WB Jennifer!! You've lost 107 pounds, my goodness you rock! So on that topic of anyone can do it... can anyone do it without a gym pass? Anyone being me, lol, the gym's around my place are a MIN of 50 bucks a month, and thats only if you sign up for 3 years! Just too expensive for this gal!
Is DSL/cable internet expensive in the USA? I have DSL here in Vancouver and pay 24.99/month. And your phone bill gets cheaper if you have all your services with them, like long distance and land line along with DSL.
Aimee, I definitely think you can do it without a gym membership if you can find other ways to get in some exercise (walking? skiing? biking? exercise tapes?). I know there are even some people who have lost weight without exercise, but I would wager that maintenance is dubious in most of those cases. Besides, I would hate having to eat even less than I do now to create a calorie deficit!
DSL is about the same price here, but after a month of being put off by Verizon, I finally just got cable. I work from home so dialup is nearly impossible what with all the files that need to get transferred back and forth! Cable seems faster, too, but it *is* a bit pricier. Good thing my work picks up the tab.
Oh Jennifer, I think you get lovelier with each newly updated pic! It's so good to see you again, and congratulations on your fantastic progress thus far. Can you even believe that you're almost there? What a truly amazing transformation! I hope you see just how much of an inspiration you are to those around you, both here at 3fc, and in the "real world". Thank you for checking in Jennifer, we've missed you tremendously.
Oh, and to Aimee; no gyms for me. I'm much too anti-social for that kind of environment! I did it all in my home with a treadmill at first, and now my Gazelle. Plus light weight lifting and floor exercises. I also like the flexibility of working out at home. Whenever I feel like it I can jump on my Gazelle and go, no getting in the car, driving to the gym, waiting for equipment to become available, etc. Of course I don't have anything against gyms, they're just not for me. And the point is to do whatever works for you, right? So why not explore the various options and stick with whatever you like best? Good luck!!
Jennifer - I'm definitely one of those people who loves the gym, but since moving to this area, I cannot believe how expensive it is! I used to walk around my neighbourhood, but I live on a huge mountain. It hurts. So I've recently discovered exercise tapes! (I've secretly been dying to say "thats so miranda of you".. feel free to slap me! )
Thats interesting, when I was signing up for DSL I had to wait nearly 4 weeks for it! And even once we got it, it took nearly 3 weeks to get it working properly, I should have run then! heh..
Beverly - I'd kill for a Treadmill, someone almost gave me one.. but I guess I waited too long to answer that I wanted it (I waited 4 hours because I was at work and didn't know I'd had an offer of it)... I'm fairly bitter over that... heh. I do enjoy working out at home as well, it's often faster! You really have done an amazing job, 190 pounds is amazing, you truely do rock as well You have a lot of wisdom!
Thanks so much, Beverly. I'm so glad to have my support system back! Woo hoo!
I still have a ways to go, and I imagine I will try to get down to 135 or so, but I have to admit that I am finally starting to feel "thin...ish." I will post another progress pic as soon as we get our digicam back from being fixed. It's unbelievable to me that I am at this point at all; this year and a half have absolutely FLOWN in retrospect. To anybody who feels inpatient (completely understandable as I did, too!), it is totally worth it and you just won't believe how fast the time goes. I just wish I'd done it sooner and hadn't wasted so much time nearly immobile and despising myself.
You guys really are the best. So glad to be back in the fold!!!!
p.s. Dawnyal - Sorry I forgot to respond! I did in my head but I guess I didn't make it in real life. I'm sometimes. I'm soooo glad you liked the clothes. I hated the idea of giving them to a thrift store or something. And btw, knee-high boots with shorter skirts are HOTTTTT!
It's so good to have you back!!!!!! I was wondering how your new apartment was getting on!!!
I remember my first crisis earlier this year with the weight and you said on one of my posts that it's really hard in cold weather and to keep perservering and look forward to the nice weather, when the eating is easier, and the exercise is easier. I'm hanging on to that!!!!
I love my gym, it's small, local, not the most fantastically equipped in the world (or even in town) but it has such great staff that it is well worth it. I couldn't exercise at home, I blame it on the gemini temperament and an attention span shorter than a Hobbit's foot.
Kylie: Yeah, I'm seeing that there there are definitely benefits to a smaller gym. I never have to wait for a machine, and it's much easier to sling the iron around without worrying about people being around to see!
Sabriena: Welcome to the fold! I look forward to getting to know you as well. 107 pounds *is* exciting, I must admit. I never thought I'd be able to do it!
Joan Cusack! I think she's hilarious . In high school I used to get Sarah Jessica Parker - Now I wish!
Lovely to have you around again Jennifer - you look gorgeous!
I too seem to be at a plateau - it's been about 7 weeks with no weight loss which is really disheartening. I know that I just have to hang in there and I'll break through the other side at some point!
Jen, I always feel so curious about people who have lost so much weight. Do you do all the physical things you thought or planned you would? I always like to hear how life is different. Do you interact with people differently? Man, the clothes shopping must be entirely different experience. Has how you feel about yourself radically changed? have things changed in any way with friends and family?
Hope you don't mind my asking.
(Kaylee, I always thought Hobbits' feet were pretty big!)
Wow, Marge... that is simulataneously a great question and one that is very difficult to answer. I think one thing that's both merciful and frustrating about losing a large amount of weight is that it takes a long time. Merciful because so many changes happening at once could probably drive a person crazy, but frustrating because it's harder to appreciate all the great things because you get used to them a little at a time. That said, when I do look back, I can't believe I'm the same person.
Yes, I can do way more physically than I used to. I can run up subway stairs, walk for blocks on end, hike for miles, survive on less sleep, and basically do everything with more stamina. I used to feel sooooo tired all the time, just bone-weary, and now I'm surprised by how much people have trouble keeping up with *me*! Now I'm the fit one!
I'm still struggling a bit with the changes in my interaction with other people. Honestly, people are more friendly with me now that I'm not obese. But I know I am less reserved with people and have less of a chip on my shoulder because I'm not assuming they won't like me because I'm fat. I think I unconsciously used my fat to distance myself from other people and now I don't have that excuse. For the most part, relationships with friends and family are the same, although I do think my female friends see me a *bit* more as a potential threat than they used to; it's just a slight competitiveness I've picked up on that I never saw when I was bigger.
Men respond to me much differently. It's still very, very strange when someone checks me out on the street or hits on me. I usually don't even see it as such until someone around me points it out (which can make me feel very naive!). To tell the truth, my husband responds differently to me, too. I know he has always loved me and found me attractive, but I can tell he REALLY likes this new body. He grabs me by the waist more, looks at me a little more, and we do have [much better, I'll admit!] sex more often. Some of this I know is my increased confidence, some of it not. *I* prefer looking at myself now; why wouldn't he?
This is embarrassing to admit, but clothes shopping is by far one of my favorite parts of having lost weight! I used to DREAD shopping because the main question was always "will it fit on me." I had basically one or two stores to choose from, and sometimes very little from even those stores would fit. Now I have a seemingly unlimited supply of stores and almost everything "FITS," so I can choose what I like better and what actually looks better. I made some disastrously bad choices at first because of that fact -- I felt like I had to buy everything that I could actually button, zip, or slide on! I'm also still getting used to the concept that I can shop anywhere; I still am somewhat intimidated by little boutiques and shops I've never been to before -- I have this secret fear that someone will expose me as an interloper: "You can't fit into anything in this store."
I guess the point of all this is that yes, my life has changed very much. There are still many areas, though, where my brain is trying to catch up with my smaller body. I sometimes still think of myself as huge, still pick up my own t-shirt and think, "this tiny thing will never fit on me," still give myself too much berth or think I won't fit between tight spaces. I also remember reading someone post on here about how the former anxiety about fat sometimes just latches onto something else about your appearance, and I've found that to be true as well... Yuck, the extra skin. My teeth aren't white enough. My nose is too big. Blah blah blah. I guess I just chalk this one up to the inner cacophony of being a woman .
Wow, I've gone on and on, haven't I? Marge, thanks for giving me a chance to talk about some of these things that I hadn't articulated, even to myself. I'd love it if others would chime in their experiences as well... I know when I was in the early stages of losing, these things were extremely motivating to me (heck, they still are!).
Thanks again to all of you. This board has really changed my life.
Last edited by teapotdynamo; 11-17-2005 at 05:42 PM.
(I've secretly been dying to say "thats so miranda of you".. feel free to slap me! 
) 
sometimes. I'm soooo glad you liked the clothes. I hated the idea of giving them to a thrift store or something. And btw, knee-high boots with shorter skirts are HOTTTTT! 
I think one thing that's both merciful and frustrating about losing a large amount of weight is that it takes a long time. Merciful because so many changes happening at once could probably drive a person crazy, but frustrating because it's harder to appreciate all the great things because you get used to them a little at a time. That said, when I do look back, I can't believe I'm the same person. 
