It is definitely not bikini season here. I woke up to snow again this morning. I'm not doing anything stressful. Trying to take it easy and stay calm. I guess there being snow outside has made it easier for me to stay in.

Hi ladies,

Battle: Your comments about how I look are so sweet. Thank you. I will be praying that you get the job.

Lauren: Hugs to ya.

Catherine: Stay warm and please don't send us any snow. We are having stormy rainy weather but it isn't too cold.

Blessings all,
Annie

Tori, reading the fine print I see that you had gained a lot back before getting a grip again. My, you have made tremendous progress since November.

Lauren, that is the way to do it for most of us - small steps at a time and with no need to be on a drastic plan. It took a good 3-4 weeks for me to work into the plan I'm on now. I'm hanging at 2000 -2100 calories, which is very do-able, but it still took that amount of time to ease into it. There were some holding onto the ledge by my fingernails days and some major slips before getting into this zone. Changing the diet and exercise patterns is a shock to the body.


As I am looking for a job, I have that motivation to keep me on plan. In my field it is a serious, serious liability to be morbidly obese and looking for a new position. Add the economy on top of it and I should never want to overeat again. My career is in a health-related field and many would would find it very ironic to see the woman behind the curtain. I am stressing about the upcoming phone screen, which if successful, will lead to an in-person interview. Maybe the phone screen will work in my favor because I will have a chance to make an impression before they see me.

OK then, no more stressing about what I cannot control. I can control my eating and exercise, and today is a good day from that perspective.

Battle - do you feel you have a dual identity? Are you OK with us still hanging on to that name? We are all so overjoyed to see you back - you'll always be Battle to me but let me know what you prefer.

Great day here - 90 minutes of hard exercise tonight - wow she worked it. I have confided in my trainer my secret goal to hit 100 lbs released by the time the niece's wedding roles around in September. It was a whisper since I don't do time/pound goals as it is a recipe for disappointment - I think she has it at her foremost thought every time she pushes me harder.

DH is out of town so after the workout I came home and worked outside for about 30 minutes. A nice chicken salad will be tasting good very soon.

Hugs to you all,
Carol

Evening all..

Justin didn't go to school again today. Temp was at 101. All day it is went from 101 to 100 back up again to 101. On the way home from work, I called to talk to the Dr that my son seen since hubby took him. She said that she "thinks" it is viral. Something like mono. She said that we should be giving him tylenol every 4 hours and ibuprofin every 4 to 6 hours. Does that sound right? She said that is to help with the fever. She said since she thinks its viral..it has to run its course. I started balling on the phone, I said this is my child, and I really hope you are right. She said that he needs to drink fluids, which is is drinking OJ and water. She also said that he needs rest. Which he has. She also said no contact sports, which he does not do, because mono afffects the spleen and that could damage and rupture it. I balled my eyes out again. I spoke to 3 of his 4 teachers about him making up finals. He is really worried about that.

I know in my heart he will be ok. And so many kids at school were sent home that day sick as well. I just worry..guess cause I am a mom.

Good evening, everybody!

It was fun reading through all your messages and catching up a bit.

Sharon... how thoughtful of you to remember Annie! It wasn't a car accident but rather they found her one morning totally blue and almost dead -- suffered severe brain damage -- turned out to be undiagnosed Addison's Disease. I am not sure if I am allowed to post her blog on here (although I have her Mommie's permission to share it but not sure what 3FC allows). She has a long way to go but is doing waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond what doctors ever thought possible. God is so good at healing her. She is learning to ride a special trike, has a gait trainer, can see and hear (neither of which she was supposed to be able to do) and is beginning to talk a bit. Big problem is lots of drop seizures; they suspect the meds for them are partly why she is not able to more clearly express her thoughts, etc. I will email you her blog site URL.

Thanks Torister... duh you mean just change my info? :) Sheesh! I have obviously been gone 'way too long.

Val, I have begun journaling too... that is so hard for me but I have a medical nutritionist and she keeps encouraging me to do it. It DOES help as I will not eat something if I have to write it down and show it to her, ha.

Debbie... I haven't lived here 40 years but lived in Portland for about 12 and altogether n Seattle area for about 10 or so (moved back and forth) and this was by FAR the coldest, snowiest (!!!) winter we have had! LOL I was starting to think I had fallen asleep and woken up back in Missouri or something (although ha this would be VERY wimpy still compared to there)!


Ummmm letstryitagain... I don't think I am ready to share again what my highest weight was. :)

Ha Catherine, sounds like that bikini can wait a bit! :)


God's Blessings to everybody.

Hey everyone. :D

Been a bit quiet this week as I'm frustrated with the weight. I want it to start going DOWN again. I'm impatient, yeah, but you know GRRRRRR lol.

I haven't been sleeping well. I think I'm just full of anxiety lately and that keeps me up. It is hard to fall asleep when your brain is going and going and going. My ankle is better, I gave it yesterday off, and will exercise today. It throbs a bit when I walk and exercise, but with my brace it feels better than it was. Before it felt like it was going to just give out on me, now it feels stronger, so I think it is healing up a bit. :D

I hope everyone is well! :D *HUGS*

Azcyn - my pediatrician has had me do that with my kids when they've had high temperatures before. Advil and Tylenol are different medications so you will not overdose him. Just spread them out, for example: Advil at 8:00, Tylenol at 10:00, Advil at 12:00...and so on.

Good luck and hope he feels better soon!

Battle: Yes, I'm with Carol. Please do let us know what you would prefer to be called. Silly me always in a set way but willing to change your name absolutely if you would like. You are wise to just relax and take one day at a time. Hang in there. You are doing so well.

Carol: I love your whisper! I think goals are great personally and I feel like It has helped me in my journey. I have set time goals that I totally didn't complete but it hasn't detered me. Great workouts are so awesome.

Cyn: Continuing to pray for Justin to heal quickly. Hugs.

Sue: Thank you for updating us on little Annie. I will continue to pray for her.

Jacquie: Hugs and hang in there hon.

Well, I am baking today. Joel and I will be driving down to Southern Idaho tomorrow morning very early to spend some time with my Parents and my Uncle. He loves, loves sweets so I made him some lemon squares and I am planning on making him something else also. Lemon squares are done and cooling and I'm doing the laundry. We have a friend, young 22 year old lady that will be staying here with our doggies while we are gone. My dogs love her and they sure like being home better than a kennel. We are so lucky to have her to watch them occasionally. We will be gone until late Sunday night or Monday morning. Not sure which yet.

I don't know if I will have time to check in again later today. It depends on how quickly I get my chores done. I am so ready to go see my Dad and Step mom. I am planning on fishing while I'm there. I love to fish and maybe I'll even drop a line on the way home in the Salmon River. Near Hells Canyon looks like such a great place to fish for troat. lol. I have thought that so often but not had my pole and tackle before. This time I have it ready to go.

Last night in wls support group it got really tough. I actually cried. Not a normal thing for me to do. I rarely cry in front of people but, the therapist was really digging last night. I have come to the conclusion, with the help of my friends there, that I really need to go into therapy one on one as I have been planning on doing but have been too chicken to do. They advised me that If I don't deal with the big issues that I used to get myself to 510 pounds then I more than likely won't be successful in keeping off this weight. I have been having such bad panic attacks for a while now and I realize it is mostly because I can't go to food to quenche them down like I used to. I physically can't eat like I used to and I honestly won't allow myself to "go there" for comfort. So, that has led to me being very stressed out and panicky. I am planning on making an appointment with my therapist when I get home and praying that it helps me to stop being so panicky abougt things.

Well, If I don't make it back here later today, please have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Blessings to you all,
Annie

Proud of myself!
 

I've been down sick with an awful cold the last few days so I haven't been able to visit. I've been in a Nyquil coma lol.
My daughter Mandi is back in the competition. yay. My other daughter Lynn got sick too but somehow managed to still work out and everything. I guess with me being older it hit me harder ~shrug~
I'm feeling a little better today and just managed to work out for 11 min, but I'm going to spread it out in 10 min increments throughout the day so I can get in all my exercise that I normally do.
I weighed myself today and found that I've lost 4.7 lbs since the beginning of the competition (05/14/09)! I'm so jazzed about that. I have no clue if I've lost the most or what though, but it's really nice to see all my hard work paying off!
Next weigh-in is tomorrow so I'm going to try to push myself today to lose even more :)
Lynn and I post on another forum too. We're getting so much conflicting information there and some people telling us we're not taking the competition seriously enough, and others saying we're taking it too seriously. Then there are others saying we're "starving" ourselves when we're not. It's really got Lynn down.
I explained to her that I cleared all this with my dr and the diet we're eating is the diet my dr gave me (being diabetic) so we're defiantly not starving ourselves, we're just eating healthy food and healthy portions. It bums her out though to have all these people saying different things.. seems everyone's an expert lol
I wanted to say thanks to everyone that welcomed me here in this thread too :) This place seems very supportive and friendly.
Annette

OK now wait - I think I'm catching on: Letstryitagain was previously our dear Battle?? Is that right?

WTG ANNETTE! 4.7 is a great loss!

I have weigh in tonight @ TOPS. They took my starting weight last week, and I'm feeling pretty confident about my first week's progress.

Back to work now, but have a great day everyone!!

Hi everyone
 

Newbie here. Thanks to Misti from Seattle for pointing me in the right direction.

Wow, when I look at the wonderful progress some of you have made - it really inspires me to not give up and work hard. Thanks so much.

I look forward to getting to know all of you better.

My best wishes to all of you.

Dani

Just popping in to say hello. After it being too cold, today it's pretty hot. I'm trying to get the pots ready to plant (probably next week), so just popped in to cool down and probably make my lunch. I am going to try and come back and do personals later, but before I go I just wanted to address one thing.

Annette - the question of how much to eat (or how little to eat) comes up a lot. I'm sure if you polled people here that everyone would have a different opinion (and experience). However, not all doctors take into account people's weight when they give them eating plans. If your doctor has handed you a typical '1200 for women, 1500 for men' plan then it probably isn't enough, especially if you're going to add in exercise. Although some people can, and do lose, at those levels - most people in the 300 pound range find that they lose weight fast, then stop losing completely. I myself went through decades of trying to lose weight on 1200 calories, and frankly for me, it didn't work. I eat ~2000 cals a day (2250-2300 on days I do strength training) and lose somewhere between 1.5 and 2 pounds most weeks. It give me enough energy to do lots of other things (this morning for example I've spent about 3 hours puttering around the garden). If I eat less then I stop doing the extra stuff, burn fewer calories, and lose less weight. I'd love to lose 3 or even 5 pounds a week, but when I do I usually stop losing weight. So, even with a completely bad 4 or 5 weeks in late March/early April (where I gained weight, long story - exams, parties, etc.) I've averaged 1.48 pounds lost each week. I know it doesn't sound like much but that average is from December 2007 and it totals 111.8 pounds as of this morning. I eat food that I enjoy, I am active, and I've found a way of living that I can continue. To me, that's the most important part of losing weight.

The 'first week' weight loss is fantastic, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't continue at that rate. I sometimes think that's the worst of some eating plans. You feel deprived, but it's all worth it for a 5 pound loss. When the second week comes and it's 1 or 2 people get disappointed, but muster on. If weeks three or four slow down even more they wonder why they're depriving themselves for such little results. So, even though your plan has been approved by the doctor, take a look at it with a dispassionate eye if you can. If your daughters are lighter (or heavier) and you're all eating the same amount, you do likely need to adjust it.

- - - - -

I've rambled on too much, off to make lunch I go! Hope everyone is having a good 'hump' day. :dizzy:

Originally Posted by RealCdn:
Just popping in to say hello. After it being too cold, today it's pretty hot. I'm trying to get the pots ready to plant (probably next week), so just popped in to cool down and probably make my lunch. I am going to try and come back and do personals later, but before I go I just wanted to address one thing.

Annette - the question of how much to eat (or how little to eat) comes up a lot. I'm sure if you polled people here that everyone would have a different opinion (and experience). However, not all doctors take into account people's weight when they give them eating plans. If your doctor has handed you a typical '1200 for women, 1500 for men' plan then it probably isn't enough, especially if you're going to add in exercise. Although some people can, and do lose, at those levels - most people in the 300 pound range find that they lose weight fast, then stop losing completely. I myself went through decades of trying to lose weight on 1200 calories, and frankly for me, it didn't work. I eat ~2000 cals a day (2250-2300 on days I do strength training) and lose somewhere between 1.5 and 2 pounds most weeks. It give me enough energy to do lots of other things (this morning for example I've spent about 3 hours puttering around the garden). If I eat less then I stop doing the extra stuff, burn fewer calories, and lose less weight. I'd love to lose 3 or even 5 pounds a week, but when I do I usually stop losing weight. So, even with a completely bad 4 or 5 weeks in late March/early April (where I gained weight, long story - exams, parties, etc.) I've averaged 1.48 pounds lost each week. I know it doesn't sound like much but that average is from December 2007 and it totals 111.8 pounds as of this morning. I eat food that I enjoy, I am active, and I've found a way of living that I can continue. To me, that's the most important part of losing weight.

The 'first week' weight loss is fantastic, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't continue at that rate. I sometimes think that's the worst of some eating plans. You feel deprived, but it's all worth it for a 5 pound loss. When the second week comes and it's 1 or 2 people get disappointed, but muster on. If weeks three or four slow down even more they wonder why they're depriving themselves for such little results. So, even though your plan has been approved by the doctor, take a look at it with a dispassionate eye if you can. If your daughters are lighter (or heavier) and you're all eating the same amount, you do likely need to adjust it.

- - - - -

I've rambled on too much, off to make lunch I go! Hope everyone is having a good 'hump' day. :dizzy:

One thing is before this competition I had already changed my lifestyle (because I was dx with diabetes) and had lost 20lbs before this A lot of people keep saying that their afraid I'll get done with the competition and gain it all back by going back to the "old lifestyle" but what they don't take into consideration is my "old lifestyle" already had me lose 20lbs! :) That's what I'll be going back to. It's not like I'm going to stop and go out for fast food lol.. fast food= BAD! :devil:
I fully trust my dr and what she's told me on my diet.

Battle - Heck YES I gained a TON back! :o:( I had a lot of stress in the fall of 07 and I tried to bury it with my good friend food for months on end. All that did was make me fat and miserable and at medical risk. Thankfully, I got my act together before I put it all back on. Believe me...I could have! Anyway, I love the way I am eating now and it seems to agree with me and my lifestyle...so far so good!

Annie - Have FUN on your vacation!!

Annette - You are getting good advice regarding caloric intake. Personally, I think you are taking in way too few calories at 1200 for your current weight and in the end you will be paying for it with a compromised metabolism that will make it that much harder to lose. Not worth it to me. You will have to come to that realization on your own. I know that I am eating around 2100 cals per day and losing steadily. If I go under that for too many days in a row, then my weight loss stalls or I fluctuate UP (water weight gain). Its hard enough losing with hypothyroid, so I definitely don't want to compromise my metabolism any more. Of course ask three different people and you will get 3 differing opinions.

Dani - :wel3fc: Post often...it will be nice to get to know you. :)