[NoLifeWithoutHorses]

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 and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We often use a "Topic of the Day" for discussion.

Motivational Monday
Tuesday Tips
Wednesday Wish List .. and What you are doing to obtain it.
Thankful Thursday
FUN Friday ... don't wait until you lose your weight.
Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Share your Success Sunday

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share. We often find them very helpful. We also share heartaches and fears ... joys and celebrations.

We have several extra threads going on simutaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, and more. 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.

WELCOME!

I know you'll all agree that we are really thankful for the free services here at 3FC. The sisters offer all of this support and information with no charges to us. There are a couple of ways though that we can help out.

If you are thinking about buying anything at Amazon, why not help out 3FC at the same time? You can do this by clicking on the button for the Amazon "store" in the upper right hand corner of the screen on the PURPLE tool bar. A portion of your purchase price will be given to 3FC by Amazon. It doesn't increase your price at all, but it does help out 3FC. You can use any of the Amazon.com links that you see on the site in order to help contribute to the site.

Also, BTW, in case you didn't know it, you can view the message boards "ad free" for a minimal charge. I think it's like $15 for 6 months. A very small investment to be rid of the annoying ads and make your pages load quicker.

There have been some concerns expressed by the powers that be about copyright infringement. So please, if you are directly quoting someone else or printing an article in whole or in part, please give credit where credit is due!!!!

[NoLifeWithoutHorses]

Heavens, so many replies I'd like to make, so few brain cells to retain it all, and so little time before I have to take off in search of employment...

MANDA, Interesting what you said about losing more weight on days you drink MORE than 64 oz... I'm even more motivated to chug away the pounds!

ZELMA, I hope you're feeling better by now after all that RUDE stuff!!

KATT, Dad's new place sounds wonderful, and the arrangement sounds like it couldn't be better for everyone!

There are a THOUSAND things I'm forgetting and I'm really sorry, but time is so short. I would like to mention an NSV I had this morning It seemed to me to be kind of monumental. It wasn't as much of a rush as when something fits that didn't, or someone says something nice about looking thinner, but in the big sceme of things I think it's major.

I went to workout class and did the best I could to keep up, but being so unfamiliar with the moves, I wasn't able to put 100% into them since I was trying to figure them out. Then the weight work and floor work I could do, but holy cow my leg muscles were screaming! Still, when the 80 minutes were over I felt like I just hadn't done enough, I wasn't sweaty enough. I wanted to go down to the track and do some walking, but I kept telling myself that 80 minutes was enough and I could walk later in the day. I went to the track anyway and tried to convince myself that I didn't need to walk a mile, just a half would be plenty. But I walked over a mile and quarter, including some running walk sprints to get my heart rate higher, only stopping because I felt a tendon snap in my ankle.

And then it hit me. I had been trying to talk myself OUT of exercising, instead of INTO exercising. It felt so good I didn't want to quit! Wow. That's not to say that I will always want to do more, or want to JUMP out of bed tomorrow to do it, but exercising has been a struggle as it has been for so many others. Today at least, it was a joy! The feeling is usually " I'm glad I did it but Thank goodness it's OVER" but today it was " C'mon, let's do it again!" Ya know, this could become a way of life!

Off to hunt a employer. My MIL just called with job hunting advice... she's never held one of course, but apparently I need all the help I can get in that department.

[Manda2831]

No - I can't wait until I'm at that point. I don't want to become an exercise addict or anything, but I want to have more motivation to get out of the house and do something than I do now. I hope your ankle is alright. . . tendon's snapping doesn't sound good

[NoLifeWithoutHorses]

Thanks Amanda - Yeah, that tendon has caused me some grief in the past. I knew if I pressed it then, that it could haunt me for many weeks to come. I pulled it last spring and kept going, and it took 3 months to feel better. I stopped & stretched out this time though, and it's feeling fine now.

[mechell81]

Hey everyone~

Hope you all are doing great. I haven't been able to post in a few days due to internet problems up here. We have had really bad ice and snow the past few days. I am still struggling to get into a excercise routine. I let the pain get to me. Hopefully I will finally get back on track with that. I have been doing good food wise. The only thing is I drank a coke..and I got soooo sick!
I got so sick from the coke because I had not been drinking it! I think I have learned my lesson! lol

Hi to anyone new!

