Tamira

A group of us at work have our own Biggest Loser club.  The last weigh in is on May 18.  Currently she is in the lead, but I am the team leader.  Yesterday one of the team members said to me, you should go ahead and give me the money since I am pretty much the winner.  It wasnt her words as much as the arrogance on her face and the tone of her voice.

So now my goal is to beat her not achieve my mini-goal, however I have made them one in the same.  I know that is the wrong reason, but it has defintely jarred me back into my regular exercise routine. Health not wealth has always been my motivator which I tried to share with the group.  Obviously, we are all not on the same path.

The new session was supposed to start on the Tuesday after Labor Day.  Almost everyone I asked wanted to know how many people had joined so far.  After the 3rd question like that I finally asked why.  Of course the answer was if there arent enough people then there would not be a big prize at the end.

I understand that it’s nice to have that incentive, but the prize should be having a healthy lifestyle for a life time.  So instead of doing Yoga 3x’s a week, I am going everyday, and this morning I woke up at 4:30 and did an hour on the bike.  I know I will reap the benefits of her arrogance, but my main goal is to continue my work after this is over.  I have worked too hard the past year to let someone declare herself the winner based on a few number.  Maybe I can put my toes on the scale when she weighs in! 

Since I am a nightime eater, my daughter now has a mission that involves money (of course).  For every day she doesnt let me eat after dinner (unless it’s a piece of fruit) She gets one dollar.  If I do eat after, she loses a dollar.  Hopefully she will be a very rich 10 year old!

 All The Best!

T

So, went to dinner with my S.O. on Saturday for Valentine’s Day.  We went to a movie/comedy show/wine tasting event (not bad for $8 each).  Sunday afternoon, broke up with my S.O. because of the lack of trust, yada, yada, yada. 

I’m 2 lbs away from my mini-goal and my goal for this month, which was to lose 5lbs.  I’ll definitely be i the gym all week to get my 2 for the month.

So, even though we dated for 5 months, I woke up very happy and refreshed this morning.  I had to remember that people can be as toxic to you physically as food.  I feel free and ready to tackle the world today.

Hope you all had great a Valentine’s day as well!

I lost 1lbs this week and got out of the 160’s like I wanted to last week, but I am still a bit disappointed.  I increased my strength training and tried to maintain my portions.  I still have a few issues with being hungry late at night, but it’s getting better.  Makes me wish I’d enjoyed a piece of my daughter’s birthday cake though!

On a postive note, I have another full box of clothes to sell on Craig’s List.  I’ve been using the extra money to pay off one of my credit cards.  My goal (resolution) for this year is to be credit card free.  If it’s not in my checking account, I just cant have it.  I’ve gone 2 months without using any of them, so that is good for me.  And I owe less than $1K on the last 2, so I’m even happier about that.

Although I am young, I want to make sure I can enjoy my retirement 30 years from now.  So, I have to sacrifice now to benefit then.  But of course, I’m worth it!

So, several co-workers have noticed my “dramatic” weight loss.  After assuring them that I was not starving myself to tlose weight, a few wanted to know what I’ve done and what don’t I eat.  I told them I eat anything I want, but in moderation.  I purchased an electronic food scale and it has made all the difference in my journey.  I dont buy any of those 100 calorie packs anymore.  They are convenient, but terribly overpriced.  I just make my own from whatever snack I purchase.  So the box of Family-Size Wheat Thins is full of pre-portioned plastic baggies.  I noticed that part of my eating problem, (aside from being an emotional eater) was not wanting to cook or just wanting something quick to eat. 

With everything already prepared for me, I don’t mindlessly eat anymore.  I bring my lunch everyday, make sure I have 2 servings of fruit everyday and I add Fibersure to almost everything.  Well, I tell them all of these things, plus a few more I wont bore you with and they all say the same thing, it’s too much work.  For me, anything worthwhile is worth the work.  If you can get a Masters Degree, you can take the time to plan out a food menu.  I dont get it! 

We have a BL contest at work and for the past 2 sessions (quarterly) I have won the prize.  Obviously if I have lost over 60lbs in the past 8 months, something is working.  Now my rote answer to everyone is I watch what I eat and exercise.  No point in giving actual advice if they arent going to take it.

I have to admit, I have found a new demon to conquer - MGD 64!  I’ve gone from a beer or 2 about once a month to a beer or 2 every weekend.  I still work it into my calories, but that is still too much beer.  It was great to have during the superbowl though.  Between that and the recipes from Hungry Girl’s Superbowl Swaps, I was still able to lose 2lbs last week.

