Rhonda - I will try to see if I can remember all the places we have been! We haven't been out of the U.S. that much - only to Canada. (New Brunswick, Northern Ontario (we rode our ATV's up there), Alberta, and British Columbia. Here in the U.S. We have been to Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Mass., Maine, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida (multiple times inlcuding the Keys and the Dry Tortugas) Indiana, Illinois, Michigan (including all of the U.P. and Mackinac Island, and Drummond Island) Wisconson, Missouri, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington state (3 X there), Texas, Oklahoma.

We have tried to visit the National Parks in each of the states we visit. Our favorite places to go are Washington State - Mt. Rainer (we stay at the Paradise Inn up there) and Cape Flattery (the most north wester point of the U.S. - looks out over the Pacific ocean and is breathtaking) Montana (Glacier national park and all the wide open spaces out there!) and then Florida (I Love the ocean - we go to Panama City Beach and stay at the same Mom & pop motel every time we go there) We want to go to the Keys again too.

We drive most of the places we have been (we did fly to Washington though) We want to do a road trip to Alaska in the next couple of years....and the southern route out west too. This August we are going back to Utah and taking our ATV's - we're going to ride to Bryce Canyon on them!

I am looking forward to loosing this weight so I can hike and enjoy myself again! We love to travel around, and I know I will love it even more without this extra poundage I am lugging around!!

We are like you - we have been in the same house for 26 years and that is one of the reasons we have been able to afford to travel. I like my little old house - I have no reason to keep up with the Joneses! they can have their big fancy house, I like being able to travel and have fun and not go broke!;)

Hi There,

this is a great thread!
My name is Tracy, I am 37 married no children. In 2004 I got married, finished a degree and opened my own business. In the time before the wedding I managed to take off 45 lbs using atkins, rather painlessly, so when I put it all back on and couldn't seem to commit, I was confused by my own lack of commitment. (I finally realized last week that the goal I had set up for myself back then was to only do the program until the wedding...DUH)

The past 2 years has been spent nurturing the business, and barely staying afloat in the other areas of my life. Time for "me" was hard to get and food was the quickest way to get pleasure. In the past few months I've been doing the mental, and emotional ground work to get ready to do this for good.
I had someone point out that most of my life has been trauma and the weight has been there since I was very young. Dieting, and harping on the fat started when I was eight, and thinking about it and hating myself for it has been the biggest part of who I am that I can remember.

I lost my dad in November and this made me finally look at the held onto pain of losing my 2 month old daughter 10 years ago. These events amongst others like them are only important here in that there is a layer of fat for each event and I'm sooooooo ready to peel them off!

oh yeah, I am a VERY long time lurker and timid poster. But love coming here and am working at jumping in more.

thanks for listening!
Tracy

Where do you get the "tickers" that are showing on the bottom of your posts? I would love to have one to show my progress, just as soon as I have some!!

Tracy - There is nothing more traumatic than the loss of a child. I am sorry to hear that you lost your daughter. I think a lot of us that have survived the death of a child just go on automatic pilot for a while afterwards - it's the only way to get through it. I hope you have been able to grieve for not only your baby girl, but for your Dad also.

I have come to the conclusion that that pain never goes away, it is always tucked into a corner of our hearts - but WE get stronger so the pain seems to dissipate. Hugs to you.:hug:

This place is a wonderful place to get rid of a lot of baggage - and to be inspired, that is for sure!

Thanks Mrs. Quad. hugs to you too:hug:
My heart ached when I read your story, and the strength you must have could hold up the world.
This is a great place to come to remember that you're not the center of the universe and that difficult things happen to lots of people, it dissipates self pity pretty damn quick!
you people are awesome!
Tracy

Hi Lori Bellie,

On the main page of the 3 Fat Chicks On a Diet Weight Loss Community, there is a thread in Announcements called Frequently Asked Questions. This thread will pretty much give you all the information you need to get set up.

Looking forward to getting to know you.

Sorry in advance its kinda long.:dizzy:

I am 33 and split my life between NYC (family), NJ(where I live, and Philadelphia where my boyfriend lives. No kids. Maybe one day. I do computer work (DBA, web design, etc...) for a living and also have a side gig throwing events. I joined 3fc in March of 2006 after lurking for about a month. I tend to hang out in 100+, 300lbs, and the Intuitive Eating Thread (they are my peoples, LOL)

I was thinking about this for a while. My relationship with food has always been a little weird. I was fine as a kid till about 5 or 6 when my mother married my step mother. I would throw up. In pictures I looked like a skeleton.

I moved to California when I was 7 and lived with my mother. It was just me and my mother and I never really had friends. I was always happier with a book or TV and so I ate.

When I was 14 I moved to NY and my stepmother and father put me on a "diet". It really just involved trying to keep me away from junk. I was about a size 14 when I was a junior in high school. I remember having to be weighed in front of everyone and been embarrassed that I was 180 something I would love to be now. I was always active which I think helped keep some of the weight at bay. I was on the drill team in junior high school (mostly to get me out of regular gym) and on the swim team in high school.

College is where everything caught up with me. Knowing what I have learned here and looking back I realize my eating habits were horrible, but I was burning enough that I maintained. When I got to college I stopped being as active. After college I was about a size 20-22.

I didn't weigh myself again for about 5 or so years. I am guessing because after the embarrassment in high school I avoided all scales.

I was in my early 20s and at a Dr appt. and figured I would look this time. I was 320 lbs. I cried, starved myself for a week and then that was it.

During this time I was working a lot and with no one at home I didn't shop. I ate out just about all the time. On the rare occasions I cooked it was pasta with a lot of meat and sauce. Then any left overs I would eat. No clue about portion control

I did try Atkins, but just couldn't give up certain things and no other diet stuck with me.

Ok, so from then till 2004 I avoided the scales. Once again back at the Dr. and looked again. I was 352.
Here is where things start to click into place. There was never any one big day where I just said here is the place. A lot of little things worked for me..alot of little clicks.

I may have lost at some point but if so it wasn't for long and I was living in denial so never got on the scale.


The fact that I was more than half way to 400lbs got to me. I go to a lot of bbw parties so I have friends who were that or more. That was the first so called click.

In Feb of 2006 My boyfriend said he wanted chase me around for the next 50 years. On the road I was going I just couldn't see it...Click.

I joined 3fc Click.
I joined a couple of different challenge but nothing really stuck and I was going to try and give Atkins another try. I was on and off 3fc because I was in the process of buying a condo.

In Aug of 2006 I was in my kitchen having a hunger headache, said enough I was just going to eat better, not limit anything and go from there. I think the next day I found the intuitive eating thread. CLICK.

I decided if I didn't have to eat on a specific plan why couldn't I follow my own exercise plan. CLICK.

I think between Aug 2006 and Jan 2007 I lost 1lb. I was little sad but it was the first time I got on the scale and it was lower than before. I was finally doing something right. CLICK CLICK CLICK, LOL

I'm 11lbs down since Jan 1 and couldn't thank you all enough for inspiring me.
Things I've learned...
-Find what works for you. Everyone is different.

- Make it a lifestyle. Put yourself first. My boyfriend feels guilty when he calls and knows I am working out LOL because I sound so annoyed.

-Educate. I was eating 500 calorie muffins. I became acquainted with fitday and calorie king, now I can tell you the calorie value of everything i put in my mouth. especially riblets, LOL

-Don't beat yourself if you fall off the wagon. I would stop posting on 3fc when I thought i was doing badly, but I realized no one here was going to "yell at me" they just put out a hand to help me back on the wagon.

-If you do stumble, think of it a learning lesson to get to know yourself better. Think about why you stumbled how next time maybe you can step over that particular Block.

-Find a support system that works for you. Post or Lurk on here. I cannot even conceive of being this far along without 3fc. My boyfriend muscular and eats everything. My family is all big and not supportive.

Ok, off the soapbox.

-Obie