Hi all. I finished February by meeting my goal of 250 by 0.1 pound I will take it. The hardest part is the patience. I SEE the numbers go down. I FEEL my clothes fitting better. I KNOW I breathe better while walking, and I'm less sore. But my goodness - it takes so much longer this time around. This FINAL time I should say.

I see so many posts of restarting - we CAN do it. This CAN be our final time, with consistent and prolonged success.

Be patient. Stick with it. We are worth it!!

Yay! Great progress!

Thanks, MSMUM1977! I feel so much better. That makes it easier to resist all the carb-laden treats available at work. People are very generous with bringing in goodies, so that has always been difficult for me. I'm an 'All on' or 'All off' kind of person - and I need to just stay All On forever.

Resisting the urge to snack during my commute is also difficult. It's just about 2 hrs one way, and I'm chronically sleep-deprived, and eating just keeps me awake. I've started to find places to power nap instead of eating. It seems to work.

Anyone else have a long commute? I have my audible books, and napping spots, and sometimes if I'm really tired I'll stop for a coffee. What other good tricks are there?

I find that I eat when I am bored to help pass the time.

I took up cross stitching and listening to my audiobooks. I cross stitch little Christmas ornaments so it doesn't take up too much space and then I have personalized presents to give at Christmas. It keeps my hands busy and my mind occupied so I am not thinking about food.

So I may look like this uncool little old lady, but at least I am a uncool little old, getting smaller lady!

Tracy - any idea why you are chronically sleep deprived? I was too until diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.

If you are sleep deprived, it really stresses the body - burns your adrenals and makes you crave sugar and caffeine. Your body is also so consumed with just making it through the day, energy that could be used to be more active and make an effort with your eating plan is too much. Sleep deprivation can GREATLY derail or frustrate weight loss.

I couldn't take off an lb to save my life during my deprivation period. Not sure if you know the issue but if not, it is VERY worth getting to the bottom of.

LOL - Oh sure - I know why I'm sleep deprived. My commute is almost 2 hrs one way; I'm at work at least 8.5 hrs; my mom has health issues and lives with me; I have 2 daughters (16 and 21) who live at home and don't necessarily get along with their grandmom; I feel that I never have enough time for any of them so stay up way too late trying to spend time with everyone, plus the cats, plus trying to manage the house, bills, exercise, staying on the eating plan, and reading (which is MY downtime, and unfortunately occurs when I should be sleeping).
That being said - I'm very fortunate to LOVE my job; I'm grateful to have this time to spend with my mom; I'm so glad that I get along with my girls and we have so much fun together; and I just have to make everything else work. Sleep is what suffers....
I think I'm in a good mental place, and have been since the beginning of the year. I'm down 17 since Jan 1st, and feel more energized and healthy. I just need to keep focusing and staying on the right path Slow is ok, as long as it's slow the right way!
Thanks!

Tracy--I've been where you are, except for the mom living with me--I was a single mom with four kids for a lot of years.

BUT. If your goal is to get healthy, and lose your extra weight, you need to figure out a way to carve out enough time to sleep.

Lack of sleep is a driver of weight gain. You won't be as successful as you deserve to be, not to mention being more susceptible to getting sick, because you are chronically under-rested.

I see well over 12 hours devoted to your job. Is there any way you can cut that down? Commuter train instead of drive, or vice versa?

If you DO take a commuter train, then, maybe, use that time for reading, instead of when you're in bed.

Your girls are plenty big to be doing the bulk of the routine stuff in the house: dishes, vacuuming, their own rooms, of course, and their own laundry. If they're not already doing that, it would be a favor to get them started, so when they're on their own, they don't have to learn from scratch.

You'll figure it out in a way that works for you. But it would be a favor to yourself to institute some sort of change that allows you the rest that your body and brain need.

