WELCOME !!!

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 and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

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 often use a "Topic of the Day" for discussion.

Motivational Monday
Tuesday Tips
Wednesday Wish List .. and What you are doing to obtain it.
Thankful Thursday
FUN Friday ... don't wait until you lose your weight.
Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Share your Success Sunday

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

We have several extra threads going on simutaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, and more. Please feel free to check them all out.

We have a bi-weekly 2x2 Challenge.
Our goal is to lose 2 lbs in 2 weeks.
We have a long term goal of losing 300+ lbs within our 300+ group in 2005.

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.

WELCOME!

Just checking in to see how everyone is going. Been a very emotional week for me, but thank goodness it's over.

.::Felicia::. congrats on the whole 2 miles. I did my class on the "evil machine" today, and even though it was at 8:30 mu muscles are still burning!!! We even had two instructors today, and while one was instructing the other was going around and pushing our shoulders down or pulling our butts up or whatever we were not doing exactly right. But it is a good class.

Just got home from work. waiting for DH to come home from the grocery store to see what he got for dinner. The mood I'm in, I don't care what it is, just as long as I don't have to fix it! I know, not the right attitude, Oh well!!

I guess since no one has mentioned another chat no one is interested.

I have just had my cheerleader picture done, so I can officially be the thread cheerleader, What do you think?

Felicia,
Woo-hoo on the 2 miles.....I know how good I felt after 1.5 Miles (but I still havent' made it to 2)....so I salute you!!!!!!

Jennifer

congratulations Felicia!! I know what a milestone that can be...did you use the weights? I seriously don't know what I'd do without those tapes! I LOVE Leslie Sansone, she's so down to earth and she makes working out approachable. Keep up the good work, but don't be afraid to switch back and forth between the two mile tape and the one mile tape...did you use the weights?

Hope everyone is doing well tonight. I am so glad its friday. it will be great to sleep past 5am! Food and excersise going well for me this week. I have been in a fun myself this week, hopefully this will resolve soon. Congratulations to all the ladies excersising this week, i do feel much better after i do it, its just getting started sometimes that is hard. have a good weekend

To everyone on this thread. My sister told me about this site. I have never in my life done anything like this (chatting and stuff) I am so thankful for you all sharing. I have so much weight to loose and I felt like I was so alone today until I read your messages. I can't stress to you enough how very much they all mean to me to know that I am not alone. I would love to be part of your group. I will go in and fill out a profile on myself (if I can figure out how). I really need this. I am 497 pounds and am just starting out today. Again, so happy to not be alone anymore!

Lilion: you are welcome...although I confess that I'm a little tired so I was stretching my brain to remember what I said. Congrats on 2 more Lbs.!

Barb: I am totally interested in another chat, but it's hard for my time schedule to be compatible with the East Coast...sigh. Let me know if anything gets decided.

Meliss: Thanks for the great chat earlier today...I hope we keep talking and cheering each other on..and discussing lots of other great topics as well

Dogpal: WELCOME to the group...you'll find that we are a tremendously diverse and phenomenal group of women who are here to give and get support as well through their own personal struggles with weight loss. I totally understand about not being alone anymore..and congrats on getting started...committing yourself the the project is the first step...remember to congratualte yourself for progress you make each day...anything you do is better than doing nothing.

BF was a sweetie tonight and brought me a card and roses for our "month-aversary"...this is also a particularly important one for us...almost as important as last month when it was 2 years. It was a year ago this weekend that we got back together after our month off. Ironically, at the tme when we were getting back together, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" had come out and we kept discussing going to see it...but never did. So we finally got around to seeing it tonight and agreed that had we watched it a year ago it would have been really painful and that it's best that we waited. Dinner tonight was yummy..I took a recipe I had already used and modified it a little bit...instead of using the spices that were called for, I used a packet of dry Good Seasons salad dressing mix and added in some fat-free chicken broth...both of which made for a really niec flavor. I also tossed in some mushrooms along with the onions and garlic and they cooked down nicely. Tomorrow night I am experimenting with grilled portabella mushrooms.

Note to self...the next time I want something from the store that isn't as generic as paper towels...go get it myself. I needed balsamic vinegar...I asked BF to get it at the store on the way over tonight...he wrote down balsamic vinegar...he bought balsamic vinaigrette...not quite the same thing! But he tried...he was confused since they are next to each other on the shelf...poor sweet clueless boy.

I will be sooooooooooo happy on Monday morning when I can have oatmeal again... Passover bites.

Goodnight miladies!

Hello all, just peaking in before I go slave away at the bookstore...good news, I think I'm finally back on track with the weight thing *phew*...i just CANT seem to stay away from that scale for long, gah. Here's to losing two pounds in the next ten days!!!

Good morning chicks, I wasn't going to post yet, but when I saw the last post from meliss, I just had to. Meliss, hide the scale or bury it! I swear the darn things are EVIL, and they make you do bad things. Well, that is my take anyway.

dogpal, welcome to the group. A step in the right direction can lead to a destination. That is what I keep telling myself anyhoo! I too have a long journey.

