Good morning/afternoon/evening depending on where you are! Aren't modern communications wonderful!
SamIam...what a lovely hubby you have being so on board with your weight loss journey! And you are doing what I should really be doing which is making healthy food really yummy and interesting instead of some kind of "dry bread and gruel" penance!
Shan: You sound sound focused with your journey, it can't be easy. Aren't female friends the best? I met up with my best friend of 35 years, who I hadn't spent quality time with for months, last week and although we must have drained the oxygen from the air we talked that much, there was so much we DIDN'T need to say...it was lovely.

Well, puppy training was much better last night! Maisy (cocker spaniel) is starting to have an improved concentration and I sort of know what I am doing now! It is Ringcraft as we are hoping to show her in a modest sort of way! It's another reason for the weight loss, too much of me jiggling around a show ring would not be a good thing!!
Spoke to my daughter this morning too, she is having a good time at Uni but is able to say no to wild nights of excess drinking as it is simply not her thing! She has a really low tolerance to alcohol and late nights and is being really sensible. The studying timetable for medicine is really intense too so she won't be able to live a wild life!
Have a great day my lovely friends,
Donna

Made it through the day OK, and stayed on "plan", so it was a good day.

I've been stuck at the same weight for a few weeks, hoping for a "woosh" soon.

Coffee's on! hazelnut today with just a touch of cream.

Have a great day!

Dean

A victory on the depression front! I track my moods according to a 0 down to -7 system, where 0 is no depression pain, -1 a small amount, & so on, and yesterday was a 0/0/0 day: no depression in morning, afternoon, & evening. That's the first all-zeros day I've had in about three weeks. =happy sigh=

I really think what's helping me pull out of this one is the "practice" (that's what he calls it) that my new Qidong ("chee-dong") instructor taught me. I've been doing it for a dozen times or more, often throughout the day, ever since last Thursday—the exact timing of my gradual climb out of depression. It's a simple motion-meditation involving breathing in & out, standing up, while moving my arms in a certain way. It really helps me feel grounded and centered, with the energy of my body flowing through me in a healthier way. I see my instructor again tomorrow: I'm eager to give him positive feedback, and curious to see what he'll come up with next.

I spent seven arduous hours yesterday making a collage, one that truly feels like an accomplishment. But I won't give y'all the link to it, because it's (1) purposefully hideous, and (2) all about the ugliness (in his work & his inner person) of a multimillionaire artist, Jeff Koons, whom you probably haven't heard of. Lucky for you if that's so!

Now if I can just return to doing my leg exercices every night, and add some walking, plus refrain from the overeating that crept in during my depression, I will really be back on track. =smile=

I'd like to resume doing personals, but today is not the day, since Bob just got back from a trip to the farm. We really need to spend some time together. But I'd like to greet MissBB and Shan, since I haven't had a chance to do so. Welcome to the 300+ Chat thread, gals: may your endeavors prove fruitful indeed!

Shan84 ~ Thanks, I wish in 9 months I would of loss more then 24 pounds but oh well its better then exercising and dieting for 9 months and not losing anything at all.

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My mom tired to wake me up at 4 ish in the morning but I didnt hear her so I didnt wake up until 6:30 a.m. but anyway so far today I've had breakfast and I'm currently eating lunch, I'm about to workout to my dvd when I get done watching all of my shows on the DVR, I dont have alot of them left and then I'll eat dinner around 3 or 4 maybe even 5 pm and then at 6 or 6:30 I'll work out to my dvd again before I go to bed for the night, I did get my laundry done so now I'm just waiting for my boyfriend to bring them upstairs so I can fold them and put them away.

Terra Awesome job on the 24 lb loss!!! Isn't that such great news to hear!?!?

Shan Your girls night sounds fun! I too am not a fan of seafood, especially salmon unless its in a fatty salmon cake lol....I miss having girls nights...my friends either have children to take care of now or are too far away to come hang every weekend.

BB Your chicken cesar sounds delish!!! Hope you enjoy your day off tomorrow!!

Donna I think if I didn't keep trying new things that are healthy I would lose interest and fall back into old habits. I know chicken pot pie isn't the healthiest choice to make but I know I could have had so much worse...I had leftovers tonight and it was delish! Glad you got to talk to your daughter and she's doing well at Uni!

Dean I had french vanilla coffee today with pumpkin spice cream..so good...I know what you mean about wanting the woosh soon...I've been suck around the same 3-4 pounds for almost 2 months...I'm upping my cardio so hopefully that will give me the woosh I need.

Fi So glad to hear about all the 0's!!! Glad that your Qidong is helping :)....I haven't heard of that artist but you have me intrigued hehehe....Hope you and Bob have a great time catching up!

Ubee *waves* Missing you today lady!!! You just flew right on by but can't wait to catch up with you tomorrow!!

Well I have a cold I think...Stuffy nose, sore throat...had a migraine yesterday. Having a hard time breathing through my nose lol...I still pushed through it and worked out tonight. I decided to work out at home again...The weather has changed to the 60's and it's been raining all week so I really haven't wanted to go far. I miss the gym but at the same time I miss working out at home even more...To the point where sometimes I have contemplated cancelling my membership but it's good for weight lifting so I am going to keep it.

I'm trying to do more cardio and HIIT this week and see how I fair with my weight loss...I'm tired of being at a stand still and just want to push forward. I've also payed attention to how much water I am consuming daily and trying to get my gallon in a day. DH mentioned about going on a walk tomorrow if the weather is nice. I'd really like to go to Conway to the Riverwalk..I miss going on the railroad tracks and the pretty view...Hopefully it isn't raining tomorrow but the way it looks, I highly doubt it. If not I'll just do some exercise inside.

Had left over chicken pot pie for dinner tonight..Was really good. Made a really good snack when I got home from work that DH taught me...I took a granny smith apple and chopped it up, put some cinnamon and a tiny bit of sugar with a tiny bit of butter and microwaved it for 5 minutes and it tasted like baked apples!! I think I need to finally try that coconut sugar that I have been meaning to try, I think that would be great instead of using real sugar...and maybe use a bit of water instead of the butter....I'll keep you posted on how that turns out....Tomorrow DH is going to make french onion soup...He's going to put a crust on his...I told him I just want the onion soup with a bit of cheese...I've never made french onion soup but I remember my mom making it when I was a kid and how much I loved it...DH is a way better cook than my mom (don't tell her shh...) so I'm sure his will taste way better than hers :)

I'm watching the preseason hockey game, Washington Capitals vs Boston Bruins...I'm a Caps fan...My family is originally from the DC area. I'm ready to curl up on the couch and finish watching the game...Hope everyone has had an OP day and take care of yourselves!! You all deserve the very best in life. :)

Just wanted to hop on here this morning. Feeling slightly frustrated. I usually only weigh once a week but since I just got the scale this past Saturday and freaked out over the number, I have been weighing daily. Not putting a ton of stock in it, but just trying to see if its moving or not. I am super confused because I have been totally on plan with my diet and yet the scale hasn't budged in 4 days since my black-out/fainting spell on Sunday. I've been too afraid to exercise again so I have just been making sure to stick to my plan everyday. Clearly that's not working. My soreness from my fall is fading but I still am worried about it ever happening again. I've never been so terrified in my life. To fill you guys in, on Sunday I had walked the walking trails near my house for an hour and fifteen minutes. 2 times at a good speed and the last 2 very slowly (a cool down if you will). Anyways, after I finished I went and sat down to watch my BF finish his soccer game. I watched for about 45 minutes while I sipped on some water. Then my stomach started to feel sick so I stood up to get his attention to let him know I wanted to go home. I took about three steps and my vision became like a kaleidoscope. I grabbed onto the fence to steady myself and completly lost all of my vision and fell to the ground. My BF said that I was only out of it for about 30-45 seconds but that I couldn't focus on anything for about 5 minutes while I was laying on the ground. Anyways, never been more scared in my life. Of course my new employer here in China still hasn't gotten my insurance set up yet so it wasn't like I could just run to the doctor. Went home and relaxed and ate some protein and had some orange juice in case it was blood sugar. I need some motivation to get the exercise going again but I'm terrified of what happened the last time I did a little exercise. Anyone have any suggestions? As you know, I tend to do all my workouts at home using DVD's. I only do the walking trails once a week when my BF has a soccer game and last Sunday was the first time I did it. Usually I just stay home, but I thought last weekend this would be a good use of time to exercise and support him in his hobbies.

:grouphug: Just stopping by for a quick Hello to everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. Welcome to the new faces. I will make a more detailed post later... just came by to share that I tried the C25K today... only did half of day one but walked/ran 2 miles... :running:

Don't know what's going on, but I posted yesterday and it's no where to be found. Second time this week......couldn't possibly be user error.......must be computer gremlins. I'll try again.

Trying to remember the witty remarks I made yesterday (ok, Ubee, they might have been half wit remarks!):

Fi -- Was so glad to read that you got through a whole day without the depression pain. It has been a long haul for you this time and it just sounds so debilitating. Your collage sounds interesting, even a little scary. Loved the pictures of the kitties.

IChoose -- 2 miles! That's wonderful.....and 2 miles further than I'm able to go. Glad you stopped in for at least a little wave at all of us.

Shan84 -- Do you by any chance have a blood pressure monitor at home that you could check to see if your BP is maybe low? Hopefully this was a one time thing, but definitely something that should be checked. When does your employer expect to have your health insurance set up? In terms of not losing any weight. Four days is probably not a good guide, but if after a week or even two weeks there's still no loss, you may need to lower your calorie allocation some. There's a lot of fine tuning that can occur to keep the weight loss going. Good luck.

Sam -- Good to hear that you're back in your routine although sorry about the migraine and cold. Your meals sounds so interesting. Your DH is turning out to be your best dieting ally between his support and cooking healthy for you two.

Terra -- 24 pounds off is great and definitely much better than gaining 24 pounds. Good for you!

Dean -- Maybe in a stuck place right now. I'm enjoying my morning coffee, too, but your coffee always sounds better. ;)

Donna -- Please come for a visit and train my Toby. The little dickens (ok, the enormous dickens) took off for the hills again yesterday. The silver lining is I got a lot of exercise, but it was a silver lining rimmed with red because I was mad at him. So glad you're back with us.

Ubee -- Miss you girl. Hope you've been doing some wild and crazy thing?

Still have an inordinate amount of trouble with sticking on plan. Totally a mental issue with me. I found some pictures yesterday where I was about 10 pounds heavier than I am now -- I put them on the frig because I look like a beached whale in them. The phrase thunder thighs may have been created from someone seeing those pictures. Since I'm totally a visual learner, maybe having to look at them every day will help since my mental picture of me is dramatically different -- and younger! Off to the gym, then to BIL's to put on his surgical hose (only another week and a half of that), and then a training session with my neighbor who is borrowing my RV this weekend. Cleaning and laundry this afternoon. Yipardee. Have a great day.

Good Morning!
Good job ichoose2believe!
shan84 that is so scary. Is there any way you can go to a free clinic or anything? I live near one of the top 10 fattest cities. So it is very different from where you live. My heart goes out to you. However I am very happy that you have found the love of your life. Happy Anniversary!
Sam glad to hear you are working so hard. Let's see that scale move down! Your pumpkin sounds way yummy.
Terra 24 pounds is great! Do you have a reward planned for when you get to 25 down?
Fi woohooo on the 0-0-0 day! What do the kitties do while you are making a collage?
Dean carbs will be the death of me if I don't change my ways. Do you count carbs?
Donna I have a friend like that. She just gets it. We seldom see each other but can always pick up as if we just saw each other.
MissBB how is your day off?
Betsy I am starting a new today. Let's try to get one day OP shall we?
Hi to everyone else.
Time to get serious. Last night I had the thought of maybe I should stop posting and just try to do this on my own. Of course Betsy popped into my head saying "Yeah because that worked so well in the past!"
Have a peaceful day!

Hi, Im not exactly new here, because ever so often i come on and read some of the comments ect... But i never comment. Today ive decided to comment. How often do you all weigh yourselves? About a week ago, i weighed in at 288lb, which makes my total loss since july 12lbs. I really want to weigh myself today, but im terrified i will have gained weight, it makes me scared to weigh myself. Do yall ever run into that? Scared to see that number go back up.

Sam ~ Yeah it is great

Betsy ~ Yes losing 24 pounds is better then gaining 24 pounds

Ubee ~ Nope I dont have anything planned for when I get to 25 but I'll start thinking about it.

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I woke up at 5:30 am and I got my morning duties done and I ate breakfast and then at 7:30 am I watched for my bus and then I got to school at 8:00 am, I was in the computer room from 8 am until 11 am and then at 11 am I had cooking class and then at 1 pm I had peer support and then at 3 pm I came home. I wasnt able to walk outside this morning but I'll be sure to do my 2 miles tonight before bed and I'll walk outside tomorrow morning and do my 2 miles tomorrow night also.

Betsy: I would love to visit America.....just too broke to get further than the end of my road! I visited Florida a few years ago on a typical Disney Style holiday (sorry!) but I loved it! all the Americans we met were friendly and chatty and very interested that we came from Wales rather than England. You have wonderful, proper mainstream shops for curvaceous girls where the clothes aren't ridiculously expensive too!I think you have told me before but what breed is Toby? Has he been neutered ( close your ears Toby) because the call of the ....erm.......wild can make them a bit loopy if not!

Shan....low BP was my first guess or low blood sugar it is worth checking. Also if you were sweating profusely and it was warm I guess it is easier to become low in salt. I hope you feel better now....don't lose heart or enthusiasm.
Ubee.....don't split on us! We need you! And I found that even if you are not in the Zone, this is still a group of people who get it. For me it is ALL in my head. When I am in the Zone I don't even feel hungry.......when I figure it all out I will write a book but free copies for my cyber friends of course!
Welcome fat4ever......this is a great forum any help you need on ANY topic diet related or not...is at your fingertips!
Terra you are so focused with your exercise...keep it up girl!!
Well we are off to see another cocker spaniel pup today as a companion for Maisy. It happens to be very near where my beautiful daughter is at Uni so I am using as an excuse for a visit! The down side is that I still don't feel great and am coughing a lot so sound like I have Pneumonic Plague!
We had some rain yesterday for the first time in ages but the sun is shining again today.......normally Welsh Autumn is wet, mild and grey, grey, grey! It is lovely dog walking weather but the two cross breeds are in season and the pup a little young to go far....and a bit TOO fascinated by the sheep on the mountain!
Have a great day,
Donna

Donna ~ Yes I am very focused on my exercise but I'm also very focused on my diet as well. I will definitely keep it up.

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I woke up at 4:00 am and now its almost 6:30 am and I am currently eating breakfast, I let Clyde outside when he woke up at 5:00 am and I gave him fresh water and food. Now I'm just posting on here and one other forum while watching episodes of Cold Case. Today I just plan to go on my morning walk and do my 2 miles tonight. I also need to fold and put away my clothes, I wont take weeks to do it this time around LOL.

Good Morning!
Terra I am so glad when you tell us you gave Clyde fresh food and water. My daughter was always in charge of that and she is off to college. Sometimes I forget. So, my cat thanks you. Clothes put away???
Donna I don't plan on going anywhere but sometimes that little voice can get very loud. My traveling days are over so I really appreciate the descriptions of your life. I love your sheep on the mountain.
Where is Dean with our coffee?
Welcome Fat4now! Yes, I did change your name. Positive attitudes get the job done! I am so happy you finally joined us. I weigh once a week. I keep a chart because your weight will go up and down. The chart is important so you can see that even though it goes up it always goes down again. Someone else can feel free to put it in better words. Haven't had my coffee yet.
Betsy we cross posted yesterday by almost an hour. Yes, it can take me hours to post with my ADD and multitasking. I get up to switch the laundry and one thing leads to another...
All right so today is my getting tough and serious day. I have my muffin top back in full force. I am going to a wedding tomorrow and I will be the fattest person in the room for the last time. I keep thinking if I eat enough treats I will get it out of my system. LIAR! Time to stop my pity party and get moving. I want to take off my big winter jacket in the Spring and shock everyone with how much weight I lost.
Have a peaceful day and put your fork down and move your butt!

Tanaia— I'm so glad you decided to start posting to the thread! Please keep posting, every day if you can, because it's very helpful to your weight loss effort to do so! It's nice to meet you, and I like your name a lot: you can call me Fi ("fee"). I agree with Ubee, by the way: you are not Fat4ever, but only Fat4now.

I am unusual for this group in that I only weigh myself once a month, and sometimes not even that often, like recently when I have been going through a huge amount of stress (mostly positive) followed by about a three- or four-week episode of severe depression. I know I have gained some weight because I didn't eat on plan consistently during the depression, so I skipped my monthly weigh-in on the 22nd.

But I keep a graph of my weight over time which is updated every time I weigh myself and is posted prominently on the front of the fridge. My current graph starts in February of 2012, and while the trend is consistently downward (79 pounds down so far), there have been three episodes of severe stress followed by depression, during which I gained weight. I like looking at the graph and thinking of myself as going on a long journey through time, getting gradually smaller as I go.

I've been thinking of all of y'all on this thread while listening to a fabulous song I've heard three times now on the radio: Nils Lofgren's "Fat Girls Dance." The lyrics are great, especially the refrain, repeating "Nobody's leaving 'til the fat girls dance." I tried to find a video online where you could listen to it for free: no luck. I tried to find the lyrics for it: no luck there either. But if you go to Amazon or iTunes or wherever, you coud buy it for $0.99. It's worth the 99 cents, believe me—a great pop tune with a catchy beat and lyrics about how nobody can leave until the fat girls get a chance to dance.

I happen to be a person who is fat-positive, which means that even though I am working hard to lose weight, I do not view "fat" as a pejorative or derogatory or negative word in any way, shape or form. I am a fat woman. That is simply a factual and descriptive statement, no more derogatory than if I were to say, "I am a thin woman" or "I am a tall woman." I'm actually a fat and short woman. That's OK, too. =smile=

So buy the song if you trust me on this...if not, I hope it will show up on YouTube some day so you can hear it.

I had two more 0/0/0 days (no depression pain in morning/afternoon/evening). That makes three in a row. Whoopee!! And I had a great session with my Qidong ("chee-dong") instructor yesterday: wow, this Qidong stuff is workin' miracles for me. I'm not yet back on plan in my eating, but I'm sure I will be soon. Ditto with my leg exercises and walking plans: it's all gonna happen soon, I can feel it comin'. Meanwhile, I'm moving my Qi ("chee") around in really positive ways, and my depression is OVER, I just know it!

—Signing off for now, Fi

Good morning everyone. Another day of getting up at the crack of dawn so I can get to the gym and back before driving my BIL to his appointments today. OK, in all honesty, getting up at the crack of dawn isn't exactly a real sacrifice since the sun doesn't come up until 7 now and I went to bed about 9:15 last night. Man, some people will say anything to get a compliment, won't they (I!).

Fi -- Love, love, love your posts this week mainly because of being pain free for a string of days now. Glad that you've found a Qidong who is helping so much.

Ubee -- Now really. Would I make some smart alecky response about how well (or "unwell") your (our!) go-it-alone efforts have worked in the past? OK, yes I would, but having been raised in the Midwest I think it's just part of the vocabulary. Couldn't be anything in the personality deficiency category. ;) Don't know if this helps, but I finally was able to start back to the gym this week. While I'm still working through some of the bad food choices made while my BIL was here, there's something about having worked out that makes me WANT to eat better. Don't know if it's because I hate the work outs so much (in spite of feeling ssssoooooo much better) or if it's just a more positive start to the day or what. But, I'm slowly getting back to eating right and have lost a couple of pounds. We can do this, Ubee!

Terra -- Focusing on both seems to be the magic bullet. Laughed at not taking 2 weeks to put away your clothes.....sounds very familiar as I realized I had two wash baskets just because there were times when the clean clothes never quite made it to the drawers or closet.

Donna -- Toby is a Golden Doodle (basically a mutt who is half Golden Retriever and half standard poodle, but someone found people like me who were willing to pay for them!). He's definitely been snipped. He's just a little dickens who is still young enough to do crazy things and who has an owner who needs to do a much better job at training. Chuckled over your sorry for the Disney vacation in Florida. I love going there, too, and can hardly wait for my grands to be old enough to take there on vacation. I would love to see Wales some day -- in fact, all of the British Isles. Hope that cough goes away soon!

fat4ever -- I weight every morning and again at night.....obviously a little on the obsessive side! If weighing is causing your undue stress, just don't weigh at all. Take your measurements and use that to determine that weight loss is occurring. Or try on something that really doesn't fit -- too tight or can't even get it on. Use it as a guide for when it goes on easily to determine that you've lost weight. It doesn't matter what measurement technique we use as long as there's some way to determine if we're making any progress.

Dean -- What kind of coffee this morning? I put cinnamon in my grounds and it must be good because I just poured the last of the 12 cup pot into my carafe. I do half decaf/half full strength so that I can pretend I'm obeying the doctor's orders to cut down on the caffeine.

Guess I'd better get it in gear. Two appointments for my BIL today, and since it's raining here I'll spend free time working on sorting pictures for scrapbooks that I'm putting together for my nephews as one of the Christmas presents. One of them is 43 and the other is 38, and it dawned on me that with their mother gone, I'd better do this or else those photos will be lost. It's been fun looking back at the old pictures and my grand nephews look so much like their dad at that age. I've mapped out my eating for the day. One suggestion I could use are ideas for having healthy foods to satisfy my salt and sweet cravings. Unfortunately, my go to foods are potato chips and chocolate and that just doesn't work. Have a great day.

Happy dancing today! Started Aug 18th on this journey and weighed 346. Got on the scale yesterday and its 325.8. 20# down! I am 29 and haven't seen under 326 in 9 years! (I was 326 the day I delivered my son and have just gone up since then! Was 360 at the heaviest)

May not seem like much but yays! I'm super proud of myself! And... LOTS on NSVs too! Like I can run now- like actually run not just walk fast and I've increased incline to the max of 15 on the treadmill for 10-15 min and upped the speed for longer too!! I can't believe all the cool things my body can do and it's only going to get better from here!

Yipeee! Anticake! 20 pounds seems like a lot! I am glad you are proud of yourself. You should be!
Betsy why do all of your posts make me chuckle? As for your cravings that is where I screw up. Where is it written we have to give in to our cravings? I think thin people ignore them. You know we can do this. I am going to go on the treadmill today. Food has been good and I am making turkey breast and veggies for supper. I am finally psyched again!
Fi most days I am so fine being fat but I have a daughter who will need someone to care for her every day of her life. I want to stay around as long as I can and I need to focus on that! I run into trouble when I forget that. Thanks for reminding me of that. Love seeing all those 0-0-0 days!
I am feeling good. How is every one else doing?

Shan Sorry to hear what happened in the park. That happened to me once, but I didn't black out. I felt like I was going to. DH and I were doing a killer walk (about 5 miles) during the middle of the hot heat in the middle of summer this year. We stopped at a store along our walk and DH got me a gatorade thinking maybe I was low on electrolytes. It really did the trick for me but I couldn't push as hard on my way home as I would have liked. It is definitely scary for sure, but you shouldn't let it hinder you in your weight loss goals. If you truly are afraid to work out again in fear that his may happen again, you need to see a doctor regardless if you have insurance or not. I hope everything works out for you doll (((HUGS)))

Believe Great job on the 2 miles!!! Keep up the great work!!

Betsy The DH is wonderful!! Honestly though if I had not have pushed him so hard to cook healthier and show him how he probably wouldn't be doing it lol...It's either that or I don't eat, he doesn't have much of a choice lol

fat4ever What is your real name? I don't like the idea of calling you fat4ever because you won't be fat forever if you put your mind to it. I know it's crazy but let me tell you...If I can lose 75 lbs, anyone can do this. I personally weigh and measure once a week. I make sure to keep measurements because sometimes when the scale doesn't move, I notice it in my measurements, and how my clothes feel, so keep that in mind. I am here for you if you ever need ANYTHING so please don't hesitate to reach out to me ok?

Donna Never even realized you lived in Whales...I had a friend that was from there when I was in high school...Well, friend of my DH and I...Not sure what happened to him, I think he moved to Texas and is very happy there. The weather here has been very grey and dark and rainy which for it to be this grey for more than a day or two is odd I think...But I'm enjoying it and hope it's a sign for cooler weather for me. I hope you get to see your daughter and hope you feel better! I am battling a head cold right now so it's not been fun, but I'm still pushing through and eating right and working out.

Ubee I am really starting to feel like my determined self again. I really hate to make any excuses but the more I think about it the more I think I have still be greiving the loss of my friend. Just instead of crying it out every night until I fall asleep, I've been doing it with lack of care for myself. That's no good, and I know he wouldn't want it to be that way. He would be so happy at how far I've come. It's a real shame because I hadn't talked to him for a few months before he died and when we talked it was short and sweet because we were both busy so I never got to tell him about me losing weight and how much I had lost. I know he would be proud and even though I'm doing this for me, and me only. I want to make him so effing proud that if I believed in an after life he'd be so happy. I'm ready to see that scale move down and stay down once and for all. My goal is to be at 100 lbs loss by Christmas, but if I don't make it, that means I just gotta keep pushing harder...25 lbs to go, think I can do it?

Fi I am SO HAPPY that you had another 2 days depression and pain free!!!! I think you may be in the clear...This is fabulous!! I haven't listened to the song but it sounds great...Have you heard that song "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor...It's a catchy pop song and I just love the video!! The guy in the video can really dance!!! Watch it on YouTube if you have time...I am just like you...I am body positive...I love anyone who treats me as I would treat them it doesn't matter what you look like...Being fat or thing or black or white doesn't define who you are as a person...It is a simple description of what you look like. I think as long as you feel happy and comfortable in your own skin and healthy then it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. I am sending you huge hugs and can't wait to hear more about this Qi and how well it's working for you!!!

Anticake YES!!!! GO GIRL!!!! 20 lbs is something to be proud of and it is a lot!!!! The NSV's are great aren't they? I'll be 28 in December and have been above 300 lbs for more years than I would like to admit...Maybe around 7 or 8? I don't even know...I started my journey in January this year and so far I am down 75 lbs....Trust me if I can do it, ANYONE can...So happy for you girl keep going!!!

TGIF everyone!!!!! I still have the sniffles...ughhhh It sucks not being able to breathe out my nose because I'm sure I look just lovely with my mouth open all day long so I can breathe haha!!! I had a day of it at work today... I have this client whose father set up her insurance for her, paid for it and everything out of his account a few months back. He lives up north and she is down here for college. I've never met the girl since she never ended up coming in my office and we did everything by e-mail. I get a call from her dad yesterday to tell me he is very upset and worried because she was involved in a car accident with a tractor trailer and she is just getting out of the hospital. He said it was the other person's fault and upon speaking to his daughter who mind you is 25 years old and it sounds like she's been babied her entire life, I find out that the accident was her fault according to the police report. She has the bare minimum coverage and her car is totaled. Since she has only the bare minimums she isn't going to get paid for the damage to her vehicle and she has no car to drive. On top of all other things (found out she has epilepsy) she is in the teaching program at the university and if she misses one day of school she will be kicked out of the program. Her dad is worried for her and wanted me to help her find transportation since she doesn't know anyone here. This is way more work than I get paid for but I felt bad for her and him more importantly because his daughter is so far away and he can't check on her in person. I volunteered to go to her house after work and get her accident report and give her some taxi companies around her since she apparently can't get on the internet and doesn't have a phone book...Hmmm....weird right? I get to her house and she wasn't even there!!! She had left the accident report in the door for me to pick up...I was a little peeved since I went out of my way to help her and she some how found a ride to go somewhere...I think she is taking daddy as a fool personally...The man is going to fly down here early next week to go and buy her a car so she doesn't miss school. In some ways I envy someone who has a parent that cares for them so much and has the financial means to do that for them where growing up my mother was hardly there for me and left me to fend for myself....but in other ways I'm glad that I had to learn it all on my own because now as an adult I don't have to rely on anyone to do anything, and most importantly, I don't have to answer to anyone but myself. :)

Anyway, I know that was a long story lol...so I'll keep the rest short....I got my 4th work out in for the week and DH made home made french onion soup for dinner! It was sooooooooooo good!! Instead of throwing a piece of bread in the bottom I just put a couple croutons in there and topped it with some mozzarella...It was superb! DH and I are going to go to the River Walk tomorrow if the weather holds out on us...I can't wait.

Tanaia ~ Welcome to the thread, I look forward to learning more about you.

Ubee ~ Yeah with everything you do every day its hard to remember to feed and give the pets water, I understand that. Yeah I havent put my clothes away yet but I did fold them when I pulled them out of the dryer.

Betsy ~ I'm glad I'm not the only one that sometimes puts off putting their laundry away LOL.

Anti-CakeChick ~ Welcome to the thread.

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I woke up at 4:00 am. I let Clyde outside when he woke up at 5:00 am and I gave him fresh water and food. Now I'm just posting on here and one other forum while watching episodes of Cold Case. Today I did my morning walk and I did 2 miles at 1 pm today. I also need to put away my clothes, I wont take weeks to do it this time around LOL, I'm also gonna take a shower before I head to bed for the night.

Welcome to the thread, AntiCakeChick, and way to go, girl, for being twenty pounds down! Woo hoo!

I made a collage that kind of expresses what I was going through during my depression. And it's also just kind of funny and sci-fi surreal. It's called "at times even ultraman succumbs to abject despair".

Guilt Free Desserts?
 

I recently began dieting, but I just can't help to eat sweets.

How can I stop eating so many sweets?

Good Morning!
kellon55 WELCOME! Sugar is my drug. I need to avoid it completely. When I do I lose. When I eat it I gain and the cravings only get worse. I do not have any sugar in my house. Clean out your house of all sugar and sweets. Go to You Tube and watch The Skinny On Obesity episode 2. Good luck on your journey!
Fi glad to see you but I can not see your collage. Your link takes me to flicker sign up page.
Terra the question of the day is...Did you put away your clothes???
Sam you can so lose 100 pounds by Christmas. Keep pushing it! It will be the best gift ever!
I have been having difficulty lately due to some stress. It is one of those circumstances where it is my business but it also isn't. I just have to find the boundary line. I always struggle with boundaries and that is when I get in trouble in life and with my weight. It feels good to realize that and to know it is OK to say no to protect myself.
Have a peaceful day!

Kellon55 ~ Welcome to the thread and the forum if your new to the forum also.

Ubee ~ Nope not yet, Its still on my to do list

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I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and I let Clyde outside a few mins ago. I'm currently eating breakfast and trying to catch up on my shows that are on the DVR. As soon as I get caught up on my shows, I'm gonna do my 2 mile walk and then I'll do my 2 mile walk again tonight at 6 or 6:30 pm. I also need to take a shower today as well.

Ubee— I have a couple of things to suggest re. your problem with seeing my collage: First, see if there's an X or words like "Close" or "Not Now" in the upper righthand corner of that advertisement you're getting from Flickr. See if you click on that, if then you will be able to see my collage.... The second thing I have to suggest is to look to see if my collage is on another tab from Flickr in your browser. Since I can't see those (noxious! I do apologize for them!) ads myself, I don't know which of those two techniques will work. But surely one of them will, because when I click on that link in my posting, it takes me straight to my collage... Let me know what happens, so I will know what to recommend to people in the future. I sure wish Flickr hadn't started this practice of inserting ads: I complained long and loud about it, and so did a lot of other people, to no avail. Thanks for doing this for me, Ubee!

Hey sorry u haven't checked in on forever I am alive but have a lot of stuff going on in my life right now. Have hoped for the best for everyone here though.

Kellon— Like Ubee, I experience sugar as a bad drug. And the only way to avoid the temptations of a bad drug, I'm afraid, is to give it up completely. Because the biggest problem with sugar is: if you eat a little of it, it gives you a strong craving for more.

Everybody has to find their own technique for dealing with the bad drug of sugar, Kellon, but I'll tell you what worked for me. Last fall, I identified my three worst temptations, which were cookies, candy, and donuts. I decided to be abstinent from those three foods, to give them up completely, for as long as I could do so: I made it 58 days. During those 58 days I learned two big things: (1) that my will was stronger than I had thought it was, and (2) that I was going to have to abstain completely from sugar, since I made myself sick eating pie and pumpkin bars and other sugary things that were not on my list of three abstinence foods.

So now, except for Very Special Occasions like Halloween and my birthday, when I allow myself one very dark chocolate bar, I live a sugar-free lifestyle. That does not, however, mean that my diet is free of sweets. I have discovered that I like the flavor of liquid stevia (a brand called SweetDrops, which for me, at least, tastes better than powdered stevia). I put a very carefully measured (SweetDrops has a eye dropper) amount of stevia—because too much stevia tastes nasty!—in my coffee in the morning, and also in the sugar-free muesli I eat before I go to bed. That means two times a day I have a nice, satisfying infusion of sweet flavor—without the bad drug of sugar.

I hope you find an answer that will work for you, Kellon!

Good morning all. It's like living on a movie set for one of those London based movies where scary things happen and you can't see them because of the thick fog. Unfortunately it will burn off which means I will be able to go out and do yard work.

Anticakechick -- Love your name......and welcome to the group. I would use an anti name, but it would run on to 3 or 4 lines if I included everything that I eat that are problems for me.;) You are off to a wonderful start, and the thrill of being able to do so much more already is wonderful. Keep it up!

Ubee -- Life is too short to not have a good chuckle every day -- and preferably several times during the day. I've decided that I'm going to fix various sugar free jellos and fancy them up with fruit and nuts for my sweet cravings and make baked parmesan cheese chips for my salty. We can do this. We will do this. And I'm looking forward to the day when we post We did do this. (Imagine stirring music in the background rising to a crescendo as we achieve success......although if it plays throughout the entire journey, we're going to be awfully tired of that song!)

Sam -- Please share your techniques for training your DH to cook healthy. I've never been around a male who could be trained. ;) (Sorry, Dean, little joke there at the expense of the males.) It was so nice of you to go over to that girl's house and I suppose she should get one brownie point for at least leaving the copy of the report in the door. If you're right about her dad, he isn't doing her any favors by always being there to pick up the pieces. Emotional support is great -- and all of us need that -- but at some point it's time to grow up. I'm sure that I, personally, will grow up one of these days!

Terra -- I had to put away my laundry this week because I realized that my BIL took one of my baskets home with him when he moved back there and I was too lazy to go to the basement to get another one. Took a whopping 3 minutes so maybe we should just bite the bullet and put it away every time.

Kellon -- Fi and Ubee have given great tips on controlling the sweet cravings. I just noted in my personal to Ubee that I'm trying to eat sugar free jello to satisfy my sweets cravings. Actually, I've found that once I give up processed sugar laden foods (like ice cream, chocolate kisses, and candy in geneeral) that I really can get my sweet fix from eating fruit. Suddenly an apple just tastes like it's the best candy in the world. Hope that helps. It's definitely hard to overcome these cravings because we are literally hard wired to want them.

Fi -- Your collage is perfect for today -- or at least out here with the deep fog we're having. If that's what it's been like for you with the depression, it's very graphic and helps me to understand better. Ubee and Fi, I've run into the problem of not getting directed to the collage that Fi has provided the link for as well previously. I found that when that happens, I just come back to Fi's post and click on the link again. For some unknown reason, it goes to the collage then. From a programming perspective, that makes absolutely no sense so I'm assuming it something to do with Flickr. Anyway, Ubee, try that if the problem crops up again.

SilentArctic -- So glad you posted to let us know that you're alive and super busy up there in the artic regions. Hope you'll post more as things calm down for you. We miss you.

My next door neighbors are borrowing my RV for the weekend, and their plan was to leave in 20 minutes from now. Well, they haven't loaded up anything even though I gave them the keys 2 days ago and he isn't home from his job yet. Not surprised as they're late for everything. They have a beautiful house that they built themselves and have lived in for about 15 years. They're finally going to start working on putting in the landscaping. My reason for sharing this with you? Ubee's comment about learning to love ourselves and learning to say no is something I've been struggling with. While I'm more than happy to help my BIL, I've been irritated with him for scheduling the surgery during a time when I asked him to avoid and for his boys to not have taken a more active role in his care. It finally dawned on me that this happens because I never say no and don't even voice my displeasure to avoid rocking the boat. Instead, I go with the flow (which is fine occasionally) and eat to make me happy. So, I'm working on saying no -- nicely, and often offering an alternative that is better for me -- but still saying no. I just ended a very destructive friendship this week with someone and the sense of relief in not having to deal with her anymore is almost overwhelming. I've always felt sorry for her, but finally realized that she is incredibly needy, but only wants support on her own terms.

This week has seen a vast improvement in my eating and exercise. Some of it is undoubtedly due to having my BIL move back home and being near the end of his recuperation from the surgery. But some of it is hopefully from taking the steps to take care of me. How many of us are in the position we're in with needing to lose a lot of weight to get healthy again because of putting ourselves at the bottom of the list?

OK, enough of the 5 cent philosphy discourse. Hope everyone has a great day.

Betsy— Thanks for the tip re. my Flickr problem, but I think I will just switch to directing people to a different site altogether. It's less snazzy-looking with a white background instead of black, but on the other hand, it's more restful. And art in museums is always displayed against white, so white is just fine... Most importantly, this other site has NO ADS!

Betsy ~ Yeah I need to get in the habit of going in my room and putting my clothes away right after Scott brings them up from downstairs.

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I woke up at 5:00 a.m. this morning and I havent done my morning duties yet but I do put Clyde outside when he woke up. I've also ate breakfast also. I tried to walk outside this morning but my foot started hurting again so I came back inside but I'm gonna do my 2 miles twice today, Once in the mid-to late morning and again when mom goes to bed tonight. I also plan to put my clothes away and I need to clean my c-pap and tube also. Those are my only plans for today.

Hi guys...

Well I lost 2 of the 4 lbs I gained last week, putting me at 266.6. I was hoping to lose more since I worked hard with the cardio this week but I guess I can't complain...a loss is a loss right? I'm gonna try even harder this week and get back on track with everything...I know there's still room for improvement so I'm gonna keep pushing.

So far today the weather seems nice so DH and I are gonna go on a walk together here in a little bit. I still need to measure myself so. I guess I'll go do that. No personals today because my phone is being a piece of crap trying to type and post this lol...Have a great day all!

For those of you who follow my collages, I just made another one: "zig-zag". If you click on the collage, you'll get a larger version of it against black. I'm so happy to be having such a creative week!

Morning all! Have been off grid the past few days - literally - our internet connection went haywire, so it's felt like the dark ages!!!
Online now, down 2 pounds, back's a bit sore but raring to go for a new week.
I hope everyone's weekends treated them well :D

Hi everyone. I've been MIA for a few days but just busy working. Still totally on plan with food, but limited exercise. This will change this week cause I start a 7 day holiday in two days and the BF and I have decided to be active for our time off and enjoy time together. Which makes me feel better about starting up again knowing he is there should something like last week happen ever again. If I can get in a few good workouts together than doing it on my own will feel easier for me. I weighed this week and I'm down 3lbs from last week. Not great, but a loss is a loss so I will definitely take it.

Hope everyone has a great start to their week. I'll be back to do personals in a day or two.

Good Morning!

Coffee's on, and I'm ready to start the day. Got in some good walks/bike rides this weekend, and the missus and I put out some pansies and bushes yesterday to dress up the flower beds a bit.

Have a great day!

Dean

Betsy— I've been meaning to get back to you for some time about something you said about the slow belly breathing technique. You said that you did find it relaxing, but that it did not curb your appetite. This is an important point: the slow belly breathing is not capable of curbing your appetite, but it is effective in helping you make the right decisions when you're faced with food choices.

It may help if you think, as Kathryn Hansen counsels in her Brain over Binge, of the brain as divided (this is very simplistic, of course) into two areas: the lower brain, the seat of your appetites, your sugar and salt cravings, your impulses to eat the wrong things or too much of the right things, and the higher brain, the seat of your desire to lose weight, your ability to make the right food decisions, your ability to choose what you want for the long term, as opposed to what you feel like in the short term.

I won't repeat the involved explanation I gave earlier about why this is so, but scientific studies have shown that the slow belly breathing technique—in which you imagine your belly as a balloon you're sloooowly inflating and sloooowing deflating—in which you try to slow your breathing cycle down to about 15 seconds from the beginning of your inhale, then holding for a few seconds with your lungs full, down to the end of your exhale—activates the exact anatomical location (right behind your forehead bone) of your higher brain. It activates your higher brain from as long as 2-3 hours after you have practiced the slow belly breathing technique for just 5-10 minutes. So it can help you a great deal in making choices that are what you want for the long term.

But if you're not trying to make those choices, if you're not trying to think consciously about "I want this" versus "I feel like this," the slow belly breathing will not help you. It has no effect whatsoever on your lower brain, where your appetites and cravings originate, only on your higher brain. Does that make sense?

Good Morning!
Fi if you don't mind giving your opinion I was wondering if you think sugar cravings are more emotional or physical? (I know that may not be the correct word but you know what I mean.) Thanks.
Dean what kind of coffee today?
Terra is your pain from the cracked heel or something else? Did your laundry get put away?
shan congrats on the 3 pounds! Every .00000000001 pound down counts. Enjoy your vacation.
MissBB congrats on your 2 pounds down! No internet sounds like the end of the world, or maybe a vacation. Not sure about that.
Sam congrats on your 2 pounds! Keep pushing it!
Betsy I am so glad you are putting yourself first. I've stepped back from this last bout of toxic involvement and it is not easy but necessary. How are the sugar and salt snacks going?
Silent come on get back here! Can't we at least hear from you once a week? I just had my last social activity until December. What am I going to do without your social life to live vicariously through. Betsy and I might have to get creative and brave! (So not going to happen on my end.)
Well I went to a wedding on Saturday and had two small pieces of cake but I was still disappointed that I had to look like a pig and take two. I sat at a table with a woman who lost a lot of weight 30 years ago and has kept it off. I watched her for clues. She did drink more water but ate all the foods I did and only one piece of cake. I did not see a magic pill or wand. :(
Have a peaceful day.

Ubee :( It was a wedding, if you can't splurge a little then, when can you? I'm sure you didn't look like a pig. In the grand scheme of things, two small bits of cake isn't going to do much damage. Keep with the plan, allow the occasional splurge, you'll kill it!

No internet was crap - definitely not as relaxing as I thought it would be. Paying for it now in the catch up.

It's just gone 1:30 am and I'm up marking... as I always am it seems at the moment. It may be TMI but my time of the month is coming up in a few days and so it begins again - the three days before, like clockwork, I am like a ravenous idiot. You'd think I hadn't eaten in weeks. I don't know what it is about my hormones at this time that makes me starving. Drives me mad.

Consequently, all I can think about is the tray of veggie frittata I made for lunches the next few days... It's sitting in my fridge. Calling. Eeeeaaaattt Mmmeeeeee.... eeeeeeeeaaaaatttt meeeee *pulls hair out*