The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » July 18th, 2006, 4:56 pm

YAY!!

I'm 7 days in now & doing great!

I've not really had any issues with lusting after the family's food so much in the last couple of days. Pauly has been a real champ about taking over clearing the table, etc. & helping out w/ feeding the kiddos, so that has been a HUGE help! (Guess he misses the ol' bod too! ha ha)

I've been SO EXCITED to find this support group, and all the warm welcomes! I hope to find the time to journal regularly, as I know it will be a big help for me

Had a little bit of trouble today getting in all my shakes, as I was slammed w/ back-to-back appointments and client emails. Just one of those days.

I'm pretty slammed at home, too, because Pauly & the girls are headed to my IL's in FL Thursday night for 5 days, so there's mucho packing to get done. I couldn't get my schedule cleared, so I don't get to go... waaaaah! lol... but we'll be going back for Christmas, so no biggie.

To be honest, I desperately need the time to get caught up on a ton of paperwork & web/support group work that has been looming over me like a cloud, so its a welcome break! PLUS... no cooking for the family, so EASY MEDIFAST DAYS AHEAD!! ha ha

Okey dokey! That's it for today...

Karli · by **Karli** » July 18th, 2006, 4:59 pm

Yay, I am happy you started a journal

. Yes, my hubby has been gone for almost a week now, and it is a little easier to just hunker down on ol' MF when other cooking is not going on.

Hope you get caught up on the things you wish to get caught up on.

Karli

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » July 18th, 2006, 6:18 pm

Hey thanks Karli!

I appreciate that!! I'll need all the well-wishes I can get on the paperwork, etc. build-up... I am soooooo behind!! :shock:

--------------------------------
Adding to my previous post - have a bit more time on my hands this eve thanks to a rescheduled client call...

I'm REALLY looking forward to the break... the sheer volume of "busy-ness" & mindless clutter generated by 4 little kiddos at home 24/7 is really starting to get to me. Don't get me wrong - I am NOT "housekeeper of the year", and neither is Pauly, but it's getting outta hand. :roll:

Does it make me a giant weenie-head that I am literally counting down the days until I get everyone in school/pre-k in August? My 7 year old will be in 2nd grade, my 5 year old will be in Kindergarten and I finally couldn't take the twins any more & enrolled them in a Christian K-3 program near Pauly's office in town to the tune of about $800 a month. Worth every penny, even if I have to take on additional clients to make it work. Call me sadistic, but I want photographic evidence of those two busy-buns being forced to sit in little chairs for extended periods of time :shock:

LOL They're so... so.... umm.... THREE :roll:

I Loooove my babies... LOVE EM... but you know what they say... "How can I miss you if you don't go awaaaay!?!" :lol:

I remember when Ryland (my oldest) wanted to ride the bus w/ her friends in Kindergarten (we live in the country, so most kiddos do) and I insisted on driving her every day. It took me 3 months, but it finally dawned on me that this was free curb service & I MIGHT just be able to let go on that point. I walked her to the end of the driveway every morning for the rest of the year & even welled up with tears the first few times I waved as they pulled off to the next house.

Now? T-minus 20 days, and counting... :-P

I went on my yearly "If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy" trip in June, and I *thought* that would help in the de-stressing dept., but it didn't. I ended up having to basically be-the-psych for one of my friends & it was really draining for me, so I don't feel like I had much of a break, except for the last couple of days at my GF Amy's place. I'll be skipping the Chicago leg of the "tour" next year, I think... :roll:

So, long story even longer, I guess I'm looking at this FL trip as a "do-over" for my yearly break...

On another point, I ran into a fellow cheer mom from last season at the store this afternoon & she looked FANTASTIC... she HAD to have lost like 75-100 lbs or so! (She's much shorter than I am, so it's hard for me to judge...) I asked her what on earth happened to her, and she said she'd had stomach surgery! :shock:

I told her I thought that was very brave of her (being kind).... told her I was on MF and that it was going great for me, and maybe I'd be a diva-britches like her in a few months. She immediately went into the self-justification mode of trying to down "liquid diets" and that she was "just so overweight" that she didn't have a choice. :roll:

Translation: She didn't want to / didn't have the self-esteem to invest extra time & effort in herself. (My opinion as a behaviorist - no slamming me, please! lol) BTDT myself, I know the difference, because I did the research on bariatric surgery, when I felt that hopeless... but eventually I sucked it up & dove in to MF after doing my homework. No knifey 4 me, thanks...

Here's the kicker... I asked her if she had to eat special foods, or how did that work (already knowing the answer) and she said her Dr. had prescribed some "special bariatric food" (a brand I am familiar with, that is strikingly similar to the Medifast options, just WAY the heck more expensive & RX only) and that she'd been eating that for several months. I smiled, high-fived her, congratulated her, etc. & we went on about our respective ways...

So, basically, she underwent very scary surgery just to do the same thing we're doing, only w/out the behavioral modification training via the books & the online support system here & at the Medifastdiet dot com site. ALL BECAUSE her Dr. allowed her to BUY INTO the fallacy that she didn't have the cahones to believe in herself and tough out the first few days... SAD.

What a racket... :roll:

sidrah · by **sidrah** » July 18th, 2006, 7:04 pm

Hi,
I am counting down days to school, too, but I want them to go verrryyyy slowly. I go back Aug 8th..well, kids do. I think I have to start Aug 2. The way I see it, the summer goes slow for me if I count down shakes till school. So lame, but sometimes it feels like the day will never end and time b/m shakes and meals is forever.

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » July 23rd, 2006, 8:19 am

Sunday, July 23 - I have been enjoying the quiet around the house the last couple of days with the kiddos gone

I've been catching up on paperwork & straightening up the place a bit. I weighed in this morning and have only lost one additional pound this week, but considering my whopping 12 pounds lost the first week, I am still VERY HAPPY!!! I kind of expected the second week to not show much of a difference, according to the "Success in a Shaker Jar" book. Plus, I forgot & weighed after I'd already had a bunch of water & a shake for b-fast, so there may still be some loss to show, won't know till I weigh again in the morning. I've had to take a glass or two of sugar free Metamucil because of the wicked constipation. The book recommends that, so I don't imagine it has slowed me down any. Gotta get back to work around here while its still quiet! ha ha The family comes back home on Tues night, so I'm taking advantage of every second... I guess that's it for today! :mrgreen:

TTFN & HAPPY LOSING!!

SharonR · by **SharonR** » July 28th, 2006, 11:27 am

Hi Nikki, havn't heard anything from ya in the past few days, how ya doin'?

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » August 14th, 2006, 5:27 am

THANK YOU SO MUCH for the Private Messages checking in with me, Ladies

It's so nice to know there is a real-live support network here! :mrgreen:

While I didn't have the time to respond individually (I am so sorry!

) I was sure to make some time this morning to post here

I had to take a 2 week break, no bones about it. I violated rule #1 without even realizing it: I didn't choose my start date carefully! :shock:

I thought, with Pauly & the girls gone to FL for the week, I would have built up enough of a routine in their absence, that the "Breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner" (FOOD ALL OVER THE PLACE!) routine of working from home, while caring for the kids while they were out of school would not be such a temptation. Boy, howdy was I WRONG!!! :roll:

They weren't home 2 days before I found myself stress & comfort eating again. For several days, I would wake up and "start over", only to fall back into the behavior. Even with my phenomenal initial success as a huge motivation, the stress and overall "busy-ness" was just too much.

I decided that I was wasting my investment in myself by "starting over each day", going through 2-3 packets, then blowing what good it was doing by having "just a bite" of the kids' sandwich, or chicken fingers, or whatever was available (and it was ALWAYS available!) to feed the stress comforter food meister within me. So, I knew the kids would all be in school August 11 (last Fri.) and I would have the entire day back to myself for the first time in a long time.

It made ALL the difference. While I quickly gained back almost all I'd lost over those two weeks, I am happy to report that I have not deviated from my MF plan ONCE since I woke up Friday morning, and have already lost half of what I'd gained back. I even went to my nephew's 3rd birthday party w/ my family on Friday night at Chuch-E-Cheese's and had my L&G from the salad bar (took my own dressing & saved up my snack for the day so I could crumble my MF crackers over the top for croutons!). (gasp!) Imagine that!! I PLANNED AHEAD and it was EASY!

Sat there & sipped on my Diet Coke, took my time visiting & chatting while noshing on my salad & didn't miss a thing. It was great, and it was easy, because I wasn't stressed out & I planned ahead. :idea:

My counseling practice is expanding rapidly into teaching others how to do what I do, both as a Christian counselor and as a stepfamily / divorce recovery specialist, plus I am working on my next book for stepfamillies, so I am going Mach 5 with my hair on fire anyway... but with the children back in school, I feel like - even with my crazy schedule - this is going to be a breeze!