And congrats to everyone who has had NSVs and Losses!

I will do more personals later on!

Have a good day!
Michelle

[NotTheCheat]

Luan – I felt exhausted just reading about your day! I am glad that everything seemed to work out in the end.

Ammi – I am sorry it was painful for your mum. For me it wasn’t painful, but I could feel it and it felt pretty strange.

Kim – Sorry you had such a horrible day. I have to admit that last night I did a bit of emotional eating too. Not as much as I would have in the past, but I did have a few Doritos and some of my BF’s ice cream. I am sorry your BF didn’t realize he was taking his bad day out on you. I am glad he realized it after the fact and apologized though.

Katt – That is a great NSV about tying your laces! I will have to give that a try. Normally I sit a bit sideways on the couch and bring my leg up to make it easier. That is also great news on your Dad’s new house. Regarding breakfast, from what I have read the thing is to get your metabolism revved back up after having wound down a bit over night, so eating earlier is better. I am not much of a breakfast eater either, so I normally have a Luna bar in my car on the way to work.

Melissa – That is so cool that you won $50. A little bit of extra cash like that (that isn’t already spoken for) can be such a treat!

Amy – Yes that is exactly it. Uterine prolapse is when the uterus starts to come out the vagina. It is freaky just to think about it. Our body parts shouldn’t be able to just come out like that! I have never had trouble with getting nauseous, but when I started I used to get horrible side pains. They seem to have gone away now. One question – how much time do you have in between your last meal/snack and working out?

Newsnerd – Jogging? WOW! I can’t imagine jogging yet, and it isn’t something I aspire too.

Sharon – Congratulations on that pound and being so close to your lightest in 5 years! I love your new photo. I have been thinking it is time for some progress pics – maybe this weekend.

Nelie – That is very cool that you were able to get in all that exercise to meet your goal. I don’t usually get my cardio in at home (mostly at the gym) so I don’t have any recommendations for good cardio videos.

Amanda – That is great that you found someone local to do things with. I have met a few people in the gym and it helps to keep motivated.

Valerie – What an amazingly cool NSV!

Michelle - Sometimes the best thing we can do is try something we think we love again and find out we actually don't like it nearly as much as we thought we did. Then the cravings go away. I hope you aren't in too much pain with the exercise. It shouldn't be entirely comfortable, but pain is usually not a good sign. Take it slowly and build up your stamina and hopefully you won't have too much pain.


Thanks everyone for your kind words. It is rough to find out that something about yourself is “broken”, but at the same time it isn’t life threatening. I have a co-worker whose BF is battling mouth cancer and when you think about it there is no comparison. He has to get both radiation and chemotherapy and has to eat through a feeding tube.

I think the most interesting thing is that my biggest sadness comes from my need to alter my exercise habits. I have been using weights in the gym and at home. I can now do squats really well. Except now I will have to change how I work out to put the least strain I can on my insides. I talked to a nurse in my doctors office since my doctor is out until Tuesday. She said definitely no squats, but lunges would probably be ok. I can’t use any amount of weight that causes me to strain. So, it just means that I need to spend some time and learn new ways to work out. I will probably have to go to a lower weight, more reps system to work muscles individually without putting strain on my whole body. I think I will call my trainer today or tomorrow to fill him in (also so I don’t have to do it in the middle of the gym) so that he can think about how to help me alter my workouts.

I just feel like I am too young for this to have happened. I am still indulging in a bit of the “why me” thing. I am letting myself grieve for a few days and then it will be back to work. I didn’t go to the gym last night because I was very emotional, and plus I didn’t know what to do since it was my normal weights night. I won’t end up making my September goal because of this, but that is ok. I have been doing well overall and the last thing I need is to beat myself up over some arbitrary number.

I have been writing this post for awhile now (in between actually doing some real work) and I talked to a co-worker who is really into weight lifting. He mentioned that during times that he couldn’t lift heavy because of injury that a way to get a great workout is to do the move very slowly. I will have to give that a try.

