God Bless America!

We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We recently started a Topic of the Day.

Monday........Motivation Monday
Tuesday.......Tuesday Tips
Wednesday.....Wednesday Weigh ins
Thursday......Thankful Thursday
Friday........Friday Facials, Fingernails and Fun
Saturday.......Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Sunday.........Soup and Salad Sunday - recipes

We chat on Wednesday and Sunday at 8:30 EST, 7:30 CST.

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share. We have found them very helpful. We also share heartaches and fears...joys and celebrations.

WELCOME!

Hi everyone! Hope you don't mind that I started a new thread. It's been so long, I almost forgot how! I took the chat times out of the introduction because I don't think anyone goes to chat anymore. Maybe it's a good time to take a poll and see if anyone is ever free and what times are good. Whatdoya think???? Ok, I stopped posting and went and did up a poll (cuz I just knew you would all answer "yes" to the previous question ) so please go and vote.

Terri: I "stickied" your new Body Challenge thread up at the top. Do you want the other one to be un-"stickied" on April 1st??? Just let me know.

Barbg: I had a Lane Bryant credit too and the other day they sent me a refund check. So if you really don't want anything from them, just wait and you'll get a check.

Somebody mentioned Janet Evanovich. Love her, love her, love her!!! She can not write fast enough as far as I'm concerned. I'm finished with One for the Money all the way through To The Nines as well as her Full House, Full Tilt and Full Speed. If anyone wants to BORROW them, just let me know, actually they are loaned out right now, but you'd be next in line!

I just heard an advertisement for Oprah's show today. a weightloss edition with a woman who dropped 150 pounds. I'm sure it's probably a re-run, but I think I will tape it anyway. Not sure if this announcement is too late for most of you, but thought I would post it anyway.

Well, girls, as much as I would love to stay, I cannot. Busy, catch-up kind of day. Love ya bunches.

Hi again! I'm cleaning (or trying to clean) my office up today and I came across this. It was made just for Motivation Monday!

M Make a list of accomplishments.
O Overlook setbacks - let go and move on.
T Try new recipes. - Add variety to your life.
I Intend to live healthier. - Look at the opportunities.
V Visit a new store. - Try a new look.
A Abandon "good food/bad food" theory. - Practive moderation.
T Take a photo to document progress.
I Include others for ideas, support, encouragement.
O Offer yourself rewards for achievement.
N Never give up. - Set realistic goals.

"A bright outlook makes each moment a celebration!"

Hey There Gals!
I thought I'd stop in for a few minutes before I leave work so that I can catch up with everyone. All is well here. Thank you all so much for your encouragement with what I am going through! And, I'm glad to hear that you don't mind hearing about it! Or, you're just ignoring it. Either way, you know I'll just continue to babble on and on!

I'm now on day 5 of my first round of injections. They are going well - these are teeny-tiny needles and I've been giving them to myself. In a couple weeks I'll start the biggies! Ouch! DH will be giving those to me. So far the only side effect is a constant mild headache, but I am able to ignore it for the most part. I had my first acupuncture appointment today. I am going to give it a few sessions before I make a full judgement call on it, but I definitely felt calm and relaxed afterwards and I think it stayed with me all day. I am going 3x a week until I get through the entire IVF cycle.

I did make it to the gym on Saturday and had a good workout! We went to Wendys for lunch and I had the new Spinach Chix salad. I liked it --- Terri - did you end up trying it? Sunday was a pretty low key day - in the afternoon DH and I went to the Delaware Park, which is a horse track and slot park - we dumped some $ into the slot machines and had some dinner. Didn't win big, like my friend 2cute, but we had fun!

We'll I wanted to do personal replies, but work is calling...............

Talk to you later!

Barb

Barb,

Hi! What meds are you on and how much? I did many rounds of injects on several different drugs. The last time around (when I got preg. w/my son and had IVF) was Follistim. I think that I was taking 150 in the morning and 150 in the evening, along with Lupron of course. I did the progesterone in oil injects from the 2nd day after my transfer until I was 12 weeks along. They really aren't so bad. I had a few that were kind of ouchy but the rest were a piece of cake. I did the Follistim myself (in the big, fat belly, lol) and my ex and a friend did the progesterone since they were intra muscular and hard to give to myself. If it's your first round of IVF they may have you on less of the inject-stim medication than I took. I'd done 4 rounds with injects before I did the one that was IVF and produced my son. Remember, I'm an expert so you can ask me ?'s any time you want or need to.

