I can totally relate to the financial woes. When XH still lived here, I often had issues with him spending money without me knowing about it (such as buying a new PC with my student loan money), and we ended up in a debt that I am now stuck with. I am not even making it paycheck to paycheck some months. Some of this is my fault as I can't entirely blame him - I should have kept on top of it better than I did. And, I have also helped my parents out a great deal because they live on far less than I do, and often don't have enough money for groceries by the time they've paid a little bit on each bill. I have taken to looking for a second job for the summer, but I haven't been able to find anything in my area, other than jobs I can't do. This economy SUCKS, and anyone who is struggling right now has my sympathy.

On the weight loss front, I have finally officially lost again. I am down 2lbs, which is far more than I expected since it's TOM. I can't say that I 'earned' those 2lbs, but I will sure take them and I will sure work for the next 2!

I'm trying to get to personals today, but it will depend on whether or not my landlord shows up! My bedroom floor is breaking through, as is my bathtub. He built up the bathtub to a ridiculous height, and I am now thinking there probably was a leak and he knew the floor was bad and wanted to prolong having to rip it out. Either way he has to fix it this time, or I will have to find another place. Wish me luck!

Hello all! Just thought I'd peek in. Last week we showed horses at the county fair and the last few months have been hectic getting ready. I haven't been around in SO long. Alway thinking of you tho, and glad to see so many old AND new people on the list. Have to get back to work, but hope to take some time now that Fair is over to re-focus myself, weight-wise!

Many hugs to all you wonderful folks!

Sad
 

Hello everyone. Well, things didn't go well with the weigh-in this morning and I feel just awful. I didn't lose any weight. After only a 1 lb loss last week and now this, I'm starting to lose faith. I have not cheated once in 3 weeks with my eating, I've been way more active by pushing myself to do extra chores around the house and keep busy, plus I've done a little bit of cardio. The only extra thing I can think of to do is more cardio, but it just boggles my mind that I can go from eating 2 inconsistent meals a day with whopping calories to a controlled, consistent diet of 6 small meals a day (to keep up metabolism) and tons of extra activity - and it makes Zero difference??

Part of me just wants to work harder and show that scale who's boss, but the other part of me just wants a logical reason why what I'm currently doing is not working. It's hard to swallow that at 300+ pounds with the changes that I've made, nothing is working. I can't even imagine how strict a diet I would have to be on and how crazy I would have to get with exercise down the line if this is just how difficult it is in the beginning.

Anyone else have a similar dilemna they went through? I just need some reassurance that my light at the end of the very long tunnel hasn't closed. :?:

Rat: Yep those furbabies are awesome. I love how the monsters are afraid of them too!

Bernice: next time that grumpy fairy comes flying by, I may get my shot gun out and threaten her.

Sharon: I bet your kids are good for lifting your spirits. I hope you feel better very soon sweetie.

Brandnewme: Sorry that you are struggling too. It stinks. We can get out of this hun. Just dig in your heals and hang in there. Congrats on -2 pounds too.

Val: Hi girl. Glad to see ya. Wonderful that you had a great time at the fair. Come back and visit sometime when you can play longer. Hugs.

Well, the mood is wayyyyy better today. I am thinking about going on a lovely bike ride this am. It is cool out and may rain later. Tomorrow I have another job interview and will be dropping off my application at another place besides. lol.

Hope everyone has a wonderful op, water drinking bootie moving day.

Blessings all,
annie

Jess: I certainly can relate to you. I know your pain first hand. When I was at 510 and got serious about loosing weight I started ww and in 6 months time I lost 16 pounds! It was devastating to go there week after week and see a gain on the scale after a 7 pound loss. The only thing I can say is that your body has been through the wringer with dieting etc. Your metabolism may be messed up sweetie. Don't, DON'T give up. All that will do is add the weight to your body that you need to loose. Is there anyway that you can go see your Dr. about it or a nutritionist? That is what I did and unfortunately for me I had to "shock" my body into a very low cal. diet for a while. It was medically supervised each week though so don't get any ideas. please. I wish I could give you a hug. Hang in there hun. See if you can talk to your Dr. about things.

Blessings to you,
Annie

here i am back again and 40.. well now only 33 pounds heavier may i count on the good support everyone once gave me!

Patti WECOME BACK!!!XXXXXX
xxxxsharon

Jess-I've had several plateaus, some self imposed, but one 6 month period where I did absolutely everything right, and didn't lose an ounce. It will drive you crazy if you let it. You have to look long term. Even without losing weight, in two weeks your can seriously improve your insides. Your immune system is better, your blood vessels more supple. Focus on your health first.

Annie-If I didn't get grumpy now and then, I suspect I ears would fly off my head, and hit the wall. I wonder sometimes what that would sound like, and if I would hear it without my ears attached. You are certainly due a few Mulligans.

I was worried that after walking at the mall for several hours, that I would be wasted or too sore today. Instead, I got up and did all my house work. I think two things helped. I upped my calories yesterday because of the exercise, and allowed myself some tylenol. I've been doing this over 6 years now, and am still learning on my feet. My doctor back home said I was a science experiment. People who start out my size are rarely able to get their bodies to release the weight without surgery. My physical disabilities don't help, but I am determined to keep trying new things until I am where I want to be.

Hi chickies!!
Well the family is gone. It's always so nice to see them, but so nice when everyone is gone and things can get back to normal.
I ate what I wanted, just not lots of it at one time. I know I probably gained some weight, hasn't shown yet, but it usually takes a couple of days, but I plan to be back OP this Friday when we can go get our healthy foods again. Who knows, with all the walking we did, I might not have gained any!! Wouldn't that be nice?
We went to the waterfront in Seattle and ate at the Crab Pot, walked the famous Pike Place Open Market and bought some beautiful flowers, watched them throw the fish around, went to the original Starbucks, the Music museum, the Sci-Fi museum. We also got some rain, which being from California, they don't get much of, so it was nice for them to see some wet stuff.
My brother gained some weight which was really surprising since he was always the skinny one. When we picked them up at the airport, I wouldn't even of recognized him, if I hadn't of seen Rachel (his wife) with him. Sure has changed in the last 5 years.

The one thing that really bothers me is my Dad though. He saw Steve and kept saying, he better lose weight. I'm really worried about him. He's gonna die if he doesn't lose weight. He even told my brother that if he lost 50lbs, that he would quit smoking. (He smokes about 2 packs a day). He's never tried to make a deal with me. I think that thru the years, that I just haven't felt like I matter much to my dad, and that's why I just gave up on myself. I hadn't really thought about it much before, but with my brother being here, it sorta brought it all up again. I plan to think about it, deal with it, and get past it and it will heal me to where it won't be an issue with me as far as my weight goes.

Julee, Luan, just heard about the earthquake, how did you two fair?

I hope to be on everyday again so I'll be around for personals. There's just too many to try and keep up with right now.
Hope everyone's having a great day!
Debbie

Patti: Hi hun. Welcome back. No shame here and of coarse you can get the support you need.

Catherine: I bet your ears would still work, for a minute or two. lol

Debbie: Sorry about your Dad. Hugs to you. Glad that you had such a wonderful time with your family though. Nice to see you back.

Blessings all,
Annie

Angels – Congrats on still losing even when on vacation. That is a big accomplishment!

Annie – Money and job woes can be so stressful. You don’t have to apologize! I am just glad that your hubby and puppies were able to help cheer you up. I will have to think about a race with a prize. Right now he isn’t starting a formal exercise routine and I don’t want to push him into it if he isn’t ready, but when he is that is a good idea.

Rat – Glad you are feeling better today.

Bernice – Is that a grumpy fairy or a grumpy dwarf? :)

Sharon – I am sorry to hear that you are going through the job hunt stress thing too. I didn’t buy anything this last weekend, but we are going to a sci-fi convention this weekend and then another ren faire the weekend after that. I oogle at all of the jewelry and stuff too. Mostly I end up getting too confused as to what I want because I love everything.

Brandnew – I hadn’t realized that you had broken things off. That is horrible that you have to pick up the financial pieces of someone else’s mistakes. That is happening to my BF right now with his ex and it really sucks.

Valerie - :wave: So good to see you!

Jess – What exactly are you doing? If you are doing everything right and not having results it is time to go to the doctor. The two most probably culprits are thyroid or PCOS. You might want to look those up and see if any of the other symptoms fit.

Patti – I posted in your other thread, but here again I will say I am right there with you!

Catherine – It is so nice when our bodies surprise us in positive ways. It is such a good feeling not to be wiped out from a previous day’s activity.

Debbie – One thing may be that your dad sympathizes with your brother more because they are both in male bodies. He may not relate to you in the same way because you are a girl and he looks at you differently. I am sorry that he makes you feel that way.


I am rather sore and I don’t want to go, but it is off to the gym tonight for me again. I have to get myself back into the routine of it. Even so, it will be a short week because I am heading up to my BF’s on Thursday night and we are heading to Connecticon for the long weekend starting on Friday. But that is even more reason to keep going today and tomorrow in case I don’t get much chance over the weekend.

Eating is going well except I am running into the same problem of not being satisfied with one item when I eat something like a sugar free jello cup or WW ice cream bar. I have been keeping in points, but I don't like eating as many points worth of that stuff as I have been. The kind of stuff is almost all gone now and I will try avoiding it again for awhile and stick to fruit and then maybe one treat of something "real" per week if I really want it.

Debbie...the news media made the quake seem way worse than it was. I was a little freaked at first till I realized exactly what was up. At first I thought there were a ton of kids running by the room where I was...we have a day camp in our buidlign these days...so it could have been. I am in a building that was built to sway...so we don't really shake so much. Only one thing fell off my shelves and we had no damage here. The actual quake was a little east and south of us. I was the most disturbed by the fact that the phones were shot for a while afterwards...when I finally got in touch with DH I was so relieved....that was what made me cry.

Thanks for asking though...and for everyone else...contrary to what the news would have you think we did not break off and float into the sea today.

Dinner plans tonight at a new restaurant with DH and some good friends. The place is close-ish to work, so we're walking over. It's a gorgeous day and the walk will do us good.

Julee, what amazed me the most was that the news sounded disappointed that you didn't break off and float out to sea. Must have been a slow news day.. hehe.

Glad it was less than described!

Luv,
Ratkity

Jess 8 Your body has to get use to the change in diet....Keep it up make sure to eat the calories your Doctor has allowed... For us loveable and fluffy people we sometimes have to eat more then a 1200 calorie diet to lose weight ...Keep the battle! You are so worth it!
Dogpal Good luck on your job interview.
Ratkitty You are funny...lol
Nancy Great job in going to the gym ...And smart girl to start eating healthier foods ...We all eat that junk sometimes but it is better for us all to eat whole foods with no chemicals.
Tonight I am struggling .....For some reason I want to eat badly...Ca't figure out why ....Don't think I depressed,not bored....But I vow to just drink water with a hint of lemon.......But personally I wish this drink was really a nice milkshake........lol (being I am dreaming a calorie free milkshake lol) Hugs all Angels

Hi Peeps -

Luan and Julee - glad to hear the quake wasn't more serious. Luan - you OK?

The scale released 2.75 this week - I'm hoping to finish off the recent gain by next week.

Hope you're all having a good day.

Hugs,
Carol