We are a group of individuals who weigh or have weighed 300+, or near there. This group was formed to provide a place for others like us to find support and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.
We want to invite everyone (roosters as well as chicks!) to join us in our journey. We share laughter and tears, heartaches and fears ... joys and celebrations. We also share what works for us and what doesn't.
We know the thread can move very quickly, and that people often make "personal" remarks and keep a number of conversations going. Please feel free to contribute even if you can't make personal comments all the time.
Finally, we also have several extra threads going on simutaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, Photos, Exercise, Info for Getting Started and more. Many of these threads are stickied at the top of the page. Please feel free to check them all out.
We have found this thread to be more than just a support group... we have found it to become a home. We invite you to join us.
I know you'll all agree that we are really thankful for the free services here at 3FC. The sisters offer all of this support and information with no charges to us. There are a couple of ways though that we can help out.
If you are thinking about buying anything at Amazon, why not help out 3FC at the same time? You can do this by clicking on the button for the Amazon "store" in the upper right hand corner of the screen on the PURPLE tool bar. A portion of your purchase price will be given to 3FC by Amazon. It doesn't increase your price at all, but it does help out 3FC. You can use any of the Amazon.com links that you see on the site in order to help contribute to the site.
Also, BTW, in case you didn't know it, you can view the message boards "ad free" for a minimal charge. I think it's $15 for 6 months. A very small investment to be rid of the annoying ads and make your pages load quicker.
There have been some concerns expressed by the powers that be about copyright infringement. So please, if you are directly quoting someone else or printing an article in whole or in part, please give credit where credit is due!!!
Xena: I loved the picture of you and Constantine. You are so pretty! Great photo.
Lilion: I haven't seen you in so long. You look amazing. Your gown was so great. Hugs.
Catherine: LOL. I don't think so. I have a window in my office door. That would scare people away.
Debbie: Thanks.
Heather: Hope your doggies got a good vet report.
Angie: I use Garnier Nutreese (sp) I also use Olay eye stuff for spots. I just started that. I love the Garnier Nutreese though.
Carol: I'm a tiny bit nervous I have to say.
Sharon: Woo hoo on another -5 pounds. You are doing so well.
Well everyone it is 8:43. I am supposed to be at work in Sandpoint at 10 a.m. and I have at least an hour drive so I am going to head out and warm up my car. Tomorrow I am supposed to be back in my office in Coeur d' Alene so that will be better especially since we are expecting a big snowfall tonight and into the morning.
My other sister in law is coming today at 11:30 and my DH will be picking her up. I am excited to see her and spend them with them. Tonight maybe we will have time to play some board games.
I had a decent weekend and several NSVs yesterday.
1. I sat in a cheap plastic lawn chair and fit nicely, and didn't feel that the thing was going to snap and break any second. I'm sure I am very much over the weight limit recommended for those $5 chairs, but for the first time, it didn't feel that way.
2. I experienced a funny "something's different about you but I can't figure out what" moments. At the same event, a woman came up to me and stared intently, asking have I changed my hair? Is it darker? Is it a different stye? LOL. No, nothing's different with my hair. Then she said the new hair framed my face beautifully and made my blue eyes pop. It's quite lovely, she said. (My eyes are green)
3. Finally, finally, someone noticed that I have lost weight. A friend I haven't seen in months said she can tell I've lost a lot of weight. Hurray! Not a compliment about my hair or vague reference to me looking nice that day. 3 weeks at 50 lbs. lost and finally someone saw the weight loss for what it was. It made me feel great.
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The scale is still being stubborn. I'm back to ticker weight, at least. I have a feeling there will be a small loss in the next couple of days. Fingers crossed.
Battle-most people are fairly clueless when it comes to details. They can vaguely tell something is different, and hair is the obvious choice.
Annie-Window blinds. At the very least you are going to want to sit with your feet up on the desk. You can keep that snow down there. We haven’t had enough this year yet to even bother shoveling. Last year I was shoveling almost every day in October. The year of no snow. I wonder how long it will last.
I’m off to pack for tomorrow morning. This is actually starting to get easier.
I have been waiting for someone else to mention it but since time is ticking away, I decided that we had better get this started so I talked with Heather and got her go ahead.
Last year we held a 300+ Christmas Card Exchange. I had so much fun doing it because I got real cards in the mail from real friends The way it works is those who wish put their names on a list and they send a card to the others that are on the list and in turn receive a card from all the others. I found it such a great way to help support us through all the feasts and treats during the holidays!
If anyone wishes to be on the Christmas Card List, please PM me with your address. I will generate a list and PM it only to those that are participating.
Please do so before Nov 24th so we have enough time for everyone to mail and receive their cards! Some of them travel a great distance!
Jar...o those Yankee candles are so delicious smelling! We went to a craft show and a lady was selling them and it smelled all over the place and it was an outside event.
Angie, I'm one to not wear makeup too. I do wear mascara and blush when I go out but that's about it. For taking care of my skin, I use buf puf for sensitive skin. They are little spongy like pads that have soap in them already so it's really easy just to take them in the shower with me and wash my face then. After that, put on Dove night time creme. I love the stuff! And that's pretty much all I do. Before I do that though, I usually use vaseline to take off the mascara.
Sharon, Yay on losing 5lbs this week!! That's really great!! And so glad that you are feeling better but it would be more conforting to know you went and saw a doctor to make sure of what was happening to you. Have you ever had this happen before? I didn't know they had eyelash tints...and you can do it yourself? Hm...gonna have to check that out.
Annie, did you get snow yet? We haven't but it's colder than .....well...I'll let you fill that part in. Hope all goes well at the job. I can't wait to hear about your first day!!
Battle, sounds like you finally got the recognition you needed. Good for you!!! It's so rewarding to hear those words, isn't it? Great NSV's all around...even if that lady didn't realize you had green eyes...had to laugh at that one
Things are getting mighty cold here. We are in the 30's now and some places are getting snow...not us, darn it! Staying OP still but not seeing any movement on the scales...sigh. I'll just keep hanging in there though because I really want to keep losing.
Hope everyone has a good day and drink the water!
Debbie
Hi All - another Monday down - tomorrow is the end of my professional work week - then the work at home starts. I just saw that Kohls opens at 4 am on Friday - which is usually our first stop - I'm tired already.
Battle - sounds like you had a good weekend. Some people are just clueless. Although I wonder when I will start noticing my weight loss. OMG - the plastic lawn chairs - how I can relate - another great reason to lose weight - not having to worry about where you put your body.
Annie - hope your day was fantastic - I laughed out loud at Catherine's suggestion for window blinds - I was thinking how that would go over - I don't have a window in my door (which stays shut) but I have a 4' x 4' window - like a caged animal - I've thought of putting crepe paper stripes up with a sign PLEASE DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS.
I'm off for a good nights sleep before the chaos hits.
This is a quickie as I have to leave for work in 15 minutes.
Brandnewme~ Pls pass big hugs to your brother. I'm so sorry to hear about his house. But am so happy all got out safely.
Jeanne~ Your strength amazes me with you working in such a SWEET place.
Annie~ Thinking of you in your new job.
I barely have time to read the posts. I only get online about 2-3 times during the work week.
Debbie & Carol~ Thanks for your kind words about my job hunting. I was on career builder last night and nothing in our area. I checked all the utility companies, medical clinics for customer service etc. Nothing,. I'll get busy on Monster.com tonight or during the holiday weekend. It's past working things out. I even sent an email to the girl giving me such a hard time apologizing for my end of the bickering, explained how certain specific points on her behavior felt like I was being set up for failure and how acts were humiliating. I bcc my office manager too. Office manager asked if she ever responded and she has not. That was last Thursday. And I sit right next to her. I did hear she's moving to a different work station today, so I'm hoping that helps.
.Angie~ I use the walmart brand of oil of olay in the morning only. I RARELY wear make up. Maybe 4 times a year. I'm totally with you on the tomboy thing!
Ok, I gotta run. I'll try to catch up with the rest of last weeks posts and this weeks.
I just thought I'd post a quick note here, since people don't really read the exercise thread, but just the person above them. It's been hard to get the news out there!
We are about 8,000 minutes from our goal of exercising 200,000 minutes this year!
So, I thought it would be fun (although confusing) to count DOWN! So, please subtract your minutes from the total until we get to zero!!!!!
Sandybar - I don't know how I am doing it!!!! Sometimes - I start eating it when I walk through the door and I don't quit until I go home. "This time" when I started my diet I took a supplement from Healthy Performance (a friend of mine works there) - called "Sweet Sense" - it's suppose to, and does for me, curb the hunger for sweets! I have lost over 35# since June - so I really have to credit some of the control to lose to the Sweet Sense. I no longer take it and only have problems with the chocolate before TOM starts!
BattleAx - lol!!! I had to laugh as well as to the "somethings different" lines! People are so funny! On another note, Yippppeee to you! I am so happy for you on your success! Keep it up! You are really beautiful -
Well girls, gotta run! I haven't had my coffee yet! Ahhhhh!
Have a super day!
I would have posted yesterday, but I got lost in the photos page. I don't know how I've missed all the early ones all these months, but I did. It was soooo neat to see the "in progress" pictures from Ammi, Heather, Brenda, Nancy and others. I was amazed and inspired by the difference between Heather's black dress pic at 220 and her current pictures - a change of about 45 pounds? I am still in the mindset of 45 pounds being barely noticable, but in that case it truly made the difference between an attractive but still overweight woman and somebody who to me looks pretty much normal. It makes me feel like it's possible for me over the next several months to effect those really big changes too, and that's nice to think about. So a retroactive 'thanks' for sharing those photos guys.
Battle - I'm so glad somebody noticed your weight loss - I know you were anxious for that validation of your efforts. Prepare yourself, because once it starts it's pretty much a landslide and you may soon find yourself talking about it all way more than you feel like!
Catherine - Get used to weird and unpredictable winters. We usually have first snow by October and permanent snow by early December around here, and last year it was still raining in mid January. Most of our ski hills never opened. Enjoy this year's respite, for however long it lasts.
Xena - Glad you had a blast with Constantine. Intimate venues are great, and a rare opportunity. You look really, really pretty in your picture with him. One to treasure!
Congrats to all the losers! I've been in a little whoosh mode for a week or so. Lucky me! Thanks to everybody who shared my 'less than 100 pounds to lose' milestone last week. It does feel good. In the last couple of days I've made my 5th 10 percent goal - I've lost 10% of myself 5 times. Have to do that another 5 times and I'm done, so I feel like I've made it halfway in every sense. Wore my goofy size 18 12 year old stirrup jeans to a hockey game the other day. Boots convincingly hiding the stirrups and skinny jean legs, and jacket firmly pulled down over the big high waist and pocketless butt. Who knew! Probably everybody! lol Still, it felt good to be wearning denim for the first time in a long time. And the great news is I have a pair in size 16 too! The exact same ones! Hey Rat - wanna borrow them until I make it to a 16? PM me!
It's a beautiful, sunny day here today, and I am going to make a point of getting out to enjoy it at some point.
My size 24 Tall pants are starting to drag along the ground, just like my 26 Talls did before. The 22s are a little snug yet, so I'll go around tripping for a bit. The 22s are also a little too short, as they are regular length, so I won't have this funny problem when they start getting too big.
I weighed this morning the first time at 278 but a half hour later the scale was showing somewhere between 276 and 277. I have discovered that I weigh less shortly after waking up than when I first wake up. Go figure! No I have a new game to play in the morning.
Anyway, 276 to 277 lbs. means I am just out of morbid obesity. I can hardly believe it. This seemed so far away when I first started.
Gosh, morbid obesity is a terrible label. It means the person is on a collision course with disease, disability, and early death. It's not if, it's when. Frightening.
Now I can proudly say that according to the 3FC BMI calculator, I am classified as Very High Risk instead of Extremely High Risk. Yippee?
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Ratkity: Congratulations on losing more. I completely relate to how it feels to you when your body is losing weight. The body isn"t giving up a thing until it is absolutely sure i mean it; in fact, it is poised to regain the weight. That's why I'll go for weeks not losing a thing, and even go up a few pounds, before another little whoosh.
Annie: I hope you are doing well on your new job. You have all my best wishes for great success and fulfillment.
Xena: You are looking great. Very healthy and pretty. I love the pics of Constantine. He is so sexy.
Catherine: Have a great trip!
About your problematic professor, I think it is a good idea to let your feelings be known. I went back to school for my MBA only a few years ago, and all the students were working adults. We had ZERO tolerance for professors and instructors who weren't pulling their weight, and we would complain loudly and often, individually and as a group, first to the instructor and then to the administration if the situation warranted it.
It's funny how perspectives change with age, limited time, and a big price tag. When I was a young undergraduate, I didn't care if I didn't get much out of the class, TBH, and it never occurred to me to demand a certain amount from a professor. As an older student, I wanted to learn as much as possible from every class I took. I wanted to be challenged appropriately and treated as an adult.
Hi GTL 200!
Debbie: Hang in there. If you're OP, the scale will eventually show it. About the eyelash tints, I have learned that the tints are not available here in the US. My eyebrows are starting to grey--horrors--and my friend from Switzerland buys me the dye when she is back there visiting. My guess is that the lack of availability here has something to do with someone poking their eyes with the dye and suing the manufacturer.
Carol: Have fun shopping on Friday. I've never gotten up for the early bird Black Friday shopping. I can see how it could either be great fun or a nightmare.
Cyn: glad to see you back. Post even when you feel the PMS monster.
Sandy: I'm sending wishes for the perfect job to come your way so you can get out of your heckhole
META: Huge, huge, congratulations to you! You are hitting big milestones right and left! I'm so proud for you and feel so happy.
300+ Weekly Thread #1133
on having someone notice. I bet it feels good to know others are noticing the results of your hard work. 
I had to laugh as well as to the "somethings different" lines! People are so funny! On another note, Yippppeee to you! I am so happy for you on your success! Keep it up! You are really beautiful - 