I hope that everyone is having a great day. It's actually good weather here and not raining, which is shocking in Washington state. lol. I'm stuck in my office of course but at least the front door is open and it's warm.

Talk to you all soon,

Hey,

It's been a really crappy weekend...emotionally, missing my boy and all..and surpisingly enough I didn't really overeat to compensate for it. I was sort of bad on Saturday..meaning I had a chocolate frosty from Wendy's..and a regular Coke and didn't even bother to count the calories

2Cute: I understand where you are coming from with the doctor. The last time I asked a doctor about my leg, she just told me to lose weight and worry more about Diabetes and hyperthyroidism. HELLO. I'm 23, and my blood pressure is normal. I am not a huge risk for diabetes (even if i was, i'm doing ALL i can to make it better..by losing weight).

I think doctors just have the ability to remove themselves emotionally from these problems, they see the clinical side of it...so to them it may as well be a fractured leg...something you cannot even control. Med students spend more time studying textbooks than they do getting actual human interaction in med school.

*Steps off of soap box*..it's just annoying waiting for this pain to heal, when I know it has to happen on its own.

Which brings me to another dull point: I still can't read my weight on the scale and I'm getting worried. I must have started this diet waaaay higher than I thought..maybe around 330 *gulp*. It feels good to admit that and say it out loud..I THINK i'm losing weight cause my shirts are starting to feel a bit roomier.

Even so, I've decided to take a more dramatic course of action...I'm ashamed to admit it but I haven't exercised in WEEKS. I WILL DO IT THIS WEEK. Mark my words. I did have a goal to do it this weekend, but I felt so lousy I just couldn't. I suppose choosing to NOT exercise when depressed was a better option than choosing TO eat more food. Though I know this makes no sense, since exercise has that whole endorphins thing going on.

I've also decided I should decrease my calorie intake by five points per day. I want to see some results, man!

Take care ladies.

Meliss...Just a thought...I was reading your food tracker. You seem to be eating hardly anything, but NO vegetables! You can add SO MUCH to your daily intake, for FREE, just by adding vegetables to your diet. Not only are they good for you, but you get the added bonus of revving up the metabolism, just by the body processing these foods!

The moral of the story is:
EAT MORE VEGETABLES!!!!!

There...that's my motivation for the week!!!

Kat ... I second your Moral of the story.
It really does speed up your weight loss too.
And this is coming from a former veggie HATEer !!!! LOL
Get those recipes out and find some you can try ladies.

Miss Meliss... You said you still can't weigh.. and that your clothes are looser.
Then I say you ARE seeing results !!! Your clothes are looser.
Have you tried weighing at the health dept, one of those 25cent scales (they go up to 500), some drug stores have scales for the public, or even go to a medical supply store and weigh on one of their scales. I needed one that went over 350. I am happy to report .. not anymore.

Barb.. OUCH... self injections. I don't think I could do that. AND I sure couldn't let my husband do it.... he would enjoy it too much.
I am sorry you didn't win at the slots... but I didn't either. I ALWAYS LOSE.
It was my darling hubby who made out like a bandit. ...
but I am reaping the rewards. He has been a sweetheart.

Thin... I think it was a good choice to remove chat time until it is re-established that there are supporters of it. Maybe all it needs is a shot in the arm ... and this may be it.
I enjoyed your M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N. Thanks for sharing it.
Ingrid... Congrats on your continued weight loss.
Your determination and appreciation shines through. I remember when Sarah joined our group and lost her first 10 lbs... and ended up losing 154 !!! I can see you following in her footsteps and reaching your goal too.

Well ladies.... I had a great visit with my daughter. I bought a lot of house decor stuff while there. Got to spend those winnings before my hubby loses them again at the slots. He is soooo good at letting me do what ever I want. I am definitely SPOILED !!! I can't say I have always been spoiled ... but I am now ... and I am enjoying it.

I have got to get back on program. I want the success I see happening here for many.
It doesn't come by wishing... it comes by DOING.
I am soooo proud of you doers.

Hi ladies!

I've just finished my pilates for buns & thighs and have a fews minutes to post. Now, if I would just get up at 5:30, I could do the pilates for back too. I'm always awake, just refuse to get out of bed until almost 6. That might be a goal for this week. Note: I said might.

I got my nails done and my first pedicure of the year last night. It felt so good to sit in the massage chair, close my eyes, and relax for the first time of the day. I've never had a massage (don't want to strip down) but I'm thinking I might give it a try.

Food was good yesterday. Okay, yes I had a brownie, but I'm still okay on points because other food was light. We tried a crabcake recipe that turned out to be about 4 points a cake. Good, but not sure we'd try it again. I think I'll look for a different one. Just trying for ways to get seafood in that we both will like.

Work is gearing up to get even worse. One of my staff lipped off to the CEO (my boss) about how many hours she has to work. I've been trying to work with the gal about how we get her hours under control and she always has reasons why it won't work. But then has a bad attitude. Her job is stressful and that is just the way the job is going to be - she does compensation stuff. People have to be paid accurately and timely. She's been in the position a long time. I'm torn between her having to get over it and me taking stressful stuff off her desk and having others do it. Bad thing, we have too much work and my boss doesn't see that. So because she lipped off, she doesn't get any more OT. Cut her nose off in spite of her face. I get to work 80 hours a week to solve her problem. Being in management sucks sometimes. Enough whining!

Barb - Yes, I liked the spinach salad. However, I don't think it was as low-fat as they claimed. Seems like I remember an add that said only 2.5 g fat for the dressing. Sure, if a half-package could be enough for the size of the salad. But, it was good.

2Cute - Sounds like you had a blast. A well-deserved blast after the crappy winter you had being sick. Now, get on the phone today and raise some kane at the doc office. Make today an OP day with food. You can do this!

I better get moving. Have a great day!!

Hey girls, just checking in!!

Kat and 2Cute you guys caught me! This is going to sound pathetic, but it's not that I don't like to eat vegetables, but they made me sick when i was in the strict phase of S. Beach. After about a week of eating nothing but nuts, veggies, and meat, i felt ill at the thoughts of anything from the above food groups. I ate so many mcdonald's salads I couldn't look at another tomato without getting green!!

But thanks for the reminder, I'm going to go buy some salad mix and some fresh broccoli/cauliflower. It's time now, S. Beach left me so sick of meat and veggies I just had to go off them for a while.

Now back to my Kashi breakfast

Oh I just read Terri's post and I thought I'd comment and share my own two cents regarding lip at work.
Terri -
She's giving her boss lip huh? Why isn't she fired? Or at least demoted and humbled. I'll explain to everyone right now, that my single source of income at the moment, is doing retail merchandising. This means I go into a store, say walmart, with a sheet of instructions and a survey. The instructions are often vague and poorly written. So my job is to do what the instructions say, sometimes it's easy sometimes it's not.

I'll tell you, one store that ALWAYS gives me crap is WALMART. Wal-Mart has the crappiest customer service I have EVER encountered. The treat their vendors like crap, despite 90% of their product being represented by outside vendors.

Thin, help me out here, have you ever done wal-marts before? Or assigned people to them? (I can't remember if you're a manager or not..) To make a long story short, the associate called her assistant manager up to help me because i was "unhappy." She he approaches me, already pissed off about SOMEthing or other, ends up totally condescending me. I politely tell him he has the right to refuse to sign my papers (they said I didn't "do" anything, when all i was assigned to do was to check on a display and make sure it was up). So I agreed with him, but explained smoothly he didnt need to belittle me. He didnt even look me in the eye, walked away with a smirk and said cheerfully: "well this will ne the last time you do a job in my store...."

A: he is not my boss and cannot decide this, unless he has a good reason..and me asking that he not treat me as if i'm not mentally ******ed doesn't count

B: if i were told i could never do a job in a freaking walmart again, i'd do carwheels out of that store, probably after exchanging a few choice words with him and so me of his incompetant staff...perhaps a hand gesture or two would work nicely, too.

Anyways there's my rant. BOYCOTT WALMART.

Oh, and nothing personal if anyone here works there...many walmart workers are exceptionally cool

Good morning all. Just have enough time to peek in and read.
I have a longgggggggggggggggg list of "to do" stuff.
I enjoyed my mini vacation but now it is time to get busy.
Terri... I AM going to stay on program today.
Thanks for hanging in there with me. {{ HUGS }}

Hey everyone

Remember me? The chick who disappeared off the face of the planet into workaday world and is just now returning? I haven't had a chance to catch up on reading yet, but I wanted you to all know I was thinking about you. Figured it was more important to leave a short post now and read later.

Quick catch up to where I am at this moment (since it seems to change so swiftly! )

I am back on my low carb Curves diet! It feels so empowering, like taking your destiny in your hands, to start a new diet. I've already managed to steer around DH several times, even though I planned to begin the diet two days earlier and succumbed to his sabotage. I was rock solid yesterday, and I'm rock solid today! Day 2 OP is halfway under my belt!

Most of you will probably give a groaning laugh to this one. I told DH that I was ready to start up on my plan again. He said he thought that was great, and that he would support me. Well, I woke up from my pre-work nap to a lunch all packed and ready. I didn't even look inside until I was already at work. A bag of tortilla chips, probably about 6 servings worth, two pieces of fried chicken, a sleeve of girl scout cookies, an entire jar of that cheesy salsa mixed stuff, a soda pop, and a candy bar were there to greet me. Hmmm... I'm going to guess his idea of support and mine were a little bit different that night. He was sooooo lucky I was at work already. I would have strangled him if he was there in front of me. Since I didn't have anything else to eat with me, I ate some of what he sent and decided to call it a last blast sort of thing.

He tried to get me to slip up last night by pointing out that we had pitas and hummus at home, and if I wanted to eat those with him as a special thing, I might as well eat popcorn and candy at the movie we were headed to right then. Oh yeah, he is king of sabotage! I do admit to glaring at him a bit, but for the most part, let him know I really didn't want to screw up. Doing well on this is important to me. He lays off pretty quickly when he realizes I'm serious.

Ok, I'd better make some lunch and get back here to do some serious reading. I should be quite a few threads behind!

Andria

Ok, I was reading posts and one from Blue just stopped me up short. How do we become invisible at our size? I am so sick of people's eyes just sliding past me like I am not there. It must have been what I wanted at some time in the past, but all it is now is painful.

Blue, I see you.

Andria

Hi Everyone!!
I have been here everyday, but I still feel like I am missing so much. I haven't been really getting on the computer in the evenings, which is a refreshing change. Today I decided to stay at work a little late and catch up on the board before heading home. Does anyone watch "24"?? We are hooked. We never saw the first 2 seasons, but started with this year - for Xmas we got Season 1 & 2 on DVD so we have spent the past two nights watching the first 8 episodes of season 1. It's funny because we are so hooked that we get mad when we realize it's late and we have to go to bed! I've been enjoying snuggling on the couch with my sweetie and the dogs. Not sure what tonight's plan is since American Idol and a new 24 are on.

Ingrid -- I have all my meds, but I don't know the doses yet. I will be on Gonal-F and Repronex, along w/ the trigger shot and Progesterone. I go in next Wed. for my suppression check and baseline workup and will find out my daily dose to start with. The Lupron is giving me a mild/constant headache. I am able to ignore it most of the time, but it just lingers. I really hope the acupuncture helps keep me calm and relaxed through all this. It seems that yesterday's appt. had a good effect on me and I am going back tomorrow morning. Thanks for being such a good buddy with all of this!! It's great to talk to others that have been there. I do participate in some IVF message boards that I love, but here I feel much more open because you all know much more about me. On that board it's really all talk about treatments. Here it's talk about everything!!!

Melissa - Sorry to hear it was a crappy weekend and you are having a hard time missing your BF. Are you trying to fill the void with other things (not food)?? Maybe a new sport or exercise or hobby? Yes, you have been busted on the veggies! Get them in there! Find the ones you like and work them in your plan. I am rather picky about veggies and can't force myself to eat things I don't like, but the ones I do like I make sure to get into my meals! You can do it! Stay positive!!!

2cute - I am happy to hear that you had a fun visit with your daughter! Sounds like you two have a great time together! I wish I lived closer to my mom so we could do more things together. Although she did say that once we have children she plans on more travel up here!

Terri - Wow! Great job on the morning workout!! I certainly know what you mean about getting out of bed at 5:30! UGH!!! I'll be honest - I didn't closely read the nutrition contents on the salad dressing - which is odd for me because I am usually obsessive about labels!

Andria - How in the world could we possibly forget you??? I am so glad you checked in and happy to hear you are doing well! Boy, I sure know what you mean about sabotoge! I live with another King!!! Although, he "claims" he is getting back with the plan himself to lose weight. He did great until his surgery and then decided to eat whatever he wanted and gained back the weight he had lost! That was quite a lunch DH packed for you!!!

I know I have missed many of my dear friends, but I tried to catch everyone on this thread....HELLO Kat, Blue, Connie, Joanne, Judy, Pat, Pam Thin, Steph, Jen Mary, Barb.g., Syn, Duckie, Lucky, Michelle, Susie...

Wow, as I typed that list thinking of all of you I realize some have been gone for a very long time!!!!

Michelle - Are you bogged down with work still?

Jen - Counting the days till hubby comes home?? I am so excited for you!

Sandy - What the heck happened to you? I miss you and your little bear!

I could go on and on and on, but I really do need to end this for now. I'll catch up with you gals later!

Love to All!
Barb