[Keely]

Okay everybody, here it is! I'm starting a Weight Loss Check-In thread for those of us who regularly visit the Stumble Inn.

Feel free to share stories about your weight loss endeavors here. We can do a weekly check-in--would Friday suit most of you?--to share how much we've lost; or if we've gained or stayed the same, we can ask for commiseration!

We can come here for sympathy, support, back pats and giggles, and can also learn valuable weight loss tips from each other.

I'd like to do a weigh-in every Friday (or whichever day suits you) where we can share the week's results. You don't have to tell how much you weigh if you don't want to; all you have to share is how much you want to lose and how close you are to getting there.

Who's game for regular weight loss meetings at the Stumble Inn? Is anybody else in with me?

[Erika]

Hi Keely,

I'm not overweight, but I think that this is an excellent idea to support those who are on weight loss programs.

With many using different methods, hearing how things go would be valuable to everyone.

With love, Erika

[Kitty]

I need to lose at least 20 pounds. I've lost and re-gained the same 20-30 pounds for years now. I lack motivation. Better nutrition would benefit me but sometimes I'm just too tired to do more than make a PB&J sandwich. I'm looking forward to seeing what works for others here!

[SallyC]

I don't have my pills yet, so not officially dieting until then. Probably by the end of the week. My goal is 20 lbs for now, so i'll let ya all know how it's going each Friday.

I did order all the low fat Livesmart TV dinners from Schwans, Kelly, Will let you know how that goes. PB & J Yummmmmm!!

Good idea Keely.

[Keely]

Sounds like we have a team! The game is on!

Here's my story: I started my diet last summer, and lost 34 pounds up until Christmas. Unfortunately, that's when I totally went off the diet; it was originally going to be a "planned vacation," but it's ended up spinning out of control.

Now, I've gained three of the pounds back and am trying to motivate myself to get back on the stick. My goal is to lose another 67 pounds before the end of this year. When I stayed on my diet, I was losing at least two pounds a week, so I was doing really well!

My regimen is this:

Breakfast: Cereal or oatmeal

Lunch: A cup of low-cal soup or veggies

Dinner: A chicken breast marinated in low-fat Greek or Italian dressing, and a cup of Brussel Sprouts, broccoli, cabbage or some other vegetable.

Snack: A bunch of grapes; I try to limit myself to 25.

This is a low calorie diet, but it's been approved by all my doctors down here and I did great with it until Christmas! Now I'm just climbing back into it--reluctantly, I admit but I know that it has great results if I can just stick to it!

My two biggest tips are these:

1) Try to walk if you can't exercise. I'm lucky because I live in Key West and can walk outside all year round, but I do have mobility issues. Even so, I force myself to walk at least two miles almost every day. You won't believe how much this helps, even if you can't do any other exercise--and this is the only exercise I do.

2) Don't eat at night. I've been a lifelong professional musician and entertainer, so this is hard for me because I will always be on a night schedule! But now that I'm not able to work anymore, I try to stick to a regimen of daytime eating and cut off the food intake at 8 p.m., except for a handful of grapes if I'm really hungry.

I'm also careful about what I eat. I simply can't start on bread or cheese, or I'll go hog wild! I'm like an addict about nuts and potato chips, so I simply can't have them in the house (we just finished our Christmas supply, which is one reason why I gained those three pounds!)

Gosh, it all sounds so simple, doesn't it? And it's hard, it's hard, it's hard...

It was worth it, however, at the Key West Fantasy Fest this fall when I was finally able to squeeze into a belly dancing outfit for the first time in my life! So I'm climbing back on the saddle and determined to keep riding this horse until I get to my destination!

Hope all of this helps the rest of you. I'll be weighing in on Friday. Just the thought of reporting my weight loss to everyone this week is motivating me to behave myself!

[Debbie D]

I weigh in on Wednesdays...I have a LOT to lose, but have set small goals. I'm in!

[Blessings2You]

I have more than one goal, but my primary goal from day ONE was: not be obese. I've lost 30, have 9 more to go and by all the BMI chards, I will still be overweight, but not obese!

It would be awesome to get to my "ideal" weight, but I'll settle for about 10 pounds over.

What impelled me to get serious and start to lose? I'd like to say something Hallmark-ish, wanting to see my great-grandchildren or God doesn't want me to be fat (both of which are true). But two things motivated me:

I heard on the scanner (not the first time) the EMTs requesting a "lift assist" from the fire department. I imagined myself falling, and everyone in town with a scanner hearing the dispatcher say, "xxx Ambulance is requesting a lift assist at (my address) for a 62 year old woman who has fallen." The listeners can add their own "because she's too fat for two people to lift."

The other motivation was imagining myself in a wheelchair, too heavy to transfer myself, too heavy for an aide to transfer me, and ending up in a nursing home so they could hoist me around with the crane.

[Keely]

My motivation came from my DH last summer.

I had been having heart palpitations for ages, and was scheduled to go in for a stress test and echo. On July 27, a few days before the test, Tim, my wonderful DH, drove me over the hospital parking lot, and we sat in the car while he gently, lovingly read me the riot act!

He told me that he wanted a long life with me, that he wanted for us to both reach "old age" together, because otherwise, he wouldn't want to keep on going without me. He reminded me that, at my present weight, I have a good chance of having a heart attack or stroke, especially given my health problems with Lupus, Crohn's and MS.

I've packed on the weight since I've been ill and unable to work, and he's been very understanding about it. But the time had come for him to stop, sit down with me and encourage me to start working on getting the weight off, bit by bit.

I can't tell you how much this little talk meant to me. I went home, started immediately on the diet, and, except for some indulging at Christmas and a few "diet vacation" days here and there, haven't looked back. As a result, I've lost nearly 35 pounds.

I'm doing it slowly, because I believe that it's the best way to get it off and keep it off!

[nemsmom]

I have about 65 pounds to lose. My husband and I both need to lose weight. I have been having a hard time getting motivated. Every time I work out it aggravates either my MS symptoms or my periodic paralysis. So I'm trying to get myself motivated to eat better and my friend is helping with the motivation to work out. Maybe posting here will help motivate me to do what I need to lose weight!

[doydie]

That's a wonderful idea. I have 75 pounds to lose. Well I am going by 20 at a time. So I have 5 pounds to lose and then I will take my next 20 pound goal! I am using a 1200 calorie diabetic diet