Hi guys

just a quickie to let you know I'm still hangin on and doing fine. Busy with work these last couple of weeks and hubby being back from his trip, we're doing lots of activities outside when I'm not working.

Hope you're all doing great and I'll catch up again when I can!!'

Melissa - I saw your post there about your man troubles. Since I have no idea what the issue is, I'll just say I hope it works out for you. Keep your chin up

~ Angie

Arrr! They'd eat it and like it me hearty! Or the scurvy dogs would find themselves scuttled and keel-hauled by Iron Anne Rackem! Scourge of the kitchen and the seven seas!

Ahoy there Wenches! Ye can get yer own pirate name! http://www.piratequiz.com/

Lilion ~ too funny. I did hear this morning about "talk like a pirate day" on the radio. My name is Calico Bess Kidd

Brenda

Hi Girls!
I am so sorry I was a dork and posted on the wrong thread.
Melissa, I'm sorry things are tough with your man right now. Hang tough and
remember, you can't help others without taking care of yourself first. When you're stong enough to take care of yourself, everything will eventually take care of it's self. Been there! I was married to a real jerk for 12.5 years, had 4 kids, suffered lots of abuse and cheating, blah, blah, blah. Then one day, I'd just had enough. I was single for 6 years, but then met a great guy and we've been married for 13.5 years.
Don't let it get in the way of your program and friends here. I've only been here a couple days, but the loyalty of the girls here is so so heartwarming.
HANG TOUGH!
Valerie, I'm actually quite jealous! A wal-a-thon, a work out and you wondered why you didn't have a lot of pep to build a fence. You're killin' me.
I'll be thrilled when I walk a little grade & not be winded. When I was a teen I did the whole hay thing with my dad and the guys too. Not today, but some day. You count the walk-a-thon and the work out and the fence building as a major NSV!
I'm sorry to be repetitive, I'd asked this on the wrong thread, but I'm looking advise on using the exercise bike. At this weight, it can be hard to get on and off it and even use it, but I gotta start somewhere. Any suggestions would be truly appreciated.
Did I mention I stayed on my food plan yesterday and that today looks good too! I'm totally excited about that.
I have to get dinner going...a one pot dinner, green beans, potatoes and polish sausage!
I hope everyone has a great day and evening. And thanks for being such a great and supportive group. I almost feel like I'm home when I get on this site. Y'all are just awesome!!!
Sandy

Lilion - Thanks for posting. That was really funny. I am Bloody Jenny Flint.

I have a 5:00 meeting and then it is off to they gym!

Christine - there was a wonderful lady that used to post here, she got married and moved to Canada and we haven't heard from her in ages. I do hope she will post again one day soon though. Anyway, her name is Catherine, and she was unable to do much exercise when she started dieting. If I remember correctly she used to lie on her bed, and move her feet/arms to the beat of the music playing. It was a start for her exercise, and she just went from strength to strength. I wish she was here to tell her story herself. Anyway, any activity you can do, be it sitting down, lying down etc will be a great start for you. As for me, when I started to exercise, first I just made myself do housework, one room a day. I would sweat buckets, and ache, and boy oh boy my back killed. But as the weight came off, the work became easier, and then I felt ready for taking walks to the shops. Just short walks. When I was ready for more formal exercise I bought a Gazelle Rider. For me that was fantastic, I could start at a simple pace, with no strain on my back or other joints, and over time I have increased how long I am on the rider and how energetic I get. I don't want to sound like an ad, but I would really recommend you try a Gazelle Rider. Please don't feel like all is lost and that you can't exercise, you CAN, just remember any activity is a start. You have the most important thing when it comes to losing weight, motivation and will power. I am sure you will shift some lbs

Lilion - ahoy yourself!!! I'm Black Anne Flint, who are you matey?? For a minute there I thought you were a SIMS 2 fan Today on my DS game all the characters I interact with all speak like a pirate. I didn't realise it was actually a known international Pirate Day. I enjoyed looking at that site you put a link for!! Now Daren is on his online game talking pirate talk with his friends What a fun day, although ANNOYING on the SIMS

Good for you for sticking within your point range. I don't want to nag, but I was told never to have more than 4 points spare every day. I think it's to do with having to drop your points along the way when the weight comes off. If you are on say 30 points but always eat say 25, then when you drop to 28 points you aren't going to see much difference. I try to make sure I always eat all my points, though occasionally do leave a few spare.

