New Users
Hey! New Users! Look here! This is the place to introduce yourself and share a bit about your weight loss history and goals.
Step 1: If you haven’t already done so, sign yourself up here. Once you’ve activated your account, you can log in here.
Step 2: Scamper right back to this page and please introduce yourself in a comment below.
Step 3: Every day, log yourself in, track your weight, then go to the Daily Check In page and record your weight du jour as a comment to the most recent post by Betsy and me. Lucky for you, this post will appear at the top of the page. Click on the link that says “comments” at the bottom of the post to enter your comment.
Step 4: Optional, but fun. Want one of those neat little illustrations to pop up next to your post? They’re called gravatars (globally recognized avatars), and you can upload yours here.
Betsy and Janet blog every day. We also offer the occasional “Essay of the Whatever.” Every month, we also select a new Bitch Sister or Bitch Brother to contribute an Essay of the Whatever. You’ll find links to resources—products, services, books, and sites we love—under the “Love Objects” tab.
That’s all there is for now. Stay tuned. We’re building a weight tracking widget and fine-tuning the site. Hell, we’re tuning it, forget the “fine” in that sentence.
Welcome. Thanks for jumping on this ship.
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I quit smoking four years ago and took up ice cream instead, along with two dress sizes, which isn’t what we call that any more but never mind. I meant to get around to losing weight two years ago, but my father died and two weeks later I learned I had a little tiny bit of breast cancer, which has been tidied up by the miracles of modern science and healthy doses of ice cream. Now it’s time to lose the ice cream and, I suspect, weight along with it. I’m a bit concerned that doing so will leave me with not flaws at all, but I’ll cope with that if I must.
Welcome, Annie!
All aboard the Good Ship Bitch, Annie! Your deeply flawed yet oddly overconfident BYT compatriots welcome you!
Hello! I’ve been a longtime lurker and am glad to have joined the club at last. I’d like to lose about 30 pounds. What I’d like even more than that is to be able to stop saying that – these 30 have been with me for several years now. I am 44 and I’d hate to enter the second half of my 40s with the same old challenge and complaint. So I’m hoping this is the year I make a lasting change.
I’ve started writing down every damn thing I eat (one week late) and I look forward to getting to know my fellow sailors on the Good Ship Bitch!
Warmest welcome to the 2012 sailing! We’re so glad you’re making the transition from Beloved BYT Lurker to Blogger!
Welcome Dory! You’ve come to the right place.
Cindy
Hi, i’m Janette. Glad to be here.
Hi Janette, Glad your here. *:)
So glad you’ve decided to set sail on the Good Ship Bitch! Warmest welcomes! xxoo, Betsy
My name is Josh. I’m here because I love Betsy and I like to bitch. My goals are a little different, by which I mean a lot. I’m actually trying to gain weight!
But I’m going to substitute “thin” for “lean” and that should all work out fine.
I’m an author and a librarian and a performing strongman. I do too much sitting and am trying to rectify that because I’m really tall and it makes my back howl.
I’m also a personal trainer. If any of you ever have any questions, please ask. If I can help I will. If I can’t, I won’t pretend I can. Nice to meet you all.
Josh, I love you even though you challenged me to join you in a quest to put on twenty pounds! Welcome to BYT!
Hello! I am Tammy, and I do love ice cream and my dogs. Starting a little backwards here; I’ve already posted my checkin comment for the day. I am looking forward to hanging out with all of you because I really like finding good people with whom I share some issues.
I’m hitting fifty next April, and that is really weighing heavy on my mind. Yes, pun intended! Joining BYT is my first step to becoming a nicer kinder person to my own body. I used to go by how my clothes fit, but I always made excuses like, “oh, I just washed those, they are always tight after being in the dryer.” Or “I’m bloated from all that salad I ate last week.” I hope that by looking at my weight each morning and posting it here, I will become more aware of how my eating habits are affecting my body. Maybe, just maybe, it will give me that little boost I need to keep going…
I am glad to have found you.
