Hi guys. Whew. Curves day #3!! I haven't gotten a total handle on eating yet, but I am doing better. Only two more weeks and I will have an exercise habit! (I'm hoping anyway) Today I REALLY didn't want to go. I had such a yucky sinus headache. I told myself that copping out this early in the program would be nutso, so I went. Now my head doesn't hurt so much. Thank goodness for little favors.

Hopeful: Hi and welcome to the group. It's a nice bunch of girls here and you will find lots of support. There's a bio section, but I have never filled it out(been lazy, I will go do it now, I promise). I am 37(ugh) married, no kids but the 2 dogs and 2 cats count in my opinion! Looks like you are off to a good start. Keep it up and visit often. I know I do a lot better when I have daily visits here.

RR: Yep, I checked in my dictionary under workaholic and I saw your picture . How on earth do you do that AND take care of two kids and be PG at the same time! Now I feel like a whimp for complaining about working and going to school. Wait a minute, you even find time to go to the gym..........now I really feel like poops!! Will you work the same hours once the little one is here?

I was supposed to go for the old boob squeeze last year and I chickened out. I know I need to go. I'm just a woose.

OK, gotta go make dinner. Have a nice night all!!

Karen--U R too funny!!! I work alot cuz I am married to Mr Mom....I dont do laundry, I have never mopped in the 15months of marriage, I cook but he cleans the kitchen, he does the outside work, dusts and vacuums...I take care of kids and that is all he expects!!!Plus, now he rubs my feet and back, helps me "adjust" the enlarging stomach on a pillow and does the stretch mark cream...I have a good man!!!!NOW....GET THAT MAMMOGRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

La-welcome to the group!!!!SOme of us got married right here after meeting men online, others after!!!It was bunches of singles in 1999??? when we started and now we are married soo stick around U never know!!!!!

Take care all!!!
RR

Hi All,

RR- You definitely have a gem there!! I wish all I had to do was cook and take care of my soon to be child!! It's like pulling teeth to get DH to clean...the way I want him too!!

Karen- Have you been going everyday?! WOW!! Good for you!!

Hopeful- WELCOME!! Please don't be put off by us married folk!! I'm one of those that was single when I joined here in February 1999. I met my husband online through matchmaker.com in July 1999. We got married March 2001, and I'm 20 wks. PG! (My goodness, I can't believe how time flies!!) Oh, and I just turned 34 in July. Anything you wanna talk about, whether it be weight related or not, feel free!! We talk about everything here!! Look forward to seeing you post more often!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!! It's been a pretty busy week for me. I'm swamped with paperwork at work.

wow thanks everybody for the kind welcome. i posted a few times at this Other Depressing Site and nobody said a word to me. i was starting to think there was something wrong with me!

i do feel i'm off to a great start. although, i went to a wedding in july and i saw the pictures of me afterwards. goodness gracious i looked like a cow but that was only a month after i started my program. my sister has asked me recently if i've lost weight. i sort of downplayed it a little ("really? you think?") i just wasn't ready to tell her yet i've actually been trying to lose weight! but it was very nice that she noticed without my saying a word.

i will definitely try and make it here everyday to chat with you ladies. you all seem like very nice, supportive people!

LBH, belated congrats on your marriage and pregnancy! i have read a few of the personals ads online but i never had the courage to write to any of them. i just don't feel quite good enough about myself to look for a relationship. i've been single for 5 years now after a pretty bad breakup. for a while i was turned off to relationships completely but now i'm starting to hear that biological clock ticking away... who knows, maybe someday!

Hello Everyone!

First of all, welcome

LAHopeful! It's nice to see new people on this thread. Some of the girls here are very married and with lots of kids or PG, others, like me are also single and 30 something. This is a nice place for support when you are trying to lose weight , so tell us something more about yourself, like why you are trying to lose weight and how, ask questions, or put in a more detailed profile somewhere. You'd be surprised how many of us are more or less feeling or have felt like you might do!

RR, Tech is right, some people should have a Mammogram earlier. I had one a few years ago, but as it doesn't run in my family, I have to do one only every so many years.

KarenK, what's Curves like where you do it? Here it mainly means doing floor exercizes on music...Glad you like it!

Eliza, you're almost there, If you've got the maintaining thing right, that's 70% of it!

Lizzard, what's up with the Personal training thing? you did anything about that?