Sorry about not responding to everyone this morning, but I have some things going on that need attention. See all of you later. Have an OP day. Iwillbe

Happy Saturday Ladies!

Greetings and hello! Can't take too much time as I'm supposed to get busy and get ready for a BBQ in just a bit. We're headed to a friend's house an hour away and should be there by 2. I'm going to try to stop by the store on the way to pick up some fruit or chicken breasts or something to help with the calories. Yesterday we went to see "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Fun movie, appeals to my, admittedly somewhat warped sense or humor. Even my 10 year old liked it, although he admitted he didn't "get" most of it! We also had dinner at the Olive Garden and I admit I wasn't good. None of the things with the little olive branch symbol appealed to me. DH and I both ate plenty of salad and split the Tuscan Chicken between us, which works well, since they give you two pieces of chicken. It was worth every fattening bite too. We've learned to buy one meal and split it most places, since we don't want left-overs of fattening food anyway, and have been pleasantly surprized that we go away full. Shows how much we used to eat since we used to both get our own and finish it! Sure cut's down on the check, too!

Barbg: LOVE the cheerleader! She'd make me feel cheery!

Dogpal: Welcome! You will find plenty of love and non-judgmental support here! It's so much easier to lose and stay OP when you have people who understand what it's like to have so much to lose. I wouldn't trade these ladeis for the world.

Meliss: Glad you're back on track! I knew you could get there!

So, can someone give me some info on WATP? I haven't seen those tapes. Do you just kinda march in place or what? You ladies all seem to like them, but that sounds kind of boring to me...someone tell me about them?

Well, that's it for me or I'll never make it to the store! Best get a move on! Later, ladies!

Welcome Dogpal, I have been right where you are at. I was 100 lbs. heavier than you are when I started, so I know how hard it is. You can do it if you take it one step at a time, don't give up no matter how many times you stub your toe, and lean on us when your knees feel weak.

Yesterday was one of those days that I wish I could get my money back on. I had looked forward to my swim, got to the YMCA, and it was closed--staff meetings. I decided to go get some errands done, and couldn't find the stuff I needed. Got overheated because I had my swimsuit on under my clothes. I had forgotten to take it off since I hadn't been in the pool. Well, it could have been worse, I didn't miss a turn and end up in the ocean, I didn't get eaten by an alligator, and I didn't get hit by a bus. Everything else, I can chalk up to an exercise in learning how to deal with difficulties with a smile on my face.

My nutrition mag came today, and it has lots of great stuff this time that I will sprinkle the rest of the week, but one part hit me hard, so I think I will start with that. Bill Phillips (former bodybuilder, co-founder of one of the largest sports nutrition companies in the U.S., and author of Eating for Life) has taken up the challenge of trying to transform the health of America, one family at a time. He says that a physical transformation can't be made without a mental one. The body and mind must work together to work out our most powerful muscle, "the imagination." Getting the right nutrition gives you the energy to focus your mind. A workout that pushes you past what you "thought" you could do pushes the limits of your imagination. For exercise, he uses a "Power Mindset" technique. 1. Ten minutes before bed write down 5 specific things you need to have happen before bed the next night to make you feel happy about your fitness progress. 2. Visualize doing these things. 3. Let go of the images, and sleep. 4. Review your list in the morning. Everyday notice how you accomplish each item on your list. The transformation you create in your body shows you the power you have to transform everything in your world.

For everyone who is having trouble sticking with or finding time or energy for exercise, I challenge you to try this visualization technique for a week. I'm going to do it too. My five things for Sunday are going to be: walk at least a half a mile, do at least 100 situps, spend 30 minutes cleaning house, 30 minutes working on my van, and 30 minutes sewing.

I try to take things a little easier on Sunday, and I consider any movement to be a victory since I was so immobile for so long. I've got over 10 years worth of backlogged chores that laid unfinished that I am trying to baby step my way through. For example, I have two large rolling trashcans full of material and other sewing projects that have remained unfinished. To lose my physical weight, I am having to lose my mental and emotional weight. As I'm uncluttering my mind, I am uncluttering my life. Kind of a physical representation of the changes I am making internally. You don't get to be 600 pounds without having some serious bats in your belfry. I'm trying to evict them slowly so the job doesn't seem so large that I become overwhelmed.

Baby stepping my way to health.

Bless you all. You are so wonderful. Thank you for sharing more of your inspirational stories. I can't wait to be on this journey with you all. I hurt my back so I am unable to walk today let alone exercise. I am praying if I am good today with ice packs then by Monday I can go swim bright and early! Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Hey chicks! Hope everyone is doing well tonight. Dogpal, I am sending you a warm welcome. You will find very supportive and friendly people here. Dont give up, you deserve the best in life. Food and excesise was good today. I cleaned out my closet an am giving my friend some clothes that no longer fit. this is something i have been doing so i dont have anything to "fall back on", sort of like, if i dont keep losing wt, i will have no clothes to wear
Everyone have a great weekend