. I've been stuck at the same weight for a while!

Oh, Coops, as a former teacher, I can only imagine how hard that must be! Sending you big hugs and lots of warm thoughts. It is, indeed, a tragedy. No other word for it. Please take care of yourself, and I hpe your warm personality helps bring some comfort to the family. xoxoxo lila

Ack, Globetrotter, I am soooo sorry. I agree with the others that those cannot be real lbs. I've read of some people gaining a TON of water weight when they shift from low carbs to higher carbs. Did you shift to more carbs? I would definitely suggest a visit to your doctor if this trend continues.

@Globetrotter: Yay! I'm glad you are going to do this with me. I wasn't going to start until Monday, but since you are starting today, I'll do it, too! For me, it's going to be a matter of getting out the chocolate (gotten into the habit of having a little every day), and paying attention to the treats that I tend to "not count" like the free Cookies that show up at work, and the free bagels that show up at work.... hey, if I just didn't work I wouldn't have all these sneaky free treats :-)). Also, I have been putting splenda in my coffee and tea, but I think that sort of serves to keep my sugar cravings going, so I'm going to cut that out... Let me know how it goes for you or if you need any cheering on (or up!). The first couple of days are a battle, but I find it gets easier after that... keep me posted, and chin up. I know you are feeling down, so I hope this helps! @Diva: I'm sorry to hear about your eating disorder issues. I think it's so sad when we put little kids on diets because they just get so confused by it. I went through some of that stuff, too. But, I wanted to recommend a blog to you; it's called "Escape From Obesity", and the blogger, Lyn, is working to heal from a binge eating disorder and also losing weight. But, what's really refreshing about the blog is that the way she describes her experiences is so spot on! She's transitioning from medifast, but she struggles with binges and also guilt around eating, but her journey is really inspiring in that she really thinks through what's going on and describes it really well. I've learned a lot from reading her blog. Well worth reading. @Meg, I totally agree. Part of the reason I chose the sleeve was that I really want to feel "normal." and at some point I hope to stop counting carbs/calories/protein, etc... :-) And a little update on me... i have not been feeling very well, either, and I am super bummed because I don't need this right now! I MUST work out tomorrow no matter what, though, because I don't want to lose momentum on the strength training I'm doing. Going to sleep and hoping I wake up better tomorrow!

@ M2G--thank you for the suggestion! I'll add that to my list. I might prefer the flexibility in measurement! @Diva & M2G: I have actually seen a couple of diets that suggest taking a day off from tracking as a way to "reset" your metabolism a bit, and also give you break from the routine. In fact, I just saw a Dr. Oz show where he called it "Faturday"-- I think it might be worth a try! @ Globetrotter: I'm sorry you are struggling! Please keep checking in with us, we know how it feels. I think I am kind of doing the same thing with sweets. I noticed that I was snacking more on sweets than I had previously thought (hence the tracking). But, it might be worth taking sugar out of your diet for a while until you feel more in control. I am going to work on this, myself, if you want a "no-sugar buddy." My plan is get sugar out completely for a couple of weeks just to break any addiction I might be having. I plan to start next Monday because I have kind of a hectic schedule and a lot of socializing for the rest of this week. At any rate, please try to keep believing in yourself. I know it's frustrating, but DO NOT FORGET how far you have come!!!

Holy WOW, Meg! That is sooooo awesome!!! I am so excited that you figured out your breathing issue! Really super happy to hear this news!

Ladies, thank you for the suggestions! I am going to try myfitnesspal.com first, and if that doesn't work, I'll try lynda's route! Excited to try a different route. @coops: now that I can blow the picture up, I must say you look adorable!!!! Love the whole outfit, especially with the red chuck taylors, woot!!! You look awesome!!! Keep rockin' those skinny jeans!

Hi ladies, a quick update from me. @ Coops, I do agree with all the ladies who say you look fabulous in those skinnies! I cannot wait for the day when I can wear skinny jeans! @Diva, that's awesome about the kettleballs! Are you sore today!? @Meg, do keep us posted about the breathing. That sounds so frustrating. I'm really proud of you that you lost all that weight even *with* such an issue. Amazing! @ everyone: I've been tracking my food better this week, and I realized that my real culprit is that I am getting in too many calories via snacking. I use fitday to track my calories, but I find that I don't track really well via that app because if you try to add anything that's not super simple, you have to find all the ingredients for it, tally up the recipe, etc. It's really time-consuming, and I find that I don't track as well as I could using this tool becuase I basically start avoiding the hassle--so I was wondering, how do you ladies track? I used to do weight watchers points on paper pretty religiously--I wonder if there's something that simple I could do again? Any suggestions?

Wow, awesome site! Thanks for sharing!!!

Diva, thank you for the answer! I have been watching "Biggest Loser" and getting inspired to do longer and harder workouts. Those people are working out 6+ hours a day! Amazing! Anyway, I think I'll up my workout hours and see what happens. I'll keep you posted! Globetrotter, it's good to see you! I agree with Coops--you are doing so well, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these changes work for you. I think I am gong to have to lower my carbs again, so I'm right there with you! I also have about 40 lbs to lose, so I am right there with you on that one, too! Let's knock these last 40 lbs outta the park!

hi ladies! I've been out of the loop a bit... but I'll try to catch up here :-) Diva, do you burn 1,000 calories a day? I'd love to do that. How long does it take you? Coops, are you wearing your new skinny jeans in your profile pic? HAWT! You should definitely wear them out in public! You look soooo skinny!!! Meg and Swizzly, wow, I'm sorry to hear about the shortness of breath issue. I hope you both get to the bottom of it. My thoughts are going out to you both, and hoping you find out some good news soon. Me, I have been doing some tough workouts, and I think I am finally seeing some results. Now, let's hope I keep the momentum up! Maybe I can get under 185 this week. Fingers crossed! Maybe I just need to up the hours along with the intensity. Wish me luck!

Diva, I think that's an awesome idea. I was thinking that I should start bringing either a protein shake, an egg, or a greek yogurt to work with me, so that when I get hungry in the afternoon, my snack is a protein one. I am definitely with you on this one!

Coops, I think it's awesome that you had a fun girl's night! Sometimes you just need to have a good time and cut loose! Diva, let us know how the kettleball workouts go-- I'm very curious! Becca, I have the snack demon as well. I am thinking that I should just accept that I am going to have a snack but make sure it's a healthy one (because I keep planning not to have a snack and end up eating something unhealthy). That might be a good route for you to try as well! OK, I am off to do my Sunday night laundry! Here's to an awesome February--just around the corner!

Diva, so glad you are joining us! I am down 2 lbs, which is not huge, but after the scale not moving for so long, I am excited to see it! I worked out HARD last week, and I'm doing a sort of boot camp style training with some gym buddies, so I am thinking I should take measurements, because I am for sure going to put on some muscle! Coops, can't wait to hear about you strutting your stuff in the gym! xoxo

Yaaaay! I've been out of the loop for a couple of days, but great to hear you are on the mend, Coops! I have been doing a bit of running and also a bit of of lifting. But, today, I ran into some friends at the gym and did a BRUTAL workout with them. I loved it. I forget sometimes how helpful it is to have workout buddies. So, I'm going to try to meet with them more often because I work out so much harder with them. Anyhoo.... keep on, keepin' on girls! This our year!