Battleax: I hope you have a wonderful flight! Just try to be calm and realize that although it doesn't happen to you every day, the airlines are accustomed to larger people flying. Hugs.

Meta: Yep, I have such a deep fear of "not fitting" into things that I have became a hermit practically. I have no problem going to the pool but I am too scared to go to a movie, play, well, just about anything. Luckily my church doesn't have arm chairs or I wouldn't go there.

Cris: Good job having an op day so far. I hope the rest of your day was also op!

Debbie: Whoop Whooop to you on making your first mini goal!

Nancy: Feel better real soon. I am guessing that about 24 or so hours should be enough for something to pass through your system. I hope you are good as new tomorrow hun. Hugs.

Catherine: What great news about it being easier to get back into shape. lol. I hope that is true! Huge, Huge congrats on not seeing the ERR on your scale. I see that daily and hope to not see it soon. Hugs.

Peggy: Ask them to check your potassium too. Mine was sooooo low the first time I had it checked it was almost not reading on the scale. Good luck hun.

Heather: I think it is so wonderful that you are feeling athletic. I am starting to feel that way when I swim now. lol. Maybe some day I will feel that way out of the water too.

Donna: So sorry about your tootsie! My sil has horrid knee problems and she went to Disneyland and was in so much pain when she got there but, they got her a wheel chair at the front and she got to be pushed around all day and was so much better for it. Plus she got to go on the rides 1st. tee hee.

Bootylicious: Come on hun. You can do it. We are all rooting for you to get back on track.

Brenda: Yummmmmm. Sounds good to me.

Balloonlady: Yep. You should challenge your hubby to a race of some kind that will take a month to do so you can both get some great workouts. Good luck.

Vortex: Have a great walk

Leslie: Hope you start enjoying your job more and more as days go by. Hugs.

Well, I have changed my ticker to reflect my 6 pound weight loss for this week. I met my 2nd 10% goal so I am thrilled. I didn't make 100 pounds yet. 1 more pound to go. lol. I am under 60 BMI which was my main thing to focus on for surgery. Next week I get to Eat legally. lol. Hope you are all doing wonderfully well.

Blessings,
Annie

Hello everybody!

Well I really wanted to keep my lazy butt plopped in bed but didn't want to get too far behind so decided to get up and do some personals. :yes:

Balloonlady, wow, what a neat bunch of balloons you have! I love the Christmas wreath and also the tables decorated in different shades of purple!

Heather, you and balloonlady are funny with your comments about your whiny hubbies sabotaging your exercise! :rofl: And so glad you are becoming athletic! :bike:

MetaChick, since you have three scales I guess I won't feel so silly with my two. :lol: I did put the battery in the new one tonight and compared, and the new one weighs me two pounds heavier. No big surprise as I had weighed at work and it was a bit higher too. Oh well could have been worse! :)

Annie, you are so not bragging! :) Hey this is the place you can COME and talk about your achievements and have people be happy for you and rejoice in your success. I know just what you mean as I too am really competitive. I was soooooo far ahead in my exercise goal but last week was really exhausting and with the heat I have not done a whole lot this week. Also I have to make a semi-emergency trip to Missouri leaving Friday and needing to get things done... but all I want to do is catch up on lost sleep that I've been missing in the heat. Oh well. Anyway, I am so proud of you for all you are doing and all the weight you have lost.

Ratkitten, glad you are keeping that treadmill smoking! Way to go! :woohoo: And as for all I am doing, I should point out that last week was unusual in having so much going at church all in one week. We always intentionally do the BBQ the week after the Mill Creek Festival since we want to invite everyone, and we do the dinner the second Thursday of each month, which fell the same week. I am very active, yes, but I could not keep up with things if it was always THAT busy! :nono:

BattleAx, I understand about the flights too! I am flying off on Friday to visit family, just a day ahead of you... I will be okay with the seatbelt on the larger plane but on the small commuter will probably have to ask for an extender, darn. :) Oh well. I hope you have a nice, safe trip. For plantar fascitis, one thing which helps is to take the paper off a Campbell's soup can and roll your foot around on it.

Cris, glad you are not getting the sweltering heat. LOL I am always HOT. We in the Seattle are know we are wimps when it comes to heat compared to what most of you have to live with but hey, okay we are wimps. :) I am soaking up the cold air from my new air con!

Debbie, I am sorry for the frustration you must feel with your situation, and I pray that things work out for you and you have the wisdom to know how to handle things. And that you don't go stark raving crazy in the process. :)

Nancy, glad you had a nice birthday, and yippee for you with your new air conditioner!! Enjoy!!! And hope you feel better soon.

Catherine... are you saying whoever shows up first is in charge of the kitchen? Wow, how does that work when you are in charge of the event? I don't quite understand. But ours is handled quite differently. We have one woman who is the leader of our "Helping Hands" team and co-leaders of different ministry functions under that umbrella. We have a woman in charge of the community dinner, assisted by the HH leader. But for whatever event... that or the Festival or whatever... we have sign-ups in advance and people say what they want to do (or they can say several they are willing to do and will get assigned where needed). At longer things such as the festival we are in shifts... I had a shift at the booth and a shift on the water wagon. We know in advance where our places are and everybody in their place. Of course it can be flexible -- if someone is unable to be there at the last minute or another need arises, we might be asked if we will fill another spot. Our team also is sooooo cooperative... people just jump up and start helping with cleanup or whatever is needed. I don't mean to imply we never have any problems or disagreements as of course we do, since we are all human :) but we quickly work them out, and the fact that our leaders have things so organized really keeps things rolling. But anyway, LOL, glad that you have that hubby trained, ha! :) And that you were able to get everyone settled down and things done. And LOL I love that you got your scales to behave. I may have to give mine a similar threat, only now I have TWO sets of them to deal with!

Peggy,sure hope you can get that thyroid stuff regulated soon! Wow do I understand! And for sure it DOES make a HUGE difference when you get the meds regulated right... voice of experience!

Debbie :hug: hope you feel better soon!

bodyToo, hope you are able to keep that "diet" light turned ON! Hang in there!

Brenda, I can't even imagine a deep fried Mars bar! :rofl: But glad you enjoyed yours! :) What do you BATTER it with?

Vortex, good for you for getting in your exercise! You go!

LitChick, believe me you are far from the only one of us who has trouble staying OP sometimes! You don't ever need to be embarrassed coming here! And for all my energy I would be happy to send some except it has all gone "crash" this week and I have spent most of my time except for work curled up in bed in front of my new air conditioner, either with a book or sleeping! Maybe I will have some to share later, ha!

Real, congratulations on having an OP day! :cheer:

Annie, yippee for you on 99 pounds down. It won't be long until you make it 100! Yay!

Blessings to everyone. I am off to bed again. LOL perhaps one reason my energy is down is that I am on overtime and having to get up at 3:40 every morning! Sheesh combined with heat I suppose it is kind of normal to be kind of tired when I get home, huh?

Hugs to all
Sue

Good morning girls
I got called in for the full day at work today. Good moneywise, not so good cause the chicks from HQ are there today. :lol: Oh well! I just need a day to sit and relax. After work I have to go out and get groceries and pick up a few other things so that I can stay OP this week. I am planning on letting loose on Saturday since we will be celebrating both my b-day and we have VIP passes for a big 10hr concert featuring AEROSMITH. Our VIP passes include all the booze and food you can eat. It is going to be quite the party. I am still going to make some healthy choices as there will be lots of veggie trays, steamed seafood etc but there will be lots of beer too :lol:

Anyhow, I guess I had better go and put my hot-rollers in and get my bootie ready to go to the store. The only good thing about it is that we got 22 boxes of new stock and I love times like that cause we can buy the clothes before we put them out and I am always needing new clothes! :)

sue~ I am thinking it is somewhat of a pancake batter?

Later girlies!

Nancy - Didn't you mention you had sushi while your friend was in town? I wonder if that is the culprit? Have you talked to your friend to see how she is feeling? That being said, you are the woman not feeling well and then I just saw you posted 60 minutes on the elliptical on the exercise thread. I can't do 60 on the elliptical in good health! :lol:
Annie - :hug: Congrats on hitting the 99 pound mark and your 2nd 10%. You're doing so well maybe you won't even need the surgery! I am so happy for you.

