Weekly Weigh-In...

My goodness things are moving SO slowly!!! Things are really, really busy at the house here... I'm hoping that when LIFE settles down a bit, I can intensifiy my excersize and drop those last 13 pounds. Just 13 more to go... Remained the same this week... ***CURRENT: 153 Starting: 250 As of 1/1/06: 188 Goal: 140 *3 lbs to go until CENTURY CLUB..... I think my body is just teasing me... SO close, yet taking FOREVER -CJ

Hi there CJ, This week the same for me again. 215. I don't know what to do anymore. My body has pretty much consistently stayed anywhere between 215 and 220 now for at least three months. I was 234 or so around Easter, so that's about 17 pounds since April. I have really been wondering lately if my body just decided it wanted to stay here. At least for a while I imagine. I hope that in the future it will shed more. My realistic goal was to get to 200, which would have been a loss of 152 pounds. I am having PS this month and then again in December. I am hoping with the loss of some skin I will be a tad closer to that goal. I keep wondering where my body likes to be. When I was 19 years old I got down to 167. That is about the lowest I ever remember being. I was there for a grand total of like 1 week. After that, back up. When I got married at 20, which was about 1 1/2 years after the lowest weight, I was 188 pounds. That is after extreme dieting from 204 pounds. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo, where does it want to be? I want more, believe me I do. But I have began to wonder if I am just not being happy no matter what. I mean, heck, I've gone from a 26/28 or 30/32 shirts and clothing. (pants I couldn't wear). Skirts were 26/28 with elastic waist bands. I went to the store the other day and bought a beautiful pair of white dress pants in a 14. Not 14W, but 14. I wear a L shirt, 38D bra (boobs being fixed soon), my feet are 2 sizes smaller. What more do I want? Do I realistically see myself in a size 8? No I don't. I remember at my lowest I was in an 11/12. Granted it was a Junior size, but I never got smaller than that. I am getting arms and breasts done this month, and then the LBL is going to be scheduled for my winter break in December. I imagine I will lose a few pounds, and of course my clothes will fit better. With the lift and the way he demonstrated it, I know that I will be able to fit into smaller pants. I haven't changed the way I've eaten in 13 months. Perhaps that is the issue? I am going to see a nutritionist once I am post surgery, to see maybe if there is something I am missing. I work out 4-5 times a week, cardio and strength training. I have upped my strength training to include one more weight class per week. I know I have muscle, and I know that it is more dense, blah blah blah. I understand all that, and as I've said, I'm actually pretty happy where I am. I feel great, I look good, I am happier with tons of energy. So, after this long a** post, please forgive me, LOL, but what is the question? I guess it's maybe if we shouldn't be happy where we end up, and learn to live with it instead of obsessing so long about a random number on the scale. Do I want it lower? Heck yeah. This isn't a copout saying I just can't do it, but it's more of a reality check. You said that you have to intensity your exercise, so you have pretty much targeted what your issue is. What happens when there is no more issue and you don't hit goal? Do you know how you are going to react? Good luck hitting that century club!!!! Donna

donna - i definitely think the fact that you haven't changed your routine in 13 months could be contributing to lack of movement. you body adjusts to new challenges so quickly and so you need to change up your food and exercise routine often. i've found this to be even more important the closer you get to goal. i hate it cause i like routine and am very unimaginative. my trainer does a good job of never doing the same workout more than once but without her, i'm lost. occassionally i get inspired and try a new group class or something - i think i lasted about 2 weeks with spinning! or if you like the treadmill, you can change it up by doing more of a circuit with changing elevation and speed. you can also try adjusting diet - like maybe going higher protein or higher carbs (depending on what you're doing now). try 6 smaller meals instead of 3 - there are lots of adjustments you could try. i don't know, these are some suggestions i got when i got to periods where i was stuck. i also think its important that you listen to you body and let it go where its comfortable. maybe its feeling good at 215. and don't cut yourself short - 17 lbs since easter is significant and you might just be at a plateau. i can't remember how long you've been at this, but your body has been thorugh major changes in the past year or so. you also have to think about what you can maintain in the long run - could i lose 10 more pounds if i ate 1200 calories a day? probably. is that maintainable for me? not a chance! i would probably get there, buy lots of new clothes and gain it back in a week. will i ever have a normal BMI? probably not. and i'm okay with it. compared to a size 24 at 280 lbs, i'm just happy that i can sort of pass for "average" now. i resigned myself to be being "done" with weight loss when i got stuck at 173 for like 6 months - that's when i had my first plastic surgery. 3 years later i'm at 160. definitely not all due to the PS as i didn't really have a ton of skin removed (and remember skin doesn't weigh that much so unless they are cutting off fat or you're having lipo, your weight may not change much at all). i think when i sort of made peace with it and stopped obsessing my body found it own way and dropped some more pounds. the body is too complicated ot try and figure out! anyway those are some thoughts for whatever they're worth.....keep fighting the good fight! andrea

I'm really glad I found this board. It enjoy all of your posts because many of you sound just like me. I'm losing much, much more slowly & feel "stuck" at 170, too. I'm in a size 12 & my goal is a size 10. I like my body where it is now except for this tube around my belly & my love handles. Hopefully my TT & lipo next year will help that. My breast lift is 1 week from tomorrow. I don't have unrealistic expectations either. I am the healthiest I have ever been in my life. I usually average 1600-1900 calories a day and I work out 6 days a week. I refuse to eat less & I am too active to eat less. I am content here. It's like Andrea said, it's better than 280. I don't get stared at or worse yet, treated like I don't exist. I have more energy than I ever thought I would. I also agree that mixing up your routine can do wonders and it doesn't need to be an extreme change. I notice that if I don't do a particular exercise for a while, when I reintroduce it into my routine, my body responds. So, as you might guess, I have mixed up my routine yet again. Patience. That's what I keep telling myself. It's been 2 years and 8 months since I started so what's another year to lose the last 15 or 20. I can live with that. Take care, Juli

Andrea, Thanks for responding. I really like the "normalcy" of my program, because I don't like many choices. I like eating the same foods, never finding them boring. That being said, yeah, I'm sure shaking it up a little might be a good thing. But heck, I'm scared. I know, what a wimp. I just really think if I start changing I'm going to start gaining it back, and the thought of that brings me to tears. I guess perhaps along with the nutritionist I need to see a good therapist!!!! Dealing with these issues is really making me bonkers. I have exchanged obsessing about eating all the time, to negotiating and counseling myself in my head before I eat anything. Not only is it time consuming but energy draining as well. I have an issue with my knees so doing anything but the elliptical makes them scream. But that's just an excuse, LOL, because I can do a rowing machine or something else. I have changed my strength training program, so perhaps maybe the muscle is settling in. It's not that the scale hasn't moved, it's just stayed in the same area. I guess I should be a bit happy that it IS staying in the same area. In 2 months I gained 17 pounds -- before I started my program. So yeah, I'm thankful for the blessings, but always wanting more. I am resigned to the skin not weighing 30 pounds, LOL. I really don't have THAT much, what I do have is nasty, but not a huge panni that has a life of it's own. I imagine that is where a lot of the skin weight comes in. I'm thinking maybe 5-6 pounds, most of which will never show due to the swelling. Arrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhh, this journey is a bear. Thanks again Andrea, Donna

YES change is SOOOOOOOOOO scary! the worse is when my trainer would be telling me i needed to cut down on the cardio or when the nutritionist says to eat more. it just plugs into that basic fear that it will be so easy to sip back to where you came from. i just take comfort in the fact that i am TOO aware of what i'm doing to allow myself to get out of control. i have a "safe" weight range that is only about 5 lbs. if i go outside that, i flip out. again, not a healthy way of coping but i don't want to wait until its 15, 20 etc. I have had to learn to trust myself in this way - that is not possible for me to just suddenly wake up one day having gained 30 lbs. i personally think this is all about the head games, less so about food and exercise. i think a good therapist is just as, if not more, important than the trainer and nut on this journey. i am in the midst of writing my dissertation on binge eating - there is so much research out there on all this eating stuff. its crazy. do they have a Nu-Step at your gym? i know a lot of people with knee problems who use that machine. anyway, back to work.... andrea

Hi! I'm losing weight with Overeaters Anonymous, and I weigh myself once a month. I just weighed myself yesterday, and I've lost two pounds this month of July. Although that doesn't sound like much, I'm just happy to be losing. I probably would have done better if I hadn't eaten pizza this week, but I'm still happy anyway. I'll report in on my weight (which is now down to 291.50 pounds) next at the beginning of September. I weigh myself on the first Saturday of each month. Denise Phares

I gained 0.4 this week. I think the humidity of the Northeast had a lot to do with it. I am still not OK with this because this isn't the week I'm supposed to gain! I'll certainly remember to drink all my water this week!

Hi Dee, I just read your profile. Good for you on all your success so far!!! I see that you "gained" 0.4 this week. I remember being on WW about 6 months before I started my current program. I went the first week and lost 8 pounds. Yay is me. Well hello, went back the second week and gained 4. I hadn't done a thing differently. So the woman taking the money said "well you obviously enjoyed the loss the first week so you slacked off the second week." I could feel my sons hand on my arm holding me back as I prepared to leap over the counter and onto her throat. LOL I loved the leader, but the ladies at the desk in front left much to be desired. I ended up losing 29 pounds over 4 months, and then promptly gained it back!!! I love WW for so many reasons. It is probably the most well balanced program out there. But for me, any carbs are murder. I am thinking perhaps going to do the core program if I can't break this stall. We'll see. Again, congratulations on your successes so far! Donna