I cannot WAIT until Easter is over and all of those Robin's Egg candies are out of the stores.
MickiSue - can't commute via public transpo - I live in the sticks and work in an urban area out of state.
I USED to buy a big bag of M&Ms (or Robins' Eggs during Easter time) and eat them on the way home. That easily kept me awake. It also packed on uber pounds. This was during the upheaval time when my mom was sick and then came to live with us. Prior to that I had made it down to 180 after finally getting my head and priorities set. Then BLAM - my balance was wrecked and its taken me until now to start back on the right track for longer than 3 days
I have started pulling over on my way home at certain spots and setting my alarm for a 15-20 min power nap instead of snacking all the way home. Sometimes I even hit snooze. It adds to the day, but I feel better when I get home. And I sleep in late on the weekends I don't have to work, so I play a little catch up there too.
If I come up with any other ideas I will share them

That's a tough one, living in a rural area and commuting!

I had friends who lived in rural WI, and worked with me in the eastern suburbs of the TC. They had incredibly long commutes, too, especially when it snowed.

But their other option was a job in a much smaller community, for much less money and no benefits.

Rock. Tracy. Hard Place.

It's not as bad as it could be, because I LOVE my job. The napping also helps. Additional stressors (squabbling between kids/mom; pet issues; other things outside my real control) are the big saboteurs. I can feel the bad thoughts germinate in my head. Takes much more willpower to fight them. I have been going with a substitution game plan - if I strongly desire sweets, I substitute with a pizza slice. I feel satisfied, and that doesn't throw me into a sugar tailspin. So far <knock wood> it's worked!!
Maybe when youngest is out of high school I will move, but still, taxes in NJ are way higher than PA, so I may stick with the drive

Good news! I broke down, bought a bag of those darned Robin's eggs, and....only had a few before I realized:
1) they were NOT as delicious as I had remembered;
2) I did NOT feel good, or satisfied while eating them;
3) I was able to very easily toss most of the bag; and,
4) I don't have any residual craving for them at ALL.
Thank goodness!!! I had actually used Easter and the Robins eggs as an excuse last year to not start my plan. How foolish in hindsight.
Mind you, I won't be trying this with my known triggers, but I'm glad to put this mental craving to rest forever
Still haven't lost anymore weight by the scale, but I feel better, so that's enough for me to keep going

Great job! I agree with this being the last time. I am just adopting this lifestyle for my health...dr told me I was on the verge of diabetes. Not gonna happen to this old girl. lol I will say that I have been reading a lot of the posts that talk about "cheat days" I believe that is the reason we go back and forth. There cannot be cheat days. If you want good health you must be consistent. Make commitment. If you end up at a fast food Chinese place take a shake along or a low carb bar. It will keep you satisfied until you get home and can eat something LC. I just believe cheat days are doors to failure.

Have a wonderful day!

Hooray! That is great! My doc told me that if I stayed on plan for 30-90 days I would retrain my palette. She was totally right. After 90 days, I would occasionally taste something my daughter was eating to see if I still liked it. 9 times out of 10 it was too sweet or just plain tasted bad.

Agree with you about cheat days. I don't cheat. I've been here long enough to see the majority that do end up off plan and gain most, all, or more of it back. You've got the right attitude to succeed!

Yes - I have listed foods that are at the higher end of my range as 'cheat foods', and none of them are sweet, or known triggers. They're really not even cheating, just something I need to limit more. We went to the Chinese restaurant for my niece's first acro competition, and I got the beef with broccoli, no rice, and only ate half. Then I added extra broccoli to the other half at home. I find that without real cheat days, like ReneeH2O, my palate has changed.
Has anyone else noticed that it also takes less food to feel full? I'm not sure if it is my stomach shrinking, my brain actually listening to the 'full' signal, or a combination of the two. I used to sit and EAT, and I mean a lot of food if it tasted good. Now I find myself getting really full a lot faster than I ever expected. And it's so much easier to just push away when I'm full. Why is that????