We pretty much have the morning and afternoon routines down to a loving, but military, science at my house now, so I get to invest in the girls while they are here, and invest in my work when they are not. Life is good. This is the first time in 8 years I have had the luxury of doing my work with no children at home, and it's heaven!!! No more staying up until all hours just to get things done! Wee-haw! Had no idea regular sleep could be so delicious

lol!

So, here I am, back in the fold - having started at the RIGHT Time now, I have regained my excitement & enthusiasm, and am looking SO forward to being a BIG OL' LOSER!!!!!

Thanks again so much for the support - it has meant the world to me!

-------------------------------------
Edit / P.S. - For my personal motivational reasons, I am going to leave my weight loss counter "as-is" until I get back down to 267... I should be there by the end of the week, and I need to keep my eye on the prize!

Serendipity · by **Serendipity** » August 14th, 2006, 6:50 am

So glad to have you back!

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » August 14th, 2006, 7:00 am

Thank you! :clap:

So glad to BE back!!

Also wanted to add that I just updated my pics in the Studio - added one of me this morning next to the one of me from June... I'm starting to see a lil' somethin'!

SO grateful for the support here!!! :bow:

JeepGirl · by **JeepGirl** » August 14th, 2006, 7:38 am

Hi Nikki, it is good to see you back!

I totally agree with the "it is easier with the kids in school" thing. Mine started lst Monday and I found that the routine is so much easier to follow than when they are home all day!

Way To Go on planning ahead for CEC! It easily becomes 2nd nature pretty fast!

hehe a regular sleep schedule is the bomb aint it!

~Reg

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » August 14th, 2006, 8:09 am

hehe a regular sleep schedule is the bomb aint it!

You got that right, Sistah! lol I had no idea! LOL

Hey, thanks again for the reminder on the measurements! Posting them here & will keep up w/ them weekly (hopefully) on some sort of schedule:

SWEET!!!

Neck: down 1/4 in.
Bicep: down 1 in.
Forearm: n/c
Chest: down 1 1/2 in.
Waist: n/c
Hips: down 2 1/2 in
Thigh: down 2 1/2 in.
Calf: down 2 in.

:bow:

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » August 15th, 2006, 5:20 am

Good Googley Moogley, have I got a HEADACHE today! Just pounded some Tylenol w/ my Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal & diet Dew this morning, hoping it will kick in soon...

Having a hard time kicking the diet dew habit. I've been a certified junkie since the age of about 20. (I sincerely believe that my blood actually looks like that neon green fluid that sweats out of people on those Gatorade commercials...) I had 4 children in 3 years (while finishing up school - went back in my old age & had my kids in my old age!), and I relied heavily on the caffiene to get me through that time. Used to love coffee, but I can't deal with the heat of it anymore. I like cold, bubbly, bright tasting diet dew, or diet sundrop, whatever's available. Fortunately, it has no carbs, no cals, so it won't get me too badly, and I do work in my two big guggers of water during the day as well. (Yes, the potty & I are good friends these days... lol)

Well, I have a mountain of paperwork to get done today, so I need to hit the books... hope my headache goes away soon! Oy! LOL :mrgreen:

BamaBabe · by **BamaBabe** » August 16th, 2006, 6:38 am

*sigh* didn't get all my paperwork done yesterday that I needed to. I'll be hitting the old desk hard here in a few. I've committed to myself to spend 30 mins each morning reading up on these boards first thing as a mode of getting my mindset straight for the day. Also, I think the daily journaling will help!

Just thinkin' about my Honey this morning - he's such a super star to me. Fantastic Dad & awesome team player in my MF commitment. God sent me a good one, that's for sure

Goin' on 10 years - many ups & downs, but always together

We're in full swing of another school year, and already busy as loons. I'm loving the twins being in K-4, and I'm loving that Paul is 100% responsible for them in the mornings & getting them there & home. What a relief to me, after over 8 years of exhaustion raising our 4 girls at home / completing school / working from home!

My Hubby-Unit rocks, I'm having a great morning, I'm 2 lbs. from making up my 2 week off-plan fiasco, it's nice & quiet here so I can get to work now... life is good!

Elizabeth · by **Elizabeth** » August 16th, 2006, 7:14 am

Hi Nikki. You're doing great. Thanks for your post on my "help" thread. I am back on track today.
It is so great to have the support and help you have from your husband. My husband is also very helpful to me and I'm so grateful. He wants me to be happy and healthy. He's a doll. See ya around.