My Thread

[scsemperfi]

Hey Everyone. I decided to take a tip from Maria and start an ongoing thread of my progress. I'm SO excited that I decided to go with the Phen and I'm hoping that I make some great friends while I'm on this forum.

My name is Laura. I'm 27 and I have been overweight since at least middle school. I'm 5'7" and when I graduated from HS I was 180 lbs and wearing a size 18. My freshman year in college I joined the rugby team and was working out alot. I got down to a size 14 and was 160 lbs. I felt better then I had in a LONG time and then I got in a car accident and hurt my back. Since that accident I have ballooned up to 287 (sz 26) at my largest and now I've managed to get down to 256 (the last 4 lbs since I started taking Phen on Friday).

I'm really hoping to get back to around 145 ideally but I'll take anything under 180 at this point. Hubby and I are hoping that I do really good on this program so that we can start tryig for another baby by the end of the summer. I would also like to be able to run around with my 3 year old and I'd like to get into martial arts once I get enough weight off. I know there's alot that I want to accomplish but I'm hoping that I'll find alot of encouragement and motivation here with y'all.

I welcome any comments and advice from all of you here. I'll try to remember to post my progress every Sunday since that will be my weigh in day.

[s_mkalfred]

Congratulations Laura! I'm already proud of you and can see you going a long way! Way to go on the 31 pounds of loss already!!! Especially since so much of it was without Phen. WAY TO GO!!

As I check on Mscasanova's update I will check on yours as well. I pledge to be a active support person for you as long as you need it. You're already taking the right steps to achieve your goals.

One question that I wish someone would have asked as soon as I started losing is HOW MUCH WATER ARE YOU DRINKING??? I did the first 9 months or so not drinking nearly enough water. When I finally realized the importance of water for your body and made a point to drink it the weight started falling off at an excelerated rate. As a rule you should drink a minimum of half your weight in ounces. For you this means you should drink a minimum of 128 ounces/day. I should only drink a minimum of 75 ounces but I still drink between 100-200 so I swaer by the rule, the more the better. I also add lemon to my water. Not only does it help keep Phen alive in my system, it also helps with the blah taste of water and makes me more thirsty which gets me drinking more.

This is the biggest tip I can give you starting out but if you need anything, just ask!

[scsemperfi]

Thanks Maria.....I appreciate it more than you know! I have been pretty good about drinking water. I average about 4 liters a day (128oz). I have discovered that drinking much more than that makes me sick. I used to drink 3-4 gallons a day and that was just too much for my system. We have a good water supply at work so I have a water bottle there and I just keep filling it up.

[scsemperfi]

Just posted some pics Maria.....thought you might like to see.

[scsemperfi]

Ok...so since I started Phen last Friday and Taz's diet from her Doc on Monday I have lost 9 lbs!!!!! I'm SO excited! Unfortunately TOM is here visiting but not for long so I'll really be able to get the weight off better next week. I'm starting a little mini challenge with Taz also to do at least 30 minutes of cardio a day so that'll help alot too. So...Start weight was 260. Current weight is 251. Hopefully it'll just keep dropping off.

[mscasanova]

Good job! Thats great! Keep it up. Are you taking measurements too? It really helps too see if the scale isnt going down that your losing inches. That helps me remember I could be building muscle.

[scsemperfi]

Good job! Thats great! Keep it up. Are you taking measurements too? It really helps too see if the scale isnt going down that your losing inches. That helps me remember I could be building muscle.

Thanks! No I haven't taken measurements yet. I can't do it right by myself and Hubby has been SUPER busy this week. I've barely even gotten to see him. I'll wait until TOM is gone again to do the measurements because I know that I'm bloated. I'll start keeping track and posting that too soon.

