scarlet333

I was about to say I miss absolutely nothing. It is true at 15 months out I could eat anything and my life has improved so much that I am hard pressed to think of anything I miss about being obese but the only thing I could think of and it is pretty minor is eating and drinking at the same time. Still so minor in the scheme of things.

All 3 are adorable. It is fascinating to me to see how someone about my size looks because I still can't see myself that way. We are about the same height and weight. Starting weight very close and I had my surgery the month before you. I usually buy size 8 now which seems so small to me (haven't been that size since before kids -16 years ago). But yet when I look in the I mirror I think I am average not thin yet you look positively tiny to me. I think I need to take more pictures of myself and maybe can see it then.

What about some good old fashioned mat work where you are laying on your side and doing leg lifts or where you are on all fours doing leg kick backs and side raises. I have a dvd from Jillian Michaels called "No More Trouble Zones" and it has a circuit with floor work exercising legs. Find it does help.

I can relate so well. I have gained back about 7 pounds before catching myself. In the old days 7 pounds was just a good weekend but know I can feel the difference even though my clothes still fit and no one else has noticed. The key is catching it early on like others have mentioned. Night time is the very devil for me too. The planned snack doesn't work for me because it just makes me crave more. I think I am going to try a cut off time. I think exercise is also a reason that the pounds isn't much more. The balancing act continues. I do think checking in here for support helps a lot.

@@scarlet333 do you do the elliptical for one hour in one go?

how frequently do you take a break?

I have started with the elliptical but feel breathless in just 10 min and have to stop for a few before I continue....

However, I did come to realize that nothing stationary keeps me motivated.

So im looking into working with a personal trainer.... after 3 long discussions we begin tomorrow so quite excited and nervous

Yes for an hour but I sure didn't start that way. I remember my legs feeling like wet noodles after 6 minutes when I first started. Try for 10 minutes and keep building. I have motivating play lists that I listen to to keep me motivated to keep going. The key is to keep challenging yourself. When 10 minutes gets too easy try adding a minute backwards, or going as fast as you can for 30 seconds.

I am not a gym person however I am an exercise person. I do 2 days cardio and I day strength training. The cardio days are either a 3 mile jog or an hour on the elliptical. I started with walking too and then began jogging with the c25k app. The strength training are hand weights and sculpting dvds. I use one dvd for a few weeks and then switch it up with a different one (I have about 5 different ones). Once I go through all of them I start over again thus doing different exercises all the time and not getting bored. If weather interfers with an outdoor jog day I use my elliptical at home.

The common theme though is to find something you like and can do long term and to keep building. Good luck.

Another thing I'd like to add to all the above wise words is something I used to tell my clients when I worked as a weight loss consultant ( can you believe I used to tell others about how to loose weight - talk about teachers teach because they can't do it themselves). Anyway, I used to tell people to not focus about the long journey ahead but just to focus on today. Let your goal be to get into bed tonight and tell yourself "I had a good day". If you can go to sleep tonight proud of yourself than you have accomplished your goal. If you can have one good day than that can more easily lead to another good day and another. Momentum switches. Its like any other addiction -1 day at a time. Hope this is helpful.

15 months out here and still the only person who knows is my husband. People are just judgemental by nature. They can act all supportive in front of your face but some/many are entirely different when you are not there. Just didn't want to deal with it. So glad that I made this choice it has worked out best for me. Don't regret it for a minute.

Didn't post my weight yesterday because I wasn't happy with my weight but I joined this challenge to get myself back on track and part of that is facing the music. So I was actually up a pound.

CW 149

Going in the wrong direction. Still haven't learned that I can't just eat anything I want (even though) much smaller portions and loose weight. Also, you can exercise like crazy but that doesn't mean you can eat like crazy. The good news is I can get right back on track and next week hopefully post a loss. Good luck everybody and congratulations to all you loosers!!!

It is so easy to fall back to our old wicked ways. My weight has been pretty stable over the past 6 months but this is probably due to the fact that I am pretty faithful with vigorous exercise. The first year or so I was so good about eliminating bad carbs (breads, potatoes, sweets) but after feeling pretty good about my weight loss and liking the way I looked you become complacent and start back with old habits, a cookie or 2 or 3, an ice cream, snaking on chips. These things really sabotage us.

So basically its all back to basics of filling up on Protein and keeping the bad carbs very low.

A few days late but I need to join this challenge. I have been away from this website for months and miss the tips and support. I am 16 months out and have found I have gained back about 5 pounds. I am not gaining any more back because of my vigorous exercise routine but my eating is getting out of control again. I need something to focus me again. I have a surgeons appointment in September (18 month check) and have to be back to where I was or below.

CW 148

Goal Weight 142

Back to logging food onto My Fitness pal and coming to this site daily for support. Thank you.

Its not only the calories in the pure Protein bars but the carbs! Sometimes calories might not be too much during the course of the day but your carbs could be too high. I try to stay at 50g of carbs or less per day.

Agree with the posters about Protein shakes/bars. In particular Protein Bars usually come with a lot of carbs and or sugar. Check nutrition label. Maybe decreasing carbs will jump start weight loss again. Even in the beginning 3 servings of Protein Bars per day sounds excessive.

Agree with the others to have blood work done. Another thing to consider could you be pre-menopausal? This is happening to me now. At night I climb into bed freezing and exhausted only to break out in a full body sweat a moment later and kick all the blankets off and repeat this process several times during the night.

I love my closet now. Its such a pleasure to look in and know everything in there fits. I don't have a ton of clothes taking up room that I hoped one day to get into again, they now fit or are big. Its nice to have lots of room to move things around and see everything you have at once, and freeing to just pick anything and know it will fit and look nice. I don't need to keep spending money on new things in hope they made me look thinner or not too fat.

Don't fret about it enjoy the freedom of not having clutter.

Yes too much sugar:

Premier Protein strawberries and cream has 30 g Protein and only 1 g sugar

EAS Advantage Carb Control Protein has 17g protein and no sugar

Just some suggestions.

Final weight 143.2. Not great - higher than my starting weight 4 weeks ago. Keeping my calories down has been a struggle.

I know I am truly exerting myself when during cardio exercise I can not carry on a conversation. If I am unable to speak without a lot of huffing and puffing that usually is a level where I know I am working hard.

Scarlet.... I wanted to tell you that I've been mixing up my elliptical workouts ever since I read one of your posts about how you switch things up. .... Bringing that cardio to a whole new level!

Thanks HealthyNewMe. I am glad you are finding it challenging. I find going backwards harder on the elliptical than going forwards and try to do 4 minutues backward and 6 minutes forward for every 10 minutes. Of course changing intensity. I think when you keep changing and conquering something it uses different muscles and keeps your body guessing so its not just muscle memory.

I know I am truly exerting myself when during cardio exercise I can not carry on a conversation. If I am unable to speak without a lot of huffing and puffing that usually is a level where I know I am working hard.

You look beautiful. So glad you posted the pictures because I am just about the same height and weight, also one year out and just about the same starting weight, so it really helps to see about what my body looks like. I look in the mirror and have a hard time telling if I look "thin". I am always asking my husband if I am fatter, skinnier or about the same as various other people to try and get a body image for myself. While everyone carries weight differently I think you look great.

The app does work. Just push yourself even if you feel can't do it push past the discomfort. Usually if you slow your pace down it is do able. If you can't complete a day it is ok to repeat that day. I never ran before starting in Nov 2013 now I can run for 40 minutes straight it is unbelievable to me. Also keep us posted on your progress. It is so helpful coming back to this thread and discussing progress, questions, tips etc.

I have always had great admiration for runners. Even as a kid when I saw runners I thought it was so impressive and that I could never do that even though I was an active thin child. I start c25k in November 2013 and got through the program without repeating any days. I was determined and just kept putting one foot in front of the other even when I thought I was going to die. Now I am able to run 3.75 miles without stopping and am very proud of myself. The funny thing is there are some days I feel like I can keep going and others where I think I just can't do it. The other day my earphones weren't working right so I had no music and could hear myself breathing for the first time and I thought people are going to call an ambulance or get me an oxygen mask the way I was huffing and puffing but I got it done even though it was a very tough day. I don't think I will ever be one of those people that want to run a marathon some days I love it and some days I hate it. I don't think I will ever go past 5 miles because I feel it is just hard on the joints and the human body at my age isn't meant to run 26 or 13 or even 10 miles.

But not meaning to discourage. you can do it and most days it is actually very peaceful and rewarding.

143.8 this morning. Totally disgusted with myself - I'm killng it with exercise but just can't keep my calories under control. have to watch the Protein Bars they are too good and I am popping them in my mouth like candy. Resolve to do better next week.

At over a year past surgery I do still have occasional cravings for sweets (donuts, chocolate etc.). This usually happens if I have something sweet and carby and that starts the cravings up again. If I am eating clean I do not obsess about sweets. As far as steak goes for me I eat it about 2-3 times per month and it goes down just fine as long as I don't eat too fast about 5-6 ounces is fine, filling and a source of Protein I wouldn't worry about indulging steak cravings occasionally as long as you are at the point to eat solids.

I would recommend you are fitted professionally for shoes. Typically running shoes are a half size larger than what you normally wear. Also do a regular anti-fungal routine on your feet and shoes. Bandage the toe up, but take it a bit easy so you don't progress the injury further

Thanks, I found a fairly local store called Runners Edge that I plan to go to for some help with a new pair of running shoes. Hopefully this will help.

Well went to the running store and was evaluated by staff member and got Nike Pegasus 30 they felt great in the store and I am looking forward to trying them out tomorrow. The store and staff were great and said I should try them for a few runs and see how they feel and if I am not satisfied I can bring them back within 2 weeks. What a great policy. Thanks again for the good advice.