*.*Nuttily Nutricious November for MWL*.*

[mommy2princesses]

Lea - Absolutely beautiful picture!!! Gorgeous!

Stacy - I think I got skipped too when willpower was handed out....I have been eating cocoa almonds to fight the halloween candy urge and I have had way too many almonds! (It probably would've been less calories/carbs to just eat one damn snickers!)

Kelly - I have donated EVERY piece of clothing that I fit into when I started Medi almost 6 months ago (except for the outfit I had on at my 1st appt). I started wearing 22's and 2x....now 10/12 bottoms and L tops. Literally, I have needed everything new from bras/underwear to pj's to clothes. As I grew out of each size they got bagged up and out of my house right away - there was no keeping them for the comfort factor of needing them again...I WILL NOT need them again. Luckily I had saved a lot as I grew out of clothes sizes - so I did have a few basics on the way down to 14. As long as you have some basics in each size, you'll be fine. Try not to spend a lot because you'll want to shop like crazy when you reach goal (trust me, I'm addicted!). Goodwill wasn't an option near me - there's no "nice" ones, so Target was my friend...and sale/clearance. Good luck!!

Can you believe I have less than 10 lbs to go????? Crazy! I'm so excited, and scared, at the same time. Down 3 more lbs today at weigh-in, we talked about transition by the holidays - which was my ultimate goal for myself. She discussed how once in transition and starches become "allowed" it will be easier to incorporate some of those holiday foods (potatoes, carrots, gravy, etc) without the guilt of eating them - provided I stick to the amounts/servings.

I saw one of DH's cousins last week when I was out walking - he gave me a quick wave, which I thought nothing of because I was walking and didn't want to stop and talk anyway. He texted DH over the weekend to apologize for being rude to me because he didn't realize it was me until it was too late. I told him no apology needed - that's a compliment!!!

[Charlene4]

[QUOTE=mommy2princesses;14050793]

Stacy - I think I got skipped too when willpower was handed out....I have been eating cocoa almonds to fight the halloween candy urge and I have had way too many almonds! (It probably would've been less calories/carbs to just eat one damn snickers!)

QUOTE]


I second that. I tried to eat other things to forget about the candy....which worked....but I, too, thought, it would probably be less calories to eat one piece or two pieces....but the problem for me is that then I would remember the taste and get cravings again and then I'm screwed.

[Divadeb]

So much to catch up on after 2 weeks without posting! So happy to read everyone's successes, and get some inspiration. Had a great time in Vegas - indulged, but got back on the horse when I got back. Had a small gain last week (had some trouble avoiding the carbs in Sin City - I brought a little bit of Vegas back with me on my butt!!!), but I'm looking forward to WI on Friday to see where I am now.

I've been really trying to pay attention to my triggers and my hard-to-avoid foods. I definitely need to cut back on the snacking, even with good snacking I'm eating too much (love those almond slivers!).

Here's to a fabulous November and another successful month on Medi!!!

[Sshals]

Originally Posted by Ash347

Good Afternoon medi friends!
kelly and ann- how awesome to get rid of clothes that are too big! I have been kind of afraid too, I think i am afraid what if i fail and need them?? Does anyone else feel that way? I still end up wearing pants that are too big.

I know what you mean - it's okay to feel afraid. If you don't acknowledge what you fear, you risk letting it control you and it's not okay to let the fear dictate what you do! Get rid of the too big clothes immediately!!!!

You can keep your biggest shirt and pants for comparison later, but other than that - get rid of your too big stuff! And get some pants that fit. It will make you feel your success. There was one point where I was losing weight so quickly that I was going through my closet every two weeks and each time I dealt with a complicated mix of emotions. Well, actually it took some time for me to get to the deal with it part, but sometimes your feelings fail you and all you have is action.

Did I mention that new pants will show how small your butt is getting? Don't think. Just do. Purge. Get new pants. And congrats on your progress.

[Sshals]

It's funny that this month's thread already has a conversation going about lists, because I logged on to share a list. It's not about food don'ts (although that list is extremely important - and it turns out it is generally more effective to tell someone that you don't eat something rather than saying you can't - people have a lot more practice convincing others that they can than convincing them they do, but that's another post and now I've digressed ).

