:cheer2: :dancer: :dance: :celebrate: :cheer2: Congratulations Annie on 200 pounds!!!!!!! :cheer2: :dancer: :dance: :celebrate: :cheer2:

I am happy to say that I was able to "just say no" yesterday and made it through on plan. From here on out it should be easier again. Unfortunately I was really exhausted this morning and didn't have the energy to get up and go to a dance class I wanted to take (I am off work now until Wednesday - woohoo!) I wanted to go out shopping to take advantage of the after Christmas sales to update my wardrobe a bit, but I don't really feel up to it. I think I am fighting off a cold that my step-mother had. I will have some more coffee and see how I feel. Have a great day everyone!

Annie – WOW girl!! 200 lbs lost!!! That is phenomenal!!!

Yeah, I think I'm going to lay off the workout again today. Going to sit in the chair with a heating pad. Blah. It's snowing today, and I'll probably just chill out around the house until I go to the airport to pick up my Mom & Stepdad. They were in Florida for the week.

Here's to an OP day for EVERYONE

PS - THE PICTURE WAS SOOOO COOOOL!

Annie, wow! YOU MADE IT!! I am just so darn proud of you. I can't even imagine what it would feel like to lose that much weight. I hope someday that I will have the thrill of it, as you must be thrilled beyond belief right now. Here's to ya! :hat:

Battle, it's too bad your friend is in denial. You would be a great support and influence on her if she would just realize her actual weight. Hopefully she will come out of the fog and see she needs to lose. Good for you on biking with her!

Hi Kayley, hope the cramps are better today

Val, YAy for throwing the kisses away!!

Carol, we got some more snow last night too!!! Not as much as your getting but we take whatever we can get. Have a great day!

Sharon, sorry to hear you're having a hard time at home. But do something good for yourself, and get yourself back OP. I know you can control that part of your life. I know how hard it is to stay when the children are so young, but dig in and get yourself on track.

Nancy, hope you feel better and can go out and take advantage of the sales.

Today we have to go to the dump. I hate that part of living in the country but it's gotta be done. I've stayed OP pretty well again yesterday. I'm having a hard time doing the breakfast thing. When I get up, I'm just not ready to sit and eat anything. Usually I skip it until lunch. So I have to recommit to that again.
I'm sure it will just rain today and wash all my pretty snow away. They say there is another chance on Saturday though so I will keep my fingers crossed.
Everyone stay OP, drink that water, and move it!!
Debbie

Way to go Annie!! You truly are amazing. Losing 200 pounds in one year should prove something to you. You can do ANYTHING you put your mind to. You truly are a shining star.

Catherine...congrats to you on getting outside. My DH broke his ulna and radius (lower arm bones) while falling on ice the first year we were together. He had to have surgery and has to large metal pieces in his arm now. He walks like atwo year old on ice now....very short strides (and he is 6'5", so normally pretty long strides). I understand your fear of falling, and I hope you are able to make good progress.

Nancy...you look great. You have come so far. Keep going!!!!

Battle...you seem to have become the board philosopher. You rarely beat yourself up. You know why you eat, how to eat, etc. Thank you for coming to the board and bringing your smarts with you. :) As a note, I met my DH online as well. Back in the day of AOL chat rooms, he was bored and named a chat room "Rainy Days and Sundays". It sounded depressing, so I went in. I had no idea it was a Carpentars song title. LOL. We talked for hours that night, and continued to do so for about 1.5 years. I never had any intent on meeting someone on the internet...it seemed more taboo back then. Like an act of desperation. After about 1.5 years online, we starting talking on the phone....for another 6months. Then he moved in. Sight unseen. Lots more to it....but that's it in a nutshell. And he is everything to me. I love him to pieces.

Kayley...I am happy to hear you are on the meds you need to be. My SIL had some major issues...and now that she is on meds, she is doing much better. Mental health is extremely important....focus on that first.

Debbie...I hope you are enjoying the DDR. I secretly would like one, but I am not all that coordinated I fear. When I was in high school and college...I was overweight. But I was also semi-athletic. I could work out, play basketball, lift weights....for hours. I was coordinated back then. I hope if I start working out some, I will get back there. You are doing great!! I am sure you will be DDRing your little tush off soon!!

RK...6 hours of DDR? You are fabulous!! Where have you been? I have been in semi-lurk mode and haven't seen you on much.

Voodoo...back on the wagon. You can wait until New Years, but then we are ready to have you back.

OK, I know I have missed some of you. I am sorry. I am trying to pull myself out of lurk mode and get better about posting more. I am semi-happy to say I am 356.6 this morning, so I think I may have lost 20 pounds this year. Lame, I know, but at least I don't weigh more than last year. I feel motivated to do better, possibly because the New Year is upon us. My goal for next year is to get under 300 pounds, but I would love to do more than that. I need to work on attainable goals though, to ensure I meet them, and not end up beating myself up.

Enough rambling. You should all be proud of yourselves, as you have made a commitment to make your lives yours again. And for that, you deserve a great big :hug:

Angie

Thanks Valerie
 

Hi. I'm new to the site - although I've looked at it quite a few times over the years. I almost didn't register today until I read Valerie's email urging newbies to join. It was the push I needed. Thanks!

Carol-We carry a lot of that childhood baggage with us on this journey. I also had a mom who had snacks for us when we got home from school. She also brought home these cream filled pastry horns whenever she was down in the dumps or upset, and that happened often. We never went to sleep without having ice cream before bed, and birthdays were celebrated at an all you can eat Mexican restaurant. Learning to not celebrate with food is still a constant battle. I have to wait on taking my sewing machine in until the 3rd. The repairman is on vacation. I’m going to make one last try at getting my leisure pass for free before we pay the $400. I technically qualify, but the way taxes are here is weird. Couples file separately, and since my medical isn’t paid for and his is, all the medical deductions were on my return, so he was allowed to transfer $10,000 of his income on to my return to save on taxes. That makes it look like I made too much money when I didn’t. We have to go through this whole thing to prove that I didn’t make that much money. I started doing taxes when I was 12 years old (long story), studied tax law, and was a national expert on the tax implications of restructuring large agricultural loans, and Canadian tax law completely hurts my head. For the first time in my life I actually had to pay an accountant to do my taxes for me. It was humiliating.

Debbie-It was exhausting and incredible to walk around outside. One of the businesses in the neighborhood got a new paint job (how do you paint in weather like this anyway), and I loved being able to do something so normal as sift around through my favorite thrift store. Now I want to go again, but the old woman I’m married to wants me to take it easy and not try to do too much all at once. I want to go to the mall and window shop, and to the library, and the fabric store is having an after Christmas sale, and I’m missing all the Boxing Day sales this week. He is such a nag. It’s -13 today with snow, so I’m going to be a good girl, and obey my husband, at least until he goes somewhere.

Annie-Does that second hundred feel as good as the first one did? Just think, you have now lost more weight than you will ever be able to bench press. How is your husband dealing with the change? Don’t forget that they get scared sometimes.

Battle-I remember going to the doctor and telling him with a completely earnest heart that I “didn’t eat like that.” We are only as sick as our secrets, and the ones we tell ourselves are the worst. I also have found that when trying to get back on plan that it is better to ramp down first. Remember -5 up here is 23F where you are. Why on Earth a place that spends most of 6 months below freezing would convert to Celsius where it sounds worse is beyond me. I understand about converting to metric, but they could do that and stay with Fahrenheit.

Kayley-I understand about wanting to lose weight for something special. Do what works in the short term best for you, but don’t look at it as a long term solution. Also be ready for a crash after the event. It kind of feels like falling through the tape at the end of a track race.

Val-I am constantly reminded about how much my eating behaviour mirrors addicts and alcoholics. The biggest difference is that addicts and alcoholics can completely abstain, where we have to dance with our demons everyday. There have been times that I have told people that I’m allergic to some food to keep them from offering it to me.

Sharon-I’m so sorry to hear that you are still having trouble at home. When it comes to children and marriage trouble, I will tell you what I used to tell my clients, that it is better for kids to come from a broken home than to live in one, and that the best gift you can give your kids is a healthy, happy mom. I’ll be praying for you.

Nancy-While we were doing all our traveling, we started putting some anti-biotic ointment around the opening on our noses before hitting the airport, and for the first time, I didn’t get sick. I seem to be real susceptible to catching things when in confined spaces with lots of people. I am against the overuse of anti-biotics, and won’t even use antibacterial soap around the house, but this seems more of a preventative. During flu season I plan on doing it before hitting the mall too. If I had been around anyone during the holidays that was sick like your step-mom, I might have done it too. Getting sick just really messes my diet up, and I’m not a very good patient.

Angie-Baby steps didn’t even describe how I walked. I wanted to make sure that my crutch was down before I picked either feet up. I never wanted all my weight to be just on one foot. I was afraid to take my eyes off the sidewalk for fear I’d miss a clump of ice or something. I never even had the slightest feeling of slippage, but I was so scared. People who have had bad orthopedic injuries from sports or slips can get PTSD and have flashbacks to the injury just as often as someone who has been in a bad car wreck. I kept having to fight that last fall popping into my head as I walked. I know from experience that it will lesson with time, but right now it is a constant companion.

I get to start my reading for next semester today. I’m very excited. This professor is so much more organized. Ecclesiology should be fun.

Woo-HOO! WELCOME FITGIRL! You're about where I was when I started. I lost 70 pounds the first year, and for the last two have been messing about not finishing the job. But I didn't put it all back on, either, and I know that coming here keeps me from losing focus. Personally, I love to answer everybody, but I just can't. So I read when I can, and try to get a few personals out when I have more time. Just coming here and checking in seems to help keep me committed to ultimate change. We've all backslid at one time or another, and we understand when it happens to others. It's a lifelong journey - ya gotta be in it to win it! WELCOME! Tell us a bit about yourself, if you feel comfortable doing so.

OK - Where are the rest of you? C'mon - jump in.

CATHERINE, This prof is BOUND to be more organized than the last one! Enjoy the course.

Wow, you all are so inspiring and motivational. I'm so glad I found this board! I went to my WW meeting today and faced the scale..3.4 gain over the last 2 weeks. I was expecing it so am not upset about it. Frankly, I am surprised it was so little after all the cr@p I ate over the last two weeks. And when I look at it with some perspective, I can see that last year at this time, I gained about 20 lbs in 3 weeks, so it feels good to know that I had some modicum of control. I start my week officially tomorrow morning, and I am so motivated for this week to be a good one. Hope you all have a great day!

Val- I got a chuckle out of your story about the Hershey Kisses! I thought about doing the same thing with all the cookies and candy I got for Christmas presents this year.:D Oh, and an idea for some good reading is Weight Watchers magazine. They always have ideas for exersise and articles on health issues and well being, changing bad habits, recipes, etc.

Nancy- The Daily Show video was great! I love Cookie Monster he's no criminal! :dizzy:

Carol- Your positive attitude is contageous!

Annie- :congrat: 200lbs. lost is an amazing accomplishment!!!! Your doing great!

Kayley- Hope you feel better soon.

Gees! I was so excited about Annie's accomplishment that I forgot to tell you about what's going on with me...

Well, went to my weekly meeting and I'm up 8lbs. But I met a lady who is a life time member and she lost over a hundred lbs. herself and we talked a little. She made me feel better about things and I am ready to get back on the wagon and start loosing again.

Sharon: so sorry that things are not so great at home. Huge Hugs my friend.

Nancy: Great job getting back on plan. Hope your cold doesn't get any worse.

Kayley: Take care of yourself.

Everyone: Thank you sooo much for the congrats and cheers on reaching 200 pounds. To tell you the truth. I just feel so empowered. I feel like there is a promise on the horizon. A promise of ... I don't know. Just something to come. I feel like I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. Nothing can hold me back except.... ME! Loosing weight has given me so much confidence in myself in every aspect of my life. Not just weight loss. I know that I am not just an it anymore. I'm not a number. It isn't because I lost the weight that suddenly I'm more of a human. It is my thinking that is allowing me to believe in myself that makes me more of a human. More important to me. I have never been proud of me and today I truly can say, I'm proud of me. Thank you all for all the support and encouragement along the way and for everytime I needed it a kick in the pants or a pat on the back. I am so thankful for 3fc and all the beautiful friends I have met here and hope to have for the rest of my life. I have a long way to go and I can imagine that the battle will get a bit harder for me as time goes on but, I do know that with all of your help, friendship and encouragement I can do this. We can do this. The only thing that stands in our way is ourselves! Hugs to all of you and huge blessings.

God Bless you all my dear friends,
Annie

:cheer::cheer::cheer: CONGRATULATIONS ANNIE ON YOUR TREMENDOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!!!]



WOO HOO
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11:newyear::bravo:

Hello everyone! Just popping in to catch up and see how everyone is doing and ANNIE......YAY.......200# LOSS!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!

Have a great weekend everyone!