300+ And Ready to Try Again...#808
 

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 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!

I know you'll all agree that we are really thankful for the free services here at 3FC. The sisters offer all of this support and information with no charges to us. There are a couple of ways though that we can help out.

If you are thinking about buying anything at Amazon, why not help out 3FC at the same time? You can do this by clicking on the button for Amazon on any page in the forum, or by clicking on the button on the main 3FC page at www.3fatchicks.com . A portion of your purchase price will be given to 3FC by Amazon. It doesn't increase your price at all, but it does help out 3FC. You can use any of the Amazon.com links that you see on the site in order to help contribute to the site.

Also, BTW, in case you didn't know it, you can view the message boards "ad free" for a minimal charge. I think it's like $15 for 6 months. A very small investment to be rid of the annoying ads and make your pages load quicker.

There have been some concerns expressed by the powers that be about copyright infringement. So please, if you are directly quoting someone else or printing an article in whole or in part, please give credit where credit is due!!!!

Ammi, I can COMPLETELY relate to the stresses family life puts on our diets/lifestyles!

Yesterday I told my hubby that he would have to take the boys to Chronicles of Narnia alone, b/c I knew I couldn't handle being at the theater with its candy and popcorn...there's no way I would have turned it down. They didn't end up going, and I later I thought that was just stupid...why would I miss out on doing something together...so I am going to go with them and just bring some soy chips and diet dr. pepper or something.

It seems like I'm having a hard time with temptation in general lately. In fact, I just made pepperoni pizza for the boys for dinner and that was hard for me today...I'm on here posting b/c I want to go eat their leftovers, instead of waiting for DH to get home so I can eat my "good" pizza. We normally eat together, but DH is working late tonight.

BTW, if anyone is a pizza lover, I found a frozen pizza that is pretty good...only 230 calories for one-third of a large frozen pizza. It's Palermo's Ultimate Thin Marghreta (tomato, basil and garlic) Pizza.

Glad your bed claim is going through, even though it was somewhat awkward.

Hope everyone had a good day!

Well, I got my hair done yesterday. Couldn't post then as we have had the Internet out for a while.

I've posted a pic of my new hair do. After 2 and a half hours at the hairdresser I think I am happy with the results. I look a little scruffy in the pic as it was windy outside and I couldn't see in the sun, but I think you can see the colour pretty well, which is the part I really like about the new 'do' this time. I should try to get a new pic today after I have styled it. I didn't get the hairdresser to do much with it yesterday as I knew I wanted to do it today before we go to the airport to pick up my father-in-law and his wife.

I'm just off to get some last minute cleaning done, then I'll come back and catch up on things.

Take care all,

Zelma

Ammi - I'm so glad to see you back! :hug: Temptation :cookie: is a hard thing, to deal with, but it sounds like it was something you don't regret...so I wouldn't worry about it.:cool: You strayed, but you admit it, and that's sometimes the hardest thing to do. But I admire your determination to get up the next day, and TRY AGAIN. :^: Working out takes a lot of willpower, and I know I'm not doing as much as I should be. :strong: Hopefully once the weather improves, it will be easier to just be able to go out walking or something, instead of being cooped up in the house! :hyper: I'm so glad you are able to get your new bed! It will definately be worth all the of the trouble/embaressment that first night you sleep in it! :cloud9: I don't know if I asked you or not, but are you on any meds for the depression? I hate to hear that you feel so rotten. You are such a beautiful person,:flow1: and it's sad that you have to feel so terribly. :(

ARQM - Movie theaters are difficult. I don't have as much problems with the candy (as candy makes my teeth hurt), as I do with the popcorn. I love love love movie theater popcorn, all buttery and whatnot.:corn: Luckily, it's so expensive that I can't afford it!:dizzy: I always sneak a diet dr. pepper or a diet a&w root beer in with me. I found that drinking diet pop tricks my body into thinking that it's having sugar.:wizard: I'm going to cut down on my pop drinking once I lose about 40 more pounds. :goodscale: I'm glad you are going to go out with your family. It's so important. Have fun!:joker: And bravo for coming in here instead of eating that pizza!:jeno: You'll be so glad you didn't later on!:D

Oooooh! I'll have to catch up on the other posts when I get out of the bath!

