Lucky # Sevens- July 07 Bandsters

[IndioGirl55 32]

Ruby I hate to tell you this, but maintenance is the hardest thing in the world for me. I thought losing was EASY compared to maintenance. For me when I was losing I got a reward every weigh in day...a lower number. At maintenance I don't get a reward...I just get the same number. I am supposed to be happy just getting the same number over and over.

As for the plateauing...are you losing size? If you are not losing size and not losing weight you might have to decrease your calories or lower carbs or lower fats. As you lose weight it takes more effort to burn the same amount of calories because you are not carrying around as much weight. Think about it this way. We all know that if you were to carry a 20 pound backpack while hiking you are going to burn more calories than if you didn't have the backpack. Well it is the same thing if you are carrying around 20 pounds of extra fat...it burns more calories. So as you have lost weight you don't have the extra "backpack" so you have to increase the intensity or add weights.

As for the magic formula...it is adjusting and calculating. So that is why when you guys tell me I am OCD about all the counting and calculating I do, I nod my head in agreement, but realize that is the only way it works. Until my mind can firmly grasp EVERYTHING, I will write it down and calculate it.

I figure I have been living healthy for the last 9 months...I was living unhealthy for the last 20 years. I can't expect myself to make these changes over the last few months and just have my brain realize that this is how it is going to be. 20 years of behavior are going to out weigh 9 months of behavior. So I treat myself just like I did when I started this journey. That way I stay on track and never have to worry about slipping up. I will NOT let my "fat brain" take control. I conciously chose to have pizza last night, but that was my healthy brain making that choice...not the fat brain and there is a difference. I calculated the calories and am now watching for signs or symptoms of overeating or food craving. If I would have shown signs of that today, I wouldn't allow myself pizza for a VERY long time again. There are some foods that I can eat in moderation once in a great while and NEVER have a problem with (pizza is one). There are other foods that I will never allow myself to eat again because I KNOW I will trigger NASTY food cravings (carrot cake is one). I know I can't have crackers (even the healthy kind) because it will trigger grazing problems. You have to listen to your body. If you eat something and it causes triggers, you just can't have it. No matter how much you might like it. At least for me....It just isn't worth it.

Okay off my soap box and back to work. My legs are a little tired today. Good thing it is just eliptical and weights today.

No soap box - well I guess your are talking to the queen of soap boxes - we are the Mother Daughter Soap Box Team

But I totally get it and agree with what you are saying - we have been rewarded with weight loss for all this work - but not to have a reward on your weigh in day - Oh that's something to think about.

Ruby you just have to mix things up - when exercise gets easy you have to increase the intensity again - since you walked everywhere to begin with I would think that you would be in better shape to begin with than the rest of us.. So you in particular would have to really increase your workouts. You also state that you pretty much know why the scale hasn't moved - That the answer - Start tracking your caloric intake and this will help - write in a note book and then when you can get on the computer - log it in dailyplate.com (a lot of pple like this one) As we have said a million times before - this is a whole new learning process -

It seems Karri & I are pretty ridge in what we eat or don't eat - (I am with her on the trigger foods - I just don't have them - why start - just like your marshmallow bunnies - I don't have them cuz I know myself - I don't think I would stop at one - that's why i have thrown Peanut Butter away - cuz I keep dipping into it.)

Denise - you are tight or took too big of a bite &/or ate too fast... Be carefully - I slimed on watermelon last night - ate too fast..

2 bottles of Water down...

do you know that my post this morning was 10,000 post on this thread - we are busy girls :thumbup:

[salsa1877 10]

Thanks for your awesome post Karri. This first paragraph is what hit me this morning. Right now I'm on a plateau and I feel like I'm still (a lot of the time) paranoid about what I eat. Every day I have to fight with my head about what I should be eating and doing. It's always different to what I want to be eating and doing. It's tiring. :sad: It really is. And I made the realisation, as you pointed out, that maintenance doesn't have any rewards. It's going to take a lot of work for no results. :glare:

But you also made me realise that in spite of my weight staying the same, I am actually losing size. The size 12 jeans I bought last month are loose on me. I need new exercise clothes because they're loose as well. Even the bandeau on my bra is loose. So I'm lucky there. And I wouldn't have realised it if you hadn't made me stop and think. :blushing:

