Category — Weight Loss

I meant to post about this last night, but yesterday was a loooooong day and even though I didn’t go to bed until midnight, I was working on my Vietnam Derm Project and forgot to write this for Chuck the Chunk Wednesday. 

Travis found this incredible free iphone app called Lose It!  It’s like the Wii Fit meets Weight Watchers or something.  You report your height and weight, and you tell it your target (example: to lose 1lb per week, to maintain ___ weight, etc).  It will then calculate how many calories per day you can consume per day to meet your specific goal.  Here’s the cool part…you then log everything you eat throughout the day and it pulls up all the nutritional info for you (it has almost everything but allows you to customize your own recipes too), keeps track of your calories, sodium, fat, sugar, etc. and tell you how many remaining calories you can eat to still meet your goal.  Here’s an even MORE awesome feature…if you exercise, you can log your exercise and it will deduct the calories burned based on your activity.  For example, when you log a run, it asks you how many minutes / hours you ran and at what pace, then it figures out your calories burned factoring in your weight.  I know that if I run for 60 minutes at a 8-9 minute mile pace, I burn ~550 calories and then that credits how many calories I can take in that day to still be within my target.  How cool is that?!  It’s hard not to obsess when you start using this program, and I ended up losing 2-3lbs this week just because logging what we eat has made us painfully conscious of how many calories are in things like a Chipotle burrito bowl, for example! 

Funny story - Travis is CONSTANTLY looking stuff up and saying things like “well, I’m not eating that; it’s the equivalent of 2 beer!”  He admitted to seeing the world like Alex, the lion, from Madagascar during the part when Alex pictures a steak in place of everything he looks at, only, instead of steak, Travis sees a frosty mug with Sunshine Wheat beer (what we have on tap right now) and an orange slice floating on top.  He’ll come back from a long run and tell me how many beers he earned!  Hahaha!

Anyway, it’s ridiculously easy to use and if you’re concerned about nutrition (for example, Travis is watching his sodium intake) or calorie counting, it’s the perfect solution to make life SO easy. 

How is everyone else doing with your weight loss goals?  Any useful strategies you’d like to add?

I’m shooting for maintenance, but it seems I’m still shedding little bits here and there, and I think I’m down another 1-2lbs.  I either have a parasite, or I’ve discovered a dieting secret worth writing a book about.  It’ll be titled Milk Yourself Skinny, and I’ll be encouraging all readers to buy a breast pump and start “mooing.”  I’d put myself on the cover in this pose:

{That’s a breast pump;}

If my weight loss is attributable to the former, my book would be titled Just Swallow This, The Gift to Dieters That Keeps on Giving, with this image on the cover:

{It’s a tapeworm;}

Best sellers in the making, I know.  And in case you’re as obsessed with parasitology as I am, here’s a bbc news story from a long time ago, but totally worth reading for the sheer shock value!  I came across it when I googled “tapeworm.”

Since my focus is now on toning, I am committed to working out (running 3-5 days, wii fit, and/or long walks) 5-6 days a week.  Travis and I have picked out a really fun race to train for.  I haven’t decided yet if I’ll do the 1/2 or full marathon.  It’s in early May, just before we hope to leave for Vietnam (more on that later).  I’ll make these weekly posts more about my marathon training if we decide to commit to the full thing. 

Other than my obviously brilliant, probably soon-to-be-best-seller suggestions of getting your hands on either a breast pump or parasite, does anyone else have any dieting tips you’d like to add?  Things that have / have not worked for you?  I have to say, the one that has helped me the most was the “no eating after 7″ rule someone suggested.  I’m also still doing the no bread, no sugar, limited alcohol, lots of water thing.  The other new strategy I’ve employed that is helping me with my runs is drinking my coffee right before my run (along with lots of water), which gives me the energy to really push myself and make my runs count. 

I decided to continue this weekly theme a little longer afterall.  It kind of helps me with accountability, strangely, and I’m happy with my progress.  I’ve lost another 5+lbs in the last 1.5 weeks, and am now 8 or so pounds less than I was before I got pregnant.  I’m still doing no bread, no sugar, alcohol no more than 2 nights a week, running when I can (3+ times per week, 3 mile minimum), and Wii Fit a few times a week, but I think the reason I’m continuing to lose it at this pace is because I’m still nursing.  I am SO not letting Finley wean until she goes off to college!!  JK.  I think maintenance will be more difficult if she ever does wean, so my plan is to be running long distances again (6-10 miles a few times/week) by the time I stop nursing.  Residency will obviously throw a wrench in that, but that’s where having the goal of a marathon to train for will help me.  Oh, and in case I just made it sound like weaning is on the horizon, it’s not.  Finley is still VERY interested in nursing, despite her obsession with food…she even still has a suck blister right now, just like when she was a newborn, from nursing so much. 

So in spite of the kegerator, I’m now back to my high school weight.  And since I’ve started running again and lost my baby weight, I’ve been in the market for a new vice.  The kegerator is PERFECT; I can now drink a 300lb man under the table!  But my problem remains to be my shelf.  The C-section scar demarcates the underside of the shelf and my tummy mudslide just dead-ends there.  It’s hideous and just completely weird looking.  I’ve started doing the ab workouts on the Wii Fit, sit-ups after runs, and of course running itself should help.  We’ll see though; I just don’t think those muscles can ever be normal again on me.  I had a funny conversation with 2 of my friends the other day.  1 is pregnant and wants a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarian), so she’s looking for a good OB (I had a family doc, then midwife, but ended up with an OB because I went to section).  I started to tell her how wonderful mine OB when I remembered my incision…so I backpedaled and gave her the caveat, “well, she’s amazing and I’d totally recommend her IF you aren’t bothered by your surgeon operating while intoxicated!”  I am not joking when I say my incision is HUGE and totally crooked like a sideways “S,” as Jack would tell you.  But when we were in FL with family and I was complaining about my scar, Travis interrupted to say “aw sweetie, at least your boobs hide it though, right?!”  Freakin smarta$$. 

Ok, so this is the point of no return…if you don’t want to see a picture of my gross scar, stop reading here.  The rest is only for the non-squeamish. 

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Thank you SO much for all the awesome input on yesterday’s post.  I have a lot more to say about Shane-bug, the freakout I had, and where I am now with it all.  We will have our EI eval, see our ped, who worked in VN orphanages and has tons of adoption experience, and we’ll take it from there.  I was so comforted by all of you who shared your professional advice, as well as tidbits about your own kids.  Thank you all!

I can’t remember now how long I’ve been on this diet…maybe 7 weeks?  My weight is stable, which is fine by me.  I honestly thought I’d never again fit into the clothes I’ve been wearing lately, and I even got 2 new pairs of pants for Christmas when Lucky was having this whopping 50% off sale on all their jeans.  I LOVE my new jeans.  Love the size, love the style, love how they feel, and just happy to be comfortable in clothes without an elastic waistband! 

I’m still not exactly where I want to be because my muscles remain shapeless and atonic.  But I started running again and am feeling really good about that.  Guess what else I’ve been doing?!  Drumroll please…Wii Fit!!  Travis got it for me for Christmas.  I worked out 2 nights ago for about an hour and can feel it today - love that!  Granted, it takes 2 hours to do about 1 hours worth of actual working out and there are lots more breaks than I’d normally take.  But hey, it’s fun, and I’m convinced it’s taking the place of what I’d otherwise be doing at night…sleeping, reading, blogging, or watching TV…all sedentary activities.  Travis and I have a new favorite “date night” when we put the kids to bed.  Get drunk and play Wii.  We’re just classy like that.  Btw, the kegerator is KILLER when it comes to dieting.  SUCH an awesome thing to have, especially living in the land of incredible microbrews here in CO, but I’ve had to make a strict rule for myself: I don’t touch beer until the weekend.  Unless, of course, it’s a special holiday or we have friends over, but since we don’t have many friends (or at least none that aren’t equally confined to their homes in the evenings due to fun-spoiling munchkins), that doesn’t happen all that often!  {Random aside - we brought our Wii over to Larry and Kyndra’s last weekend to play, and of course Travis had to have his 2 Below (the keg beer) on draft to go with it.  So we filled a few pitchers and showed up at their house with pitchers of beer covered with plastic wrap.  We rushed it inside as quickly as possible so their neighbors wouldn’t see.  I don’t think I even did anything that ghetto when I was in college!  Who said frugality + medical school with kids + a curfew of 8pm can’t still = wild times?!} 

Anyway, the question I have for everyone is how do we maintain our weight once we’re happy with it?  Does it not feel like you’re constantly at war with your own body?  I know it won’t feel like that during the spring/summer, when I can get back into running long distances and training for a marathon I hope to do in the fall.  But it’s much harder this time of year when I pretty much have to fight the snacking temptation all day because of the time we spend indoors due to the cold. 

Depending on participation, this might be the last day I host Chuck the Chunk, as it doesn’t seem many people are chiming in on this lately and I don’t have much more to say.  Thanks for following my postpartum weight loss efforts! 

Well, BOTH suits ended up fitting.  I wore the new one because, well, it was a little less dumpy, a little more power;)  I was so happy to get through the interview day at least feeling confident about my clothes fitting, if nothing else!  Unfortunately, my way of celebrating was to eat cake and drink wine ever since I came home from the interview.  Shockingly, I’m still the same weight, maybe +1lb, but I’d better get back on track if I want my suit to still fit for my next interview (Jan. 2). 

The interview day itself was great - I loved the program (sorry for being so vague about my plans still…more later) and I think it went well.  I have to say, my 2nd biggest fear (right after the fear of my pants seam ripping when I bent over) was that I’d have an embarrassing milk letdown incident.  The letdown reflex usually seems to happen at inopportune times and reminds me of that part in Ghostbusters where the guys are told not to think of ANYTHING, just to keep their minds blank, because whatever their minds come up with will be their reality.  That’s when the Marshmallow Man appears as a huge monster…stay with me here…the milk letdown situation is like that because I SWEAR it’s one of the best examples of mind over matter the human body has.  When you’re tense or in a hurry to nurse and get out the door, letdown is inevitably impeded.  But when you hear a baby cry, think of a baby, miss your baby, or desperately don’t want to have milk embarrassingly pouring out of your body like some kind of farm animal…BOOM, you get milk letdown.  So, I felt like a Ghostbuster, repeating this ridiculous mantra of “please don’t think about milk, don’t think about milk,” when obviously all I was able to think about was milk.  I might as well have imagined every interviewer as a newborn crying, or better yet, a farmer with a ready bucket.  But somehow, by some freakin miracle, I was able to dehydrate myself enough that milk NEVER did spill out as I’d feared!!  I went for SEVEN freakin hours without nursing Finley and neither of us died!!  Amazing.  The really bothersome part of the story is that I’m all torn up again from the dry air, Finley teething, etc. and when I did try to discretely disappear for 10 minutes to pump, I started bleeding and then freaked out that, not milk, but blood, would seep out onto my new suit. Gross, I know.  Sorry for that.  Thankfully, blood did not seep out, and the only real damage that was done by my pumping attempt was that the residents who were giving us a tour probably thought I was overcome by Montezuma’s Revenge, or extreme constipation.  Either or.  I came back all frazzled and slightly disheveled from the bathroom and everyone pretended not to notice.  At least they were polite. 

