I have 28 weeks before I leave to see my family again next December. I have lost 29 lbs and would like to loose another 35. If I loose at 1.5 lbs a week I can loose 42 lbs. But knowing how this weight loss thing goes, there will be plateaus and weeks that I won´t loose as much because of holidays, or birthday celebrations. I will be happy to loose 1 lb a week but I will accept anything as long as it is not a weight gain.

I believe in changing strategies every 6 weeks to give the body a boost. All diets stall as our body adapts. That´s why it´s important to change our exercise routine, the amount of time spent on it or the kind that we do so our body will be put under new demands and have to draw on it´s reserve energy to carry out it´s functions.

I need to get back to my 30 minute exercise at night and I need to try and take my walks more often during the week as well as on my days off.

well, we will see how it goes. I weighed 82 kilos this morning, if I can loose 35 lbs in 28 weeks, I will be at 145,close to my goal of 140. But it is not engraved in stone, I will just try to work towards it and if I don´t reach it I hope that I come very close to it. This is really a long term goal. And in 28 weeks I will have to change my strategy 4 times.

This first six weeks which will begin on Monday, I will go back to having my light dinners twice a week but on the nights I do not have, I am going to be more mindful of the portion of food that I am taking. Also, lots of water, more stairs during my break times, and walking at lunch.

:rose: Wish me luck!! :rose:

[ 05-19-2001: Message edited by: Breathtaking ]

Sounds like a combination of a great plan and a great attitude!!! A definite winning combination!! Or should we say losing?? ;) Your family will be so happy for you too!! *

Hi, BT! I just started my 20 week plan today. I will be watching you! Let's plan on pulling each other through these next few months, OK? I, too, will be at an important family gathering in October and hope to go much lighter. I am planning on getting a calandar to plot out the weight loss goals, water, etc right on it so I can check it off every day. Good luck! We can do it!

Sounds good to me discomamma! I get really enthused since I have begun to feel the difference in the way I can move and I have so few clothes that can fit me now! I still have to wear some of the loose ones but I buy better fitting blouses. I look at the pants and just can´t believe how much I have lost! Most of my weight lately has been in the hips and thighs cos I do a lot of walking.

Anyway, good luck to you!

[ 05-19-2001: Message edited by: Breathtaking ]

It´s been one week now since I started my 28 week weight loss journey. I hate doing this in kilos because it takes much longer for the scales to show you are losing. I am retaining water, probably due to the warmere weather and my left ankle shows some puffiness. After I get my errands done I will drink tons of water tonite, I may even make it a lite dinner nite, just salad with some chicken strips in it.

Funny thing is I FEEL like I have lost more weight, it´s just the same old story that the scales don´t reflect it. My problem is I don´t believe I lost any until the scales reflect it. What a dilemma! :( but I think I am smart enough to know, your body holds water and glycogen and I will probably release the water and show a loss. In the meantime I havent´done anything different, still walking my legs off, my fanny is going down ;) and my legs are getting shapier :o my biggest problem is my tummy, :c( but it has gone down significantly :x I guess that is what the weight loss thing is all about, flustrations, triumph, flustrations, triumph! I am probably at the point now where most people stop. But I am trying to look at the BIG picture here and keep focused realizing that this is where it gets hard.

Keep smiling, keep dieting, keep moving toward my goal. Time passes and fat melts. *

Hi Breathtaking,
Just wanted to wish you all the success you'll need to meet your goal by December. You can do it!!! What are some of the other strategies you might try? Where did you hear that you should change your strategy ever 6 weeks? I am interested and would like to know more. What is a kilo compare to a pound? I think one stone is like 11 pounds, don't know much about kilos tho. Sorry about the 20 questions :) Jerry LaVonn

Hi Inspired,
I see you are from Oklahoma, that is my home state. I was born in Miami, but my folks live in Tulsa.

I didnt hear that you should change your strategies every 6 weeks, I noticed it in my weight. It seems that twice since January I would plateau after a 6 week period of time. So that is when I would try something different in my strategy to spark the weight loss again. It´s almost as though the body adjusts to the amount of exercise and the amount of calories so it stops or slows down. This is why keeping a journal helps me to see the patterns my body sets. Once I recognize them then I know that something has to be changed. Don´t want my body to start feeling too comfortable at this present weight !! :( So I surprise it with less food, different food, more food (but less carbs or fat, more food to help increase metabolic rate) more exercise or more intense exercise so it has to take on more of a demand and "wake up" so to speak out of it´s slumber. That´s kind of what a plateau is, a body sleeping.

Bye for now!!