Welcome Tammy!!! We’re so glad to have you join us, both at BYT and in the half-century club (well, a few of us aren’t there yet, but quite a few are!) And yes, BYT is all about being “kinder and and nicer” to yourself and your body. Looking forward to reading your posts
Welcome Tammy – so happy to have you along for the ride. The daily weigh-in has worked amazingly well for me – and I no longer let “the number” control how I fee about myself. What kind of dogs do you have?
…feel about myself….
Hey, Tammy! Welcome aboard! We do have fun here and rally around when one of us is feeling a little frail … Here’s to getting the boost you need!
Ditto Cindy’s question re dogs. I have an elderly and opinionated chow
Welcome to the Good Ship Bitch, Tammy! We’re so delighted to have you aboard. The upcoming 50th was the inspiration for me and Janet to start BYT. Amen to the “nicer, kinder” outlook. Our mantra is: Bitch to us, but be nice to yourself! xxoo, Betsy
Ok, I am a little confused because I am a newbie. I posted somewhere else without realizing this is where I need to meet everyone first. So like me to get the “cart before the horse”.
Just turned 60 in December. I have been struggling with my weight is puberty. I have been dieting since my early 20′s even though I really didn’t need to then. I remember weighing 130 and thinking I was obese. Crazy talk!!
I have lost 30 and 40 pounds at a time only to gain back and more everytime. I refuse to call anything a diet anymore as that carries such feelings of failure and sadness. I just say I am on an eating plan. And my plan to eat myself healthy and strong so the next 60 years will be great.
So now, today, January 13, 2011 I am making a fresh start.
Hi, Susiecoz, and welcome aboard! Fresh starts are great (I’m making one myself today.) Please don’t hesitate to holler if anything about the site is confusing to you. We’ve got a good crew here.
We’re so glad you’re here! Call us if you need help; otherwise, bitch with abandon!
Hello, I’ve been reading along and figured it was only fair to ante up and subscribe (at least for the long dark days of winter). You all inspire me with your energy and sharing and most of all, recognition that our bodies and relationships with food are complex beings…
So now that the holiday scalular uptick has gone away (I’m sorry, but when your infrequently-seen Brother-in -law is a french chef who offers to cook, that is not the time to think of calories) but the heavy winter gloom remains, I will be checking in here to see if I can make progress toward my summer goal…
Welcome aboard the Good Ship Bitch, Jenn! It’s definitely the more, the merrier in these cold, dark days–the thermometer is at 29 as I type this. We’re so glad you’ve joined us!
xxoo,
Betsy
Hi Jenn –
I’m glad you decided to join us! How did you get such a fabulous brother in-law?? Mine tend to sit on the couch and ask when dinner will be ready!
oh, my sister has always attracted the most fabulous guys– he is so sweet, but how much bechamel sauce and galette des rois (a special almond paste cake made for epiphany) can one middle-aged body absorb?
me too! thanks.
Welcome, Welcome, Jenn! We’re delighted to see you and I’m so incredibly glad you decided to subscribe and start commenting. Yay! Another bitch in the tribe!
Hello All, I am a new user but a long time “struggler” my weight has always gone up and down from the time I was 14. I am now 54 and for the past three years my weight has not fluctuated more than 3 pounds I finally figured it out! I am an an animal trainer (specializing in llamas, alpacas and a bit of work with dogs) by profession specializing in llamas and alpacas. For over 20 years I have traveled around the world teaching people how to work with their animals in a kind and respectful way by teaching the animal how to find and keep it’s balance. “Beings” in balance are less likely to act out and feel safer… once in balance they like to stay there… It works to teach a dog to walk politely on a leash, to help a crazy alpaca learn to stand and accept a halter… anyway after years of teaching other people about balance it finally occurred to me that my own personal animal MY BODY was completely OUT of balance so I began using the very same principles that I use with other animals to bring my own animal (my body) into balance and KEEP it there. SUCCESS! Weighing in every day is absolutely part of the secret and I completely support this website and its wonderful irreverent bitchy way of supporting the process of monitoring weight… why count calories when your scale can count them for you!
Welcome to the Good Ship Bitch, Marty! Come join us for the last few days of this month’s 31-Day Challenge on Joy–the best part of balance! We’re so happy you’ve found us!
xxoo, Betsy
Welcome, Marty! I’m also thrilled that you found us, and I’m looking forward to hearing more from you and your approach to balance. Plus, as a knitter, I have secret fantasies about someday owning alpacas, angora goats, and merino sheep. I’ve wondered if I could figure out how to spin doodle fur into yarn…
Welcome Marty! Ohhh….very cool job! So happy to have you with us.
An animal trainer specializing in alpacas and llamas! If I’d known that job existed, I’d have applied for it eons ago. What fun to meet you. It makes being the oldest and roundest and most darling person on this shop a bit easier.
so, i don’t know…i feel kinda dumb cause i haven’t quite grasped this site. in fact, i had trouble signing up with the paypal thing although i’ve had paypal for years so that discouraged me i guess and i really didn’t come back for a month. thought about cancelling but realized that was kinda dumb since i hadn’t really given it a chance. so i don’t know if i need a tutorial or what…do you just go to the last comment and then comment on it with your weight…are the comments supposed to be relevant to the first comment? i know- it’s hard to believe i have a master’s degree, a stressful job and 4 kids and can get so confused so easily, isn’t it? anyway, i am going to do better, yup… gotta make this a habit (like my facebook habit and my websleuths habit and my … oh, well, you get it!)
Hi, Sociel! Janet, resident Techno-Goddess, can help with any technical problems. Thanks for sticking with us! xxoo, Betsy
Thanks, Betsy- I think I’m good now…Unfortunately by good I don’t mean thinner but hoping to get closer now that I’m on here!
My name is Kirsten, and I am so glad to have found you!
It’s the morning after Canadian Thanksgiving. The Bloat-O-Metre needle swung into the red zone today screaming ‘danger, danger, danger’ and I sustained a nasty bruise on my hip as I leapt back, gibbering with fright. To add insult to injury some malevolent troll has swept through my closet shrinking every garment by at least one size. I am down to one pair of tangerine Lululemons and it is the beginning of the Silly Season – from now until April I am out several times a week.
What on earth to do? I always gain weight when I go on a diet (the very word sends me lunging for the Godiva box) and as far as exercise goes – suffice it to say I was once found crumpled over the console of the treadmill, my iPod dangling from limp fingers as I sobbed my heart out with sheer boredom. I am so screwed.
So I am desperately seeking a non-diet solution.
I am thrilled that I have found this site and a community has given me hope that all is not lost. I commit to being a faithful poster. See you tomorrow!
Weight: 147
Height; Not nearly enough apparently
Goal: 130 – 132.
Welcome, I’m looking forward to your bitching. The word diet sends me eating too. *:) Bitching is so much better!
Hi Susa,
Well I think my initial temper tantrum has passed but honestly!! I have at least three events in the next 2 weeks non of which stipulated garishly coloured yoga pants as Recommended Attire. One is a Gala for a school for autistic chilren on the 22nd and I am damned if I am going to go out and buy a new cocktail dress! Not only is it ruinously expensive – but I consider it the top of a slippery slope.
Argh,
Well – enough about me – now I look forward to getting to know you better!
Warmly,
K
Welcome to Planet Bitch, Kirsten! I can already tell from your very first post that you are One of the Tribe. Still laughing over “Height: Not nearly enough, apparently”.
xxoo,
Betsy
Welcome, Kirsten! I, too, am totally thrilled that you’ve found us. And I totally understand the quest for the non-diet solution. I haven’t found it yet, either, but I’ve had some fun bitching along the way.
Hi Betsy! I have always been a big fan of Garfield the Cat who’s credo is “I’m not overweight – I’m undertall!”
and Janet – we will find that non-diet solution!!! Onward
K
Happy to find a website that expressed the way I feel. Tomorrow I am going to weigh and start bitching. I am so glad I found you!
Welcome, Welcome BitchMeMe! I’m delighted you’re here. Pull up a cozy chair and start bitching away.
Welcome, BitchMeMe! I’m already humming “A doo-ron-ron, a doo-ron-ron” in my head at the thought of your moniker. Can’t wait to have you post with us! xxoo, Betsy
I did the mental throw away fat thing and then went to the doctor, so I ask why do I weigh more now than yesterday?
I must be mentally handicapped.
Some times my fat needs a day to realize I meant it. *:)
Welcome mb! Fat is a slow learner – give it time to figure out that you are serious.
Welcome, Mommibird! We’re psyched to have you aboard the Good Ship Bitch. I agree with Susan and Cindy; fat is a wily sort. Happily, we have the patience and bitchiness to get it gone. If you haven’t checked it out already, you might want to read “This I No Longer Believe” in “Essays of the Whatever”. Cleaning up the thinking is even more important than cleaning out the pantry….
Thanks so much for joining us! xxoo, Betsy
Ooo, I forgot there were essays I get to read. Y’all have thought of everything.
Welcome!! I laughed out loud at your first post. I’m delighted you’re here, and look forward to more laughs ahead. Laughing burns calories, you know.
Hi all! I guess I didn’t read the rules thoroughly when I joined about a week ago, so I haven’t been posted my comments at the bottom of Janet and Betsy’s daily post, sorry!
ME: 41, half-Asian, mom of two boys, been trying to lose the same 10-15 pounds for the past FIVE years. Yes, it’s a small amount, but I’m only 5 feet tall, so if I gain ONE pound, my jeans start to feel tight, there’s just no where for extra weight to hide. I’m a former competitive gymnast, so I love working out at the gym, it’s food that I have a problem with. And I don’t have any friends who are as obsessed with their weight as I am, they are either naturally thin, or don’t care that they are carrying an extra 20 pounds or so. So I figured this is a good forum for me to let my pissy attitude have free rein…thanks for listening guys!!
Welcome, Chris! You’ve been posting just fine! If you’re entering your comments in the weight tracker, they’re automagically put into the comments for the daily check in post. I’m glad you got your gravatar working.
Hi, Chris! Forgive the late welcome–I’ve been in South Africa. We welcome any and all pissiness; we’ll dish it back to you and then some! Competitive gymnastics–holy cow, you must be tough stuff!
Hi I’m in Indiana. My whole family was fat (still is) and I always swore I would not be. I kept the weight off til my 40s then all hell broke loose. I am at my biggest: 182 lbs. I have been vegetarian for several years. I’ve tried to be vegan several times and couldn’t do it. On July 11, we had a new moon and a solar eclipse at the same time. That day I mentally threw away all my fat, as far as I could throw it. I promised to be vegan and I am. I don’t miss the cheese at all this tiime so it was meant to be. I immediately dropped 6 lbs., (from 186 to 180) but now I’m back to 182. Maybe if I have a good shit tomorrow…
Welcome, MIM! I am so delighted to see you here at long last (MIM went through the devil’s own time with password problems, and I’m instantly in love with her because of her fortitude in sticking with us.)
I love the idea of mentally chucking the fat away. Lovely!
Thanks again for all your help. How do I get my picture on my profile? I went to update profile but didn’t see it. Boy I’m just full of questions aren’t I?
Are there any others out there in Indiana?
No worries! To get your picture to show up, you have to upload it at http://gravatar.com and use the same email address there that you used to register here.
MIM, welcome! (Sorry I’m late to the party; I was out of town.) LOVE the idea of the mental fat toss. Maybe we should all start lighting candles and spreading the intention? Anyhow, Janet and I are SO WITH YOU on the “40′s and all hell broke loose” train. We shall overcome!
I love that you threw your fat away. I’m such a packrat, I hang onto everything. I’m going to throw mine away too!
Hi guys!
I’m a serial dieter – really excellent at losing weight (once I decide to do it!!) and truly miserable at maintaining. I hit an all time high of 210 two years ago, got down to 155, and maintained for about 9 months before I decided that I was bulletproof and could eat whatever I wanted…..sigh….. Now I’m back to 173 and seriously want to get to my original goal of low 140s, at least. I go the the gym at least 3 times a week but have trouble driving past Starbucks on the way home. I’m hoping that reporting my weight each day will help make me more accountable and keep me away from the red wine.
Cindy B
Welcome, Cindy B!
We’re so psyched to have you here! I’ll send you our free introductory podcast right away. Thanks to BYT, I’m now very good at avoiding red wine. I’ve moved right on to vodka tonics.
I liked the podcast – the content was great but I loved hearing your voices – it made me feel like I have two friends who are going to be lots of fun to hang around with.
Thanks for being here.
Cindy
May I have the free podcast too? I want to hear your voices!
Yeah people tell me “just be happy where you are. You aren’t fat”. If I took their advice, I’d baloon to the highest heights because that would give me a green light (in my mind, anyway) to eat anything. I always tell people I have to be in a constant state of dieting in order to maintaiin!
Good Lord Almighty! I’m so happy to have found this site!!!
Let me introduce myself – I’m Lostmymind, hereinafter known simply as “Lost”. I weighed this morning and nearly had a coronary, the scales said 198. I even turned the light on so that I could see it better, as I thought surely in the dark those numbers don’t make out to be what I see on there? Argggghhhh!
I’m anxious to get started. I can bitch with the best of them, believe me. If you don’t, then ask my husband ~ and he’ll reassure you I’m right.
Lost
Hi, Lost! I think maybe we should amend “Do it in the dark” to include weigh-ins, yes? In any case, we’re SO GLAD you found us! So tee up and bitch away!
xxoo,
Betsy
Welcome, Lost! Delighted you’re here. I believe you–your starter post in the daily check in item was a cuss word. Excellent start!
Hi Janet, you’re absolutely right about my cuss word. I think I intended to write more but just got overcome by an ice cream bar! I’ll try to do better tomorrow!
Lost
Hi, I’m Page and I feel as though I’m no longer struggling just to lose — it’s taking every ounce of energy I have just not to gain ….. and I’m not doing real well with that at the moment. I need a fresh start and a new attitude!
Hi, Page! Welcome aboard the Good Ship Bitch! We’re really glad you’ve joined us. Just promise us that you’ll let it all hang out here to us–and be really nice to yourself. I’ll send you our free BYT podcast right away! xxoo, Betsy
Welcome Page! Delighted you’re here. I’ll be happy to give you attitude, anytime you want.
How old are you? I read a bood a few years ago called “Fight Fat after Forty”. One piece of advice in that book I’ll never forget. The author said that a woman over 40 should never eat past noon! I think that is a bit extreme for most of us. I’m hypoglycemic and there’s no way in hell I could do that and survive. But the point was made that we really need to NOT eat in the evenings.
I’m new to the site and am really enjoying the podcast – I too, have the limiting belief that I losing battle against weight gain. But I do have evidence to the contrary. I also like rewards and focus for 2 lbs loss – smart idea. I think my 2lb reward will be a download on iTunes.
BTW, is this podcast downloadable?
Yes, there is a link on the Podcast page that says “download.” Please shoot me an email if you’re having troubles and I’ll get you all fixed up.
Hi, I’m a Betsy too, but I answer to Beez, so that’ll be my BYT handle. I remember when Betsie Tart showed up in 5th grade after years of me being the only Betsy in my world. She “stole” my name and boy, did it tick me off. I’m still not over it. I won’t do that to BYT Betsy.
I found BYT in More magazine, have browsed for the last two days, laughed, snorted and nodded, then decided, “WTF, pull the trigger and join.” So here I am!
I don’t yet have a scale, so I’m breaking the rules from the git-go. Don’t kick me out! I’ll trot over to WalMart tonight and get one. And not a cheap one. I keep buying the cheap crapshoot kind that gives me a wildly random number every time I get on it. No more! I need the truth! I can handle the truth!
