Frustrated

Just popping in to log my totals: Calories = 602 (net = -155) Carbs = 84g Fat = 17g Protein = 29g I managed to get some couscous down tonight, so I'm pleased about that. With my workouts today I ended up with a negative calorie count, so can't complain about that either. I still suck when it comes to water intake though.

Oh no! I wish I didn't know about these now. :thumbup::drool::tt1: They sound divine. I'm a sucker for pastry, cinnamon and pie filling. I'm struggling today. I tried to eat some leftover seafood stir fry from Saturday night and could get anything down. Yes, I chew chew chewed like a runaway train but it came back up instead of going down. Now I'm starving. Guess it's soup for the rest of the day. :biggrin: I'll bet I could get a dozen of those elephant ears down though! I've had 16oz of water today. Big whoop. :tt1: At least I'm doing a little better than the past few days.

Don't be silly! You haven't let me down. Knowing there are others counting along with me keeps me going. Knowing it's just as hard for you and Steph (where is she?) helps me a lot. There are excuses and there are reasons for emotional eating. I would consider attending a funeral a reason, not an excuse. :tt2: Today's another day and you can start anew again. Yesterday's totals are: Calories = 1,207 (net = 1,207) :bored: Carbs = 131g Fat = 52g Protein = 60g Water = 16oz Last night I thought I was slightly under my calorie allowance until I remembered the chocolate shell topping I put on my ice cream. That put me 72 over. :embaressed_smile: It's not too bad though. I can live with it because Sunday is my lazy day. My water intake sucks AGAIN. I really need to get my act together in that area. Karri - I'm so glad you're back. I can already see the grit and determination in your posts so hopefully it won't be long before you're back to where you need to be again. :cool2: Today is nice outside. There's a crispness to the air that I really like. I enjoy the brief time between the seasons. I'll be complaining about the cold soon enough, just like I complain about the heat and humidity, but today is a lovely day. I need to go outside and enjoy it. Catch up with you all a little later. :w00t:

Yesterday's totals are: Calories = 1,294 (net 392) Carbs = 131g Fat = 46g Protein = 20g Water = 8oz Yeah, my water intake is embarrassing. Especially considering I did plenty of exercise yesterday. Today is my lazy day. No exercise at all, so I'll have to be more responsible about what I eat. Sometimes I wish I was 6 years old again and didn't have to be responsible for anything, not even myself. :smile:

I couldn't agree more. Take thyself to the doctor. If you're able to take a sample of this black stuff along it may help as well. Perhaps if you spit some of it in a zip lock bag? Sounds gross, but your doctor may be able to determine at a glance what it is.

All your choices are good ones Janet. What you need to remember is that often print styles change, so what may look good today will not look so good in 5 or 10 years. The classic look is classic for a reason. It looks good now, it looked good a decade ago, it'll look good in 20 years time. As for dressing your age, um... you don't look your age. :smile: You look at least 10 years younger. But you do dress appropriate for the 40s. I don't like women who dress too young. My dad was always saying "Mutton dressed as lamb." For those who don't know, mutton is the meat from a mature sheep where as lamb is... well, lamb. The jewelry you have on in these pics is good. Again try to remember when choosing your jewelry to make sure it'll still look good in 5 or 10 years. I like the open toe shoes. It gives us a little splash of color and shows that you maintain every part of your body from head to toe. Also the color on your toes matches your fingers and I think that's important too. I like the way you're posing with your hands resting on your thighs. I want you to take a look at that second group of shots, the group with the green top in it. Notice how in the second shot your pants seem to gather at the knees. I think it's because the bottoms are caught up on the heels of your shoes. The length just looks a little shorter there and so the fabric is gathered at the knees. It would look better if your pants dropped to their full length. So make sure they don't get caught on anything. The shot with the green top looks good because your lower half is turned slightly off centre, your knee is bent and you look a little more casual and relaxed. I know some of my comments are a little nit-picky. But I also know you want to put your best foot forward and are looking to us to help you get there. I am SO proud of you. You deserve to be chosen for this TV ad. You're an inspiration to us all. Even when you put your hands on your hips and give us "mom lectures".

Wonderful pics Janet. I'm going to be honest, and you know I'm not saying this to be mean because I love you. But the dresses? They make you look old. :wink_smile: They're not horrible. They're not ugly. They just make you look less youthful than you should and could. Both black and white pants look terrific on you. But you know what? When I want to disguise or make myself look thinner, I'll go for black. Only someone who is confident in their look will wear white. So if I were wanting to portray that confidence to others, I'd wear my white pants. I like the green top and the white underneath. I don't know that the combo would go together with the white pants though. Black and white does look good, but a splash of color will make you pop! :thumbup:

I know what you mean about the gurgles. I think my doctor installed a gurgle machine in my chest as well. :tt2: Some nights it's really loud. As far as PBing goes, Phyl put me onto Papaya Enzymes and they really seem to settle things down after I've had a session. Maybe I should try them for the gurgle machine too. Official weigh in today puts me at 171 even. :thumbup: I was hoping to get to 170, but beggars can't be choosers. Maybe next week. I'm just so damn tired of being in the 170s Gonna make more of an effort today with my water. I've been really slack for about 3 days in a row. For a water patrol member I suck right now. :thumbup: Anyway, that's me so far today. Hurricane Ike is meant to make it's presence known this afternoon, so I had to clear things off my patio/balcony and put plants in my son's bathtub. He's not impressed. :thumbup: It's not meant to be too bad where I am, more of a tropical storm and it should shoot through in a few hours. I hope Donna is okay. I know a lot of power is out down there, so I hope that's the only problem she's gone through. Will try to check in again this afternoon. :huh2:

Congrats on getting off the meds Kari! Just checking in with today's totals. It's been strange. My weigh in day is tomorrow and I'm not feeling confident at all. There are just days when I feel fat and I can't suck my tummy in. Today is one of those day. :thumbup: I've stayed under all week if I take into account my exercise. And I only really overate the total on Thursday. But still.... it only takes one lapse day for me to gain a couple of pounds. :thumbup: I really need to work on my water. Calories = 1,059 (net = 900) Carbs = 160g Fat = 28g Protein = 42g Water = 48oz I know Candice is going to check in with her totals later, but where's our other calorie counting sister Steph? :huh2:

Oh Janet that's fantastic news!!! And well deserving. I too liked that slinky green dress. The wrap finished it off nicely as well. If you have trouble deciding, you know where to post pics and get opinions from.

Good morning ladies. I'm feeling tired today. :tt2: Maybe it's because I ate more than I should yesterday. Maybe it's because it's the end of the week. Maybe it's just because. I worked on my arms this morning. Pushed my way through. It took a lot of physical and mental effort to get through it all, but I made it. :drool: Just sitting here having my morning coffee. The thought of housework is daunting. Maybe I'll just sit and read for a couple of hours. My chores will wait for me. They're very patient. :w00t: Will check back later. :tt2:

Wow Denise.:drool: I can hear the anger and frustration in your post. I understand completely. Sometimes life is so totally unfair. On one side you have people who work their entire lives and on the other you have people who live on handouts. The hard workers seem to be overlooked and forgotten, the takers complain there isn't enough to take. :tt2: Kari - Congrats on the 14s! Well done you. Janet - you take it easy on that foot. Like Denise said, I think you should at least get it checked by a medical professional, even if they don't take x-rays or anything. More of a sanity check than anything else. We managed to get to Aikido this evening, and that seemed to boost my appetite more when I got home, but with the extra strenuous exercise on top of this morning's session, it worked out okay for me even though I ate more than I was happy with. Calories = 1,706 (net 279) Carbs = 215g Fat = 58g Protein = 62g Water = 48oz (hoping to get some in tonight)

I'm here. Finally. :sad: It's been a little tougher for me as far as food goes today. I'm not sure why. Just one of those days I guess. I've struggled through so far with a lot of will power and tried to snack wisely. Daily plate says I can eat another further 487 cals. If I hadn't worked out this morning it would only be 110 for dinner. The plan is to go to Aikido class as well this evening, but hubby is still working hard at the moment and if he isn't done in the next hour we won't be making it. I've done a little better with water so far today. Not much better though. Only 32oz so far, so I've got to try and guzzle a little more. Donna, I hope you're going to be okay! I've just been watching the weather forecast on TV and it looks like it's going to go right through Houston and not further south like they thought last night. They're expecting 1 million people to evacuate the coast. :ohmy: That's astonishing. It's supposed to hit Houston as a category 2, possibly 3 tomorrow morning. Katrina was a 3. It should die down to category 1 by the time it gets to us on Saturday afternoon and head through fairly quickly.

Thanks for posting your pics Donna! I noticed a 15lb difference when I first started out but not until I saw the photos side by side. I'm glad you've decided to hang out here with us. As Janet mentioned, don't be afraid to let us know where you're at, where you want to be, how you want to get there and what you're actually doing about it. I know I can lie to myself (not that I'm saying you lie!) about how well I'm doing, but having to put things in black and white here stops me from doing that. And of course if there's anything we can do to help you, let us know. If you want to log your calories like a few of us are, you're more than welcome to join in. If you look at our signatures, some of us keep tallies of the exercise goals we have for the month. I think my very first goal was to exercise 15 hours total in a month. It was a good goal for me. It meant doing 30 minutes of something each day. Even if those 30 minutes were broken up into 3 x 10 minute walks, it was still 30 minutes total. :sad: I heard on the news tonight that Ike was supposed to hit between Houston and Corpus Christi, then move inland and make a turn to the right and up towards us here in North Dallas by Monday. I expect it will have weakened by the time it gets here but you'll probably get a good dousing of it where you are. :cool2: Make sure you keep yourself and your loved ones safe and keep checking in here. We're a bunch of worry warts and need to know that all of our family members are safe. Oh, you should consider yourself part of the family. :w00t: Anyway, that's it from me tonight except my food updates: Calories = 1,137 (net 978) Carbs = 103g Fat = 55g Protein = 57g Like Kari, I'm struggling to get my water in. Only 24oz so far today. I'll try to get more in before bed and do better tomorrow.

An afterthought: these rules are what I intend to follow until I reach my goal weight. Once I'm there and on maintenance I expect I'll be a lot more relaxed.

My thoughts on this is "No." Not drinking before, during and after meals regardless of what stage you're in, is typically a hard rule. I've not heard anyone else say they were allowed to now drink whenever they please because they're in a certain stage. Different people have been given different guidelines as to how long you have to avoid liquids. I was told 30 minutes, but there are others who had the band at the same time as me by other doctors that were told an hour. Follow your physicians advice. You have to remember that the liquids help flush through the food. So you're not going to feel full for the same length of time if you've washed the food through your pouch. If there's already liquids sitting in there, same result. Having said that, there are times when I've broken that rule because something's been stuck. Either I haven't chewed it properly or I've tried to swallow too much. But I try to stick with the rules I was given as much as possible because they're there to help me, not to make things harder. :biggrin:

Thanks Steph. I've been ignoring the net cals and trying to stay under the total. It's nice to know I can relax a little. Denise - you're right! I have a criticism for almost every part of my body. :smile: I remember reading an article once about Supermodels who do the same thing. Their bodies earn them a very good living, but there are areas that they don't like. So what hope is there for me? :woot::smile: Phyl, you have a good looking boy there. Obviously takes after his mother. :thumbup: You're looking great too. Are those your new jeans?

Just checking in with my day's totals before heading off to bed. Calories = 1,144 Carbs = 179 Fat = 37 Protein = 48 Did not do well with water today. I only got in 32oz. Question: Is it total cals or net cals that are more important?

What on earth are you apologizing for? I could understand if all we ever did here was post new pics every week to get some attention, but we don't. I for one love seeing new pics. As my son says, don't be such a stoooopid head. I've reprimanded him when he's said that, but somehow it jumped into my brain and I thought it was appropriate. :thumbup:

Wow, if that's what you look like when you're disgusting, you must be a knockout when you scrub yourself up. :thumbdown: You're not fat. I wouldn't say you were skinny either. My idea of skinny is when you can see a ribcage under the clothing. Like Candice said, you have curves and bumps. You look terrific. :cursing:

*sigh* Now see, I wasn't looking for a pep talk but I got one and I feel like a million bucks now. I am an 8. 8 is not fat. I am not fat. I think 80% of me believes that. If I keep saying it long enough and loud enough the other 20% will buckle and agree just to get some peace and quiet. :biggrin:

Aw Phyl. :sad: I didn't mean to depress you. It wasn't intentional. I remember being in threads where there would be people who were 130 and were upset because they were fat and they'd never be able to lose the rest. Or people who were at 180 and just starting their journey. And I would think "Why are they upset? I'd be over the moon if I were in their shoes." So I understand how it could get you down and I apologise for that if it appeared we were insensitive. I hope you know we are just as proud of your achievements. Look at your ticker. You're over half-way to your goal. Getting into jeans is a great accomplishment. Little things like that are huge successes and are celebrated by us all because we know how much hard work it takes to get there. I remember when I got to the stage that I could tie my shoes without almost passing out I was ecstatic. I feel like there's more I could or should say, but my brain is empty. Just know that we love you. :biggrin:

Steph, I deal with this on and off too. Mostly on. I remember when I first started this journey I said to myself (I was size 20/22) that I'd be happy if I could just get down to 14. I got to 14 and was happIER, but I didn't feel happy. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a lot of improvement, but I wasn't happy. My boob job made me feel fantastic. About my boobs. Me as a whole person still has a lot of work to do. This past 2 months I've been working hard on my arms and feel like I'm about 75% to where I want those. They don't swing when I wave them about. Well, they slightly jiggle now, but I know I'm still working towards that goal and seeing the improvements so far keeps me looking forward. My tummy is a disaster. It's always been my problem area. I had a mummy tummy long before I was even a mummy. My future plans are to get a tummy tuck so I'm not too worried about that. Still, it's fat. My inner thighs are floppy. I'm probably going to need surgery to fix those because they're saggy and no amount of exercise is going to do anything about that. I'm okay with my face. I am fortunate that that's usually the first place I lose weight. I worry though that if I lose too much weight I'll start to look gaunt and my eyes will look hollow and saggy with dark circles under them. I'm okay with my hands, they're not what I would call pretty, but I'm not worried about them. My feet I wish I could fix. They're short, but I have high arches, so it means I can't wear the really pretty sandals and stuff because my feet just won't go in them. They appear fat and wide. The ones that fit around my feet are an inch or two too long. As a package I'm not that attractive. But if I put my current package next to the package I had in July 2007 I'll take this one any day. The inside and the outside packaging. It's so easy to criticize because there's so much to be critical about. On the flip side, there's so much more to be thankful about. But I also know how very difficult it is to deal with compliments. It sounds strange. Everyone wants to know and hear that they look good. For those of us that suffered from low-self esteem though, it's hard to believe those compliments. Why? Because we won't let ourselves believe them to be true. Our opinion is the only one that matters, right? :redface: When someone says to me "Wow you look great, you've lost so much weight!" I've often responded with "Thanks, but I've still got another 20lbs to go and it's just not budging!" I need to stop at "Thanks" and be thankful. I don't need to add the criticism in there after it. And it's not really polite or fair to those giving the compliments. They're saying something nice, we're saying we don't think we deserve those nice words. I myself am a size 8 now. I don't feel like an 8. I don't think I look like an 8. I worry that when I get down to my goal weight it will also take my clothing size down to a 4. What then? I'm sure I'll be just as disappointed with my body as a whole as I am now. I'll have even more loose skin and saggyness. I know myself that I'm going to get at least my tummy, possibly my inner thighs, fixed with surgery, so I'm not too, too concerned. What bothers me though, and I'm sure it's the same as you, is that I'll get to where I want and need to be on the scale and in the clothes size and STILL look in the mirror and see Fat Ruby. It's been said so often in this thread and around the whole site that we need a band for our heads as well. And it's true. That's where most of the work is done. Most of our struggles are in our heads. It was our heads that got us into weight problems in the first place. It's our heads that tell us to keep eating even now when we physically can't. When we fight demons, we have to do so with our heads. If I could find a magical cure for that problem, I'd be a very rich woman indeed.

Sunday totals for me were: Calories = 1,127 Carbs = 136 Fat = 36 Protein = 58 Feeling a little tired this morning. I don't know why. I got 8 hours sleep. Had my morning workout session and that went well. Muscles are a little sore. Good sore. Gonna have some breakfast and think about all the chores I don't want to do. :confused: Back later. :thumbup:

That was a good post Steph. You should copy and PM it to her anyway. If she doesn't feel like reading it today, she may tomorrow or the next. I'm sure once she gets to the right dosage she will appreciate that someone else went through the same thing and it wasn't abnormal to feel as she did. So far so good today. Today is my no exercise day, but food hasn't been haunting me, so I'm feeling good about it. I won't log my totals until after I've had my dinner, just in case something goes out of whack and I either can't get it down or can't stop eating.