This is me being green with envy for all of you enjoying your DDR's. ;)

We ended up having only 11 last night. That's only slightly more than twice as many as I expected. Everyone brought chocolate and a bottle of ice wine made an appearance, so I don't remember much more of the evening. One drink and I can't feel the lower half of my body, and two, I either fall asleep or start giggling. I'm a pretty cheap drunk. No hang overs though. I got up and had all the party stuff cleaned by noon, and am already planning my next party for the Super Bowl. I am going to cook alligator chili and shrimp gumbo since it is the Sunday before Mardi Gras. And yes, I can get alligator here. I can get anything that moves in China Town. I'll have to go to the Somalian grocery for the okra. I like theme parties. If my Bucs make the Super Bowl, I'll be in a seriously good mood.

My sewing machine can go to the hospital tomorrow. I just hope they don't suggest a trip to the glue factory for the old girl. The best news is that the animals ate everything in the house that wasn't glued down except for the goat meat in the freezer. I'm saving that for a Moroccan dinner for our anniversary in two weeks. So, I had a proper pantry clearing, and now I just have to make it through the first two days of trying to get back on plan. I'm practically like a heroin addict trying to work through the shakes. I don't play well with others trying to come off sugar and too many calories.

Hubby and I are getting each other a wii for christmas, but didn't get one before christmas. Maybe when we do I can then join you all with DDR!

Catherine -- Aren't Chinatowns great for that! I'm a New England girl and wonder if you'll be celebrating a Patriots Superbowl win!

Heather-to be honest, I don't care who wins as long as it is a decent game. If my Bucs are in it, I'll just be giddier. We get to see very few NFL games here, but we do get the Super Bowl. A few more years, and I'm going to only understand CFL rules.

Question.. does anyone have a good source of sit-down exercises? I need to get started with some basic strength training.. I have a really bad shoulder/arm pain right now, as well as a torn miniscus in my left knee... but.. I need to move! Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Helen

Happy new year to you too Annie!

Brenda, so glad to see you back. I love the tag line too! Glad to see you recommited to this too. We can do it, ya know.

Jeanne, isn't it just too much fun? I finally caught up with hubby on songs. We are going thru each of the beginner ones and trying to score a B or better. We've even gotten a couple of AA's.

Kayley, you need to get out and get some food, girl!! Soup is great for the cold weather, but you need variety. That was great that you stayed home and avoided all the junk.

Angie, isn't it a hoot? I know what you mean about the pad not being very big for big feet. Jim has size 13's and I have 11's so it's a tight fit. Yep, the slow ones are the tuffies for me. I got no rhythm.....boo hoo.

Xena, I know there is one out there with your name on it!

Catherine, what does alligator taste like? Is it a lean meat? Just curious. Sounds like the party came off without a hitch. Wow, you do get drunk easily. :rofl: What's better than no headache the next day too. You're a party animal!!

Heather, You'll get addicted!! Hey, what about the Packers in the Super Bowl??

Have a great night and a lovely OP and movin' day tomorrow!
Debbie

Good Morning Ladies,
Day one on SB is behind me and was op!
Right now it's 3 degrees farenheit plus the wind chill.
Man, do I wish I had today off cuz it's NASTY cold.
I need to go, but wanted to tell everyone Good Morning.
Let's make sure we drink our water and stay op!!

Sandy - I can't even IMAGINE what 3F is like!!! The coldest I remember it ever getting anywhere I lived was -1C/28F and that was in the middle of the night and I STILL felt freezing, even tucked up in my warm bed. Just the THOUGHT of it being that cold was enough to give me goosebumps on my goosebumps. I hope that things aren't too cold for you for long.
Well done on getting through the first day of SB. Just one day at a time... that is all that counts.

Helen - Sorry, I can't help you with any ideas for sit down exercises, but I'm sure some people will have some great suggestions. I hope that your shoulder and knee improve soon so you have more mobility to exercise.

Catherine - I'm glad you survived the New Year's Eve gathering with the extra people. Is Himself still in the dog house, or have you let him out on his leash for a little while? He really has to learn to check with you before making all of these wonderful plans. His heart is in the right place, but he needs to remember that you aren't Super Woman, no matter how much he may believe that you are.

EmilyMay - I am SO glad that you are enjoying your job so much. I remember when you were still at school and you were so excited about actually getting out into the 'busy' side of things.
It was interesting to hear you say that you wanted to work on your marriage with renewed energy. I feel as though I have been doing that lately. I have a feeling that I was starting to get into a too familiar rut and I felt the need to freshen things up a little. I have really been putting extra effort into paying hubby extra attention and letting him know how special he is to me. I hope things work out well for you in this area.

Xena - It sounds as though you are REALLY eager to get moving in the new year. For some reason I have been feeling really positive about 2008 as well. I am not sure what the difference is, but I just feel as though I can do SO much this year and I am eager to start doing things now. I'll have to watch myself though, because I tend to push myself a little too hard at times and I need to learn to pace myself more.
Your goals look excellent and I look forward to hearing how each of them turns out for you.

Valerie - I think you have a good plan with not setting deadlines for yourself. I am very similar to you and I tend to not work well with deadlines, so my main aim with my weightloss was always to simply to have lost weight and be healthier and fitter by the time I was 44, then to maintain that for 12 months before I planned anything else. I achieved that almost 2 years ago and things are still going well. With the aim to simply be healthier, you are setting yourself up for a much greater chance at success, which is wonderful.

Carol - Congratulations on the 5lb loss!!!!! I wish I could drink lots of water. I REALLY have to work on that.
Remember that if you ever do decide to come to Australia and you manage to get to the west coast, PLEASE contact me so I can make you welcome. With enough warning I could even clear out the spare room so you had somewhere to stay.LOL

Battle - Most of our homes are double brick and tile, which makes them a little cooler I think. We didn't get air conditioning until a few years ago and I am sure I managed OK, even at my largest, but I wouldn't swap it for anything now! We have been told that there could be a severe drain on the power grid tomorrow due to some problem or other, so they have asked us to limit our air conditioning use. At 40C/104F I'm not sure how that is going to work out.
I am going to be eagerly watching for when you reach the 100lb mark.

Ratkitten - Getting a new TV and stand is a GREAT reason to do housework. Decluttering feel SO good! I had to do a lot of that (and still have a lot more to do) at the end of the school year when I found that I won't have a classroom to put stuff into next year. I threw out a LOT of stuff and it was actually really 'cleansing'. I knew that a lot of it was old and I may never use it again, but I was holding onto it "Just in case." Well, if I ever need it again I will just have to find other ways to teach without it. That will make life even more interesting.
I'm glad you liked the rhymes. I keep trying to think of other words that rhyme with 'EIGHT'. As a teacher this is something I could definitely get hooked on. Or is that called "obsession". LOL

I am contemplating getting a DDR of some kind, but probably should save the money. I have enough 'toys' to exercise with at the moment (treadmill, exercise bike, Eliptical/Cross Trainer and a number of DVDs) so I don't really NEED anything else, but it just sounds like a lot of fun.

It's been another hot, humid day today and getting hotter tomorrow (40C/104F) so I've spent a bit of the day sweating. I still managed 60 mins of aerobics this morning and 30 mins on the Cross Trainer this afternoon (with the air conditioner AND the fan on) which I was happy about. I seem to have a burst of energy at the moment, so I'm taking advantage of it.

Off to the tennis tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what 'grunting' goes on in the women's match. The other day Serena AND Lucie (from the Czech Republic) were grunting, just at different tones, so you would hear a deep grunt (Serena) then a higher pitched grunt (Lucie) going back and forth all through the game. It was 'interesting' at least.

Well, off to bed to read in the airconditioning.

Take care,

Zelma

Good Morning Everyone :coffee: and Happy New Year!!! :D


Today is the start of being OP and getting back in the swing of things!! :crossed:
I like to start Jan 2 because we go back to school/work and are not sitting around recovering from New Year's Eve. Not that I am a party animal (anymore!), it's just that if I am not in bed by 11pm I am thrown off for the whole next day.
I couldn't find my WW books yesterday...but I finally realized this morning that they were in the same place as my scale. Which, by the way, I did get on first thing yesterday and sadly to report, I have a 6lb gain for reverting back to my old way of eating. So that makes 11lbs since Halloween :yikes:!!! But I have my plan for today already figured out and no pity parties allowed!!! (Even though it pisses me off how hard I worked to get the 11lbs off and all it took was the excuse of the holiday season to fall back into bad habits!!!)
But it's a new day and DDR is calling!!!! I am going to wait until we get home so Sammi and I can shake our booty!!! We had friends over for New Year's Eve and it was really fun to watch the kids having a ball. Even Andrew got going as he wasn't gonna let the girls have all the fun. He was really good at it too! That kid cracks me up. :lol:
We managed to score a weight lifting thingy at Sears, but we have to clean out the garage to set it up as our ceiling upstairs is 1 inch too short to set it up there. I think it will be good to have for all of us to use. It looks like one of the ones at the gym...all pulleys and bars and things to lift with your legs.

Sorry no time for personals, as I have rambled on too long and need to get the crock pot running for dinner tonight, and then hit the shower! So here's a big :grouphug:and tons of :dust: for the start of all our good health and success in the New Year!!!

good morning everyone. just about to pop on my gazelle for the 2nd time today... i really cant do much at one whack but i know i will in time... i was like this with my treadmill too slow start but hey its a start... then i think i will play some WII too! Heather you will love it it i do!

Hi everyone!!!XXXXXXX Well I got on the scales, there was a 7lb gain I had to 're-do' my ticker :oBUT it's not as bad as I expected, TOM is OVERDUE and I feel ratty, tired, icky & downright b*tchy!!!;)lol I start South Beach tomorrow (hubby took us out for dinner so I HAD TO HAVE :p lasagne) I see a few others are following it too so we can swap recipes & tips, how about it?
It's pretty cold here, no idea of the temp but puddles are freezing over & it's getting dark already & it's only 4pm!!!! :(
Yes Catherine I KNOW (lol!!) how cold & dark it gets there, I could NEVER move somewhere THAT COLD;)!!!!!Hope your leg/knee is healing,:hug: at least you can hole up til it gets warmer & then start to walk about.xxxxxxx
Zelma, have you lightened your hair or did the sun do it? ;)Either way it really suits you! I'm glad you are enjoying your 'musical' talents AND sharing them with others.:hug:xxxxxxx
Brenda, yes, I think a lot of us are scared of getting on the scales but it's a new year & new start for all of us, chin up, we can do this together:hug:.xxxxxxx
Patti, GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK WITH US!:hug:xxxxxx
Well I missed a lot of you but I have stuff to do, hugs to all.xxxxxx
xxxxx:hug:sharon

HELLO EVERYONE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It sounds like most everyone survived the holiday rush. It's good to be back on the boards and reading up on everyone.

This is the first year I have EVER made a New Years resolution...I am posting it here to make myself more accountable:

1. Move! Every day for at least 20 minutes (trying to work up to around an hour). Walk, Jog, Dance, Jump, Sports, Gym....whatever....JUST MOVE!

2. Stop eating foods that make me feel sick! I have TERRIBLE food allergies and am allergic to practically everything I enjoy eating...This will make me a quasi-low carber by default. This will take some getting used to since my tastes are mostly vegetarian...but I feel it is worth it.

3. Make my health a TOP priority! Too many times I put my own health on the back burner. It's time to take care of myself!


I feel really good about my goals! I am not going to obsess about the scale, or my clothes....HEALTHY is the keyword for me now!

2008 is going to be the year of improved health!!!!! And I feel REALLY good about it!

WOOHOOO!!

<sneaks into room>

Hi everyone...

Remember me? ;) I am back! Got sidetracked over the holidays, but not terribly so as the habits I got into earlier this year saved me. I am back OP completely as of today.

I am so very thankful that I can actually say that I am healthier and lighter beginning 2008 than I was beginning 2007!! :D

Debbie-I find alligator tastes kind of like that imitation crab stuff with the texture of chicken. At least the farm raised does. Wild caught tastes more fishy. What we get here is farm raised in Thailand. I guess being the daughter of a caterer has made me a bit of a party animal. He is encouraging me to do them I think as a way of giving people an excuse to come over since I’ve been isolated by my injury.

Zelma-He gets out of the dog house pretty quickly. He is a teddy bear that I find impossible to stay mad at. He also got up early this morning to take my sewing machine in to be repaired without having to be prodded. He may get into little messes now and then, but he spoils me terribly most of the rest of the time. Hope you guys cool down soon. Growing up in Oklahoma, I’ve seen a few of those 45C days. Can’t say that I ever enjoyed them. We are going to get up to 0 today for a few minutes, so there is hope that Spring may eventually come. The problem with it warming up here is that when it is really cold, it is too cold to snow. When it warms up is when we get walloped with heavier snow.

Donna-Everyone is getting back on the stick now that the holidays are over. We’ll just all have to do it together.

Toofat-There’s nothing wrong with doing your exercise in bites. I started by doing literally 10 seconds every hour. Your body burns extra calories for a certain length of time after exercising, so you can keep your body’s thermostat at a higher burn rate for more of the day by exercising more often.

Sharon-This time of year we only get about 6 hours of sunlight a day. We get longer twilights because the sun is at such an acute angle that it skids right below sunrise and sunset longer. The sun never gets higher in the sky than eyelevel. If you are driving South, it is always right in your face. 6 months from now I will be complaining about the sun coming up at 3am and waking me up, but now, I’d like it to come up before 10am.

Judo-You are right about having to put yourself first. I took care of everyone but myself for so long that I almost killed myself. Now I have to be very selfish. I have to lose this weight by myself, for myself first. I once left my former roommate in pre-op for having her knee replaced so that I wouldn’t miss my water aerobics class. She never forgave me, but I can’t allow myself to feel guilty about it. It’s like what they tell you when you get on a plane. If the air masks come down, you have to put yours on first before helping anyone else.

The New York Times had a great article today about the relationship between having clutter and trying to lose weight. If you get a change you can read it online. It made a lot of sense to me. When my house is clean and organized, I seem to be able to stick to plan so much easier. It shouldn’t matter, but it really does for me. How often do we describe getting organized as having a weight lifted off of us? There’s a reason we see it in those terms. My mom used to say that if it takes you longer than 10 minutes to find something, then it is time to clean. I have started off this year trying to keep things organized better, and it does make me feel better. I am taking it in small bites. Just like losing weight, no one can really lose 200 pounds, but they can lose 1 pound 200 times. I can’t clean and organize an entire house in a day, but I can go through one box of his stacked paper today. Time to roll up my sleeves for the day, and talking to my fat chicks is a good start to everyday if I want to be successful.

Hi Every One

I just thought I would check in and say hello. Been cooking up a storm and filling my freezer with healthy stuff so I have no excuse when I come home from work tired and lazy :lol:

Thinking I may have to go and rent DDR. U all have me curious. I don't know if I would use it enough to warrent buying it as I like to collect video games *L* and only play a few choice ones.

Big storm today here and we cant leave the house. Hubby is feeling better now that the flu bug has left him. Nice to have an extra day off.

Hi all! Not much time to post, as I'm going to spend lunch hour ACTUALLY WALKING! I'm 100% OP so far today, which will be a first in my recent past. I've been doing well, but haven't really stuck to the program. At least I was able to bump my ticker down a bit for my Wednesday weigh-in. Gotta keep movin', if I want the trend to continue!

Best wishes everyone!!

Hi girls! I'm on my 2nd day and cheated on myself already!!!! Grrrrrrr! I make myself so angry sometimes! I got to work, after 4 days off and first thing in my mouth was a raspberry meltaway......followed by probably 5 more and then a biscotti with my coffee!!!! I had a WW muffin (2pts) for breakfast at 5:30 a.m. and I guess that is not enough for me. I am going back to a bigger breakfast. I'm just too weak to get from breakfast to lunch.
I think I will do a WW bagel (2) with lt./ff cream cheese (2) and WW yogurt (1), 2 cups of coffee with ff van. creamer(2)!
Well, thanks for letting me get that off of my chest!!
I absolutely love my ddr! Thank you girls! My daughter who is trying to lose some weight as well, played on it until after midnight last night!
Well, I'm at work and better go get something done. Have a great day!