Thank you for being happy when you see my slider and how much weight I have lost. It doesn't seem too long ago like you said, when I was saying about how I never stick to my diets and always gain back what I have lost. I am amazed and thrilled, and ok, a bit proud of myself, that this time I am doing so well, and I KNOW I am going to get to my ultimate goal weight!!

Patti - thank you, I really look forward to seeing some photos when you work out how to send them

Valerie - still keeping my that you will get that job, it sounds like an ideal one, especially as it won't intefere with your exercising!

Have you looked on the Net for that pasta you are after?

I must say it does sound odd to hear somebody here talking about not being able to get used to being fat rather than not getting used to being thin. I have been overweight since I was 18, but not really fat until I was about 25, and then HUGE in my 30s, so I have been big for long enough for it to feel normal. Not nice, but normal. I think I am definitely going to be one of the ones that will have to get used to not being that fat person anymore. When it happens that is

Missy - I am really sorry that you are having problems with your guy again. If it's the same issue that we have talked about before, then I can understand why you feel so upset You will have to do what you think is best, maybe have it out with him first and just go from there.

Angie - glad to see your post and to hear all is well. I had been wondering what you were up to

Sandy - sorry I can't help you with your exercise bike question. I am not able to ride any kind of bike because of surgery I had a couple of years back. I would think for the bigger woman a recumbant bike would be so much better than a normal upright bike.

Ok gotta go email now, might pop back later, if not 'see' you all tomorrow.

Hugs,

Ammi

Hi all .. just a quickie cos dad and I are going to look at houses this morning (we are thinking of buying another house nearby for him rather than building out the back ... eeeek) .... Thanks very much everyone for their words of support ... I had an ok sleep last night (for a change) and I woke up feeling a lot better ... still a little fragile but better lol ... when I was sitting down to eat my cereal as I was eating it I started thinking (thats where all that smoke came from in case you were wondering lol) ... I have decided that stubborness is actually a positive trait rather than a negative ... because Im darned if I am gonna let depression get the best of me. Im going to go and get the prescription filled today, I will give it a month and see how I go, will do the whole 3 month course she gave me if I think its making a difference and if Im not having any icky side effects. I suppose in a way Im hoping for it to be a chemical imbalance really ... at least that is something that I may have a chance at correcting rofl.

I got on the scales this morning and I have put on 1.2 pounds .. but TOM is visiting so I figure that isnt that bad really .. I have been staying almost OP and I havent gone over the 2000 cal limit at all yet so thats a blessing

Okee .. just a few personals

ANNIE - Thankies for the hugs hun ... interestingly enough just in the last few weeks I have found a hug a wonderful thing ... didnt really get them a lot as a teen so forgot how good they could be .. and even a virtual hug dont half feel good when you know its coming from the heart HUGGIES. Well done on keeping OP and with Curves .. are the carpet hoping rooms getting redecorated .. or just the floors??

SANDY - Well done on sticking to your new program, and Im curious about ideas for the biking too! When I went for bike rides last summer my butt didnt half hurt! I know some may say Im lucky .. but I really dont have much paddin back there (its all everywhere else) and so sittin on hard things or bikes tend to hurt the bones a little rofl.

