Patti - have a great time while you are away, are you going in the truck?

Peggy - ah yes it does sound rather more like you have just been doing way too much, plus of course TOM is visiting. I never realised that thyroid meds actually work the other way around, possibly making you hyper rather than tired. So my suggestion was just so daft :dizzy: Well I'm glad it's not the meds anyway, resting up a bit and TOM leaving is far easier than 'tweaking' meds :yes:

Catherine - oh boy, I could NEVER diet if I lived downwind of a donut shop!! Actually the only way I might be able to do it is eat so many donuts in a day that I would never want to look at another one again let alone eat it :rofl: It IS hard to diet though when you are bombarded with the lovely smells of food you would love to be eating but know you can't.

I know yo yo dieting sucks, especially if you gain back a huge amount of weight, and don't the nutritionists say that years of yo yo dieting makes it so much harder to actually lose weight because of totally confusing our metabolisms? I guess we are proving them wrong, look at you, over 200 lbs lost, and me with 100, our metabolisms haven't given up on us yet :D As for 2.5 years down the line when you go for your citizenship, I am positive you will be a normal size by then and you'll proudly be at that ceremony, definitely not feeling like they think they are swearing in a dud!! No matter what your weight, Canada has done itself a huge favour letting you in :yes:

How wonderful of your hubby to make those enquiries about you finishing your course by correspondence, and that you will be able to do it. It will be an amazing feeilng for you, and I'm so happy you are going to do it :hug:

Michelle - would the docs consider removing all of the moles on your hubby's body, or are there just too many. Here I think they only remove them if they are suspect ones, but I think if there was a history of pre cancerous cells they might be inclined to remove the normal ones anyway if the patient was that concerned. Heck I've heard of a woman having her breasts removed because her mum, sister and gran had all had breast cancer. So if they can remove healthy but 'at risk' breasts you'd think they wouldn't mind removing some at risk moles? I am sorry that hubby and yourself have this worry over the latest 'suspect' mole, and I just hope it all turns out OK like last time :hug:

I hear you on your mum and her concern for your health because of your size. My mum was a sweetheart, she only ever told me how concerned she was about my size once I was on a diet. Then she'd say, thank god I was losing the weight because she worries so much about me. It's one of the reasons I am so sad that she passed away before I got to my goal weight. I would love to have seen her again but at a healthy size, one where I know she would no longer be worrying about me dying because of being so fat. I know your mum has your well being at heart, but she does seem a little tactless about the way she reminds you of how you need to lose weight. I know you told her that she was rude, maybe it would take another family member telling her that before it sinks in. She probably thinks you're just being oversensitive??

I wish I could be more like you and stay away from the scales altogether. I did try weighing monthly once, but after being OP like an angel for a month and finding I hadn't lost ANY weight, but actually had gained, well it was too upsetting. I would rather know that there's problems early on so I can try to figure out what I'm doing wrong sooner rather than later. But that nasty surprise on the scales is what stops me being a monthly weigher now. It's got to be a weekly thing for me. But how people cope with daily WIs I honestly don't know!!

Ok gotta go, but I'll try to post again before bed time.

Hugs,

Ammi :chicken:

I told you all about a guy that was harassing Andrew at work. Well, he suffers from depression, and it really wasn't good for him. In fact, his doctor is giving him 3 weeks off, so he'll get pay as well, since he's union. It'll really be good for him.

We're going to be going to the gym together, since he has this time off, too, which I love.

Today, I went shopping with my friend Susan, and when I got back, Andrew & I planted some flowers in our little pots to put on the balcony. We got some morning glories, so they'll climb up the poles outside, and some buttercup daisies. :)

Copying tons of WW recipes from the website, since I have that free trial, and it ends tomorrow. I've gotten probably about 500 recipes so far! :D

It was another GORGEOUS 85 degree day today, but we have some BIG storms heading our way. I love storms! :)

Some personals before I go back to copy/paste some more recipes into Word!

Jill - That's what I'm hoping! I do the circuit training at the gym...you know, going around on all the machines around the room...hopefully, it'll help me tone up as I slim down. :crossed: I hear ya about the legs! I'm very self conscious about mine. They big, but VERY toned, since I carry around this heavy load all day long! LOL! Would you mind messaging me with the name of the site? I'm looking for a more complete database, so I can make a log of points values for loads of things. :) Enjoy your evening out!! :)

Zelma - Creepy crawlies...creep me out! lol...I'd probably get used to it if I had to, but it would take a LONG time! Congrats for volunteering!!! It must be so nice to not have to worry about your size interfering with things, and just doing more things you love, and not feeling self conscious. Kudos to you! I hope one day to join you with that mentality! ;)

Vicki - CONGRATS on losing half of what you gained back! That's fantastic! I'm so sorry to hear that you've recently gone through a breakup. :hugs: I hope you find an apartment you love soon!