My list is kinda cool and potentially important, and I wish I had started it sooner, which is why I'm sharing it with you all. It's a list of things that are different as I get smaller. For those of you who remember being smaller, this might not be as profound. I have been overweight since junior high, so every pound I'm losing now is pretty much virgin territory. Anyway, the list is specific and includes dates and locations. For example:

11/01/10: Sitting in a leather lounge chair in a waiting room and realized there is enough room to sit comfortably with my large tote bag next to me (instead of having to put it on the floor or in my lap). Dave's Car Wash.

11/02/10: Knelt on the floor Japanese style and realized that my feet actually touch my butt now. Board Room.

Even though, it appears that my list is only about sitting* I think it's important. As I become more comfortable with my progress, I am realizing that there will be a time when I won't really remember what it was like being fat. Seriously. I'll look at old pictures and think "who is that person?". The connection will be broken and therein lies the danger.

If I start to take for granted all the things that are better now that I'm smaller, my vigilance might fade. But if I can close my eyes and remember how I felt the night I woke up, got out bed, dropped my glasses on the floor, swore, bent over to pick them up and suddenly found that picking up something off of the floor was easy** - well, then I'll know why my other list, the one that includes no french fries, pizza, or fast food, is worth having.

*There are lots of other things besides sitting - it's just that the ease and comfort of sitting has been a theme for me lately. My husband points out that I've lost more than a third grader, and so shouldn't be so surprised.

**I want to note that, until that moment in the night, I hadn't actually realized that picking up things off of the floor was hard. It took having the contrast of easy to know, which is why such a small thing was so startling to me.

[Mary T8M]

I STILL haven't budged off of the 160 on the scale ........I go weigh in tomorrow, and will be wanting some more ideas on what to do. I've basically done week 1 all week, and varied my calories, and foods daily. I've been drinking ONLY plain water (after my morning coffee) until I've gotten in 128 oz of it.
Today I've been "cold".....remember I'm in Florida and it's been in the 80's.....and HUNGRY all day. I've been proud of how I've controlled my hunger today, but I'm ready for apple!

[kelly4me]

Sshals - I had one of those moments today. My son wanted me to ride this little train thing with him and I was able to say "Sure!" and we both fit in the seat with room to spare. It felt so good!

[mommy2princesses]

Originally Posted by Sshals

11/02/10: Knelt on the floor Japanese style and realized that my feet actually touch my butt now. Board Room.

One of my favorites is how EASY it is to get up off the floor when kneeling down.....now I'm up as fast as my kids are! Your list is a great idea, I never want to forget how it felt to be fat - there are so many reasons why I don't ever want to be that again.

[Fit2010]

Horray Mary for your decision that if you were going to "blow" it, it would be for an apple. Have you had your thyroid levels checked lately? Your body has had to adjust over and over again to your wonderful weight loss. I think your metabolism is trying to hold on to your fat/calories so that you cannot truly starve yourself, or so your body thinks that's what you're trying to do. Your thyroid may have readjusted.

Sshals - Good to hear from you again! I'm so glad you're sticking with it and enjoying all the successes of the NEW YOU! I'm so happy for you!

Keri - Congratulations on your loss this week! Whoo Hoo!! Gotta feel great! I'm sure you'll be at your goal very soon. It's gotta be so awesome to be able to exercise year-round in Florida....I'm jealous! Today I got out and ran at 5pm, clear blue skies, sun shining bright, and scarf over my mouth due to cooler air. Just how cool was it? 65 degrees! I'm such a weenie for complaining about cool air going down my windpipe in big gulps of air that's not at 70 degrees or more! Ha! We'll see if I'm able to keep at this at 55 degrees. (My dad was in the Air Force and I was primarily raised in Hawaii and California. Yes I've lived in KS for the past 2 decades, but as it got cooler I'd just give up exercising. I don't want to give up exercising....remember, I'm Fit2010!)

