From Wheelchair to Tae-Bo...

[AuntieMame]

Originally Posted by FaithM.

It is humbling to me that anyone would consider me an inspiration

Duh. You are definitely an inspiration!!

I should be "OK, you can eat no matter what so long as it is LC and on plan".

Definitely!! I get lost in the details sometimes, but the main thing to remember is as long as you are eating LC you are doing the right thing!!

I think I never completely forgave myself for screwing up my plan way back last November

I had that problem, too. I was great for 3 weeks in January then from 1/21 to 3/1 I was totally offplan. It took me a long time to forgive myself. Then, I decided maybe I wasn't offplan. Maybe that was just part of my journey. That made all the difference. Maybe re-define your experience.
I learned a lot in those 6 or so weeks. And, it completely changed my attitude - now, when I eat off-plan it's not an off-day. It's just another day in my journey. A not-so-great day, but a day none the less.

[Blondie Baby]

Glad to hear that your QOD fasting day went well! Sounds like you are learning to lighten up on yourself! I'm doing fine. Wasn't able to start fasting this week. There is only one store in this city that sells pure maple syrup and I didn't make it there. I'll be in that area tonight when I take kitty to the vet so I'll be able to get my supplies. Then I plan to start next Sunday. I swear sometimes I'm OCD!!!! I have to have everything planned and organized or I can't do anything!

Did you try to the cucumbers, Faith? Think I'm gonna make some tonight for work tomorrow!

And, it completely changed my attitude - now, when I eat off-plan it's not an off-day. It's just another day in my journey. A not-so-great day, but a day none the less

ITA agree Dixie!!!!!!

[FaithM.]

Originally Posted by nicsweed

HAPPY SUNDAY FAITH!! WHENEVER I FAST I FAST WITH WATER, I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE ATKINS SHAKES TO SUPPLEMENT MEALS, I THINK I AM GONNA TRY IT EXCEPT.....WHEN I LAST TASTED THE VANILLA ATKINS SHAKE.....I DONT THINK I LIKED IT, SO WHAT IS THE MAGICAL FLAVOR YOU LIKE, AND WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT MIX IT WITH WATER ICE, OR ????
I COME BY AND CHECK IN ON YA TOMORROW SWETTIE! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!-NICOLE

P.S. DO YOU HAVE MYSPACE?

Hey there Girl!! How are things going with you? I love waterfasting when I feel I've the strength for it (needless to say that's been a long time, lol!). What is the longest you have waterfasted, btw? You said you'd once lost 70 lbs. in 3 months which is outstanding!

On the shakes, I like pretty much all of them but Chocolate Royale is my favorite and next to that is the vanilla actually. Since you don't care for the vanilla you may find this kind of gross but I like making what I call my "Cafe Latte" which is simply mixing the vanilla in with my coffee and adding some splenda and cinnamon. Other times I'll just chill and sip it straight out of the can. The colder the better.

[FaithM.]

Thanks so much, Dixie! It really is hard for me to think of myself as an inspiration. Sure, I've lost a lot of my weight but then when I think of the unconventional approach I continued with after my first 50 lbs. I consider that which wasn't done in the "proper" and "slow and steady" fashion must not be considered by many to be all that inspirational. I sacrificed times 10 to get where I am though. Not tooting my own horn or trying to come off as vain or anything but to some it may have seemed like the easy way out but fasting and low cal/low fat is not easy! Guess I still feel the need to defend myself sometimes, ya know? There is a ton of reasons why I did things the way I did. OK I'll shut up now, lol!

Originally Posted by AuntieMame

Then, I decided maybe I wasn't offplan. Maybe that was just part of my journey. That made all the difference. Maybe re-define your experience.
I learned a lot in those 6 or so weeks. And, it completely changed my attitude - now, when I eat off-plan it's not an off-day. It's just another day in my journey. A not-so-great day, but a day none the less.

Wow! You said exactly what I've thought to myself many times: that this going "off plan" might not necessarily be "cheating" but just my personal WOE and how I have slid into it. I believe this is pre-maintenance to me really. It is being unrealistic to think eating "perfect" is going to happen, not the way I often considered it anyway. I know I'm sort of just jabbering here but I just found it really cool that I'm not the only one who looked at it that way. I am not going to someday miraculously "be there", I already "am there". This is it. This is how I eat. I simply have to control the negative attitude and stop jumping off the highest end of a tall cliff. Have to stop torturing myself!

ETA: I just pasted a copy down further below from a different journal of mine about this same topic. We must be soul sisters!

[FaithM.]

