[RavenToy]

Hi ... I'm a returning 3FatChick chick. I had a birthday a couple days ago and realized I really, really just didn't like what I saw in the mirror. I lost about 45 pounds 6 years ago, then moved into a very physical career, and convinced myself that the work itself would take care of my weight. I lost track of my eating, then rationalized the weight I was gaining was all muscle.

(I'm not fat, I'm just big boned.)

So, uhm ... now I weight 214 and the depression was starting to settle in. Time to get my tail in gear and drop some weight.

I'm 49, work with horses for a living and have 6 of my own, 2 older kids, 4 dogs, 6 cats, and a live in boyfriend. I love to play WoW, but my computer fried a while back. I'm in the process of getting another machine I can use for that so I have my escape from reality back.

It's nice to be back here, looking forward to getting to know you all.

[algebraashley]

hi! welcome back! good luck with getting to your goal!

[gothik butterfly]

hiya! good luck! stickin' around the boards really seems to help.

[RavenToy]

Good morning chicks...

Down a pound this morning, so not a bad start. Logged all my food yesterday like a good girl, found out there's no way that's enough for a typical work day for me.

This is going to be a problem. One of the reasons my weight has climbed is because of the way I eat. I drink coffee in the morning, then usually eat very little to nothing till about 5 in the evening, then start eating and don't stop till I go to bed. The reason I do this is because of my job. I'm a natural hoofcare specialist for horses, and that means I'm bent over the large part of my workday. If there's food in my tummy, I get sick. Easier just not to eat...

So that has to change. It's kind of a vicious circle. I'm fat, so bending over isn't the easiest to do anyway, then I put food in there, and it makes it MORE uncomfortable. By losing weight, I'll be making it easier to bend over and hence, small meals won't be a problem.

So I'm going to try waking up early enough to get a decent breakfast in and give it time to move along a little bit before I'm actually picking up feet.

Of course, WHAT I eat has a lot to do with the weight gain as well. So I changed that yesterday, and will continue to log my food and make sure I'm getting a balanced diet.

So, the challenge right now - get more than 1200 calories in during a given day without hurling on my feet. NP, right?

[RavenToy]

A pretty successful day, I guess. I managed to eat breakfast, get in two snacks, lunch, and now I'm heading into dinner. Amazing. I even got in over a quart of plain water. I may have overdone lunch... I'm at 1800 calories tonight, but I really don't know if that's not enough, too much, or just right.

I guess I'll find out. I feel ok, other than being sick to my stomach this morning after breakfast because I *never* eat breakfast. That will take some getting used to.

I guess I'll see how things go for the next week or so like this, and adjust as necessary.

[aphrodite]

I think 1800 sounds just about right.

ETA: I'm just about your weight and I usually hit 1600-1900 (somewhere in there) and I'm losing at least 2 pounds a week.

[mauvaisroux]

Hi and welcome back!

[RavenToy]

Ok ... so I've been following the simple eating plan that worked for me before. My timing was off, I was PMSing like crazy. But I stuck with it, go me. My weight went down a couple pounds, then right back up again. I just decided to ignore that little problem. Got on the scale today and I'm down to 209. Ok, so it fluctuates, but hopefully now it will start fluctuating in the DOWN direction instead of the UP direction.

Mauvaisroux! A name I remember! How are you?