Zelma - Your hair looks fabulous! :queen: You look so great, you must be so proud of yourself! :woo:

Ammi - I'll have to remember that about the memory foam beds. Andrew's convinced that we are going to get one when we get a place together. I'm a fan of my air bed, but I doubt I could get him to agree!:dizzy: MEN! So aggravating sometimes, :headache:, but you gotta love em, too! :love: I get all those types of feelings, as well. I cry for no reason at all :cry:, and get sad over absolutely nothing. :( I hate feeling this way, and I know it aggravates :mad: Andrew a lot. But until I get insurance, I have to stay this way. :( Andrew always tells me that I'm beautiful, and that his opinion is the only one that should matter, but I just hate how I am so much, it just doesn't seem possible.:( Every once in a while, I'll get a bout of self-esteem, but it doesn't last for more than a day. And usually when we are intimate, I demand the lights off...I wish so much that I didn't have to...but I can't help it. :cry: I had heard that diet was worse for you than regular, but low-carb dieting doesn't allow anything but diet, unfortunately. Bleh.

Butterflyns - Oooooh! :o Your tattoo looks nice! :D I'm too much of a chicken to get one, done! :yikes:

It seems that ever since I started this diet, my Mom has been cooking :chef: so many goodies! :chockiss: She made chocolate chip cookies, and also peanut butter chocolate chip :cookie: today. Talk about hard! I almost had one :hungry:, but then I knew I would feel so guilty, so I put them down. ;) I think there was more I wanted to say, but like usual, I have forgotten! :dizzy:

Zelma, I can't help but love your new hair! Isn't red great? I did mine a lighter auburn back in May '05 and loved it ever since; it is softer than the natural dark brown/gray I have...and I feel about 30 with this current look! LOL.

Butterflyns-Anyone who gets a tattoo, I commend them for being so brave! I am a chicken liver myself or I'd get a tiny one somewhere. Maybe I will get up the guts someday to get one. Yours looks great, by the way!

Great day today; I have dropped a little over 60 pounds total and my BMI has dropped a little below 50. Talk about some good motivation to keep going on this thing!:carrot:

Good Morning All,

Just having a quick check in while I wait for Cal to leave for school so that I can go downstairs and do my exercise. Ooh aren't I good lol, I could be convincing myself to get 10 more minutes of sleep lol.

Butterflyns - great tattoo, I am glad it wasn't too painful. My hubby has 3 of them, one goes right over his shoulder blade, it's a big colourful dragon. He said it was so painful after the first 2 HOURS that he nearly passed out!!! Thing is he can't even see it as it's on his back, and he rarely goes out without a top. So all that pain for what? :lol:

Glad to hear you had such a nice day out with your friend too.

Kayley - I think one of the reasons that the memory foam mattress wasn't all it's cracked up to be is because it wasn't 100% memory foam. It was a normal sprung matress with like a memory foam top. It was comfortable, is comfortable, but you know when you want to flip a mattress over because you start to leave indents in the thing, well you can't do that with this mattress. Well you could, but then you wouldn't be lying on the memory foam which defeats the purpose of having it. Another problem I have heard a lot of people have, with both the foam topped and the 100% memory foam mattresses is that it's very difficult to turn over or get off the thing :lol: That might not be so bad for a slim person, but I for one really struggle to turn over at night. So yep, although they sound wonderful, I won't have another one. I am glad I got to give it a go though.

I am so sorry that you could possibly be suffering from depression and yet can't see a doctor about it yet. That must be so frustrating. Self esteem issues I think effect how a lot of us feel, and I am hoping that as you lose more weight you will start feeling much better about yourself. Sometimes just being in control of your life makes all the difference, knowing you are on the right track instead of carrying on over eating and getting bigger and bigger. If you ever want to email me about things just send me a PM and I will give you my email address. Or perhaps we can have a chat on Yahoo, I have added you to my messenger. Sometimes just talking about it all with somebody who knows what you are going through really helps.

Finally I have to say :bravo: to you for resisting your mum's home baked cookies. Do you find that when you try to diet your family and friends tend to want to eat out more, or make nice meals, treats etc? My ex MIL was terrible for that. As soon as I would mention a diet she would invite me over for a really fattening meal, or will have bought me some chocolates etc. I don't know whether it's intentional or not, but the word sabotage comes to mind. You are so brilliant being able to turn down your mum's baking, you should be proud of yourself.

LAnne - 60 lbs lost that is fantastic :cheer: I love reading from people like yourself who are doing so well with their diets. It gives me hope that I am going to manage it too. Just got to keep strong!!

Sharon (neurotica) - lovely to hear from you and I just have to say that I keep seeing those lbs coming off you on your Yahoo status and I am thrilled for you. You are doing so brilliantly :carrot: good on you!!

Sharon (voodoo) - am hoping to catch you for a chat today, if not though I did send you a nice long email last night. I hope you got it safely.

Jill - hope your weekend at your sisters went well.

