Phoenix! Yay. I'm so glad to hear from you and Japan sounds like such an interesting place to visit. I'm really happy you got to experience something like that and the culture shock food-wise I'm sure would help so many people in America to understand food portions! Glad to see you posting again!


Lorie!! Fantastic! You are almost in the 50's! WOW!!!! So so so happy for you...and a little jealous if I might say so!

Tailee---a new decade baby girl!! YAYYY!! Wow, we have so much to celebrate this month already! July should prove to be even better. Something about the Summer time always helps with weight loss in my past experiences anyway.

OK, so I have big news. I haven't lost anything and in fact I was up to 241.8 yesterday morning. That doesn't sound like good news but this is....I got my period! On my own, with no BC pills. I have been wondering why I feel like crap for the last week and I knew what the symptoms generally meant but they aren't always followed by the actual TOM. I officially started back on SB on Tuesday hardcore. I've only had one slip up and it was yesterday--for some reason I couldn't turn down a chocolate candy! ;-) Hehe. I don't know if I can say this yet but PCOS is going down.... along with my weight! So I'm hoping to have a better grip on my weight once my TOM has gone away. By the way...I have completely forgotten how miserable IT makes me feel when I'm not on BC...but for some reason I'm also kind of enjoying it! Anyway, I can't wait to weigh once TOM is done! I have 16 weeks until the wedding. Need to make them count!!

No new, exciting news about Bill. :-( I feel like I'm in a weird cat and mouse game. One day he wants me, the next he doesn't. Ugh.

It's so great to see posts from you guys! I got back from Vegas on Wednesday and have spent the past couple of days catching up on sleep. It was fun but I'm so glad to be home. I'd never been somewhere like NV and not seeing trees and water EVERYWHERE was definitely strange! Oh, and the DRY heat! OMG! How do you deal with that?! My lips are STILL recuperating from the dryness, hahaha (they were chapped like crazy)! lol. But yeah, it was fun. I didn't do any gambling and actually didn't get drunk (a little buzzed on my birthday) but the shows we saw and the food we ate and the places we saw were awesome! It'll be a while before I go back, though, haha.

I got back, stepped on the scale to see 274! AHH! Luckily, I'm not really 274--just games my body is playing with me, thank god. Back to 269.4 today. YAY! I'm so looking forward to conquering the 260s in July haha.

I would respond to your posts but I'll have to later--I have to get ready for work! Talk to you soon. xoxo

Whoa, Vegas? Fun! Did you go for a special occasion or just summer vacay?

I guess I should introduce myself to the group - I'm new, I don't have my ticker yet, but I'm fluxuating b/t 282 and 279 right now. Biggest I've ever been, and pretty hard to deal with. I just started C25K after seeing how many girls here swear by it and its going pretty well, I think :P I'm looking forward to being a part of this community - lots of great girls here, I can tell!

Tailee, I'm so glad you had fun in Vegas. Yes, it is a dry heat. Welcome to my life! It isn't too bad though. My mother, who is in Florida but grew up in AZ, has troubles coming back here too. We go through a lot of liquids, thats for sure!

almostatty--Welcome! Good luck with your C25K. I'm not really sure what it is but have definitely heard a lot of people having success with it.

Back to the grind tomorrow, ladies. Haven't had the best weekend food-wise--and I'm up two pounds to show it. Blegh. Salads/veggies and chicken all week for me! XD

Hey Tailee - we have the same ultimate goal of 145! I have mine listed as 199 for now, b/c I am heading to Onederland :P (love that lingo!) but my final final goal is 145. Haven't been there since... idk, a looong time ago haha, but I can see you're making progress and I hope I can, too!

Are you tall? I have 145 as my goal b/c I'm 5'8". :P

Almostatty- Hi, and welcome to the thread!! I went to Vegas for my 21st birthday, lol. It was fun! I was definitely ready to be home by the fourth day because I was so tired, though, haha. You're from Boston? That's awesome! I'm considering moving there after I graduate next spring (I'm a native Mainer, go to school in Vermont--most of my family is from Maine or Mass). I'm also 5'8", and 145 is just a number I came up with because it sounded good for my height, lol. I guess technically 164 is "normal" for us, but ideally I'd like to be a size 8, which I think is around 145 (although, I wouldn't mind being in the 130s either!). I haven't been under 200 pounds since I was 11--closest I got was 207 when I was 13, and my weight has yo-yo'ed since; my heaviest was 323 (or 326) in the spring of 2010. I'm happy to say I'm far from 323 now, and I never want to gain a large amount of weight ever again (unless I have a baby, maybe? haha).

270 today. Meh. I didn't eat too too much today, so hopefully I'll have a woosh of some sort. I really want to see 267 by Friday--at least 268. Even 268 would give me a 5 pound loss for June, which is certainly better than nothing! So I'm going to be good the next few days. Hope the rest of you are doing well!

I just realized something. If I can lose just TWENTY pounds by the end of the summer (like 249)--then lose 8 pounds a month in September, October, November, and December, I'd probably be a size 16 by the end of the year. OH MY GOD. Oh my god oh my god oh my god. That would be absolutely amazing. 215ish by the end of the year? Wow. YES!

An edit to add: LORIE! I have Facebook, we should totally be friends. Send a message on here and we'll figure it out?

Hope its ok to pop in here. I am new to the site, but started my weight loss about a month ago with mixed results. I was all gung-ho the first week and a half and have found myself off program but thankfully mostly maintaining.

I am, a 25 year old mother of 3 (5, 2.5, and 11 months) and sweetheart to an Airman. Right now I am really at the highest weight I have ever been at and I am to the point of being absolutely sick of it. I started this journey on another site (which I love) but they don't have a very good message board so I decided to register to 3FC to find some friends to go on this journey with!

I'm just curious, how did you guys come up with an end goal number? being only 5'4" supposidly my BMI is supposed to be 129, but oh god is that intimidating when you start out at 280. I honestly can't tell you what age I was when I weighed that either, so obviously not any time in my adult/young adult life, lol.

It is really nice to "meet" all of you guys - I LOVE this thread - you guys are so nice!

Rune- Welcome! Actually, my goal weight changes constantly. I'm still within the realm of 130-150 depending on what I'm happy with. I haven't been under 150 since I was probably 15 so getting there with an adult body will be a whole new experience for me. I also look up my BMI range that is healthiest and the weight that is healthiest with my height. Of course, with different body types comes different weight so I assume once I get down to the mid 100's I'll be able to judge that much better. I hope you are able to find the right way to go about your weight loss. When I first started I stuck to calorie counting. I am really glad I did because it opens your eyes as to how much you eat on a daily basis! I found South Beach later in the year in 2010 and it really saved me. I have been back and forth between that and calorie counting but still basically holding on to the concept of no carbs or sugar. Right now I am doing South Beach but still counting my calories so I know what my calorie deficit looks like for the day. It's been working well and it seems like something I can stick with.

Speaking of that....I have been doing really well. I'm finally back down to 236.6 as of this morning and I have full plans to keep going. My mom will be here in 3 weeks and I would like to lose about another 6-7 pounds before then. My goal is to be in the 20's by then. After my graduation weekend I will have 3 months to get to 199 before the wedding! I feel so great knowing that I am finally back on track!! I completed a fast last weekend to shrink my stomach and it really helped. I finally have hunger pangs again which I haven't felt in awhile. I've also downloaded an app on my phone called MyFitnessPal. This is perfect for calorie counting. It also gives you a nice estimate as to how many calories you should have.

I joined another thread for an end of the year challenge that I'm expecting to boost my motivation and keep me on track. I've set my goal for 199, just in case since I know around the last couple of months of the year it gets harder to stay on track--being the holidays are food central!

The thread has been somewhat quiet lately. I hope to hear from everyone soon!!

Tailee---How fantastic would that be! What motivation!! I'm hoping to also be in a 15/16 by the end of the year. I'm 18/20 right now. I hate how people say that with every 10-15 pounds lost comes a new pant size....well that may be true but not when you have more than a 100 to lose! In the beginning, when I was 287- I think I was a size 24, and that was fitting a little snug. Now-50 pounds later, I'm barely a 20!

Shelly: Im so glad to hear that you are back on track. I know we were all doing kinda meh for a while there. 236 is great!!! I'm super jealous lol! I bet you can totally make onderland in no time! size 20 is a dream for me right now...

taliee: I like the way you are thinking, how motivating! size 16 by the end of the year..the best I got was 18 several years ago, I can't even imagine right now..Also, sounds like vegas was fun, I hope to go there sometime soon myself. I have friends who live out that way..

rune: welcome! you came to the right place to have friends and support! I personally came up with my goal weight based on a height and BMI chart thingy..i dont remeber exactly. I remember a 'healthy' range was 150-130lbs for my height so I want to shoot for 150 because I haven't weighed that much since probably early middle school, and I was still heavy then because it was on a childs frame. Ive been heavier than average my entire life, so I don't even know what its like to be skinny. Over 100 lbs loss is daunting, but most of us break it down into small goals..ie 20 lbs by x event, or 50 lbs in x months. Whatever pace suits you.

almostatty: Welcome to TFC, and welcome to the 280s ladies! You can find all sorts of support from these ladies !

glenlorie: hope everything is going alright for ya! been thinking about you.

How is everyone else doing????

As for me, seems its time to face the music. I did an 'official' weigh in Friday morning like i used to when I was more serious about my WL. Ouch. 253.6 is not what I was hoping to see. My lowest since I started this whole thing was 236 something probably a year ago. Sigh. I can tell too, my pants are getting snug again and my double chin is showing its uggly..chinny-ness..again. My face is getting puffy.. I want to get back on track, Ive been really stressing out about a lot of unknowns and indecision lately..ie, what should my next step in school be, should i make a step to move out from my parents like ive been threatening to for the last year..and will i ever friking get my drivers license..i dont drive yet and Im approaching 23, its a long story but i swear its not anything like bad that I did or whatever, but its keeping me from doing a lot right now. Everything is so complicated and I totally put my weight loss on hold for the last like, year almost. I keep saying I want to get back on track and fall on my butt a couple days later. We had an air conditioner go bad this week, the thermostat would kick in but the compressor would sit and struggle to turn on for several minutes before finally it kicked in..when it worked it worked great, but turn it off and you would be lucky to get cold air the next time.. It might seem weird to draw a metaphor from it but I totally feel like that air conditioner. I just cant get myself in gear. I sit and struggle and its really not that complicated of a task when it comes down to it: back off the food.

I feel like my mindset needs replaced, like the AC, but with what I dont know. What positive thoughts keep you ladies going if you are in a total rut? I know I asked something similar about motivation a couple months ago but what I'm asking now is what do you tell yourself? I actually went to therapy earlier this year and was told that I tend to self deafeat and think negative, which i openly admit. Its hard for me to turn around and even put effort into thinking positively when I feel like I'm doomed to fail..so what do you tell yourself that makes you think positive about weight loss and keeps you going?

Hi ladies!

So I made it to 267 on Friday, yay!! I stayed there until Saturday, and then I had an absolutely TERRIBLE day food-wise on Saturday, and as of this morning I'm up to 269. Blegh. I did see 271 yesterday--hopefully one of the last times I'm ever in the 270s. I think TOM is coming soon, so that could be another reason why I'm up. (I want to eat everything in sight! It's awful!)

People are really starting to notice my weight loss, which is nice: "you look SO good, Natalie!" etc etc. I notice it most in my upper body (chest area/neck/face) the most; my butt is still HUGE but hopefully it'll go down more with the next 20 pounds or so. I know I'm on the verge of getting into a new size (a 20!) which I'm extremely excited about. I'm looking forward to being in the 250s because I haven't since I was a sophomore in high school (at least five years ago). I know I wanted to be 249 by the time I go back to school, but right now I'll take anywhere in the 250s and a size 20--better then where I started in May, 276 and a 22.

As for non-food/diet related things, I'm crushing hard on a guy I've known for three years but didn't start to "like" until very recently. He started talking to me more during the winter and into the spring, and although we haven't seen each other very much he's definitely made an effort to keep in touch. He's also told me I'm beautiful (which I was like--AHHHH *drool*) and is just really sweet (not to mention ridiculously attractive) in general. One thing, though. One really, really sucky thing. He's not single. UGH. WHY does this always happen to me? Because it isn't the first time! I fell in love with a guy before college who wasn't single, and although it was a slightly different situation, the basic is still the same. It just sucks so much. I also found out he has a thing for bigger girls. I was FLOORED! The one thing I thought would make me unattractive to him he actually LIKES! (He's never dated a heavy girl, and his girlfriend isn't, so that's why I was so surprised!) So I don't know. He's been so flirty and texting me a lot and it all sounds like he must like me a little bit, but I know I need to chill because of the whole girlfriend thing. I know eventually I'll have to talk about it with him, even though I don't want to. AHHHH this just sucks, it sucks a lot! (Even though I am dying over this attention and my insides do flippy things at the thought of him. I can't stand it!)

Haha. I would add more, but I won't bore you. That's the gist of it. :3

Rune- Welcome to the thread! My goal is technically 145 because I like the sound of the number; my BMI would also be a healthy 22, and I'd most likely be a size 8 (all awesome things). However, once I reach the lower 160s (which is the higher end for a healthy weight range for my height) I'll decide what I want to do. Part of me even wants to be in the 130s (and a 6? AHHH!) but again, we'll see. I've got to lose 100 pounds first. XD

Shelly- WAY TO GO 236!!! That is so awesome! I'm very happy for you (and totally envious)! If you stay on track you will definitely reach 199 by the end of the year! (I myself am hoping for 223--my 100 pound loss! But we'll see, hahaha.) I bet you're more of an 18 than a 20--I know for me, the 230s means an 18. Oh, and I have an app too called LoseIt! on my iPhone! It's been very helpful in tracking my calories (when I remember to do it!). Keep it up!!

Phoenix- I'm glad you decided to "face the music" before you gained back everything you'd lost! I know it can be tough--but I just remind myself that I DON'T want to be back where I was ever again, that I was so unhappy and I tell myself I will NOT gain anything back (and I don't)! I wish I could give better advice--I dunno, it's just for me, my mindset changed a year ago when I decided I didn't want to live like I was living anymore. I certainly can't say that every day has been a good one since (otherwise I'd have lost a lot more weight by now!), but I think now more than ever I want to lose weight more than anything--it's become much more of a priority, I don't want to want it, I actually WANT it and that drives me to keep going. Again, I definitely have my bad days (like this weekend) but I know I have to get back up and keep chugging along! I hope that makes some sense, hahaha. I'm sorry I couldn't say something better. XD But good luck to you; I bet you can get at least 5 pounds off really quick if you have a good week.

Oh, happy fourth of July, everyone! Unfortunately I have to work from 5 to 9 tonight--yes, really, Old Navy is open until 9. And I'll be working. Soooo stupid! (At least I get holiday pay!)

This post is dedicated to Phoenix.

Phoenix- I understand your struggle. I went to see my doctor a few weeks ago and he somewhat congratulated me on losing some weight but, of course as doctors do, reminded me of how much more I have to lose. "Michelle, you are doing well, but you still have 100 more pounds to lose. If you don't, you will develop diabetes and heart problems" My reaction was the same as always, "Yea, yea, I know" but then it hit me really hard this time around. It took a couple of days but when it hit, I was like, "whoa....I have 100 pounds to lose still." I tell myself that every time I reach for seconds or when I'm out to lunch with friends. EVERY TIME. Dealing with PCOS is another thing that has kept me going. If I want children in my future (which I do!) and if I want my stomach fat to be gone...and my prediabetes...and my high cholesterol...then I need to remember that my waistline isn't the only reason I am struggling now. I had a friend a while back tell me that life is full of struggles. It will never be easy. Life is a roller coaster ride with ups and downs, scary drops, and exciting rushes. Isn't that enough of a scary ride? I don't want my weight loss to be a continuous roller coaster the rest of my life. I do not want to be one of these women in weight loss infomercials who struggled their ENTIRE lives and never felt what it was like to just be healthy, 24/7/365. I know I will always have to watch what I eat and how much but I'd rather do that to stay healthy than work my @ss off and be on this emotional @ss roller coaster ride to get there. I refuse to let myself continue to struggle with something that I know I have complete control over.

One of my good friends is starting to see the light here and I kinda would like to share her story. Maybe it will help. I met her when I first started my degree and I was at my heaviest. She was about 135 @ 5'3". She's a pear shape most definitely (big butt, small chest) but she's adorable. Her nickname was Sunshine. She was always upbeat, always happy, and always ready to have fun. We clicked right away and we became friends very quickly. I was not necessarily the upbeat type-nor have I really ever been- but I could make sloth laugh on its slowest day. Anyway, hanging out with her really helped me to stay positive because she just rubbed off on me so much. Well, she started gaining some weight and it really affected her mood. She became very emotional and spending an evening with her was literally like watching a live emotional roller coaster. Happy-sad-mad-depressed-smiling-giggling-sad. It was living proof, right in front of me, that our weight has HUGE effects on our moods-thoughts-feelings. Anyway, I think when she saw me starting to lose weight and becoming much more upbeat it depressed her further. She attempted to go to the gym but would quit after a week or so. She attempted to eat better but when a bad day came along, out came the Snickers bars. THEN her best friend, Sam, who was about 180 and 5'9" started to go to the gym and lose weight. She looked fantastic, she was so much happier when I saw her and it helped to inspire me even further! Sunshine did not like this, especially since Sam was starting to borrow her clothes---and look better in them! Anyway, my friend has now started going to the gym everyday and when I saw her on Saturday, she was one emotion throughout the entire lunch date-happy.

Now, I don't know if that helps in any way, small or big, but I think the common factor here with being happy is actually doing something. As soon as Sunshine started going to the gym more, eating better, and making actively healthier decisions she felt better and it showed. To EVERYONE. I think it sucks trying to make ourselves make these decisions but once we do we have to continue to. Everything becomes easier with practice!

Another thing that I know really helped me toward making better decisions, and just being happy in general, was making my move toward independence. I don't know the reasons behind why you are not driving, or living on your own, but they may be what are also holding you back. Living with my father and his girlfriend really helped with my gaining of weight. MY father, while heavy, always attempted to do the right thing but his girlfriend was HORRIBLE! We fought constantly and her food choices were outrageous. When I bought my car, and then moved out, my life opened up like you wouldn't believe. Getting a car does kinda help with gaining weight though--so be careful when you start driving again. Anyway, my point is that steps toward your independence may actually help you to just get out of this depression that seems to have far too much of a hold on you.

I'm so glad you are still around and posting! I hope you don't take this post as a lecture, and I apologize if that is how it comes off, I just worry for you and want you to know that you have us to come to!

Post for Tailee!

Tailee-I'm so glad you are seeing success! I always admire your constantly upbeat attitude, it really is great to see. You are officially in the 260's which will fly by and then you'll be in the 50's!!! Very exciting.

I love that you found a guy that you are really interested in and he is in to you as well! I think that is great and sometimes a huge motivator to continue losing even if they do like bigger girls! Be careful with this one. If he is currently involved in a relationship but is still talking with you, whose to say he wouldn't do the same had you been the girl friend. Anyway-don't think too much into that statement and trust your own judgement, hon! Just be careful. I'd hate to see you unhappy!

Congrats again on 267!