Hi back atcha Sandy!

Zelma, I feel for you so much sweating away in that heat. Hopefully it will cool down some time and you can go out and have another nice walk along the beach. Enjoy your day.

Donna, sounds like you have the makings of a nice gym with the new equipment you just got. Isn't the DDR a blast? I hope someday they make songs that are from 50's thru the 80's for us older folk. Have fun shakin' that bootie!

Sharon, that's all we can do is readjust the ticker AND our eating habits. I'm right there along side of you....readjusting.

judojed, sounds like you've got a great resolution going there. It's very reasonable too. Just drink that water, and move, move, move!!

Peggy, we've missed you!!!! So glad to see you back and OP again!

Brenda, I tell ya, you'll be addicted after you rent the DDR. Stay safe with that big storm a brewin'

Jar, Don't worry about it. You can get yourself back on track fast and you've already figured out what you have to do with the bigger breakfast. We all have our downfalls, we just have to figure out ways to avoid them.

Today is rainy so won't be doing anything outside. Stayed OP for 2 days now and it feels great. Even doing exercising everyday now for a change, which feels great too. Started watching the Biggest Loser Couples last night and the son and mother team is the one I'm rooting for. I feel like the mother, taking her son to fast food all the time. DS has lost weight and he's a big guy anyhow, 6'4" so he carries his weight well. He's just teddy bear size now.
All have a good OP day!
Debbie

Hi everyone,

Boy have I been struggling. I don't know what's happened, but it's time to get back to basics. Today I already slipped into mindless eating. I was shoving Ryvita crispbreads in my mouth, and all of a sudden realized that I had no idea how much I'd eaten. Luckily, there are only so many in the bag, and I haven't done any damage to my eating day, but it was a serious wake-up call about where my habits are headed if I don't take control now. I have to get back on board with paying attention and remembering why I'm doing this.

My TOM is a week late and I think it has impacted the challenge level of staying OP. I don't know how much weight I have gained--will wait for TOM to come and go before stepping on the scale.

I don't have time for full personals today, but wanted to welcome Torister back, who I have wondered about, and to comment on Catherine's info about clutter and weight.

I am a personal financial consultant, and I can tell you that there is a connection between clutter, weight, AND finances. Not all my clutter-prone clients are overweight, but there are definite patterns in that the clutter is a symptom of a set of issues that manifests in at least one other area. Of my clients that need help with organizing their financial lives, 90+ % also struggle with clutter and junk in their home. It's expensive to have clutter because
-you need space to store it, thus need a larger home or a storage unit
-you bought most of the stuff that is junking up your life, with a lot of it not being used
-you can't find things and don't know what you have, which leads to buying the same stuff more than once.

I'll often devise a plan with them that includes handling the physical clutter as well as the financial and emotional clutter.

I used to have a clutter problem, but have for many years lived clutter and junk free. My home is very simply decorated, and I've devised ways to make it as simple as possible to maintain a clean and reasonably neat space. I apply the same principles to helping my clients with managing their finances.

I obviously don't give diet advice, because how could I. That is the final frontier, if you will, in my life. But I can, with 100% certainty, assert that the underlying issues are related.

Hey everyone!

I'm back! I just flew in late last night from visiting with my family for a couple of weeks. It was really nice to see them but I am definitely glad to be back home. It wasn't the company so much as the eating... things get out of control very easily when I'm not able to stick to my specific eating schedule and foods, especially for this past week when we were visiting my grandmother and were eating out for every meal. I'm up a total of 10 lbs, but I know most (at least half) of that is water weight (and that's actually down from what it was Christmas Day!) considering I did at least attempt to be healthy when eating out and I know restaurant food is super salty, plus I have a body fat % monitor on my scale which tells me that as well.

Tomorrow I drive back to D.C. to pick Jed up from the airport and then Friday night we're going to see Spamalot. I'm excited about that as well, but mostly just because I'll get to see him!

I also picked Muffin up from being boarded at the vet and he said that he monitored her closely and didn't notice any strange seizure-like behavior, so hopefully she's done with that!

I'll hopefully have more time to catch up with all of you later! Hope you're all having a wonderful start to 2008!

Happy New Year!!!

Welcome back to all our returnees and welcome to all the new people!

Thank goodness I had to go back to work today because I let myself slide into a real funk! It wasn’t necessarily bad eating wise (in fact two days I barely ate at all, which was really weird), but I just kind of checked out mentally for a few days. I guess my brain needed a vacation. :)

I did go shopping and it was a somewhat mixed blessing. I didn’t find anything I wanted to buy except for a GORGEOUS skirt at Macy’s, but it was $90 and I would be hard pressed to spend that kind of money on one item of clothing even if I thought I could wear it for the next 10 years. I am kind of cheap that way. I went to a bunch of different places and didn’t find anything, but I was amazed at the sizes I was trying on. I was mainly looking for skirts, and at the plus size places (Avenue, Lane Bryant) mostly the 22/24’s were too big and the 18/20’s just a bit too small. But I did fit into the 18/20, which for someone who had been wearing a 32 blew my mind. The fab skirt at Macy’s was a 22. I ended up getting a better idea of what size I am and then ordering a whole bunch of clearance stuff online.

I have to admit that it was a bit tough to see myself mostly naked from the waist down. I don’t have a full length mirror at home and it was a bit shocking actually. I always thought the whole skin thing wasn’t going to bother me and now I know I have a lot of more work to do. I wouldn’t trade my weight loss for the world, but I think my self-perception right now is getting worse as much as I fight against it. I still feel WAY better about myself than I did when I was younger, but I wish I didn’t get down on myself for how I do look. It is crazy and I hate the fact that I am doing it. I think as long as I maintain that realization then I am safe and I can continue to work on any self esteem issues that arise. Please don’t let me get too down on myself. I know it isn’t healthy and I hate when other people do it. If we don’t love ourselves then who else is going to?

Oh, I almost forgot -

helnzhere - Check out www.collagevideo.com. You can do a search on the keyword "sitting" and there are a bunch of choices. You can even see little clips from the videos to get an idea of whether you will like it.

Nancy... great! Thanks for the lead! I'm gonna go check it out!
Helen

Nancy ~ You certainly arent the only one with issues like this. I cant look at myself when I am out trying on clothes or I get depressed and lose my will to shop. I have 1 full length mirror in the house but I have it on the wall turned sideways. I dont WANT to see what I look like from the waist down. Its horrid. I am so saggy and wrinkly it reminds me of an elephants skin. I turn myself backwards in the fitting room until I have the bottoms pulled up! I just have to keep telling myself that I look FAB with them ON :rofl:

first of all thanks Voodoo i am back to stay! Thanks catherine for your words i get so discouraged about my sloooow progress on the gazelle .. it seems to be more of a workout than my treadmill but i think i am slowly getting there with it.

OK you DDR ladies, you convinced me. I had my husband hook up the PS2 (the Wii had taken its place), and I dragged out the DDR mat and game. My oldest daughter and I have been playing since she got home. I thought I had rhythm, but I'm having trouble getting the timing exactly right. Nevertheless, so much fun!

Battleax - that mindless eating! I think about it a lot because I'm so aware that I will ALWAYS have to work, to be mindful, to keep the weight off. Why does my size 4 sister have a pantry full of cookies, chocolate, chips and it goes stale? Mindless eating is just not something she's prone too. No amount of therapy has helped me figure that one out. That's probably why I regained the 80+lbs I previously lost.

Zelma - thanks for including the link to the pics. You are an inspiration. Would you mind sharing if extra skin was an issue? What did you do about it? I'm such a worrier - even about things that might not happen - but I'm trying to make a plan for postively dealing with problems that could be potential setbacks.

Saggy skin issues are really common. I struggle with that too. There are so many things I don't like about my body and I really do have to work to see all the positives -- and there are many.

Here's a great FAQ on the subject on the maintainers forum. I encourage people to read it. Speaking for myself, it was definitely a concern of mine going in.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36040

Hello Ladies and Happy New Year!

I tried not to go too overboard over the holidays, indulging but not gorging although I still ate way more than I should of, not to mention zero exercise. I threw out some chocolate and stuff that was given to me rather than keeping it around the house and giving into it. Like the majority of people I resolved to start the new year off fresh, so along with my husband we are setting ourselves a goal to lose 100 pounds by July 1st.

The great news for me is that I started a new job today! I finally got my much-wanted job at a library, and I'm so excited. It's brand new, actually hasn't even opened yet, so there's a lot to do and it sounds all very challenging and exciting. No more desk job for me! Plus, it's with the county, and they offer a discount with the local YMCA, so I'm going to join. :yay:

I had to have a medical done as part the hiring process and learned that my weight has gone up over 300 lbs. again. :( Still, no one to blame but myself, and I'm not going to dwell on it but just get back on the wagon and keep looking forward.

Nancy, not having gotten to that point yet myself, all I can say is that yes, this is worth it, your body is so much better off now without all that excess weight. Yeah, your skin may not look it, but really, in light of all that you're gaining by losing, you know it's worth it. :hug:

Here's a big :hug: and plenty of :dust: to all of you as we begin a new year and renewed determination to get (or stay) healthy!

Hi Peeps - wow this has been a busy place. Welcome to everyone and welcome back too! Peggy - I've thought about you and missed you - great to see you.

Nancy - sorry about the shopping experience - this will get better with time - because you will need to shop for a new outfit for next Christmas' pic - how awesome that was!!!! Hugs to you.

Long day today but good OP. I'm excited - tomorrow is my first cardio class at the hospital taught by the guy who lost 170 lbs. I'll keep you posted.

Need to fix a bite to eat.

Hugs to you all,
Carol

Hi everyone. So nice to see the boards hopping again as everyone returns from their holiday breaks and we meet some new friends too! :)

Debbie - I bet you are right and their is a DDR somewhere with my name on it ;). I have been trying to think of something for my 50 pound reward and maybe a DDR will be it. Right now I am doing bootcamp in the mornings for exercise. My sessions are up the first week of March and I am not certain I will renew as it is rather expensive. So a DDR might be a good reward for my hard work and incentive to keep working hard and having fun to boot!

Patti - Good for you working on your Gazelle today. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day. You will work up your stamina over time. Keep up the good work! :)

:wave: Torister - Glad to see you back. Being healthier and lighter than you were last year at this time is a huge accomplishment!

Catherine - I totally buy what that article said about clutter. It just can mess up alot. That is why getting organized is one of my 2008 goals. Even though I am an extremely financially responsible person I have paid bills late accidentally simply because it had gotten buried under a stack of "stuff". I also find that being surrounding by clutter makes me feel depressed and unmotivated to do anything. I would love to be clutter-free by the end of 2008!!!

jeanne - Don't beat yourself up over your slip. It was a learning opportunity. In addition to eating a more substantial breakfast, maybe you could plan to bring a healthy snack to tide you over when you get the mid-morning hungries. I almost always have a snack mid-morning as well as mid-afternoon. If I go too long without eating it sets me up for bingeing.

Battle - It must be rewarding doing your job. I know there are so many people in our country who are not in very good shape financially and probably really benefit from your advice and guidance. Bravo! Sorry to hear you are struggling. Thankfully you didn't do too much damage before you became mindful of what you were doing.

Nancy - :congrat: on being a smaller size. As for the skin issue, I haven't hit that point yet but I know I will. I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel disappointed in myself for permanently "damaging" my body this way. Sometimes when I see a young girl wearing a midriff top with nice smooth skin I mourn what I have done to my own skin. But, that being said, we will be healthier for having lost the weight. And we can have skin removed if it really bothers us. Maybe we should think of the skin as our "battle scars".

Lesley - :congrat: on the job at the new library. I bet you will love it, being a "LitChick" and all. ;)

It was my first day back at work since the holidays and I had a hard time getting into the swing of things even though I had lots to do. School starts up again next week. My classes are on Tues and Thursday nights. It will be Finance and Economics this time. I think they will be tough but I am looking forward to them more so than the classes I did last semester. What can I say? I am a numbers girl.

Brenda: Welcome back sweetie.

Kayley: good job staying away from drinks and pizza!

Angie: Hiya.

Catherine: I like your getting organized little at a time plan. I purge my filing cabinet each year and I actually look forward to starting fresh. I did that on the 1st cause, well, I didn't have anything else to do while hubby watched bowl games.

Sandy: Love your avatar photo. Great job being on south beach today.

Zelma: I love your new avatar photo. You are so pretty!

Donna: Hiya girl.

Patti: Glad you are back.

Sharon: I hope when TOM comes you will loose any extra weight you have gained.

Judo: Great resolutions. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Peggy: Hugs and welcome back. I've missed you!

Val: Yipee for walking at work today. I took a 10 minute walk at lunch time. It felt so nice to break up my day with a tiny bit of movement instead of getting all my exercise in before work. I'm going to shoot for doing that daily.

Jeannie: Hope Thursday is a better day for you. HUGS.

Battle: Hugs and I think it is wise to wait for after TOM to weigh.

Lindsey: Glad you are back and Muffin seems to be doing well.

Nancy: Woo hoo for new sizes. I can so relate. Seeing a size 24 on my body amazes me every time I try one on and it fits. It would be more amazing if so many of the 26's were bigger on me. lol. Hugs to you though. I"m so happy for you.

Leslie: Congrats on the new Job!

Carol: Have fun in the exercise class. How is your hubby's shoulder doing?

Xena: I think you and I are the only ones on here without a DDR or plans to buy one. lol. I may just have to look into that. I really want the Wii so I can do the boxing thing. I lovvvvvve to box.

Well, today was such a hard day at work. I felt like I was begging my supervisors to spend time with me to assist me on a few cases. I just had an overwhelming day today I'm sure tomorrow will be well, more of the same, lol. It is intake day and depending on how many people show up is how crazy it is. I will go into it with a good attitude and I am trying to do something nice for me and walk at lunch time.

Blessings all,
Annie

Hiya ladies! I won't have a chance to do personals until the weekend, but know that I'm cheering you all on and celebrating your fantastic victories, scale or otherwise!

I am doing well. I started journaling everything that goes into my mouth again. Today I made the effort to get up off my bum and do something constructive at work (rather than sit at my desk and twiddle my thumbs). I'm below target for my calories, and I have tomorrow planned out. I can do this!

Just a fly by this morning. I worked 10 hours yesterday and I'm beat, still.
Yesterday wasn't a terrific food day, but it wasn't the worst either. Today is a new day and it'll be better!
Hugs to all!

I made it through Day 1 back OP just fine. It was not without its challenges. We had a sad night last night in that we had to let our 13 YO 4 legged friend go. He has been battling cancer for two months, but yesterday he let us know he was tired of fighting and we let him go. Such a sweetie. It is comforting to know that he is out of pain and of course he led a cushy life. Anyway, I came home from the vet last night wanting to eat anything and everything! Instead, I had a good cry and hugged the other dogs and went to bed. Old habits die hard!!

Today is a new day. I had an egg white, zucchini and onion omelette with chunky salsa for bfast. I have my lunch and snacks packed for work. I feel like I am back on track. I will feel better when I have a week of good work under my belt.

Hope you all have wonderful days today!

Peace!

Annie and Sharon - Thank you for the compliments about my new hairdo. I had it coloured, with lighter highlights, a few weeks ago, ready for carols in the city. I am actually a combination of still being VERY insecure and extremely vain. Some days I just feel as though I look really good, and I come home and have to take photos to confirm that I actually look as good as I thought I did. I still look at some of the worse photos and think "Yep, that is probably the TRUE image that people see of me." But I also print of some of the better ones and sit and smile at them, which is SO vain! It is amazing to have such mixed feelings about how I look. I never used to worry about that sort of thing before. I just got dressed, did a minimal job on making my face and hair respectable, then went out. Now I pay extra attention to SO many things. Lucky I have a patient husband!

Donna - I am glad that you already have a plan to get back on the wagon and rid yourself of those pesky pounds that have found their way to you.
It sounds as though your whole family is getting pretty excited about DDR. You may have to compete for time on it soon.

Sharon – I bought the South Beach book a while ago and enjoyed reading it, but didn’t actually follow the program. I like just learning as much as possible and taking little bits and pieces of information from here and there.
I can’t imagine puddles freezing over! Ouch... that has got to be cold!! I am not very tolerant of the cold any more. I am not really thrilled about these temps of over 100F, but I do like it to be around 80F.

Judojediworm – I think your goals for 2008 are very realistic and you have been very sensible in what you have planned. There is nothing worse than planning for something so far out of reach that you just set yourself up for failure. Good luck with achieving your goals!

Peggy – Great to see you back! Isn’t it wonderful that even though we think we have not been too good, we realise that our ‘bad’ moments are actually better than most people would be doing at their best times. Sometimes we forget just how much we have improved our everyday lifestyles and how ingrained these things are. I find myself ‘binging’ on fruit and wholegrain bread with natural peanut butter. While it still isn’t good to eat too much of ANY food, these foods are not too bad considering the options.
It’s great to be able to look back on the past year and know that your life is improved. Here’s hoping that the next year will continue to show improvements.

Catherine – I can’t imagine what it would be like to eat alligator. I am pathetic when it comes to eating unusual foods. I tried kangaroo a while ago because someone told me it was very low fat. Well... I think I will just have to accept a bit of extra fat in my food. It was VERY strong and ‘gamy’. Not to my liking at all.
I am glad that Himself is out of the dog house now. My hubby is much the same. He drives me nuts for a little while then does something sweet and has me all mushy again.
Things will be cooling a little for the next few days, by the looks of the forecast, but then it is up to 40C/104F on Monday. I think I am slowly adjusting and will hopefully cope. How does it work that it gets too cold to snow. Sorry, but I have no idea about weather and how it all works.

Brenda – Do you want to post some of your cooking over here? I really don’t enjoy cooking and think I would work perfectly with a personal chef. I envy those of you who can produce amazing things in the kitchen... well, even BASIC things in the kitchen would be good. Luckily I LOVE salads and basic proteins. Those don’t take much to prepare.
I’m glad your hubby is feeling better. I hope you managed to find something you enjoy doing while you are trapped in your home.

Valerie – Well done on walking during your lunch hour! I have often thought of doing that at school, or even starting up a little walking group with some kids, but by the time we have eaten lunch, we only have about 20 minutes left. I suppose that would still be better than nothing. That would be plenty of time to get down to the lake nearby and back again. Hey! I may actually start that up when school goes back again. You have motivated me!

Jeanne – I don’t know what a raspberry meltaway is, but it sounds delicious! I am sorry that you had a minor meltdown with them. I think your idea of having a bigger breakfast is great. I know I always feel better with something more substantial to start my day. Don’t forget that it is still OK to have a mid-morning snack though. Just make it something small, but filling. I have to admit that if I have something sugary, such as cake or cookies, I am tempted to have SO much more afterwards.

Debbie – Thanks for the sympathy about the heat. I really enjoy walking along the beach, or by the river. We just have to set off MUCH earlier at this time of the year. Almost before the sun has come up would be the best thing, but I like to have breakfast first if I plan a long walk.
Well done on sticking with your plan for two days now. Each day is a bonus and it makes us feel stronger. I found it took me a while to get into the exercise ‘routine’, but I still made myself do it every day, because I knew it wasn’t an option. Now I actually feel weird if I have a break from exercise for more than a day or two.

Battleax – It was interesting to read your comments about clutter affecting, or being related to, other parts of your life. I have felt more in control of things lately and seem to have a very positive outlook and I have just been wondering if that is directly related to me clearing out SO much stuff from school lately and organising home a little more to fit in what school stuff I have left. That is definitely something to ponder. Thank you (and Catherine) for your insight into this.

Kayley – I am sure that shovelling snow is a GREAT form of exercise. It is funny but I have often wished we had snow, just so I could get the exercise in shovelling. Hubby finds it amusing at times that I demand to do the vacuuming, because it will be more of a workout for me. I am not sure I EVER thought I would want to do housework for that reason. LOL

Lindsey – Great to see you back and to hear that you had a lovely time away. I used to have the same problem when I want to visit family until I decided that I would take my own food and they would just have to work around that. Thankfully they are all used to it now and just prepare food for themselves if I can’t fit in with them. It makes me feel SO much better that I have some control over things.
It is lovely to see you so excited about picking Jed up. I remember when you first met him and I thought then that you two had something special going on.

Nancy – Congratulations on fitting into those smaller sizes! It is such a wonderful feeling isn’t it? I still have the first size 12 (US – 8/10) label that I got off a piece of clothing. I never wore that size before, as I went from kids sizes to an adult size 16. It was so wonderful that I cried!
It seems as though, even though you are a little down about the loose skin issue, you still have a positive attitude and you know that it is something you will have to deal with, but you won’t let it stop you from losing weight. Good for you!

Kimmie – It sounds as though you have had a look around my site and you have probably seen my ‘after’ photos. Many people ask me what I did about the excess skin and they are surprised to hear that I still have a LOT of excess skin, but I manage to hide it under gorgeous, flattering clothes. There is no way of knowing how much skin you will have at the end of your journey, because there are a number of things to take into consideration, such as your age (younger people have more elasticity in their skin), how long you have been carrying the weight and how quickly you lose the weight. My doctor told me that just over two years was actually very quick to lose the amount of weight I lost. I also didn’t start until I was almost 42 and I had been obese for a LONG time. Still, I never actually considered the excess skin during the whole time I was losing weight. I NOTICED it of course, but I didn’t really worry about it. I just knew it was an indication of how well I was doing, and I considered it to be my ‘Badge of Honour’. At the moment I have no intentions of getting it removed, as I don’t like pain, can’t afford the surgery, can’t take the time off work for the recovery and I am happy with how I can cover it up. If it ever became a medical issue I may think about it, but for the moment it isn’t in my plans. I understand that if you are younger, and looking to find/impress a partner, then you may want to do something about the excess skin, but I am lucky enough to be happily married to someone who loved me at my heaviest and says I am still beautiful now, with my loose skin, so that makes a BIG difference I would imagine.
Good luck with your weight loss, and PLEASE don’t worry about the loose/excess skin until you are at the end of your journey. You will have a much better idea of what you are dealing with then and how you are feeling about it.

Lesley – Congratulations on the new library job. I know that it is something you have been wanting for a LONG time. I look forward to hearing how your first few days go. I would imagine things are going to be very hectic for a while. How long will it be before you are open for business?
Good for you for throwing out the chocolate and other stuff. I had to remove temptation from my presence for a LONG time when I started my journey.

Carol – I look forward to hearing how your cardio workout went. At least you know that the instructor knows where you are coming from and how you will be feeling.

Well, that's about it for me (after writing another 'book'). I had a pretty good day at the tennis (US won all of the matches, but the women's and men's games were VERY evenly matched). I didn't manage to stay for the doubles game because I was getting VERY tired. Met Neil in the city and grabbed a lovely cold drink before coming home.

I am heading off to bed now to read in the air conditioning.

Take care,

Zelma

Torister - I'm so sorry that you had to say goodbye to a beloved animal - and happy to hear that you have more at home to love.

Brandnewme: Hi and hope you have a super great day.

Sandy: Hope your day is better today. Come on Sandy. You can do this. The first few days are the hardest. Just take this one day and make it amazing!

Peggy: So so sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine loosing one of my furbabies. Hugs and more hugs to you. Great job being on track with eating though!

Zelma: It shows that you take time to make yourself the best you that you can be! You look amazing and I I looked like you I may like to look at photos of myself too. :) Hugs.

Well, I am off to work EARLY today. I have a ton of things to do and would like to do them before the phones start ringing and clients start coming in. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Today is my weigh in day and I stayed the same! I seem to loose weight every other week or so. I know I am retaining water too though cause one of my rings is a bit more snug.

Blessings all,
Annie

Good Morning All!:coffee:

It was a good OP day for me yesterday. It's funny how much more I feel in control of my life when I am OP. :dizzy: Although the increase in H2O has had me peeing every 2 hours all night long, :o I am a good kind of tired this morning :tired:. It seems that the temp drop here (it's 14/F) has frozen the cold water line to my fridge, and the filtered water is not comming out more than a trickle. Luckily we have stocked up on bottled water for work, but I try not to use more than 1 a day and take a travel mug full of water and ice to start with. It is kinda pissing me off, since we spent all the money to have the kitchen remodeled and all the siding and insulation done, I would think I wouldn't have to worry about all that anymore. Oh well, it's always something, isn't it!!! :p

This board is flying so fast now, I will try to keep up!! :yes:

Peggy: I am so sorry to hear about your furbaby! Big :hug: to you.

Zelma: I actually did try the DDR by myself yesterday because Sammi pulled a muscle in her back somehow and was hurting. I did 15 mins and then my darn foot started hurting so I had to stop. I think the bad part is that you can't wear shoes on the mat, so if I do it with someone else, I can stand behind and keep my sneakers on.

Battle: I am the queen of clutter!! I never realized it could have anything to do with weight loss. I am always worried that if I throw something out, I may need it later on. I think it may have something to do with the fact that when I was growing up, my mom was a cleaning freak (and still is) and anything that I put on my desk always seemed to dissappear. She used to vacuum @6am, and didn't care if we were sleeping or not. My laundry never had a chance to hit the bottom of the hamper!! That is definately why I HATE housework. Luckily, we got Doug a Dyson vacuum and he was so thrilled, he has taken over cleaning up!! :rofl:

Kayley: Glad to see you posting again! :hug:

Lesley: :wave: I always sing the song from your avatar when you post!! :congrat: on your dream job!!

Brandnewme: Good job yesterday...just remember babysteps!! ;)

Annie::wave:

Nancy: I always thought that if I ever got to the point where my skin was sagging, it had to be better than the fact that it used to be full of fat and flopping around!! :lol:

Xena: I am always impressed by people who work full-time and go to school. As for numbers...we don't get along. I can do the basics...as long as I can use my fingers :o, but when you throw in letters like x and y...forget it!!!! :yawn:

Carol: Have fun doing cardio! It will make your :val1: happy!


Have a Great OP Day! :cheer2: