Thank you!
Well, I don't want to make it sound like I'm making excuses but my scale may be off. My husband weighed on it after he broke his toe. It said he was 214. I started to cry that day thinking I was 250-260 and still larger than him. He promised me that I wasn't bigger than him and at the doctor he weighed 265. I might ask him if we can get a new scale. That's the same scale I used years ago (some old Avon Curves scale).
I love to hoop and that's why I think I'll succeed this time. I liked walking and all that but it wasn't something I'd do on my "I'm not on a diet days." It's also not something that'd get me out of the house doing stuff like hooping. I went to a hoop camp for three days and my muscles were sore after I got home!
Yeah, I personally wouldn't buy from the bigger hoop sites if you want to go cheap. I have a Hoopnotica collapsible that I bought at CVS but it was too small for me. It was $40 but the 2 DVDs it came with were worth it alone!
If you wanted to make enough hoops to give to your family, you can make them relatively easy! Perfect time for Christmas! Give the gift of fitness and fun. I will be making at least 5 hoops to give to people. I love etsy also for hoop stuff. Although the shipping is still $10 (on top of the $20 so you drop for the hoop itself).
Here are two that are cheap and both offer grip tape:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61940416...n-starter-hula
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72551081...ries-hula-hoop (this one is a push button hoop which means you could fill it with water if you were inclined to).
I saw one cheaper hoop but it had horrible taping and used duct tape which I don't think is fantastic grip wise.