Originally Posted by Blondie Baby

Glad to hear that your QOD fasting day went well! Sounds like you are learning to lighten up on yourself! I'm doing fine. Wasn't able to start fasting this week. There is only one store in this city that sells pure maple syrup and I didn't make it there. I'll be in that area tonight when I take kitty to the vet so I'll be able to get my supplies. Then I plan to start next Sunday. I swear sometimes I'm OCD!!!! I have to have everything planned and organized or I can't do anything!

Did you try to the cucumbers, Faith? Think I'm gonna make some tonight for work tomorrow!

ITA agree Dixie!!!!!!

Thanks, Maryam! I am trying to lighten up a little but somedays I do better than others. Guess we all have times like that! I understand with the fasting. I know once you get everything gathered and situated you will be on your way!

Oh, I haven't tried the cucumber recipe yet. I've been trying to stick with M/E on my QOD plan. I'm staying flexible though so I won't go too crazy if I feel like eating a veggie or two.

[FaithM.]

Just completed my ON day. Tomorrow I will be liquid fasting again.

Sunday:

B -- turkey-mayo rollups
shredded cheddar

S -- cottage cheese

L -- grilled flounder w/mayo

D -- chicken fillet (Bumblebee, pre-pkg)

S -- scrambled eggs w/mayo & 1 carb ketchup (this was SO good! )

S -- sl. american cheese
vienna weiners

BEVS:
water, 104 oz
3 coffees w/half & half, splenda
diet big red vanilla float

WORKOUT? Y...Dance Dance Revolution

WT: 183

[FaithM.]

I just wanted to share this other piece from one of my private journals. This is just to "prove" how spot on Dixie's words were for me. I wrote this 4 months ago! (I just didn't listen to myself, lol!)

Friday, March 2, 2007

I thought about this and actually think that a monthly update thing is a cool idea. So I will "check in" and write about my goals and plans, etc. for the new month and what did or didn't get accomplished. My eating plan is a slow and go process, never a perfection. I have to constantly revise it as my wishes and desires often turn out to be so different from what I am really needing at the time. Not saying it ever hurts to dream big, however, I can't constantly do "start-overs", planning accordingly for what I think I must do differently because I wasn't "on point" on any given day. I think I must just accept that no matter the choices I make, whether good or bad, that this is my WOE...I am in it. For all the good days and all of the bad. Now, how is that for reflective, lol!


Okay, so that is pretty much where my mind has been lately and where it has remained. I think of not much else but how to achieve my weightloss goal and plot just what I should do to get out of this 3 month void I've been trapped in. Still much better than weighing 2 lbs. from 300 but not quite good enough to satisfy this gal. Sorry, but I have come way too far than to just settle! Uh uh, ain't happenin' here! However, in my haste to get what I do want I end up setting myself back even further. So therefore, this month is going to be spent focusing on consistency, improving my health and my self. Yes, even if it takes longer than I want it to. Trust me, in the long run I believe I'll be doing myself more of a favor than anything. So here's to a Happy, Productive, and Peaceful March!

[AuntieMame]

Originally Posted by FaithM.

On the shakes, I like pretty much all of them but Chocolate Royale is my favorite... The colder the better.

ITA!! I haven't had a shake all year. I've used them in the past, but not this time. But, reading this made me think instead of struggling with my milk obsession/craving during PMS/TOM I'm going to get some shakes and drink those. I bet they will hit the spot.

Originally Posted by FaithM.

Thanks so much, Dixie! It really is hard for me to think of myself as an inspiration.

You definitely are!!!

I consider that which wasn't done in the "proper" and "slow and steady" fashion must not be considered by many to be all that inspirational.

Well, they're wrong. It is hard. Losing weight is hard. Keeping it off is hard. Period. No matter what the method. And, you chose the right path for you, right? I am definitely

I sacrificed times 10 to get where I am though. Not tooting my own horn or trying to come off as vain or anything

You should be toot, toot, tooting your own horn! You should be proud of all that you have accomplished!!

but to some it may have seemed like the easy way out but fasting and low cal/low fat is not easy!

I don't know how anyone could think it was the easy way out. It is hard!!

Wow! You said exactly what I've thought to myself many times: that this going "off plan" might not necessarily be "cheating" but just my personal WOE and how I have slid into it.

Exactly!! This is your WOE.

It is being unrealistic to think eating "perfect" is going to happen, not the way I often considered it anyway.

I am the same way. I have this "ideal" of what I should be doing. The "perfect" way of eating, but I have yet to spend a day eating that way. I will NEVER be that "perfect" WOE person.

I just found it really cool that I'm not the only one who looked at it that way. I am not going to someday miraculously "be there", I already "am there". This is it. This is how I eat.

We are definitely both "there." This is it. For better or worse this is my WOE so "cheats" don't really even come into the picture.

I simply have to control the negative attitude and stop jumping off the highest end of a tall cliff. Have to stop torturing myself!

YES!! You definitely need to do this.

We must be soul sisters!

Oh, yeah.

Great journal entry!!

[Tracey40]

Faith - Once off your WOE it is hard to get back on, but you will. Maybe you need to allow yourself something each day (maybe LC cheesecake or ??), no sacrfice so therefore you wouldn't be tempted by something else? I know you said LC works for you but sometimes you just have to allow yourself some time, not try to hard and it will come - ya know? I've beaten myself up over this same thing and it seems to get worse instead of better.

You'll do it! You are also under alot of pressure with a possible move, 5 kids to take care of etc....

[nicsweed]

hey faith!!!! well i used to water-fast from friday night till sunday and eat mon-friday!!! LOL! I would sometimes get hungry and eat a carrot or a peice of fruit(strawberry)! and then eat low carb the rest of the week....it worked good till i meet my hubby....that brat.....it is a bad thing because he like's "big girl's", but omg i dont wat to be a "biggen" any longer!!!1 WTH!

how long do you do your shake fasting looks like you do it every other day?!

[nicsweed]

P.S WHAT ABOUT AMAZE RX....EVER HEARD OF IT I SAW IT ON A LATE NIGHT INFOMERCIAL AND IT IS LOW CARB....JUST WONDERED HOW IT TASTED?....HAPPY MONDAY.....THANKGOODNESS IT IS OVER, OK I AM OFF TO WATER-AEROBICS.....ITS MY WAY OF EXPRESSING MYSELF 4 NIGHT OUT OF THE WEEK!

[FaithM.]

My friends!! You all have such wonderful ways of making me feel so much better after a really long day.

I have a bit of a headache from my fast today so I am really looking forward to breakfast in the morning! I didn't do any shakes today for my OFF day, I stuck with just water and green tea. I figured one day without the coffee, cream, and sodas, etc. would be a good thing. Having had no caffeine all day is probably the main reason for my headache because on a normal fasting day I'm fine.

Dixie, you are a genuine soul! After reading your responses I am like... because this is such an emotional journey (for us all) yet it is easy to feel so alone and worry that so much of our efforts are in vain. It feels nice to be reminded that none of what we go thru is...ever! It is all a learning process.

Tracey, I think too that I have been trying too hard rather than relaxing and allowing things in this WOE to take a natural rhythm. I think I will find a happy medium again somewhere in the midst of all this craziness! Like, "no deprivation" with just a little bit of moderation.

Nicole, currently I'm doing a variation of fasting known as QOD which basically is eating every other day. You still get 300-400 cals on the fasting day so I've been doing the lc shakes. In the past I always just alternated straight fasting with my LC plan though so I've been known to modify. I've never heard of Amaze Rx. Is it some type of supplement?

I understand about the hubby thing! If mine knew I ever fasted as much as I did he'd be giving me a real talkin' to, LOL! So I've always done less of it whenever he is around. When he is home I am always wanting to eat anyway for some strange subconscious reason.


Well here's my day...

Monday:

**liquid fast

BEVS:
water, 104 oz
grn tea packets, 3

WORKOUT? N

WT: 182...hate the number 8

[Blondie Baby]

Faith you sound much more upbeat than you did! Great work on the fasting. And I can tell you for sure that the headache is from caffiene withdrawal. I always have a splitting headache the first few days of Ramadan (our fasting month) because of not getting my morning coffee and afternoon tea!!!!

Its funny that you want to eat around your DH!!!! I think I was like that with my ex-husband. But with BF, I never really want to eat. I think it is because he is very health conscious and physically fit and he doesn't eat unless he is REALLY hungry. So eating - going to dinner, snacking, stopping for ice cream, that kind of thing, has never been part of our relationship. We go running on the Corniche, dancing, take the kids rollerblading, hiking, things like that. Just my 2 cents!!!!!

BTW - Have you started your reward program yet? My dd's and discussed it and they said tell you DON'T GET A PERM!!!! Straight hair is all the rage now!!!!

[FaithM.]

Originally Posted by Blondie Baby

BTW - Have you started your reward program yet? My dd's and discussed it and they said tell you DON'T GET A PERM!!!! Straight hair is all the rage now!!!!

Not yet but I have stayed faithful to my Program for Procrastinators! I need to get on the ball with that reward system though, really!
So, no perm? My hair is so flat it is blah! It would be nice to have a little bit of body and bounce without the "Big 80's Hair" look though (think I mentioned something about that somewhere up above, lol).