BORINGBORINGBORING day today in the office, cloudy in Athens and expecting rain (I hope not the awful rain we had last month), 30 degrees Celcius, but tonight I'm starting hockey again with my friend Sara AND she brought me a present from Portugal (handpainted tile to hang up that she painted herself, she's an artist)! I also visited my best friend, who is in the middle of a move (different appartment same neighbourhood), and we had a very nice time between boxes and junk catching up. I went shopping, too (discount 50% period) and bought myself a long black clingy office skirt in size s (hehe!), but stretch so it fits!! I had been eyeing up that skirt for ages, and got it at half price, shopaholics dream!

Love to all, Vassiliki (AKA Zorba the Greek), fromadeeGreese

Hi All,

All I have to say right now is it's pouring rain...and is supposed to be like this through Monday, and I don't wanna go to work!

Hi everyone and welcome LA!!! This board is great for all different kinds of support not just weight loss. I had a great meeting with the trainer. I'm very lucky and where I work we have a free gym with free personal trainers so I really have no excuse. Here's what she said...this will be kind of long, I hope that's okay...

First off we went over my eating weaknesses -- too many simple carbs at supper and candy bar cravings during PMS. DH & I are really good about staying away from fast food -- we rarely eat it since we both love to cook. For the carbs her recommendations were for me to chose smaller portions (knew this one already but obviously that strategy isn't working for me ) or to eat my meat and veggies first -- don't even put the pasta/rice on my plate. Then when I'm done with the "good" foods I can go back for a small helping of carbs. For the candy cravings I'm going to have better choices on hand -- still sweets but not as high cal/high fat as a big Snickers. I found these Kudos bars at the store and they're kind of like mini rice krispie treats with m&m's or snickers -- only 100 cals & 3 grams fat. They're really good!! She also told me to pay attention to the low/no fat items cuz they can be really loaded with calories. I normally only look at the fat number on the label but she said I should pay attention to how much sugar, calories, and carbs I'm getting too.

Then we went over my exercise program. Since I already go to the gym regularly this won't be too hard for me. Because I want to lose weight she recommended I stay with doing 3 days of 60 min cardio and 2 days 20 min intense cardio and 40 min weights. I'm bad about always using the treadmill so she wants me to mix it up a lot and we picked some different cardio machines for me to do like the versi-climber and stair-climber (it's not a stair-stepper, it's much harder). I've always stayed away from those two cause they make me work too hard.

On my weight training days I'm going to switch it up and do the cardio last. For almost two years I've always done it the opposite. Next Wednesday I'm meeting with her again and we're going to go over a specific weight training plan she wants me to do. Since I have lower back problems she's going to help me strengthen that area.

I feel much better and am a bit more focused. Although I'm not acting on it right now. Last night I went out and had a few beers, wings and fried mushrooms. This weekend is my b-day so I'm not going to worry about everything and just have fun. Friday I'm taking a half day vacation and volunteering at a National Kidney Foundation Golf Tournment with some friends and this weekend we have the big NKF Surfing Festival so me and DH are going to be there helping out wherever they need us.

Have a great Labor Day everyone!!!!

good morning, ladies!

liz it sounds like you've got a great service there with your gym and the trainers. i work from home so all i have is me and.. well, the sidewalk

i've wanted to try curves for a while, but there isn't one that's very convenient to get to. i am moving in a few weeks and i think there's one near the new house. how much does it cost? do you pay yearly or per session? i've read a lot of posts from people who simply love it.

Greekgirl asked about why i want to lose weight. mostly cuz i'm just TIRED of looking this way. in college i weighed about 145 and at 5'4 that isn't really "thin" but i looked and felt great. since then, i've spent 7 years on my butt staring at computer screens for work and well.. you know the rest. so my goal is to get down to 150 where i know i'll be happy with myself and maybe feel confident enough to go out and look for mr. right.

LA is such a meat market. if you're not famous, rich, or of supermodel good looks, you pretty much can't get a date in this town. i'd like to get down to a size where i feel confortable enough with myself to strike up a conversation with the cute guy at the coffee shop or meet someone i've talked to online. right now i just feel too blah about myself to bother and if i don't want to bother with myself, why should i expect anybody else to

so that's where i am right now. i wanna lose this weight so i can feel good about myself and gain some sorely needed self-confidence! i know i'm a good person on the inside. i just need to take care of some issues on the outside

Hello all!!!

La--I met my husband through yahoo chat in 1999 and we were married one year in May...I am 24 weeks pg and expecting in Dec-...We are all here for support to each other and I promise, come Jan...I will be dieting again!!!!

Lauren--How are U???I have been pretty blah lately cuz of the "fat' comments...People make me crazy with the "boy, your face is soo full" or I cant believe Vicki is bigger than me now....etc etc...I cried all day yesterday...I Have gained 8 lbs as of 1 week ago and really dont feel big except for the belly...Telling an ED person they are fat is like pointing out the bottle of tequilla to an alcoholic...Honestly, the hardest thing about being pg, was preparing for the weight gain...I couldnt be happier though!!!!
On a happier note...Ms Kaleigh is kicking and rolling around..I could see her butt cheeks impression on my stomach when she pushed against it..It is tooo wild!!!!

Have a good one all!!!
RR

but how did y'all get the courage to meet your online mates? i've had a few conversations with men online but whenever the subject of meeting comes up, i freak out and generally bail. i'm always worried once they see me they'll give me that "look" and then that'll be that. i don't think i could handle that type of humiliation

Hey girls,

good morning! Talking about getting up early, I got up about 02.00 (your time). The truth is, whereas I have slept SOOOO much during my vacation, I am going back into my old habits of getting up at eight and sleeping at 01.30. This is a Greek thing, everybody starts living at about 22.00. E.g. on a weekday restaurant kitchens are open until.......01.00, kids run around until 23.00 -00.00 almost daily etc. Yesterday was different. i went to play hockey again for the first time in 2 months. When we finished we went for a beer, I oly had 1/2 glass. I'm not feeling sore today, either (only my hands from holding the stick), but is was very good stress relief especially now me a BF (notice the D has gone) are not having a good time together lately. We just don't agree on anything any more, it seems, and he keeps critisizing me for some things I cannot/do not want to change anyway about me and my life. Well, we'll see. This weekend I'm going away again,so I can keep filling up those batteries. I did have a nice surprise the day before yesterday: it turns out I have 1 week more of paid vacation than I thought (5 in total in stead of 4), so 1 have 1 week left to take later somewhere this year. I'like to go home (netherlands) for a bit, or Belgrade (Serbia) to see some friends...
I'v also started on the Meridia, it really curbs my appetite and I still feel good. My sister says she's also reacting very well to it, in combination with her eating plan (WW).

Lauren, think about it like this: would you like to go to work when the weather was wonderful? (That happens to me a lot).

Lizzard, Bravo! very good move! What the PT says makes a lot of sense, and her program seems very good.Set a goal for after your BD (congrats from now as I'm going to be away duing the weekend)

RR,how does it work? can you really see so much through a sack of water and a tummy? that's amazing!

LA, It's very difficult to get into gear when you are a bit depressed and feel bad about yourself, I used to feel bad about the way I looked and I was actually a thinner then than now. Now on the whole I feel better because I know what I'm worth so it somehow seems to show through and guys notice it. I'm not pretty, I'm not tall, I'm not thin, so I try to compensate it by being healthy, nice to people, well-dressed (most of the time), active (like becoming a member of a gym, going for walks, reading, going out or just hang out with (female and male) friends, do some charity work once a week). I'm not saying this always works, but it will make you feel that you are doing something with your life as well as getting you off your butt and away from the PC screen. Be positive. You haven't joined us for nothing! There's lots of guys about, but you have to out and meet them, in some way or another, first as buddies maybe...Waht are you doing for an eating plan? have you decided yet? think about what you could miss out on and what not, and then choose, or maybe look out for a dietician like Jul. There are many options and if you feel you don't know what's what any more, just ask!

Bye and have a nice weekend!!!

Hi All,

LA- I think RR and I have very different stories on how our relationships went, aside from the fact that we both met our DH's online! I signed up for a free 2 wk. trial on Matchmaker.com. I think it was less than a week later, I read DH's profile. He sounded really funny, and I noticed his bday was 2 days after mine. I was sick of sending emails to people only to either not get a response, or get something lame, or someone that didn't want to talk on the phone or meet! So instead of sending a long one, I sent one that simply said, Happy almost birthday from one crab to another! That's it! It was July 15th, 2 days before my bday, 4 days before his! He sent me an email back that same night. We emailed a couple more times through the next day, and he gave me his number. I called him the next night (the 16th), and we talked for a few hours, and made plans to meet on my birthday, the following night, which happened to be a Saturday! We met in the parking lot of a store down the road from me, he brought me a bouquet of mini-roses for my birthday. We played mini-golf, then went to a diner, then back to the parking lot and talked til 3:30 AM!! The rest is basically history! We got engaged on July 15th a year later, and married St. Patrick's Day 2001. My family loves him, his family likes me...his mom I think tolerates me!! (I'm not the good Catholic girl they wanted him to marry, but that's another story!)

Anyway, I like matchmaker because you fill out a detailed profile, one part is multiple choice questions describing yourself, the other part is essay questions. I liked that because even if he's totally BS'ing you, you get an idea if he's got half a brain just by the way he writes, punctuation, spelling, how long his answer is, etc.!

RR- I'm feeling really good actually! Yesterday I "felt" pregnant. I was wearing a button down shirt and really felt like I look it. Peter has moved up further now, he's right around my belly button, so I guess I'm starting to look PG too. I can feel "him", or at least, my uterus. Have only felt one occassion of a "kick". It was more of a "bloop", like when you take water from a water cooler and it goes bloop, you know what I mean? I said to DH, I guess that was him swimming up towards my belly button!! DH is going nuts, with the flashlight and putting his ear to my tummy every AM, squeezing, feeling, driving me nuts!! My shoes don't fit anymore!! I've been wearing sandals all summer, and the other day I went to put on some moccosins and they didn't fit!! My feet are not visibly swollen, like they were a few weeks ago, but my shoes just aren't comfy, so I've been wearing my sneakers everyday. I guess I'm gonna have to find some good, nice, white ones for work...maybe some black ones to blend in more?! And of course I can practically pee on command!

I'm sorry that people have been making such rude comments to you! I guess since I'm fat to begin with, I'm just hearing, Oh, you really look PG now! Because all the organs are pushed up, they're all in the "top roll" now. I've only had a couple people try to touch and one asked permission. I said there's nothing to feel!! It's hard, I know, but try to be proud of your growing belly!! Show it in style!! I know when mine gets nice and round (one roll, not two!), I'm gonna show it proudly!! (Not bare!! Just in maternity clothes!)

Gotta run!! Sorry for the book!!

TGIF!!!!!!!

i'm so glad the weekend is here. and a long one at that! i will be moving into a new house next week so i'm going to be shuttling back and forth this weekend, bringing over valuables and breakables i don't trust the movers with. those guys always seem to break something

thanks for your words, GG. i know i am a little down on myself right now. i think it has a lot to do with this city. it's so full of ridiculously attractive people, it makes us normals feel even LESS than normal. some girls are really nice but for the most part if you look like me they just stare at you as if it say "what do YOU think you're doing here?" it's enough to drive a person !!

i don't really have an eating plan, per se. it's just my own made up plan. i pretty much eat the same foods every day. bowl of cereal in the morning, veggie burger, veggie dogs or veggie ham and fat free cheese sandwich for lunch with some fruit, a low-fat granola bar as a snack and then grilled fish or chicken with steamed veggies for dinner and a small bowl of ice cream for dessert. one thing i have learned is i sure LOVE steamed veggies!

LBH, your story is very encouraging! i'm so happy you were able to meet somebody. a friend of mine has an online personals account, but you have to pay $25/mo to email people. he said if i ever see anybody i like though, he'll email them for me and tell them my email address

well, time to walk my dog and make lunch. hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Hi guys. I am rather proud of myself today. We had a really rough day at work and I really didn't want to go to Curves. I went anyway and it was great. There were a bunch of people there and everyone was talking. That was fun. I wish I could go everyday but school on Tues/Thur knocks me out.

LA: My husband and I also met online. I was a scuba diver (OK, so I only went about three times, but I was certified!!) and we talked online first about diving, then about other stuff. When I knew I was coming to NJ for an assignment (I'm an occupational therapist and I was traveling) we decided to get together to go diving. We've been together ever since and I wasn't thin then and I'm not thin now. I hear the same complaints from my thin friends though. I just think it's a combination of what GreekGirl said about getting out amongst the multitude AND your own mind set. When I stopped waiting/whining/worrying (not that I think you are any of those, that was my own personal situation) BOOM there he was. Wow, sorry for the sermon. We've just been talking a lot about it at work!!

Lauren/RR: Do you ever feel funny about telling people you met your DH online? I worry about encouraging people to do it and then something awful happening. We've all heard the stories.

I have a nice healthy WW chicken recipee cooking, fresh Jersey corn and a salad all waiting for me for dinner so I think I'm gonna go eat!! Have a nice evening all!!

Karen--I sometimes dont say, I met online cuz of the freaky people in the world..I actually met him at a hockey game where he was refereeing but it was easy cuz he told me he would be there...I say now..it would have to be in a very public place before I would consider anything if I was single now....

GG--You can actually feel a foot, hand or butt cheek through my stomach..Things are soooooo tight that it feels like the belly button is gonna pop anytime now...It is flat...I make DH not talk at night in bed cuz she moves around when she hears him!!!

Well, I am depressed and going to bed early...DH went back home to Mich and this is the first time since marriage that we are not sleeping together...It is just until Monday, but I dont think I will handle the 10 days when he goes to China very well in Oct since I will be 7 weeks from delivery!!!!!

Have a great weekend!!!
RR