[Fit2010]

Add to the list: I no longer have to chew antacids just to try to get comfortable enough to sleep. Also, I no longer feel like I'm moving what felt like an 8 month pregnant belly (but was really a large, large omentum) when I go from laying on my side to my back in bed, therefore too my lower back doesn't go out of place and I don't need to see my chiropractor as frequently!! In addition, I enjoy clothes shopping now, and can leave actually having purchased something! (Instead of squinting my eyes, tilting my head, and trying to tell myself if I look with THIS angle it looks kinda alright.....now I can see it looks good, and in pretty much any view!!!!!)

[think-skinny]

It is so awesome to read everybodys successes. You are all diong really great and I hope that at weigh-in on Friday I will have more good news to report as well. My last weigh-in took me into the 160's (167 to be exact). I haven't been this size for at least 12 years. I even tried on some pants that were given to me a couple of months ago (size 14) and they FIT! I haven't fit a 14 since I was in high school. Over the weekend I helped a friend of mine with a garage sale and she told me to look through the clothes she was selling to see if anything would fit. I waited until the sale was over to really look at anything because I didn't want to rob anyone else of a blessing. She just started handing me stuff to take with me (shirts, pants, sweaters, skirts, etc.). I went ahead and paid her but she didn't want much for them. The sizes of shirts ranged from xl (which are now too big) down to a few mediums (some fit now) and pants from 16 (too big, yea) down to size 10's (something to work towards). I feel so blessed to have a great friend who basically just handed over her wardrobe to me.

My energy has increased and I find that doing things like jumping up and down are coming so much easier to me without the hurting all over my body. Laying down on the floor wrestling with my boys is so much easier. Exercising is so much easier, WOW!

It feels so great to finally be somewhere where I have not realized before now that I could be. I hope with the month of November that I will be able to say goodbye to the 160's and Hello to the 150's.

Keep up the great work everybody. This is such an awesome new way of life for me. I am still in shock!

[Fit2010]

Stephany - I'm so happy for you! In a few weeks to months YOU'LL be the one blessing someone with giving them the clothes. It wasn't til you wrote that I remember that I blessed friends at church with my clothes, mainly the shirts though because the jeans were so worn! Your friend just wanted to bless you, how awesome!

[Sshals]

Originally Posted by mommy2princesses

Can you believe I have less than 10 lbs to go????? Crazy! I'm so excited, and scared, at the same time. Down 3 more lbs today at weigh-in, we talked about transition by the holidays - which was my ultimate goal for myself. She discussed how once in transition and starches become "allowed" it will be easier to incorporate some of those holiday foods (potatoes, carrots, gravy, etc) without the guilt of eating them - provided I stick to the amounts/servings.

I can believe it! You have done so well and am I extremely happy for you. I like your new avatar too I am sure you will approach your transition just as solidly as you've approach the program and I look forward to hearing about your continued successes.

[Sshals]

Originally Posted by Fit2010

Sshals - Good to hear from you again! I'm so glad you're sticking with it and enjoying all the successes of the NEW YOU! I'm so happy for you!

Thank you! It's good to be back. So many have had wonderful successes and there are a lot of new faces too! And new avatars - you look terrific

I have been sticking with the plan the whole time in terms of foods I eat, but have been on a sort of maintenance for several weeks. It's the strangest thing, and I never in a million years thought I would say this, I lost so much weight so quickly that I really needed to pause and take some time to wrap my head around it. What's been so great about it is that I've been able to maintain fairly effortlessly. It would seem that my body is happy subsisting on meats, veggies, and fruits.

I have made it to a place mentally where I'm ready to focus on shedding pounds again and I'm looking forward to seeing new numbers on the scale. I weigh now what I weighed in 1991, and am excited to turn back the clock even further!

