Ammi -- I've gained back a few pounds in the past month or so. Let's say 4. Not a lot. But enough that the clothes I bought that just about fit when I bought them no longer fit!

I'm trying to get back on track, but my work schedule has still been crazy and stressful, and so that's only been so successful.

But, I am relieved by a couple of things:
1) I went a couple of weeks where I didn't write down my food like I normally do. I know I ate more than I need to maintain (obviously, as I gained). But most days I ate just more of the healthy stuff. There were only a few days when I ate a lot of "junk".

2) I think with only 2 exceptions, on every day I brought my lunch and snacks to work. This is a key to me to not eating the "junk" (see #1 above) and being healthy.

3) In the time I've been working so hard, I have not exercised as much as I used to, but I haven't given it up entirely. So that's good.

So, bad habits have creeped in, yes. I'm eating too much and not exercising enough.

But, it's been at least 6 weeks of struggle and I gained back 4 pounds. While not a trend I want to continue, it is not the End of the World. I can get it back.

I'm hoping that next week after our term ends that I will be better able to refocus. To plan more and exercise more.

And, after I do THAT, I need to figure out how not to have this happen every year, as next spring term is going to be very very busy too. So, at some point I will turn my attention there...

wow. it was helpful to write this all out.

Good morning everyone! :wave:

I just got home a little bit ago after finishing the Race for the Cure. It was a great experience! I have to admit I started off a little down because the friend who was supposed to be walking it with bailed out on me at the last minute and I had to go by myself. I will admit that I almost didn't go but when I thought of all the people who had supported me through their donations ($1300+) I just couldn't let them down. Not to mention, it would really kickstart my June exercise goal!

So I got up early and got myself to the Race. I used to do this one, along with March of Dimes and the American Heart Walk every year. I used to LOVE doing these races because they are a good cause, they are a challenge, and you feel a real spirit of comraderie doing them. Since gaining so much weight, I had stopped doing them. All I can say is I am SO glad I did the Race this year. For one thing, I was OVERWHELMED at the support offered to me in the form of donations. It was much more than I expected. I had set my fundraising goal at $500 and didn't think I'd even be able to get that. In the end, I was able to raise over $1300. It was amazing.

Once I got to the Race and saw the thousands of people there all walking for the cause I was so moved. It is especially moving to see all the people who wear t-shirts or banners because they are walking In Celebration of someone who has been cured or In Memory of someone who was lost. And then you have the survivors who are there walking. It is just incredible. I tear up thinking about it now. There we whole families of people there wearing signs like "In Celebration" or "In Memory" of their family member or friend.

On top of all the racers, you have all the people who come out to support the racers. There were people handing out water to us (and for the doggies that were along for the walk) and cheering us on. Some of the local schools sent their cheerleading squads to cheer for us. There were various bands playing music along the way. It was just great and I can't wait to do it again!!!!


Kayley - :bday2you: Man, oh, man....21 years old. Was I ever 21? I must have been, but it's been a long time. :lol:


Ammi - Love your snazzy new haircut and that smile on your face! :) Sounds like you are back in the right frame of mind and will back to 100+ lost in no time. We all have our setbacks. I guess the key in nipping them in bud before they get too out of control, which is exactly what you have done. Well done! Hope you are feeling better soon. :hug:


Nancy - Good luck apartment hunting today. "There's no place like home" as they say and I hope you find yours soon! :hug:


Valerie - :congrat: on the new full time job with bennies!


Misti - Glad to hear you are back on track at the pool. You'll be making progress on that next 10 pound goal soon!


Annie - When do we get to see your new hair color? ;) I love to see the gals out here trying new hairstyles and colors. I think it is a sign that you are feeling good about yourselves.


Angela - :welcome: to our little corner of 3FC. Nice to have you.



OK, I've gotta go take a shower and get ready for the rest of my day. HOpe you all have a great weekend!

Annie-When Simpson’s first came out a lot of religious groups were opposed, and now they are supportive of it. It’s the only traditional family left on TV. She’s a stay at home mom, 2.5 kids, they go to church every week, have had lots of chances to have affairs, but haven’t had. She even drives a station wagon and does bake sales. Although I understand that in the new Simpson’s movie, Bart is going to do full frontal. As for sewing, I just have good tools, and follow the instructions very carefully.

Kayley-Grief is a big issue for me too. After my dad died when I was your age, I put on about 100 pounds in 6 months. Grief counseling can help if you feel like you get “stuck” for too long.

