I am sorry I have been absent. I am not doing so greatly I guess.

I had a car accident on Friday night - it was minor but I hurt my neck. The weekend was kind of crap because of that. I had to take Sunday and Monday off work to rest it.

I got a call back from the job I interviewed for on Friday - I didn't get the job. To make matters worse, I've lost a shift at my current job as they've decided to no longer open on Sundays.

Due to my neck, I can't exercise for a week or so...I've still been counting my calories but I've been a little loose - going over by 100 or so here and there. My weight is still stuck at the same place it's been for a month, so that is not good.

My overall situation has me feeling kind of depressed. Sorry to be a downer. I am not giving up but I feel like I'm not quite ready to fully recommit...which is not great.

Rainbow- life is a very real and very unpredictable part of this weight loss journey. It is awesome that you checked in, that you are committed to staying at or around your calorie limit, and that you are following drs orders to get better as fast as you can. You are doing awesome! Don't let not exercising get you down, you cant. Big deal!

Now the job thing, I feel for you there. Im an rn and cant find a job for the life of me. Un-flipping-believable.

Rainbow: I'm so sorry :( I was thinking about you yesterday, wondering when you were going to update us about the interview. Life does throw curve balls at us and we just can't give up swinging. Do what you can right now and jump back on the horse when you're more motivated. I'm glad you're taking the time to rest tho. Keep checking in with us, we're here for you :)

My appointment went well today. I'm booked for my pre-op May 12 and the surgery is June 2. I'm going to try my hardest to get down to 175 by June. I shouldn't have a problem if I keep up the hard work. I'm just worried the surgery will put a few pounds on me.

I don't know why I'm worried about gaining weight in June, when I need to lose it first :P The scale still said 211 today, which is ok I guess. I'm drinking tons of water and have really been watching what I eat. Hopefully I'll see a drop in the next couple of days (again).

I did zumba tonight and now I'm officially pooched. I'm aching all over. I'll probably rest tomorrow but it'll depend on how I feel. I haven't done my C25K in 3 days now, so I feel like I should at least do that so I don't back track.

ishi yeah weight comes off my face first too.

gnat nice job on your step class even if you had to stop. you definitely pushed yourself to the limit and that is what counts. what is your surgery for? Don't stress out about gaining weight in the future just work on loosing now and cross that bridge when you get there.

rainbow I am so sorry about your car crash. I hope your neck gets better soon. That really sucks about your job. Just hang in there it will pan out soon enough. Just go with the floor and don't stress out about your eating anf d exercise. Its hard when you are having trouble. We are here for you when you need us.

Last night in the hotel! Yeah home soon. the house looks great. The kitchen won't be operational till Thurs but I am happy to be in my own bed soon. Didn't work out today because I went out for the last date with my hubby before his mom got here. HELP! I don't like her at all and the next month is going to be a lesson in patience. :( Hope you guys are doing well

Rainbow- I'm sorry to hear about your car crash! It's good to hear that you are resting up as the doc ordered, the last thing you want is to be injured for longer than you have to be, right? It seems like right now, it might be a good idea to just focus on eating healthy (as you are) and nevermind about exercise until you are well enough to start up again. No harm done and the weight WILL come off in time. It's awesome to see that you're still checking in, good for you!

Ishisnowcone- you can't find work as an RN?! eek!! I'm a first year RN student and hearing stuff like that freaks me out...there's not even contract or part-time work available? Can your university help you out with that?

Gnat- glad to hear your appt. went well! I've had loop excision surgery before on my cervix and I had to avoid lifting heavy objects and core work for 6 weeks. I don't know if you're having something similar to that, but if you are, you can always speed-walk!

I got some awesome vegan groceries today :-) There's a really great health food store near my home and I had fun picking up new healthy foods. I can't wait to try some of them! :-)

Weight loss didn't happen for me this week, I actually gained .2lbs! I'm not too worried about it though, as I'm being extra-careful with my diet this week (no white rice, flour, sugar, eating breakfast, etc.) and will be incorporating more workouts- I'm getting a membership to the local rec centre because I plan on swimming for fitness again. I haven't done it in ages and I used to enjoy it so much! I'm pretty excited about that!