Welcome, Beez! To be honest, the joy went out of Betsy when the Betsy-Wetsy doll invaded my elementary school. Watch her pee! Little did I know I’d be emulating her lil accidents during jumping jacks for Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred….
We’re so glad to have you here! And kudos for the fuck-all fearlessness!
xxoo, The Other Betsy
Shoooot. Been there, done that! I paid a personal trainer to torture me with jump rope interval training, then spent a good chunk of that hour in the bathroom, maintenance-dribbling. I’m sure I burned a bunch of calories running back and forth, and probably did enough hover-squats to count as a set.
Welcome, Beez! I’m delighted you’re hear and even happier to hear that our site made you laugh, snort, and nod. Thanks for saying.
We had one BYT’er who went to buy a scale and said that she was going to try them all and buy the one that clocked her at the lowest weight. I thought it sounded like a reasonable approach.
Happy bitching!
Well, cheapness won out. But I googled first and got the $18 HealthOMeter that got good reviews. It clocked me at 172 at the end of the day, after pizza and cobbler and, um, trains not leaving the station at regular intervals. It’s my new best friend!
Hey gals! (Are there any guys here?) I just joined, since WW was interesting, but I felt, not worth $40 a month. I like your price point. It works for those of us who know what to do, but just want some encouragment.
I uploaded a gravatar pic and am curious to see whether it works when I submit this comment. Cheers!
-Daveronius Maximus
Wow! Welcome, Daveronius Maximus. Your gravatar looks like a rather blurry pig. Is that what you uploaded?
Yes, there are guys here. My husband, and a few others. So, you’re not totally alone in the estrogen zone.
Welcome, DM! We’ve got a few dudes–we even have an Essay of the Whatever from one–and we’re delighted to have another! Bitching knows no sexual boundaries.
Well, here I am. One overweight, very skeptical woman, giving yet more money to try to help myself succeed. I’m hoping to see more big girls on here, as I’ve yet to see anyone over 200. Maybe I’m your first? I’ve been on here several times and decided, maybe this could work. I’m a very active mom of a three year old. I take a Judo class twice a week (seriously the best workout ever) and usually hit the gym at least one other time during the week. However, I’ve found a way to eat above and beyond every calorie I burn. I’ve blamed a low thyroid and genetics for years, but unfortunately the blame game gets me nowhere. This morning I purged the pantry and frig, hit the store for whole grains, lean meat, and lots of fruits and veggies. Other than that, I’m totally open to help with portion control, because let’s face it, I’M HUNGRY!!
Welcome, JudoMom! Last month, Betsy and I tried a goopish glowy skin crap cleanse, and I learned, to my surprise, that eating spinach and carrots and avocados and coconut could actually prevent me from being hungry. The cleanse actually made me sick, so I stopped after the third day, but I did learn a fair bit from it about portions and those alleged “good” fats, and how they can help one feel less hungry. Who knew?
Thanks Janet! Oh yeah, I’ve cleansed, not so fun. You’re the second person who has told me about coconut. I’m going to give it a try, the other three I bought this morning.
Welcome, JudoMom! Nope, you’re not our first poster over 200, and we have many BYT lurkers who are right there with you, so you’re not alone! And hey, a bit of clarification: Janet HATES spinach, and I LOVE it, so I actually stayed with the Goopish Glowy Skin Crap Cleanse–but see my Essay of the Whatever for my modifications and favorite smoothies. I lost 7 pounds in 5 days while feeling full–quelle novelty!
New here…guess I commented on another page in the wrong place, but I too found you in More, need to lose at least 15 lbs by july for my 25th anniv trip to the big island of Hawaii. I need consistent daily exercise more than anything, and that seems difficult for me to ever put into routine and better food choices!
I need encouragement ladies! Thank you and glad to be here!! –Chris
Welcome, Chris! We’re glad you’re here!
Welcome aboard the Good Ship Bitch, Chris! We’ll have you sea-worthy and ship-shape in no time!
xxoo,
Betsy
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