2013 Official Chaz Weight Loss Challenge

Weight can fluctuate. Don't stress about it. Just get back on it. You not only CAN do it, but you WILL do it.

Just keep working don't let what we perceive to be setbacks ruin it. may not be a set back at all... but you gotta keep working

All hail Tanya!
I gained 2 lbs since this morning. THANKS A LOT BLOAT AND AUNT FLO.
I thought I started 3-ish days ago. Just spotting. Freaked me the F out. Thankfully its just because my body is still getting "regular" after 6 yrs on the pill and I've been off of the pill since October/November.

Tmi. Maybe. But still anything can cause the scale to jump up. Don't get discouraged. Keep going!

Discouraging. Things are hectic right now and seeing a higher number on the scale didn't help. Oh well.

I'm in a horrible food rut and I hate it. Blargh.

It stinks when things are crazy and you feel like you just can't get on top of it and then when you get into a food rut that seems impossible to get out of it's even worse.

But the only thing you can do is work for change. it's gotta be mind over matter. shop for success, don't buy the junk that you know you won't be able to resist. fill your pantry with healthy snacks, fill your fridge with veggies and then when things get crazy and you want to lean on food for comfort the only choice you'll have are healthy ones. Easier said than done, I know... trust me lol. But you're worth it and you CAN DO THIS!

Did my weigh in/measuring today and I was pleasantly surprised. Not a big change but a change none the less and I wasn't really expecting any progress because I haven't been that great about my food this week. We had game night at church on Saturday and I ate SO MUCH JUNK... I paid for it the next day with an upset stomach lol. I guess my saving grace was that prior to the junk I'd only consumed about half my calories for the day and I got my workout in but man I felt terrible after eating all that chocolate and candy.

191.4 lbs and lost half an inch around my hips so again not a big change but still a change. Shows what I am doing is working even if it's slowly

Easier said than done. I shop healthy, my boyfriend does not. There is always bad food in the house and will be for th forseeable future.

My husband is booby trapping my junk food shelf next week using a motion alarm to retrain his behavior. I'm happy to put the junk food elsewhere, but he wants to recondition his response to junk food totally. Would that help you at all Julee?

This may sound really simplistic, but just don't eat the junk

I'm a "grazer" big time. If I open a bag of chips, I have an empty bag of chips. Same for sweet treats as well. The best way to not have too much of it is to not have any of it in the first place.

Probably not, stardogs. I'm in recovery for EDNOS, so making me feel guilty about eating certain things will make me feel guilty about eating everything. It's very hard for me to walk the line between eating healthy and losing weight, and not relapsing.

Ooooh yea, not helpful then. Would your SO be willing to at least put the junk somewhere less easily accessed maybe? DH says that the presence of food is what triggers his desire for it, so for him, out of sight IS out of mind.

I know it's easier said than done. But it's got to be mind over matter. if you want to do this you HAVE to make the choice to do it, no excuses. not saying you are making excuses but I know how our brains can be when it comes to will power and such. Mine messes with me regularly (just one cookie won't hurt, what's one more... next thing I know I've eaten 5 lol) but now I just keep trying to tell myself that I can have a cookie.. that's ok but I CAN'T HAVE 5 or I'm going to be upset when I step on the scale and I have no one to blame but myself.

Julee, what about having healthier snack options around? Buy kale chips, nuts, beef jerky, dry fruit, etc. and put them by the junk food your boyfriend buys. Whenever you're craving some snacks and opening up that cabinet, don't stand there deliberating, just grab the healthy snacks and walk away.

I'm a notorious snacking machine, but having almonds, veggies + hummus, 88% dark chocolate, and homemade kale chips around really help. Snacking urges are satisfied, and I eat healthy, too. My roommate always has loads of junk food laying around, but once I have something else to munch on, it's easy to ignore everything else.

Again, all hail Tanya.

Last night my grandma made homemade mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, meat loaf, and homemade buttermilk biscuits.
Her taters and biscuits are to DIE FOR. I didn't eat them. They sat in front of my face for 3 hours and smelled like Heaven, but I didn't eat them.
Meatloaf and green beans were fair game though.
Mind over matter, most definitely, is key. Don't get me wrong, it sucks but in the end, it will be SOOOOO worth it.

Stay strong Julee

Ugh, this is me too! I still live at home, so "healthy" options aren't the only thing around. My fam aren't the healthiest eaters.

It's definitely a mind over matter thing.

Two days ago, my step-mom brought home Ledo's Pizza. For those who don't know, they're little squares... like honestly, I could probably eat a whole medium pizza by myself, LOL, easily if I wanted to. I had ONE and ONE mozzarella stick. Which was amazing for me. I limited myself - told myself I didn't need more than that. One little taste satisfied me. I'm not going to totally deprive myself because that's where I always go wrong. So if every now and then I give myself a little taste of the things I love, I do better.

I'm not a healthy eater, never have been, so it's extremely hard for me. Total learning process. But I've been keeping track of calories and calories burned in MyFitnessPal which helps me personally. Because sometimes you don't realize just HOW many calories you're consuming in a day. Like one tiny square of that Ledo's pizza was 171 calories. Usually, I could've eaten like 10 of them .. that's 1710 calories! lol. So yeah. Stay strong -- I know it's hard. I'm in the same boat.

Yes my coach always tells me the 80/20 rule. it's OK to indulge and have something you really want as long as you make it the minimal part of your daily intake and not the main part of your daily intake

Two words: Recumbent Bike.


Don't give up.

Julee, it does get very complicated when you have ED stuff going around. It makes what is for other people a simple battle of wills a serious struggle with your brain. I'm going through something similar. I'm supposed to eat more to fuel my body and I have very real anxiety about "just eat more." It's simple, right? JUST EAT MORE. But it's not that simple for me and it has made it very, very difficult. I think anybody here by this point knows I am serious about my health and fitness, I don't make excuses, and I don't accept excuses - this isn't about excuses.

Think of it this way guys: if somebody is struggling with serious depression (not "I'm down in the dumps," but clinical depression) would it be appropriate to tell them "well just BUCK UP buttercup! It's not that hard! Mind over matter!"

I would have a serious talk with your boyfriend. Do not be accusatory - don't tell him "you keep bringing junk food in the house and I eat it and it's ALL YOUR FAULT." Let him know you're really trying to eat healthy, you're struggling, and you need his support. Ask if he'd be willing to swap out some of his snacks for some healthier options. Go shopping together and try to pick something yummy you might both like - Equinox has great suggestions. I think your biggest key to success will be to get him on board and support you. He doesn't have to JOIN you... just find a happy solution that will work for you both so he can indulge and you can make healthy decisions without having a massive internal battle.

Here's an article on the subject: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/10/15/unhealthy-spouse/

I wasn't trying to be offensive. I don't even know what the heck EDNOS is. Is it like PCOS (i don't know if that's the right acronym)

I won't offer anymore advice though since it is apparently coming across as accusatory, insensitive or offensive. I really was just trying to help and be supportive

Well, today, I walked about 3 miles with Jackson. I was leaving my dads house, on my way to work, and realized I had time to stall so we went to a trail over there and did a quick 1 mile walk, headed towards home, and my step-dad called and asked if I could possibly get off work today since we had a Verizon guy coming any time between 8-1... so I got off work, Verizon guy got here around 11:45, after that was settled, decided what the heck... took Jackson to the park closer to this house, and we did another 2 miles, and let him romp in the dog park for 30 mins.

Then came home, and was feeling really sluggish... (TMI, girl stuff) .. I'm bleeding somewhat heavy today (that always happens to me on the 4th day, when I think it's going to be over, ugh) so really did NOT want to do my 30 day shred. But I talked myself into it and worked through it... I'm so glad I did.

Sooo if the math is all correct, I burned over 700 calories today! I looked online for an approx of what people burn while doing the 30 Day Shred and it was all right around 300 calories? Not sure if that's right or not, I really need to buy one of those devices to put on me and track my calories burned. I use mapmywalk for walking, and burned 137 on the first walk, and 274 on the second. I'm really pumped for nicer weather like we had yesterday and today (well, decent enough to be outside), because I will walk every day I can, along with doing the other stuff.