Valerie - missing your posts, hope you are managing to stay on track while on the road. I bet you are.

Wyllen - I sent you an email last night as well, it's a biggy, but don't panic about writing back quickly lol, it's just nice to keep in touch.

Lori - any news yet on those liver test results. I hope it's not bad news. Take care and try to keep positive :hug:

Ok well Cal has gone now, so time to go WORK OUT :carrot: lol. See you all later,

Hugs,

Ammi :D

Hi again everyone,

I'm hoping to be able to do a little catching up now. Our visitors (hubby's father and his wife) are in bed early as they didn't get a lot of sleep in the last couple of days as they flew from Canada with a couple of stopovers.

First of all, thank you all very much for the compliments about the hair do. I'm REALLY happy with this one. Sometimes I come home and am not too sure, but this time I was so thrilled with the way the colour came out that I didn't even care what other people would think of it. I just knew I loved it. But it has certainly been great to know that other people think it is good as well. I wouldn't like to think that my taste is THAT way off.

Sharon - I truly don't mind answering any questions about my weight loss. Well... I haven't found any questions so far that have stopped me blabbing on and on with an answer. I AM finding that I have a lot of loose skin. My doctor said this is because I lost the weight so quickly, but I definitely only lost an amount that is recommended - no more than (1kg) 2.2lbs a week. Oh, of course that was a little more the first couple of weeks, but after that it was steady. I think that being 43 years old just means that I don't have the elasticity that I may have had if I was younger.

I don't really like this loose skin, and it is stopping me from wearing sleeveless tops and dresses because my arms really don't look good, but that is really the only problem I have with it at the moment. I would love to look better for hubby, but he says that he doesn't mind at all. I wear underpants and bras that pull things together quite nicely, so when I go out in public I look as though I actually have an OK figure. I have found a few little lacy looking mini-jacket type things, that I put over sleeveless things to cover the upper arms. I think I am wearing one in the 'current' photo I posted earlier.

One difference for me may be that I never started this for my looks - it has always been for my health. So in a way, I can look upon this loose skin as my 'badges of honour'. They signify what a great job I have done. Of course, I would love to not have them, but I'm not sure I like the option for getting rid of them.

I've heard that operations to get rid of the loose skin, such as tummy tucks and boob lifts, can be very expensive, excruciatingly painful and with REALLY long painful recovery periods. And you are still left with quite large scars afterwards. I'm not sure I am going to ever be ready to go down that path... but that is just me. I know everyone is different.

My dietician friend has told me that she believes this skin will tighten over time and I am trying to add toning exercises to my daily regime. I am hoping to get another piece of gym equipment for my next birthday that will focus on strengthening these parts of my body. I think I will have to just settle for what I can manage to do on my own. I haven't shown my dietician friend my loose skin and I'm not sure she realises just how much of it there is. (Only hubby has seen those bits.) I think I will just stay positive with her thoughts and keep up the work to reduce them. I'm hoping that I won't get too 'down' about having to cover them up. I'm managing to find some lovely pieces of clothing that covers them very well. I won't be getting into a bathing suit any day soon, but I'm not really a swimmer, so I don't miss that at the moment.

I hope that this 'novel' has answered your question. Or maybe I just went on and on about things that didn't answer anything at all really. You never know with me.

Ammi - I wish you were not having to go through some of these things at the moment. I'm not sure what you had the operations for, but I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for the wounds to not be healing. It would be bad enough to have the operation in the first place, but you would hope for a rapid recovery period.

I'm really glad you will be getting your new bed soon. At least that will be something off your mind.

I'm glad you decided to get in the family time instead of letting your eating regime get in the way. I think I still have to work on things like that. I think there have been times when I have let my eating dictate what we can and can't do, but I usually overcome it by taking my own food.

After Cal was gone did you workout to the same DVD that gave you such a good workout before? It sounded like a fun one.

Butterfly - I really like the tattoo! I would never be game enough to get one as I'm not into pain. I like yours for a couple of reasons. The picture is nice and basic, but makes a statement. Also it is in a position where you can choose to show it or cover it. I think that is something that has to be thought out when getting a tattoo.

Anne - I may have to look for a pizza like the one you mentioned. We may not have the same brand over here, but we could have something similar. I have been thinking lately of making my own, but it would be great to find one already made for me. I tend to be a very lazy cook.

It must be harder to try to lose weight when you have children. I have found that hubby either eats what I eat, or is happy to get himself something different, which is great. Do your children mostly eat the healthy stuff you do, or can't you convince them of the change yet? I'm not sure what most people do, but I couldn't have the temptation around me when I first started this journey, so I would be hopeless living with people who ate treats all the time. I'm fine now, but it took me a while to not mind.