[lins]

I haven't been around in forever. With Halloween, and today is my daughter's 8th birthday, with party this weekend I have been crazy busy. But I wanted top pop on and say that I am holding strong right around 130-133, which the clinic told me is very normal. It changes from day to day due to water, but if it goes above 133 then I cut back for a day or two and/or increase my excersize. Now that I have an good eating pattern going, I find it pretty easy to watch my weight. Some days I eat more, but I try to follow that with days that I eat less, or I increase my exercise on those days and it all evens out week to week. It's a daily struggle, that I will deal with for the rest of my life, but most of the time it's managable. The hardest is the week of TOM, where I eat too much and am hormonal so I make more of a big deal of it than I should, but I am learning to just hang in there and it will all go back down, and I will feel better about it soon.

Best of luck to all of those just getting started and those of you nearing maintance and everyone in between. This truly is "the one that works".

[AnnK]

Originally Posted by Sshals

Thank you! It's good to be back. So many have had wonderful successes and there are a lot of new faces too! And new avatars - you look terrific

I have been sticking with the plan the whole time in terms of foods I eat, but have been on a sort of maintenance for several weeks. It's the strangest thing, and I never in a million years thought I would say this, I lost so much weight so quickly that I really needed to pause and take some time to wrap my head around it. What's been so great about it is that I've been able to maintain fairly effortlessly. It would seem that my body is happy subsisting on meats, veggies, and fruits.

I have made it to a place mentally where I'm ready to focus on shedding pounds again and I'm looking forward to seeing new numbers on the scale. I weigh now what I weighed in 1991, and am excited to turn back the clock even further!

Thanks for sharing your longterm success, Sshals! I have one to add to the list ~ I can cross my legs in a "ladylike" position quite comfortably!
Your words made me think about watching a bit of the "Biggest Loser" last night. They were at Camp Pendelton in a type of fat people's boot camp. It looked so darn HARD... I said to my DH, "Or, they could do it the easy way at Medi, like I am!" It was the first time I'd thought of this program as "easy," and maybe it's that it works with normal efforts put forth. So many other approaches don't work longterm.

[mommy2princesses]

Lins - so glad everything is going well for you, and you're right - this really is the one that works!

Ann - Look at you girl, woo-hoo!!! Love the new picture! I thought that last night watching Biggest Loswer - I really would like to know what daily food intake is for all of them at the Ranch though, because I'm always curious about that. Medi works because we can do it with normal effort, it fits into our daily life....which means we have no excuse for it not to work!

Sshals - I am still trying to wrap my head around the weight loss, 85 lbs in less than 6 months...I am a completely different person to look at, yet my mind isn't quite there yet. Sometimes I still get amazed when I look at my reflection, or when my husband wraps his arms around me and lifts me off the ground...our brains just need to catch up sometimes! Who would've ever thought our bodies really liked eating meats, veggies & fruit????

Brrrr.....its cold here in New England today. I brought my 2 y.o. to my moms so I could walk this morning, 26 degrees and she's battling a cold - I figured it was best if she stayed inside. I think I need to buy a few more Under Armour things...it was a little chilly with my layers on, but definitely warmed up once I started jogging. I had no idea how far I was jogging since I went around my parents house, later checked in the car.....1.3 miles!! That's my farthest yet! I was so excited! Looking around at some 10K's here in the spring - really want to do one, but first I need to convince someone to do it with me (DH just laughed, I think my brother may be my "training" buddy!).

[David Showers]

Originally Posted by staceymk

Hello everybody,

I came across these forums last week after signing up at Medi and wanted to introduce myself, and not just be a lurker.

I started a week and a half ago, and had a great first week. I was down 9.8 pounds and feeling fantastic about the plan and the eating and everything. My energy level was up and I hadn't been hungry at all that week.

Interestingly, my clinic told me (and their hand outs say so too) that during the first week I should mainly eat protein, but that I could also have up to 20 carbs per day. They suggested I just focus on keeping the carbs below 20, eating a variety of proteins and just letting the calories be whatever they turned out to be. Most days during week one I was between 1,000-1,300 calories with 15 or so carbs.

This week though, week two, they've said to limit myself to 800 calories and 10-15 carbs. And let me tell you, I can feel the difference - and it's not good. After 4 days of this I'm grouchy, tired and stressed that it's hard to stretch 800 calories over 5 mini-meals. I didn't feel this way at all during week one! I've only managed to do 800 calories twice and the other two days I was closer to 1,000, but I did keep the carbs below 15 all four days.

Did/do you guys experience this? Is it normal for the medi staff to give you different caloric/carb goals for different weeks?

Just wondering about all of this. It's still new to me! Like, I've read on here various people doing "600 calories of protein" but then how many other calories from other foods add to that to get the total for the day?

Thanks! I'm still excited about Medi, I just want to understand why they'd change my plan for week two if week one was working!

Stacey

I'm doing between 500 and 600 calories a day counting everything. I wasn't told that the calories only applied to protein. I eat 1/2 cup of cooked vegies a day and try to stay below 15 carbs. 10 pounds lost the first week and 3 the second. The stay slim pills work well for me as I don't have any hunger pains.

[David Showers]

Originally Posted by diertac

You know, there really ought to be a clothes swap site on weight loss forums, where local people can swap out all their clothes with other people for different sizes!

I myself have a stack of size 14 slacks and size 12 pants that I don't want. My rule is that I must be able to fit into the clothing before I give it away... So, I've got all my 12's out of my closet and I've been trying them on. As stuff fits, I decide if I want to keep it or not. Right now I'm getting rid of about half the 12's because they're either not that high quality, or I just don't like the clothing.

My biggest problem is work slacks. Seems the last time I was a size 10, I was big on wearing khaki pants to work. I have tons of Dockers. Now I work in a more formal job and I wear fancier pants, of which I have no smaller sizes. Last week I had to ROLL the waist band over on my work pants in order to keep them from falling down! (The pants in question are attached in the photo.)

I've been budgeting $30 here or there to get a pair of slacks when each pair gets too small. I buy mine at Dillard's, but I'm only buying 1 pair of black, and 1 pair of these brown/black type that can go with brown or black shoes. I figure I'll wear my new size 12 slacks (Finally had to buy them last Friday) until THEY get to the point that I have to roll the waistband over, and then I'll splurge on the size 10's. Wish I could just return 'em. They're not being worn that long, honest!

I am a professional web developer (sites like PopSci - SpaMagazine - Saveur). Anyway, I really like the idea of a clothing swap site and it's something I could easily build. My wife lost over 100 pounds last year on weight watchers and had the same problem with her clothes. It's even harder for me as a guy.

Would you guys really use something like this?

[Divadeb]

What was I thinking?!? When I bought the Halloween candy I bought my favorites, and now they taunt me from the front hall! Not the brightest move on my part! So last night I took the ones that were freeze-able and tucked them away in the back so I wouldn't see them. The others will be quickly consumed by the DH and the DD's, and I expect will be gone by the weekend. Anything that is left is going in the trash!

I have to admit that I did partake of some candy. I was going to limit myself to one Twix (absolute all time fav); I convinced myself that it would be okay, and ate it right after I bought it in the car on the way home! Hmm... who was I hiding from?! Later that night after trick-or-treating with my DDs I shared a second one with my DH. It wasn't all bad tho - when he asked me to share and I handed it over, he was really surprised. Told me that he couldn't believe I was giving it up so easily, and "you really ARE changing your eating habits".

[Paulyesthers]

Hello All! Great stories today - I love the lists of things you can do now!

Clothing swap sounds fantastic. I'm in TX and haven't seen anyone else from that area - but we should talk to our medi clinics to see if they might donate a space we can use to drop them off and let anyone take them. Fantastic idea!! I'm an interior designer so I have to be "in style" but it's hard to purchase clothes every few weeks!

[Divadeb]

One more for the lists -

I actually LIKE to put on pants right out of the dryer!!! I had stretched my clothes to the absolute limit (refusing to go up another size), and jeans right out of the dryer were NOT my friend! Now, it's the only time they fit!!!

Speaking of sizes, there was discussion awhile ago about how varied the sizes of clothes are - big 16's and small 18's, etc... also talk of taking awhile to get down to a smaller size despite weight loss. My clothes are definitely stretched out. All my pants are baggy, but the next size down is still just a wee bit too tight. It's a little frustrating - there is definitely a thrill to putting on a small size, and I don't think I necessarily look any smaller despite a 16lb weight loss. But I try them on weekly, and someday soon... !

[afunfish]

so funny the topic of clothes is going on, I am ripping through my closet getting rid of clothing that no longer fits, everything is to big, and it is not even worth to take all of it in, I saved a few good things of course that I can. I will be donating them. I have to agree that it is taking my mind longer to catch up with the weight I lost. I am wearing the same clothes that I wore 34lbs ago and they are just so bagging but I do not notice. Everyone at work is like why are you wearing these clothes they are so big on you.

I brought the rest of my Halloween candy to work I just could not look at the bag anymore. lol

Hope everyone is having a good week!

[Mary T8M]

YAHOO, WHOOPEE, HURRAY, YIPPEE!
I've broken my stall!!!! Just in time for my weigh-in today! I lost 3 pounds.....ALL fat! My water was the same as last week! I feel SO much better! I have one more pound to go to get to my next mini goal of 158, and to be able to change my avatar!

Today DH & I donated blood, at a BIG fund raiser in town. We ran into an acquaintance (former friend) we haven't seen for quite a while, and he didn't recognize us! You could tell he thought we looked familar, but couldn't "place" us........HOW FUNNY

[ericak44]

I LOVE all of the success stories. Thanks for sharing!

My medi center did a clothing swap. I didn't partake as I was only on week 2 so I didn't have much to swap. I am going to WI tomorrow and will find out how successful it was.

Sshals- Thanks for sharing your list of NSVs (Non-Scale Victories). These are so much more important than the number on the scale. I can also appreciate the time to adjust to your new body. I have lost 18lbs. and it happened so fast, I have been trying to wrap myself around it. I used to use food as a method of coping for stress, etc and sometimes the true emotions that are not burried under food come up and I am working on finding new ways to deal with them. Any self-esteem issues were always blamed on my weight and now that the weight is going away, I have to face my moments that lack self-esteem. It is a lifestyle and process, eh?


I am also thankful to be able to really cross my legs, my pants to be falling down because the waste is loose and not because the thigh area is so snug that it is winning the tug o'war with the waist band. I am thankful that I can put on some of my more generously cut size 12 jeans and butten them without effort. I had to put an extra hole in my belt yesterday, on the small side in order to keep my pants up and wear the belt. I looked in the mirror yesterday and my muffin top is almost gone already! I measured my waist and I lost close to 4 inches in one month. I am actually looking forward to purchasing a pair of black leggings and a pair of riding boots because they will look cute on me and I am only half way to my weight goal.

I am a little over a month into Medi and the plan and I had a tough weekend but I am completely back on track and I have learned from my choices and look forward to making better ones in the future.

[ericak44]

diertac- The highest protein calorie plan I have heard of anyone being on is 600 and they have you on 800-900? I am guessing that they expect this to compensate for your serious workouts? I don't exercise nearly as much as you do tend to add a few calories or the allowed snacks on the days that I work out. The program is designed to encourage exercise 2-3 days/week. They get all nervous if I tell them I did more than that or lift weights. I would say if you are still losing at an acceptable rate for you, burning fat and not losing lean body mass, keep doing it. You look great by the way and I also under stand you frusteration with clothes that are too big. Thankfully, right now, I have a whole wardrobe of clothes that were too small pre-medi and are fitting well right now. Not sure what I will do when I size down.

[tydreamer]

Originally Posted by Mary T8M

YAHOO, WHOOPEE, HURRAY, YIPPEE!
I've broken my stall!!!! Just in time for my weigh-in today! I lost 3 pounds.....ALL fat! My water was the same as last week! I feel SO much better! I have one more pound to go to get to my next mini goal of 158, and to be able to change my avatar!

Today DH & I donated blood, at a BIG fund raiser in town. We ran into an acquaintance (former friend) we haven't seen for quite a while, and he didn't recognize us! You could tell he thought we looked familar, but couldn't "place" us........HOW FUNNY

WAY TO GO, MARY!!!! I knew you had your weigh in today and wanted to sign on real quick to see your results. SO glad I did. Congrats on your hard work! You really deserve it. I'm so happy for you!!

[mommy2princesses]

Originally Posted by Mary T8M

YAHOO, WHOOPEE, HURRAY, YIPPEE!
I've broken my stall!!!! Just in time for my weigh-in today! I lost 3 pounds.....ALL fat! My water was the same as last week! I feel SO much better! I have one more pound to go to get to my next mini goal of 158, and to be able to change my avatar!

Today DH & I donated blood, at a BIG fund raiser in town. We ran into an acquaintance (former friend) we haven't seen for quite a while, and he didn't recognize us! You could tell he thought we looked familar, but couldn't "place" us........HOW FUNNY

Woo-Hoo!!! (I too, like Lea, had to check to see how you did!). So happy for you!

Don't you love those looks of "I know I know you, but can't figure out how" - or the "You look SO different" comment!

Good for you donating blood too...DH and I used to do that all the time, its been a while since I did and always feel guilty when I see the signs (but taking in a 2 y.o. just doesn't seem like a good idea!). Maybe that should be a pre-Thanksgiving goal for myself....I am lucky to have so many things in my life to be thankful for, donating a pint of blood might help someone else out in their time of need.

A good friend of mine has put on her facebook page that each day from now until Thanksgiving she (and anyone else who wants to post with her) will be putting something she is thankful for. I love the idea and really am going to try each day to take the time to name out loud something I am thankful for that day. Doesn't seem like we do this often enough.

[Fit2010]

I love all the conversations going on in this forum right now. It's deja vu of what several of us were feeling within the past 3 months....and going slower helped me to get better used to how I look and feel. I really love my clothes! I have no intention of going up the scales again! I do see that in the past couple weeks since DD announced upcoming wedding and all the concerns that go along with that wonderful, happy event, have the twist of being long distance and out of reach from all of the family AND the couple....I know it will all work out but my tendency is to comfort my anxiety feelings. What have I learned? I've been learning I totally need to be prepared always with READY foods that are Medi friendly. I work 30 mins from home and being away, thinking I'll eat something safe "on the way" and not pack leads to fast food choices and eating in the car on the road. That is tough to admit because it makes such a productive use of time, so I think, but I can take Medi friendly food and have it enroute home too....it's just not as varied (or as carb-filled). I need to splurge on buying myself what I need prepackaged from the grocery store, afterall, I may be spending that much at the fast food to go window anyways! I could buy prepackaged cheese slices and beef jerky, etc. I remember even eating tuna salad in a plastic tupperware container several months ago in the car....time to do that again. I also have learned that with my Insulin Resistance and Metformin I CANNOT go more than 3 1/2 hours without eating during the day, I just get too hungry come the next opportunity to eat.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how they've changed their commute/car time eating? Or does anyone else have this issue? I think a conversation of suggestions will help all of us!

Keri - I'm sorry, I think I'd previously written that I thought you lived in Florida. Guess I had you mixed up with someone else, perhaps Lins. Cannot believe you're running in 26 degree weather! I'm definitely a weenie here!!

Mary - Congratulations!!! I'mglad whatou did worked for you and that I didn't "mess" you up. How funny that your friend looked at you and didn't recognize you or DH at first!!

David - Congratulations on your weight loss. Good job!

[Fit2010]

Mary and Keri - There has been a shortage of blood lately, particularly platelets. Keri, what a WONDERFUL idea to go in and donate blood to show we are THANKFUL during this time! I'm going to suggest that idea to friends and classmates online!

For years my husband has said he'd quite smoking when I lost my weight. Well, a couple weeks ago I lovingly told him that this would be a good time to quite...and that I've done a program (Medi) that works so I know I won't be going up the scales again. He's seen my change in fitness. So, just 30 minutes ago he asked when the Great American Smokeout is....I googled it and it's November 18th. Keep me in your thoughts as DH goes through withdrawal!!! I need to definitely PLAN my eating during that potential anxiety producing time!