Brenda-I’ve got some things that need painting if you get bored.

Nancy-I love Atlantis, but we get them a year behind here. We get British soap operas that way too. As for tacos, you can also try the soy substitute. Corn tortillas are not that bad until you fry them, but just put them in the microwave. A minute or 2 depending on your oven, and they will be crispy. Flat you can make tostadas with a spoonful of fat free refried beans out of the can, or get one of those microwave bacon cookers, and drape them over to make a taco shell. You can usually find one used at the Good Will. I also use a microwave muffin tin for cooking eggs in. A fourth of a cup of egg whites and a spoon full of salsa in each cup, a minute per cup, and then a slice of fat free cheese and a slice of vegetarian Canadian bacon on a whole wheat English muffin makes up breakfasts for the whole week.

Valerie-Full time is good, benefits are great.

Ammi-When I’m off, I find I catch cold easier. I didn’t even have the flu this year. I’m sure it was because I actually got a flu shot this year. In the US, I hadn’t been able to have one in years because of rationing. It certainly wasn’t because I was OP all winter, far from it. I think it is time for me to make a big change. I either need to go atkins for awhile, or vegetarian or something. I have to find an exercise I can live with without hurting myself, and some kind of diet change. I think one of the main problems I’m having is low energy. The doctor ordered my thyroid checked again. I may need that increased, but I know that isn’t the only issue. I will eat just to get the energy to do what I need to. It’s time to quit waiting for something to be different, and for me to make a change. I’ve had to do this many times in the past, I’m just too tired all the time.

I’m going to put my feet up to rest them to get ready to work the Police concert tonight.

Hi everyone. Ammi and Heather, let's just say I am VERY envious of the two of you for having gained back such a small amount. LOL I am not telling but it is BAD news. :) But I'll get back in gear and lose it again.

Angela, thanks for the encouraging words. Unfortunately I am WAAAAAY over what my ticker says now but I HAVE lost 6 pounds my first week back on track. I am just too stubborn to move my ticker back up and I WILL get back down to that AND move the ticker on down.

Hugs to all
Sue

Nancy: Good Luck arartment hunting.

Val: Yipee on that girl almost for sure getting her another job. I hope she does. Good luck sweetie.

Sue: You go girl.

Ammi: Feel better soon hun.

Xena: I am so proud of you for doing the walk. I will try to have my DH take a photo of my hair soon. It really isn't too much different just a bit lighter.

Catherine: I hadn't heard that about Bart in the movie. I don't understand why they would want to do something like that. I think it will turn more people off of their tv show than onto it. I have good sewing tools too my friend. It does take some SKILL. lol.

Well, I am going to be getting ready for my sister to come tomorrow. I don't know how much I will be on line over this next week so everyone take care and stay op girls with lots of exercise.

Blessings to you all,
Annie

LOL I think that is the first time I ever heard The Simpsons being called a traditional family, but since you broke it down the way you did, I suppose YES they are!!

Happy Birthday Kayley! Glad you are having a good 21st, mine was boring, lol I sat home and drank a Smirnoff Ice by myself.:carrot:

Since I have a couple questions, I guess I can ask them here. Does anyone have a Myspace account? I do if you wanna add me. http://www.myspace.com/butterflyprincess211
also, what are good shoes for walking? I have wide feet and I bought a pair of New Balance and they hurt when I am walking? Any ideas?

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been around for a few days. My internet has been down. It's working now, if that's what you want to call it. It takes more than a minute to change the screen to the next page. I could almost send a snail :snail: mail faster. I'm about 5 pages behind so I probably will just read and not comment on the personals. :sorry: Hope everyone is doing ok. :)

Hi ladies
Just wanted to pop in and say a quick hi! hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Happy Birthday Kaley:)
ANNIE: congrats on the wt loss, your doing awesome!
XENA: Good for you doing the walk despite the fact your friend bailed, thats great!
Good to see you posting, BRANDNEWME & MISTI
As for me, im fine. my weigh in last week was ok, i lost 1lb. i wish it was more, but i will take it. i have recommitted to becoming more diligent in my food and excersise choices, so hopefully i will see a bigger lose this week:) its funny how sometimes lately i am seeing a big difference in clothes(fitting correctly) and less difference in wt. oh well, im in for the long haul, no matter how long it takes.
anyway, i hope everyone is good. have a great weekend:)

Just wanted to wish a great big Happy 21st to my fellow Gemini before the night is out...hope you had a fantastic day Kayley!!

Happy birthday Kayley! Hope it's been a great one!

Kayley... just wondering how your head feels this morning... I remember my legal birthday... a quart of tequila later I was NOT well :lol: Hope u had a good night!

Hello All,

I hope everybody is feeling better than me right now. I don't even know why I am on here and not sleeping :lol: I think it's because I know if I get too far behind on my emails and posting here it will take me forever to catch up. So, I think I'll have an hour online then it will be nap time :yes:

Heather - you have done brillianty to only put on 4 lbs in all that time. Me, I can gain 7 lbs in a week, I'm terrible. I think you will definitely lose that 4 lbs in no time, and I'm glad that writing down all that you have been doing right and wrong helped you. I know this will sound silly, but I keep a journal of what I eat and my exercise and the last book I was using I didn't like lol. I didn't like the feel of it, I didn't like the look of it, I only bought it because at the time it was the only one I could get. I didn't write neatly in it, I really didn't like it. I bought a new one in preparation of getting back on track on Friday, and I love it :rofl: It's a pleasure to write in, and although a silly thing, it IS helping me stay on track. How daft am I :crazy:

Xena - how are you feeling today after doing that walk, are your feet aching? We have a similar walk over here called Walk For Life, and I too always get moved when I see the t-shirts/signs etc that people have. I am so glad you went on the walk despite your friend dropping out and that you enjoyed it so much. It's wonderful too how much money you raised, you did great :cp:

Thanks for the compliments on my new hair cut, I was so fed up of wearing it back in a pony tail when it was longer. I'm 39 this year and think I'm way too old for a kiddy hair style lol :rofl:

Thanks too for what you said about my set back, I DID nip it in the bud finally, and I am looking forward to my next WI on Friday to see the scales going down again instead of up :yes:

Catherine - I'm so sorry that you are feeling such a lack of energy. It's so hard to even think about dieting and exercising let alone doing it when you just haven't got the energy. I was like that right up until I finally got on the right meds for my depression. Oh I tried to diet and I would even drag myself out of bed for half an hour to exercise, but then I would spend the rest of the day in bed sleeping. Not conducive to being active and losing weight. I was so glad to finally get the right meds and to actually want to NOT go to bed unless I was tired. It made all the difference to my diet and once I got started I was zooming along. I hope that whatever is causing your lethargy, be it your thyroid or anything else, that you will find out soon, and that something can be done to help :hug:

I know what you mean about getting ill when you are off plan. When I am OP I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, off plan I eat a lot of junk. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there was a link there to why I haven't fought off the cold germs now :yes:

Sue - have you told anybody how much you gained back? I only ask because personally I did think about not telling what I gained, but the more I thought about it the more I realised that I NEEDED to tell. I wanted a fresh start, I wanted to change my tickers here, and doing that really has helped me get back on track. Well whatever you did gain back, I am positive you will lose it again, you've done so well already, like me you had a set back, now you are back in control :yes:

Annie - have a wonderful time with your sister. I'm sure you will really enjoy having her to exercise with too. Pop on here when you can especially on your WI day. We'll all want to know how much you've lost :hug:

Scarlett - no gain at TOM sounds like it'll mean a loss when you do have your next official WI. :goodluck:

Kayley - those two drinks sound yummy. Like Brenda I too am wondering how your head is this morning :rofl:

Angela - My mum wanted me to have a party for my 21st, by BF wanted me to himself, so I declined the birthday. Instead he came to the house, I cooked HIM a meal, and ended up getting a nasty burn from chip fat. Not the most brilliant 21st a girl could have :no:

Yep I have a MySpace account, so I've sent a request to be added to your friends list. The request will come from Annme.

cdncatlover - how come your Internet is so slow? Are you on dial up? It must be soooooo frustrating having to wait so long for the pages to change. It would drive me nuts :dizzy:

Kymberly - :cp: well done on the lb lost. Any loss is better than a gain and it gets you that much closer to your final goal. Are you working out at the gym or doing toning exercises more than before? If so, then that's probably why you are finding your clothes are fitting more loosely even though the scales aren't showing big losses.

Time for me to go catch up on some emails now. I hope everybody is having a lovely Sunday. Take care all,

Hugs,

Ammi :chicken:

Thanks Ammi... yes, I told my best friend and now in a PM I told YOU. :) Maybe someday I will confess publicly but I am not there yet LOL.

Hugs
Sue