Brenda, thanks for the encouragement about the deep water aerobics. Stupid part was I ASKED the lifeguard when we were just putzing in the pool if I needed to figure out the equipment before class and he said no, the instructor would explain it. BIG mistake! I think I was the only newbie and only one who didn't KNOW how to put on all the stuff. Oh well... I am sure I provided some comic entertainment.

And I was NOT the fattest one there. In fact when I was in the locker room to go out and everyone was in the showers there was one very large woman there with the others... LOL no WAY would I display THIS big naked body in public showers!! It was bad enough in my swim outfit.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I am already aching!!!

Heather - you are right, I would be the same as you if I did eat because of my brother, I would just feel worse. I have held off and think I have passed the dangerous stage now. I had to laugh picturing the FFM going there on a mission I'd love her to go whack him with all the lbs she has taken off us that should slow him down.

Nessa - you don't have to keep up with us just post your news that's what counts

Lilion - I am just waiting to see if I get a reply from the email I sent to the police and if not I will have to ring them. Like you, I just can't see how there is no way to get him out of my mum's house. You know it wouldn't be so bad if he appreciated that she took him in. You know, help out in the house, go shopping for her etc. But he does absolutely nothing, what a jerk.

Patti - I am going to ring mum tomorrow and tell her to nag the police, she may as well start on Monday when she rings to make a complaint about the police officer that did come out to see her. Mum was trying to explain about the lease stipulations and said 'if you don't put him out what if my land lord finds out, what happens to me then' to which the officer replied, 'well you will both end up on the street then won't you'!! Mum was gobsmacked. Then later on mum made the mistake of calling her love, she's an old lady, she calls every body love. The officer then said, 'don't dare call me love, you may call me officer .......... (mum can't remember her name) or Ma'am!!' What a cow. There was mum distraught that she asked for help from the police and they refused to give it, and then she had to put up with that sort of attitude. Grrrr.

Misti - I know for a fact that if my mum changed the locks while he was out he would just smash the door down when he realised what she had done. Yes I know, or hope, that then the police might do something about it, but I just don't think mum is up to that kind of upset and drama. I wish I was there with Daren because my brother is a bully and the minute somebody would stand up to him he would soon do a runner. Two of mum's friends have offered to 'sort him out' but he is still mum's son and she doesn't want him hurt, she just wants him to leave. This is so stressful to me, I can't imagine how horrible she feels

I have to thank you for giving me my first laugh of today when you were telling us about your first experience of deep water aerobics Just picturing you fighting with your equipment was just too funny. I should say sorry for laughing, but I really NEEDED a laugh today, so thank you I hope you have more success with it next time you go, and I am sure you will love the shallow water aerobics

Brenda - I am sorry that you are feeling so unwell. You didn't get your germs from me I promise, as my cold never actually materialised Feel better soon, and keep eating that lovely soup.

Jill- good for you for not eating all those chocolate macadamia nuts yourself. I love macadamia nuts, but have never tried them with chocolate. I know I LOVE chocolate brazil nuts, yum. Shh, no more talking of naughty food. I am sorry you are having cravings and just want to eat. Do you like raw carrots? I find when I am having cravings raw carrots actually help a lot.

Good for you for going on yet another walk, you are doing so well

I am going to go watch The Ring 2 now, so I might not check back in tonight, if not then see you all tomorrow

Hugs,

Ammi

I can really identify with everyone talking about emotional eating and the urge to just eat and eat. I learned this Wednesday that my brother in law was murdered and the detials are strange and just seem to get stranger with every passing day. I am very close to my sister but she llives across the country and I feel like there is so little that i can do. i have a very large family and there seems to always be something going on. Nothing like this current murder but still each time it is very hard to live far from family and not able to offer much of a helping hand.

I turned to eating this week inthe form of key lime pie (it is really good but i manage to buy one slice at a time totaling two slices this week), vegan cupcake (yuck not worth it) and meat like sausage, jamacian meat patties, and chinese dumplings. But i have been more mindful and have eaten much less than i feel like eating. I have been eating veggies and fruit everyday (i am trying to get in 5 a day).

I have lost two pounds this week inspite of everything and that has made me smile. I really want to learn how to balance stress and weight loss/managment. i am trying to do other things rather than eat. Currently I have had some success with 1)exersizing, 2) getting out of the house even if it is just to the library or the park to sit by the river (this gets me away from food) also i am trying to spend more time with other people (I am better at controling my eating in public but i live alone and often eat alone) and getting involved in learning new things and exploring my interest.

This site continues to motivate me and remind me what works and what to look out for. Thank you to everyone who has posted in the last few threads. I hope you have an on program weekend...

Ammi, I know what you mean about the brother breaking down the store. That is sad and I hope it works out.

I am glad I could give you a laugh and I hope the water aerobics do get easier. My doctor DID say to try something harder so I guess I have found it!!! It was too funny as every once in a while there they were... my feet just popped right up on top of the water.

Hey, guess what! My friend loves Chico's clothes and I was saying when I got small enough maybe I would check it out... AND she said that when I can wear their size 3 (14-16) she will BUY me something from there. So now I really have to get on the stick and earn myself something new.

Lilion – oh, I don’t mind the questions! I’m not tall – I’m 5’5”. I picked 179 as my goal because at my height I will technically be non-obese at that weight (the cutoff at my height is 180). Now that I am getting closer, am re-evaluating a little. Basically, I think I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m trying to keep my calories under 1800 (frankly, not having a ton of success lately) and exercise a lot. I think that while weight loss will slow, eventually I will lose a little more. I would love to get closer to 170 and give me a little wiggle room. My goal will be to no longer be obese! And who knows, I might go further than that. I just can’t envision it, so I’m setting no other goals!

As for sizes. I swear I am larger than many others my weight. Right now I am mostly fitting into 14 or 16 pants (misses, not womens), and usually large tops (though I did fit into a couple of mediums recently that made my day!!). I hear lots of people who weigh more than me into the same sizes I am… oh well, nothing I can do about that. To help you better ballpark it, I think I was wearing size 20s when I weighed around 220 or so…


OOhh... time to shop, gotta run!

To everyone- because it seems like that kind of day- Hugs!! I did horribly today--work turned into a disaster- we have a dumb manager- so young that he was clearly hired because of how easy it is to make him a puppet. Well long story short he made some rash decisions without all the information, basicialy showing huge favoritism. It didn't really involve me, but one of my close friends, plus it shows a scary trend. Well, after that a bunch of us needed to get out of there and vent, so we ended up at Hibachi grill and I had filet mignon hibachi (it was good) but I have no idea how horrible it was for me--the frustrations of this job are going to kill what little success i can accomplish! I think I'm going to try and wake up tomorrow as if I haven't been dieting for a month and start fresh, because this last week has been one minute good, the next disaster, and I just need a clean slate!

Ammi- I never thought about that with Franky’s step-dad. Honestly I don’t know if he likes my fiancé or not- they really don’t talk. It’s just hello and goodbye when we get Franky. I guess it is possible. As for being pregnant- I hope not. I just had TOM so I would think not- but my mom was once even though she had TOM. I want kids, but there couldn’t be a worse time with all the work I have going on, school, and that would really make it hard for me to lose weight…I’m sure it’s just that I’m tired. I hope. As for your brother- I’m sure something has to be done, they can’t require her to allow him to live there, it just doesn’t make sense. Something will have to work out- I just hope it doesn’t take too much effort & fighting with them.

Misti- your deep water aerobics class sounds great- especially with the mist. How beautiful. It makes me laugh to think the trouble I would have with all the equipment they use!! I’m glad you didn’t quit- and you’ll get better as you get used to it!

Ayanna- I’m so sorry about your brother in law. I know first had what this is like, as my sister was murdered when I was 12. It’s really hard, and there isn’t much you can do for your sister, except be there to support her- especially if everything goes to trial. The hard thing about murder is that you don’t feel the same kind of relief that you feel when someone has died of old age, or a sickness, and they are just out of their misery. Instead they were stolen away from you. The only comfort is that whoever did it get caught and pay dearly. From my experience, the biggest thing is not to get over it, because you never will, be to learn to live with it. I hope she is coping well, and I hope that she gets closure—I will have your family in my thoughts!

I can't believe I missed an entire thread! Oh well, it has happened to me before. I went hiking today and I'm exhausted. Since I did lower body weights yesterday, my legs were sore today and my legs let me know during my hike. I had fun though and did a hike I've been wanting to do that was about 5 miles total.

I would like to thank everyone for encouragement. I am getting out of my funk and I know it.

Ammi, I'm getting married November 19.

Halloweengirl, I don't doubt you could lose 30 lbs in 3 months, it is most definitely possible. For me, I wish it was possible Actually just weight loss has slowed down a bit since I first started but that is what happens. As for wanting something cheap and simple for a wedding, I totally understand. I suggested the courthouse to my DF but he thought that it was a better idea to get our families together (immediate only) and have a basic wedding. Our entire budget for the wedding is around 3k so it really isn't much compared to most weddings. My wedding dress was 99 dollars I have pictures of it on the picture page as I tried it on last week.

I hope everyone is doing well

Hello ladies, sorry i haven't posted lately, but I've got alot going on. Work was ok, but only because we had our annual Backyard BBQ to raise money for the American Heart Association. I left my desk @ 8:30 yesterday morning and didn't see it again till after 2:00. We were all running around trying to set up tables, serving areas and the sort. Its always great fun and the money raised goes fora great cause. I got home from work and hubby decided we needed to go to his brothers and my sister in law and I ended up going to walmart @ midnight last night and walked around for an hour or so. I've also been stressing bout our move...trying to get motivated to pack boxes and now i have to give notice on monday to my boss...which is not a big deal cause I'm not that crazed about her and shes not crazed about me...But I'll miss a lot of my co-workers. But i know when we get moved i'll be very happy because i'll be back home near my sister and mother.

Ayanna ~~ I am so very sorry about the loss of your brother in law. I hope your family is holding strong. My thoughts are with you all.

Well...off i go to procrastinate some more

Wow ... Im falling behind again ..... omg ... so many terrible things are happening to our extended family on here ... Im so sorry and BIG HUGS to everyone that is having those bad times and dont judge yourself too harshly for your emotional eating habits ... its one of those learning things that will take time when its been a habit for so long.

Its been a busy day here today ... we went to the festival and I am sooooo proud of myself ... there were soooo many stalls with things like baked potatoes, pizza, hot dogs, currys, sausage sizzles, fudges and sweets and of course candy floss .. and I walked past every single one of them!! (walked a little slower past the fudge rofl .. and Scoot offered to get me a baked potatoe with all the toppings but I said nope) ... so instead for lunch we went to Subway again! I was a good girl there too. We did manage to get a couple of things at the festival tho .. a 1948 thick glass soda syphon (sp??) to match my art deco red one, a lovely Dalton Crystal Basket/bowl, a book on Star Trek (my hunny lol), and a couple of things to put away for dad for Xmas - a plastic bag holder with a Samoyd pic on it (dad loved his dog King who died years ago and its hard to find anything over here with a Samoyd on it) and a little pottery pea pod with a family of peas in and a sign saying "the clan". It was a little chilly, but the rain stayed away (yayy) and it was a nice walk all over the town (at least 1.5miles).

Oh .. the other thing I got done was a characature (sp??) of me ,,, will see if I can get Scoot to pic that as well so I can post both later

Zelma - I dont think your shopping day is at all vain .. hunny if I worked as hard as you and made such a huge change in my life I would be out shopping and buzzing and wearing out the camera too! Maybe not straight away,but it would definitely be something I would do when I got to that personal stage Well done and I look forward to seeing the pics

Ammi - hun Im so sorry about your mum ... that definitely doesnt sound right, the police should not allow someone to stay just because they would be homeless .. if your mother showed them that she wasnt allowed any others living there and his history with drugs etc (does he have a record?) then she could actually get all of his stuff out and change the locks by law as he is not on the tenancy of that place, and then a non-trespass order should be able to be placed against him. Squatters rights dont apply in this situation. Good luck hunny.

Ayanna - Im so sorry about your loss .. Im sure any death is hard but when its not a natural death that must be even worse as it was a wasted life really. I hope that you get through this and condolences for your sister.

Misti - I got a giggle about the feet floating up too lol .. I regard myself as someone that could be used as a life boat rofl ... as soon as I relax in water I float up to the top .. even in the bath!! I do remember dozing in the pool a few times too! Dont know what I would be like doing water aerobics lol .. well done!

Have to go for now .. but huggies to all who need one .. congrats to those with some great NSVs .. and weight losses .. and keep up the great work everyone!

Well, counting cals today is out of the question, so I just basically tried to 'play by the rules' - staying away from the refined sugar and flour. I had little Miss Stephanie with me (8 years old) and we went out to visit the horse I leased out to someone else. We stopped at Taco Bell for a lunch/snack, and I got away with just one small chicken taco. We had dinner with someone else and I had a bit too much of the EXcellent potato salad, but skipped the bun on my burger. Actually, that really wasn't a big terrible offense to the FFM after all, was it? She just might not snub me after all.

Oh, My housemate that has been known to sabatage me in the past baked another cake today while I was gone, to take to her sister's birthday. I came home tonight and there was not one, but TWO frosting containers still sitting on the counter, although she left the kitchen otherwise spotless. Like a rock to the bottom of the ocean I felt myself drawn. I just couldn't resist one tiny finger of icing. It's not like that would ever lead to 5 more fingers of icing, right??? So I finally grabbed the first container and opened it up. It was washed clean with nothing in it but a little note with a on it. You can guess what was in the other one (and you KNOW I checked it too.) I guess sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, but isn't that taking it a bit too far?

Valerie -- I'm sorry, but that is REALLY funny!!!