Man, this stuff gets harder the closer to "normal" you get (ramblings)

Like my husband said... 208 pounds in 19 months... what the hell am I complaining about? LOL. I think I sometimes get entirely too caught up in myself. Kind of like the stupid protein bars. I KNOW I need to stop with them because they causes issues. I'm thinking they are going onto the "kid's shelf" of the pantry - don't ask me why, but anything on that shelf I will not eat. Ever. It's the kid's snacks. LOL (and they like the protein bars on the go too). I'm just ticked because I've always been able to have them in the past, but it's this month's "gotta get rid of until maintenance" thing and I don't wanna. But I will. Because I have to if I wanna see the finish line.

Hey Candy,

While I only lost about half as much as you, I completely sympathize with where you are. It is hard as **** to get to goal when you only have a little bit more to go. You've got several things going against that last bit:

1. You look great; 2. your doc is saying great work, you can be done; 3. People all around you must still be in awe over what you've been able to accomplish; and 4. You feel good and "know" that if you decided to be done no one would fault you - the only person who would feel bad about it is you.

All these things give you the emotional wiggle room to eat off plan and to stall out a bit. I struggled with all that stuff, too. But, like you I HAD to get to my goal (yes, I did up it four pounds, but that is a different topic...). I got Frisco to guide me through the last 11 pounds and got them off in two months, but I had to go old school - very similar to what you are doing- 80 to 100 grams of protein and kept the calories under 800. No way I could go back to 600 at that point. Hell, I have trouble staying under a 1000 now if I need to drop a pound or two. That you can still manage 800 is AWESOME!

You're only 7 pounds away from a normal BMI right? So it may take 6 or 8 weeks to get there. You'll do it. You know you will. I know you will. So ***** up a storm and have a couple pity parties along the way. This last part can really suck.

Always love your "ramblings"!

154 puts me at 24.9, so yeah... 7 more freaking pounds. LOL. As I recall, anyway. But yeah. It's a mind screw and I'm going to win because losing isn't an option. I'm not happy with where I am now and I know that. You are SO right, it doesn't help that when people ask and I'm honest about where I am, they tell me "oh, you're fine" or whatever. They mean well, but if I take a truly objective look in the mirror naked, there's still WAY too much belly fat and I know it's not skin. LOL.

I'm learning to hedge that question a little better :)

It's weird. I always thought I had a large frame, but apparently I'm pretty small. Who'd have thunk it.

But yeah. I'm going to buckle down and get this done. I have 3 weeks until I spend a week in Orlando at a business retreat. I know I'll looosen up for that (or I'll go hog wild after the first few days, I know myself well enough now LOL). I have 3 weeks to clean it up. It's just small stuff I need to do and I know it.

I have NO idea how I'm eating 800 calories either. Some days I struggle to stuff it in too. LOL

Candy, you're doing great. But you know what? You're better than "good enough". You've done so well, you CAN make it to the promised land! You DESERVE it. Remember the stuff you're cutting out isn't permanently gone, most things can be worked moderately into a maintenance plan. So think of it as a "see you later" to that protein bar. You should be VERY proud of how far you've come and I KNOW you'll get to where you want to be, I have nothing but admiration for you. 

You know what...

I DEFINITELY deserve it. You are right. I've spent 20 months in therapy. $15,000 for surgery. Countless hours counting every damn thing I put in my mouth (good and bad LOL), hours and hours of homework from therapy, hours and hours of support groups and everything else. I deserve it. I ******G DESERVE IT.

I deserve it WAY more than that stupid protein bar. Sigh. I can do this. Thanks... I think I really needed to hear that from someone. Xoxoxo

Ummm.....You are awesome! At this stage for me you are one of my "go to" bloggers/posters. You are honest, candid, and insightful.  You need to pat yourself on the back dear one. Not only have you been bettering yourself throughout this journey..but you are affecting others along the way.  Keep it up.  You will get there, without a doubt. Keep up the good work.

Thanks. Sometimes it's just tough to pull yourself up by your boot straps and go forward. Especially when I just want to find a corner and go to sleep or something through the rest of this LOL

I can't imagine that you won't get there soon. Perspnally, I find that keeping my self-talk loving, rather than punishing is particularly helpful at times when I'm feeling discouraged. Not to say that I don't keep it real, which is exactly what you are doing. No one deserves this any more than you do. And you will have it.

Nope, the positive self talk is something I work on a lot too. I just caught myself today being all negative and it was nice to have someone put me back where I belong. LOL. I'm pretty darn amazing :)

Hell, I'd put you in the super advanced category when it comes to being amazing! I know your weight loss has been hard won. Staying in the weight loss phase of your program (without sliding into maintenance) is quite an accomplishment. One that I will bet many of us have not been able to do.
So pat yourself on that little back of yours all day long. #winning