As for me, it's busy at work with quarter end. I succumbed to the pressure yesterday and ate tons of sweets. :devil: I am so frustrated with myself that I am not making progress. And I have no one to blame but myself. Tomorrow's my WI at WW and I am finally going to have to adjust my ticker then. I am definitely not at 18 pounds down. Got to get my focus back to one day (or even one minute) at a time.

OK, have a great day everyone.

Buenos Dias Chicas,

Sue: Sorry about the semi-emergency trip. I hope everything is okay. I will pray for you.

Brenda: Have fun at Aerosmith. I bet they put on a great concert.

Xena: Thanks, hugs. Good luck at WW weigh in. I hope it isn't as bad as you fear. Hugs.

Well, it is 6 a.m. and I need to go start the water on the front yard. I only have until Noon before I need to turn it off for the day until 6 p.m. They have a thing set to save water in this city.

Blessings all,
Annie

Annie -- Congrats on the 99 pounds down!!!

Brenda -- Enjoy Aerosmith! One of my favorite groups to listen to on the ipod! Really rocking!

Good Morning Ladies!:coffee:

Thanks for listening to me whine about my foot~AGAIN!! :lol: I hate being such a baby :bb:, but I am getting totally frustrated. I did go with Sammi to Payless (yes, I am a cheapo!) and found a pair of sneakers without backs that seem to be helping a bit. I am so annoyed with the fact that I have to wear sneakers all the time during the summer. I have Crocks, but the Dr. said they are really not too good as far as support goes. I am a barefoot girl and miss it so!



SJ: I know what you mean about that monster...we are such warriors, but it seems that we lose our fighting spirit after a while. That's why I love these ladies...they help put the fight back when we need it most!!:grouphug:


Catherine: :woohoo::encore::congrat: on finally getting that scale to listen!!:goodscale
You are doing great and your hard work is finally paying off!!:yay: I hope your bursitis gets better soon!:hug:


BattleAx: The pain is also due to a small bone spur...I don't do things in a small way...there is always something extra going on!! :lol: I hope your flight goes well. I love flying...luckily I am always with my family so they get squished instead of a stranger. I do have my "own" extender because on a flight to the Dominican Republic a few years ago (very small plane :yikes:) the flight attendant forgot to take it back from me and even though I felt guilty later on, I didn't give it back. It just takes away the embarassment of having to ask for one, which makes the journey more relaxed. Trust me, I would totally pay for one if I didn't have it!!!


Brenda: When we went to Dollywood 2 yrs ago, we had a deep fried snickers, and man was that chocolate heaven!! I don't think I could eat that now, I would probably be sick for days! :barf: Enjoy Aerosmith...they give an awesome concert!!!:cool:


Lesley: Starting a new job is sooooooo stressful :stress: especially a 40hr/week one. Just let your body get into the rhythum, and then you will figure out how to fit in your plan. :hug: (It's funny, I always think of your avatar when I hear the song "suddenly I see" and it was on in the car yesterday...I am glad to see you "back"!!)


Nancy: I hope your tummy is feeling better!:hug:


Annie: My kids and Doug were teasing me and said they would get me a "jazzy" scooter to ride in the parks. I don't think I could do it even if it meant cutting the lines!! :o I did seriously consider a cane for 2 seconds, but I still have 4 weeks left to see what happens.
And I did notice, Miss Thing, that you only have 1 MORE POUND to hit 100 lost!!!!!!! :yay: I am sooooooooooo very proud (and a little jealous) of you!!
You have done an amazing job so far and I am so happy for you!!!!!:hug:


Have a great OP day!:cheer2:

Battle-I’ve had plantar for as long as I can remember. When my husband proposed, one of the first things I told him is that I am a horrible tight wad except for shoes where I am high maintenance. I have to have certain ones, replaced regularly. This time it has literally been at me for over 6 months. I can walk, but the soreness is with me. Even orthodics don’t help right now. The only time I didn’t have trouble was the 8 years I was in a wheelchair. Go figure.

Debbie-When I was originally injured, both my shoulders were dislocated. They basically popped them back in, and I had so many other more pressing injuries at the time that they didn’t really look at the shoulders. I don’t know if I did something to the rotator cup or ligaments or what, but I’ve been very susceptible to bursitis ever since, and it could get really bad during those years of pushing 600 pounds around with just my upper body. I guess I have finally resigned myself to the fact that my body will not allow me to do the kind of exercise that I want to, that other people can do. Being disabled is such a pain at times.

Brenda-I think you could batter and deep fry a tennis ball and serve it with ice cream, and it would taste good.

Balloon-I think it is a guy thing. When I had to punish with extreme prejudice a former set of scales by running them over repeatedly in the parking lot while laughing manically at the top of my lungs, all my female neighbors “got it.” My male neighbors wanted to have me committed. With guys, you just have to keep doing it, and eventually they will have this “V8” moment, and get it. My husband’s happened this morning. I made him get on the scale, and he’d lost 7 pounds this week. He’s still stunned.

Lesley-You are making a big change, and it may take you some time to settle in and get a routine. Give yourself some time, and don’t be too hard on yourself if it takes longer than you think it should.

Nancy-That is always the hardest thing, to be OP, and know you are, but have nothing to show for it. I wasn’t so much afraid that I wasn’t losing weight, but the longer it took to show, made me realize how much I had been gaining. It may be a good thing I didn’t know, but if I had maybe I would have changed quicker. When I had food poisoning last summer, it went through pretty fast. I was so sick, so quick that there were ambulances involved. I used plural because they sent one, and then had to send for the one with the fork lift on the back. With my medical history, they tend not to mess around when I get sick or hurt.

Real-I remember how much more active and able to do things at 300 lbs. I really want to be there too. Just don’t put to high a goal on yourself.

Annie-I’m also obnoxiously competitive. In college, I was on the forestry team, and still carry my throwing ax around. Some day I’m going to put a new handle on it, and set up a target out front. We have a big fence around the property, so it would be safe. I wonder how the neighborhood prostitutes and drug dealers would think. Big woman throwing an ax around. We haven’t had a break in since we lived here. I think it is because we are here. The building is never empty, and I keep my eyes on things like a mama bear.

Sue-I was put in charge, but the lady who showed up first last time is the one who does stuff at the church kitchen. This was at the football stadium. She is used to being in charge, and I had to set her straight to get things organized right. There’s a big difference between doing a pot luck or coffee and donuts after church, and a concession stand doing $10,000 worth and hour. The woman who is usually in charge and has been for years, had to go to a wedding, that’s why she asked me to be in charge. I’ve got catering experience. Everyone signs up and are basically there to help out wherever, but when you put two alpha females in the same room, there’s bound to be sparks. We worked it out pretty fast, but I let is go a little longer than I should have trying to be nice. It was so chaotic also because our steamer was broken and one of the ovens. The paid staff of the stadium cooked the hotdogs in the steamers in the main kitchen and carted them over. That means I had half a dozen high school kids basically in my road on top of everything else. All’s well that ends well. We made about $5000 for our church that night. We have a poor church in the inner city, and this is our major income source for the year. It’s hard on me, but we can’t donate financially like we’d like to be able to, so we donate our time and sweat instead.

Donna-I used to spend the whole summer barefooted, but no more. I wear sneakers most of the time. I don’t walk in crocs, I use them for when I have to stand in one place for a long period of time like choir. I’d love to be able to buy shoes at payless, but well, they don’t sell my size. If I want dress shoes, I have to buy them where drag queens buy theirs, and I’m not the red leather pump type.

Well, off to work on my paper. I’m trying to remember now why I wanted to put myself through this.

Hello Ladies!

Battleax: Have a safe journey. Because I have to travel with my job, I actually purchased seatbelt extenders on the net. Depending on the plane, I have 3 different kinds. I've met good flight attendants and bad ones. I'd be happy not to be at the mercy of someone's mood while I'm stressed from flying, so I bought my own extenders.

Meta: Yup, same fear here about chairs. Worse is once I was on the floor and almost couldn't get up cuz my leg fell asleep. That was embarassing. Geesh.

Debbie, you go girl!

Nancy: Awww, feel better. Whether you have a stomach virus or just ate something funky, it'll pass. Hugs to you.

Catherine: You are so funny.. I've so wanted to run over my scales and sledgehammer them.

Wyllenn: I have to be on the disabled list for a little bit while my back heals. I know I'll be ok because I have your great inspirations to get back to my exercising!

Donna: I'm so sorry about your foot problems. I had plantar fascitis as well. After I lost 75 lbs, it went away, but the bunion was killing me. This past April, I had the bunion removed and the metatarsal broken and straightened. It's *almost* healed totally. It still amazes me that I don't have the extreme pain I used to have before the bunionectomy.

Brenda: Bah, I'd be sick for days with a fried mars bar.. hehe. I am SO jealous of VIP tickets to a concert featuring Aerosmith!!! You have a fabbo time :) *cheer*

Ballonlady: I'm still amazed by all the balloon stuff you do!!

MistiSue: I hear ya about crashing. I did that this weekend. The grass decided to grow this week so next weekend isn't gonna be as nice.

Xena: Time to hop back on da wagon. Turn that frustration into motivation! You can do it! *does cheerleader rah!* OOOF *hurts back and limps away* hehe

*wavies at Annie and Leslie and all the new peeps and lurkers*

Luv,
Ratkitten

Nancy, feel better soon. I'm amazed that you were able to exercise.

dogpal,congrats on hitting your mini-goal. You must feel great!

Misti,you poor thing, I hope you get rested and comfortable soon. I'm also a wimp with the heat, living in Northern CA. It's rarely unbearably hot where I live. When it is, I complain nonstop.

GTL200, enjoy the 10 hour concert, and Aerosmith. It's been 100 years since I went to an event like that.

Xena, keep trying. Today is a new day and a new opportunity for you to take care of yourself.

Wyllenn, keep smiling. I love your happy pic.

Donna, I'm sending good footsie thoughts to you today.

Catherine, forgive me if I giggle about you shopping with the drag queens. Seems so incongruous I can't help but chuckle.

Ratkitten, You must be working your way outta the extenders at this point!

Well, ladies, I have some updates.

I started thinking about my avoidance of the scale. Was it ONLY because I feared obsession? Or was I in a bit of denial, and not wanting to face the truth? This bothered me....this journey is all about honesty, facing reality, living in the light, etc.... so I bought myself a scale. It took me 3 days to unpack it and step on. I guess that answers my questions about my real motivation for avoiding the scale. It said 316.4. Based on the way my clothes fit, I'd say I started out at 330. Now, please send all your supportive thoughts my way to keep me from being scale obsessed. I put it away in my closet instead of in the bathroom.

In other news, last night I walked up the hill from the main street to my apartment building. My neighbor commented that the hill is deceptively steep. I agreed that it looks a lot less steep than it really is. Then he said, "and you are not even out of breath!" Darn if he wasn't right, I hardly showed the effort. It is amazing how quickly I have made progress. Just a little bit of weight and a little bit more effort in the exercise program, and my body responded as if it had been waiting for just the right opportunity to shoot way up in health and fitness.

Okay, I'm going to do one of those things that I always think of as what "normal" people do... I'm going to walk to Subway, since it's within walking distance and it's where I want my dinner. I tend to avoid walking through campus because I don't like walking where there are lots of pedestrians, especially students, but since it's still summer there aren't as many of them around, so maybe I can desensitize myself if I start trying this over the summer.

Lesley--Sorry the job doesn't sound like much fun. Do you get a lunchbreak or other breaks when you could work in a little exercise? I find it makes the day much more bearable if I can get out for a short walk now and then.

Nancy--How long it takes to get rid of something nasty you ate depends on a lot of things, but I think 24 hours isn't unusual. A doc once told me that what we call "24 hr stomach flu" is probably almost always food poisoning. It isn't just the bad food itself getting through--when there's something nasty in there it can hang around in your stomach or intestines even when the food it came in is gone.

Real--Keep your sails unfurled!

Annie--YAY on that 10%! And only a pound to go until 100?!?!?!

Sue--3:40????? Ouch!

Brenda--Sounds like a great birthday plan.

Battleax--Congrats on that hill!!! Putting the scale away sounds like a good idea. I weigh myself a lot--almost every day. I know a lot of people think that's a bad idea, but it does keep me thinking about what I should be doing. If the scale isn't moving, it gives me motivation not to screw up, since I certainly don't want to gain anything. And when it does move, that gives me motivation, cause I want more progress. And when it goes up and down, it bugs me a little, but it also gives me a really good sense of how much weight can fluctuate due to water, etc., so that if occasionally I go up when I've been doing what I should, I know to take that number with a grain of salt. I know others don't react the same way, but in my case I think weighing every day is a good way to avoid falling off the wagon and staying there for very long. I haven't been 100% this summer, but I've been around 85-90%, and I know that when I do fall off for long periods, weighing is one of the first things to go.

Debbie--YAY on the watermelon! Isn't summer fruit great? I had blackberries from the farmer's market this morning. So much better than Smucker's! And no sugar added :)

I am probably going to overdo it on posting. It helps for me to write it out to witnesses, and it helps to stay engaged here, so thank you for your patience in advance.

Today I packed lunch and dinner to bring with me to the office (I plan to work late). It was pasta with turkey balls and tomatoes for both meals. The meals were a little heavy, but within my limits for the day. I had only fruit for breakfast, and planned to go lighter on the snacks to stay within range, because I really wanted the pasta.

Both portions are already rolling around in my tummy. I think I can see this coming in the future. If I want pasta, I need to make just enough for one meal.

I'm not going to starve later--that would probably be a big mistake. So, I'll find something light to eat of my stomach starts rumbling. The day will still end within a reasonable number of calories.

Wow, once again, I am keeping this from turning into a day-long all-or-nothing binge. I'm not beating myself up, I ate the food, it's not a crisis, and I can still have a pretty decent result.

Hi everyone!

Annie - You are doing so super duper fantastic! I am a wee bit jealous...I cannot WAIT until I can say I've lost 100 pounds! Or even be so close to 100 pounds. I hope your appointment with the surgeon goes well and things progress smoothly for you. Real food next week?! Are you nervous at all about that?

Battleax - Good attitude about not bingeing all day. You learned a lesson for yourself today and didn't let it derail your whole day. Fantastic!

Debbie - good choice going for the watermelon! Some day in January when fruit isn't as plentiful, you may want the PB and J. But maybe only half...or maybe just a bite. In any case, you made a good decision for yourself today and that's great!

Brenda - OMG! Aerosmith. Something about those Boston boys just gets my heart a fluttering. LOL! Have a great time!!!

Catherine - Red leather pumps. Heh. Quite the image, especially for someone studying to be a minister/pastor. (That IS what you are studying, right?)

Misti - hope it cools down for you soon. As active as you are, it must stink to have it be so hot when that part of the country ususally isn't.

Donna - I'll send good thoughts that your foot is feeling better for Disney. I am jealous! I LOVE Disney.

Xena - Chin up! I see your excercise posted on the excercise thread so don't be so hard on yourself! It could be worse...you could have eaten the sweets and NOT excercised. Small accomplishments and victories are just as important as the big ones.

As for me, I am doing ok the past few days. Been op with eating and have been excercising more regularly. We had a gazelle in the basement (which is damp and gross and stinky) so this weekend I made room for it in the living room. A bit of an eyesore, but the kids started using it too so it is benefitting everyone.

Things are a wee bit stressful...DD broke her finger today and has to see a surgeon on Friday since it is close to a growth plate. This after a brutal round of poison ivy that took over two weeks to clear up - and that was after the pediatrician put her on prednisone because her face was just SO swollen. She's had a rough summer so far. Now with the broken digit, the worst news is she can't ride. Maybe the surgeon will say something different on Friday but as of today, the ER doc said no riding. Which makes sense, but still makes her sad none the less. Poor kid.

So anyway, while on the way home today I swung through Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee. While in line I saw the sign for coolattas and thought "how bad can they be - it's kind of a coffee slushee, right?" But, since I wasn't sure I stuck with the coffee. Then I got to the window and it smelled so darn good! But again...just the iced coffee. So yay me! Even with a bit of stress I made good choices when other times that would have been the perfect excuse for me to make not so good choices.

Good evening to everyone!

Cris

Cris--Good job! I bet that coollata is a lot worse than you were thinking.

BattleAx--Glad the day ended calmly. Crisis past!