I think the reason I tend to eat more around DH stems from the hectic way our family life has always been. Even way back from the beginning of our marriage we spent 90 percent of the time apart due to jobs so it was mostly during mealtimes when we did a lot of our catching up. As you can see, things haven't really changed all that much! Funny thing is, he is just like your DH. Very physically fit, no problems with weight or any weird food phobias (except for seafood ).

[Blondie Baby]

[quote=FaithM.;8889217]So, no perm? My hair is so flat it is blah! It would be nice to have a little bit of body and bounce without the "Big 80's Hair" look though (think I mentioned something about that somewhere up above, lol).QUOTE]

That's it. Super straight hair (think 60's Cher hair) is in now. All, ALL, my girls have got lots of curl and they ALL hate it. My eldest dd actually uses a straightener on hers! My hair is super straight and I would pay money to have their bounce and body!

Congrats on staying faithful to your program! You are doing great!

[Jake]

You're doing good Faith! Keep it up!

[FaithM.]

Thank you, Jake! You're not doing too shabby yourself!

Today was, of course, my ON day and I took well advantage of it but stuck to plan which is my one true goal right now, just to simplify things. My headache is gone now but I ended up giving in and taking Motrin earlier this evening as I was feeling so horrible through most of the day and was barely even functioning. Even after my beloved cups of coffee!

Tuesday:

B -- 2 sl. american cheese

S -- steakumms, 2 sl.

L -- grilled chicken breast w/ranch

S -- bacon-egg salad
sl. american cheese
kosher dill spear

D -- turkey-mayo cheddar "wrap" (chs hardened in microwave)

S -- turkey burger
sl. american cheese

S -- egg salad and turkey-mayo rollups (couple of hours ago--really too late to be eating but I decided as long as it's LC and OP it is OK)

BEVS:
water, 96 oz
2 coffees, half & half, splenda
diet dp "float" (w/h&h in place of cream)

WORKOUT? a little DDR

WT: 178

[FaithM.]

Well, I was going to go around and do some more reading and posting but I see my computer is running on ultra-slow for some odd reason and acting like it's going to freeze up on me. Who knows, probably all the crap we have downloaded on it!

Guess I wait and do my catching up tomorrow. Just to let you guys know...I am thinking of you all!

[FaithM.]

OK so my computer is doing okay now. Sometimes this thing is just like me, falls into a funk and runs slower on some days than others!

Didn't do a fasting day today, I was feeling way too rotten and the headache I'd had from the day before came back and was full force by morning. I was way too weak and moody to consider fasting plus I was up 3 lbs. from eating the day before (I ate super late and it showed). This was still depressing to me even though I've kept everything LC.

...All which leads to another thing. I have got to stop it with this madness! Knocking myself out, losing and gaining the same 10 lbs. over and over. It just hit me that Friday will be 2 months ago I began this journal and I am still at the same weight I was 2 months ago! That is very disheartening to me as I came here and started it in the first place to help me stay motivated and help me reach my goals still all I have given was the same 'ol half-assed effort as I'd been giving before. I am not typing this all out just as another excuse to come down hard on myself. I'm just at the all out point of "OK you've gotta just get your act together already!" I need to eat--sensibly, eat--period. Now I'm not saying I am not fasting at all anymore or ever again or whatever. I am just saying I need to find some kind of a happy medium here and I don't even know precisely what that medium is but I do have some things flowing thru my head. I just don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow. Or how often I'll be switching things up but I will as that's what has helped me get this far. Well, how about I just decide each morning what I feel like following instead of writing it all out then harping on myself everytime I don't follow through?!

Anyway...these are the things I really need to be shooting for each and everyday:

A. staying LC and On Plan (consistency)
B. getting some form of exercise in every other day
C. losing steadily toward my goal weight of 128 (not maintaining [yet], not gaining, not yo-yo'ing!)

It ain't that complicated, really! Like honestly, if I can lose 128 lbs. I know I can surely lose another 50.

[FaithM.]

Wednesday's Menu:

B -- Atkins shake

L -- tuna salad

S -- kosher dill spear

D -- steak-umms w/ranch
sauteed mushrooms

S -- 2 vienna weiners
4 pork rinds
3 sl. american cheese

BEVS:
water, 72 oz
diet dp
2 coffees, sf fr. van. coffee-mate

WORKOUT? N

WT: 181

[Blondie Baby]

Faith, are you sure that's enough calories? You know if you drop your calories too low your metabolism shut down. Why don't you try to up your calories, eat clean, and get in your workouts. Let's get some consistency going and then take it from there, ok?