Congratulations on your success so far, Breathtaking. Whether its kg or lb, a loss is a loss and what you are really trying to do is lose your fat mass. That will record well under any system of measurement. Keep up the good work.

hi breathtaking,
just wanted to stop by and wish you well on your journey to goal.
you have such a great attitude and have such determination, i know you will succeed.
i love your thoughts about plateaus also. i have always mixed things up when my losses slow up. add some intensity with my workouts. change what i am eating etc. it definately works.
i will keep checking to see how you are doing.
hugs bell :)

well I am still hanging in there. I really am having a problem with fluid retention even though I am drinking the water and not eating a lot. I think it´s the change of weather.

Anyway, we all have our plateaus. I am looking for ways to break this one. Once I read that the reason a dieter hits a plateau is because the body remembers that weight and is fighting to stay at it. Could be, I was this weight once before. Maybe it´s just old fat that doesnt want to go away! :)

Hi Breathtaking,
Boy, You are a long way from home! I was born and raise in Tulsa! I have lived in the surround areas at different times. I've been to Miami a few times. How long have you lived in The Netherlands? What is the weather like this time of year? Best of luck, sounds like you know what your talking about! You can do it! Jerry

Hi Inspired, didn´t see your reply, yes I am a long way from home. :)

It´s nice to meet a fellow tulsian. :) Sometimes I miss it, but what I don´t miss is the commercialization. It´s much different here. You can watch a program on tv with much few interruptions. And not so many fast food commercials. Well they have Macdonalds and Burger King neither of which do I patronage. I feel like to diet means to give up fast food. Afterall, that is one of the factors that got me here in the first place.

Well this is june 1st and my weight is still hovering over the 81 and a half kilo mark. It certainly did stall. But I realize that I just have to do something different. Time to put more exercise into effect. And watch my portions in the eveing!

bye now!

My weight is finally just below the 81 and moving toward the 80 kilo mark. I guess we all plateau, I admit that there are a few things I have not been paying as much attentin to as I should have. And I hurt my knee which kept me frm doing my long walks but I have still had to walk to do errands and catch a tram. So I really depend a lot on my legs, even when my legs aren´t really up to par.

Tonite I am having my lite dinner which I have not had in a couple of weeks. And force a lot of water tonite plus some exercise.

Keep going, Breathtaking and you will reach your goal. I wasn't losing very quickly until I started eating according to my blood type. Have you heard about the Blood Type Diet? It is really working for me and my friends (they are different blood types so they have different diets). Just keep perservering and you will reach your goal...something will click and then you will be on your way.

I just love that name... breathtaking! Makes me think of a strong, beautiful, confident woman. That is you!

I so needed to read your journal. I am at week 7 of my lifestyle change and the scale is stuck. This fat just doesn't want to let go! LOL! Seperation anxiety I guess! Will try to add so more variety to my exercise and see if that helps. Thanks for the pointers!

Take Care!

Here is a Amsterdams meisje in Canada, talking to an American girl in Amsterdam. <IMG SRC="smilies/cool.gif" border="0">
How do you like living in my hometown? And where do you live? I'm from the Northern part, the other side of the IJ-tunnel.
I'm glad you are still going down with your weight. It's hard work, isn't it?
So you're going to the States to see your family?
There is still quite some time left.
It is great to see somebody from back home on these boards. :)
Tot de volgende keer.

Noenoe

I took some time off from posting, and well from my weight loss due to my torn knee ligament. It´s better now but my knee does tire quicker. I do still walk but not as I did. I had plateaued all of June staying at 81 kilos. Today I am at 80 kilos, or 176 pounds, the lowest I have been in years!!

The weather has been warm and I have had a lot of fluid retention in my legs in the afternoon probably due to my job. . I sit all day.

A 33 pound loss is not so bad, I need to loose 32 more to be at my goal weight of 144. I want to loose this by Dec 1. I hope I can loose at least one pound a week, for a total of 12 pounds by December. That can still be a lot of weight loss. <IMG SRC="smilies/sigh.gif" border="0"> After a person looses his initial weight loss then that is where the hard stuff kicks in. I just have to remember that the reason they say weight loss is hard is because it is. So I am going to keep struggling, and hope for any loss, because any loss is better than no loss. I want to deflate myself, get rid of the swollen blown up look. At least my face shows a loss, my shoulders, my breasts are smaller, and hips and tummy, but most of my weight is concentrated in my hips and tummy so hopefully it will continue to come off there. I can´t express how pleased I am to date with being able to buy clothes that are smaller, better choices, more selection. Course that´s not always true, there are still some styles that I can´t wear but that will come.

Well, I am going to start to color my hair instead of lightening. I want to go to a light golden brown eventually and wear it just above my shoulders. I think darker hair is more attractive because it allows darker makeup like the reds and greens to be worn.