SHARON - Well done on starting a new thread! lol ... have wondered a few times if I should but then chicken out in case I do it wrong rofl. Is it a good thing or a bad thing about having to walk 70+ min a day?? At least you know you will be getting that much exercise every week day And Im sure that the more you do it the faster you will end up going ... be careful of your ankle tho

JILL - Thankies hun ... Wow ... 3 miles of non-smooth walking .. well done!! Definitely a bit of a jump from your regular walk .. hopefully the headache will be due to something else ... maybe you want to think about upping your calories a little tho hun .. they seem awfully low ... and a little high on your off plan days rofl .. good luck on your next lap ... glad to see it hasnt deterred you

NEWSNERD - Happy dance for your cheap repairs ... esp when you were so worried about the cost of them! Definitely is a worry when your mode of transport (which is a necessary thing for some ppl) is out of action ...

PATTI - HIDE THOSE SCALES!! lol ... I know its too tempting isnt it lol .. its like a daily kick in the pants sometimes, esp if you have gone up! Well done on the 40 pounds hit! Thats a lota butter!

NANCY - I wondered about the doc too .. I havent been to one for about 3.5 years either! lol .. Wow .. what an adventure you had .. at least it was something a bit different to your week Hopefully you will get the chance to curl up tonight or soon tho

AMMI - Was just reading what you said to Jill about feeling fatter as you get smaller lol .. I was thinking the same thing ... when I look at my pics from 25 pounds ago Im thinking .. where on earth did that 25lbs come off of?? I now make the joke that as I have gone down 1cm it must have been a 25lb cm cos I cant see it otherwise ... just hope I dont go down another 1cm for every 25lbs rofl. I dont think I have seen WW spag over here ... I cant stand salt on anything but chippies (crisps ... are there any other names??) and even those I wipe it off of if there is too much. Not sure if I would want to try it now rofl ... Ohhh .. I got Scoot the Apple Crumble bars as a snack when he is tired of the JC ones .. and he had TWO the other night for supper (when he had already had his treat snack for the day at work!) and he has gone up 1.2kg .. he said its my fault for feeding him too well on the weekend and then having those 2 bars ... only I didnt feed him anything diff from usual .. I bet he snuck to McDees again rofl.

CHRISTINE - As I have been in multiple accidents (car and otherwise) and had multiple breaks etc to my body, my exercise choices were limited .. I would love to go swimming .. but havent reached that place where I would feel comfy yet. I just got some exercise dvds and started with those .. not always completing or keeping up .. but like they say ... ANY movement is better than none Good luck hun .. and well done on not eating your way out of the mood

VALERIE - What a great point .. I never thought of it from the other angle like that ... I havent really ever been small since I was about 7 .. But I remember horse riding and helping round up the sheep and helping in the shearing shed etc ... cant imagine doing that now lol ... but its a really valid point. I think really you need to stop thinking about the past (for some its big for others its smaller) and just live each moment as that size .. tomorrow you may be a pound heavier or lighter so you will never been that particular size again (and even if you do go back up to that size .... it would only be in a different location lol).

Oooh .. want to do more personals but its time to go ... have an op day all and thanks for your opinions .. please never apologise for opinions .., if we werent prepared to accept what ones are given we wouldnt have written on the boards to start with in the hopes for them

Huggies all!

Oh you needn't worry about me - I'm usually lucky to stay under the 28 I'm allowed. I was just SO Bad while camping I thought I'd make up for it a bit by being low on points. But I'm not going to stay that far under for more than a day or two. In fact I'll likely go back up to 28 today.

May a fair wind fill yer sails ladies!
Iron Anne Rackem
a/k/a

Hi Everyone!

I'm back from a wonderful weekend. I didn't win the competition, but believe me, that was the last thing on my mind at the time. I'll explain later the hassles of being caught between TWO current affairs TV shows. Not good!

Anyway, I am actually truly OK with not winning. I have definitely achieved what I set out to do (apart from saving my life), which is to get my face out there and show people it can be done. In the last week I have been in a local newspaper, large state Sunday paper, local news and national current affairs TV show. I think I now 'have my face out there'. I checked my email this morning, which is lucky to ever have ONE mail in it (Thanks Ammi - I got the card. It was lovely) and there were SEVENTY TWO mails waiting for me. The current affairs show has me as one of the feature articles on their website and I am assuming they have been forwarding emails to me from all over the country. I can't wait to read them all, but that will have to wait for later.