[Abbeycat36]

Hi everybody

Happy Friday ! So far the weather here is still holding at sunny, but in about a month or so it will be time for the rain I'm guessing. We really need rain though, so no complaints from me.

NotTheCheat
I have heard of the uterus dropping before, about 10 yrs ago a friend of my mom had it happen to her. I was shocked at the time too, I hadn't heard about it before. Hers was rather bad and had been protruding actually outside her body. Did the doc say that it could go back to where it should be and all could proceed normally? I hope it turns out okay for you. Hopefully your trainer knows of some exercises you could do in the meantime.

newsnerd!
Congratulations on the jogging! Awesome for you. Keep it up. They say learning to jog you should walk, jog, walk, jog. So whatever pace you can do for now if you do 30 seconds -1 minute here and there your time will build up. I've only managed 1 minute for every 10 walking, but I'm afraid I'm going to lose my balance on the treadmill while jogging!

Nelie
Big huge congrats to you on your upcoming wedding Make sure you get lots of great photos of the event and lots of yourself and hubby!
Funny thing.. I never thought I was one of the types to do the 'cry at weddings' thing... until my older brother got married. I was standing there saying to myself "aww that's so nice, finally they get married" and next thing I know.. sniff sniff I'm fighting off weeps... what the? hahaha
NOW I get that way no matter WHO is getting married. Damn!
I love love!



Katt
Congrats on your house for your dad, that's awesome. I hope he likes his new home when he gets there.
Nice on the shoe tying thing also. I know what you mean about the "grunt grunt' while putting on the shoes! hehehe

Misti
Sorry the scale hasn't been nice to you this last week or so. It makes no sense sometimes. I gained 1.5 back since yesterday and no idea why. I think it is water, I feel puffed again today. Maybe I ate too much sodium.

I was looking yesterday in your most recent photos you uploaded and I wanted to say, WOW girl red and pink are your colors! I love that outfit you have on with the white pants and pink (or at least it looks pink in that photo) shirt. The photo you are sideways and wearing sandals. You look so "spring break" in that pic I love it!

Melissa
congrats on the scratch ticket win, that was good for you. You needed that little boost!
I looked at your pics yesterday too and wow I really can see a difference from your earliest photo to now.

Michelle
OH I hate that when internet does not work right. It's my lifeline to work since I now work via internet to the opposite end of the country, so I NEEED my internet, at least on weekdays.
Glad it eventually came back though for you.
See you didn't want that coke, it's nasty stuff. Makes you sick! ew.

Ammi
Thanks for the comments about my PMS/tiredness thing. Yes I do keep notes and it is only happening along with all of the other PMS type symptoms I'm having also at the same time. Some months are less, some are worse. Most of these symptoms I'm having came on after I got off BC pills when I was 35. I feel much better today so maybe it was a one day thing. Eh the body is strange huh?

violetswerve/amy
oh I'm so happy for you that your sis is going to take your cat in!! That's good news!!! And best thing is you can still visit so that's even better ! It's good news all around.
About tiredness.. I think that's probably normal. I feel tired some mornings more than others. Especially getting toward the end of the year like you said where the light is different. I wish it was summer light all year. I never liked winter!

Zelma
Ouch about your extra enema by the way. I'm glad that you made it through okay though and I hope they find out what's up soon for you.

To everyone else, I hope you're havin a good Friday and a good upcoming weekend. There's a few people we haven't seen in a while and I hope they're all lingering around now and then and pop in to say hi!

I just found out I got jilted for a game of golf this afternoon! My hubby had called earlier to ask if I wanted to go out around town and just now called me and said oops sorry no I'm now going golfing instead with a work friend. Ah well, I'm glad for him, he loves golfing

~ Angie

[sandybar]

