Hey everyone, how are you all? things are going pretty well.  I lost another 3lbs this week, i'm at 152, so since 6/28 i have lost 8lbs.  I think it's good, i guess i just wanted it to be more dramatic.  but i am going to the gym a lot more this week and we shall see what happens. 

we are going white water rafting this weekend, i am refering to the trip as "mandatory fun" because our friend is getting married and is making all the people in her wedding (and their sig. others) do this trip this weekend.  it's not that i don't want to, but first, it's expensive and my bf and i both just finished graduate school, i have a job but he is still looking so we are one income right now, icky!!!  Also, it could throw off my diet.  But I decided to come clean and tell the organizer i am on a diet and that we would be bringing our own food.  It seemed to take her a while to understand i really meant all our own food.  They always bring greasy hamburgers and full fat hot dogs and i am not sabotaging myself for this weekend.  I do think it will be fun, but i will be happier if on sunday night i go to bed knowing that i stuck with my diet.  my boyfriend is supportive, he eats wicked healthy anyways.  he is in ridiculously good shape and has been since we met, he always complains he put a little weight on because i cook, but it's not that noticible at all and i think it makes him look better!! haha  He insisted i didn't need to do this because i was active and healthy, and that was true i have always been a gym person, played soccer in college the whole bit, i have just really never been happy with my weight.  In HS i went the wrong route and had a few problems with eat disorders, and sophomore year in college did the same thing, but wow did i look great haha...i know...i know....BAD! 

But now i have lost 8lbs the right way, even though eating 15g of fat per meal seems like way too much for me, but my boyfriend notices no difference at all.  he says it's because he thought i looked great before, but i think it's bizzare.   though, i have read that guys only really notice when you lose more than 10, so we shall see.  i guess i should be happy he likes me just the way i am huh?  So clearly i am not doing this for him.  it's all for me. 

Last night a huge source of stress in my life was removed.  my dad had previously been very against us living together, and though i respect him we had to do what made the most sense for money reasons.  my dad believed my bf was only at my place 1/2 the time at his mother's home the other 1/2.  so that has been going on since feb.  but last night my dad and i were talking and he said he realized we were living together and that it was okay, he understood.  wow!  I can't believe it!  I'm so happy!  no more weird guilt when i am around my parents!!  i know i am 25 and my bf is 26 and we should do what we want, but i'm 100% italian, guilt is in the blood and parents exploit it! haha  My boyfriend was not as enthused as me, haha, shocking, since we were already living together anyways.  but i thought i would share because i think that had really been a big reason i was eating so much before this.

I hope you are all doing well!  I have notice the weightloss all over, my pants are looser, i'm even in a smaller size now!, my face is  thinner,  my legs are trimmer, it's fantastic.  but the best part is just feeling better about myself. 

Eat to live, don't live to Eat ( my mom was saying that BEFORE the book came out hahaha)

 Haha...

Scales are such funny things!  Most of them are wrong anyway.  I threw out my old one...invested in a new high tech one that is supposed to measure to like the .0000000005454534509345834 (you get where i'm going with this...), of a pound and I still don't think its right everytime. I guess if you feel good and look good scales shouldn't matter?  I dunno.  Well anywho...I'm glad everyones doing well.  Jess, people can fluctuate (up to 5lbs) during the month so if you're not stepping on the scale everyday, maybe you made it and don't even realize! hehehe. Laura, yes, definitely bring your own food.  I'm going to a family function on Saturday and I'm bring my own stuff as well.  I don't need the "essential party food"--I'm good with myown thanks.  :)   I'm glad your dad was understanding about you guys living together.  I know how tough that can be...and stressful.  I kind of went through something like that with my parents when i moved away to college last year and got my own apartment.  Yikes. 

Isn't it amazing that only a few pounds lost can make us feel a little bit better about ourselves and our appearance?  So weird!  I'm probably not going to weigh in this week since I'm not on the pill yet.  I'm going to continue this low fat eating for a few more days.  I'll probably start Monday.  Its getting old trying to eat this way. It's kind of annoying actually.  I didn't think i consumed that much fat in the first place so this really isnt MUCH different for me...its just that I'm constantly looking at fat content in things now.  I dont know.  Its weird.  I guess my biggest problem before was that I hardly ate, and when i did it was at the wrong time and i consumed a lot of food....not that it was "bad food".  For me, a normal day would be an "LA Lite" for breakfast--I still have a lot of those food bars left from the LA Weight Loss program---maybe I'd eat lunch...if not I'd eat dinner at say 7pm and have steak, potatos or rice, and a bag of veggies.  Not bad....just didn't consume enough food throught the day.  Having hypothyroidism doesn't help much either since I have virtually NO metabolism as is. haha. Oh well...  I'm learning.  At least I eat three meals a day now plus snacks.  Carrots and Dill or Roasted Pepper Hummus seem to be my favorite right now. 