Anyway... I know you have all been waiting to hear how I went, so I wanted to drop a quick line. I will catch up on everyone's news as soon as I can, but at the moment I am not organised in the least, after getting home after midnight. I have NO idea what I'm having for lunch or anything else for that matter, but I'm dressed, so I suppose that's a start.

I just got a call from my mum telling me how proud she is of me, which is really important, for another reason. I'll try to explain that later too. Someone may have to remind me.

I want to thank you all VERY much for your continued support throughout all of this. You are truly a special group of people.

Take care,

Zelma

Oh... forgot to put in the "A Current Affair" website where you can see a write up and you can also view the video about me from the show.

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=145745

I hope that works.

Zelma

Zelma,
Your quest has been amazing. I just visited your web site and you are truly an amazing inspiration. It's so easy to get bogged down by looking at the HUGE number of pounds I need to get rid of, but I'll keep going back to your story/web site when I need a jump start. I've just started my journey and it's
scary. The last 3 days I've stayed OP and that's a great start for me.
To All--I'm totally unmotivated to exercise. I know I feel better when I do, I know the "high" I get from it. But it's so hard to start.
Like several others I too suffer from depression and take 2 kinds of meds daily. Without it, I'd be a mess. Don't feel badly you need it. Be happy that it's available. I can't imagine not having them. I just can't function without them. It's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. It's really an illness, like diabetes.
Take care everyone, and I'll see ya tomorrow.

Evening everyone!

I just finished watching the most heart-wrenching thing. There was just a tribute memorial on for Steve Irwin - Crocodile Hunter. I have cried for an hour now. So sad for his family. He will be missed.

Hi Zelma~ Glad to see that you are back Sucky that you didn't win the contest, but you HAVE won so much more! We are all so very proud of you.

OK. I am going to watch Dancing with the Stars. Hoping that cheers me up!

Brenda

Christine – I agree with what a few others have said. Don’t worry about how much you can do, just start somewhere. Walk for a few minutes, then tomorrow walk for 1 mintue more. Exercise endurance is something you can build. I find the elliptical, although really tough when I first started, is actually much gentler on my joints and feet then the treadmill. Also, do you take any supplements for your joints? You might look into MSM/ Glucosamine/Chondroitin (gosh I hope I spelled those right). My brother’s GF who is a physical therapist specifically recommends MSM.

Valerie – I know it wasn't necessarily the point, but I loved your fence building and hay throwing stories. It made me think about something I read recently, which is that nature doesn’t differentiate between cardio and strength training. Getting out there and doing something that fully challenges us is the best exercise there is, and plus at the end of the day you have something to show for it.

Sandy – I don’t feel comfortable on an exercise bike yet. I have the same problem of getting on and off, but worse for me is the feeling of my legs hitting into my stomach ever time I do a rotation. When my stomach shrinks a bit more I will try it again.

Melissa – Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your BF. Have you talked to him about whatever it is that is bothering you?

Zelma – Darn! You should have won!!! Oh well. That interview with you is GREAT (the link works fine btw). The interviews with your students were so sweet. It is so cool to see you in action and hear your voice. You look fantastic and that is very cool that you are reaching people.


I am home now and waiting for my BF to come home to get dinner. I just powered through about half a bag of baby carrots. Boy do I love carrots! I have definitely found I like more and more vegetables. I actually really like yellow squash and zucchini now, and I never liked them before.

Ammi, wyllen, Valerie-- You ladies are so funny I can't stop laughing.. Yes I am very excited for my dh to finally be coming home.

Patti-- congrats on hitting the 40 pound mark.. I think that is GREAT!. Keep up the great work!

Melissa--- My heart goes out to you. Whatever you do just take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself and Love yourself!

Zelma--- Wow i was really pulling for you to walk away as the winner. But then I forgot you already won! In my eyes you are a winner already thanks for just being you and a real inspiration for me

brenda-- I love dancing with the stars