Meowee, first of all, I love your avatar and nick! The other thing I wanted to point out is that we are all human (well, I think most of us are! hehe). It doesn't matter if you are a moderator of a certain thread or not. It's people acting like humans ... that is, making mistakes, and then coming back to keep trying.... that makes the biggest positive impressions on me. It's all part of the journey! I gain such inspiration from other people showing their human side. I think to myself, "If you can do it, so can I!".

My latest journey has taken 3 years so far *sigh* The 2nd year, I got mad and gained 20 lbs in a month! Bleh. But, by reading the inspiring posts of these 3FCs, I've been back on track since this past February.

Thank you all for this wonderful topic. I am not ALONE!

Luv,
Ratkitten

Thanks, RATKITTEN. I agree that it is great to know that we are not alone. None of us have to do it by ourselves. :hug:

BTW, that's Purrecious staring out of my avatar. She is one of six . . . and now you can probably figure out how I got my forum name. :lol:

I agree about coming and fessing up our problems/issues. I think it's impossible to do this without struggles. Ironically, I think the more we recognize struggling and regaining is "normal" the easier it is to see all the ways in which we ARE successful.

It's getting late so that may not make sense!! :)

Torister,

WOW! you are my new idol. I am so impressed with all the weight you've lost so far and I hope I'm just like you. CONGRATULATIONS!

I've been reading all your posts and, of course, can relate to almost every comment. :hug: Right now I am stuck at a 42 lb loss and I've been here for more then a month now! :( I'm feeling extremely frustrated, embarassed :o and to top it all off, I had a bad weekend :o. I won't be stepping on the scale again until I'm back on plan for at least a week (I've got two days under my belt so far), because if I do I'll get discouraged and start eating again. So even though I've lost >40 lbs, I still feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I can't even see the difference in myself, so the few people that do know that I've made this lifestyle change are beginning to doubt that I'm actually doing anything at all :mad: Its just one big vicious cycle, isn't it. But I'M NOT GIVING UP! I've gotten this far, mostly with the help of reading the posts on this site, and I'm GOING TO MAKE IT THIS TIME (despite the fact that I changed my mini-goal to Thanksgiving from Labor Day becasue I didn't make it). Anyway, the whole point of this post was to say I can relate and to thank everyone for sharing! :D
Debbie

What a great thread to come back to.
Yes I feel like a fraud. I know what to do and don't do it.
Yes I feel like a failure. I actually said that exact word to my
hubby, Andy, last night. In fact, he has actually lost at least 85 pounds since my daughter's wedding last fall. He's looking awesome! So, I really feel worthless. He's doing great, and I totally suck.

Sandy -- You DON'T SUCk and you AREN'T a failure. I believe you FEEL like a failure, but that doesn't make it so. You have it within you to succeed! Sounds like you've had a rough time lately. Why not cut yourself some slack for the weight gain and see if you can get yourself moving downward again!!! :)

(Hope you don't mind a little butt-kicking!)

No, Heather, I need it. I just get so depressed.

Sandy -- If you think you ARE suffering from depression, you might be helped by seeing a professional about it...

If your weight is making you sad... what are you going to do to get your life back?? We're here to help you, but really, you have to help yourself and all we can do is support you! :hug: