I received several comments on last weeks Weigh In, and I thought it would be a good idea to compile them all in a new post. There were some great suggestions that I thought others may find beneficial as well. I want to thank everyone for your encouragement. It was just what I needed at that point.

I will freely admit that if it hadn’t been for the Weekly Weigh In, I would have just quit the whole lose weight idea last week. After more than three weeks of trying-and-seeing-no-results, I was very discouraged and frustrated and was ready to chunk the whole idea. I kept thinking, though, “I can’t just quit because people are expecting the weigh in post.” I knew the accountability factor would prove to be important to me. Thank you, guys!

Here we go with the comments…

Kristine said:

Please don’t give up!!!!! Here are a few things to look up to get some inspiration. Dottie’s Weight Loss Zone is a website maintained by a woman named Dottie (surprise, surprise) who made it to her goal weight, and gained most of the weight back again. She’s on her second journey to goal, and writes about her success and her failure. She follows Weight Watchers, and has a tremendous amount of free information on her site. You can find her at http://www.dwlz.com/dotcomeback/updates2Page7.html.
Her mottoes are one day at a time, no guilt, and move on. The greatest thing you have is the 24 hours in front of you. The past is gone; the future is distant. Today you CAN succeed. Set a goal you can achieve in the next 24 hours.

I also belong to Weight Watchers online, and my tag line is if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. That’s http://www.weightwatchers.com. Maybe you need to try something different, and maybe something a little structured but not too difficult to follow. I know that e-diets is not expensive, and there are other sites like Biggest Loser that offer inexpensive services too. They’re all in the $15 per month range, I think.
Just don’t ever give up, and get on the scale…it keeps you accountable, no matter how hard it is. And remember, it’s just a number…not who you are. AND FINALLY, just strive for health and well-being, and the weight will come off.

I love Dottie’s mottoes and Kristine’s tag line. “Today you CAN succeed.” As with everything else, I can only take this one day at a time. If I didn’t do so great yesterday, I still have today.

I have considered Weight Watchers, but I feel like I need to know details about how it works before I joined…and as far as I understand, you can’t see the whole program until you join. Anything dictating what foods I can and cannot eat scares me. I know that I cannot live with that kind of confinement. So I’m concentrating on portion sizes while still choosing myself what foods I’ll eat. I know that Weight Watchers and similar programs have worked for many people, though, so I’m not saying they’re bad programs…just that they scare me, lol!

My dear friend Charity stopped by and commented that she’d like to join in too. I talked to her over the weekend, and I think she’s trying the Adkins diet. Another friend of ours is doing Adkins and lost ten pounds in a week…wow!! They tried to harass me into it, but I fled the scene because the idea of no bread…well, I’d starve to death. Seriously.

Carole wrote:

Cindy, is there ONE thing you can pick for the coming week to focus on – like, no sodas, or trying to eat a piece of fruit every day, or trying to drink x amount of water each day for the next week – something that will give you something concrete to take action on that will make you feel like you’re moving forward? Sometimes it’s so hard in the winter not to fall victim to the “blahs”, I know. But you can do it, girl!!!

I’ve been doing my best to drink lots of water, but I’ve tried even harder in the last week. I haven’t had any chocolate milk for at least two weeks; whereas I was drinking a glass almost every morning with breakfast. Two days this past week, I didn’t have a Sunkist…just water all day.

I agree that winter seems like a hard time to be starting a weight loss plan. I would LOVE to get out and walk, but the weather has been so cold and snowy. The day I received all these nice comments, I did bundle the kids up, put Robert in a sling, and go for a walk. I didn’t know it was only 20 degrees, haha. We didn’t go far. But I felt good knowing I had done something. Today is about 50 degrees, and I plan to take them for another walk.

The MaMa (my mom!) wrote:

Cindy, maybe your efforts are paying off. You have gone 3 weeks without gaining any weight! It is easy to put on weight in the winter, because we don’t get out as much and we tend to eat more. (Survival mode sets in)
Have you tried I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter spray? I know how much we both “enjoy” real butter, but this stuff is pretty good. Just spray a little on bread instead of butter and you eliminate calories and fat. However, don’t pour the whole thing over your pancakes like I did one time. Turns out there are 60 total fat grams in the entire bottle.

Having someone else point out that I hadn’t gained anything was a big encouragement to me. Thanks, Mom! I had thought the same thing myself but would immediately think, “That’s just a cop-out…you should be losing!”

I have not tried I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, but I need to look at it and maybe try it. I’ve tried Smart Balance, but it upsets my stomach and I wonder if any of the ingredients are similar. I do have concerns with some of the chemicals they put in some of that stuff, which is why I switched to butter several years ago. Yes, I know…fat and cholesterol…but it’s natural, and I do think natural (in moderation) is better. Still, I will look at the ICBINB spray and think about it.

Nellie (my mother in law!) wrote:

well Cindy ,Here is what I have been doing this week. I,too, have jumped on your band waygon. I have been gaining weight this winter too. I felt that I needed to do a whole body cleanse , because I have been eating whole grains , no fast food(except some thing fast that I do my self, is that considered fast food), I use olive oil to cook with ect,ect,ect. still I did’t lose,soooo now , I had to start out with a colon cleanse ( the stuff I am using doesn’t taste like a milk shake,but I was told it wasn’t supposed to… I am down 3 pounds but I dont know if that is weight loss or ……….. today I started the 2 week cleanse……..it is herbs ect, to cleanse and detoxify your whole body. Liver,lungs, lymphatic system,kidneys, skin, blood and bowel….. I have been reading how we pick up so many toxins, and this makes us not feel like excersing ect. I will let you know how I do ……..heres hoping for secess……Nell

I have seen several things on other blogs lately about doing a whole body cleanse. I’m anxious to hear Nellie’s results with this. The idea is a little, uh, disconcerting because…well, poisons and toxins oozing out…that doesn’t sound pleasant. So I’m looking forward to hearing a first hand report of what a whole body cleanse is really like.

Tomorrow, the Weigh In!