Well, I'm home for the summer and tonight my dad noticed I'm thinner in the hips, boobs, and waist.  Yay...all prime parts.  My size 20s swim on me and my 18s are loose..really loose.  Its wonderful.  Woohoo!!!  :)

I'm happy we're all doing so well.  Keep up the fantastic weightloss.....

Until tomorrow....(work comes early..blah)

Meg.

I just want to let you know not to worry to much 3 pieces of pizza shouldn't make you have TE's unless they were giant slices! I had a slice for lunch today and 4 minibisquits with pepparoni and cheese on top (bisquit pizza) for dinner! I think Pizza is the hardest thing for me to turn down! I love pizza anyways I am doing the WW point system it seems to have worked for me in the past I'm just hoping Alli will boost my efforts and I can reach my goal sooner... I'd love to be 134lbs by my 24th Birthday in April! I weigh 185 as of this moment I'd love to keep in touch with ya and share stories and stuff

~Dottie

 Hi All!

 I'm 25, trying to work off the baby weight my 3 kids donated to me =).  I started Alli last week, and I was down 3 lbs when I did my first weigh in.  Then along came Aunt Flow, so I'm not sure if I've lost anything this week or not, but I did finally gain some of the treatment effects and it makes me really wonder if I want to put up with this embarrassing side effect.  I'm gunna keep trying it, hopefully it will subside.  I just really want to get down to what I was in high school.  I look at my wedding pictures and I'm so jealous of the me I used to be, although I can remember back then feeling fat at a wopping 130lbs...geeze how selfish I was lol.  Anyway, best of luck to you all.  I'm really going to try to force myself to come here for advice and support, cause it is really hard.

Hi Kyleigh

Don't give up maybe the TE's will subside.. Are you on a low cal /fat diet?  Try not to eat more than 15 g's of fat per meal/ sitting Itshould help reduce the TE's I am on WW points system and so far no TE's I am going to stick this out I wanna get to my goal even if Alli is onle gonna help me a lb here and there so be it! I am doing pretty good so far I like to think I'd anxious to see the outcome each week! I'll check back in tomorrow! Aunt Flow has been w/ me this last week as well so to see a loss this week I'm gonna be extatic!

~Dottie

Hey Ladies.. Again, glad to see everyone is doing well. I was supposed to start the pills today but I completely chickened out.  I'm so stupid sometimes!  I'm still eating low fat.  I don't know if thats good or not since everything I eat is either 0g or less than 5g of fat.  Ugh. Sucks....freakin 15-19g fat per meal?  Seems impossible.  I'm going to have to throw A LOT of nuts into everything I eat.  Haha. 

Well, I have a rant...Its about my mom.

First you must know this, whenever I try to loose weight she always tries to sabatoge me by buying/bring me take out food like chinese or pizza or buying whole chocolate cakes etc.  She knows if its in front of me, I'll eat it.  Since this Alli program, she has only once bought me a huge carrot cake slice...and i took one tiny bite and told her to take it home.  She looked alarmed but finally realized that I wont eat it.

So here's we go...

At first when I wanted to do the whole Alli thing, she was like thats such a waste...do it naturally.  This is coming from someone who wore a size 6 two days after she popped me out..and right now is a comfortable size 10.  Then when I went to buy it, she was all supportive and even gave me the money to go and buy it.   Now, my dad is going on a business trip so I won't have to cook tomorrow night and I asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner.  She was like but you cant eat ANYTHING!  So, I was like well, I'll cook us something.  I asked her if she liked couscous and she was like no thats gross. You eat the worst food.  I'm like no, I like it and its healthy.  Then she got all mad at me and told me how I dont eat the right foods and I dont pick anything healthy and everything.  I mean, like I said, Im not a junk food eater, i mostly only eat grilled chicken and veggies.  Occasionally I'll eat pizza or cookies or something.  I've even been to the damn nutritionist and she said my eating habits for what i eat are great..its just that i eat at wrong times and dont excercise enough..plus I'm hypothyroid so that works against me as well. UGH!  Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion....aunt flow should be visiting any day now...but I dont know.  This really agitated me. Why is she so hot and cold about it?  I mean, her boyfriend is doing WW and shes so supportive of that.  What do you guys think?

Maybe she feels left out if her bf and you are both dieting! Just cause your on Alli doesn't mean you can't go out to eat! I'd ask her to be more suportive of you and it is what you need of her if 15 g of fat seems out of reach see if WW would work for you I bet it would be perfect I am doing WW and Alli and my first weigh in is Wed. Seems like if you were doing WW as well as her bf then you and him could help each other out as well It takes alot to turn down stuf like your mom sticks in your face Congrats for refusing her! A momment on the lips forever on the hips! lol Take Care Yall

        ~Dottie

 Hi ladies!  I am new to this and will be starting Alli this Friday.  I am 22 yrs old, 5'3" 164lbs.  I hope to get down to at least 130.  This is kind of different for me because I have never had to lose weight before.  I was always that naturally skinny girl in school.  However ever since graduating high school about 4 years ago, my weight has slowly been climbing.  I went from about 115 to 164 in four years.  Too bad it doesn't come off as easily as is goes on, right?  I think that this might be just what I need.  I already work out and eat right, I just need  that extra little push and I hope I can get that from Alli.  Any support and suggestions would be helpful, I am all on my own! :)

Hi There!   I'm 25 years old, and am looking to loose at least 20 pounds.  I already have severe hypertension and take meds for it.  I got sick when i was 22, when i started gaining a little weight.   Its nice to see that your are in it for your health as well.   Take Care!

SW (before taking ALLI): 184

SW (Today): 175

GW: 150

Nina

Good Luck! I wish I only weighed what you do but of course I too would have more weight to drop to get to my goal! I lost 9lbs my first week keep in mind itr has been a while since my last weight loss attempt and the 1st week is well what they call water weight it's still weight! lol anyway good luck and happy witrh my program WW and Alli they are working great  together for me!

~Dottie

Hi!

Just wanted to check in with everyone and see how you all are doing....

Things have been going well for me....I'm down a couple more lbs, and this week I won $100 for placing 5th in a Biggest Loser contest at my workplace.  That's always a good motivation.....I think I'll use it to buy some new clothes or something.  I have a wedding to attend in October, and I want to lose 14 more lbs by then....so keep your fingers crossed.

I've also been attending a Step class once a week, which has really seemed to kickstart the weight loss again....I had been stuck at the same weight for about a month and ever since I started doing the Step class, I'm losing about a pound a week, so I'm definitely going to stick with it.

Well that was my check-in for the week.....post your success/struggles!

 Hi,

I'm 23 and just started Alli, 2 weeks ago. I'm finding out I don't want to eat fatty foods anymore, because I've seen it come out of me...and it's gross. I've been craving salads so much lately too, which is a good thing I think. I know I just have to watch how much of it I eat.

I hate exercising, well actually I don't hate it, I just hate getting to the gym. Once I'm there I'm usually just fine. I need to make myself go. I konw it can be easier to have a buddy to go with, hopefully I can talk some of my friends into going.

I promised myself I would never weigh more than 200. But now here I am, weighing 225 and depressed about it. I gained a lot of weight in a short period of time. I was with an ex and in 6 months I gained 30 lbs. Because I just wasn't happy. It's amazing you don't even realize you are packing on the pounds until your clothes don't fit anymore.

The main reason I want to lose weight is because, I'm 23, and my knees hurt! My knees should not be hurting at age 23, but because of my weight they are.

I'm with ya on going into a store and picking something off the rack and it fits. I'm a size 22 now. Biggest I have ever been and I don't want it to keep going up.

 Hi I'm Michelle. I started Alli last week and I understand about eating fatty foods. I'm 25 years old and at my biggest size 18 comfortable. I just had a baby 3 1/2 months ago (a girl 4-29-08)  but I dont want to use that as an excuse. I gained 48 lbs give or take with my pregnancy and I only lost about 15 lbs give or take. I struggle like crazy when it comes to weight loss and weight management. In July 2005 I was then at my largest 205 lbs and I was miserable/depressed so I joined LA Weight Loss. I lost 50 lbs or so with their program in a years time but I also had more time on my hands and I spent a whole lot of money on them.That place was a rip off. I was happy with the weight loss but not with maintaining it. They never showed me how.  I gained about 20lbs back not long after I stopped going there. I had to loose 10 lbs in order to fit in my wedding dress which I did, but it barely fit.  That was in March 2007. I couldn't even breath in that dress and forget trying to sit down or eat, lol!! After my wedding was over I gained like 12 lbs prior to becoming pregnant in August 07". I lost all control over my eating habits.  Now in August 2008 I'm 60 lbs Heavier than I was in 2006 and 50 times more unhappy with the way I look. I always made that same promise about my weight as well. I used to say I'd kill myself if I got heavier than 200 lbs. My back hurts and sometimes my knees do as well. None of my clothes fit b/c I baught new clothes after I lost weight and saved like 2 pairs of jeans that were big just incase I were to get pregnant. Anyway I would love to be friends and try to help eachother with motivation to lose weight. I'm going on vacation all this week and boy I'm going to be in trouble. I'm going to N.C then V.A. I live in N.Y. and all the food in the south is fatty. I've been waiting to go to Sonic but I dont think they sell salad. I hope I can control myself. I know I will be able to in V.A. b/c my hubby wont let me cheat on my diet but N.C. i'm going with my B.F.F and boy is she a fast food junky and a bad influence when it comes to food. HELP!!!! Later

 Michelle,

If she's your BFF she should understand that you want to lose weight and help you. I still go to fast foods sometime, but I will just get something off the dollar menu, or a kids meal. Most places you can get salad. I don't get them because they put cheese on them and don't have any that don't. I would just explain to your BFF that you are trying to lose weight and you would appreciate it if she could help you stay on track.