300+ Club - 300+ Weekly Thread #1229

:welcome:

We are a group of individuals who weigh or have weighed 300+, or near there. This group was formed to provide a place for others like us to find support, inspiration, and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

We want to invite everyone (roosters as well as chicks!) to join us in our journey. We share laughter and tears, heartaches and fears ... joys and celebrations. We also share what works for us and what doesn't.

We know the thread can move very quickly, and that people often make "personal" remarks and keep a number of conversations going. Please feel free to contribute even if you can't make personal comments all the time.

Finally, we also have several extra threads going on simutaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, Photos, Exercise, Info for Getting Started and more. Many of these threads are stickied at the top of the page. Please feel free to check them all out.

We have found this thread to be more than just a support group... we have found it to become a home. We invite you to join us.

Morning ladies...I'm stumbling into the day a bit on the tired side. lol. Sleepy eyes....*rubs them*

I have a goal for today to do my workout with my new wrist weights. :D I hope i get through it, I haven't done my workout in ages it seems. haha.

I hope everyone is well. I'm going to take some time today and plan my meals and things. Today I'm having fruit and salads, maybe some veggies for dinner. Lighter side of things today.

*HUGS*

Helllo my Peeps!

Well, today is a big day for me. First, I have my yearly performance review at work.. bleh.. hehe. Then I have my first surgical consult for weight loss surgery at Johns Hopkins. I will let you know the outcome!

I'm excited and scared all at the same time. Not scared of the procedure, but how to tell my mother!! hehe. Alas, family dynamics at its best.

Hugs to all,
Ratkity

Jacquie ~ I'm having sleepy eyes as well. It's been overcast and dreary in northcentral Indiana and I'm thinking that has something to do with it. Bleh...

Ratkity ~ I hope you have a great performace review and an informative consult!

I am going to have to go out of my way to have a positive attitude these next few days. Just got word from the mechanic that I blew a headgasket on the minivan I just bought from my Mom 3 WEEKS AGO! Unable to go to school without a vehicle, and I HAVE to go to school! I'm not racking up student loans to miss class! lol. I have the most horrible history when it comes to vehicles. Everything automotive that I touch turns to crap.

SO, I'm going to go to the Y today, even if I have to take a cab, and work some of my frustration off. :)

Been really proud of my eating these first few days... I made an awesome ceviche last night... shrimp soaked in lime and lemon juices, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno, red onion, and some avocado. I ate some with a couple of corn tortillas I baked in the oven. I could quite possibly live off of that stuff if shrimp wasn't so expensive in Indiana. hehe

Hope everyone has great day!

Good Morning ladies...its a brand new week ...yeah! lets hope that i am able to make my first mini-goal this friday and its looking good cause i stepped on the scale this morning and it said 299.3 but i want to make sure its going to stick so we will see if it says that the rest of the week then i will know this time it wasnt a fluke.

Did my 4 mile walk this morning and i feel good its kind of cloudy and rainy here today perfect weather for soup which is probably what i will have for lunch today and then i might curl up under a blanket for a while and watch tv..it says that it is 70 degrees right now but it definately doesnt feel like it!

Heather

Good morning, my dear chickies! Hope you are all having a lovely day thus far. Today was weigh in, and I was down a pound. Eh…wish it would have been more, but hey, it’s going down, right?! I’m really trying to stay positive with the entire process this time, and even if it is ‘only’ a pound each week…or less…or even a gain/maintain, I just have to stay positive. Because I KNOW I’m getting healthier.

I downloaded the Jillian Micheals “30 Day Shred” workout; not sure if I’ll try it today, but sometime soon. Anyone done the workout? I’m also downloading a new Cardio Kickbox workout & also a beginner’s Belly Dancing workout.

Haven't seen Annie around lately. Sending positive vibes your way, Annie, if you're reading! *hugs*

Jacquie – Good afternoon! Enjoy your workout today…and the addition of weights is excellent. Way to bump up the intensity! :D

Ratkitten – GOOD LUCK today! I may have missed that you were looking into WLS. I had no clue. Lol. Have a wonderful day.

Andrea – Good for you for getting to the Y one way or another; many people that I know would just resign themselves to not going, because of a setback, so bravo. Have an awesome workout!

Heather hb - Don't be shy....come and post your minutes on the exercise thread! ;) lol

kayleystar...i took your advice and posted my minutes on the exercise thread..yeah me!

Hello ladies :}
Sorry that I have not posted in a while. I have been busy with college, in a good way, though. I am settling in well at college and I'm loving the course! I have not been dieting properly for a few weeks but I got back on track last Monday so I am pleased to discover that I have lost 4 lbs when I weighed in this morning xD

I have been including apples to my diet, which is a surprise considering that I have never liked apples! I have been staying within points and if I have a chocolate, I would have a small one like Freddo (the chocolate that is shaped like a frog). I make sure to eat healthy snacks like Special K bar and Snack a Jacks. I have them with my lunch and they keep me filled up. If I still crave sweets, then I have a fat-free hot chocolate :]

I think that's all for me today but I promise I will keep in touch often!

Jacquie, I have to say, you look gorgeous in your avatar picture! (:
xx

ddddrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggggggii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg today.

Hello Peeps!

My performance reveiw was postponed for some reason. My surgical consult went fabbo. Time to wait for the phone call from the insurance lady and then I need to have an upper GI done. After that, psych eval, ekg, chest xray and blood work within the 30 days before surgery. I'll keep everyone posted!

