We are a group of individuals who weigh or have weighed 300+, or near there. This group was formed to provide a place for others like us to find support, inspiration, and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

We want to invite everyone (roosters as well as chicks!) to join us in our journey. We share laughter and tears, heartaches and fears ... joys and celebrations. We also share what works for us and what doesn't.

We know the thread can move very quickly, and that people often make "personal" remarks and keep a number of conversations going. Please feel free to contribute even if you can't make personal comments all the time.

Finally, we also have several extra threads going on simultaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, Photos, Exercise, Info for Getting Started and more. Many of these threads are stickied at the top of the page. Please feel free to check them all out.

We have found this thread to be more than just a support group... we have found it to become a home. We invite you to join us!

*yawn* Good Morning Peeps!

Catherine, take care of that knee. When can you start your water aerobics again? That'll strengthen it nicely. Glad you are slowly settling in.

Basket, way to go on the gym!! I haven't used mine much. I've gotten my labs back (have to watch fat soluble vits A,D,E,K and iron) and everything is great except for iron... blah!

I need to go camping every weekend.. hehe.. The reason? I lost another 3 lbs this weekend. yay! I don't eat any different, I swear! I think it's the mountain air and sitting by an evening fire reading a book.

Hugs to all!
Ratkity

I finally got my kitchen semi-unpacked today, so I had my first protein shake in over 2 months. Eating out for all this time has been horribly hard on both of us. Nothing to do now but start over, and clean myself out as I finish cleaning the house out. The number of boxes of books and dvd's that have gone to donation bin has been staggering. Every box emptied or gotten rid of has been incredibly lightening.

Happy Tuesday all..

Rat: Yeah on the weightloss!!! Sitting in the mountains sounds wonderful!

Risen: I am a car thinker too..and sometimes I just have to let it out and cry! I use to have an hour drive to work..lots of crying and thinking..now it is only 6 minutes..I just cry alot faster

Catherine: Purging is a great thing!!

As for me: Yesterday I found out at work that ME will be taking over the duties of a girl who is moving to Boston in 2 weeks!!! All my duties will shift to my friend. I KNEW this was going to happen! At first I was mad....then I calmed down and thought..you knew this was going to happen..its not that bad..and a job is a job. I am NOT good with change..but they feel I am the best person to take over what she does. So today I start the training.

As some of you know I was raised by my Grandparents. Never "met" my dad..but know who is is and talk to him a few times a year. I talk to his daughter on FB more often. Well I found one of his sister lives here in Arizona!!! I pondered messaging her..I prayed about it..finally did it. She accepted my friends request. I have ALOT of holes in my life..slowly I am filling them. Maybe someday I could meet her..who knows!

Tummy issues are still around..though not as bad! My sister and my friend are both having GI troubles. They are going through their testing right now.

Anyone else think it is weird that people have so many GI issues!!!??!!

Hi, just a quickie...
I was ill for a week then visited my parents come home with 9 EXTRA POUNDS!! truly hoping it's water from TOM as I didn't go crazy with food or anything.
Cyn hope new job goes well, what is GI? As a Brit some of these USA words/initials TOTALLY throw me. xxxx
Risen HUGS XXXXXX I had to have my dog put down a few months ago, it's awful. Cuddle your other dog & don't eat bad food it doesn't help! Have a cry & come on here! xxxxxx
Catherine WTG on clearing stuff away & getting home. Hope you get sorted properly soon.xxxxx
Ratkitty where are the pics? Sounds like you're having fun! Do you think the surgery has given you more energy, the diet you follow, or both? xxxxx
Gotta go & do 'stuff'
xxxxx sharon

Rat - Sounds like a wonderful way to lose weight!!

Catherine - Yay!! You can finally eat the way YOU want to again!!

Cyn - good for you on so many fronts! That would be really hard to never "meet" your dad. Good luck on the new job. Change can be a good thing.

Sharon - sometimes when we are sick, our body does strange things. Take care of yourself and let it come back to normal.

Anne - Time will help with the loss. Glad you had a good dad even it wasn't your "sperm donor"! Good luck!

I had a great day!! My kids went back to school today!!! And, I walked my son to school and walked up to pick him up. About a mile round trip. Felt great! Didn't get much quiet time at home, but that's okay. That part will come! Make good choices!

Two days of eating at home, and I'm doing fine. I'm in one of those "good" spaces. I just hope it lasts awhile.

Sharon..GI is like gastro intestinal..lol we just call the GI doctors.

Thought I would stop in and say hello.
I am still yo-yoing the same 15lbs I have been for over a year now.
Hubby has been really sick. He had a med reaction and it landed him in the hospital for a week and then the new med they put him on caused his glucose to reach 600. So back on a med he tried a few yrs back and so far so good.
I have some exciting news to share...my daughter is going to have a baby. She just finished and passed her CPA exams and is now ready for a family.
I cant believe this will be our 3rd grandchild ... makes me feel old. My goal is to work hard and be at my goal weight or very close by the time this baby arrives.

Cyn- my Ibs has been acting up lately also...back on meds for a bit. Good luck with the job change.

rat- hugs and I miss you!! Your doing great!! I am so proud of you!!

basket- I love seeing your pretty face!

catherine- hi

risen- hi and nice to meet you

Still unpacking boxes, but starting to have some free space now. I'm still in a good place, and eventhough he's in Minnesota, I'm still in control food-wise. I just want to get enough unpacking done so I can find the stuff I need to start my water aerobics classes next week, and college classes the week after that. Back to work.

ok....this morning I couldnt log in..now its fine! LOL I am so confused.

ALSO my computer is low on disk space..so gonna clean it out. I might not be around for a few days...

BEHAVE!...or NOT! lol

Morning beautiful people! I've missed you all! I'm now in Thunder Bay, I moved up on Thursday, and I start classes on Monday for teacher's college. I flew up (just a 2 hour flight, but it's an 18 hour drive from where my family lives) which was both exciting and scary/overwhelming. I'd never been on a plane before, so it was a totally new experience. I've also never been this far from home before without my family, so that's another new experience. I'm learning a new city, school, and meeting lots of new people totally on my own. So far it's been good, but I'm already looking forward to November when I head back to Ottawa for my teaching practicum. It's not easy being this far from everyone I love.

As far as my weight loss goes.... well, it's going again. I didn't gain much over the last couple months (about 6-8) pounds, but it's more than I wanted to. I knew that realistically between staying with my friends who had the baby on July 1, the wedding I was in, and moving home to my family's place for the month of August, it would be really hard to stay on plan. My goal was to maintain the loss, but that was harder than I thought it would be without tracking and counting as I had been doing. I used The Daily Plate for all my tracking, which I couldn't do at home (dialup on a dinosaur of a computer, it wouldn't even open the page). Now that I'm on my own again I already feel a huge difference, and see it in my fridge.

Anyway, that's the update. I'm back and here to stay, I've missed you folks and am excited to be back in the loop with your struggles and successes, and to have you in mine again.