Ries - "I am about to immigrate to America, to a place where being fat can feel like I'm wearing a big sign that says I'm a racist." Whoa. Is that how we're viewed from the outside? Yikes.

I hope the scale damage wasn't as much as you thought it would be! Moving is such a stressful time. You've got this.

I'm a good 5 hour plane ride away, but most places are pretty open to interviews via Skype and I'm willing to fly out for a final interview if needed.

kisskiss - CONGRATULATIONS!!! I wish I had seen your post last night, I'd have tried to watch it :P Not that I have a TV at work! Did you get to play the game at all?

Buckkeepblue - Yay always cool to have someone around the same weight!

kailpea - Welcome back to 3FC! Good luck finding a new healthier routine!

How fun! I do feel a bit like a sad panda sometimes... and I do want to sizzle for summer. I'm in!

izzyboomama: I agree with the others. I don't think it'll bother anyone. It's actually inspiring to see people doing well.

Riestrella: parental guilt trips CAN get intense. What helps me is to try and...not ignore it, but not really address it, and keep an upbeat attitude and act like they're sharing in it. Sometimes that helps (sometimes not). Good luck with the move! How exciting for you!

kisskiss: You got married on a game show? That sounds awesome! And congrats!

noname - I should probably have clarified a bit, I meant Boulder not America in general! Everyone who lives there seems to have their own fitness thing going on, I couldn't find one weight loss meetup on meetup.com! I also heard remarks by my boyfriends parents about some strangers who were overweight, they said "look at those fat people, they're disgusting" and the people they were talking about were smaller than my parents. It's just a part of the culture there, my boyfriend admits that it's a problem (he doesn't feel the same way obviously having started our relationship when I was 200 lbs!), so I'm a bit worried about how I'll be looked at there.
I was 163 lbs, I was expecting 165 lbs, so I was pleasantly surprised! Still a gain, but I don't care, fresh starts and all that jazz!

Penny - Welcome!! Yeah, you're right, I'm doing my best. I think I was PMSing last night since I got all frustrated and upset that they weren't just being happy for me, but I should just let it slide. Thanks!

yes I got married on Price is Right, by Drew Carey himself...in fact, we were on stage with him when he did the ceremony. They made us sign a bunch of contracts, but since it aired today , I can say WE WON!! We made it all the way to the showdown showcase (we lost that one), but we did win a nice camera, camera bag, and all expense paid trip to Argentina!! I'm still on a high from that day :D I was very very nervous but somehow, after we were called, it was pure excitement. I am really glad that we did it this way. Our families live very far, so we never wanted a big wedding and this seemed so unique.

I'm going to write up a post about the whole day on my blog, and also add a lot more pics on my blog, , but here are a few:

my before and after. The left pics was me at my heaviest--my cousin's wedding. ON my wedding day I was 136.7 :D

the middle pic is from the show.

and the last pic is the after the show photography at LACMA.

Riestrella Boulder is insanely fit! I stayed with a friend who lives in Fort Collins for about a month several years ago while I was checking out schools in Colorado and I was amazed by how active Boulder was. I think I would be intimidated! My husband and I want to run the BolderBoulder eventually. . .Its one of the best 10Ks in the nation (according to our runner friend). We're from flat Kansas though so I worry about the elevation difference when we are finally ready to run the 10K.

kisskiss You looked beautiful at your wedding! And what a fun way to get married!

Ries - It's definitely hard here! It can get disheartening when you have to go out of town to find jeans that fit (for second hand stores anyway!), or when I'm trying the second week of C25K out on the path and people are just flying by me with their casual jog. I try to remember that there are so many professional athletes out here and I shouldn't compare myself. I also tell myself I could dance rings around them. :) Fortunately no one has ever given me a rude glance or said anything about my size that I could hear. And once you get out of the Boulder bubble, there are a lot of bigger people too! Especially the "natives" who were born here and didn't move here explicitly for the fitness.

I haven't weighed in a few days since I've been sick and didn't realize there was a new challenge up! I haven't been successful in losing weight recently but I have at least kept from gaining...I'll weigh in tomorrow and add myself to the chart.

Originally Posted by Riestrella:
Ahh, so you're expecting a lot of weight loss? What sort of plan are you doing?

I started doing a DIY version of Ideal Protein. It's not so "ideal" IMO, but it's my means to an end, and I've been having great results so far. I just don't want to discourage anyone, that was my worry, but if no one is fussed by it, that's cool too! :carrot:

kisskiss: congrats on the marriage! you look awesome in your dress! it's so great you were able to do something so unique and fun (not to mention the prizes)!

Riestrella: You'll find that the mindset of boulder can be found in a lot of places here. America may be the hearth and home of mortal obesity, but it's also the land of extremes and there's a TON of super-fit people in just about every city. We do nothing by halves.

Thanks for starting this challenge. I am so excited to be apart of it! I'm not new to this forum and love to read all your wonderful stories but haven't yet posted anything myself. I thought this would be a great way to start off!

kisskiss - Wow, you look amazing! Congratulations again on the marriage, and the prizes! You'll be able to have such a wonderful honeymoon!

My 5K was Saturday! It was a lot of fun, I managed to run the whole thing, but I was really slow. IT WAS HOT! I'm looking forward to taking the lessons I learned over the next two weeks and working on my speed for the 5K I'm doing May 2nd. That's the "big" one to me since it's my work's annual fundraiser. I'm very proud of myself and excited for what's to come.

Unfortunately I have no clue what my official time was because for some reason my chip didn't trip at the starting line, so I only know my "gun" time. I'm pretty sure my real time is about a minute and 15 seconds less than that, but I forgot to check my watch at the end. Oh well!

nonameslob - Congrats on running your entire 5k! It's a bummer your chip didn't trip but it's great that you were able to run the whole thing as a warm up to your next one. Is it the first race you have done?

kisskiss - I forgot to mention, but your wedding photos are gorgeous! What a unique celebration and you look very happy.

izzyboomama - Boulder is a unique place. We call it "Republic of Boulder" or if we want to be snarky "The People's Republic of Boulder", because it seems to be its own country at times. I know I got a culture shock when I moved here from the Midwest. I've heard kids say things like, "I had sugar! But it was okay, it was only 10g of sugar" when referring to a treat, and they like to protest pretty much anything. I'm not saying this attitude doesn't exist in the US in other places, but I've really never seen it so engrained as in Boulder. It is, after all, the least obese city in the US (or was at one point).

I'm up a couple pounds after my illness. Rawr. I'm still searching for my motivation.

just came back after years of being away from 3fc, figured a challenge was a great place to start!

Rie: yup, I've heard Colorado in general is one of the fitter (if not fittest) states, and when I visited I definitely can believe it. I believe you're moving today, so have a safe journey!!

nonameslob:

congrats on completing your 5k, I'm sure you'll beat your time the second time around. Mine is also coming up and I'm really worried I may have to back out. After my wedding (and the day of standing and sitting for 7+hours), my back just has been so sore and doesn't really feel great. I'm not sure if running the 5k on May 2 is wise for me. I have family members who are doing it, so I was really looking forward to running with them but it looks like I may have to back out :(

moralitylikeart: Welcome back!

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __

Thanks all for the well wishes! We can't wait to go on the Argentina trip and we're still deciding on when the best time to travel would be. I hate planes, and I just read that the flight over is over 12 hours :( not excited about that, but oh well it's a free trip so I wont complain. Happy Monday !

kisskiss ¡Felicidades! The pictures look great, I loved your wedding dress! Argentina is amazing, your honey moon will be amazing, just try to sleep for most of the trip and you'll be fine. I'd honestly try to arrange the trip to be at night and I might even take a sleeping pill to be sure because I also hate planes (and trains and buses and most means of transportation :p).

Rie have a safe trip! I can't believe you're moving already... I hope you've let the guilt and sadness aside by now and you're very exited!

nonameslob Congrats on your first 5K!

I'm so joining but I'm not weighing in until TOM's gone. I've put on like 6 lbs overnight, it's ridiculous. I'm going to get some electrolytes today and see if it works.

I'm excited to join this challenge. My weight has not really been coming off like I'd hoped, but rather than giving up, I'm looking for more and more ways to motivate myself. Some friends at work and I are doing a few of the "30 Day Challenge" exercises and I've been following Weight Watchers now for 2 months or so.