Ammi - Back on track!! Fantastic! Lol about hubby...my Mom has a similar complaint! She'll exercise, and eat healthy, and my stepdad will be the one to lose the weight, when his diet/exercising stays exactly the same! MEN! BAH!

Catherine - That is really fantastic news about school! How soon are you looking to finish it up?

Michelle - That's great that you'll get to see your Mom after all this time. I hope that she doesn't stress you out too much!

Bloomer- Welcome!!!

Kayley and Peggy! Congrats on your losses that is AWESOME!!

Lesley- awesome on the appt!

Sandy- do you like your shakes? I have shakes I need to drink with my plan, but I'm not sure if they are soy or not ha! I guess I should read the box one of these days eh?

Zelma- Spiders give me the creeps! LOL

Ammi- thats awesome that you have stayed OP. You have done an awesome job with your weight loss, keep it up!

Now onto me! I had a busy weekend! Saturday we made an attempt with the twins at soccer which ended up in them crying yet again. So I made the decision to take them out and we'll try again next year. They are the youngest on their team and not 5 until December, so maybe thats why they don't like soccer! :) On mothers day my dad took the kids and I and mom out to a brunch! It was really good and they did have some things that I could eat like salad, fruit and eggs. So I filled up on that! The rest of the day mom , the kids and I did yard work. I got a tad bit burnt on one side of my face so I look silly :D Today I went into the center and I have lost another 2.5lbs so down 10lbs in 2 weeks! yay! I think Kayley is right and I will be at my July 1st goal way before! (which is fine with me) :carrot:

Right after I posted, it got extremely dark out, and the storms headed in. The sirens in town were going off, and as haven't lived in a bigger city before, we didn't know WHAT they were for! We knew there was a tornado warning, so we were kinda freaked out. We went downstairs, and were looking out at the storms (everyone was!), and one of our neighbors told us that those sirens are just going off for severe storms, to let people know to get INSIDE ASAP! We watched the storms for a little bit, and then came back up to our apartment. The wind has died down, and it's just thundering/rainy now. Whew.

Jenn - Sounds like you had a really nice Mother's Day! I hope the twins have better luck with soccer next year. They are so young, I think it was the best decision to take them out for this year. CONGRATS on that loss!!!!! Only 13 pounds to your mini goal!!!

Good evening everyone!

Thanks goodness my two commuting days are over and I don't go back in to the office for two more weeks! I stayed op again today...it's definitely about the planning.

Jill - Could you also private message me the name of the site you are using? I'd like to take a look at their food lists and tracking, etc. I am not a big fan of Fitday. Thanks in advance!

Ammi - I LOVE :m: that's partly why I picked that! I could eat myself into a chocolate coma very easily. I hear you about men and weight, too...it's just not fair!:tantrum: I am one of those that do daily WI, basically for the same reason you do weekly ones. I don't obsess about the number necessarily....as long as there is something I can contribute it to. Water gain or TOM or whatnot. But, if I have been op and don't see a change for several days, I might tweek my calories or bump up the water or excercies a bit more. I know that they say weekly is better, but daily just seems to work for me. :dunno: I only record on my weight loss chart once a week - on Fridays.

Catherine - I usually don't mind the commute. I live in a fairly rural area and only have to pass through the outskirts of one big city. Otherwise, the driving probably would bother me more. I have considered staying overnight when I've had to be in the office for two or more days at a time, but I like to be home for my kids...so I drive. Congratulations on planning to finish up your degree!

Michelle - I hear you on the mom thing. 'Nough said. :)

To everyone else...I hope you all had great op days! Take care of yourselves!

Cris

Jenn, Yes I like my shakes. I have Advanta Edge Soy Protein shakes.
Since I have a terrible sweet tooth I add a couple sweet n lows to it. Or a banana or strawberries in the vanilla. The chocolate is good too. The colder they are the better. I don't know why, but they are. I buy it at Walmart. Sorry the twins don't like soccer. My Abby loves softball and basketball but didn't want to play softball this spring. It actually worked out for the best since I won't be able to drive for 2 weeks.