Kayley - Your mum sounds like mine. My mum LOVES to cook and I think that she feels that it shows she loves us if she sends us home with a couple of very large jars of cookies every time we visit. Poor hubby puts on a few kilos in the weeks following a visit, as he is the only one who eats them. Now he doesn't want to touch them either, but we can't convince her to not make them. Last time we just took them in to the school where I teach and the staff had a lovely morning tea. Congratulations on not giving in to temptation.

Leanne - I am actually surprised at just how thrilled I am with this new colour. It just seems to 'lift' my spirits when I look at it. Probably sounds a little silly, but...

Congratulations on getting your BMI down. You are doing an incredible job. I must check mine again soon. I started at 55, but think I am under 30 now, which is going well. I know that BMI isn't the be all and end all, but it isn't too bad an indication to go by.

Well, off to read for a while. I'm really into Nutrition books at the moment. I want to learn WHY different foods work in different ways in the body. I know my body doesn't 'like' certain foods and I would like to know why. It's keeping me out of trouble for a while.

Take care all,

Zelma

WoW! I can barely keep up with READING everything, much less posting. I just wanted to pop in, say hello ("hello"), and say I do love catching up and will write more soon.

Ammi -- not listening to my tummy has been one of the keys this time around. You have to repeat yourself a lot to get yourself to listen, but it is worth it. I have a lot more self-control than I did 6 months ago, and it is usually easier to say no than I thought it would be. We all have those days, though, don't we...

Zelda, thanks!

You did answer my question. I am 40 myself and have no delusions about seeing myself in a bikini . . . . EVER! I just have been ashamed of my body for most of my life and was looking forward to releasing that. It won't stop me from losing weight, I just want to know what to expect as I go forward. It seems inevitable that I am just going to have to deal with the skin. I DO love swimming and depending on exactly what happens in the future, I may need to do something about my legs. I was reading online several different places that said the skin only sags if you still have fat underneath and if you can reduce your BF to single digits, then the skin will shrink. HA! I am struggling to get to 200lbs. I think I would be a happy camper being that "small"! I am not sure I believe that single digit BF stuff either. Well, I guess I have a VERY long way to go before that becomes my primary issue. I'm off to find something tasty and low cal to eat for b/f!

AmmiUK-:hug:

Hi All,

Well it's the afternoon now. This morning I did do my 30 minutes of salsasize, and then I was all set to go off to order my new bed. Hubby gets home, and says, let's go back to sleep for an hour. That hour turned into 4 and we didn't end up going anywhere. Oh well, at least I exercised. Actually it's good that we didn't go for the bed today because the insurance cheque arrived, so now we won't have to put a deposit on the bed, we can pay for it up front. So yay.

Jill - thanks for your input on caffeine and diet drinks etc. When I said sacharine in my post I just meant artificial sweetener. Actually Aspartame is again rumoured to be very bad for you. I looked it up on the Net before posting this and you are right, you can find bad in everything. There were multiple sites saying all the horrid side effects long term use of the sweetener can cause, but then you have other sites saying it's a load of rubbish. As for the caffeine, I never knew why it hindered weight loss, I just knew that my WW leader and others have told me not to have too much. I don't have much anyway, so it's not a big deal. I recently read somebody's blog from here, not sure whose now lol, and they said that they were considering WLS once and one of the things she would have to cut out was carbonated drinks. Not sure if they were diet or if they had caffeine. But she said that after cutting them out her weight loss increased noticeably. But like you say Jill, I think people have to do what works for them. It's like when mad cow disease was in the news daily. Did I stop eating beef, NO, lol. Now chicken flu is rampent, am I giving up chicken, NO. Each to their own :D

Zelma - thank you for your kind words, yes it is VERY frustrating to have wounds that just refuse to heal. 3 years ago I had my bowel removed and had an ileostomy. Under my tummy the wound got infected with MRSA so it took about 11 months to heal. 1 month later I had to have the tummy incision opened again and I was opened up underneath to have my rectum removed. This time MRSA hit again and I had gaping holes in my wound on and under the tummy which took months to heal, and then last January I had yet more surgery where they left my tummy alone, but had to remove muscle from my thighs to put into a fistula where my rectum used to be. So I was opened up underneath again, and I was cut from groin to knee on both legs. Now a year on the perineal wound refuses to stay healed. It will close up and then it will open after about two weeks and stay open for months at a time. I really shouldn't exercise like I am doing, but if I keep putting it off because the wound bleeds all the time after it, then I am never going to lose weight. I have to just realise that the stupid thing isn't going to close, and try to carry on life as best I can. As for the under the tummy wound from 3 years ago, that still opens and closes all the time, it's not a gaping wound though, it looks more like a big burn. My doctors said that if I lose weight and have a tummy tuck which they will perform on the NHS, then they will remove all the old scar tissue, make a much neater job of closing the wounds because the tummy won't hinder them and hopefully that wound will be gone for good. Of course the whole reason behind my surgeries before was that I had Ulcerative Colitis which is an autoimmune disease. Even though the bowel has gone now, I still take a long time to get over colds, or for cuts to heal etc. So I don't know if it would be worth having a tummy tuck when the time comes, not if I am going to take forever to heal from that too. Oh well, I can decide when the time is closer. Got to get all the weight off first.

I hear you on the loose skin thing. I am 38 but I have always had terrible elasticity in my skin. I first got stretch marks just going through puberty, then loads more when I was pregnant, and more again from all the weight I have put on. I know when I lose the weight I am going to have the saggy skin. I hope your dietician is right though that given time it will improve. I don't like surgery for obvious reasons lol, but it does annoy me that after people lose so much weight that they have the sagging skin that they have to pay so much money to have it removed. The governments complain that obese people are a drain on their resources, so why not encourage them to get the weight off by saying they won't have to be stuck with the sagging skin if they get it, that they can at least have a huge discount off the tummy tuck surgery. Let's face it, a lot of people don't want to lose huge amounts of weight because they would rather be fat than have all that loose skin. Personally I think I am more like you though, doing it for my health rather than how I look. I don't think I would even consider a tummy tuck if it wasn't for finally getting rid of that wound of mine.

Oh and just in case you didn't read it above, yes I did work out to my Salsasize DVD this morning, and believe it or not, it was easier than the first time I did it on Monday. I was amazed at how much easier.

Are you enjoying reading your Nutrition books. My therapist gave me one a while back to read, I can't remember the title. But it was a real eye opener about what foods can do for you, good and bad. She also gave me a book about Reiki to read, that was pretty cool too. Now I am giving them a rest though and am about to start reading a fictional novel for a change :D


Wyllen - I am glad that you said that it does get easier to stop listening to your tummy. So hopefully 6 months down the line I won't be having a debate with my tummy at least 10 times a day :lol: I think one of the reasons I get so annoyed when I do give in to my tummy is because there are SO MANY reasons why I need to lose weight and yet I give in just because I fancy something a bit tastier and more fattening than I should. On a WW site I once read a post listing 100 reasons why it would be brilliant not to be fat. I could relate to them all, and some more, and yet offer me a pizza on a bad day and I will take it. Crazy.

Ok well Cal is home now, and as she waffles on like a tape recorder without a stop buttong I better go now. I won't be able to concentrate otherwise. So bye for now, and I am sure I will pop back on later after the options evening at the school. Oh and I didn't need to go see the nurse because my belly button wound isn't as yucky today. My hubby takes good care of me :)

Hugs,

Ammi :grouphug:

Nevermind being under 200 lbs during your adult life.. i don't think i've been under 200 since i was 15.


All of you girls that have been loosing, i give you major props.. i have the hardest time sticking to anything!

Did you know my dear Ammi, that I am a Reiki Master?;)

Greetings Ladies!

Thought I'd pop in and say Howdy! :D Hope all is going well.

Ammi: Wow! I'm sorry to hear about all the problems you've been having. :hug: I can't imagine. I'm quite sure I'd use open wounds as an excuse to sit my butt on the couch and make people wait on me. That you don't is quite an accomplishment in my book.

On the subject of caffine, about the only thing I know that would make it bad for you is it will cause water retention. That's why WW says you can substitute 1/2 your water with caffine-free, sugar-free sodas. I'm a diet coke junkie myself. That was the hardest thing for me to give up when I was pregnant with my son...worse than cigarettes. In fact, I still haven't been able to stop drinking it, although I know only have one a day of the regular and maybe two cans of caffine-free diet.

Zelma: I like the new color! I don't think it's silly at all that it makes you feel so good. Last April before a trip to Las Vegas I got my hair colored and light, nearly blond, streaks put all over. I LOVED it. But I also paid over $100 for it! So when it had to be redyed it's stayed just brown! :( I'm so glad you answered the question about skin. I just know I'm going to have awful problems...I'm 42 myself and have already noticed really saggy skin on my inner thighs that used to just be fat. I think the really thin-skin areas, inner thigh and underarms are going to be worst for me. I already told DH to expect to shell out some bucks on cosmetic surgery if - NO! WHEN! - I get to goal!

Jilly: I usually buy popcorn at the movies...but I sneak in my own soda or at least a bottle of water for DS. I don't usually let him have soda and I'm sure not paying the prices they want for it for him. That's what big purses are for! :D

Neurotica: I know I've weighed under 200 at some point, but can't really remember it. My goal on my slider is my driver's license weight and I haven't changed it in 23 years!!! I plan on actually trying to get to 170...which will be the first time in my entire life I will weigh what the weight charts suggest I should. Still, 200 will be SUCH a HUGE thing for me too!

Well ladies, I had to increase my slider by a pound. My "official" WI said I'd gained 1 lb since last Wed. BUT, my office's scale for our "Show-Me Shape-Up" competition showed me at 258 last Friday and at 256 today! So I don't know if I lost or gained???:?: I'll live with it and try harder next week.

I ran across a free "walkaerobics" 17 minute work-out on my digital cable service freebie programs with Leslie Sansone (spelling?). Is that the same as the WATP tapes everyone keeps telling me about???

Well, late again and must run. Onward and Downward Ladies! :D

Ammi - Thanks for the advice on the memory foam. ;) Andrew gets really peeved :s: at me sometimes, because of my emotions, which could also be from my hormonal imbalance. :dizzy: He'll always ask me what's wrong, and I'll tell him "nothing", so he thinks that I just don't WANT to tell him, when in reality, nothing IS wrong, and I don't know why I'm upset! :( Luckily, not the eating out so much, as Andrew got laid off a couple of months ago, and he was the one who always wanted to go out. :hungry: And I don't really go anywhere with Mom anymore, as my schedule is so packed for the most part. :( Glad you were able to get a nap in, and you're right! At least you exercised! :strong:

Zelma - That's the way to think! As long as YOU like it, who CARES what other people say? :p Cuz YOU are the one that had it done, not them.;) I never got people who were the opposite...:?: I did some research online :comp: about skin as well, and from what the websites said, my skin should tighten up a lot, since I'm only 19. I hope so :crossed:, as I wanna look GOOD :queen: once I lose all this weight!

Tonight, I have my first Criminal Justice class, and I'm a bit nervous. :fr: Although, a friend of mine is going to be in the class with me, so I don't have to go it alone!:cool: I'll chat to you ladies later...as it's off to Health class for me. Have a great day! :flow1:

I hear you girl! Me either!

The first 6 wks I floundered between being gung ho and then not caring about losing weight and then I realized that there were no magic answers, no surgery that I wouldn't screw up, no nothing that I could look to except myself and the kindness of people on the WWW. If you can believe it, the women that I know personally, don't seem that impressed by my almost 100lb loss except from the perspective that I might be getting closer to what they weigh. I actually had a girl say that to me wanting me to tell her JUST how close I was. HA! I ain't givin her that one! Why not be happy for me that I am not a walking bulky corpse anymore!? People just slay me sometimes.

Anyway, I digress . . . . . .I have a forum of my own and it is all women who were trying to get pregnant. We have since broadened the scope of my forum and they began to really encourage me in my weight loss. Now there are several of them doing the same thing, but when I joined here, there was only a couple really trying. There are about 3 other women on my forum that have a LOT of weight to lose like me, but I like it here. I don't think people feel sorry for me here. I just think they empathize with me and can relate to how it feels. Not that the ladies on my own forum feel sorry for me; it is just that some of them just have no comprehension what it feels like to be where I am, although they are very supportive and kind to me. I am really grateful for that and I am grateful to be able to come here and "fit in".

That's why i've been kinda testing the waters around here...ya know before i become a postaholic and kinda put myself out there.. I just wanted to see what kinda girls were here. I don't want people to knock me down or feel sorry for me.. that's not going to help me.. it's just going to keep me in my rut.
From what i've seen thus far everyone seems great! Knowing that this is going to be hard, hopefully i can make some new friends to help in my journey.

I can tell you that having emotional support has made a HUGE difference in my attempt to lose weight. There are times when I just don't think I can go on anymore, and I am able to seek comfort in the kind and encouraging words of people on the net. I wish I could sit and chat over a cup of no fat low cal hot cocoa with some of you!:hug:

That's what i think i need.. don't get me wrong my hubby is very supportive but he likes me the way i am or the way i want to be.. It's very annoying!

My DH (dear husband in the trying to conceive forums!) keeps his mouth shut. It is annoying, but I think he is afraid to say the wrong things. Then I hear him say stuff like how fat he is and I cringe. He is 5'11" and is 210-215. He is an avid cyclists and eats like a horse and remains stable. He wants me to cycle with him but can you really see my 290lb *** on those itty bitty tires? The humiliation would kill me. Maybe if I ever reach 225 or 200 I'll think about it. He has NEVER EVER EVER belittled me b/c of my weight. He asked me to marry him when I weighed 330lbs so I am at least glad to be under that weight again. He is happy about my my loss b/c I have overheard him telling his friends about my loss, but he rarely mentions it to me. I guess it has to do with him not wanting to "pressure" me. But he is a man . . . . . who knows how his reasoning works itself out. That is why I need the encouragement of others who know from whence I came.

I been heavy the majority of my life--I always chuckle and say I was born fat. My lowest adult weight was 137 pounds and a size 11, and that was when I was 19 and went to that, in the improper fashion by practically starving myself, from 175 pounds and a misses' size 18 that I was when I had graduated from high school the year before.

Once I began eating 'normal' again, it didn't take long for all that weight to come back and thensome. By the time I was 23, I was already 215 at 5'4. When I hit the 300 mark, I cannot really tell you, but it wasn't a good feeling and I tried every 'quick fix' in the book to combat it, only for them to have the opposite effect. So by the age of 42 in March 2004, I had reached my highest weight of 351 and fitting into a 30/32/34....barely.

Enough was enough, I then thought.

I needed a better approach not only to help myself feel better and not be in constant physical and emotional pain, not huff and puff every time I climbed even the smallest of hills, couldn't squeeze into restaurant booths, had to hunt for chairs without arms in waiting rooms, didn't go to theaters and concerts because the seats may be too small for my fat can, and had to sit down just to put on a pair of panties.

Lucky for me, I have a supportive physician that offered me an array of healthy alternatives, and suggested a 1500 calorie/35g fat a day plan a lot of his diabetic patients used with some success (though I am not diabetic myself). At last! A plan I could live with. And here was the funny thing--I felt like I was eating more, yet I was losing weight.

I had also looked into gastric bypass surgery, which I was supposed to have this past September, but because a rare condition of malrotated digestive system was discovered on the operating table, they couldn't do the surgery. So now at present, I am being considered for the lap band procedure, which has worked well on patients with my condition.

Not every day is perfect; I still fall off the wagon now and again, but I usually have to get myself back into the mindset to get back on it and tell myself when that happens the whole thing isn't shot in the head. Though I have a LONG way to go to 150, I must admit I already feel the great benefits of losing what I have so far. I'd like to hit the 250 mark by my 44th birthday, but losing 49 pounds in 21 days is not only an unrealistic approach, it's unhealthy too. I'm just glad I FINALLY broke the 300 mark at last!!!!!:carrot:

We have walked in the same shoes girlfriend!!! Even though I have such a long way to go, I am so glad to no be where I was. I was dying. Literally.

You have just given me an idea for my next big goal after my current big goal. To be at 250 by my 41st birthday. Assuming that I meet my end of January goal, that gives me 3.5 months to lose 35lbs. That is about 10lbs a month. I think that is a good goal. What do you all think? Can I do it?

10 pounds in a month sounds like a very realistic goal; that breaks down to about 2-2.5 pounds a week, which is about a healthy loss should be. As my doctor once told me, "You didn't put all that on overnight, it won't come off overnight either." More true words could not have been spoken!:)

Ammi – Congrats on starting your exercise program. I am so out of shape – I am just trying to build a little at a time. I hope it helps you with your wounds and your overall health and depression. It is no fun not feeling good.

Zelma – your hair looks great! I love the red. I used to do an eggplant color, which I might try again soon. I am starting to get a good bit of grey and I’m not quite ready for it.

Butterflyns – I love the tattoo! I am considering getting one once I have lost most of my weight.

Kayley – my boyfriend (also Andrew) is the same way. He is sure that when I am upset that it has something to do with him and he gets very worried. At first I thought it was a bit annoying, but actually I am really pleased that he is the kind of guy that wants to talk about feelings – so many guys aren’t like that.

Well, I have caught a nasty little cold and ended up staying home today. I was going to go to work, but the bridge that I take was closed because trucks flipped over on both sides (it was amazingly windy this morning), and then my boyfriend stopped for breakfast on his way to work and his car wouldn’t start so I had to go rescue him. That involved 15 minutes of standing outside in the rain getting drenched and an hour waiting for a tow truck. After that I really didn’t feel like going to work, so I didn’t. It will mean I will need to work over the weekend, but hopefully getting a bunch of rest today will make me feel better.

Hello All,

Oh I am a good girl lol. After the options evening at Cal's school we were going to have quite a wait for a taxi home. Daren suggested walking home so that on the way we could call into a chip shop and get something from there for tea. Well I knew if I walked anyway near there I would give in, so I said no to the walk, but more importantly that meant no to foing to the chip shop. I wish I could bottle the feeling of happiness that I had. If I could take a sip of that every time I am tempted to go off my diet, well it just wouldn't happen.

Sharon (neurotica) - No, I didn't know you were a Reiki master, how fantastic is that! Do you get to practise it much? My therapist did a session with me once when we should have been talking lol, and she wants to have me go to her house on a regular basis soon to have regular Reiki done on me. I can't wait. I will never get over how relaxed I felt, and how I honestly did feel warmth wherever she held her hand over. It was unbelievable. To feel like that regularly and to have it encourage my healing, well I can't wait. Plus she doesn't charge either which is a huge bonus.

Your goal before your 41st birthday is more than doable. I am sure you will manage that much weight and some. You definitely have been losing regularly. I have every faith that you will meet that goal!

Lilion - oh I am often tempted to do absolutely nothing and put it down to my ailments. In fact a lot of the time when I sleep away the hours I do say I need my rest :lol: I have often put exercise off for the same reason, but I realised I just can't put it off anymore. What's a ripped wound and a bit of blood anyway LOL. Seriously, I won't overdo things, but it's time to get on with my life as much as I can.

Oh what a shame that your WW weigh in showed that you gained a lb, when the office weigh in showed a loss. It's frustrating I am sure. Well hopefully the WW scales will catch up with your loss next time. Fingers crossed!

Kayley - my friend I know just what you mean when you say that Andrew asks you what's wrong and then when you say nothing he thinks you just don't want to tell him. Sometimes Daren asks me what's wrong, or why I am sighing all the time. I don't even know I am sighing half the time. So I say nothing is wrong, because like you, there is nothing wrong. But he just won't accept that. So then I get a bit sarcastic and say hmm, might be something to do with....and I waffle on about all the things that are bad in my life lol. I do feel sorry for him, he has to put up with my moods, and he cleans and dresses my wounds, all that close up proximity to my 'ladies' bits' lol and no nookies. He should get a saint hood :love:

How did your Criminal Justice class go? I hope the nerves weren't necessary.

Katie - so how are you finding us gals on the site. Are you ready to 'put yourself out there' with us? I think you will find many friends here, and you will definitely get all the support you need. I don't think anybody here feels sorry for anybody else because we are all in the same boat. Some may have got further with their weight loss, but they started where we have and know just how hard the journey to lose weight can be. Those people are a real inspiration to me, they prove it can be done. I hope to be an inspiration to others WHEN I get to goal. Watch this space in about two years time :lol:

My hubby loves me just as I am too, but he is behind me all the way when it comes to my losing weight. He wants me to be healthy so that there is more chance of us having a longer life together.

LAnne- that is fantastic that you have left the 300s forever. I think if I can just leave them myself then I might have the extra inspiration to keep on dieting.

You have a very wise doctor, it's true that we can't expect to lose weight overnight when it took so long for us to get to the weight we are. This brings me to The Biggest Loser. They seem to encourage HUGE losses in a week, and yet another show I watch called Celebrity Fit Club says that huge losses are no good and that you aren't just losing fat, you are losing muscle. So how do The Biggest Loser people say it's safe to lose so much weight so fast?

Nancy - thanks for the congrats on my finally doing exercise again. I have put it off so many times, but now I have this great new DVD that isn't too difficult for me, it's brilliant to actually do it. I look forward to when I find it too easy and can move onto my Richard Simmons DVD lol. He is so funny.

Sorry that you are under the weather, I am sure standing out in the rain when you were helping your BF out won't have helped either. So I am glad you took the day off work, and hopefully you are feeling better now.

Felicia - glad to hear that you are doing ok. Don't worry too much about missing one of your work out sessions, just put some extra energy into your next work out. I am doing a new salsasize DVD and today was only my second time using it. The first time I could barely do it, today I managed to put in a few hip thrusts lol. It was fun.

Well I better go now, I have some emails to write before I can turn my messengers on to see who is around to chat. Bye for now,

Hugs,

Ammi :grouphug:

newbie here!
 

Hey everyone! I just joined this group today and think its so wonderful! There is such a huge support here. I started my diet last week and glad to report that I am down 8lbs! I hope to hear from you all soon!

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PLEASE DON'T POST HERE ANYMORE. JOIN US ON THE 300+ AND READY TO TRY AGAIN #809.