I havent worked out at all since Saturday and I can already feel it.  I’ve tried to get my daughter to help me with incentives.  Everytime she reminds me and makes sure I go work out, she gets a $1.  BUT, since she is 9 and money is not a big deal to her YET, it hasnt worked the way I expected it to.  I am happy that I was able to resist my late night snacking yesterday.  I’ve increased my daytime calorie intake so I’m not as hungry in the evening and it’s been helping.  I’m eating 70% of my calories while at work now and I take my vitamin at night instead of in the morning.  I dont know which of this is working, but I’m going to stick with this for a while. 

As we all know, change is good when you are on your weight loss journey.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day and remember to be mindful of your intake and environment.

 T

My goal for January was to lose 10lbs and get out of the 160’s.  Well, today’s weigh in put me at 160 even.  Considering I started off the month at 169 AND enjoyed the Superbowl festivities, I am very happy with my weight loss.  My new goal is 5lbs.  I’ve lowered it because i’ve started to weight train and I know the scale doesn’t show the fat loss/muscle gain ratio.  The main thing is having realistic goals, and you will not be disappointed.

Hope all is well for everyone!

 T

Buddies, let me first say that I am proud of all of you for doing so well!  It looks like the Red vs. Blue challenge is really motivating everyone to stick to their goals.

As for me, I have been on a self-destructive pattern that is SEVERLY counterproductive to all the hard work I put in last year.  I’m way to embarassed to tell you all how much weight I have gained in the New Year.   I know what I need to do, but I have absolutely NO motivation to get it done.

I thought about Jo’s “get on a new wagon” philosphy, so I decided to check out the Fat Smash Diet.  While looking for the book online, I discovered that Dr. Ian is coming out with a new book,  The Extreme Fat Smash Diet.  It will not be available for purchase until March 20th, but I don’t think my body can wait that long for me to get back on track. 

I wish I could make the effort like Nikki, Char and Luella to prepare my own meals at home, but I honestly don’t have the energy when I get home.  I know I can batch cock on the weekends, but I don’t want to spend what little time I have to relax and play with my daughter in the kitchen.  I know as I type this, that these are all excuses, but it’s so much easier to eat the frozen meals, which requires no thought or major preparation.

I know a lot of this has to do with the weather, with it being too cold to exercise outdoors.  Since I’m not good with staying with exercise tapes or going to the gym, most of my exercise has come from walking around my neighborhood. 

Right now, I wish I had Dr. Oz and Richard Simmons to come to my house and throw all the crap that I have been consuming in the trash for me.  I’ve debated for months about buying a treadmill, and the only thing holding me back is the fear of paying hundreds of dollars for something I’ll only use for 2 months or so.  I know I shouldn’t have such a defeatist attitude about it, but this has been the case with me purchasing exercise equipment in the past.

I think I have such a hard problem with this is when my moods sway the way they do, I don’t have anyone to actively talk and vent to.  I feel like I need a sponsor that I can call during week moments, like they have in AA.  It helps that I can come on here and vent, but nothing beats a live person to distract you from your actions and get things off your chest. 

Thanks for listening (reading) to me rant!  Happy Belated Valentine’s and Presidents’ Day to you all!

Well guys, on Friday night, out of sheer boredom, I ate about 600-700 calories over my range.  As a result of this, I did not lose any weight this week and as a bonus I had a belly ache ALL weekend!   The reason why I say this is the BEST binge ever is because it reminded me of why I can no longer eat the way I used to AND it made me rededicate my efforts to my weight loss program.  For those that follow my blog, you know that I am severly allergic to exercise.  In fact, I have not exercised in over 6 weeks now.  I have been able to lose weight by being VERY strict with my food and nothing else.  I guess my mini-binge was my reality check that my body wants more than 1200 calories per day and that I need to get off my tushy so that it can have it! 

I’m so glad I have you all to keep me honest, otherwise I probably would have said the heck with it and just tried to maintain my current weight.  I don’t have family and friends as a support group so I use the comments from you all to help get me through.  When I wanted to throw in the towel, one of the comments that popped in my head was Lidija’s from a while back.  I’m paraphrasing, but she was congratulating me on still having the motivation to lose weight after having already lost so much.  I hope you all realize how much your comments may mean to a person, even if it’s just “Good Job!”. 

I don’t know how many of you can relate but in the black community (or at least mine) thin is NOT in, so it’s been pretty hard these last few weeks staying on track when every one is telling me that I have lost enough weight and if I lose anymore I’ll look sick.  I’m 4′11″ and 137lbs so I am still overweight., but at 137lbs I now have friends and family that outweigh me by 100lbs.  I’m not saying this to judge them, but to be 200lbs in my circle is the norm and now, I am no longer the norm.  If I mention my weight loss to one aunt, she changes the subject completely. When my Nana died, she was 5′1″ and 270lbs and had to use a walker to get around.  I don’t want that to be my future. So again, thank you all for being there for me and allowing me to get some things off my chest.