Anyways, have a great, OP day ladies! <3

sun: I'm having a tubal litigation done. I had my gallbladder out a couple years ago, so this should be a walk in the park...hopefully (took me 3 months to recover from that surgery *bangs head*).

Woot Woot for the last night in the hotel! I've been sleeping on an airmattress for the past 3 months, I know I'm definitely looking forward to sleeping on my king sized, 4" pillow top mattress when I get back to North Carolina (along with my Chainsaw-snoring FI - LOL) P.s. date nights are awesome!!

Nurse: (read my post above for surgery details) I'll probably end up living on the treadmill until I recover :) I'm definitely not going to be bedridden like I was last time. It was unbelievable how depressed I got from not going outside or doing any physical activity for weeks.

I used to do aqua fit classes all the time at the YMCA despite them being filled with "old" people. I'd love to get back into it. I miss going swimming; although I need a new swim suit and they're super pricey!!

Oh, and eating breakfast is probably the best thing you can do to help your weight loss. Even if you eat an egg, some fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, granola, etc. (Not sure what fits in with your vegan diet but you get the point).

wannabe Ohhh healthy groceries are always a good way to start the day. I need to get on there. Been eating too much junk.

gnat Oh I hope it is a walk in the park! Surgeries are awful. My daughter has had many and I honestly hate hate hate the recovery period. Water aerobics sound fun.

So I ordered zumba dvds. Trying to find something to do on the days I don't power walk 4 miles. I am sick of P90X and want something new. We shall see! Hope you all are doing well. This thread has quieted down alot!

gnat- I hope all goes well? How soon is the surgery?

sun- I've heard a lot about zumba! Let me know how you like it, I may pick up a dvd - I need to work on my dance moves. Going out dancing is a totally different experience now that I don't drink...lol!

I've been weighing periodically over the last week and it looks like I'm in for a big loss! Tomorrow is official WI and eeeee I'm excited!

I can't wait to get out of the 160s, but I'm definitely gonna have to pick it up with the exercise bit. I need some motivation to get out of bed in the morning and just do it! Any tips/tricks for the morning exerciser?

Have a great, OP day ladies!

nurse: June 2nd is the surgery, which happens to be my brother's birthday. My 23rd birthday is on June 5th. I'm not big into birthdays anymore, last year we didn't do anything either.

---

I got to the gym 4 times this week. I took Friday and Today off when I really shouldn't have. I got sloppy counting calories again towards the end of the week. Tomorrow is my official weigh in and I have no idea where I'll be. I HIGHLY doubt I'll be in the single digits - my goal of 199 by the end of the month went out the window after last week's stupid weigh in and I got really discouraged. I did my measurements on Wednesday and I've lost another 3.5 inches all over my body (waist, ribcage, arms, thighs) so I guess I can't complain there. My FI looks at me on the webcam and is certain I haven't dropped any weight at all and any good feelings I have about making some progress go out the door. Sigh. I'm getting really stressed about my trip. It'll all be better once I get over the border, but this week is going to eat at me like crazy. I'm thinking a liquid diet is in order this week.

Sometimes I wonder if this is just the way I'm suppose to be. </emo rant>

gnat- you may surprise yourself, so why worry?! You did work out 4x this week, good for you! Even if you don't have a loss, like you said, you lost some inches. In the grand scheme of the weight loss journey, 1 or 2 weeks is a drop in the bucket. Setbacks are inevitable. What really matters is that you don't get discouraged and throw away all your efforts! Hang in there girl, you CAN do it!!

and as an aside (I hope I'm not way off base here, or offending you :-S )...your FI's love for you is not contigent upon your weight! It's so hard not to think that way sometimes...but that is your inner critic talking, not him! I hope you're not trying to lose because you think it will please him...it's got to matter to you more than anyone else. After all, it's your body and you are the one who has to live in it. So if anybody's satisfaction is key here, it's yours - anybody else's is just a bonus.