This extra hunger is the pits though. I should have shares in the Orbit Gum company because I'm going through at least a pack a day. Sometimes two. But there are times when I need something more. My problem seems to be not being able to stop eating once I start. If I have a snack, it turns into a meal size. I've stopped buying the 100 Calorie Cookie Snacks because I couldn't stop at 1 pack per snack session. I was eating 2 or 3. Now I've switched to drinking coffee or a cup of Soup. It doesn't always stop me from wanting to eat. But I don't think anything will. When the hunger is bad I'll have popcorn. But even then I want more. Sometimes it's just so HARD to not be hungry that it brings me to tears. :crying:When I can no longer hold off the demons you would think it would bring me some kind of comfort or satisfaction. It doesn't. I makes me feel worse.:thumbup::sad_smile::smile:

I need to start looking at things differently. I've been thinking about this over the past couple of hours. I'm 25lbs from my target goal. I've never been that close. It's really not that far away. A year ago I was 90lbs from my target weight and it seemed insurmountable. I remember how it felt the be that fat. I've never been so depressed and self-loathing. Right now I'm annoyed, frustrated and impatient. But I'm still better off! I just have to keep remembering that. Live in the present, the future will come, the past is the past. One day and one pound at a time.

Thank you so much for getting up on your soap box for me. I really do appreciate it. You help make this difficult journey all the more easier to bear. :wub:

You are very welcome. One thing that I have found with snacks is that I don't eat them. Now don't get me wrong I eat "small meals" between regular meals. When they first upped my calories and told me to start eating snacks I did and it set off horrible cravings. I started grazing all day. So I realized that my "snacks" had to resemble small meals. So between Breakfast and lunch I have to eat a sandwich, or a very small portion of a meal. That way I can trick my brain into thinking that I am not eating "snacks". It is weird how the body responds to certain foods. I want to say that is how I tricked my body, but in reality it is how my body is made. When you listen to what your body NEEDS it makes it so much better. Before I didn't care what my body NEEDED...I cared what my taste buds wanted and what my brain WANTED. Changed my life when I did it the other way. So I don't have the 100 calorie snacks around...never have because I KNEW I would eat the whole box. I can't even have 100 calorie popcorn around. I get popcorn 1 time per week and I go and buy it from the copy room at school. It is a full bag of the low fat stuff for 240 calories. It makes me happy to eat all of it and since I can't go back in and get a 2nd or 3rd bag (our copy lady is under strict orders to only sell me ONE BAG of popcorn on Thursdays!) there is no chance for me to overdo it. So nope nothing makes me stop wanting to eat except WILL POWER. I swear those are the 2 worst words on the planet for most people, but we have to be stronger than food. We are living, breathing, intelligent human beings...food is nothing more than a bunch of atoms and chemical bonds. We are more powerful...beating out the food makes us stronger...and the stronger we get, the easier it is. By turning down food over and over and over again in the last 9 months it has made me feel like I can do anything. My will power has turned into PERSONAL STRENGTH! So think about it in the big picture...by turning down food you are not only helping your health but you are building a stronger person! It is not about saying NO to food...it is about saying YES to you!

One other thing about the hunger...The next time you think you feel hungry I want you to sit someplace quiet and try and "feel" your stomach. Not with your hands but try to mentally detach yourself from your stomach and see if it is TRULY hungry...My bet is that it isn't. My bet is that your head is hungry but your stomach is not. Water does that to me all the time. If I drink my head THINKS I need food. That is why you always do much better with your water than I do. I usually only drink about 1/2 hour before I am going to eat because otherwise I start feeling hungry.

I am glad this helped. I have certainly been there!

[mango24 1]

Karri - I'm gonna focus on my stomach right after this post, cause I'm kinda hungry. I can't go without Water. If I go too long w/o drinking, my band hurts. My stomach actually starts to hurt where the band is. It has waken me up out of dead sleep before.

That leads me to a constant fear: This may be too good to be true, this isn't going to last forever. Something's bound to go wrong, and I'll have to have this thing removed. It really is a constant nagging thought. That's one of my morbid thoughts.

I have a question...... When I click on Subscribed Threads to the right, every thread I ever posted on comes up. How do I delete the ones I don't want?

[Twilight 2]

Hope everyone is having a good day. I'm on my 3rd bottle of Water so that just leaves me 1 more before bed and that's more than doable. I may not even have to get up to pee 3 times tonight!!!

My shoulders and back are sore today....holey moley! What a workout that wii gave me. I'm going to walk and total gym tonight and if my shoulders loosen up I'll wii a little more. I was looking at the wii fit online stuff and I'm trying to find a weight limit. My dh is heavy and wondering if he can do it with me or not. Has anyone found that info anywhere?

I should be grading papers but I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do that. Running out of time though. I better figure it out soon or I'll be sunk come the last week of school. This short timers is horrible.

I got some really great news today but it made me sad. I was elected to the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics. There were 6 people running and I won!!!! How awesome is that? But....since I'm not teaching next year they are making me decline. I understand, but I'm hurt at the same time. I could do a lot of good the next couple of years. But....family first. I told the president that I would be available to help whenever they needed me to and not to count me out. I'm a lifetime member so they can't throw me out )

I called the pa who does my fills today. Told her that I'm going to be out of town when she does the fills in June and didn't want to skip May and June. She said I could and it would be fine, but I don't think I'd be fine. I'm not that confident yet about this band. So I asked if I could make an appointment and we could discuss it in person. I'll also take my food journal to the dietitian and see what she says. I needed a reason to go shop anyways. .... So next Monday I will weigh in and possibly get a fill. I will definitely be skipping June and we'll see about July.

well...if I'm not going to work on my work I guess I'll go home and see my kids. I'll check in later guys. Don't forget to tally and tell your water today.

[IndioGirl55 32]

Karri - I'm gonna focus on my stomach right after this post, cause I'm kinda hungry. I can't go without Water. If I go too long w/o drinking, my band hurts. My stomach actually starts to hurt where the band is. It has waken me up out of dead sleep before.

That leads me to a constant fear: This may be too good to be true, this isn't going to last forever. Something's bound to go wrong, and I'll have to have this thing removed. It really is a constant nagging thought. That's one of my morbid thoughts.

I have a question...... When I click on Subscribed Threads to the right, every thread I ever posted on comes up. How do I delete the ones I don't want?

Denise I have the same fears - so you aren't alone...

There should be an Unsubsciped link - click on that.

[Twilight 2]

I have a question...... When I click on Subscribed Threads to the right, every thread I ever posted on comes up. How do I delete the ones I don't want?

When you open the subscription list there is a column at the right of boxes. Check the ones you wish to remove and then at the bottom of the page there is a drop down box that says "Move selected to" or something like that. Choose delete subscription from that.

[phyllser 3]

I just ate some cottage cheese, and I have hiccups. I never get hiccups, It HURTS!!!!!! OMG

Okay now??? You're not too tight, are you??

Maybe you ate to fast.

My TOPS weigh in day... down 2 1/2 lb,

and she had to move the little weight thingy down another 50 lb!!

Very exciting weigh in for me... it was a biggy!

All in all.... a very good day,

even though the sun continues to refuse to make an appearance!

Also, DD sent me an email last night...

finally some dialogue!

And she apologized for yelling at me last week.

We are making some headway!

[mango24 1]

:thumbup:CONGRATULATIONS PHYL!!!!!!!

:thumbup::thumbup::smile:

My hubby's helping sonny with his math, well he's trying.

9th grade alg. He says boy my shoulders are sore.

Remember he was boxing yesterday.

[IndioGirl55 32]

Hope everyone is having a good day. I'm on my

I was elected to the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics. There were 6 people running and I won!!!! How awesome is that? But....since I'm not teaching next year they are making me decline. I understand, but I'm hurt at the same time. I could do a lot of good the next couple of years. But....family first. I told the president that I would be available to help whenever they needed me to and not to count me out. I'm a lifetime member so they can't throw me out :thumbup:)

I called the pa who does my fills today. Told her that I'm going to be out of town when she does the fills in June and didn't want to skip May and June. She said I could and it would be fine, but I don't think I'd be fine. I'm not that confident yet about this band. So I asked if I could make an appointment and we could discuss it in person. I'll also take my food journal to the dietitian and see what she says. I needed a reason to go shop anyways. .... So next Monday I will weigh in and possibly get a fill. I will definitely be skipping June and we'll see about July.

well...if I'm not going to work on my work I guess I'll go home and see my kids. I'll check in later guys. Don't forget to tally and tell your Water today.

CONGRATULATIONS

STEPHINE

JUST THE HONOR ALONG IS FANTASTIC

You get filled every month ?? I go every 2 months and like last time didn't need one and really don't think i will at the end of this month either

uote=phyllser;830899]

Okay now??? You're not too tight, are you??

Maybe you ate to fast.

My TOPS weigh in day... down 2 1/2 lb,

and she had to move the little weight thingy down another 50 lb!!

Very exciting weigh in for me... it was a biggy!

All in all.... a very good day,

even though the sun continues to refuse to make an appearance!

Also, DD sent me an email last night...

finally some dialogue!

And she apologized for yelling at me last week.

We are making some headway!

PHYL - CONGRATULATION 2.5

I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU - CAN YOU HEAR ME CHEERING

Well off to the gym - CBL

[Twilight 2]

CONGRATULATIONS

STEPHINE

JUST THE HONOR ALONG IS FANTASTIC

You get filled every month ?? I go every 2 months and like last time didn't need one and really don't think i will at the end of this month either

Thanks Janet. I'm quite honored. And proud of myself for making a name for myself in the profession.

I got filled at 6 weeks, went back 4 weeks later and got a fill, next month she took out because of the flu, put about 1/2 of that back last month. I think I'm close to where I need to be but not quite there. I still have days where I seem to be starving all the time. And when I listen to my stomach it is pretty positive my head isn't the problem. But I was going to wait until June before going back, but now I have a class to teach in the western part of the state and the eldest quack has camp out there on the 10th and the only day she is in Minot is the 9th. That means go for fill and then drive about 700 miles away. If I'm too tight then I'm going to be in a world of hurt. I'll be stuck in Helena with no options. So I didn't want to skip May and June because I'm not THAT comfortable right now. I just don't know what to do. She seemed to think I'd be fine, but I'm worried I will not be able to control myself when I don't have school. I think I need more restriction so my band has a LITTLE more say in the matter. Willpower is one thing but I'm not invincible. I got an appointment and I will see what she says. She may not do it. Either way I will see the nut and have her check my food log and see if I'm on track or not. I have a feeling I can still eat more than I should.

Well...dinner is ready. I will talk to you all later.

[salsa1877 10]

Okay now??? You're not too tight, are you??

Maybe you ate to fast.

My TOPS weigh in day... down 2 1/2 lb,

and she had to move the little weight thingy down another 50 lb!!

Very exciting weigh in for me... it was a biggy!

All in all.... a very good day,

even though the sun continues to refuse to make an appearance!

Also, DD sent me an email last night...

finally some dialogue!

And she apologized for yelling at me last week.

We are making some headway!

YEAH! ON 2 FRONTS!:thumbup:

I am excited for you on the scale and so happy that your DD is talking to you again.

[mango24 1]

Steph - CONGRATULATIONS, THAT IS INDEED QUITE AN HONOR HONEY CHILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::smile:

[jackie506 1]

Hey Gang!! Just checking in for the day. Today was soooo nice outside that I have spent about 90% of the day outside. I had a younger client today so we went to subway (I had a portion of a turkey wrap with lots of veggies) and then we took our food to the park and had a picnic. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable day. Came home and mowed my lawn. Rider mower so no extra steps there but I still did fine today.

Phyl-CONGRATS ON THE 2.5 lbs. You have LESS than 100 to go now. We are so proud of you!!

Janet- Crossing my fingers for you til Thursday morning weigh in.

Kari- Welcome back. WHEW we sure missed you.

mango- did you get your unwanted subscriptions deleted? I had a lot too and weeded out some that I have not read on in a while.

Steph-congrats on the award. I agree with Janet that you getting the reward is reward enough. Yeah to you.

frustrated-I get the same thing when I exercise alot in a day. I feel like I am alot more hungry.

Well I am off to relax and watch some tv now. I will try to check back later tonight.

[Twilight 2]

Phyll!!! You did it. How awesome are you? You should be feeling great about the 2 1/2 pounds and even better about losing a 50! You are under a hundred to go. I bet your wii age drops with your pounds.

Super job!!!

[Twilight 2]

Well ladies. I didn't go walking tonight. I decided I needed some peppier music on my shuffle so I took tonight off and did that. It takes a heck of a long time when you have as much music as dh does...and all mixed together. I got a backache just sitting there picking it out.

It's Monday night which means funny shows on tv. I love Mondays!!!

Had a pretty good food day. Of course now that I said I was wanting a fill I've been full the last few meals. Haven't even wanted to eat today. I did do 5 bottles of Water though so maybe that's why. Do you think it's possible to od the water? I mean I do know that you CAN od on water but I'm wondering if I'm overdoing it.

But then TOM showed up today too. I think I worry too much.

I'm babbling again. I'll sign off and watch for awhile. Have a great night all.