I have SO much blogging to catch up on, but I don’t know when that’ll happen.  I hope you guys have enjoyed the 12 Days of Christmas.  I really love when people I know and/or people who have been loyal readers win fun stuff.  I wish that happened more, but thank you everyone for participating.  I hope random.org generates some fun winners tomorrow!  To be honest, I’m looking forward to the giveaways ending for a few weeks so I can catch up on blogging, but I had a ton of fun doing this and am glad I did it!!

Sorry this wasn’t really about Chunking the Chunk.  Feel free to share how your weight loss plans went this week!  I have a feeling the next 2 weeks might spell r-e-g-r-e-s-s-i-o-n, as in back to the elastic waistband pants for me.  I think my strategy has to be NO bread, NO sugar.  But, well, Travis just got his new Kegerator set up, so I can’t promise adherence to the “no alcohol” rule.  We leave for Florida on Sunday, so the “no sugar” part might be a bigger challenge than usual too.  What are your holiday survival plans with regards to weight loss or maintenance?

I bought a new suit last night.  ‘Nuff said.

As if I could ever be that succinct!  Ha!  So, I am actually down another 2lbs and the suit I wore 2 years ago actually does button…but it aint pretty.  I sucked my gut in and modeled it for Travis, who even said, “um, I’m just thinking since you’re already going into this interview a little under-confident, maybe you should get a suit you feel comfortable in?”  Believe me, if Travis suggested I buy new clothes, it’s BAD.  The frustrating part is that I bought the same size as my old suit.  I think I must’ve gotten greedy and had the old suit tailored.  I feel like if I’d have started this diet 3 weeks sooner I might be able to wear it.  Damn.  As for the diet - no bread, no sugar, no alcohol for yet another week.  I’m pretty happy with it, although again I only did cardio twice.  I did some incline push-ups that left me unable to raise my arms, and challenged the mudslide to tighten for some sit-ups.  How’d you all do?  Drop you link below if you’re participating and want to post about it.

Remember yesterday (Weight Loss / Chuck the Chunk Wednesday) when I said my blogging friend, Kim, got me a scale for Christmas because I kept saying how I didn’t have one and she’s the sweetest woman in the world?  Well, it came today, along with the cutest little baby dolls for Shane and Fin, and a brand new copy of Jack’s all-time favorite movie that he hasn’t been able to watch for 3 weeks b/c our DVD got all scratched up, Cars (thanks again Kim, you’re awesome).  So I zeroed the scale and it is consistently reading 4lbs LESS than I weighed PRE-PREGNANCY!!!  WTF???  OMG, I haven’t weighed this little since college, so you’d think I’d be thrilled about that right?  Well, not so much.  It’s just a number, and I guess I’m happy it didn’t read what I’d feared it was going to.  But what it actually means is that my friend Jena was right…my body has just changed.  So many people say it happens after pregnancy, but I didn’t want to believe that hype.  As it turns out, over the course of 1 year, I’ve aged 10.  I have bags and sags everywhere.  My tummy droops over my waistband, my boobs should be tucked into my pants, and my a$$ looks like it belongs to a 70 year old.  But somehow I weigh less.  It’s because there’s not a toned muscle left in my body.  My abs divorced long ago to make room for that absurdly huge uterus that carried a peanut who only weighed 6lbs 14oz at 41+ weeks gestation, my pecs atrophied and let gravity win the tug-of-war over the girls, and my butt morphed into a pair of dimpled pancakes.  DAMN! 

Don’t think this diet thing is over just because my weight is down.  HELL NO…now I’m REALLY determined to get fit again.  I’m just realizing that I should be focusing more on the exercising aspect than I have been.  Jumping rope, riding my bike, using weights to tone.  And yes, I will continue to breasfeed.  I don’t think much more damage can be done to the girls at this point, so I might as well continue to let Fin have her fun AND get that calorie burn (and admittedly, I love breastfeeding her).  Btw, Jen, why does it bother you when people include that as motive for breastfeeding?  Along with natural birth control, I think it’s 1 of several great benefits to moms that outweigh the droopage factor.  I’m interested in your take on it as a weightloss strategy.  Or is that only how you feel when people are nursing a 7 year old and using that as justification??  (Random aside, did you guys watch that HILARIOUS video of the 8 year old nursing that Tara N linked to in a comment?  I pissed my pants!) 

Don’t forget to drop your link in the post before this one if you’re participating in Chuck the Chunk Challenge so we can continue to be a support system for each other, and check out your blogs to read what has worked / not worked for you.  I’ll use Mister Linky every week so we can keep track of our little "Chuck the Chunk" support network.  Now’s a good time to start a blog if you’ve been on the fence and need a reason to join up! 

Also, don’t forget to enter the KICK-ASS BOWS GIVEAWAY that ends tomorrow night.  AND, one last thing…today is the "12 Days of Christmas" Eve!!  Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you here tomorrow!

First of all, if you haven’t already, go enter the Kick-Ass Bows GIVEAWAY.  Also, I’m kicking off the 12 Days of Christmas Gift Guide and GIVEAWAYS here on Friday.  There’ll be something fun everyday for 12 days (but don’t ask me about the Wii…it’s a sore subject at the moment;) Jk.  Also, if you don’t want to be entered in a giveaway, please don’t leave a comment on the giveaway post.  I cannot avoid entering you if you drop a comment (unless I manually delete your comment).  The reason is because I use random.org to generate the winner’s comment #.  I do that by entering the # of comments that were left on the giveaway post, then finding the person who left that numbered comment.  So if you drop a comment, you are automatically entered in that giveaway.  Some more cute pictures of Finley’s Kick-Ass Bows:

Back to my weight loss efforts…Shameful.  I totally suck.  Thanksgiving was kinda rough on the diet - we ate lots, drank more, etc.  BUT, my pants still button, just a LOT less comfortably.  I’m making myself wear them though as punishment a new strategy - since they’re already tight and painful, I’m reminded each time I sit down that I’d better not be stuffing my face or it’s only going to get more uncomfortable.  Sadistic, I know.  Oh, and pretty soon I’ll have an actual scale to measure my progress (or regression); one of my awesome readers was so sweet and bought me and each of the kids Christmas gifts!!  How ridiculously nice was that?!  Although terrified to step on it, I think the scale will also help me with accountability.  I’ll be a lot less apt to indulge if I know I have to weigh in!

Anyway, I’ve decided Thanksgiving must’ve totally stretched my stomach back out because I swear I’ve had gnawing hunger pains very quickly after eating recently.  The toughest part of Thanksgiving for me is that my FAVORITE part is the leftovers - I love to eat ‘em on a sandwich.  Turkey, lettuce, stuffing, mayonnaise, tomato, and cranberry.  YUM!  I have to confess, I had 2 such sandwiches, for lunch and dinner the day after Thanksgiving.  Since then though, I’ve been an angel.  Today I had all the ingredients, but ate them in a lettuce wrap!  It was more work, but almost just as delicious.

So, things I sucked at:

• ate bread twice
• only rode my bike trainer once
• had wine 2 nights and a Mike’s Light 1 night (last time I was on the wagon was Friday after Thanksgiving, but I’ve been good since)

Things I did well:

• no eating after 7
• better about drinking water (still not great though)
• turned down dessert and didn’t slip even once!!  NO sugar!

Ok, your turn.  So did you chuck the chunk?  I finally figured out how to set-up Mister Linky.  If you’re participating in these Weight Loss Wednesdays and you have a blog, drop your link here so we can all be connected!

Congrats to Emily for winning the Littleague CD giveaway (Trav isn’t home to help me upload the random.org screenshots, but it selected comment #61)!   

Don’t forget to enter the Mandy’s Moon GIVEAWAY to win the beautiful Precious Moments Vietnamese Treetop Angel!

Ok, I have to get something off my chest first (no, it’s not my boobs…though I wouldn’t mind getting them off my stomach if one of my friends would hurry up and finish a plastics residency)…I still haven’t stepped onto a scale.  We don’t own one, we’re broke, and as it turns out, drug companies are more than happy to sponsor the blood pressure monitors in every pharmacy and grocery store, but there’s not much incentive for scales I guess.  Damn drug companies, they just want us to be overweight, develop high BP and diabetes, and have to take their meds.  Bastards.

Anyway, I am using my clothes to assess progress until I find access to a scale (do any of my IRL local friends happen to have one I could step on weekly?).  SO, guess what?!  I fit into my favorite pair of pre-maternity jeans.  And all the pants that I couldn’t button, snap, and/or zip last week?  Well, this week they all button, snap, and/or zip now.  Ok, so they don’t fit exactly like they used to.  I’ve always rocked the ghetto bootie, but I’m pretty sure my ass didn’t used to have wings.  Or saddle bags.  Whatever they’re called.  At least not the kind that showed through clothes.  And I have never before, in my life, had the problem of sitting down and having a mudslide spill over the waistband of my pants.  And I’m pretty sure what happens back there when I bend over now would put Joe the Plumber to SHAME!  That is the true miracle of childbirth.  It’s not pretty, but it’s getting better and I’ll take it at this point.  With only 3 weeks until the interview, I think I’m still far from wearing my suit, but at least I’m getting closer. 

So far, here’s what’s worked:

• no bread - I’ve given up sandwiches completely.  The only time I sorta cheated was 1 night when we went over our friends’ house and I scarfed 2 pieces of pizza.  I’m actually pretty proud of that though because normally Travis and I can kill a large pizza ourselves (I can down 3-4 very big slices, no prob). 
• no sugar
• no alcohol
• no eating after 7!!  I’ve found that brushing my teeth right after dinner keeps me from sneaking anything after 7 even if Trav is snacking.  That’s been helpful for me.
• caffeine & fiber - gotta keep the system regular, and the metabolism fast
• veggies - lots of raw carrots and celery in place of wasted calories
• pickles - sounds weird, but I confessed loving to drink pickle juice, vinegar, and downing olives a long time ago (it was a meme, I think).  If you don’t have high blood pressure (mine is very low), pickles are a snack with preservatives and crap, but they’re essentially calorie-free
• daily food journal - writing down everything I eat has been helpful to me and keeps me accountable on a day-to-day basis

Where I need to improve:

• exercise - I sucked.  I did 2 cardio workouts in the past week.  1 was a long walk and the other was on the bike trainer.  I’ve been so damn sleep deprived lately that come 8pm when the kids are finally all down, I’m so beat.  I NEED to find the motivation because this is going to be the key to really losing the fat for me.  
• water - definitely not drinking enough. 

So, how’d you all do??  What worked, what didn’t?  What will you try to do differently during Chuck the Chunk Week 2?  What about Thanksgiving…are you going to let yourself indulge for the day, or are there some items you won’t eat?  I think I’m going to allow my portion size to be as big as I want with 2 exceptions…no pie or dessert after dinner, and no mash potatoes.  But I will have a glass (or 3) of wine. 

First, congrats to Wendy for winning the Sloppy Baby giveaway!  Stay-tuned for another giveaway later today…you might want to be one of the first entries in this one.  I’m just sayin’, so keep your eyes peeled and I’ll get it up as soon as I can. 

OK, as for the weight loss stuff, thanks for your input!  You guys have totally motivated me to DO THIS THING (chuck the chunk, that is).  Paula reminded me to add the "drink more water" part and replace my carb fiber with veggie fiber to my plan.  When I first started trying to drop the Finley pounds (this has been a saga; let’s not forget I gained 50 during pregnancy…that’s about 10lbs per foot of me, if only I’d gained it proportionately!), my rule was that I started each day with 4 tall glasses of water.  No caffeine or anything else allowed to enter my mouth until I’d downed all 4 glasses.  That ensured good hydration and an adequate supply of breastmilk for Fin.  I think I’ll implement that again.  Also, so many of you added the "don’t eat after 7ish" rule that is brilliant…if I can swing it.  That one is hard for me since Travis doesn’t get home much before then and leading up to the kids’ bedtimes is always such a scramble that I never have time to eat then.  I’m going to try to getting dinner going earlier and maybe try and have it made for Travis instead of taking care of the kids and waiting until he makes dinner for the 2 of us to eat.  One thing I noticed a lot of people do that I don’t is cut out all beverages but water.  I do NOT drink sodas or drinks with calories, but I do drink stuff like Fresca.  It’s calorie free (but has aspartame Nicki;), refreshing, filling, and kind of replaces a snack when I would otherwise be eating out of boredom.  I also use Diet Coke as a crutch for those reasons plus the added benefit of speeding up my metabolism because of the caffeine (although now that I’m drinking an espresso or 2 per day, I’ve cut out the diet cokes - it’s just too much caffeine).  Admittedly, caffeine and aspartame are not the healthiest of weight loss tools, but they do work.  I just have to limit myself because I’m still breastfeeding and Finley doesn’t really need a lot of that crap! 

OH, speaking of Finley…she weighs 14.5lbs!!  She loves that 5th percentile, and it looks pretty cute on her.  She’s proportionate, and I was in that percentile until, well, forever, too so there’s nothing to worry about with her size.  If you didn’t see my Tweets, she spiked a 103.1 fever after we got home from the Botanical Gardens yesterday.  It was 4:30pm, but our family doc’s office is awesome and decided to stay late to see her so that we wouldn’t have to go to urgent care or the ER.  I had been watching her all day, but thought it was just a URI since it’d be just a low grade fever with congestion.  When she spiked, I knew it was her ear…and sure enough, it was.  So she’s on antibiotics now and I actually slept (because she did) from 10pm-3am last night, which is a big improvement!  I feel like a million bucks…although I probably look like a cheap hooker since I’m wearing only my new super bra and undies (I HATE having the heat on over 68, but the babies’ needs come first of course;). 

So anyway, "Weigh-In Wednesdays" or "Weight Loss Wednesdays" sounds good to people?  Let’s do it!  We can have discussions in the comments as usual, but maybe I’ll also use a Mr. Linky thing for Wednesday’s posts so those of you with blogs can put your "Weigh-In Wednesday" posts up and we can all see what worked or didn’t work for you that week.  There’ll also still be a comments section for those who are participating without a blog.  I’m going to start, GASP, weighing myself so I can see if I’m up or down each week and by how much in order to gage the diet strategies.  I’m going to keep a log of what I’m eating, including any crap I try to sneak, and I’ll report how I did each Wednesday.  I look forward to hearing from you guys too about your workouts, eating, weighing, energy levels, and how you’re feeling about yourselves each week.  Also, I’m going to post our collective weight loss on the sidebar of my blog.  Each week, when we check in with each other, we’ll say if we’re + or -, and by how much from our starting point (current weight).  We NEVER have to mention our actual weight, or BMI…that would just be depressing for me.  We’ll be honest, and DO NOT feel bad if you have a + week.  We can track our collective progress that way, kinda like Biggest Loser.  Maybe we’ll do a super star of the week or something for whomever has had the most successful week and I’ll post that person on the sidebar along with our collective weight loss.  I promise not to call you The Biggest Loser or anything!  As a commenter pointed out, this is the WORST possible time to try and lose, and obviously, there will be a few days of exceptions around the holidays.  But just maybe this will make us gain a little less than usual around Thanksgiving and the holidays?  That’s my hope anyway.  Thoughts?  Suggestions?  I think this will make the whole diet thing a little more fun, and hopefully a little more successful since we’re sort of doing it collectively.  Who’s in?