[mscasanova]

At first I just kept them stored away in a notebook. I didnt post them. LOL I was too embarrassed at the beginning. So good for you! Heck i still cant sing with a microphone in front of me either. Totally unrelated. LOL

I measure every week on usually Mondays but lately its been tuesdays. My advise make sure you measure everywhere! At first I was just measuring bust, waist and hips. and then 3 weeks in I started measuring other places I wouldve really liked to have known what my starting place was with all the other places but ehh Ill just estimate and say bigger! haha

Its actually amazing to add up all the inches you lose and think of that in height. I told hubby about my total of 55 inches and he immediately smarted of with wow that almost 4 and half feet! I was blown away not only at the fact I had lost 4.5 feet! but that he was so quick at knowing thats what it was. LOL He is a land surveyor and works with measurements all day so I shouldnt have been that surprised but I was none the less.

[scsemperfi]

Yeah...as far as posting...I'm not embarressed. I know how I got this big and I accepted that a LONG time ago. (I think that some of my friends are still in denial about it though. LOL) Anyway it's just like how I feel about going to the gym.....I know that I look awful .....much worse than most of the people in there working out but if they laugh at me it's bad on them because at least I'm in there trying to better myself ya know.

WOW!!! 55 inches! That's truely amazing girl! I hope that I can give a number like that someday. You totally Kick A**!

[tazgirl31]

This is cool having ur own thread too! It's nice to have a place to come to that is all about u it will help keep u motivated and is so nice to have others come see ur progress and compliment u I'm gonna b following ur progress for sure I have u on 3 threads now hehe so ya better b goood!!! J/k!! I'm so anxious to see how well we do our first week of cardio every day! I'm hoping I will lose faster! This is off topic but I been trying to have Tom and well tonight after my long walk I think it may come any time now! That would make me happy cause like u I'm feeling soooo bloated n yucky!!! Anyways just wanted to stop by ur thread And let ya no I'm hear to support ya the entire way!!!! This is going to b a awesome year for u))) taz

[scsemperfi]

Awww...Thanks Girlie! I am feeling a little bummed about doing my cardio yesterday but screwing it all up by not eating supper. I'm just glad that I didn't gain anything. Hubby agreed to measure me after TOM is gone and then I'll probably post that at least once a month. I don't see too much point until I get back to my strength training and I can't do that while I'm doing this diet. It just doesn't fit with my schedule. I really appreciate the extra support Taz......It does help ALOT!!!

[tazgirl31]

Awww...Thanks Girlie! I am feeling a little bummed about doing my cardio yesterday but screwing it all up by not eating supper. I'm just glad that I didn't gain anything. Hubby agreed to measure me after TOM is gone and then I'll probably post that at least once a month. I don't see too much point until I get back to my strength training and I can't do that while I'm doing this diet. It just doesn't fit with my schedule. I really appreciate the extra support Taz......It does help ALOT!!!

Hey don't worry tommorow is another day we all have our days where we skip a meal or have something we shouldn't but it's ok were human!!! U will b fine tommorow, I have been bad about getting my snack of skim milk or tomato juice in to then Last nite I steamed some broccoli and jus couldn't eat it I was to full! If it wasn't for that huge workout I prob wouldn't have lost much! We r gonna see good numbers this week tho! I just no we are)) and I'm always happy to b here and support u all the way! I wouldn't b where I am today if it wasn't for all the support I had! I never thought in a million years I could or would lose 121 pounds in a year! That's crazy!!! Ur going to b shocked at where u are in a year too all ur hard work and efforts will pay off I promise u that! And yes for sure measure all over ur body it's soooo nice to look back at how many inches u have lost! I have lost way over 100 inches! Well have a goood workout tonight I will b thinking about u when i'm working out too try wearing a sweat shirt when u do ur walk u will b amazed by how much u sweat and burn more calories taz

[scsemperfi]

Just made a new playlist on the Ipod specifically for walking on the treadmill. It could keep me going good for well over an hour. Usually as long as I have good music I can keep pushing myself on there. Time to go walk!

[mscasanova]

Yeah...as far as posting...I'm not embarressed. I know how I got this big and I accepted that a LONG time ago. (I think that some of my friends are still in denial about it though. LOL) Anyway it's just like how I feel about going to the gym.....I know that I look awful .....much worse than most of the people in there working out but if they laugh at me it's bad on them because at least I'm in there trying to better myself ya know.

WOW!!! 55 inches! That's truely amazing girl! I hope that I can give a number like that someday. You totally Kick A**!

Thanks! You will be there. The longer you stick with it the easier it gets. I swear. There are some days when Im dying for something "bad" still but thats ok. I swear all the gyms around me are full of "pretty people" LOL

My main thing was I never looked as big as I really was. I was big but didnt look as big as my stats reflected. Which is prolly why now I have a hard time seeing myself smaller.

Thats great that hubby is gonna help you measure too.

[scsemperfi]

Thanks! You will be there. The longer you stick with it the easier it gets. I swear. There are some days when Im dying for something "bad" still but thats ok. I swear all the gyms around me are full of "pretty people" LOL

My main thing was I never looked as big as I really was. I was big but didnt look as big as my stats reflected. Which is prolly why now I have a hard time seeing myself smaller.

Thats great that hubby is gonna help you measure too.

I know how that is. I don't look as big as I am either. I used to be active too. I played soccer and took dance lessons and was in the marching band. Plus I played Rugby in college and lost ALOT of weight doing that. I still have alot of muscle hidden under my "fatty layer" LOL

Steve is very proud of me and we're going to see how this works for me over the next week and then he'll probably do it with me. We have been together since HS so he has seen me at alot of different sizes. It's a pretty easy diet to use when you are on the go and have to eat out alot like he does. We had Outback for lunch today and they actually had unsweetened grapefruit juice! I was amazed! LOL I was also very thankful for the waitress because she didn't even charge me for it! She's trying to lose weight too and I told her about our plan. She was going to look it up.

Well Taz.....I walked for 33 minutes...burned 353 cals.......110 fat cals. I pretty much have to walk to the beat of the music (Marching band leaves it's legacy LOL) and some of the songs that I had on my playlist were faster than I thought they were. LOL I tried to make it to 40 minutes but I just couldn't. I'll have to add some slower songs in there to even it out and give me a mini break.

[s_mkalfred]

You're doing such a great job girl!

Sorry I have not been on for a while...

I had the same issue, I never looked as big as I was and I think that sometimes made me feel like I wasn't as big as I was. If that makes sense. Now when I look back at pictures I'm like OMG I was huge!! How could ppl tell me I didn't look like I weighed 224! When I see my before pics I think I look heavier than my start weight. It's weird.

Taz, I think it's a great idea for you to start your own thread too. You're a real inspiration to all of us.

Since we all post together...me, taz, mscassanova, mrsace, and you, we should all start a thread together or something. It seems like I'm posting the same things three times sometime LOL..anyone else feel that way? I would definetly still update my staus though, and comment on all of your progress, but on thread for us all to talk about all the other stuff would help and save some time, anyone else think so? I'm up for anything

[scsemperfi]

that thread sounds like a good idea to me! We'll have to talk to the other girls about it though.

Well, I had been doing really well on thewalking thing but I have to stop for at least a week per my Dr. I had a sebaceous cyst removed from my inner thigh today and since I actually had to be cut open I have to let it heal and not put any stress on the area. Hopefully I can keep loosing weight even though I can't walk.

[mscasanova]

Im up for a chat thread for us. Who wants to start it?

Laura- Im sure you will be fine!

[scsemperfi]

Thanks Hun...I sure hope so. What should we call the thread?

[mscasanova]

hmm IDK. Chit chat? Girl talk? hmm Im no good at coming up with things like that. LOL

[s_mkalfred]

Semp...you will still lose, just remember when you can't exercise to eat a little less. When I took Phen the first time I lost 30lbs without exercising at all, so a little time off wont be bad. You might actually lose more weight overall because you wont be building all that muscle which you know weighs more

I will start us a thread I like your suggestion chit chat lol..I'll call it chit chat between friends

I'll still check back on everyone's updates at least once a week too so we can still see how were doing etc., but this way all those long winded posts will only have to be typed once LOL.

[scsemperfi]

Well, I haven't updated in a while cause I'm still stuck at 249. It's mainly cause I've not been exercising like I was because of my procedure. I found out yesterday that we have to go back in and get more tissue out so that's just more time that I won't be able to walk I'm discouraged but at least I haven't gained and I'm still under 250. LOL That means ALOT to me! If anyone has any tips on food for the Mayo diet thing I'd appreciate it. I'm getting tired of the same old things over and over. I'll try to be better about posting....It's just been a little crazy lately. Love and Hugs Ladies!

[mscasanova]

Im out of ideas for the mayo thing. Im doing the diet but a modified version. Instead of protein with a salad I have a protein shake.

Tonight we had a pork roast that cooked in the crock pot with enchilada sauce all day so it just feel apart.

Thats so good that you havent gained! Thats def something to be proud of. I hope you dont get too discouraged. This will only make you stronger in the long run!

[s_mkalfred]

hello! Don't worry, you will get the weight off, just keep eating right. Remember what I told you, when you're struggling it's the most important time to post and be on here! Keep posting and the pounds will come off I swear. Think of typing as finger exercise lol.

[mscasanova]

did you know it actually does burn cals to type? Im serious look it up! The way Im seeing it every little bit helps!

Come back to us Laura!

[scsemperfi]

I've been absolutely horrible about updating on here but here I am...still alive! LOL

I've been stuck at 249 since Feb 11th and while I'm VERY grateful to be under 250 I wish the scale would budge. I've had one little medical problem after another and this morning I found out that I officially have Shingles. That means that I have to stay home from work for at least a week!!! It ****s but I'm a firm believer that every cloud has a silver lining and I'm going to use this time to get my house clean and organized and do some menu planning/budgeting. Might as well make good use of my time right!

So by Friday I plan to be down 2 pounds to 247.....Wish me luck!

Oh yeah....I've also decided to take time off from the Phen to make sure that my anti viral medication does it's job like it should. I need to get bacl to work ASAP!!!

[greenapplegirl77]

Ouch. I hope they pass quickly for you! My sister gets them and they **** I can't remeber the med they give her, but it is the one you take for herpes also.

[scsemperfi]

Thanks GreenAppleGirl. They gave me Acyclovir and I have to take it 5 times a day for the next 10 days. I hope that it helps quicker than that.

[scsemperfi]

Well, my plan hasn't exactly worked this week. I haven't had the energy to do much of anything except lay on the couch and nap or read so I haven't been walking or working out at all. I did weigh myself this morning and I'm up 1 lb to 250. I'm not really discouraged by this though since TOM came to visit on Wednesday. Hopefully once it leaves I'll at least be back down to 249.

The Shingles aren't making me feel NEAR as bad as the medicine to get rid of them. The meds are making me VERY dizzy so too much movement is out of the question at the moment. I may see if I am up to walking just a little bit tomorrow and Sunday. Maybe only 10-15 minutes but it's better than nothing.I'll try to do it in the morning before I take my meds....We'll just have to see. I'll get back to it soon and I'll be kicking Butt and taking Names!

[s_mkalfred]

I'm sorry you're feeling so yucky! I'm sure you're right and you'll be back down at the end of TOM, and if not that's ok too cause as soon as you start feeling better you'll be back at it and down even lower in no time! Just keep coming here and tracking what is going on and before long...you'll reach your goals! I know you have it in you

[scsemperfi]

Thanks Maria. I really appreciate being able to come here and know that everyone "get's it". It's so hard venting to people who don't understand. I'm really going to try to be on here more. I do think that it helps.