Let me start off by saying I was nervous about my first weigh-in because I had started my cycle and that normally means a 3 lb weight gain! But I am DOWN !! Here are my week 1 results vlog How did your week go? xo Melissa

Welll - not much to read to day on the forum so far so thought I would spend a few minutes here. Today at the gym I saw this woman I usually see at the gym on either treadmill or express circuit. She has determination and I was thinking of offering my support (really she'd be supporting me as it is helpful to have people to say hi to at the gym). One day hopefully I will say hello. I joined this gym juts a few months ago because it is about 1 mile from me. It is never easy to go to the gym. Period. But somehow I have the willingness and went today. With my new Hoka One shoes (I think Cindy on the forum told me about them - they work more or less... feet still hurt but not as bad! So thank you) Anyhooo decided to advance to Week 5 day 1 of the running interval app. That one usually pisses me off. 5 min walk (at 3.7 -4.0) 4 min jog -- Oy vey! That's the increase in time form last week about 1 minute... the nerve. 1 min 30 sec walk YAY 3 min jog 15 sec sprint 3 min jog (I think) 1min 30 sec walk 3 min jog 15 sec sprint anyhow on it goes.....for about 40 minutes or 3.2 miles or so. After that I was gonna leave - but got myself to do the lean body app. Today is week 3 day 6 or 7 shoulders, biceps, chest or something. I did the exercises it told me to do... and came home. ok time to grab coffee with vanilla JC Shake for cream - and start up my work laptop... and get to work. OK it's the Bee over and Out.

Hello again. In my previous post I shared my success story in losing weight. I am still on my diet and attending dance classes. And today I am here to ask for advice. The parts o my body where I’ve lost few pounds look loose now. I would like to change it and make them stronger and fit. I bought a DVD with set of different types of exercises. I repeat them every day during two weeks but no changes at all. I can’t understand what I do wrong that my muscles are still soft and week. I was thinking of buying dumbbells and use them at home. But I have no idea how to do it properly as I am scared to build a really big body. This is what I wouldn’t like at all. I hope that I can explain what I want to a good extend. I just want to look fit and slim. I read that for making definition I don’t need to lift heavy weight it is enough to have 1-2 pound dumbbell. Would you agree with it? According to food I have found out that for building muscles I should eat protein. I include beans, tuna, few bananas a day and cottage cheese. And I drink 2 sometimes 3 bottles of water every day. I even consider to get protein cocktails but I am not sure how to drink it and If it is a good idea at all. What would you recommend me to eat I mean some specific products for bigger muscles or maybe someone knows a special diet for losing weight and gaining muscle mass at the same time? Thanks guys

Hey everyone. Here I’d like to share my short story o weight loss. After two pregnance I gained around 30 pounds and I was really shoked when I checked my weight. From size S I have come to L. So I was quite upset as I didn’t feel comfortable in my own body. I worked full time and I gave all my free time to my kids so I practically didin’t have time to care about myself. I desired to change my style of life and reconsider what I eat and do. So I started with food. Relying on my past experience I decided not to try any diet but just eat less. I have set a plan or myself where I ate 5 times a day – breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. Mostly I ate vegetables fresh or fried but in its own juice not oil with chicken or fish. Salmon was perfect and still its one of my favorite meals. For dessert I used to have berries or fruits with yogurt. As a snack I took nuts, banana, muesli bar or toast with cheese. The next thing was to push myself every morning to wake up 30 mins earlier to do exercises which I have found in the internet. I also joined gym and dance classes at the weekend. As I wanted to improve my result with loosing weight I was searching for more ideas. One of them was buying Duromine but it haven’t convinced me at all. I read stories of people who used pills like those and became addicted. So I sticked to my plan – diet plus exercises and I was absolutely happy. Eventually after 3 months I’ve lost 24 pounds. I am proud that I did that without any external help like solutions4weightloss or surgery. I hope that people who read my post will believe in their power and definitely will reach their aim in weight loss.

Ok so I am on a good path, and I hope this keeps up. Yesterday was my 7 week weigh in an I lost another 3.2lbs total to date 23.2lbs. I am very proud of myself. I did have a cheat day yesterday and have to work hard this week to make sure I still have a loss. I broke down, but I am back on track now and know I shouldn't have broken down. I have been working too hard and having to much success to ruin it with cheat days. I want to lose another 20 lbs before my trip at the end of September and I hope I can do it. I will try my very best and hardest to lose as much as I can before my trip. Thanks to all that read my blog it is appreciated. Good luck to all of us and as much as this is all hard work and frustrating sometimes we will all Prevail. I support you all in your journeys.

I'm so ready to start this journey for a second time around. Reached 55 and have been struggling with weight gain. So this time around I'm sticking with this and going to start feeling good again. With new activities and getting more involved with the process.

Week 2 is behind me. Thank Goodness! Holiday meals were right in the middle of it and somehow I managed to somewhat stay on track...and I stress somewhat. Week 2 weigh in has resulted in a total loss thus far of 6 pounds, which I have to be honest, I am super excited about. I've tried numerous diets in the past and I've lost 2 pounds or 10 pounds after months and months of deprivation, which in turn makes for a grumpier me. I'm an emotional eater and a social eater, which when you combine family (stress/social) and friends (social/stress), I turn into one large piece of pumpkin pie. What I am struggling with most currently is trying to break the habit of rewarding myself with food. Oh, you ran a mile today, you deserve a cupcake...or french fries...or whatever unhealthy thing I had been depriving myself of on my latest diet. The positive thing thus far (only two weeks in, I know) is that I do not feel deprived.

I was able to get back on the Ellipitical, I had read wrong and the maximum weight limit was a lot more then where I'm at. It's just when I got on before it was shaky the Ellipitical! Now I just did thirty minutes! I have a lot of my money going into dental work (ugh) and Jenny Craig, both things worth it. So I know I'm going to spend what money I get in for me on things I like at Jenny Craig. Before it was movies! I now have over three hundred dvds including blu-rays in that list. I do watch them when I get a chance. Now it's time to divert my energy into buying things for my health! I want the Jenny Craig heart monitor and calorie counter after I lose ten pounds! I also want the water bottles they have for working out! There are other things I want as well looking at their priced items...hmmm so much!

I was doing so well on Jenny when I remembered that once a month, I have a class that caters breakfast and lunch. I started to panic and then I pulled it back. "I can do this," I thought as I strolled by the chocolate donuts, blueberry muffins, croissants, bagels and orange juice. I had placed an anytime bar and a piece of fruit in my bag so while the other students ate the goodies from the caterer, I ate my Jenny food and I was cool with that and then there was lunch. I smelled the aroma of lunch before I saw it and I got a little nervous. As I walked up to the server, I smiled and said, “I am on Jenny Craig so you are going to have to shake about three quarters of that spoon back into the tray and give me a little bit." He smiled and did exactly as I had suggested. The other servers heard what I had told him so they were ready for me when I got to them. My lunch plate consisted of a cheese enchilada which I did not eat because I am not too fond of anything with just cheese in it...wait...I do love grilled cheese sandwiches so I take that back. Anyway, I did not eat the enchilada; I only took one or two small bites. Then there was the salmon in a sauce and it was about the size of a mushroom cap. I am not a big fish eater (because I have a phobia about choking on fish bones), but I loved the taste of this little fish thingee. Next, there was salad which I ate sparingly because of the sweet sauce on it. I had no issues with the rice so I introduced it to my stomach . Last, but not least...the peanut butter cookie. The last time I broke it in half, ate one half...and then the other half. This time, I didn't bow to the formality because I knew I was going to eat the whole cookie. I broke off small pieces until it was gone. All in all the process went well. I drank water and I was satisfied. As a matter of fact, I had to force myself to eat dinner and the snack later. I am proud of myself for being able to eat out without inviting disaster. I feel proud when I tell people that I am on jenny Craig. I feel so much better now that I am putting myself first. OK, I said I was going to wait to post this, but I can't stand the suspense. Last week’s weigh-in was …uh…not so cool for me after having lost only 2.3 lbs. In my blogs, I write that we should celebrate the little victories, but I have to admit that I was not very happy. "I can lose 2.3 lbs by taking off my tennis shoes," I thought to myself. Well, this week, I didn't walk for the three days it rained in Los Angeles, but today and yesterday I walked a longer distance. My neighbor who weighs a third of what I weigh tried to power walk me into a coma. At my last meeting, I was 311 lbs. I just stepped on the scale tonight because finding out at the weigh-in didn't work for me last week. I said I didn't have expectations, but I did...high ones. Anyway, I step on the scale and it says...wait for it...299!! OMG! I remembered that the tile floor in the bathroom takes a more accurate read so I took the scale there and it said 301 lbs. What? I gained 2 lbs walking from the kitchen to the bathroom? It doesn't matter because I can do the math and there will be no 2.3 lbs lost this week. My mind started to race. Should I skip dinner or walk or what? I didn’t want to gain any weight between now and tomorrow. Then I remembered that skipping meals is how I got to be over 300 lbs in the first place so I will eat everything before I go to bed. I will definitely post tomorrow and let you know how it went. Wish me luck! Oh that's right, I don't need luck, I'm on Jenny Craig!!

When I joined Jenny Craig, I was super excited and I still am, but I stumbled when I should have just read my prior posts. I had two weeks with a weight loss of one pound. Now, it was easy for me to motivate you, but I was so disappointed, I couldn't even blog. I want to thank Dark_Angel who emailed me and asked where I had been. It was then that I realized that I have joined a family and I should blog when I am shaken so I can get my virtual hugs . If you read my last blog, you will see that I had a misfire. My scale said I had lost over five pounds and when I got into the office...What?!?! I had lost ONLY one pound. Now, I should have been glad that I didn't gain any weight because that is a sign that I am doing something right. After all, "Jenny is designed to have you lose 1-2 lbs a week and keep it off." needless to say I am feeling better now and I am still walking with my neighbor and her dog. We even walk at night when she gets home and believe me, that is very hard when it is as cold as it has been in Los Angeles. Yes, I said it is cold in California. Who took our heat? I have learned that as long as I don't gain any weight, it is a good thing and I should not beat up on the scale. After all, it is only the messenger, but the week I lost only a pound, I was as mad as the queen in Alice in Wonderland and almost crossed my arms and said, "Scale! Out with your batteries !! I am calmer now and I am proud to say that I didn't resort to any fast food during my escapade. I did munch out on raw almonds and cheese crackers. That is even a victory because in the old days, I would have cradled a pint of Vanilla Swiss Almond Hagen Daaz like a new born baby as I shoveled it down with a tablespoon, but...I didn't . Almost two months and no fast food, not even today at he potluck when my peers said I should have at least one piece of chicken. And then there was this co-worker who shoved red velvet cake in my face taunting me to eat it. I simply turned to the others in the room and said, "You can always tell where the devil is sitting," and everyone laughed including the temptress. You have to have some fun while you are doing this and keep your eye on your goal. I know that now. I also know that I should not stop blogging because it helps, it really does. Until next time, stay inspired and thank you Dark_Angel for pulling me back into our family P.S. Happy Valentines Day!

I am still feeling pretty good right now which is miraculous since I have been on Jenny Craig for almost three weeks (which means no fast food for the same amount of time) and I have only been really hungry twice. I did a complete turn-a-round in regards to my eating habits and I keep waiting for the "Big Boom" So far, no "boom." I see sabotage like an evil ninja because sometimes you don't see it coming and when you realize it is happening, it is too late. Well, I am here to tell you that you can be a "good ninja" and overcome the sabotage just like any other challenge in your life. Sometimes, the sabotage is subtle and maybe unintentional, but nevertheless, it doesn't contribute to your goal so it is not good for you. The quicker you can recognize sabotage, the easier it will be to avoid or counter it, even when the unintentional saboteur is you. Here is an example of a ninja that I defeated. I went to visit a friend of mine at her job and we were talking about Jenny Craig. I told her that I was doing pretty well and asked her how she was doing on her program. Just then I saw it...a chocolate-covered pomegranate cluster sitting innocently on her file cabinet...defenseless and all by itself, out in the open with no wrapper . I used to eat them by the cup. I said jokingly, "That is not what I think it is, is it?" She said, "Yes, it is" and told me I could have it. "You know I am on Jenny Craig, I don't want to eat that," I said confidently as I looked in the other direction. She laughed and said, "It's not going to kill you to have one." A ninja had just entered the room disguised as unintentional sabotage . I thanked her, but told her I did not want it (which I did). Then I asked myself if I had wanted it before I saw it and the answer was "No!" I realized it for what it was, an old habit trying to resurface...not today! After she finished her last few tasks, she asked if I wanted to go get something to eat and I told her that if it was not on the Jenny menu, I would not eat it. I was determined . She said sarcastically, "You can have salad right; let's go to Soup Plantation" so we went there to eat. Two things were wrong here and I recognized them as I drove. First of all, I should have declined the invitation and went home and studied and the second, I had promised myself that I was not going to eat out until I lost 50 lbs (that is just my own personal promise), I will know next time to pause for a moment and think before I say "yes." Lesson learned. While at the restaurant, I made good decisions. I created a salad of lettuce, beets, crushed eggs, non-fat Ranch dressing, a few cornels of corn and about five peas, shredded carrots and a tablespoon of sunflower seeds. I made sure everything was in moderation. THAT salad was the best salad that I have ever had in my life!! Usually, I make a salad and waste it as I race to grab two bowls of chili and three of those delicious corn muffins. Not this time. I ate slowly and I enjoyed every fork full of my salad masterpiece. What happened next floored me. My friend tried to convince me to get: a baked potato....I said, "No thanks"...one muffin...I said, "No thanks"...some jello...I said, "No thanks"...some vegetables (which I could have eaten, but, I said, "No thanks." I wanted to eat a salad "period!" Another ninja had entered the room and was sitting at our table, but this time I heard him creep up and I was ready. I stood my ground and the unintentional sabotage (I say that because a friend would not sabotage on purpose, right?) had no power. I don't know if I mentioned this, but my friend is on Jenny Craig, but she has not bought her food for the week so she is not eating it. I thought we were ready to go and I was standing by the door when I saw her loading her tray again. This time: clam chowder with crackers covering the top, ice cream and a cone and vegetables. I asked her with a smile, "Is that on Jenny Craig?" She told me that she was trying to be good because I was following the program. Really? My point is this: We have to be determined to stand up for what we are trying to do. Others may not understand or care, but we have to care at all times. If we want to loose the weight, we have to do what we are supposed to do. We have had a lifetime of "giving in" and that should be over or on its way out. I know people are not intentional saboteurs, but some are. We can protect ourselves from both. Keep your eyes on what you are doing and remember why you are doing it. Don't be hard on yourself, if you stumble a time or two, or are disappointed by something. Deal with the emotion "without food." I know, I know, this is hard to do sometimes, but if you do it once then you can do it twice and then you are doing it all the time. I would think you want to not only be beautiful, but healthy too, right? I know I do. Be the "good ninja" who protects you from anything that can harm you and that includes acts of sabotage, intentional or not intentional. I remember right before I started Jenny, Craig, I "felt" unhealthy and it scared me so I am determined not to go there again. Whatever your reason for improving your life, remember that and remind yourself of it especially when you forget. We can do this and we can do it well. All the other stuff is just life happening and we have to deal with life regardless of what we weigh. Jenny Craig is teaching me some extremely valuable lessons that I was missing before because I was too busy cramming food down my throat to dull...everything. Not anymore. I am going to take responsibility for my emotions and my life and you can too (if you haven't already). Like Jenny says, "Feel like new. Feel like you." I haven't felt that way for a long time, but I am feeling that way now and I gotta tell you, "I love it!"

I learned two valuable lessons this past week and I will share them with you because you may be able to relate. As I write this article, I can smell someone cooking in one of the neighboring apartments and it smells delicious, but since I am not hungry, it is just a smell. It's gone now, thank you timely breeze . Ok, here we go with the first lesson. My friend agreed to ride with me as I went to see a friend who lived about an hour away. I was glad to have the company; however on the way she asked if we could stop at Jack-in-the-Box because she wanted to get a vanilla shake and a chocolate cake (aka "chocolate overload"). I felt a little funny that she would ask me, knowing that I was on Jenny Craig, but we went and I survived, sitting next to her as she slurped and stirred the thick shake and then moved on to the chocolate cake. My friend does not have a weight issue and we used to go and get this combo together and equally enjoyed slurping and stirring. I had a lot of time to think as she ate and at first I was a little angry thinking, "She is really going to eat this chocolate cake in front of me, really?" It almost seemed as though she was taunting me. I never looked in her direction as I continued to drive. What I learned is that my change to Jenny Craig has not only affected me, it has also affected my late night, fast-food run buddy and my friends that I use to tag along with as I went from one fast food place to another. What are they to do now that I no long visit these grease pits? I also realized that only "my" eating has changed, not theirs. They can still have whatever they want and I either have to be absent when they eat the stuff that I have chosen not to eat or find another way to deal with the situation. So here is what I came up with. When I am driving, we are not going to places that tempt me...period! I am also not going to ride with friends who want to make late night fast food runs. That is how I will deal with it! My success is important to me and I have to stand up for myself. The next circumstance showed me something very important about my relationship with food. I was asleep and I received a call at 2:30 a.m. from someone I know who was stranded and needed me to come get them. They were hysterical. Against the advice of my best friend, I went. I did not see them at the designated spot so I came back home. What was important is what happened before and after the event. Before I went, I was feeling reluctant about having them stay in my apartment. I did not want to go, but I had said that if they needed help, they could call me. I could not go back on my word. There were other things that complicated the situation even further so I was really disturbed while trying to work it out. After I started back home, I felt myself wanting to eat as I passed all of the neon signs calling me to their drive-thru. It was at that moment that I realized that I was "not" hungry, but I needed to calm myself down. I fought the urge and came home and tossed and turned in my bed until I finally fell asleep. Not eating taught me that I didn't have to give into an old crutch. I had done what the CD (Touchstones for Success: How to Change Your Mind To Achieve Your Goals) said and let my emotions play out and then intervened as the non-biased negotiator. I was proud of that moment. Being on Jenny Craig is not only taking the weight off of me. It is teaching me about myself and I love that. I notice that I swipe my debit card less because I am not eating out and I notice that I can go into a store and leave without candy. I feel powerful in my new journey and I know it will last as I loose the weight and gain a greater perspective. I hope you are doing well on the program too and if you stumble a little, that's ok. You have time to correct your flow and still end up where you want to be. Thank you for reading and make it happen. You can do it!!

Went to JC on Thursday instead of Wednesday because the roads are so bad here!! Still pretty yucky today, but I was starving and had no food. I was nervous after my 'meh' 0.5 loss last week (I know..I know..a loss is a loss, but I have A LOT to lose). I lost 2.3 pounds today - yippeeee!! And am FINALLY in the 260's! That makes a total loss of 19.6 pounds Next week I get my measurements, so I'm hoping that I lost some good inches too these last 3 weeks. Not much more to say this week, other than that I'm well on my way to completing my November goal! 2.7 pounds to go! I just bought the parmesan crusted fish, haven't tried it yet, but hopefully it is yummy. I hope you all had a fantastic week (:

Well, I was a bit late on my fifth week blog post, but I was feeling a little discouraged this week. On my weekly Wednesday weigh in I was only down 0.5 pounds this week! Not feeling too great about that, but I guess it is better than a gain! I had a not so good eating day yesterday either. My friend ordered pizza (yikes not good), so I had a slice as I was starving and didn't have time to eat my dinner with the school work I had going on for the day (I know, still not a good excuse). Here is my biggest problem: I haven't told any of my friends that I am on jenny craig or trying to lose weight and my family/friends do not have very good eating habits that is for sure. Why do I not tell them you may ask? It is not exactly that I am embarrassed because really I should be proud that I am trying to do something with my weight and what not. I just feel like I don't want to make my weight loss a big deal to everyone..if that makes sense. I want to continue on with my day without people asking, "Oh we are going to eat ___, I hope you don't get tempted, I'm sorry" or have anyone feel bad about eating something that I can't have. I know it is weird of me, but I am just satisfied with saying no. I have been really good about not feeding into my friends temptations with all of the yummy food that they eat (I am trying to not look at it as yummy anymore because jenny craig food is delish), but I fell into my bad ways last night. I am going to be 100% strict from now on because I have this month to do really well because I am sure December is not going to be a great weight loss month (but I am going to try my best ). Anyway, that is my little rant for the day. I hope you all had a better weight loss than I did - and hopefully I have a better weight loss next week!!!! p.s my weight loss goal for november is 265! I am at 270.2 - almost made my October goal, but not quite - so I hopefully I make this goal all the way and more!!

Week 4 is over woo! Every week makes me jump with joy because of the fact that I am one step closer to my goal. I also learned an important lesson this week, as you can tell by my entry title. I was so stressed this week because I have had so many tests and huge projects that have been due, therefore my eating/exercise/sleeping patterns haven't been the best. I was pulling all nighters, constantly starving. Therefore my meals were not as spaced out as they should have been. (There was even one day when I had two snacks in one day, yikes not the best choice). Anyway, with all my stresses, I didn't make time for exercise and honestly I was starting to feel a bit under the weather (It's a winter wonderland right now here in Alberta, Canada! ), probably from the allnighters and bad habits of the week. I was so worried to weigh in thinking that I didn't lose weight or even gained as I fell into the death trap of weighing myself near the end middleish of the week. Well, I weighed in today and I lost 3.1 pounds yippeeeeee!!! I also got my measurements done and I have lost 7 inches since I've started! That was some really hardcore motivational news that I needed to hear. To think that I was almost going to reschedule my weigh in over something so silly!! This made me realize who cares if I had one semi-bad week? There is no reason to sit here and make myself worried over something I can't change, I just have to pick myself back up again. Next week I'm going to be better and work harder to be more on plan. With everything that went on this week I'm so happy to almost hit the 20 pound mark and at this rate next week I should make my goal for October - being in the 260 range!! I hope (and know!!) that everyone has/had a fantastic weigh in this week!! Don't give up! And my most important advice that I deffs should have listened to a long time ago is never weigh yourself during the week. From now on I am going to wait for my JCC to do it so I don't get so worked up over it. -Jess

Woohoo week 3 is done and onto week 4!!! I was happy with my weight loss this week - 3.8 pounds I was a little nervous to weigh in because I hadn't done much exercise this week because my house was broken into while I was home, so I was a little freaked out by going on my usual late night walk. This week I am pulling out the old treadmill and I am going to devote more time this week to exercise - and DRINK MORE WATER!!!!!! That is really important to me because I have always had problems getting all my water in. Anyway; my total weight loss as of now (3 weeks) is 14 pounds ! I hope all of you had a fantastic weight loss this week!!

Well, I just got home from Jenny Craig and I lost another 1.5 pounds! At first, I was a little disappointed because I had such a good loss last week and after all my hard work I couldn't help but say 'that's it!!!'. Then I remembered that I still lost weight and I am a little lighter this week than I was last week. Last weekend was thanksgiving, so I know my weigh in wasn't going to be the best that it could be, but I exercised pretty hard everyday this week. I'm hoping by next wednesday I will lose even more and be even closer to my goal. I'm surprised at how fast these two weeks have flied by! I got my food for the week and I must say those pumpkin spice cakes look DELICIOUS! How are all of you enjoying the new fall foods? The centre here in Calgary haven't received the new mains, only the barscotti and cakes. I'm going for my walk now and I hope all of you had/have a fabulous weigh in!! (: -Jess p.s I forgot to mention that in two weeks I have now lost 10.5 pounds! Wooo.

Day 5 and I feel like I lost some weight but there is no telling, I guess I gave to wait... my first week weight-in will be Saturday morning.. Until then I'll just keep sticking to the plan. I used to be on Jenny Craig back in 2008 and I lost a ton of weight. I know the program works so I'm back, I just need to be pacient.. follow the menu and the weight loss will happen once more. It helps if you also have a great support system in place. This is why I want to blog my good days and bad days, In hopes I get inspired and as well as I can inspire someone.

Day 2. I'm determined, focused and already seeing the new me in my mind. I have a very vivid imagination. Daydreaming about food got me to where I am now. I'd think about how good a particular food would be and sooner or later I'd go out and get it. Actually eating the food never gave me the satisfaction or pleasure I dreamed of. So I'd channel the disappointment with another food, which also turned out to be less than expected. Time to break this unhealthy cycle. I know most of the tastes, pleasures and sensations I associate with food are all in my head and not in the supermarket. I know I can do this. I've done it many times before. Its not that hard. I just need to stop dreaming and focus on reality.