Hugs to all,
Ratkity

Hello ladies! Hope you all had a great day! Today's challenge was to kick up our workout, so added an extra 20 mins to my walk/jogging intervals, and did a cardio dance dvd that I hadn't done in over 2 years. Definitely feeling it right about now. ;) Tomorrow, I'm going to try Level 1 of the Jillian Micheals 30 Day Shred.

I have a problem with late night snacking, so as of tonight, if I get hungry at all after 8pm, I'm only going to let myself have a small portion of fruit.


Beth - Glad you are adjusting well. Hope to see you around more. :)

Susannah - Hello! :) Hope you had a lovely day.

Ratkitten - Have you gotten approved by your insurance, or is that what you're waiting on? Any idea of when you may be able to get the procedure? And which type of WLS have you decided to go with?

I'm supposed to be working on a speech, and article, and my lesson plan for Thursday. Instead, I'm piddling around. Waiting for a baseball game to start. We are having an appraisal done tomorrow for a line of credit we are working on to get a car loan. When we re-financed our mortgage to a lower rate, they sent a guy out, just two years ago, so I don't know why they need to do it again. Hopefully I will have clothes on when he comes in this time. He came at 8am last time, and I was still in bed, and the hubby didn't think it would be any big deal to let him see the bedroom. I'm just glad I didn't wake up. Himself was so in the dog house after that.

Ack Catherine!!! Himself would be in the doghouse for sure after that stunt. I think that's the worse he's done. hehe.

Kayley, I've decided on the duodenal switch for WLS and am waiting on the insurance to approve. I know this is a tool and in no way "easy". I've done extensive research and am aware of all the pros and cons. I promise to keep everyone informed on my progress!

Hugs to all,
Ratkity

Kayley ~ Where are you downloading workout videos? I was just wondering about that possibility earlier today...

Catherine ~ Good luck with the schoolwork! I am a procrastinator when it comes to homework. Tomorrow night I'll be spending a good 4-5 hours reading a book I have a quiz over on Wednesday. It's for a "Global History of Modern Sport" class and the professor warned us the first day that it was most boring reading assignment he had for us this semster. lol.

I didn't make the Y today but I did just finish a pretty intense 30 minute cardio workout. Quite intense for me, being that it was my first "official" workout. Gonna get to bed at a decent hour tonight and take a nice long walk after I the kids go to school in the morning.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's time to put serious effort towards quitting smoking... anyone have experience conquering the horrible habit?

Hi everyone
I'm Victoria (Vik)..I'm new

I've had a Gym membership for almost a year and today was maybe the third time I have been. I have made a commitment to go 3 times a week on M,W,F either in the am before work or immediatly after. Today was after..I packed a gym bag and took it to work with me so there are no excuses. I am a pro at finding excuses :(

Anyone know of a good site that has low cal/fat recipes...but doesn't use a lot of weird/expensive ingredients, I'm on a serious budget

Ratkitten - I think you're approaching it the correct way. It's not a 'cure all' type of thing, and you'll still have to work hard for the rest of your life. I've often considered WLS, but I just don't think I could do it, for personal reasons. (Hope you don't take that as thinking I think what you're doing is wrong or anything of the sort, completely the opposite! I'm just horrible at putting my thoughts into words. lol)

Andrea - I download them off of a Torrent site; do you have experience doing that sort of thing? I just search for the titles...some I can find, and some not. Then they go straight to DVD, and wiped off my computer. ;)

Vik - Good to see you here! Check out sparkpeople.com; I use the site to track my diet, exercise, water consumption, and find all sorts of yummy new recipes. Membership is free, so you gotta love it!

Ratkitty, hope it all goes well, pleae keep us informed! I know some people are against surgery but I (& Kayley too, ;)lol) are happy for you, so please don't stay away coz of that!xxxxxxx
TOM has arrived, so soon after taking HRT:?: (only one week) but until it did I felt SO energised! I hope this is it & I carry on feeling less tired & groggy. I don't feel the need to eat as much either, weird! But hey, I'm all for anything that stops me snacking!!!!;)
Apologies for the short post but I'm in pain & need to get organised for my Creative Writing class so HUGS to everyone!!!:hug:xxxxxx
xxxxsharon
ps Annie, how are you, you are SO missed!!!!:hug:xxxxxx

Hiya my Peeps!

Kayley and Sharon, thanks for the support! Kayley, I totally understand and have been researching this since 2004. Definitey has not been a rash decision.

Sharon, a creative writing class??! Cool! I hope you have a great time. I once took a similar class and wrote a first person story on the viewpoint of a number 2 pencil in the hands of a nervous test taker. I love doing assignments like that.

Weclome Sasha!!!

Hippie, I have a gym membership that is hardly used as well. Go girl!

Susanna, have you stopped dragging?

Hugs to Bazz and Catherine and both Heathers and all my lurkers!

Luv,
Ratkitten

Kayley ~ I've used torrent sites before. I never considered looking for workout videos though. BRILLIANT! lol.

Vik ~ Nice to meet you! I'm new too, though I've lurked around before. :)

Hoping to find a ride to the grocery store and to the Y today. My dear friend has the day off from school so I think she might help me out. I've been perusing the healthy recipes all over the forums but I wanted to ask...

Does anyone have an absolutely favorite recipe or a link to a fav recipe that I just HAVE to try? :cool:

morning all...

hippiemama: I really like this one lady from the foodnetworl..Ellie Krieger. Just go to the foodnetwork site and look at her shows. She has some really great ones.


well it is cooler in the AM around here now..so nice to go out in the morning and just sit and enjoy the cool air. I sooo hate summer so when it is over I get soo happy.

Hopefully my youngest son will start school today. He is all enrolled but they wouldnt let him start without his DTP booster..he got that yesterday and another shot I didnt even know he needed. Poor kid has been out of school for about 3 weeks..between being sick and us moving.

Well I am covering for someone at work so I gotta go in early...here is to yall having a great day!!

Well sleepy eyes again for me today. I woke up friggin' late, but after an emotional weekend and blah blah, maybe I needed a rest. I sometimes don't handle stress that well.

I'm waking up and going to have a smoothie in just a bit. Then going to do my workout. A bit off schedule with that, but :D I'm going to do it! lol

My weight is up today, I think it is water weight, sodium, etc. I need to get back to just raw foods, so I think I'm going to start limiting the cooked foods again for awhile. My weight fluctuates between my lowest and now the highest is 272. Annoying! lol

I hope everyone is well. I wonder how Annie and Zelma are. I hope in better spirits.

Good morning ladies..i just finished doing a 25 minute biggest loser workout plus 20 mins biggest loser strength training and when i finished i was sweating more than i do when i do my walking workouts i mean i am sweating when i get done with my walking workouts but it was dripping off of me pretty profusely when i got done with todays workout so i know i got a good workout ( sorry to be gross talking about sweat) and kayleystar i did enter my workout minutes today and yesterday on the exercise thread and the scale said 299.8 this morning so i think its gonna stick this time!! whoohoo!!! but just cause i see that number this morning doesnt mean im gonna stop eating right or working out because i would love to see 298 or 297 on friday so im gonna try i might be pushing it a little but as long as that scale says 299 on friday i will be happy because i will have finally made my first mini-goal.

well gotta run and get ready for the day
talk to you ladies later
Heather

Good morning, ladies! I'm dragging a bit this morning, but within the hour, I plan on heading out with my Mom for our walk/jog intervals. We've decided to enter the Thanksgiving Day 5k event that's held by our local YMCA. They have the 5k run & the 5k walk. We're going to sign up for the walk, and throw in our intervals of jogging. Perhaps by next year, I'll have lost enough to enter the run! But this will keep me motivated to keep working out, and something to look forward to. There will be medals awarded to the first 5 walkers that cross the finish line, so we'll definitely be power walking, and jogging as much as we can! ;)

After that, I'm going to try out the 30 Day Shred. We'll see how that goes! ;)

Resisted the urge to hop on the scale this morning. 1 day down, 5 to go. lol


Sharon - Good to see you! You were next on my 'where is she' watch list. lol. Have a great class, and I'm all about anything that gives me an energy boost. I'm dragging a bit this morning, I could use it! ;)

Andrea - Since you're familiar with torrents, check out btjunkie.org, if you don't already use them. That's where I got quite a few of my workout dvds. :) And I'll have to get back to you on a recipe. I don't do a whole lot of cooking, but when I used to...I had quite a few! :)

Cyn - Well, hopefully they let him start, and he's not TOO far behind. :) Have a lovely day!

Jacquie - Water weight is the devil. Yep. >.<

Heather hb - Glad to see you joining us on the exercise thread! We can use all the minutes we can get!! :) Here's to hoping the scale stays cooperative. ;) Are you going to weigh daily again, or are you staying away from it?

kayleystar...right now i am back to weighing daily because the first week that i went all week without stepping on it i gained 2 lbs so i feel better getting on it everyday but next week i may try not stepping on it again but this week i am stepping on it daily and it seems to help me more when i know where i am at every day and i know that there are people that weigh themselves everyday and there are people that dont and people that dont think that people who weigh themselves everyday shouldnt do you know what i mean? anyway im babbling again lol so yes this week i am weighing daily but next week im gonna try to not step on it all week.

Heather

I tend to go through phases where I weigh everyday, then there are times I ignore it and just do a few times a week. Etc... Right now I don't care what I weigh as I'm just off of my TOM and I'm just wanting to lay off the scale for awhile and focus on eating right and blah blah. You all know those phases I'm sure.

Hello ladies :}
Another great day for me, although I cannot say the same about the weather :/ it's been minging all day. It's was raining and windy. But that's Welsh weather for ya. I'm struggling to fit exercise into my busy(ish) schedule (sp?) and I really want to be able to exercise. Not only it will help me lose weight but I want to get fit as well. I'm in college almost everyday and I have a lot of assignments coming up so I will be using my free time to do the assignments. There's always the weekends but I don't want to exercise just on the weekends, if that makes sense. Any ideas, ladies? :/

Kayley, hello! How are you, my lovely? According to your Facebook statuses, you've been busy with college and exercising. Well done xD

Sasha Nobody, hi Vik. Welcome xD

Ratkitten, hugs to you too! :]

Catch you all later, ladies! Have a great day :]
xx

Stayed OP today for the first time in a week. My body feels so much better. I don't know why I can't seem to remember that important fact. Tomorrow is my water aerobics class, so I excited about that.

We got approved for the line of credit, and now I just have to decide which car to get. He wants a Dodge Caravan with sto & go seats, and I'm leaning towards a Honda Element. Anyone have experience with either? I miss my VW Van. I could overhaul the engine on the living room floor. Those days are over I guess.

Yay! Tonight is Biggest Loser night! :)

Today, Mom & I went out and got in 40 minutes of walking/jogging intervals. Felt really good. I came home, and fully intended to do the first step of the 30 Day Shred workout...well, I got through 15 minutes, and had to stop. That was ROUGH! Doing pushups, squats, and jumping jacks all in succession. I'll definitely have to work up to that one! And that was only Phase 1 (there's three phases to the workout).

Well, I'm going to go make some dinner, and get ready for the show in about half an hour. Have a wonderful night, ladies. :)


Jacquie - I'm definitely the same way. I'm trying to break the weighing everyday thing, because it just makes me obsessive, and then I drive myself crazy. Heh.

Beth - I'm doing alright. Yeah, that's pretty much all I do...go to school, and work out. lol. But I guess that's productive, right? ;)

Catherine - My Aunt has a Honda Element, and loves it! Gets great gas mileage for an SUV, and ist just really nice. She does a lot of hauling around (owns a farm with horses, goats, etc), and has two high school age kids, so it's definitely helped her out a lot. :)

whoohoo 25 mins to the biggest loser..i love that show!!

be back later
Heather

Just a flyby for Catherine...

The dodge caravan has been traditionally under-powered, but that could have changed. I just know a 4 cyl engine was too weak to pull the caravan. I've heard good things about the Honda element. Congratz on your line of credit!

Hugs,
Ratkity

Good evening ladies

I am very much an emotional eater. Maybe it comes from my f*up childhood or the lack of attantion from my dad..whatever...but I know this about my self...however it does not make it any easier to stop

I received some very bad news today and really I want nothing more than to dive head first into a jar of peanut butter...but I wont...I cant
I know it has only been 2 days but I am proud of my self for sticking to my diet/excersise plan
Why can't I have the urge to jog when I am upset?
Ha..maybe I can reverse my habits and become an emotional excersier instead...its possible right?!?

Man... I don't know if I should watch The Biggest Loser during my TOM. I cried like a baby! :o lol. But it was very motivating and I worked out afterwards. I've watched the show before but not consistently. Definitely going to be looking forward to it every week this time around!

It's been another good day for me.... Good food and 3 different workouts! The guys who towed my van to the shop took a look at it after picking it up today and figured out a cheaper way to fix the problem than the 1st place. I get to pick it up tomorrow! Which means I'll have no problem getting to the Y tomorrow after class! :) And my friend and I have our first meeting with our coach/trainer on Thursday afternoon.

Headed to bed now... Hope everyone has a peaceful slumber.

Sasha ~ I'm so sorry you had a rough day. I DO believe though that you can work through anything if you put your mind to it. Even if it's been only 2 days that is still a GREAT accomplishment! I'm going on 5 days and I'm super proud of myself. lol. Hang in there.... Think about the long, beautiful, healthy life ahead of you. :hug:

Just flying through this morning; only ended up getting about an hour of sleep...I'm getting really fed up of not being able to fall asleep until like 3am! Now I have to make a mad dash to the gym, then class.

Have a great day, ladies!

Sasha - Welcome! :D I too an am emotional eater and it has taken me a long time to just cope with it to the point where I am today. I still emotionally eat, but not as much as I used to. I have been finding lately that food just doesn't comfort me. I need something more, I need to talk things out, cry my eyes out, hug another human being, etc. So, it is always possible to work on the aspects that you find are most important to you. This is a journey and a life long one at that. You can and we can do this. :D I started at 340 + pounds and now I'm lighter, able to cope a bit better (totally not perfect), and I am now working on my exercising (i get bored and make stupid excuses not to do it lol). We all have similar stories and I think that is what makes this place awesome. We get it. We get it and *HUGS*... :D

Kayley - Have a good day! :D I hate it when I am not getting enough sleep. This morning I was like "yep time to get up" and I got up a bit later than I wanted, but I'm getting more positive about things again and makes me sleep easier. When I don't get enough sleep I'm tired and cranky 24/7...when I get less sleep when I'm positive and I'm eating enough, I am alert and happy. Seems backwards to me, but what do I know.

HippieMama - Do you like the Y? There is a new one here and I have to be honest, with my boredom with walking and things I've been contemplating looking into something either gym or Y related....I dunno.. I'm a bit shy and sensitive, which makes me hide out more than go out. If that makes sense...

****
Well I'm up this morning earlier than I have been getting up. Not sleepy, just alert and wanting to get on with my day. Going to work on my website, which I've neglected for so long. Will have a weight loss, well blog with weight loss tidbits in there. I miss online journaling. :D I procrastinate the website, but I shouldn't as I need more work and blah blah.

I'm thinking about juicing more and doing more smoothies. I miss them and am feeling the urge to get my juicer out :D. Last time I wanted to do a juice feast, no can't body hates green juices, but this time I can just have juice in the morning. Like peachy orange...yum. :D

I hope everyone is well! :D *HUGS* I'm working on a few things this morning, going to meal plan. Hehe.

Hello ladies :}
Just a quick post before I get cracking on with my coursework. I hope everyone is having a good day (Y)

Kayley, yes, that is very productive ;) I don't have much time to work out but I go to college and do homework. I'm a good girl, see :]

Take care everyone :D
xx

morning ladies...

Tom is lurking so yesterday I was emotional and this morning I woke up after having a dream about my grandma..I woke up crying and missing her. My faith lets me believe that once day I will see her again..and i know that time is short..but i still miss her.

Yesterday I was very nautious all day! If it is from my gallbladder this really sucks! I hope once it is out things will get better.

This morning I have a meeting with Justins councelor since he is in resource classes at school. Let's hope this school can provide the same great classes as the other one did. If NOT I am raising ****!

Good Morning ladies..just a quick fly by for me this morning i have to do my 3 mile walk and then go to my parents house to help them with stuff but just wanted to come on here and say that i weighed myself this morning and it said 298.7 so it looks like i may make my first mini-goal this friday for real!!! I stepped on the scale 3 times to make sure it said the same thing and it did! Im so excited maybe i can make 297 by friday that would be awesome! but im not pushing it if i only make 298 friday i will be totally happy with that!

talk to you girls later
Heather

Kayley ~ I had trouble falling asleep last night too. Layed down before midnight and last time I looked at the clock it was just after 3. My mind was just racing.... Maybe the workout I had before bed gave me an unnecessary burst of energy? I kept thinking about healthy meals, working out, school, etc. Gonna go through the day with no nap and work my butt off at the Y and surely I'll sleep well tonight!

Jacquie ~ I LOVE our Y. We have whats called the WOW center. stands for "Women only Wellness" or something. It's in the basement and it's chicks only down there. One room has various cardio type machines and the other room has stations for weights/resistance and music playing with periodic pauses... "Change stations"... They even offer cheap childcare if I need to bring along the kids.

Then there's the main workout area which has a much bigger variety of machines but it's men and women. (I don't know how comfortable I'd be yet working out with the dudes. Usually I do my best to appear not sweaty and out of breath in front of strange men) There's also a sauna and hot tub. Nice big pool, racquetball and badmitton courts, a variety of classes to attend. Lots of options.

Excited for another great day!

Good morning everyone!! :D

It has been a while since I have been here and I have missed you all. I've been gone for a good reason though! I got a new (much better) job and have just finished a 700 mile move. When I found out that I had gotten the job, I only had 3 weeks until I had to start, so it was a mad dash to talk to my landlord, get utilities turned off, pack, move, etc. And then there was the whole process of getting everything set up here while working full time.

Whew! It's been crazy but we're finally all set up in our new apartment and cruising along. I love love love my new job.

And during all of this insane stress, I have not gained any weight! :carrot: I have maintained the whole time, which I am okay with. I'm ready to start losing weight again and will be following the meal plan that my old doctor recommended.

Flying through to say the week has not let up at work. Have too much going on. Scale moved a bit this week, but not as much as I'd hoped. *sigh* Oh well, onwards and downwards, right?

Good evening, chickies! Wow, I'm feeling super awesome tonight, due to my workout. This morning, I hit the gym as per usual before class. Did my strength training, and even tried something new. I usually do the Stability Ball (for balance, and crunches, and pushups); but today I also tried the Bosu Ball! Definitely more challenging than the stability ball. I could only use it for about 5 minutes before I started to feel a bit too strained, but I'll work my way up! Anyhow, I didn't have time for cardio, as I woke up later than I intended. So this afternoon, I decided to try and do another 15 minutes of the 30 Day Shred workout. Well, I'm happy to report that I finished the ENTIRE first phase of the workout! It definitely kicked my butt. The cardio was pretty intense. (Jumping Jacks, Jump Roping, High Kick Ups when Running, etc.), then bursts of strength exercises, such as pushups, and then other intervals of ab work. I felt SO good afterwards. I felt like I do after a longer workout! I'm going to try and do that one at least a couple of times a week. :) Definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a new challenge! But I won't be starting on phase 2 of it for quite sometime. Once this phase becomes too easy, I suppose.

Jacquie - What kind of a juicer do you have? I keep seeing commercials for some, and have thought about maybe picking one up, or asking for it for Christmas this year, but not sure if I'd use it all the time.

Beth - When I first started college, it was really tough to balance course work, exercise, and my full time job. Took me a couple of semesters, actually. You'll get there, and you'll get into an awesome routine, and it'll all work out. :)

Cyn - How did it go today?

Heather hb - Fingers crossed that the scale cooperates this week. ;)

Andrea - Yeah, that's probably what kept you up! Well, a combination of starting your new lifestyle, too. I know I would stay awake thinking about all the new things I was going to incorporate into my new way of life. :) Every day OP is a success, so bravo! I'm 2.5 months in, without falling off the wagon even for a day...which is new for me! :D

Ronnie - WELCOME BACK!

Susannah - Exactly! Just keep at it, chick! :D

Kayley ~ Was it you who posted about the turkey burger big mac? Let me tell you, I had one tonight for dinner: Whole grain bun, turkey burger, romaine, chopped onion, fat free thousand island, and half a sandwich slice pickle, and it ROCKED. SO yummy. Don't know if it's because it's been over a week since I've had fast food or what but that thing was delicious!

Worked my butt off for 45 min at the Y tonight. Feel GREAT. And might even do a lil belly dancing before bed. lol. My stomach abs felt so tight last night... such a new, strange feeling. I ADORE it.

Andrea - I didn't make mine into a type of Big Mac, but I did post about yummy turkey burgers. I'm addicted to them now! :D What belly dancing program/DVD do you use? I'd love to begin to do some Belly Dancing, but unsure where to begin! I have no booty/hips to speak of, so maybe it's going to be difficult. lol

I've been recording "Shimmy" on DirectTV. I'm prob going to need to get a full length belly dancing video before too long. It's fun! My friend asked me about it and I said, "Ummm... I could never do it in front of another human being... at least not for 75 lbs or so... but it's FUN" lol

Ooooh, I haven't heard of that. I did some research, and I'm downloading "Amira's Belly Dance 101"; hopefully, I can try it tomorrow!

Also downloading The Biggest Loser Power Sculpt, and the other two Jillian Micheals DVDs, as I really liked her 30 Day Shred one. She's definitely a good trainer. ;)

Hey everyone== I'm headed out of town tomorrow for a long weekend and don't know how much internet access I'll have -- so, take good care of yourselves!! And play nice as always!

Have a great weekend, Heather! If you're not around, I'll make sure the thread gets started for next week. :)

I've never posted in this thread before, but I just had to jump in and say that I ironically just downloaded "Amira's Bellydance 101" a few nights ago myself!

I'm just this week beginning working out for the first time and so far I've been mainly focusing on using resistance bands and a stability ball, but seeing the talk of belly dancing made me really excited to try that tomorrow instead of just letting the video sit on my hard drive for who knows how long! :lol:

Good Morning ladies..today is my biggest loser workout for 30 minutes and then biggest loser strength training for 30 minutes and i would love to try to squeeze out an pound but if i dont i will probably be satisified if the scale says tomorrow what it said today which was 298.5 that would be a 4.4 lb loss from last week but dont forget i had a 2 lb gain last week but still i will be under 300 and make my first mini-goal and i will know its a real weight reading cause its been saying that all week basically so fingers crossed for a good weigh-in tomorrow.

Also, this weekend will be a challenge for me cause we are going out of town and i wont be around a computer so friday night, saturday, and sunday i will have to watch what i eat but im not too worried cause i know serving sizes pretty well now so i know im gonna do just fine without being able to calorie count this weekend.

Well, have a great day ladies and i will be back later
Heather

ps kayleystar..i have jillian michaels banish fat burn metabolism and that was is tough but its a good workout and i have the power sculpt and its good too!

Kayleystar - I have a Breville, the lower end model, it is like $100 or something. The thing is I got it in June of 2008 and got the protection plan from Best Buy. Well it broke, carrots are not good for it unless cut small, and I just went in and replaced it, no questions asked. So, I have a new one again :D... I love it, it makes a mess lol, but it is nice. Juicers are INCREDIBLY expensive, so the Breville model or some other juicers are priced just right. Of course there is a trade off...but it works really well. Another thing I want is a Vitamix, but man those are EXPENSIVE. lol. I also want a new food processor, expensive as well. Ahhhhhhhhhh well. :D

If you aren't into juicing you can always get a personal blender like the Bullet and do smoothies and other things! :D Inexpensive and fun. You can mix up party drinks with it too. Just an idea. :D

HippiMama - I might try out the Y or a GYM at some point. I might just go have a look around. I'm really shy and insecure, so that is the issue really. Of course now I'm Taeboing as my new challenge, that enough is a good workout! lol...

Cyn - I hope you get better. I don't think it will get much better until after the surgery. I remember when my boyfriend had the same thing, he waited until he was in terrible amounts of pain. So, I and his mother made him move up the surgery. So, if you feel like you can't cope, call your doctor and be brutally honest about things. See if they can move your surgery up. You will get better though! You'll recover fast probably and be able to enjoy eating without worrying about it making you feel physically bad.

****
Well my boyfriend thinks I'm a stubborn little minx at times. I do dwell on things from time to time, but I honestly think it is because I don't GET time to cope and work through my feelings. Like I'm supposed to brush things off and move on, but I can't do that. I don't know how to cope with things, this is all new for me. Sometimes I think the people close to me forget that.

Saying that, I do dwell and need to figure or work through coping. Food for comfort isn't cutting it anymore. Blah.

I feel like my weight is up and don't feel well. I started a new BC pack and the *******s colored all the pills blue now, so I can't tell when the active pills are done. I'm sick because of them. I also have been eating a lot of cooked foods lately and I'm wanting to go back to raw foods for a bit. I go through these phases...now I want light and raw. lol...then I want some cooked foods. I need to work on BALANCE. Still working on that...

So, I've been eating more fruits and salads and things. Going to make a few things for next week. A mock crab salad, mango salsa, a few dressings. I'm also gonna have spaghetti squash, love it so far, and do a mock Alfredo sauce for it. :D I do love making things with nuts. hehe.

I hope everyone is well. :D *HUGS*

Kayley ~ Privately, I love to dance. My children bear witness to it. Rarely does anyone else. So I'm all about the dancey workouts. Have a hip hop one I'm getting ready to do this morning.... I'd love to try one of the striptease workouts. Again, all very privately, lol.

Heather ~ Have a good weekend! I'm sure you'll have no problem eating well. :)

Jacquie ~ I've known some people who have gone all raw foods with their eating... my Grandfather for one. He said he feels better than he has in years. I could never do it entirely but I am definitely eating A LOT more raw and fresh foods than I was before!
Mock alfredo sauce? Hmmmm....

Really dragging this morning. Not enough sleep last night. Want to have a morning work out but want to take a nap... I don't think my muscles are sore enough. I'm gonna add a lil weight to those machines at the Y next time, which will prob be this afternoon. And I might go aquacise this evening for the **** of it, if my Dad will watch my kiddos for a few. I'd love to be in the water. I should REALLY do the hip hop dance workout now, Y in the afternoon, aquacise tonight. That would be awesome of me. I'm gonna try and motivate myself... Ramble Ramble Ramble

HippieMama - I love raw foods, but I do like cooked sometimes so I live in the cooked vegan and raw food worlds. I do think I need more balance though. Alfredo sauce, nuts blended with lemon juice and other seasonings. :D I don't eat cheese, haven't for a year now, and I can't remember what Alfredo taste like, but the nut cheese sauces taste good. I just don't know if it is close to the real thing. haha I can't judge that properly. :D

Okay ladies, I have my head screwed back on straight again. I had my first session with the new UBER trainer this morning and he worked my *$&*(^& off! I love it! I was able to do all the things he asked me to do - and with good form I might add *I'm a bit chuffed* - but I sweated profusely and am already feeling the beginnings of what will likely be MAJOR soreness tomorrow. Anyway, it was the kick in the pants I needed to get back on track. We also talked about what I'm eating before and after workouts and I think we might have it nailed down as to why I've gotten lightheaded several times lately. Now if I could get my water in my system, and get my husband employed and up from moping around in front of the television, I would have it allll figured out! *laugh*

As a side note - today I'm at 25% of my total weight loss goal, so I'm feeling FIERCE!

Hello ladies! Hope you are all doing fabulously this fine Thursday! Did the 30 Day Shred again today, and oh man...I think I'm going to have to take a break from it tomorrow. Feeling my muscles in a BIG way tonight. After I finished the workout, I went out for power walking/jogging intervals for 25 mins, and then came home, and decided to try out one of the Belly Dance DVDs I downloaded last night. I decided to go with "The Goddess Workout: Cardio Belly Dance with Dolphina". Having never done that type of thing before, I was unsure if it was going to even be much of a workout...but it most certainly was! I was feeling it in my abs after only a couple of minutes, and I really enjoyed it. Only did 10 minutes of it today, but maybe I'll do the whole workout (45 mins) tomorrow. And the instructor was very good. I actually felt confident while doing the workout, which is new for me. Heh.

I'm on a downloading spree. Haha. I've got a list of various titles I'm going to look for including Cardio Burlesque (ow ow!), Cardio Hula Dancing, and Yoga Booty Ballet. Among others. I love variety, and I may not be able to keep my gym membership much longer ($$$ shortage....ha), so that'll be good.

Well, I've talked on long enough about the workouts. But I like to share info about the dvds, so perhaps it'll help others make a decision on whether to try them or not. :)

Heather hb - Good luck tomorrow. :)

Jacquie - Excellent idea!! I'm going to have to see what I can get a Bullet for. I've been wanting to make fresh fruit smoothies as a change up from my regular oatmeal in the morning.

Mock Alfredo sauce?! Do share the recipe? ;) I'm a huge (no pun intended ;)) Alfredo fan.

Andrea - I'm a secret dancer as well. Haha. I refuse to do so in front of anyone else. Other exercise I'm fine, but I don't want anyone seeing me make a fool of myself THAT much. ;)

Hope you had a lovely day!

Susannah - First off, CONGRATULATIONS on hitting that 25% gone. That's just awesome! I loved the sessions I had with the trainer...you will DEFINITELY be feeling it in the morning...but so worth it! How often do you plan on training?

We signed the paperwork today, so now it is just a waiting game on the car purchase. I've lived in the Arctic city, walking to bus stops in -40 temps to save money for almost 4 years now, so I am definitely looking forward to buzzing past the bus stop. Although, I'll probably start complaining about he price of gas and insurance.

Good morning ladies..i know its early but i had to weigh myself early today cause im getting ready to take hubby to work and then head to my parents but i just wanted to come on here to say..I DID IT! I LOST 4.4 LBS THIS WEEK! sorry im just really excited because that definately makes up for the crappy week i had last week, plus i made my goal of being under 300 lbs by 9/26, and have also lost 10% of my body weight which is huge and today may also mark another milestone but i wont know that until later today when driving my moms car to see if i can buckle her seatbelt without the extension ( see in june i had to get an extension cause i couldnt even come close to buckling her drivers side seatbelt) when i tried it a couple of weeks ago i was just inches away from being able to buckle it so i am hoping that i will be able to buckle it today without the extension i will let you guys know but probably not until monday cause after this afternoon i wont be around a computer until sunday night so i will let you know!

sorry to ramble i am just sooooo excited right now but i gotta run and get ready to go!
talk to you ladies later
Heather

Kayleystar - I do love oatmeal though. I eat the steelcut, make a batch for two days at a time. Last time I did pear spiced (1 pear cut up, a bit of cinnamon, a pinch of salt) that was it. I dumped everything into the oatmeal when the oatmeal was thickened, turned the heat down for a simmer for 30 minutes. Very good. :D I don't like mine too sweet.

As for the cheese sauce recipe...there are a few. The one I have is the following:

1 cup of cashews
1 cup of macadamia nuts
1 cup of pine nuts
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 tablespoons of water

That is the recipe BUT I don't follow it. There are many recipes like this, but I'm on a budget and I don't like making that much for me. So I do the following:

1 cup of cashews soaked for a few hours
lemon juice to taste (usually around 2 tablespoons)
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of Bragg's
water for thickness
freshly ground pepper
pinch of salt if needed

****
Today I'm getting used to getting up early again. I have an active morning ahead, store visits, blah blah. Got my meals planned and have back ups planned in case I don't feel like cooking. :P

Going to have a lovely green smoothie this morning. :D Starting to feel hungry yum! :D

I hope everyone is well! *hugs*

I'm here trying to catch up. Our computer got a virus and it's dead so that's why I've been gone. Still working on losing weight I'm down 3lbs this week! And I really did bad food wise this week so I'm shocked. Boys are doing good since we taken away Casein from their diet. They are talking alot and making eye contact now and listening better. They go back to to the DAN doctor next Friday. I'm sure will be taking away Gluten soon. We got the kids a 7 month old Sheltie/Husky mix puppy 2 days ago. She is huge already and almost potty trained she is good about going out but a few accidents I'm putting her on a schedule see how it works. The kids love her to death.
I'll be back to post more later today got to get the girls going on schooling today.

Catherine - So which vehicle did you guys decide to go with?

Heather hb - Congrats. Have a nice trip.

Jacquie - Wow...wish I was that creative with my food. Haha. I just make instant, and go. ;)

Ally - Welcome back! :)

poppin in real quick

GOing to a Mary Kay party tonight I dont buy it but there are free facials lol. I might break down and buy something!

Hope everyone is ok...

I'm sluggish this morning, but waking up. Currently nibbling on two very tart plums. :D :D :D

I have a ton of food prep today, it is my prep day, so I'm going to make a fruit salad, a cucumber/orange/dill salad, and cut up a bunch of stuff. Very foodie day...

I did go yesterday to the store, well stores, and ended up at the Avenue during their jean sale. Good lord jeans are expensive! I hate spending money lol. Anyhow, I ended up getting a size 24 and 22 jeans, of course they are stretchy, but I am now officially a size 24...my size 26 ones are sagging badly on me. I can't even wear my Old Navy jeans, they are way to big now 26/28 (they are more like a 28). They are at the point where they start to slide down. Ya'll know how it is. :/ So, I have now a nice buffering jean collection. I remember when I used to wear 5XL pants and I remember how excited I was last summer when I could fit into my size 32/34 jeans. lol... It is nice to be able to shop in stores, even if it is plus size, I still love it. To be honest, I just love the Avenue, I would shop there even if I weren't this size lol. Their lingerie is so pretty! I was tempted to get a lovely purple bra, but noooooo...jeans are so expensive!

I hope everyone is well. :D *HUGS*

Hello ladies :}
Yesterday and today are my free days. By free days, I mean I don't worry so much about how many WW points I've used. Of course, I'll still have a normal breakfast, lunch and dinner, but if I want an ice-cream or chocolate, then I'll have it. I won't be having those free days often, maybe every other weekend. Then I go back to normal on Sunday. I think this will help because if I eat healthily for a week and half and have an odd nibble on that weekend, I wouldn't be so tempted to fall off the wagon like I always used to do! I will use the Sunday as an opportunity to exercise and burn off the extra calories I've used.

I had a big bar of Galaxy last night for the first time in a couple of weeks but I then realised that it wasn't worth it. Next time, I will have something less dense, maybe white chocolate in smaller size, or buttons, or jaffa cakes :]
I am going to have a spaghetti bolegnese tonight with cheesy garlic bread, mmm! Looking forward to it :D

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!
xx

Hello everyone! My weekends tend to be pretty social so I've been away from the computer. My weekend has proven to be my biggest temptation yet! Went to an out of town bar my friends played music at last night, and was faced with pizzas and chips and dip and candybars and, of course, beer and liquor. The food smelled amazing and my turkey burger and salad was a faint memory. So, I decided to eat the banana I had, and splurged by having one light beer and 2 glasses of merlot. I chose drinks over food. heh heh. I did spend 3 hours disc golfing yesterday, which involves a lot of hiking through the woods, up and down hills and ravines and whatnot. So overall I think I'm still good! Gotta get a workout in here soon and debating on what I'm gonna do....

First weigh in for the challenge I'm part of is Monday! I'm anxious and nervous and all of that. Will prob put myself through a bootcamp tomorrow. lol. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Hi all.

Yesterday I got laundry done . Then went to my sisters for my nephews birthday party. My uncle was there and I have not seen him in a few months so that was nice. Then we took the kids to the bowling alley. It was a nice birthday.

Today I am going to try and get the kitchen done and my room organized. Also watch football yeah!

Hope everyone has a good day :)

Hey ladies! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I'm just going to relax the rest of mine. I had a 2 day photoshoot this weekend. 6+ hours yesterday, and 3+ hours today. Got a lot of great stuff, and worked with 2 great models. :) Anyhow, I am absolutely EXHAUSTED from all the hiking, squatting, crouching, walking, kneeling I did all day yesterday and today. Definitely makes for a good workout! ;)

And keeping busy keeps me from eating mindlessly.

I'm going to relax, and watch some True Blood. I'm about halfway through the first season (just got around to downloading it), and I'm really liking it.

Have a great evening, all!

I'm slowly learning how to drive again. Not so much the mechanics of driving, but how to get to places. If it isn't on the bus route, then I can't find it.

The attendance at the football game last night was over 62,000 and set a new CFL attendance record. I worked 9 1/2 hours. We made $25,000 and pretty much cooked everything in the building. We were stealing buns from other concession stands, raiding the freezers, and defrosting dogs in the sink so they would cook quicker. My feet are going to sue for separate maintenance.

STOP! And GO! To the next installment!