Ok, this one is a follow up to the post I responded to for Deb ......

I’m taking the plunge and introducing myself.

My name is Cleda. I have been on the forum since January.  I am a premium member. I listen to MTM when/as much as I can. I read the forums for motivation.  I purchased the Vault programs. (Wasn’t around the first time they were available).

I have not gotten the click yet. 
I know it has to come. I know I have to keep at it.
My goal has been to tread water and hope that I don’t drown in the process.
I’ve had many more badder than gooder days.

I would like to say I’m hearing the click and that’s why I’m posting. It’s not. It’s sort of cuz I said I would in the other thread. (Deb - this one’s for you!)

I have a tremendous amount of weight to lose (probably close to 125 lbs.) ... but I really, REALLY can’t look at it that way or I will become paralyzed with “can’t do” fear.

Unfortunately, I’ve done it before (3x?) and each time it’s come back.  I can’t honestly say that I"ve ever maintained for longer than a couple of months. 

I am an emotional eater, I have a bottomless pit (can eat forever), am a carb/sugar/salt junkie and tie them all together with the love of food ... and ... well. . . here I am! I am a graduate of many diet programs.  I am a walking book of calorie counts, fat grams, points, etc, etc. 

I am a cyclist. (long distance is my love).  I enjoy exercise. I have everything from an elliptical, treadmill, rebounder, BOSU, weights, barbells, dvds, vhs tapes, kettlebells, bikes, Ipod coaching sessions, etc, etc.  I am still at it.  So, the weight has not stopped me from doing that. But heck - the hills have GOT to get easier if I get rid of a few pounds. And to be brutally honest, I am quite embarrassed to be seen out cycling. I always get the, “You gotta be kidding me” look from people. I always tell myself, “Ok, stop it self! at least you’re out here doing it.”

I also am making excuses to only work out a few times a week now instead of what I should be doing. I need to dig out my heart rate monitor and do some LSB.

So that’s my story.
And now I have to go post to the 100 days of exercise and stick to it.
Cleda

Welcome Cleda.

Don’t think about the 125 pounds you want to lose.  Think about just today - make just one good food choice today.  Then another one tomorrow, and keep repeating.  Soon the gooders will outnumber the badders.  I found that worked best for me.  When I first joined I didn’t have my eating under control.  I still ate fast food several times a week, ate more sweets than I should, ate when I wasn’t hungry, etc.  But I just kept making small changes and things are getting under control, I even find myself leaving food on my plate now! 

So, keep it simple and take baby steps and before you know it the click will sneak up on you.

Enjoy your journey!

Welcome to the forum Cleda!

Eileen is right-don’t think of the #s - think of one day at a time.  And it is so great that you already love exercise and have all those great options as well as your passion for cycling.  And it is OK that you haven’t heard the “click”.  I haven’t either but I keep listening to all the programs and I keep moving and I am determined to be better every day!

Just keep on posting and reading the forum (Deb is my inspiration too) and we are all here to help and support each other.

Have a great weekend!!

Thank you Eileen and MB .. for your kind posts.  I know I can’t look at the whole 125 #’s. I KNOW THAT . . (she says trying to convince herself.) … I can’t eat an elephant all at once, it has to be one bite at a time. 

So, I will keep posting and not bury my head in the sand.  I’ll stay accountable. I will. I really will!  You guys will be sick of me if I keep at it! I can be quite the talker! Lucky for you guys, I don’t have a lot of spare time .

Small changes. Small healthy changes.  One minute, one hour, one day, one week at a time.

I keep listening to the MTM stuff. I keep reading. I am trying the SMSM program again. 
More gooder than badder. I can do this.

And I Must mention that although I love exercise, since I am an endurance type of gal, it takes me a L-O-N-G time to warm up and I can be lazy knowing that the endorphins don’t even start kicking in till about an hour or two into a session.  So, I can roll over and say, “Not today, I’m too tired. . .” which leads to more tired .... Start moving. stay moving.  So true.

Cleda

I can honestly say that most of those looks are more, “good for her”, and “I wish I were doing that!” That’s what I always think when I see people going past. And what’s fun is to see them continuing, and then seeing them shrink! It’s empowering to watch, and you can be that motivation for so many others!

Just keep doing it, and the click WILL happen. There’s no stopping it.

Bree

Hi Cleda,

You have come a long way...gone through a lot… and have gained great insight through your experiences and that will help you reach the goal YOU want to reach.

You said you have 125 #’s to lose… i remember Scott talking about the ‘whys’ of what we want to do....

Why do we do what we do?… why do we want to exercise? ... why do we want to lose weight?, why do we want to eat healthy?…
once we put the ‘why’ into our actions, with intention, then we find it easier to reach our goals

I love cycling too.  In my triathlons, it’s my favorite part, and find myself loving the longer distances much better (I guess it’s the endorphins!) Have you done any century’s? What kind of bike do you have?

Welcome to the forum… glad your here, and look forward to hearing your journey!

OH goodie! There’s the smileys button. I lost it before but I guess I have to use “fast reply”.  I’m a smiley fanatic!

Yes, the why of eating. Oh how true. I have been working on that for awhile now. Ok, saying it out loud finally. Cuz so much plays into it.  Outcome based thinking.  Reading, listening, etc.  I am definitely an emotional eater.  And facing all the emotions is something I’m working on. 

Oh yes ... I have done many a century!!! I’ve also done some multi-day events. I’ve gone from New York to Boston (350 miles) and I’ve gone from San Franciscio to Los Angeles. (600 miles). I’ve gone from the tip of one end of NJ to the other (207 miles) in one day.  (I’ve done that event twice and would like to do it again!) Endurance is my game! The funny thing is, I have always been at least 30 lbs. overweight while cycling—slowly going up every year (only cycling for the last 7 years!)

I have a Trek 5200. (They don’t even make them any more ).  It has 9700 miles on it (of actual road miles, that does not count the many MANY indoor trainer miles.) My goal for the last couple of years has been to break the 10k mark (the odometer resets at that point) and this cycling season??? I’m going to do it!  I also have a Scwhinn comfort bike (beater ... by every standard ...)

I usually do the Seagull Century in Maryland every year (that one is flat, flat, flat).  I do some along the way - my dh likes when I do organized centuries, cuz then there’s people around me if (heaven forbid!) something should happen to me. (no, he doesn’t ride) My favorite day is to go out with my camelback full, my pockets full with gels and have nowhere to go and all day to get there.  I have been looking into some centuries of late also to find out what ones are available with my work schedule.  Early registration means less $$.    Ok, so I’m frugal too.

I think in the bigger picture, I’d like to be thinner and in better shape for the Seagull this year than I was last year. We were able to do it in about 6.5 hours last year including stops.  Not bad .....  Would love to be more comfortable this year, faster and have more miles on my legs. Yeah! that’s the ticket.

Cleda

PS ... See what happens when you get me talking about cycling????

very cool… i understand about those registration fees.... i need a SPONSOR!

Cleda, Welcome to the Forum!!!

Its so nice to meet you. Just want to offer one piece of advice, something I didnt discover for a very long time, and still battling....

You cant care about what other ppl think! Hold your head up high, and smile because your doing more then what their doing.  Be proud of yourself at whatever your doing, the littlest things add up to the big REWARDS, and celebrate how far you have come.

Cant wait to read more

Thank you Suzzy ....
I do try to think that way most of the time?!? sort of?!? ...

I’ll work on the little rewards.
What is it with instant gratification though???
Cleda

Cleda,

Welcome and just know you are not alone.  I am an emotional eater too.  I love all the stuff you mentioned and probably then some.  It is hard to break a life time of bad habits and yo-yo dieting, but you are doing it one step at a time.

I know Scott’s podcasts have really got me thinking about what I’m doing and not doing.  You are way ahead of me as far as working out.  Don’t worry about what people think, secretly they will look and wish they had the courage to do what you are doing.  So keep going and guess what?  You will be the one doing the looking, in the mirror admiring what you’ve done for yourself.

I haven’t signed up on the 100 days challenge yet, but will soon.  Can’t wait to talk to you more and compare our stories, success, and just everything that life has to give us.