I came across a document on my computer yesterday that I typed up two years ago, "The reasons why I want to lose weight". On that list was "To feel like I am pretty enough to be with (my ex)". What I know now is that the truth is, my looks don't affect my desirability anywhere near as much as who I am does. Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind :-)

Not that that's how you're thinking, it's just that it reminded me of that.

Anyways, tomorrow is my official WI too! I hope to see you reporting with the good news that you deserve :-) Night!

Hey all, sorry I'm not up to doing personals right now - I'm super sleepy.

Have had 7 hours in total now taken off me at my current job. In good news, I had an interview on Friday morning and in the afternoon they called me up and asked me to come in for a second interview on Wednesday this coming week so I think that's a positive. I'm super scared and nervous, but I will just have to be confident.

My weight finally moved but I don't know whether or not the plateau is truly over.

I am still religiously logging calories and hoping to get back into exercise this week.

nurse: Thank you for the encouragement. I really appreciate it. Sometimes I do it for me, other times I do it for him. Ultimately it is MY goal to be a healthy weight and change my lifestyle altogether. I want to have a wonderful life ahead of me and I know that if I don't make changes now, it'll come and bite me in the butt! I've made so many positive changes within the last couple months, I definitely don't want to go back to how I was feeling before. It's amazing how much stronger I've become and how much more energy I have. If I keep it up, I'll feel 10 times better and I definitely wouldn't complain about that.

rainbow: Good luck with the interview :) Sucks about the cutting back of the hours tho :( Confidence goes a long way and I know you have it, so go kick some butt girl!

I was nervous to get on the scale today at the gym, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I actually had a loss! Last week I weighed in at 212. This week it flickered back and forth between 209.9 - 210.2. I'm going to settle on 210 tho. I felt I could've done better tho, but I have 1 more week before I leave for NC so I feel that I'm going to make it count this week.

I'm trying to stay positive about things. I packed up most of my room yesterday and I've started to pack my suitcase (I need a suitcase JUST for shoes!! *faints* lol)

On a exercise note, I did week 2 day 3 of my C25K today. I hadn't done a session in about a week so I needed to get back on track with that. I also did a bunch of weights for my arms and now they feel like they weigh 100lbs! LOL Gotta love when that happens.

Hope everyone has a good Sunday.

- Natalie

rainbow- good to hear about the second interview, good luck this Wednesday! Though you probably don't need it, you're clearly rocking it if they want you back in again! I hope your plateau is over- you've worked so hard to stay positive and keep doing what you've been doing despite the accident. I want to see you come back tomorrow with more good news :-)

Nat- I'm glad I could help :-) A loss is a loss though, so celebrate! Get another pair of shoes for the trip to NC? lol I am sooo jealous about the extra suitcase just for shoes! I LOVE buying shoes...they always fit no matter how big I am :-P Spring shoes in particular...affordable and stylish!

I actually surpassed one of my goals for this month! I'm at 164.6, and I originally wanted to be at 166 by today. I knew that the gain I saw last week wasn't right- there's no way I lost 4.8lbs this week. I'm not starving myself here! (I love food too much haha)

I'm still vegan, but I started smoking again after one week of cold turkey quitting..I will tackle it again April 1st :-S

So I may go ahead with starting an April thread. I hope you all will join me in there in a few days!

Have a great, OP day ladies! <3

nurse: GET OUTTA TOWN! You're from Hamilton?!?!?! Sorry I'm a little slow, but I just read your info under your avatar, lol. I'm just outside Welland - still a little far, but you're the closest I've seen so far to me, LOL. I'm actually having my surgery at McMaster (thank god!) I had my other surgery at St.Kitts General and yeah, I could go on forever with that, haha.

Congrats on achieving your goal! And surpassing it a little bit too! I don't know if I should get another pair of shoes, although it's very tempting. I have a bunch of shoes that are still in NC! I'll be having a sweet sweet reunion with them since I haven't been able to wear them in 6 months! LOL

I'm looking forward to the April thread. I know it seems silly, but this thread definitely did keep me accountable. Being able to talk about my exercise woo's and celebrate my victories with you girls has helped me a lot. :)