Kayley, I too, love storms! I appreciate their power and just love the wind.
Crazy, huh? We missed the bad storms, but they had some rough ones a little north of us.

Scarlett Drawl :welcome3: I love it here. It's a life saver.

Cris, I've been so busy getting ready for surgery, I've no clue how our boy Jason is doing or even the Red Sox in general. Glad your commuting is done for a little while.

Mechelle, It's not my mother, cuz we don't speak, but it's my dad. I told him when I'd lost 25 pounds and he asked me where from. I was so hurt. I don't know if I should just never mention it anymore or tell him where I'm at and then tell him how hurtful it is when he's so mean.

Catherine, I'll keep it in mind about the walker. I know my dad has at least one, but I don't know how much I want to deal with his negativity at the moment. It's really cool about finishing your degree. Good luck to you, but you won't need it. You'll do wonderfully.

I did ok today. But everything felt weird. I'm under my calories, but it just fells like I wasn't. Does anyone else ever experience this feeling?

Ok, The Country Music Awards are on and I gotta go.
Hugs,
Sandy

Wow, you all are a chatty bunch; I don't think I could have caught up to it all! :lol:

It got up into the low 80's here today, but somehow, I got in a one hour workout! A two-mile walk in 30 minutes and then strength training for another 30. I guess time flew while I was having fun.

One thing nice about warm weather is that I am less inclined to eat, which I think is what may have caused me to have a doozy of a headache yesterday. I made sure to at least have a small snack today, and no more headache. Of course my blood sugar yesterday being only 68 didn't help matters any either. Good thing I had some Slim Fast snack bars around....and I'm having a bowl of Kashi right now to tide me over until breakfast tomorrow. Lesson learned.

The good part of all this? Being able to use a "normal" scale and tape measure again..and sitting in chairs with ARMS!

Michelle-my mom gets those things on her forearms. About once a year she goes in and they shave them all off. He may have to have that done for the rest of his life. Just stay on top of it, and they won’t progress to dangerous. It sounds like we have the same mom. I haven’t spoken to her since November 2004 in part because of that. She always asks if I am still on my diet. It doesn’t help.

Ammi-There is one thing at the neighborhood Portuguese bakery that I can eat. They make meringue cookies that run 25 calories a piece. They are mostly egg white and vanilla. I couldn’t do it every day, but they are a nice treat that I don’t have to feel guilty about. Himself gets the day old pastry bags. Today there was a cinnamon roll, 2 pieces of apple strudel and two tarts that were made from Seville oranges in his sack for $1.50. As for my metabolism, it seems to only know how to shut down. I find I have to literally go off the diet now and then just to stoke it up again. I was please to see that the Weight Control Registry said that many of the people who have maintained their weight loss have a history of yo-yo dieting and were chubby as kids. It is possible to overcome it, it just seems so hard at times. I didn’t even know that my husband had contacted the college until I got an email from them. They are even going to underwrite about 80% of the tuition for me. He doesn’t have that male gene where they can’t ask for directions. He will stick his head onto the bus and ask the driver if it goes a certain place, he’ll ask clerks where things are in stores, it just amazes me. My father was like that. If someone got a new car on the block, he’d just go right up and ask them what it cost without the least bit of shame. My mother was mortified, but always loved the gossip he’d dig up.
I can’t wait to get started on my classes. If they will let me take both of them this summer, I’ll finish them both up by fall.

Kayley-I hope to finish as soon as possible. If they sent me the books today, I’d have them finished by the end of the week I’m so excited. The two classes are Christology and Creeds. Both are senior 4 level classes. I had about half of Christology already. It was the one I had to drop when I got hurt. I’m already thinking about where I want to take my masters from. I grew up in Oklahoma, and when the air raid sirens went off that meant that a tornado had been sighted, and we were supposed to seek shelter. For us that meant running out to the front porch to watch with all the other neighbors.

Jenn-I’m sure I’m prejudiced, but I’ve always believed it isn’t a sport if you can’t touch the ball with your hands. I did little league with my foster sons. Wearing helmets and getting to whack things with a big bat just really stroked their animalistic natures.

Scarlett-Welcome! You will find it a lot easier to get pregnant if you lose weight. I understand about be exhausted just carrying yourself around. I got to the point where I could barely get up at all.

Sandy-There are times that I can’t seem to eat any more calories even when I know I haven’t eaten enough, and other times that I feel like I could eat all day and not get full. I try to listen to my body. I never have in the past, so it has been hard, like learning a foreign language. Today for instance, I just knew that I needed something sweet. I actually get low blood sugar problems at times. I carry my weight really low, and don’t have that quick energy reserve in my stomach area that people with large middles do. I have found when I get like that, and have these energy drop outs that if I even just east a 16 calorie packet of sugar or a 20 calorie jolly rancher that I get my energy right back again.

I am up late here. So I thought I would pop on over here and catch up on the thread.:)

AMMI~Thanks so much about DH. I am sure it will all be fine. He does have a bunch of freckles like me. But a couple more on his arms are sort of changing colors and crusting just like the first one that was pre-melanoma. So we want to get those off soon! But for the most part we are just keeping an eye on all of the rest. I still have many I need biopsied myself. Thank God for health insurance!:)
I really know my mom just wants me to be happy. But I really think if it wasn't weight she would find something else to hound me about. We really do get along but she is just really mean at times. Its like I know I am fat but there are other things in life going on as well! The bad thing is I am the biggest out of my family on both sides and my parents have both always been really thin/athletic. So they all think they need to remind me of my size all of the time. It gets old to say the least.
With the WI I know what you mean. I just put mine away because I was having a horrible time with other health problems. And I would start to feel like even a one pound gain was a complete failure. So I decided to make simple changes. I really do feel I need to get aggressive. I really hope I am not allowing stress in my life to be an excuse to not give weight loss my all. I guess all we can do is keep on trying. Again you will lose those pounds and hopefully I will get under 300 one day!!:lol:

KAYLEY~Thanks I am sure mom will behave when she comes to visit. Hopefully!:lol: I am sorry to hear someone was doing that to Andrew. Maybe the time off will help him some. Also that is great he will still get paid. Good thing you guys didn't get into a really bad storm! And WTG on all that exercise!

JEN~Wow that is great losing 10 pounds in two weeks! :bravo: :congrat:

Scarlett~:welcome: Glad you joined!

CRIS~I bet you are glad you are done commuting for a while. And WTG on being OP!:cheer2:

SANDY~I am sorry your dad is like that. My dad is also like that. He just doesn't understand how someone can get so big. Oh and he expects me to drop 200 pounds a month.:rolleyes: I try not let my parents ignorant comments get me down. But it can be really hard.

CATHERINE~I think you are right. He will just have to be really constant on watching them. I am the same way. I have a rather large birthmark that they want to start to biopsy. It seems never ending at times. But I will forever where my sunscreen now! I am sorry your mom is like that as well. It really amazes me how my family acts about my weight. I really think they think I am just not "aware" that I am carrying around 200 extra pounds.


Well I am off to get some sleep. I hope you ladies have a wonderful day tomorrow. Take care and stay OP!:hug:

Good Morning everyone
Just dropping in to say hello. I rushed home from work last night sick with the stomach flu. I couldnt even drink water but after a while managed some chicken broth and it helped so I crawled into bed and just woke up now. I am still not sure how I am feeling but I went and had some kashi and a banana just to see how it stays. I havent decided if I am going to work tonight or not, I guess it depends on how I feel in a little while. Just wanted to catch up reading before I fall behind. I'll pop in later for more...

Brenda

Good morning everyone! It's a bit cooler out today....only 46 degrees, and it's 11am! Yesterday, it was about 80 at this time! Crazy weather. Have a sink full of dishes that need to get done, and a bunch of other FUN stuff to do...bleh!

Brenda - I hope some rest will make you feel better!

Michelle-Having to stay constantly vigilant with stuff just makes me realize how old I am, and that the warranty expired some time ago. Think of yourself like an old classic car – always in need of some work, but worth the effort.

Brenda – Yikes, get well soon.

Kayley – When you are working or in school, it is easy to let stuff go. Once you’re off, it is like you look around and think that there is no reason not to have all that fun stuff taken care of. It will make you want the new school year to start soon.

Just popping in!

Brenda dear, relax and get better soon! I haven't had any kind of tummy thing in a long time (knock wood) but I remember how fun it isn't!

WI today showed me maintaining at 219.5. I should be pleased. I'm sure the Mexican food I gave myself all 35 flex points for last Friday was probably higher than that. Heck, there was about an entire BRICK of melted Monterey Jack on it. But I'd really wanted that loss, even 1 lb. :( Oh well, I'll get 'em next week!

Keep at it ladies! Onward and Downward! :wave: