BonnieMcC

Thanks for the heart rate info Amanda. Very helpful!

I did week one again...my heart rate was in the 170s during my run so I am glad I didn't push it even harder! It felt great...awesome workout!

great job renewedhope on week 2 day 1

congrats to you, whosya for completing 10k!

Everyone is doing so good. Its wonderful to have great support here!

My story isn't exactly the same but since my pregnancy 7.5 years ago I have been eating at night. Sometimes not aware at all and sometimes aware but felt like I was in a trance. It was always the same food, Peanut Butter. I would have to keep it in the house for the kids (and hubby) but there were times I would put it out in the garage so I wouldn't get it (and sometimes would still go out there to find it while mostly asleep) I turned the doorknob backwards on my pantry so it would lock on the inside...it didn't matter, I would pick the lock in my sleep. It was bad! I would eat anywhere from a teaspoon to half a small jar in a night. Some nights I would become very restless until I had my "fix" I don't know if there was something I was missing during the day that my body was craving at night or what?!?!? I tried sleeping pills and it would only get worse..sometimes eating other foods as well. I would wake up several times a night while on sleeping pills. Finally I tried melatonin. I hadn't taken it before because I thought other pills would be far more powerful than some natural Vitamin. WRONG! I took melatonin for a week and results got better and better with each night and within a week I was sleeping through the night. I haven't had a LICK of Peanut Butter in 3 weeks! It was weird too, the day I started low-carbing it is the night I slept through the night! So I don't know if it was the melatonin or the low carb/exercise plan, but it worked and I can't believe how I suffered for all of those years and now no more!

Congrats on stopping your sleep eating! That is a terrible problem to have and its great to see that you have stopped!

Your story is an inspiration to me. I went to Cedar Point 2 years ago with some of my girlfriends and I squeezed into every coaster with barely enough room to breathe. Then we went to ride Top Thrill Dragster. I am a rollercoaster NUT and couldn't wait to get on. While waiting they were having trouble getting this bigger lady out of the seat. She had just rode and the shoulder bar needed to be pushed down to unlock and come open. They had two people pushing as hard as they could to unlock her. I felt so bad for her and was thinking "Im so glad I am not that big...that would be embarrassing" and then I got into the seat. I could not get the shoulder bar to lock! I couldn't ride! I was too fat to ride. My girlfriends were sad for me and I told them to go ahead. I wanted to cry. You would have thought that would have been my turning point, but after two more years of yo-yo dieting I have made a committment and by next year I WILL be riding coasters again...look for me in the front seat!

Congrats on all your success!!!

oooh that voice!

When I decided that I was going to go to the first consultation and I scheduled my appointment I felt like I NEEDED the lapband and it was the only thing that could change my life. I was desperate for it. I am a big time yo-yo dieter and getting bigger everytime. I keep losing 50 pounds and gaining more back that I lost..and I have done that several times! Even my husband wonders why if I can stick with long enough to lose the first 50 pounds, why can't I stick with it to lose the last 50 pounds? And why do I let myself gain it all back???

So a week before I went to my counsultation I got tired of the voice in my head saying I HAD to have lap-band or I would continue to be a failure. I decided that I was going to lose this weight WITH or WITHOUT the band. I am tired of spending my life obese. I hate what its done to me physically, mentally and emotionally. Obesity has destroyed the last 10 years of my life...and with every year it gets worse! I am not going to let it take any more joy away from me.

So now it will be three weeks tomorrow since I made that choice and I have lost 16 pounds on my own. I feel like mentally I have made a change that I never had before when I lost weight. Any other time I have been "on a diet" I felt like things were being taken away from me. This time I feel like I am GIVING myself more things. If I don't have fries I used to think "Sheesh, not fair, everyone else gets fries but me" but now i think "I don't want these fries because I WANT to ride rollercoasters or wear a smaller size or want to lose x amt of weight this month" With saying these things in my mind everytime I am confronted with a bad food choice I make good choices everytime!

Now to get back to your question...sorry I rambled too much...now that I have lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks and have made this major attitude adjustment I keep thinking "Do I still need the band?" Sure I have over 90 pounds to lose...and that is a long journey. I worry that this new change will not last me through the holidays when I have always given in (and gained every thing back!) and that's why I feel like I still want the band. I have been through it too many times before. I am not doing self-pay though...so my depends on insurance. Hubby and I talked about self-pay if insurance doesn't cover it (waiting on approval now) but I know in my mind that one way or another I will lose it this time...for the last time!

I know this didn't really answer your question, but start trying to lose weight on your own. I still battle with the voice in my head about to do it or not to do it everyday, but I keep moving forward. My surgeon is booked 3-4 months in advance and if I wait to lose weight until then, I could end up weighing a lot more than I do now (because I would be eating everything thinking "this is the last time I can have this") instead, I would like to go into the office weighing 40 pounds less than I do now and have a lot less to lose after the surgery.

These are just some of my random thoughts!

Good luck with any decisions that your make and keep coming back here. The support here is amazing!

Amanda,

I have been doing the podrunner iTune that is previously mentioned in another post. When the songs are over--my workout is over. The first week is about 25 minutes and I end up going a little more than a mile and a half. I believe it is meant to work UP to 3.1 miles. I know at this point I could not do the intervals for a whole hour and the rate I am going to be able to get the 3.1 miles in.

Btw, I am repeating week one this week. I think I will probably repeat each week twice (or more if nessesary). I am in no hurry to complete the program and I want to enjoy it. I KNOW me...if I go to hard to fast I will get burned out and quit. I know that my body is not ready to move onto next level.

Good luck to everyone this week!

Thursday I didn't do any "intentional exercise" I just walked all over the city for hours...almost all day!!!

Friday I hit the treadmill for 5k training. I slowed down my run from 5.0 to a 4.0 because the belt on the crappy treadmill kept slipping. Besides 5.0 was too fast for me. I still walked atleast half the day through the city. I really enjoyed the walk through the city.

This morning I got up and instead of using the crappy treadmills in the fitness room I hit the pavement. I did the podrunner but I know I didn't run and a fast enough pace...since I just did it yesterday I didn't want to overdo it. I did my walk/run up and down michigan ave (the magnificent mile) while window shopping and looking at all the skinny clothes I would love to buy! It was 7am so the only people out of the street were runners and walkers. It was nice because by 9am that street will be packed with people!!!

Have a great weekend!

Im still in chicago but I thought I would check in and let you know about my diet in the Windy City. For the most part I was able to low carb it for the last 2 days. On Thurs I did have one slice of Chicago style pizza but I didn't eat the outside crust (I did eat the underneath crust though) That was the only carbs I had on Thursday. Friday I did great for all 3 meals until we ordered the volcano bday cake for my son at the rainforest cafe. I had one skinny small piece of choc cake and 1/4 cup (maybe even smaller) of vanilla ice cream. That was my first REAL sugar in 3 weeks. I got on the scales this morning and I was up half a pound!!! I wasn't beating myself up too much. I just kept thinking about how much I WOULD have eaten a month ago before low-carb diet. I think I did pretty well.

Now we are going to a place called Ed DeBevicks for lunch today. This has me worried. I was the one who talked my family into it because of the atmosphere. If you are ever in Chicago you have to go there. Its a 50's themed greasy spoon restaurant where the employees dress up as 50's stars or in clothing from that era. There is graffitti all over the walls (atleast thats what it looked like when I went there 15 years ago) and the staff is really off the wall rude in a fun way. If you don't know that before you get there, you could easily get offended. They have no problem pointing out mullets over the intercom and calling you out in front of everyone. They also give out prizes for having certain things in your purse or wallet. A lot of loud music and attitude. I love it! Im taking my kids (ages 7 and 12) and my hubby (who is from Brooklyn, NY) and says that he can out rude any waiter from chicago...his sarcasm is hillarious. We will have a great time! I just wonder what I will eat when I get there!?!? Maybe a burger with no bun? We will see!

awww...thanks...you are too sweet! I sooo want to wear that dress again. I have thrown away almost all my skinny clothes except for maybe 5 outfits---that dress is one of them!

I added 2 photo albums to my profile. One is inspiration for me...what I looked like before I gained 110 pounds. The other is what I look like now---my before pics---yikes!

whosya-

thanks for the pic compliment. I am a make-a-wish mom and my sons wish was granted (he wished for a Disney Cruise). A local salon did a makeover on me and then a photoshoot to give me a day to myself. It was a blast! Everyone thinks that photo looks like it belongs on an '80's album cover. I think thats cool because I am sooo an '80's chick--although my hair is not NEAR as big as it was in the '80's!

btw, I added some pics into my albums--my goal pics (of what I want to...I mean WILL look like again someday!) and then some of my pics at my heaviest. Ewwww... something to keep me movitated as well!

Hi Jackie!

Welcome to our low carb group! In order to get into ketosis you need to cut carbs back about 20 or less for a few days and after about 3 days your stick will show you in some form of ketosis. After that you can go up to, but no more than 30 carbs a day. Atleast thats what I have done. Many days I get barely over 20 in to stay in high level of ketosis. I am obsessed and I check my sticks every morning (which btw, is the best time of the day to check it---first morning pee!)

You can buy at Atkins diet book or look up more specific details online. I mostly eat meat, eggs, cheese, salad, and I use low carb tortilla wraps (called Flat-Outs in the deli section) I also drink Protein Shakes too.

Good luck with low carb. Its hard to stick to sometimes but the results are sooo worth it!

whosya---I am glad you said that. I just figured that since 5.0 was the preset "jog" button, that is what I "should" be doing. I thought it was pretty fast for someone like me. I think I will do week one a couple of times too. I am in no big hurry to complete the program and I am not signed up for any 5ks in the future. I just want to be able to pick up the pace, which will eventually come with training.

Thanks for your input!

Wish me luck!

I am going to Chicago for a few days and I am having Chicago Deep Dish pizza tomorrow night. I am hoping I will only eat one slice (which is way more than my daily carb allowance!) Maybe I can just eat the toppings??? I am really going to stick to the plan as much as possible because I was to be down to 240 be the end of July. Its in my PLAN!

The fat girl in me keeps saying "you will NEVER have chicago pizza after the band...just enjoy it ONE LAST TIME!" but the skinny girl in me says "You will never make your goal if you keep giving in to eating bad one last time"

If I don't talk to you before Friday...have a great 4th of July! Lets try to be in ketosis again by Monday if any of us fall off the wagon for the holiday.

Well, I gave it the good ol college try. I did much better day one. I got through 3 intervals of running at 5.0, the 4th at 4.5 and then walked the rest of the time at 3.0. My heart rate was 168 and was beating so hard, my lungs felt like someone had blown ice cold air into them and the top of my foot has been hurting for the past 48 hours..I don't know if it happened during first run or what. Its not a consistant pain, just when I twist it slightly the wrong way. I bought some new running shoes yesterday. The shoes I have been wearing to the gym are pretty old and beat up. These shoes feel heavier, but have a lot more support.

I'm kinda down about not doing the podrunnner the correct way, but I did keep my heart rate up the whole time and I walked and jogged for 30 minutes.

Btw, I will be in Chicago for the next few days, I will take my iPod to the fitness center in the hotel, but I don't know if I will have time to check in. I will bring my laptop and try! I will be getting PLENTY of walking though!

Have a happy 4th of July if I don't talk to you before then!

Do you any of you low-carbers keep a food journal? I write down everything I eat and try to write down Protein, calories, fat, Fiber and of course carbs. The only numbers I REALLY watch is carbs and calories. If I go out to eat I just write what I ate, but I don't write the numbers. Too much work to look all of that up, plus I think if I am faithful to the plan then an occassional out to dinner (and eating wisely) is not going to ruin my day. I also journal my exercise. I don't get crazy about that either. Just a general description.

This afternoon I put some goals down in my dayplanner (where I journal) for each month...all the way to the final goal pound. At the end of each month I am going to write other goals (fitness, size, and anything else I can think of) for the next month. I find that I work much harder when I have something in writing that I am working towards.

This really makes me look forward to my skinny future!

Hi Skinny!

welcome to our group and congrats on your band!

Welcome Annika and good luck!

Great job Wendy! I totally know how you feel!!! I have never went faster than a 4.0 on the treadmill and THAT felt like running! Im pretty sore right now but like you...can't wait until wednesday to do it again. Once we become "runners" we will look back and be so happy we decided to accept this challenge!

Hope! How DO you do it??? I bow in your presence! My TWO kids (12&6) keep me busy! Altho I must admit, its getting easier..until those teenage years hit...haha!

Good luck with training today!

way to go with ketosis Bonnie. I am showing a small amount of ketones this morning. By end of day I plan to be at least in moderated ketosis. I will really watch it today.

DH took some new progress pics yesterday. I can really tell a difference. Click on my profile and view the album if you want. I am so motivated today.

PS here i come!!

I checked out your profile pics! WOW! Your before body is identical to what I have now...and if your now picture is what I have to look forward to...woo hoo!

mamato!!!:wink_smile: Great job one ONEderland!! Oh I can't wait to join you someday!

whosyadaddy,

Amazing...I love to hear about people like you! Very inspiring! I will check out your blog!

I DID IT!

I did day one of couch to 5k without dying!!! I barely made it through last segment of running..but I did it! My heart was beating out of my chest. Now my legs are so sore...but I feel awesome that I did it!

What type of exercises are you doing on your days off of training. Im going to do swimming and biking. I still need to start adding strength training. I get so bored doing that though.

I used the podrunner cd and it helped alot, but we have these cool treadmills at the gym that you can set the touch screen to different speeds that with a touch of a button I can walk at 3.0 and jog at 5.0 (sheesh..they call that jogging?? I felt like my legs were gonna fly off my body at that pace!)

Im curious to know how today went for everyone else!

congrats on your surgery maren! you are certainly welcome to join us!

Just wanted to let you all know, Im in Ketosis between moderate and heavy this morning! Woo Hoo! I know I could be in heavy if I am willing to give up my tortilla wrap and eat a different salad dressing. These are things I have daily that are my "higher carb" items. My wrap is 6 and my Salad Dressing is 11. Im not willing to give them up though!