Hey Everyone, How are ya?? I know I'm way behind and I'm really sorry. Last Sunday I was out shopping for shoes for my daughter's wedding next weekend and I fell at Shoe Carnival. I banged up my leg with the blood clot and I've been laid up all week. Ice & elevate. It's been really depressing.
I went to the dr this morning and he's not happy with the coloring of the bruise cuz it's still really dark, but is happy it isn't getting bigger. Hopefully I can go back to work on Monday. I can't believe in the whole month of Septermber I worked only 2.75 days. I'm very lucky and thankful I have a great and supportive employeer.
Kim, If your leg is bothering you and you have chest pains you must go to the dr. If you had a clot it could be it's trying to move around and it could kill you....really! So, please check it out. There's also lots of good info on line on DVT ...the fancy abbrevation for this blood clot. It has photos of what legs look like with it and everything. Please, check it out!
Misti, Great job for weighing less than your license!
That's just fantastic! And you aren't evil for noticing others at the gym and in the pool etc. We all do it. I think it's ok to use those situations for private motivation.
Katt, that's so exciting you get to wear clothes as a surprise! I can't wait til I can get into some of my other sized dress clothes cuz they're really nice. Thanks for the encouragement in your example. The home made subway sounds awesome. We may very well try it too!
Sharon, I hope your meds help you like mine help me. I feel they're a god send. Just remember, it may take a little while to see the full affect. Just hang in there. I know it can be hard, but it's worth feeling "stable" again.
Zelma, thanks again for your words of wisdom and encouragement. Unfortunately all I can do is ice and elevate my leg. So, I do.
ALOT! Since I fell it's put a stop to my exercising, but I'll get moving again asap! I love the "rush" from exercising. I really liked your answer about the 10% question. I think that's the plan I'll use.
I am so sorry you have to have those tests, or should I say have had those tests. I hope you get or have gotten good news.
Lilion, I wish it were me who was strong enough to resist KFC, but it wasn't me. I don't know if I could. Whomever it was, please forgive me for not remembering who you were.
OMG, I just read your post about your nephew. I am so sorry.
wyllenn What a great thing to be able to say. You liked the way you looked! That's just down right awesome!

Idealmuse, good to have you here. I hope you get as much enjoyment from this site as I do.

Ammi, tell me about you and your gazelle. We have one....still in the box. DH keeps saying he'll take care of it (putting it together), but it's been in the garage since last spring! Is it as easy to use as Tony Little says it is? If DH doesn't get it together within a week after my daughter's wedding next weekend, I'll have a friend or my son come put it togehter.
Mechelle, I completely understand about the "almost wanting to stay fat" thoughts. When I look at the big number of pounds I will lose and how long it will take, it's depressing. So, the little goals are a huge help. It's like buying a house. You don't want to look at it as being $105,000 in debt or whatever, but look at the monthly payment. It's no so scary that way.
Nancy, I'm so sorry things are where they are for you...or were on 9/25. I am confident though that you'll be ok. I was 28 when my ex and I split up cuz he couldn't keep his pants on & spent our $$ on stupid stuff too. I had 4 kids from 4-10 years old, was unemployed, no money put back etc. I took up the hardest job ever! House cleaning. It got me and my kids through until I could get a "regular" 40 hour/week job.
I felt like I had no control over anything in my life at that point. Just remember, you are the one that controls your weight loss program. He can't interfere with that at all.
Ok, I'm gonna sign off now before I lose this. TTYL

[princesspuffypants]

Misti - i know this sounds nuts, but, how about just weighing in once a week? our weight fluctuates daily and its hard to get a good read on what you really are losing when you weigh in every day. factors to consider - do you do it at the same time every day? have you eaten before? drank? gone to the bathroom? these seemingly insignificant things have a huge impact. just make sure you weigh under the same conditions if you are going to weigh every day. like first thing in the morning, after the bathroom trip, before breakfast.

Amy- i belive in you too. its not a matter of waiting until you have everything figured out. part of my 100 days is figuring it out as i go. decide to do it. its only 100 days. you can do it! its just about doing ONE extra thing a day. even if its one more station, or 10 more minuites, or anything like that. ONE thing. every day. for 100 days.

Nancy- i have heard about people losing thier bladder that way too. literally. it comes out. ive actually seen a video of it. its not pretty. please be very careful!! i know i can speak for everyone when i say you are in our thoughts and prayers.

so my 98th day change is i took the stairs at work again today. we are on the 4th floor, so that is 72 stairs. it gets my heart going even if its just for a few mins!

what did you do for yourself today??!!

[sandybar]

Geeze, a lot has happened this week. I'm so out of the loop. Please hang with me while I try to catch up with what's going on with every one.
I just wanted to say....remember last week when I was annoyed with the weight gain? Well, when I went back to the dr today, I'd lost 5 pounds since last week. :-)
That made me WAY happy. I hadn't been "good", but I hadn't been "bad" either.
I'm gonna try to catch up on more posts now.

[--pearl--]

I just wanted to get in a hello. I wasn't sure where to say it. So, I just thought I'd jump right in.

I'm new to 3FC and I'm new to forums in general. This will be a new experience for me. I've historically had a difficult time confiding in others. Anyone who knows me would say that I can talk for hours with anyone about anything...as long as it isn't about my personal life. So, I'm hoping that opening up and sharing my re-healthifying (y' like that? ) experience with all of you will help.

Hoping you all have a great weekend!
--pearl--

[Manda2831]

Welcome Pearl! Glad to have you here! I too, am pretty new and these ladies are a very welcoming bunch. I'm looking forward to getting to know you.

[princesspuffypants]

welcome pearl!

The great part about this place is you can get to know amazing women all over the world, and not have to worry about being judged. just stick with us. especially on the days when you want to give up. you can always find a friendly ear here!

[mechell81]

Nancy~Yeah the pain doesn't seem like it should be normal. But I am not sure. I will ask the DR. when I go in again. I think honestly its mostly because I carry a lot of my weight in my stomach so literally its pulling my back. I am sure like you said bulding up stamina will help. Also I am sorry you are having such a tough time hun. I hope things will get better real soon!

Abbey~Yeah everything up here is run on sattelite...so if we are having bad weather it just knocks everything off/out. Its annoying! Internet is for sure my life line up here in the middle of nowhere! lol Yes coke..all that sugar...not so good!

Sandy~Yes I am bad about looking to far ahead...all it does is depress me. So I totally agree with you on the small goal thing! I am so sorry you have that blood clot! I hope it will get better soon! For sure just try to keep it iced and elevated! congrats on the the 5 pounds lost. you are doing great!

Pearl~ This is a great support group. Feel free to share anything!
I find this site/group really helps me stay focused on my goal of shedding this weight.

Manda~I am not sure if I said welcome to you yet. But hi! Glad you joined this group!

Well everyone I better go. I hope you all have a great weekend! Take care!

Michelle

[VioletSwerve]

newsnerd--That's so awesome that you ran!! about the "flopping, shifting, and jiggling". As my mom would say "It happens to the best of us" I know how you feel, I've never been much of a runner either. But that's because I've always been fat.

Amanda--Yeah, the few times I've been to Lawrence it looked like a really cute town. It was a fun place to venture to for our mini-break, that's for sure. My BF Nat saw this store and he said "There's a store called Pillows! You'd like that" because I love pillows. But then we realized it was Dillons and he misread it due to how it was written...ha!

Sorry you were dissapointed with only -1 on the scales, but just remember its better than a gain and its only been since Monday! But I know how you feel--when you see 1 lb you're thinking "how long is this going to take!! ARG!!" I'm glad you found someone to excercise with. That will really make a difference. I lost 10 lbs in a week one time just by doing Curves 3x/week and WW Points. Of course that wont be it every week, but it was nice .

Sharon--SO AWESOME that you lost another lb!! YEAH!!! That's great.

MMM...curry sounds awesome! I love indian food but dont get to eat it near often enough.

Wow, the UK has their act together a lot more than the US when it comes to animal rights. There are still a lot of people who dock thier dog's tails here. That is terrible. I feel sorry for the little guys every time I see a dog like that..

Melissa--TOO COOL that you surpassed your excercise goal for the month! And THREE days early, too!!

Misti-- Geez, girl I am really sorry about the gain again this week. That is a bummer. I hope you are taking it ok. I just dont understand it. If you are OP and excercising there is NO WAY that could be actual fat you are gaining. Hmmm.

Michelle--Great to hear you have been doing well on your plan. Yeah, that any type of sweets tend to make me sick after I've been "on the wagon", so to speak, for awhile. I wish you luck in getting into an excercise routine. You have the food part down, though, and to me that is the hardest part!

Nelie--100 minutes of excercise??!?!? That is AWESOME!! You go for it, girl! You kick that excercise goal's butt! Yeah!!

Yeah, I dunno about the black cat thing, either, its just something I heard and I was upset. But I know people are definetly weird and superstitious. And I know people do really mean things to animals....but I guess most of all I just really didnt want to take poor Wilhelm to the pound..

Valerie--That's so great that you got so much excercise in and it didnt feel like such a chore! It must feel so great to actually look forward to excercise. I know it's seemed a little easier for me at Curves lately and that is a relief. I think you ROCK!!

Nancy--Yeah, that is kind of strange (no offense intended, of course ). I agree our "parts" should just know thier place and stay there!! I'm sorry to hear its causing such a problems in other areas of your life. Its hard when you have a routine figured out that you KNOW works for YOU and now you have to change it all up. You go ahead and take that time to pity yourself. I think that is important rather than just acting like it doesnt bother you and leaving that grief built up inside. I hope your trainer is able to get something figured out for you, dear.

I usually eat lunch at like 1:30 and then get off work at 5 and just eat a few baby carrots on the way to the gym. I didnt think about it before, but do you think just those few carrots could be causing my nausea?

Angie--Yes, I was just ecastatic when my sister offerered to take him! Yay!

Bummer on getting jilted for a golf game! Oh well, I guess you have the weekend together.

Sandy--Hey, great to see you again! on you falling and banging your bad leg!! I cringed when I read that. Oooch ouch eeech, as I used to say when I was little...I know, not very funny when you're in real pain, huh. I'm glad the doc is ok w/the size of the bruise but will keep you in my thougts on the coloration.

That's great that you had lost 5 lbs!! That must've really made your day!

I'm glad to hear you will maybe be back to work on Monday. I know you've been getting stir crazy sitting around the house.

That is great that your daughter is getting married! Yay, how fun!

Luan--"It's ONLY 100 days" Nah, I know what you're saying. 100 days really isnt that long in the sceme of things. You are right. I think I should just do it. Its a great way to jump start and get into a really good groove of things.

GREAT JOB on taking the stairs!! I cant even make myself take them up one flight at my job...

Pearl--GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US!! Dont worry about getting the hang of this--its a peice of cake. If you post something in the wrong section the moderators will move it for ya. As for us in the 300+ thread? You can talk here about anything--we dont have specific sections for different topics.

Maybe you will get to feel more comfortable confiding in people online and that will translate to your personal life. At any rate, welcome and I'm looking forward to getting to know you!

As for me, I am doing well today. I have stayed OP and will work out at Curves tonight. I figured out how to shave 1 point off my breakfast and cut down the sugar AND get an extra fruit serving in at the same time--now THAT'S talent. Yeah, I'm pretty cool.

I decided I am going shopping for clothes this weekend. Not a major purchase, but there are some cute shirts at Target that I wouldnt mind adding to my wardrobe. I looked at Fashion Bug but didnt see anything I really liked except a coat and coats arent included in the sale! But I can see why--Buy One Get One for $1 would be a pretty heft discount on coats! But they are having 30% off coats and if you sign up for thier email list you get like $15 off a $75 purchase! And the coat I want just happens to be like $76.xx...hmmmm...

Oh, did you guys know that Target carries up to size 30 in some styles on thier website????? Even in pants they go up to size 28!! In the store they only go up to size 24 so I always could only buy thier shirts but thier pants and skirts were always so cute and reasonably priced it made me depressed I couldnt fit into them! Now I can just order them off the website. No reason to lose weight now!

Yeah, right!!

Anyway, Fridays are jeans days at work. Today I put on my jeans and a t-shirt that I bought 2 weeks ago that is a little snug but still fits ok. My jeans had just been washed so of course usually I have to kind of squeeze into them. But today they buttoned with no stretching or squashing of fat at all! And I think this shirt is a little looser, too...

Anyway, I'm off work now but I will be back after dinner.