I will try to journal here at least once a week, whether my results be good or bad.

:x :rose:

Hey breathtaking. I'm glad your knee is a bit better, even if it is not perfect. Congratulations on your loss - you have a really good attitude, so I'm sure your results will just get better and better. Keep going - you can do it.
Love, Chuckles

Goedemorgen Breathtaking,
Glad to have you back journaling again!
I've send you a PM.
Congrats with the 1 kg down.
Have a wonderful day today! :rose:
Tot ziens!

Noenoe

I love that name too. I wish I would have been more original when I signed up for this message board, there are some really cool names around here. Oh well. I'm hoping to reach my goal by December too. I started losing weight this past December, lost 32 pounds on my own and then joined WW a month ago. I've gone from 226 to 189 and my goal is 153 (the top of my weight range at WW, but I would like to be in the 140's eventually). That's 35 pounds yet. I might be able to do it if I lose between 1-2 pounds a week, but I know weight loss gets slower the closer we get to goal. WEll, you keep up the good work, you're doing great. Have a nice day.

Hi Breathtaking. Just cruising through. Congrats on the 1 kilo loss. That is fantastic.. I just came off of a plateau too. I know that it is harder to get the rest off, but you can do it., I still have 60 left to take care of. I can do it too. I just colored my hair a med auburn. It is a beautiful shade, and cut 8 inches off to make it just above shoulder . It is a very attractive cut. You should take the chance.
Great job on your food program.

Love Linda

Hi Everone!

Thanks for all the great support!

Goodenavond noenoe ! On top of trying to loose the weight I am also trying to learn your language. I love the way it sounds when it is spoken, but being a midwestern girl (oklahoma) it may take a bit to get the speech correct!

Yes my knee is better Ms Chuckles but not like is was. But I can go back to walking now which is what I intend to do.

I just recently colored my hair actually. When I lost my first 20 pounds I got a shorter haircut, now I am letting it grow some and I colored it a champagne blond. I have been lightening my hair for years then I decided when I lost the weight that darker hair would be more becoming! And it is, I can wear darker makeup and since I lost the weight in my face, it´s espcially attractive to use blush and have the darker hair. So I guess I am going for a whole new makeover! But it´s fun, who wants to stay the same for the rest of their lives??

Well, it´s funny, I even feel lighter but I am only at 176 lbs. For July I want to loose 4 lbs but I will accept whatever! You learn to have a lot of respect for weight and how much it takes to loose one pound. In turn it makes you think when you go to eat how long it takes to take off one pound. So however slow it seems to be I know it´s working and however long this takes, I have the time.

Good evening all!

Tot ziens!

Oh and one other thing, thanks for the comment on my nick! I choose it because it´s my goal, to be breathtaking!

Hope I don´t sound too overconfident, I realise there may be some downfalls, but I am just trying to move toward the image I have made for myself.

Bye now!

Hallo adembenemende schoonheid,
You know that means "breathtaking beauty" don't you?
You are having the right mentality. Just keep plugging away at it and it has to budge one day. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but it will budge!
Do you follow a course in Dutch at the Universiteit?
Tot ziens en voor morgen een GAVE dag toegewenst! :rose:

Noenoe

Hi breathtaking!

You can never be to confident...I think your nickname is great! I broke my plateau too! We will all get there together if we just keep on trucking along.

Hope your knee is well and that you are having a wonderful day!

Take Care!

HI Everyone!

I am more enthused now that I finally broke that plateau! I can easily see how it is that dieters can get discouraged when they show no loss for weeks! I know some feel that it is best to just throw out the scales altogether at one point but it´s important to me to know HOW MUCH I weight <IMG SRC="smilies/cool.gif" border="0"> even if it´s not what I want to know :c(

One of the reasons´I got in this shape was by not being responsible to myself and owning a scales. For years I would avoid scales, always afraid of what they would say, as I should have been! When I finally got up the nerve to buy a scale and get on it I weighed 209 pounds!

Now I have learned to always have a scale. Even after reaching my goal weight, I will still need to weight myself to maintain that weight.

Well that´s all I got for now!

Bye everyone!!

Hi everyone!

Well you are going to get to hear me wish a little!

ooooooh to be slim!

To wear my blouses tuck in neatly and to sit with my legs crossed.

To not jiggle everywhere when I have to run.

To find clothes in normal sizes.

To be able to sit next to a smaller person without feeling so large!!

Anyone got anything to add??

If I can add a wish...it is to wear a bathing suit and not fear that I will scare small children!

I wish for all the other things on your list too! We will get there, one day at a time!

Take Care,
Karen